Ulrich von Hassel

(1881 - 1944)

Lawyer and career diplomat who served in Spain, Denmark, Yugoslavia, and finally as German ambassador to Italy from 1932 to 1938 when he was dismissed for opposing Germany's military alliance with Fascist Italy. He blasted Hitler foreign policy from the outset predicting that it would lead Germany to war.

During World War II, Hassel uses his international contacts to secure meetings with British and American officials, and hopes that a successful coup will translate into an honorable peace treaty with Britain and the United States. He also works closely with co-conspirators Dr. Carl Goerdeler, Johannes Popitz, and General Ludwig Beck to lay the foundations of the new Germany they hope to build after a successful coup. Like Goerdeler, Hassel dreams of uniting Europe into a family of nations under the principle of mutual respect and adherence to international law.

He joins the inner circle of the conspiracy and becomes intimately involved in the political planning of the conspiracy. After September 1938, he keeps a personal diary of his thoughts, hopes, and fears regarding the Nazi regime and prospects for its overthrow, and in which he laments the reticence of the generals in the face of Hitler's brutal tryanny and disastrous war strategy.

Hassel is another victim of Hitler's revenge. Arrested on July 28, 1944, he is tried before the People's court and hanged on September 8 in Plotzensee prison.

Had Stauffenberg's coup attempt succeeded, Hassel would have held the post of Foreign Minister in the new government and would have attempted to negotiate peace with the Allies.

Sources: Joric Center