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William Edward Dodd (October 21, 1869 – February 9, 1940) [2] was an American historian, author and diplomat.A liberal Democrat, he served as the United States Ambassador to Germany from 1933 to 1937 during the Nazi era.
Frederic M. Sackett, Ambassador February 12, 1930 March 24, 1933 William E. Dodd, Ambassador August 30, 1933 December 29, 1937 Hugh R. Wilson, Ambassador March 3, 1938 November 16, 1938 Alexander C. Kirk, Chargé d'Affaires May 1939 October 1940 Leland B. Morris, Chargé d'Affaires October 1940 December 11, 1941
The German foreign office (Auswärtiges Amt (AA)) had a sizable network of diplomatic missions when Nazis came to power in 1933. While it was a deeply traditional and elitist organisation within the German civil service, it enthusiastically helped the Nazis prosecute an ambitious foreign policy.
Martha Eccles Dodd (October 8, 1908 – August 10, 1990) was an American journalist and novelist. The daughter of William Edward Dodd, [5] US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's first Ambassador to Germany, Dodd lived in Berlin from 1933–1937 [6] and was a witness to the rise of the Third Reich.
The ambassador, who had earned his PhD in Leipzig forty years earlier, and who, at the time of his appointment, was head of the History Department at the University of Chicago, initially hoped that Germany's new Nazi government would grow more moderate, including in its persecution of the Jews. [2]
He served as Ambassador to Germany from March 3 to November 16, 1938. He attended the congress of the Nazi Party in Nuremberg in September 1938 and broke with the precedent established by his predecessor, William E. Dodd, who had refused to attend. In Dodd's absence, the embassy's chargé d'affaires had attended the previous year. [9]
1937–1938: Hans-Heinrich Dieckhoff, recalled November 18, 1938 in response to worsening relations with the U.S. due to Kristallnacht (November 9), and the U.S. recall of its Ambassador (November 15). 1938–1941: Hans Thomsen, Chargé d'Affaires; Diplomatic relations broken off due to World War II (December 11, 1941 – September 22, 1949)
In 1933, at Roper's suggestion, Roosevelt asked William Sr. to become the United States' Ambassador to Berlin. He accepted, and was quickly confirmed. The entire Dodd family, including William Jr. and his sister, relocated to Berlin. [2] In 1935, William Jr. completed his Ph.D. in History at the University of Berlin.