From Murdering Hitler
Hans
Bernd Gisevius (July 14, 1904 – February 23, 1974) was a German diplomat
and intelligence officer during World War II. A covert opponent of the Nazi
regime, he served as a liaison in Zürich between Allen Dulles, station chief
for the American OSS and the German Resistance forces in Germany.
Gisevius
was born in Arnsberg in the Prussian Province of Westphalia. After law school,
he joined the Prussian Interior Ministry in 1933 and was assigned to the newly
formed Geheime Staatspolizei, or Gestapo. After joining the Gestapo, he
immediately had disagreements with his senior, Rudolf Diels, and was
discharged. He continued with police work in the Interior Ministry. When
Himmler took over Police functions in 1936 in the German Reich, he removed
Gisevius from office.
Throughout
his time working for the Gestapo Gisevius described himself as living in
constant fear, entering and exiting through the back door, clutching a pistol
at his side - all resultant from his misgivings with the terror apparatus to
which he was assigned, since according to him, it was like "living in a
den of murderers".
Gisevius later transferred to the Reich Ministry of the Interior. Although he had no position of power, he maintained connections, notably to Arthur Nebe, that kept him informed of the political background. Gisevius joined the secret opposition to Hitler, began gathering evidence of Nazi crimes (for use in a later prosecution) and attempted to restrain the increasing power of Heinrich Himmler and the SS. He maintained links with Hans Oster and Hjalmar Schacht.
When World War II started, Gisevius joined the German intelligence service, the Abwehr, which was headed by Admiral Wilhelm Canaris, who was secretly an opponent of Hitler. Canaris had surrounded himself with Wehrmacht officers opposed to Hitler and he welcomed Gisevius into this group. Working from the consulate in Zürich, Hans Gisevius was involved in secret talks with the Vatican. Canaris arranged for the appointment of Gisevius as Vice Consul in Switzerland, where Gisevius met with Allen Dulles in 1943 and agreed to serve as a liaison for the German opposition to Hitler, an assembly which counted among its members General Ludwig Beck, Abwehr Chief Canaris, and Mayor Carl Gördeler of Leipzig.
Several members of the conspiratorial circle against Hitler including Gisevius, "all kept homes within easy walking distance of each other". According to Gisevius, the original plot to kill Hitler earlier (namely, before the acquiescence of Great Britain over the Sudetenland) was literally derailed by Neville Chamberlain whose actions he claims "saved Hitler".
Gisevius later transferred to the Reich Ministry of the Interior. Although he had no position of power, he maintained connections, notably to Arthur Nebe, that kept him informed of the political background. Gisevius joined the secret opposition to Hitler, began gathering evidence of Nazi crimes (for use in a later prosecution) and attempted to restrain the increasing power of Heinrich Himmler and the SS. He maintained links with Hans Oster and Hjalmar Schacht.
When World War II started, Gisevius joined the German intelligence service, the Abwehr, which was headed by Admiral Wilhelm Canaris, who was secretly an opponent of Hitler. Canaris had surrounded himself with Wehrmacht officers opposed to Hitler and he welcomed Gisevius into this group. Working from the consulate in Zürich, Hans Gisevius was involved in secret talks with the Vatican. Canaris arranged for the appointment of Gisevius as Vice Consul in Switzerland, where Gisevius met with Allen Dulles in 1943 and agreed to serve as a liaison for the German opposition to Hitler, an assembly which counted among its members General Ludwig Beck, Abwehr Chief Canaris, and Mayor Carl Gördeler of Leipzig.
Several members of the conspiratorial circle against Hitler including Gisevius, "all kept homes within easy walking distance of each other". According to Gisevius, the original plot to kill Hitler earlier (namely, before the acquiescence of Great Britain over the Sudetenland) was literally derailed by Neville Chamberlain whose actions he claims "saved Hitler".
Upon
returning to Germany, he was investigated by the Gestapo, but released. In
1944, after the failed July 20th assassination attempt against Hitler, Gisevius
first hid at the home of his future wife, the Swiss national Gerda Woog, and
fled to Switzerland in 1945, making him one of the few conspirators to survive
the war. There, he contacted the Swiss authorities.
Peter
Hoffmann's biography of Hitler assassination conspirator Claus Graf von
Stauffenberg ("Stauffenberg, A Family History," 1992) indicates that
after the failure of Stauffenberg's bomb plot in July 1944, Gisevius went into
hiding until 23 January 1945, when he escaped to Switzerland by using a
passport that had belonged to Carl Deichmann, a brother-in-law of German Count
Helmuth James von Moltke, who was a specialist in international law serving in
the legal branch of the Foreign Countries Group of the OKW (Oberkommando der
Wehrmacht, "Supreme Command of the Armed Forces"). Through the help
of the American Allen Dulles in Berne, Switzerland and of the German Legation
(in Berne)'s Georg Federer, the passport was modified and a visa obtained for
Gisevius that enabled him to escape to Spain.
Gisevius
served as a key witness for the defense at the Nuremberg Trials when he was
called as a witness by defendants Hjalmar Schacht and Wilhelm Frick.
His testimony was crucial in securing the acquittal of Schacht on all counts, but Frick was found guilty. His testimony was also particularly damaging to Hermann Göring, Wilhelm Keitel and Ernst Kaltenbrunner, who were all convicted.
His testimony was crucial in securing the acquittal of Schacht on all counts, but Frick was found guilty. His testimony was also particularly damaging to Hermann Göring, Wilhelm Keitel and Ernst Kaltenbrunner, who were all convicted.
His autobiography, "Bis zum bitteren Ende" (To the Bitter End), published in 1946, offered a sharp indictment of the Nazi regime, many of whose leading members Gisevius knew personally, as well as of the German people, who, Gisevius claimed, pretended not to know about the atrocities being committed in its name. At the same time, it also offers an insider's account of the German resistance movement.
In 1946
Gisevius was charged and acquitted by the Swiss authorities in a trial for espionage.
Gisevius was later criticized as he diminished the contributions of other
members (i.e. Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg) of the opposition to Hitler.
Gisevius reported in his 1948 book, "To the Bitter End", that he
considered SS Chief Heinrich Himmler a bit of a hypocrite whereas he saw
Reinhard Heydrich as one who epitomized a true German, in accordance with Nazi
ideals at least.
In the early 1950s he moved to the United States and lived in Dallas, Texas, but soon returned, and lived in Switzerland. Gisevius died in Müllheim in Baden-Württemberg in 1974.
Also see:
In the early 1950s he moved to the United States and lived in Dallas, Texas, but soon returned, and lived in Switzerland. Gisevius died in Müllheim in Baden-Württemberg in 1974.
Also see:
Hans
Bernd Gisevius (July 14, 1904 – February 23, 1974) was a German diplomat
and intelligence officer during World War II. A covert opponent of the Nazi
regime, he served as a liaison in Zürich between Allen Dulles, station chief
for the American OSS and the German Resistance forces in Germany.
Gisevius
was born in Arnsberg in the Prussian Province of Westphalia. After law school,
he joined the Prussian Interior Ministry in 1933 and was assigned to the newly
formed Geheime Staatspolizei, or Gestapo. After joining the Gestapo, he
immediately had disagreements with his senior, Rudolf Diels, and was
discharged. He continued with police work in the Interior Ministry. When
Himmler took over Police functions in 1936 in the German Reich, he removed
Gisevius from office.
Throughout
his time working for the Gestapo Gisevius described himself as living in
constant fear, entering and exiting through the back door, clutching a pistol
at his side - all resultant from his misgivings with the terror apparatus to
which he was assigned, since according to him, it was like "living in a
den of murderers".
Gisevius later transferred to the Reich Ministry of the Interior. Although he had no position of power, he maintained connections, notably to Arthur Nebe, that kept him informed of the political background. Gisevius joined the secret opposition to Hitler, began gathering evidence of Nazi crimes (for use in a later prosecution) and attempted to restrain the increasing power of Heinrich Himmler and the SS. He maintained links with Hans Oster and Hjalmar Schacht.
When World War II started, Gisevius joined the German intelligence service, the Abwehr, which was headed by Admiral Wilhelm Canaris, who was secretly an opponent of Hitler. Canaris had surrounded himself with Wehrmacht officers opposed to Hitler and he welcomed Gisevius into this group. Working from the consulate in Zürich, Hans Gisevius was involved in secret talks with the Vatican. Canaris arranged for the appointment of Gisevius as Vice Consul in Switzerland, where Gisevius met with Allen Dulles in 1943 and agreed to serve as a liaison for the German opposition to Hitler, an assembly which counted among its members General Ludwig Beck, Abwehr Chief Canaris, and Mayor Carl Gördeler of Leipzig.
Several members of the conspiratorial circle against Hitler including Gisevius, "all kept homes within easy walking distance of each other". According to Gisevius, the original plot to kill Hitler earlier (namely, before the acquiescence of Great Britain over the Sudetenland) was literally derailed by Neville Chamberlain whose actions he claims "saved Hitler".
Gisevius later transferred to the Reich Ministry of the Interior. Although he had no position of power, he maintained connections, notably to Arthur Nebe, that kept him informed of the political background. Gisevius joined the secret opposition to Hitler, began gathering evidence of Nazi crimes (for use in a later prosecution) and attempted to restrain the increasing power of Heinrich Himmler and the SS. He maintained links with Hans Oster and Hjalmar Schacht.
When World War II started, Gisevius joined the German intelligence service, the Abwehr, which was headed by Admiral Wilhelm Canaris, who was secretly an opponent of Hitler. Canaris had surrounded himself with Wehrmacht officers opposed to Hitler and he welcomed Gisevius into this group. Working from the consulate in Zürich, Hans Gisevius was involved in secret talks with the Vatican. Canaris arranged for the appointment of Gisevius as Vice Consul in Switzerland, where Gisevius met with Allen Dulles in 1943 and agreed to serve as a liaison for the German opposition to Hitler, an assembly which counted among its members General Ludwig Beck, Abwehr Chief Canaris, and Mayor Carl Gördeler of Leipzig.
Several members of the conspiratorial circle against Hitler including Gisevius, "all kept homes within easy walking distance of each other". According to Gisevius, the original plot to kill Hitler earlier (namely, before the acquiescence of Great Britain over the Sudetenland) was literally derailed by Neville Chamberlain whose actions he claims "saved Hitler".
Upon
returning to Germany, he was investigated by the Gestapo, but released. In
1944, after the failed July 20th assassination attempt against Hitler, Gisevius
first hid at the home of his future wife, the Swiss national Gerda Woog, and
fled to Switzerland in 1945, making him one of the few conspirators to survive
the war. There, he contacted the Swiss authorities.
Peter
Hoffmann's biography of Hitler assassination conspirator Claus Graf von
Stauffenberg ("Stauffenberg, A Family History," 1992) indicates that
after the failure of Stauffenberg's bomb plot in July 1944, Gisevius went into
hiding until 23 January 1945, when he escaped to Switzerland by using a
passport that had belonged to Carl Deichmann, a brother-in-law of German Count
Helmuth James von Moltke, who was a specialist in international law serving in
the legal branch of the Foreign Countries Group of the OKW (Oberkommando der
Wehrmacht, "Supreme Command of the Armed Forces"). Through the help
of the American Allen Dulles in Berne, Switzerland and of the German Legation
(in Berne)'s Georg Federer, the passport was modified and a visa obtained for
Gisevius that enabled him to escape to Spain.
Gisevius
served as a key witness for the defense at the Nuremberg Trials when he was
called as a witness by defendants Hjalmar Schacht and Wilhelm Frick. His
testimony was crucial in securing the acquittal of Schacht on all counts, but
Frick was found guilty. His testimony was also particularly damaging to Hermann
Göring, Wilhelm Keitel and Ernst Kaltenbrunner, who were all convicted.
His
autobiography, "Bis zum bitteren Ende" (To the Bitter End), published
in 1946, offered a sharp indictment of the Nazi regime, many of whose leading
members Gisevius knew personally, as well as of the German people, who,
Gisevius claimed, pretended not to know about the atrocities being committed in
its name. At the same time, it also offers an insider's account of the German
resistance movement.
In 1946
Gisevius was charged and acquitted by the Swiss authorities in a trial for
espionage. Gisevius was later criticized as he diminished the contributions of
other members (i.e. Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg) of the opposition to
Hitler. Gisevius reported in his 1948 book, "To the Bitter End", that
he considered SS Chief Heinrich Himmler a bit of a hypocrite whereas he saw
Reinhard Heydrich as one who epitomized a true German, in accordance with Nazi
ideals at least.
In the early 1950s he moved to the United States and lived in Dallas, Texas, but soon returned, and lived in Switzerland. Gisevius died in Müllheim in Baden-Württemberg in 1974.
In the early 1950s he moved to the United States and lived in Dallas, Texas, but soon returned, and lived in Switzerland. Gisevius died in Müllheim in Baden-Württemberg in 1974.
Hans Bernd
Gisevius (14 July 1904 – 23 February 1974) was a German diplomat and intelligence officer during the Second
World War. A covert opponent of the Nazi regime, he
served as a liaison in Zürich between Allen
Dulles, station chief for the American OSS and the German
Resistance forces in Germany.[1]
Gisevius
was born in Arnsberg in the Prussian Province of Westphalia. After law school,
he joined the Prussian Interior Ministry in 1933
and was assigned to the newly formed Geheime Staatspolizei, or Gestapo. After
joining the Gestapo, he immediately had disagreements with his
senior, Rudolf Diels, and was discharged. He continued with
police work in the Interior Ministry. When Himmler took
over Police functions in 1936 in the German
Reich, he removed Gisevius from office.
Throughout
his time working for the Gestapo Gisevius described himself as living in constant
fear, entering and exiting through the back door, clutching a pistol at his
side – all resultant from his misgivings with the terror apparatus to which he
was assigned, since according to him, it was like "living in a den of
murderers".[2] Gisevius
later transferred to the Reich Ministry of the
Interior. Although he had no position of power, he maintained connections,
notably to Arthur Nebe, that kept him informed of the political
background. Gisevius joined the secret opposition to Hitler, began
gathering evidence of Nazi crimes (for use in a later prosecution) and
attempted to restrain the increasing power of Heinrich
Himmler and the SS.
He maintained links with Hans Oster and Hjalmar
Schacht.[3]
Second
World War
A German
stamp of Stauffenberg and Helmuth James Graf von Moltke was printed in
commemoration of their 100th birthdays.
When
the Second World War started, Gisevius joined the
German intelligence service, the Abwehr, which was
headed by Admiral Wilhelm Canaris, who was secretly an opponent of
Hitler. Canaris had surrounded himself with Wehrmacht officers
opposed to Hitler and he welcomed Gisevius into this group. Working from
the consulate in Zürich, Hans
Gisevius was involved in secret talks with the Vatican.
Canaris arranged for appointment of Gisevius as Vice
Consul in Switzerland, where Gisevius met with Allen
Dulles in 1943 and agreed to serve as a liaison for the German
opposition to Hitler, an assembly which counted among its members General Ludwig
Beck, Abwehr Chief Canaris, and Mayor Carl
Goerdeler of Leipzig.[4] Several
members of the conspiratorial circle against Hitler including Gisevius,
"all kept homes within easy walking distance of each other."[5] According
to Gisevius, the original plot to kill Hitler earlier (namely, before the
acquiescence of Great Britain over the Sudetenland) was utterly derailed by
Neville Chamberlain whose actions he claims "saved Hitler."[6]
Upon
returning to Germany, he was investigated by the Gestapo, but
released. In 1944, after the failed 20 July
assassination attempt against Hitler, Gisevius first hid at the home
of his future wife, the Swiss national Gerda Woog, and fled to Switzerland in
1945, making him one of the few conspirators to survive the war. There,
he contacted the Swiss authorities.
Peter
Hoffmann's biography of Hitler assassination conspirator Claus von Stauffenberg ("Stauffenberg,
A Family History," 1992) indicates that after the failure of
Stauffenberg's bomb plot in July 1944, Gisevius went into hiding until 23
January 1945, when he escaped to Switzerland by using a passport that had
belonged to Carl Deichmann, a brother-in-law of German Count Helmuth James von Moltke, who
was a specialist in international law serving in the legal branch of the
Foreign Countries Group of the OKW (Oberkommando der Wehrmacht, "Supreme Command of
the Armed Forces"). Through the help of the American Allen Dulles in
Berne, Switzerland and of the German Legation (in Berne)'s Georg Federer, the
passport was modified and a visa obtained for Gisevius that enabled him to
escape to Spain.
Later
life
Gisevius
served as a key witness for the defence at the Nuremberg
trials when he was called as a witness by defendants Hjalmar
Schacht and Wilhelm Frick. His testimony was crucial in securing
the acquittal of Schacht on all counts, but Frick was found guilty. His testimony
was also particularly damaging to Hermann
Göring, Wilhelm Keitel and Ernst Kaltenbrunner, who were all convicted.[7]
His autobiography, Bis
zum bitteren Ende ("To the Bitter End"), published by Wasmuth in 1946, offered a sharp
indictment of both the Nazi regime, many of whose leading members Gisevius knew
personally, and the German people. Gisevius claimed that the latter pretended
not to know about the atrocities being committed in their name. At the same time,
the book also offers an insider's account of the German resistance movement.
In 1946,
Gisevius was charged and acquitted by the Swiss authorities in a trial
for espionage.
Gisevius was later criticised as he diminished the contributions of other
members (such as Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg)
of the opposition to Hitler. Gisevius reported in his 1948 book, To the
Bitter End, that he considered SS Chief Heinrich
Himmler a bit of a hypocrite whereas he saw Reinhard
Heydrich as one who epitomised a true German, in accordance with Nazi
ideals at least.[8] In
the early 1950s, he moved to the United
States and lived in Dallas,
Texas, but soon returned and lived in Switzerland. Gisevius died in Müllheim in Baden-Württemberg in 1974.
Works
Gisevius
H.B. (1946). Bis zum bitteren Ende (in German). (Translated in
English editions as 'To the Bitter End', and more recently republished in
English as "Valkyrie" to capitalize on the film
of the same name)
Gisevius
H.B. (1966). Wo ist Nebe?. Droemer. (The title means Where is
Nebe?, Nebe being Arthur Nebe)
Kitchen,
Martin (1994). Nazi Germany at War. New York and London: Routledge.
Notes
Reitlinger (1989). The SS: Alibi of a Nation,
1922–1945, p. 49.
Blandford (2001) SS Intelligence: The Nazi
Secret Service, pp 30–31.
Conot (1993), Justice at Nuremberg, pp.
390–395.
Martin Kitchen, Nazi Germany at War (London
& New York: Routledge, 1994), 247–248
Blandford (2001) SS Intelligence: The Nazi
Secret Service, p. 106.
Gisevius (1948), To the Bitter End, pp.
327–328.
Ann Tusa & John Tusa, The Nuremberg Trial (BBC
Books, 1983 ), p. 329.
Hans Bernd Gisevius, To the Bitter End (London:
Cape, 1948), p. 149, as found in Reitlinger (1989). The SS: Alibi of a
Nation, 1922–1945, p. 49.
References
Blandford,
Edmund L. SS Intelligence: The Nazi Secret Service. Edison, NJ: Castle,
2001.
Conot,
Robert E. Justice at Nuremberg. New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers
Inc., 1993.
Gisevius,
Hans Bernd. To the Bitter End. London: Jonathan Cape Publishing, 1948.
Gisiger
C: Ein sensationeller Prozess? Das militärgerichtliche Strafverfahren gegen
Eduard von der Heydt, Hans Bernd Gisevius und Josef Steegman vor dem
Divisionsgerischt 6 (1946–1948). Historisches Seminar University Zürich,
October 2005.
Kitchen,
Martin. Nazi Germany at War. London & New York: Routledge, 1994.
Guido
Knopp: Hitler's Warriors – Episode 6: Canaris – The Master Spy (ZDF/History
Channel documentary, 2005)
Reitlinger,
Gerald. The SS: Alibi of a Nation, 1922–1945. New York: Da Capo Press,
1989.
Giebeler,
Marcus: Die Kontroverse um den Reichstagsbrand. Quellenprobleme und
historiographische Paradigmen. Martin Meidenbauer, München 2010, ISBN 978-3-89975-731-6 (mit
Kurzbiographie zu Gisevius, S. 272–274)
Wildt,
Michael: Generation des Unbedingten. Das Führungskorps des
Reichssicherheitshauptamtes. Hamburger
Edition, Hamburg 2003, ISBN 978-3-930908-87-5(zugleich
Habilitationsschrift, Universität Hannover 2001)
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