Page "Joachim von Ribbentrop" Paragraph 51

Ribbentrop's time as Foreign Minister can be divided into three periods.

In the first, from 1938 – 39, he tried to persuade other states to align themselves with Germany for the coming war.

In the second, from 1939 – 43, Ribbentrop attempted to persuade other states to enter the war on Germany's side or at least maintain pro-German neutrality.

In the final phase, from 1943 – 45, he had the task of trying to keep Germany's allies from leaving her side.

During the course of all three periods, Ribbentrop met frequently with leaders and diplomats from Italy, Japan, Romania, Spain, Bulgaria, and Hungary.

During all this time, Ribbentrop feuded with various other Nazi leaders ; at one point in August 1939 an armed clash took place between supporters of Ribbentrop and those of Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels over the control of a radio station in Berlin that was meant to broadcast German propaganda abroad ( Goebbels claimed exclusive control of all propaganda both at home and abroad whereas Ribbentrop asserted a claim to monopolize all German propaganda abroad ).

As Foreign Minister, Ribbentrop was highly concerned with counteracting the damage that he himself inflicted on the Foreign Office's influence.

Friedrich Gaus, chief of the Foreign Office's legal division, testified at Nuremberg that: " He used to say that everything the Foreign Office lost in the way of terrain under Neurath he wanted to win back and, with all his passion, he fought for this aim in a manner which can only be understood by somebody who actually saw it ".

Gaus went on to testify that " My main activity was 90 per cent concerned with competency conflicts ".

And as time went by, Ribbentrop started to oust the Foreign Office's old diplomats from their senior positions and replace them with men from the Dienststelle.

As early as 1938, 32 % of the offices in the Foreign Ministry were held by men who previously served in the Dienststelle.

Ribbentrop was widely disliked by the old diplomats.

Herbert von Dirksen, who was German Ambassador in London from 1938 – 1939, described his predecessor, Ribbentrop, as " an unwholesome, half-comical figure ".

Dirksen was later to write that he at first hoped that now that Ribbentrop was Foreign Minister this would mean the end of the Dienststelle " for no man can intrigue against himself.

That Ribbentrop was able to perform even this miracle only came home to me much later ".

Many of the people Ribbentrop appointed to head German embassies, especially the " amateur " diplomats from the Dienststelle, were grossly incompetent.

This limited the Foreign Office's effectiveness.