Hans Kroll (May 18, 1898 in Deutsch-Piekar,

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, modern: ''Piekary Śląskie'',

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

– August 8, 1967 in Starnberg,

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

) was a German career diplomat and after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

ambassador in Belgrade,

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

and

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

where he played a prominent role between 1958 and 1962. Kroll entered

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

diplomatic service in early

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is ...

in 1920. He served in the embassies in Lisbon and

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

as well as in the consulates in Odessa,

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

. From 1929 to 1935, he worked in German Foreign Office in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

, covering economic issues. In the years 1936-1943 during the Nazi rule and

, Kroll was assigned to the German Embassy in

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

, most recently as First Embassy Counsellor, and then until the end of the war in 1945 he held office as Consul General in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. After 1945, Kroll worked for

Karl Arnold Karl Arnold (21 March 1901 – 29 June 1958) was a German politician. He was Minister President of North Rhine-Westphalia from 1947 to 1956. Early life and education Arnold was born in Herrlishöfen in Württemberg on 21 March 1901. He was tr ...

, Minister President of

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inha ...

, as advisor on foreign policy issues for Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and later for the press, before joining in 1950 the Federal Ministry for Economics and Labour of West Germany, serving also as envoy in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

(

CoCom The Cocom or Cocomes were a Maya family or dynasty who controlled the Yucatán Peninsula in the late Postclassic period. Their capital was at Mayapan. The dynasty was founded by Hunac Ceel Hunac Ceel Cauich (fl. late 12th and early 13th centu ...

). Between 1953 and 1955, he was the first West German ambassador to

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

, and between 1955 and 1958, he was an ambassador to Japan. In 1958, in the midst of the

Cold War (1953–1962) The Cold War (1953–1962) discusses the period within the Cold War from the end of the Korean War in 1953 to the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. Following the death of Joseph Stalin earlier in 1953, new leaders attempted to " de-Stalinize" the So ...

, Kroll was appointed as a West German ambassador to the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

. During the Berlin Crisis of 1961, he sought close contact to

Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and chairman of the country's Council of Ministers from 1958 to 1964. During his rule, Khrushchev s ...

, visiting him on 9 November 1961. He was criticized in West Germany for acting on his own and not respecting official West German policy of the time. Kroll had to report to chancellor

Konrad Adenauer Konrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer (; 5 January 1876 – 19 April 1967) was a German statesman who served as the first chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1949 to 1963. From 1946 to 1966, he was the first leader of the Christian Dem ...

, but the chancellor sent him back to the

, preferring to have someone there who has good relations with the Soviet leader Khrushchev. In February 1962, Kroll leaked details of Adenauer's intentions to members of the press, who did not keep it a secret, demanding that he be fired immediately. The affair was also dubbed ''

Kroll Opera The Kroll Opera House (german: Krolloper, Kroll-Oper) in Berlin, Germany, was in the Tiergarten district on the western edge of the '' Königsplatz'' square (today ''Platz der Republik''), facing the Reichstag building. It was built in 1844 as ...

'', after the building in Berlin. Adenauer and the Foreign office did not give in, but agreed to retire him several months later. From September 1962 until May 1963, Kroll spent the final months of his career as a counselor to the West German federal government.

Works

* ''Botschafter Hans Kroll. Lebenserinnerungen eines Botschafters.'' Kiepenheuer & Witsch 1967. * ''Ambassador Hans Kroll. Memoirs of an Ambassador.'', Kiepenheuer & Witsch 1967 2. edition * ''Mémoires d'un ambassadeur.'' Fayard, Paris 1968. * ''Botschafter in Belgrad, Tokio und Moskau: 1953–1962.'' Deutscher Taschenbuch-Verlag, München 1969.

Literature

* Konrad Fuchs: ''Hans Kroll. Schlesische Lebensbilder.'' Wissenschaftlicher Informationsdienst WID. * Kordula Kühlem: ''Hans Kroll (1898–1967). Eine diplomatische Karriere im 20. Jahrhundert.'' Forschungen und Quellen zur Zeitgeschichte, Band 53, Düsseldorf 2008.

External links

*
''Die Posse am Rhein Affäre Kroll: Es bleibt die Wahl zwischen zwei Übeln.'' (Die Zeit 1962)

''Die Intrige gegen Botschafter Kroll.'' (Deutsche Politik S. 301/302
(PDF-Datei; 59 kB) {{DEFAULTSORT:Kroll, Hans People from the Province of Silesia 1898 births 1967 deaths Ambassadors of West Germany to the Soviet Union Ambassadors of West Germany to Yugoslavia Ambassadors of West Germany to Japan People from Piekary Śląskie Knights Commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany

Works

Literature

See also

External links