122-404: Ulrich Friedrich-Wilhelm Joachim von Ribbentrop ( German: [joˈʔaxɪm fɔn ˈʁɪbəntʁɔp] ; 30 April 1893 – 16 October 1946) was a German politician and diplomat who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nazi Germany from 1938 to 1945. Ribbentrop first came to Adolf Hitler 's notice as a well-travelled businessman with more knowledge of the outside world than most senior Nazis and as
244-627: A British alliance. The Anti-Comintern Pact in November 1936 marked an important change in German foreign policy. The Foreign Office had traditionally favoured a policy of friendship with the Republic of China , and an informal Sino-German alliance had emerged by the late 1920s. Neurath very much believed in maintaining Germany's good relations with China and mistrusted the Empire of Japan . Ribbentrop
366-1025: A Franco-German non-aggression pact. Ribbentrop wanted to buy time to complete German rearmament by removing preventive war as a French policy option. The Barthou-Ribbentrop meeting infuriated Konstantin von Neurath , since the Foreign Office had not been informed. Although the Dienststelle Ribbentrop was concerned with German relations in every part of the world, it emphasised Anglo-German relations , as Ribbentrop knew that Hitler favoured an alliance with Britain. As such, Ribbentrop greatly worked during his early diplomatic career to realize Hitler's dream of an anti-Soviet Anglo-German alliance. Ribbentrop made frequent trips to Britain, and upon his return he always reported to Hitler that most British people longed for an alliance with Germany. In November 1934, Ribbentrop met George Bernard Shaw , Sir Austen Chamberlain , Lord Cecil and Lord Lothian . On
488-624: A bridge over the St. Lawrence River at Quebec was considered as early as 1852. It was further discussed in 1867, 1882, and 1884. After a period of political instability during which Canada had four prime ministers in five years, Wilfrid Laurier , the Member of Parliament for the federal riding of Quebec East , was elected on a Liberal platform in 1896 and led the push to build the Quebec Bridge until he left office in 1911. A March 1897 article in
610-510: A complex set of intrigues in which Papen and various friends of president Paul von Hindenburg negotiated with Hitler to oust Schleicher. On 22 January 1933, State Secretary Otto Meissner and Hindenburg's son Oskar met Hitler, Hermann Göring , and Wilhelm Frick at Ribbentrop's home in Berlin's exclusive Dahlem district. Over dinner, Papen made the fateful concession that if Schleicher's government were to fall, he would abandon his demand for
732-550: A foreign policy independent of and often contrary to the official Foreign Office. The Dienststelle served as an informal tool for the implementation of the foreign policy of Hitler, consciously bypassing the traditional foreign policy institutions and diplomatic channels of the German Foreign Office. However, the Dienststelle also competed with other Nazi party units active in the area of foreign policy, such as
854-612: A fundamental misunderstanding of British politics and society. During the abdication crisis in December 1936 , Ribbentrop reported to Berlin that it had been precipitated by an anti-German Jewish-Masonic-reactionary conspiracy to depose Edward, whom Ribbentrop represented as a staunch friend of Germany, and that civil war would soon break out in Britain between supporters of Edward and those of Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin . Ribbentrop's civil war predictions were greeted with incredulity by
976-718: A goal in destroying the Treaty of Versailles and restoring Germany as a great power. In October 1933, German Foreign Minister Baron Konstantin von Neurath presented a note at the World Disarmament Conference announcing that it was unfair that Germany should remain disarmed by Part V of the Versailles treaty and demanded for the other powers to disarm to Germany's level or to rescind Part V and allow Germany Gleichberechtigung ("equality of armaments"). When France rejected Neurath's note, Germany stormed out of
1098-578: A goodly traffic between the two towns, and be one of the show works of the continent. The Quebec Bridge was included in the National Transcontinental Railway project, undertaken by the federal government. The Quebec Bridge Company was first incorporated by Act of Parliament under the government of Sir John A. Macdonald in 1887, later revived in 1891, and revived for good in 1897 by the government of Wilfrid Laurier , who granted them an extension of time in 1900. In 1903,
1220-449: A master intriguer and became Ribbentrop's favorite hatchet man. Ribbentrop did not understand the limited role in government exercised by 20th-century British monarchs. He thought that King Edward VIII , Emperor of India , could dictate British foreign policy if he wanted. He convinced Hitler that he had Edward's support, but that was as much a delusion as his belief that he had impressed British society. In fact, Ribbentrop often displayed
1342-908: A member of the smaller partner in coalitions. Therefore, the foreign minister also mostly holds the office of vice chancellor of Germany , although this has become less common in recent years – neither of the two most recent foreign ministers, Heiko Maas and Annalena Baerbock , have been vice chancellor, with the vice chancellorship being held by Finance Minister Olaf Scholz during Maas' tenure, and by Economy and Climate Minister Robert Habeck during Baerbock's. Political Party: SPD Zentrum DDP DVP NSDAP Political Party: CDU SED NDPD SPD Political Party: CDU SPD FDP Green Quebec Bridge The Quebec Bridge ( French : pont de Québec )
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#17327662441551464-565: A perceived authority on foreign affairs. He offered his house Schloss Fuschl for the secret meetings in January 1933 that resulted in Hitler's appointment as Chancellor of Germany . He became a close confidant of Hitler, to the dismay of some party members, who thought him unintelligent, superficial and lacking in talent. He was appointed ambassador to the Court of St James's , the royal court of
1586-791: A result, many in Britain, such as Thomas Jones , Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet, were very open to Ribbentrop's message that European peace would be restored if only the Treaty of Versailles could be done away with. In August 1936, Hitler appointed Ribbentrop ambassador to the United Kingdom with orders to negotiate an Anglo-German alliance. Ribbentrop arrived to take up his position in October 1936, formally presenting his credentials to King Edward VIII on 30 October. Ribbentrop's time in London
1708-619: A revival of interest in a German-Japanese pact in both Tokyo and Berlin led to the signing of the Anti-Comintern Pact in Berlin. When the Pact was signed, invitations were sent to Italy, China, Britain and Poland to join. However, of the invited powers, only the Italians would ultimately sign. The Anti-Comintern Pact marked the beginning of the shift on Germany's part from China's ally to Japan's ally. In 1935, Ribbentrop arranged for
1830-661: A series of much-publicised visits of First World War veterans to Britain, France and Germany. Ribbentrop persuaded the Royal British Legion and many French veterans' groups to send delegations to Germany to meet German veterans as the best way to promote peace. At the same time, Ribbentrop arranged for members of the Frontkämpferbund , the official German World War I veterans' group, to visit Britain and France to meet veterans there. The veterans' visits and attendant promises of "never again" did much to improve
1952-825: A small business in Ottawa importing German wine and champagne. In 1914, he competed for Ottawa's Minto ice-skating team and participated in the Ellis Memorial Trophy tournament in Boston in February. When the First World War began later in 1914, Ribbentrop left Canada, which, as part of the British Empire , was at war with Germany, and found temporary sanctuary in the neutral United States . On 15 August 1914, he sailed from Hoboken, New Jersey on
2074-518: A staff officer. During his time in Turkey , he became a friend of another staff officer, Franz von Papen . In 1919, Ribbentrop met Anna Elisabeth Henkell ("Annelies" to her friends), the daughter of a wealthy Wiesbaden wine producer. They were married on 5 July 1920, and Ribbentrop began to travel throughout Europe as a wine salesman. He and Annelies had five children together. In 1925, his aunt, Gertrud von Ribbentrop, adopted him, which allowed him to add
2196-710: A success. In August 1934, Ribbentrop founded an organization linked to the Nazi Party called the Büro Ribbentrop (later renamed the Dienststelle Ribbentrop ). It functioned as an alternative foreign ministry. The Dienststelle Ribbentrop , which had its offices directly across from the Foreign Office's building on the Wilhelmstrasse in Berlin, had in its membership a collection of Hitlerjugend alumni, dissatisfied businessmen, former reporters, and ambitious Nazi Party members, all of whom tried to conduct
2318-531: A worldwide propaganda campaign with the aim of forcing Britain to return the former German colonies in Africa. Hitler turned down the idea, but nonetheless during his meeting with Lord Halifax, Ribbentrop spent much of the meeting demanding that Britain sign an alliance with Germany and return the former German colonies. The German historian Klaus Hildebrand noted that as early as the Ribbentrop–Halifax meeting
2440-574: Is a particularly silly one. These activities – which are practically confined to Germany – render impossible the task of diplomacy. After Vansittart's memo, members of the Anglo-German Fellowship ceased to see Cabinet ministers after they went on Ribbentrop-arranged trips to Germany. In February 1937, before a meeting with the Lord Privy Seal , Lord Halifax , Ribbentrop suggested to Hitler that Germany, Italy and Japan begin
2562-406: Is a riveted steel truss structure and is 987 m (3,238 ft) long, 29 m (95 ft) wide, and 104 m (341 ft) high. Cantilever arms 177 m (581 ft) long support a 195 m (640 ft) central structure, for a total span of 549 m (1,801 ft), still the longest cantilever bridge span in the world. (It was the all-categories longest span in the world until
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#17327662441552684-530: Is a road, rail, and pedestrian bridge across the lower Saint Lawrence River between Sainte-Foy (a former suburb that in 2002 became the arrondissement Sainte-Foy–Sillery–Cap-Rouge in Quebec City ) and Lévis , in Quebec, Canada . The project failed twice during its construction, in 1907 and 1916, at the cost of 88 lives and additional people injured. The bridge eventually opened in 1919. The Quebec Bridge
2806-569: Is now proposing to invest $ 75 million to paint the bridge and is asking the Quebec provincial government to step in and invest an estimated additional $ 275 million to complete the work. The mayor of Quebec City, Regis Labeaume , accused the federal government of breaching a promise made during the 2015 electoral campaign to act upon the maintenance of the bridge On May 10, 2024, the Canadian Government and CN announced an agreement for
2928-494: Is so easy, he is always so radical. Meanwhile, all the other people I have, they come here, they have problems, they are afraid, they think we should take care and then I have to blow them up, to get strong. And Ribbentrop was blowing up the whole day and I had to do nothing. I had to break – much better!" Another reason for Ribbentrop's rise was Hitler's distrust of and disdain for Germany's professional diplomats. He suspected that they did not entirely support his revolution. However,
3050-579: The Ambassador Bridge was completed in 1929.) It is the easternmost (farthest downstream) complete crossing of the Saint Lawrence River. The bridge accommodates three highway lanes (there were none until 1929, when one was added; another was added in 1949 and a third in 1993), one rail line (two until 1949), and a pedestrian walkway (originally two). At one time, it also carried a streetcar line. Since 1993, it has been owned by
3172-563: The Anti-Comintern Pact in 1936. Neurath did not think it possible to achieve the Anglo-German Naval Agreement. To discredit his rival, he appointed Ribbentrop head of the delegation sent to London to negotiate it. Once the talks began, Ribbentrop issued an ultimatum to Sir John Simon , informing him that if Germany's terms were not accepted in their entirety, the German delegation would go home. Simon
3294-624: The Canadian National Railway . On May 15 2024, the Quebec Bridge was purchased by the Federal Government for a symbolic $ 1. The Quebec Bridge was designated a National Historic Site in 1995. Before the Quebec Bridge was built, the only way to travel from the south shore of the St. Lawrence in Lévis to the north shore at Quebec City was to take a ferry or to use the wintertime ice bridge . The construction of
3416-581: The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs . As the Italian Foreign Minister, Count Galeazzo Ciano , noted in his diary in late 1937, Ribbentrop had come to hate Britain with all the "fury of a woman scorned". Ribbentrop—and Hitler, for that matter—never understood that British foreign policy aimed at the appeasement of Germany, not an alliance with it. When Ribbentrop traveled to Rome in November 1937 to oversee Italy's adhesion to
3538-757: The Holland-America ship Potsdam , bound for Rotterdam , and on his return to Germany enlisted in the Prussian 12th Hussar Regiment. Ribbentrop served first on the Eastern Front , and was then transferred to the Western Front . He earned a commission and was awarded the Iron Cross , having been wounded during his service. In 1918, 1st Lieutenant Ribbentrop was stationed in Istanbul as
3660-704: The League of Nations and the World Disarmament Conference. It all but announced its intention of unilaterally violating Part V. Consequently, there were several calls in France for a preventive war to put an end to the Nazi regime while Germany was still more-or-less disarmed. However, in November, Ribbentrop arranged a meeting between Hitler and the French journalist Fernand de Brinon , who wrote for
3782-656: The Molsons Bank on Stanley Street in Montreal , and then for the engineering firm M. P. and J. T. Davis on the Quebec Bridge reconstruction. He was also employed by the National Transcontinental Railway , which constructed a line from Moncton to Winnipeg . He worked as a journalist in New York City and Boston but returned to Germany to recover from tuberculosis . He returned to Canada and set up
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3904-503: The Quebec Morning Chronicle noted: The bridge question has again been revived after many years of slumber, and business men in Quebec seem hopeful that something will come of it, though the placing of a subsidy on the statute book is but a small part of the work to be accomplished, as some of its enthusiastic promoters will, ere long, discover. Both Federal and Provincial Governments seem disposed to contribute towards
4026-770: The United Kingdom , in 1936 and then Foreign Minister of Germany in February 1938. Before World War II , he played a key role in brokering the Pact of Steel (an alliance with Fascist Italy ) and the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact (the Nazi–Soviet non-aggression pact). He favoured retaining good relations with the Soviets, opposing the invasion of the Soviet Union . In late 1941, due to American aid to Britain and
4148-482: The Weimar Republic elevated the head of the foreign office to the position of foreign minister responsible for his department. As governments were now formed by parties entering coalitions with each other, individual ministers also gained independence towards from the chancellor. After a succession of short-lived ministers, Gustav Stresemann , leader of the small National-liberal German People's Party , held
4270-818: The increasingly frequent "incidents" in the North Atlantic between U-boats and American warships guarding convoys to Britain, Ribbentrop worked for the failure of the Japanese-American talks in Washington and for Japan to attack the United States . He did his utmost to support a declaration of war on the United States after the attack on Pearl Harbor . From 1941 onwards, Ribbentrop's influence declined. Arrested in June 1945, Ribbentrop
4392-599: The "New Germany's" image in Britain and France. In July 1935, Brigadier Sir Francis Featherstone-Godley led the British Legion's delegation to Germany. The Prince of Wales , the Legion's patron, made a much-publicized speech at the Legion's annual conference in June 1935 that stated that he could think of no better group of men than those of the Legion to visit and carry the message of peace to Germany and that he hoped that Britain and Germany would never fight again. As for
4514-593: The "men of influence" as the best way to achieve an Anglo-German alliance. In order to achieve this he became a member of the Lansdowne Club, a private members club in Mayfair. He believed that the British aristocracy comprised some sort of secret society that ruled from behind the scenes, and that if he could befriend enough members of Britain's "secret government" he could bring about the alliance. Almost all of
4636-627: The 12th Torgau Hussars in the First World War, arranged the introduction. Ribbentrop and his wife joined the Nazi Party on 1 May 1932. Ribbentrop began his political career by offering to be a secret emissary between Chancellor of Germany Franz von Papen , his old wartime friend, and Hitler. His offer was initially refused. Six months later, however, Hitler and Papen accepted his help. Their change of heart occurred after General Kurt von Schleicher ousted Papen in December 1932. This led to
4758-529: The 1903 request of Schreiber, supra). The Commissioners attributed responsibility for the failure to two men, consulting engineer Theodore Cooper and Peter L. Szlapka , Chief Designing Engineer for Phoenix Bridge Company: (c) The design of the chords that failed was made by Mr. P.L. Szlapka, the designing engineer of the Phoenix Bridge Company (d) This design was examined and officially approved by Mr. Theodore Cooper, consulting engineer of
4880-478: The 86 workers on the bridge that day, 75 were killed and the rest were injured, making it the world's worst bridge construction disaster. Of these victims, 33 (some sources say 35) were Mohawk steelworkers from the Kahnawake reserve near Montreal; they were buried at Kahnawake under crosses made of steel beams. On August 30, 1907, a Royal Commission of inquiry into the disaster was provisionally appointed by
5002-461: The Anti-Comintern Pact went back to mid-1935, when in an effort to square the circle between seeking a rapprochement with Japan and Germany's traditional alliance with China, Ribbentrop and Ōshima devised the idea of an anticommunist alliance as a way to bind China, Japan and Germany together. However, when the Chinese made it clear that they had no interest in such an alliance (especially given that
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5124-486: The Anti-Comintern Pact, he made clear to his hosts that the pact was really directed against Britain. As Ciano noted in his diary, the Anti-Comintern Pact was "anti-Communist in theory, but in fact unmistakably anti-British". Believing himself to be in a state of disgrace with Hitler over his failure to achieve the British alliance, Ribbentrop spent December 1937 in a state of depression and, together with his wife, wrote two lengthy documents for Hitler that denounced Britain. In
5246-716: The British Consul in Munich , writing about the group that Ribbentrop had brought to the Nuremberg Rally, reported that there were some "serious persons of standing among them" but that an equal number of Ribbentrop's British contingent were "eccentrics and few, if any, could be called representatives of serious English thought, either political or social, while they most certainly lacked any political or social influence in England". In June 1937, when Lord Mount Temple ,
5368-493: The British people who heard them. Duke Carl Alexander of Württemberg had told the Federal Bureau of Investigation that Wallis Simpson , Edward's lover and a suspected Nazi sympathizer, had slept with Ribbentrop in London in 1936; had remained in constant contact with him; and had continued to leak secrets. Ribbentrop had a habit of summoning tailors from the best British firms, making them wait for hours and then sending them away without seeing him but with instructions to return
5490-466: The Chairman of the Anglo-German Fellowship, asked to see Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain after meeting Hitler in a visit arranged by Ribbentrop, Robert Vansittart , the British Foreign Office's Permanent Under-Secretary of State , wrote a memo stating that: The P.M. [Prime Minister] should certainly not see Lord Mount Temple – nor should the S[ecretary] of S[tate]. We really must put a stop to this eternal butting in of amateurs – and Lord Mount Temple
5612-522: The Chancellorship and instead use his influence with President Hindenburg to ensure Hitler got the Chancellorship. Ribbentrop was not popular with the Nazi Party's Alte Kämpfer (Old Fighters); they nearly all disliked him. British historian Laurence Rees described Ribbentrop as "the Nazi almost all the other leading Nazis hated". Joseph Goebbels expressed a common view when he confided to his diary that "Von Ribbentrop bought his name, he married his money and he swindled his way into office". Ribbentrop
5734-511: The City of Quebec, City of Lévis, Province of Quebec, and Government of Canada joined in pledging half the estimated $ 200 million cost of repainting and restoring the Quebec Bridge. To date, CN Rail has not agreed to match this amount. CN Rail has deemed the proposed sanding and restorative paint work to be "aesthetic" and therefore unnecessary, a categorization supported by a ruling of the Superior Court of Quebec. The corrosion, accelerated by exposure to extremes of weather, will ultimately result in
5856-468: The Deputy Minister in charge of the Department of Railways and Canals (Butler), with the concurrence of the Minister. The Royal Commission, which was granted by Edward VII by advice of his Governor General, Albert Grey , on August 31, 1907, consisted of three members, who were all engineers of good standing: Henry Holgate, of Montreal, JGG Kerry, of Campbellford, Ontario , also an instructor at McGill University , and Professor John Galbraith, then dean of
5978-434: The East to Germany's advantage can only be accomplished by force" and that the best way to achieve it was to build a global anti-British alliance system. Besides converting the Anti-Comintern Pact into an anti-British military alliance, Ribbentrop argued that German foreign policy should work to "winning over all states whose interests conform directly or indirectly to ours." By the last statement, Ribbentrop clearly implied that
6100-453: The Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering at the University of Toronto . The Commission document conferred upon the commissioners full powers to summon witnesses and documents, and to express "any opinion they may see to express thereon". The Commissioners presented their Report in full on February 20, 1908, issued 15 conclusions, and included the hindsight work of consulting bridge engineer C.C. Schneider, of Philadelphia (a fulfillment of
6222-509: The Foreign Office diplomats loyally served the government and rarely gave Hitler grounds for criticism, while the Foreign Office diplomats were ultranationalist, authoritarian and antisemitic. As a result, there was enough overlap in values between both groups to allow most of them to work comfortably for the Nazis. Nonetheless, Hitler never quite trusted the Foreign Office and was on the lookout for someone to carry out his foreign policy goals. The Nazis and Germany's professional diplomats shared
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#17327662441556344-499: The German people's own strength." The implied threat that if colonial restoration did not occur, the Germans would take back their former colonies by force attracted a great deal of hostile commentary on the inappropriateness of an ambassador threatening his host country in such a manner. Ribbentrop's negotiating style, a mix of bullying bluster and icy coldness coupled with lengthy monologues praising Hitler, alienated many. The American historian Gordon A. Craig once observed that of all
6466-448: The Japanese regarded Chinese adhesion to the proposed pact as way of subordinating China to Japan), both Neurath and War Minister Field Marshal Werner von Blomberg persuaded Hitler to shelve the proposed treaty to avoid damaging Germany's good relations with China. Ribbentrop, who valued Japanese friendship far more than that of the Chinese, argued that Germany and Japan should sign the pact without Chinese participation. By November 1936,
6588-590: The Kaiser's alleged homosexuality . As a result, the Ribbentrop family was often short of money. For the next 18 months, the family moved to Arosa , Switzerland , where the children continued to be taught by French and English private tutors, and Ribbentrop spent his free time skiing and mountaineering. Following the stay in Arosa, Ribbentrop was sent to Britain for a year to improve his knowledge of English. Fluent in both French and English , young Ribbentrop lived at various times in Grenoble , France and London , before travelling to Canada in 1910. He worked for
6710-406: The King, who was walking forward to shake Ribbentrop's hand at the time. Ribbentrop further compounded the damage to his image and caused a minor crisis in Anglo-German relations by insisting that henceforward all German diplomats were to greet heads of state by giving and receiving the stiff-arm fascist salute. The crisis was resolved when Neurath pointed out to Hitler that under Ribbentrop's rule, if
6832-463: The Nazis". In both cases, the praise was limited, with Cerruti going on to write that only in Nazi Germany was it possible for someone as superficial as Ribbentrop to rise to be a minister of foreign affairs, and Geyr von Schweppenburg called Ribbentrop an absolute disaster as ambassador in London. The British historian/television producer Laurence Rees noted for his 1997 series The Nazis: A Warning from History that every single person interviewed for
6954-419: The Phoenix Bridge Company: "Add no more load to bridge till after due consideration of facts." The two engineers went to the Phoenix offices. But, Cooper's message was not passed on to Quebec before it was too late. Near quitting time on the afternoon of August 29, after four years of construction, the south arm and part of the central section of the bridge collapsed into the St. Lawrence River in 15 seconds. Of
7076-629: The Quebec Bridge also came under complete ownership of CN. CN was privatized in November 1995, making the bridge privately owned. Despite its private ownership, CN received federal and provincial funding to undertake repairs and maintenance on the structure. Its railway designation is mile 0.2 subdivision Bridge. The disaster showed the power an engineer could have in a project that was improperly supervised. As one result, Galbraith and others formed around 1925 what are now recognized as organizations of Professional Engineers (P.Engs). Professional Engineers are under different rules and regulations based on
7198-427: The Quebec Bridge and Railway Company. (e) The failure cannot be attributed directly to any cause other than errors in judgment on the part of these two engineers. Cooper escaped penal sanction. It is presumed that Szlapka escaped as well. The Commissioners also found that: (k) The failure on the part of the Quebec Bridge and Railway Company to appoint an experienced bridge engineer to the position of chief engineer
7320-602: The Soviet Union should be included in the anti-British alliance system he had proposed. In early 1938, Hitler asserted his control of the military-foreign policy apparatus, in part by sacking Neurath. On 4 February 1938, Ribbentrop succeeded Neurath as Foreign Minister. Ribbentrop's appointment has generally been seen as an indication that German foreign policy was moving in a more radical direction. In contrast to Neurath's cautious and less bellicose nature, Ribbentrop unequivocally supported war in 1938 and 1939. Ribbentrop's time as Foreign Minister can be divided into three periods. In
7442-438: The Soviet ambassador were to give the Communist clenched-fist salute, Hitler would be obliged to return it. On Neurath's advice, Hitler disavowed Ribbentrop's demand that King George receive and give the "German greeting". Most of Ribbentrop's time was spent demanding that Britain either sign the Anti-Comintern Pact or return the former German colonies in Africa. However, he also devoted considerable time to courting what he called
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#17327662441557564-422: The West and the communist-ruled German Democratic Republic in the East. While the Soviet Union ostensibly restored political sovereignty to its satellite and allowed for a Foreign Ministry of the GDR , West Germany's sovereignty was officially curtailed by the Western powers, especially in the field of foreign policy. In 1951 the Foreign Office was reestablished in West Germany, but Chancellor Konrad Adenauer
7686-406: The basis of Lord Lothian's praise for the natural friendship between Germany and Britain, Ribbentrop informed Hitler that all elements of British society wished for closer ties with Germany. His report delighted Hitler, causing him to remark that Ribbentrop was the only person who told him "the truth about the world abroad". Because the Foreign Office's diplomats were not so sunny in their appraisal of
7808-428: The beginning of an Anglo-German alliance, and ordered celebrations throughout Germany to mark the event. Immediately after the AGNA was signed, Ribbentrop followed up with the next step that was intended to create the Anglo-German alliance, the Gleichschaltung (co-ordination) of all societies demanding the restoration of Germany's former colonies in Africa . On 3 July 1935, it was announced that Ribbentrop would head
7930-496: The bond issue was increased to $ 6,000,000 and power to grant preference shares was authorised, along with a name change to the Quebec Bridge and Railway Company (QBRC). An Act of Parliament the same year was necessary to guarantee the bonds by the public purse. Laurier was the MP for Quebec East riding, while the president of the QBRC, Simon-Napoleon Parent , was Quebec City's mayor from 1894 to 1906 and simultaneously served as Premier of Quebec from 1900 to 1905. Edward A. Hoare
8052-491: The bridge. Armed soldiers, and later Dominion Police , guarded the structure and checked passes until the end of the War. Construction was ultimately completed in September 1917 at a total cost of $ 23 million and the lives of 88 bridgeworkers. On the 17 October, the first train crossed the bridge from Quebec to Lévis and on December 3, 1917, the Quebec Bridge officially opened for rail traffic, after almost two decades of construction. Its centre span of 549 m (1800 ft) remains
8174-428: The calculations that were submitted by the contractors. Schreiber subsequently requested the support of another qualified bridge engineer, but was effectively overruled by the Cabinet on August 15, 1903. Thereafter, QBRC consulting engineer Theodore Cooper was completely in charge of the works. On July 1, 1905, Schreiber was demoted and replaced as deputy minister and chief engineer by Matthew J Butler . By 1904,
8296-404: The chancellor, acting largely to draft correspondence rather than to actually direct the formation of foreign policy. This was especially true during the chancellorships of Otto von Bismarck (1871–1890) and Bernhard von Bülow (1900–1909), both of whom had considerable prior experience with foreign affairs, while secretaries at other times wielded more influence over the foreign policy. In 1919,
8418-432: The collapsed bridge, which could not be reused for construction, was used to forge the early Iron Rings that started to be worn by graduates of Canadian engineering schools in 1925. After a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the collapse, construction started on a second bridge. Three engineers were appointed: H. E. Vautelet, a former engineer for the Canadian Pacific Railways, Maurice FitzMaurice from Britain, who worked on
8540-405: The construction of the Forth Bridge , and Ralph Modjeski from Chicago , Illinois . Vautelet was President and Chief Engineer. The new design was again for a bridge with a single long cantilever span but with a more massive structure. On September 11, 1916, when the central span was being raised into position, it fell into the river, killing 13 workers. The chief engineer had been made aware of
8662-434: The contradiction between German rearmament and his message of peace, Ribbentrop argued to whoever would listen that the German people had been "humiliated" by the Versailles Treaty, Germany wanted peace above all and German violations of Versailles were part of an effort to restore Germany's "self-respect". By the 1930s, much of British opinion had been convinced that the treaty was monstrously unfair and unjust to Germany, so as
8784-841: The cost, and the City of Quebec will also be expected to do its share. Many of our people have objected to any contribution being given by the city unless the bridge is built opposite the town, and the CHRONICLE like every other good citizen of Quebec would prefer to see it constructed at Diamond Harbor, and has contended in the interests of the city for this site as long as there seemed to be any possibility of securing it there. It would still do so if it appeared that our people could have it at that site. A bridge at Diamond Harbor would, it estimated, cost at least eight millions. It would be very nice to have, with its double track, electric car track, and roads for vehicles and pedestrians, and would no doubt create
8906-425: The differing foreign policy views of Hitler and Ribbentrop were starting to emerge, with Ribbentrop more interested in restoring the pre-1914 German Imperium in Africa than the conquest of Eastern Europe. Following the lead of Andreas Hillgruber , who argued that Hitler had a Stufenplan (stage by stage plan) for world conquest, Hildebrand argued that Ribbentrop may not have fully understood what Hitler's Stufenplan
9028-506: The efforts to recover Germany's former African colonies. Hitler and Ribbentrop believed that demanding colonial restoration would pressure the British into making an alliance with the Reich on German terms. However, there was a difference between Ribbentrop and Hitler: Ribbentrop sincerely wished to recover the former German colonies, but for Hitler, colonial demands were just a negotiating tactic. Germany would renounce its demands in exchange for
9150-458: The establishment of the Nazi regime in 1933, as minister Konstantin von Neurath , appointed in 1932, remained in office until 1938; however, the office was increasingly marginalised in actual policy-making and with the replacement of Neurath by Ribbentrop lost any independent standing. After World War II , two separate German states emerged in 1949, the democratic Federal Republic of Germany in
9272-471: The failure of a casting in the erection equipment. Re-construction began almost immediately after the accident, and the government granted special permission for the bridge builders to acquire the needed steel. It was in high demand because of the War effort. The fallen central span still lies at the bottom of the river. After the bridge was completed in 1917, special passes were required for those wanting to cross
9394-465: The first report to Hitler, which was presented on 2 January 1938, Ribbentrop stated that "England is our most dangerous enemy". In the same report, Ribbentrop advised Hitler to abandon the idea of a British alliance and instead embrace the idea of an alliance of Germany, Japan and Italy to destroy the British Empire . Ribbentrop wrote in his "Memorandum for the Führer " that "a change in the status quo in
9516-464: The first, from 1938 to 1939, he tried to persuade other states to align themselves with Germany for the coming war. In the second, from 1939 to 1943, Ribbentrop attempted to persuade other states to enter the war on Germany's side or at least to maintain pro-German neutrality. He was also involved in Operation Willi , an attempt to convince the former King Edward VIII to lobby his brother, now
9638-681: The foreign organization of the Nazis ( NSDAP/AO ) led by Ernst Bohle and Nazi Party office of foreign affairs (APA) led by Alfred Rosenberg . With the appointment of Ribbentrop to the Minister of Foreign Affairs in February 1938, the Dienststelle itself lost its importance, and about a third of the staff of the office followed Ribbentrop to the Foreign Office. Ribbentrop engaged in diplomacy on his own, such as when he visited France and met Foreign Minister Louis Barthou . During their meeting, Ribbentrop suggested for Barthou to meet Hitler at once to sign
9760-525: The initially-favourable reports Ribbentrop provided to Berlin about the alliance's prospects were based on friendly remarks about the "New Germany" that came from British aristocrats such as Lord Londonderry and Lord Lothian . The rather cool reception that Ribbentrop received from British Cabinet ministers and senior bureaucrats did not make much of an impression on him at first. This British governmental view, summarised by Robert, Viscount Cranborne , Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs ,
9882-450: The king, on behalf of Germany. Many historians have suggested that Hitler was prepared to reinstate the Duke of Windsor as king in the hope of establishing a fascist Britain. If Edward would agree to work openly with Nazi Germany, he would be given financial assistance and would hopefully come to be a "compliant" king. Reportedly, 50 million Swiss francs were set aside for that purpose. The plan
10004-457: The longest cantilevered bridge span in the world and is considered a major engineering feat. The Quebec Bridge was declared an International Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1987 by the Canadian and American Society of Civil Engineers. The bridge was built and designed primarily as a railway bridge, but the streetcar lines (used by Quebec Railway, Light & Power Company ) and one of
10126-477: The loss of the bridge's mechanical properties—and potentially, its structural integrity as well. In May 2016, Jean-Yves Duclos , the Canadian federal cabinet minister in charge of the Quebec region, revealed that a lease agreement between the CN and the federal government indicated that the CN would not be required to pay more than $ 10 million towards the paint work until the lease expires in 2053. The Canadian government
10248-713: The monarchy. Several Berlin Jewish businessmen who did business with Ribbentrop in the 1920s and knew him well later expressed astonishment at the vicious antisemitism he later displayed in the Nazi era , saying that they did not see any indications he had held such views. As a partner in his father-in-law's champagne firm, Ribbentrop did business with Jewish bankers and organised the Impegroma Importing Company ("Import und Export großer Marken") with Jewish financing. Ribbentrop became Hitler's favourite foreign-policy adviser, partly by dint of his familiarity with
10370-591: The newspaper Le Matin . During the meeting, Hitler stressed what he claimed to be his love of peace and his friendship towards France. Hitler's meeting with Brinon had a huge effect on French public opinion and helped to put an end to the calls for a preventive war. It convinced many in France that Hitler was a man of peace, who wanted to do away only with Part V of the Versailles Treaty. In 1934, Hitler named Ribbentrop Special Commissioner for Disarmament . In his early years, Hitler's goal in foreign affairs
10492-486: The next day, only to repeat the process. That did immense damage to his reputation in British high society, as London's tailors retaliated by telling all their well-off clients that Ribbentrop was impossible to deal with. In an interview, his secretary Reinhard Spitzy stated, "He [Ribbentrop] behaved very stupidly and very pompously and the British don't like pompous people". In the same interview, Spitzy called Ribbentrop "pompous, conceited and not too intelligent" and stated he
10614-429: The nobiliary particle von to his name. Many of his peers and colleagues, including Joseph Goebbels , would ridicule him later in life for not having been born with the title. In 1928, Ribbentrop was introduced to Adolf Hitler as a businessman with foreign connections who "gets the same price for German champagne as others get for French champagne". Wolf-Heinrich Graf von Helldorff , with whom Ribbentrop had served in
10736-404: The office of foreign minister in successive cabinets from 1923 to his death in 1929. His long term gave stability to Germany's foreign policy and improved the minister's position towards the relatively weak and short-lived chancellors. Stresemann was awarded the 1926 Nobel Peace Prize for his work for reconciliation between Germany and France. The foreign office remained relatively unaffected by
10858-530: The opening bars, identical to the German national anthem , Ribbentrop gave the Nazi salute and had to be restrained by his host. At his wife's suggestion, Ribbentrop hired the Berlin interior decorator Martin Luther to assist with his move to London and help realise the design of the new German embassy that Ribbentrop had built there (he felt that the existing embassy was insufficiently grand). Luther proved to be
10980-516: The organization to which they belong. General guidelines include that an engineer must pass an ethical examination, be able to show good character through the use of character witnesses , and have applicable engineering experience (in Canada that constitutes a minimum of four years' practice under a certified Professional Engineer). Moreover, engineers must be registered in the province in which they work. These engineering organizations are regulated by
11102-482: The problem six weeks before the collapse. The chief engineer had been alerted to a problem by Frants Lichtenberg, the engineer responsible for the construction of the centre section. Lichtenberg was also working as an inspector for the federal government of Canada at the time. Fears of German sabotage were reported because the Great War had begun, but it became apparent that the central span had collapsed because of
11224-424: The problems were minor. The Phoenix Bridge Company officials claimed that the beams must already have been bent before they were installed, but by August 27 it had become clear to McLure that this was wrong. A more experienced engineer might have telegraphed Cooper, but McLure wrote him a letter, and went to New York to meet with him two days later. Cooper agreed that the issue was serious, and promptly telegraphed to
11346-511: The prospects for an alliance, Ribbentrop's influence with Hitler increased. Ribbentrop's personality, with his disdain for diplomatic niceties, meshed with what Hitler felt should be the relentless dynamism of a revolutionary regime. Hitler rewarded Ribbentrop by appointing him Reich Minister Ambassador-Plenipotentiary at Large. In that capacity, Ribbentrop negotiated the Anglo-German Naval Agreement (AGNA) in 1935 and
11468-520: The respective provinces and the title "Professional Engineer" (or "Ingénieur" in Quebec) is reserved only to members who belong to this organization. On August 29, 2006, a year-long commemoration was begun in the Kahnawake Reserve for the lives of the 33 Mohawk men who died in 1907. One year later, on August 29, 2007, memorial services were held to dedicate a concrete structure displaying
11590-509: The return of the former German colonies led British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden and French Foreign Minister Yvon Delbos to offer to open talks on returning the former German colonies in return for which the Germans would make binding commitments to respect their borders in Central and Eastern Europe. Since Hitler was not interested in obtaining the former colonies, especially if the price
11712-552: The rumoured sanctions and visited London and Rome. During his visits, Ribbentrop met with British Foreign Secretary Sir John Simon and Italian dictator Benito Mussolini and asked them to postpone the next meeting of the Bureau of Disarmament in exchange for which Ribbentrop offered nothing in return other than promising better relations with Berlin. The meeting of the Bureau of Disarmament went ahead as scheduled, but because no sanctions were sought against Germany, Ribbentrop could claim
11834-419: The series who had known Ribbentrop expressed a passionate hatred for him. One German diplomat, Herbert Richter, called Ribbentrop "lazy and worthless", while another, Manfred von Schröder, was quoted as saying Ribbentrop was "vain and ambitious". Rees concluded, "No other Nazi was so hated by his colleagues". In November 1937, Ribbentrop was placed in a highly-embarrassing situation since his forceful advocacy of
11956-678: The southern half of the structure was taking shape. However, preliminary calculations made early in the planning stages were never properly checked when the design was completed. The bridge’s own weight was far in excess of its carrying capacity. The dead load was too heavy. All went well until the bridge was nearing completion in the summer of 1907, when the QBRC site engineering team under Norman McLure began noticing increasing distortions of key structural members already in place. McLure became increasingly concerned and wrote repeatedly to QBRC consulting engineer Theodore Cooper , who at first replied that
12078-633: The two railway tracks were converted into automobile and pedestrian/cycling lanes in subsequent years. In 1970, the Pierre Laporte Suspension Bridge opened just upstream to accommodate freeway traffic on Autoroute 73 . On November 24, 1995. the bridge was declared a National Historic Site . The bridge has been featured on two commemorative postage stamps, one issued by the Post Office Department in 1929, and another by Canada Post in 1995. The bridge
12200-709: The victims' names on the Lévis side of the bridge, and to unveil a steel replica of the bridge in Kahnawake. In 2015, the Quebec Bridge was included in a list of the 10 most endangered historic sites in Canada by the National Trust of Canada because of long-overdue paint and repair work. It is estimated that 60% of the bridge is covered in corrosive rust. Since its transfer to CN Rail by the federal government in 1993, maintenance and restoration programs for this historic infrastructure have been cut back. In November 2014,
12322-539: The voluminous memoir literature of the diplomatic scene of 1930s Europe, there are only two positive references to Ribbentrop. Of the two references, General Leo Geyr von Schweppenburg , the German military attaché in London, commented that Ribbentrop had been a brave soldier in World War I, and the wife of the Italian Ambassador to Germany, Elisabetta Cerruti, called Ribbentrop "one of the most diverting of
12444-429: The world outside Germany but also by flattery and sycophancy. One German diplomat later recalled, "Ribbentrop didn't understand anything about foreign policy. His sole wish was to please Hitler". In particular, Ribbentrop acquired the habit of listening carefully to what Hitler was saying, memorizing his pet ideas and then later presenting Hitler's ideas as his own, a practice that much impressed Hitler as proving Ribbentrop
12566-473: Was a "stupid ass". Hitler dismissed Göring's concerns: "But after all, he knows quite a lot of important people in England." That remark led Göring to reply " Mein Führer , that may be right, but the bad thing is, they know him ". In February 1937, Ribbentrop committed a notable social gaffe by unexpectedly greeting George VI with the "German greeting", a stiff-armed Nazi salute: the gesture nearly knocked over
12688-529: Was a brake on expansion into Eastern Europe, Ribbentrop was forced to turn down the Anglo-French offer that he had largely brought about. Immediately after turning down the Anglo-French offer on colonial restoration, Ribbentrop, for reasons of pure malice, ordered the Reichskolonialbund to increase the agitation for the former German colonies, a move that exasperated both the Foreign Office and
12810-413: Was a mistake. This resulted in a loose and inefficient supervision of all parts of the work on the part of the Quebec Bridge and Railway Company. The abortive construction of the Quebec Bridge spanned the careers of two Ministers of Railways and Canals , and one temporary replacement, who was on the job for five months immediately preceding the disaster. A popular myth is that the iron and the steel from
12932-415: Was among the few who could meet with Hitler at any time without an appointment, however, unlike Goebbels or Göring. During most of the Weimar Republic era, Ribbentrop was apolitical and displayed no antisemitic prejudices. A visitor to a party Ribbentrop threw in 1928 recorded that Ribbentrop had no political views beyond a vague admiration for Gustav Stresemann , fear of Communism, and a wish to restore
13054-433: Was an ideal Nazi diplomat. Ribbentrop quickly learned that Hitler always favoured the most radical solution to any problem and accordingly tendered his advice in that direction as a Ribbentrop aide recalled: When Hitler said "Grey", Ribbentrop said "Black, black, black". He always said it three times more, and he was always more radical. I listened to what Hitler said one day when Ribbentrop wasn't present: "With Ribbentrop it
13176-579: Was an utterly insufferable man to work for. In addition, Ribbentrop chose to spend as little time as possible in London to stay close to Hitler, which irritated the British Foreign Office immensely, as Ribbentrop's frequent absences prevented the handling of many routine diplomatic matters. ( Punch referred to him as the "Wandering Aryan" for his frequent trips home.) As Ribbentrop alienated more and more people in Britain, Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring warned Hitler that Ribbentrop
13298-490: Was angry with that demand, and walked out of the talks. However, to everyone's surprise, the next day the British accepted Ribbentrop's demands, and the AGNA was signed in London on 18 June 1935 by Ribbentrop and Sir Samuel Hoare , the new British Foreign Secretary. The diplomatic success did much to increase Ribbentrop's prestige with Hitler, who called the day the AGNA was signed "the happiest day in my life". He believed it marked
13420-661: Was built as part of the National Transcontinental Railway, which was merged into the Canadian Government Railways and later became part of the Canadian National Railway (CN). The Canadian Government Railways company was maintained by the federal government until 1993, when a Privy Council order dated July 22 authorized the sale of Canadian Government Railways to the Crown corporation CN for one Canadian dollar . On that date,
13542-691: Was convicted and sentenced to death at the Nuremberg trials for his role in starting World War II in Europe and enabling the Holocaust . On 16 October 1946, he became the first of the Nuremberg defendants to be executed by hanging . Joachim von Ribbentrop was born in Wesel , Rhenish Prussia , to Richard Ulrich Friedrich Joachim Ribbentrop, a career army officer, and his wife Johanne Sophie Hertwig. He
13664-546: Was established within the North German Confederation in 1870 and its head, first appointed in 1871, had the rank of secretary of state. As the German constitution of 1871 installed the chancellor as the sole responsible government minister and since the Chancellor generally also held the position of foreign minister of Prussia , the secretary of state fulfilled a more subject role as an assistant to
13786-604: Was marked by an endless series of social gaffes and blunders that worsened his already-poor relations with the British Foreign Office . Invited to stay as a house guest of the 7th Marquess of Londonderry at Wynyard Hall in County Durham , in November 1936, he was taken to a service in Durham Cathedral , and the hymn Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken was announced. As the organ played
13908-568: Was never realised. Minister for Foreign Affairs (Germany) The federal minister for foreign affairs (German: Bundesminister des Auswärtigen ) is the head of the Federal Foreign Office and a member of the Cabinet of Germany . The current office holder is Annalena Baerbock . Since 1966, the minister for foreign affairs has often also simultaneously held the office of vice-chancellor of Germany . The Foreign Office
14030-664: Was not born with the nobiliary particle von . From 1904 to 1908, Ribbentrop took French courses at Lycée Fabert in Metz , the German Empire 's most powerful fortress, and would become fluent in both French and English . A former teacher recalled Ribbentrop "was the most stupid in his class, full of vanity and very pushy". His father was cashiered from the Prussian Army in 1908 for repeatedly disparaging Kaiser Wilhelm II for his dismissal of Otto von Bismarck and
14152-540: Was opposed to the Foreign Office's pro-China orientation and instead favoured an alliance with Japan. To that end, Ribbentrop often worked closely with General Hiroshi Ōshima , who served first as the Japanese military attaché and then as ambassador in Berlin, to strengthen German-Japanese ties, despite furious opposition from the Wehrmacht and the Foreign Office, which preferred closer Sino-German ties. The origins of
14274-561: Was or that in pressing so hard for colonial restoration, he was trying to score a personal success that might improve his standing with Hitler. In March 1937, Ribbentrop attracted much adverse comment in the British press when he gave a speech at the Leipzig Trade Fair in Leipzig in which he declared that German economic prosperity would be satisfied "through the restoration of the former German colonial possessions, or by means of
14396-517: Was required to hold the office of Foreign Minister until the Western powers restored sovereignty to West Germany in 1955. Then, Heinrich von Brentano di Tremezzo succeeded as foreign minister in 1955. In 1990, the GDR ceased to exist as a separate state and its territory was reunited with West Germany. From the 1966 Grand Coalition government of Kurt Georg Kiesinger onwards, the office has been held by
14518-641: Was selected as Chief Engineer for the Company throughout this time, while Collingwood Schreiber was the Chief Engineer of the Department of Railways and Canals in Ottawa. Hoare had never worked on a cantilever bridge structure longer than 300 feet (91 m). Schreiber was assisted until July 9, 1903 by Department bridge engineer R.C. Douglas, at which time Douglas was deposed for his opposition to
14640-445: Was tasked with ensuring that the world remained convinced that Germany sincerely wanted an arms-limitation treaty, but he ensured that no such treaty was ever developed. On 17 April 1934, French Foreign Minister Louis Barthou issued the so-called "Barthou note", which led to concerns on the part of Hitler that the French would ask for sanctions against Germany for violating Part V of the Versailles treaty. Ribbentrop volunteered to stop
14762-582: Was that Ribbentrop always was a second-rate man. In 1935, Sir Eric Phipps , the British Ambassador to Germany , complained to London about Ribbentrop's British associates in the Anglo-German Fellowship . He felt that they created "false German hopes as in regards to British friendship and caused a reaction against it in England, where public opinion is very naturally hostile to the Nazi regime and its methods". In September 1937,
14884-426: Was to persuade the world that he wished to reduce the defence budget by making idealistic but very vague disarmament offers (in the 1930s, disarmament described arms limitation agreements). At the same time, the Germans always resisted making concrete arms-limitations proposals, and they went ahead with increased military spending on grounds that other powers would not take up German arms-limitation offers. Ribbentrop
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