University of Nebraska at Omaha DigitalCommons@UNO Student Work 1-1-1967 Count and democrat ; Brockdorff-Rantzau as the Weimar Republic's first foreign minister Marilyn Senn Moll University of Nebraska at Omaha Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/studentwork Recommended Citation Moll, Marilyn Senn, "Count and democrat ; Brockdorff-Rantzau as the Weimar Republic's first foreign minister" (1967). Student Work. 407. https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/studentwork/407 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@UNO. It has been accepted for inclusion in Student Work by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@UNO. For more information, please contact [email protected]. iI ^ "COUNT AND DEMOCRAT" BROCKDORFF-RANTZAU AS THE WEIMAR REPUBLIC'S FIRST FOREIGN MINISTER A Thesis Presented to the Department of History and the Faculty of the Graduate College University of Omaha In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts by Marilyn Senn Moll January 1967 UMI Number: EP73045 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI EP73045 Published by ProQuest LLC (2015). Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 Accepted for the faculty of the Graduate College of the University of Omaha, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts. Chairman t DepaJtmen t Graduate Committee ^ Department ULRICH,GRAF VON 3R0CKD0RFF-RANTZAU 1869 - 1928 This picture probably dates from the end the First World War* Source % Outlook, CXXII (May 7, 1.919), 25 PREFACE This thesis grew out of Dr* A * Stanley Trickett's graduate history seminar at the University of Omaha, inquir­ ing into the Paris Peace Conference of 1919* In the course of a study of Germany's initial reaction to the Treaty of Versailles I became interested in the German Peace Delega­ tion, and especially Count Brockdorff-Rantzau, who, as the Weimar Republic's first Foreign Minister, was the Delega­ tion's leader. My preliminary search for material unearthed very little that was easily accessible. Almost everything from contemporary English language sources and journals was written in a hate-the-Kaiser1s-Germany vein, and the few items concerning the German Foreign Minister were, I dis­ covered, usually out of context, inaccurate, or merely hear­ say with little factual basis. Many writers who mention him tell only one vignette before dismissing the subject alto­ gether: A portrait of his ancestor, Josias Rantzau, who was a Marshal of France, hung in the Galerie des Marechaux at Versailles* Asked by a French journalist (some say it was a French officer) his opinion of the story that the Marshal had actually been the father of Louis XIV, the Count replied that indeed, there is a tradition in our family to that effect dating back two hundred years* What comforts one iii iv about it is that, if the tradition is based on fact, the Rantzaus are not illegitimate Bourbons, but the Bourbons bastard Rantzaus It is now possible to discuss the days of Versailles more objectively and dispassionately* This thesis is by no means intended as an apologia. It is an attempt, nearly fifty years later, to understand and interpret the German response when the Treaty was presented to the Delegation at Versailles, and the resulting repercussions among the Allied leaders. To do this I have used materials usually inacces­ sible or little known. This material I have tried to relate to documents, books, and memoirs which, although they are well known and definitive works on the subject, have not been used extensively to help shed light on this aspect of the Paris Peace Conference. My lifelong intense interest in the German language has been indispensable. Professor James T , Shotwell, noted historian of the Peace Conference and its aftermath, has written that "... prudence as well as a sense of fair play provided the German negotiators with more support for a revision of the terms of the Treaty than they seem to have appreciated. This phase of Peace Conference history has never been explored - . ." Shotwell's observation can be applied to the Treaty writers -^Kar 1 Friedrich Novak, Versailles (New York: Payson and Clarke Ltd., 1929), p. 259* 2James T Shotwe 1.1, At the Paris Peace Conference (New York; The Macmillan Co.,, 1937), p. 47. V in Paris as well as the Germanso In this work I have at­ tempted to approach the question from both sides, stressing the origins of the German Delegation and the Foreign Mini­ ster who led it--a history apparently little understood by the Allied and Associated Powers and by those who are now their descendants. It is not unrealistic to ask the question; "Would not any Allied statesman, in Brockdorff-Rantzau1s place, have tried for as favorable a deal as possible for Germany?" My search for material turned up a book written by the British Lieutenant Colonel Stewart Roddie, who was posted for seven years in Germany as a member of the Disarmament Commission, and knew and worked with all the government officials and other dignitaries of the Weimar Republic. In a passage describing Reichspresident Ebert, Colonel Roddie relates the following story; It was in the Holtzendorff house in the victoria Strasse; the question of extradition of "War Crim­ inals" was being discussed, and Noske, the Minister of Defence, put to me the embarrassing query, "Tell us what you English would have done if we Germans had won the war and demanded of you the surrender for trial as criminals of your King George, your Prince of Wales, your Field Marshal Haig, etc0 Tell us— would you have let us have them?" Then the President, who had been quietly listen­ ing, laid his hand on my arm and said, "Don't answer that question, Colonel, it's not a fair one--just take it for granted that we know,"^ ■^Stewart Roddie, Peace Patrol (New York; G 0P0 Put­ nam's Sons, 1933), p 0 98* There are many people who have helped me whom. I would like to thanko My family has put up with more than two years of my complete preoccupation with this subject and consequent neglect of their needs at times. I would especially like to thank Dr. Trickett for his inspiration and guidance, and Miss Ella Jane Dougherty of the staff of the Gene Eppley Library at the University of Omaha for her tireless efforts to obtain obscure books for me, a task at which she was 99% successful. The University of Nebraska Library and the Omaha Public Library were also very helpful. I owe many thanks to Dr. Kurt Rosenbaum of West Virginia University, author of Community of Fate; German-Soviet Diplomatic Relations 1922-1928, who furn­ ished information on Erich Brandenburg's unpublished manu­ script biography of the Count and other important leads to valuable material. I am grateful to Dr. Alma Luckau Molin and Dr. George Bonnin for answering questions for me. I am in debted to Dr. T'heo Christiansen of Schleswig, Germany, who pro vided a valuable article on the Brockdorff family history and other advice as to sources. He and Frau Christiansen were graciously hospitable to me during my few days in Schleswig while visiting Germany in 1964. I also thank Herr and Frau Christoph Sindt of Schleswig for their friendship and Gemut- lichkeit. Much appreciation is due my typist, Mrs,, Earl D. Wagner, who entered into this project with enthusiasm and great competence. The responsibility for errors and inacura- cies rests with me. Bellevue, Nebraska. November, 1966. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page FRONTISPIECE .... ........... ii PREFACE ................ ... .........................iii INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER I. "PER ROTE GRAF"............. .................... 6 Early Years Beginning of Diplomatic Career Personality Observations Relations with the Court II. THE VIEW FROM COPENHAGEN .......................19 Denmark's "German Course" Outbreak of the First World War Danish-German Economic Ties U-Boats and the Americans Peace Feelers through Denmark Plans to "Revolutionize"; Russia Peace and Reform Movements in Germany Requisites for an Armistice III. BROCKDORFF-RANTZAU BECOMES FOREIGN MINISTER . 47 Abdication and Armistice Brockdorff-Rantzau Replaces Solf Foreign Policy Outlook Conflict with Erzberger First Days in Weimar vii vi i i IV. PEACE RECONNAISSANCE . 65 Interviews and Press Conferences The Speech of February 14, 1919 German Preparation for Peace Negotiations "Invitation" to Versailles V. CONFRONTATION AT VERSAILLES A Last Interview with Conger The "Spirit of Versailles" Presentation of the Treaty Analysis of the Speech of May 7, 1919 VI. "JAMMER DE KOPP BABEN" ............................ 106 Reactions of the "Big Three" Impact of the Treaty Efforts toward German Unity The Counterproposals Fail Defeat in Weimar VII. AFTER THE TREATY: 1919-1922 . 132 German Acceptance of the Treaty Brockdorff-Rantzau!s Retirement The Road to Moscow VIII. RETROSPECT: BROCKDORFF-RANTZAU AT VERSAILLES - . 150 The Allied Attitude Brockdorff-Rantzau's Qualifications German Weaknesses Later Years In Conclusion BIBLIOGRAPHY ................171 INTRODUCTION It was May, 1919. Germany had admitted military de­ feat in World War I over six months earlier. German representa­ tives had signed the armistice terms dictated by Marshal Foch for the Allies. When the guns became silent on November 11, 1918, Germany surrendered great quantities of arms, military equipment, rolling stock, and her Allied prisoners of war, meet­ ing Armistice deadlines as nearly as possible.