Carl Werner Dankwort (August 13, 1895 – December 19, 1986) born in

Gumbinnen Gusev (russian: Гу́сев; german: Gumbinnen; lt, Gumbinė; pl, Gąbin) is a town and the administrative center of Gusevsky District of Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Pissa and Krasnaya Rivers, near the border ...

East Prussia East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label= Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 187 ...

(now Gusev,

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

), was a German diplomat who served a major role in bringing Germany into the

League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference th ...

in 1926 prior to representing the German contingent in the

Organisation for European Economic Co-operation The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate e ...

, the post-

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

effort known as the

Marshall Plan The Marshall Plan (officially the European Recovery Program, ERP) was an American initiative enacted in 1948 to provide foreign aid to Western Europe. The United States transferred over $13 billion (equivalent of about $ in ) in economic re ...

Biographical details

After completing his Abitur and one semester of law studies, Dankwort served as a soldier in the first World War from September 1914 until November 1918. He received a doctor of jurisprudence degree in 1920 from the

University of Würzburg The Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg (also referred to as the University of Würzburg, in German ''Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg'') is a public research university in Würzburg, Germany. The University of Würzburg is one of ...

. After a brief time in civil law, he entered the German diplomatic service in 1920 and was assigned as consul to Zurich, Switzerland and shortly afterward to

Stockholm Stockholm () is the capital and largest city of Sweden as well as the largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people live in the municipality, with 1.6 million in the urban area, and 2.4 million in the metropo ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...

, in 1927. There he received the Swedish Cross of the Commander of the

Order of Vasa The Royal Order of Vasa () is a Swedish order of chivalry, awarded to citizens of Sweden for service to state and society especially in the fields of agriculture, mining and commerce. It was instituted on 29 May 1772 by King Gustav III. It was u ...

. He returned to Bern in 1931. In 1932 and 1933, he participated in the

World Disarmament Conference The Conference for the Reduction and Limitation of Armaments, generally known as the Geneva Conference or World Disarmament Conference, was an international conference of states held in Geneva, Switzerland, between February 1932 and November 1934 ...

and opposed attempts by the National Socialist Party to infiltrate the Berne consulate in Switzerland. From 1919 on he was a member of the Corps Vandalia Berlin. His opposition resulted in his reassignment to Trieste with no possibility for professional advancement. His previous knowledge of Sweden and his ability to speak the language led to him serving as first secretary for the German legation in Stockholm from 1938 to 1945. According to Erik Boheman (Cabinet Secretary at the Swedish Foreign Ministry), during this time he "saw as his main priority to put legation reporting o Berlinin such a way that Sweden would avoid any extreme German measures", helping Sweden to stay out of the war. In 1945 he issued the German visa to Count

Folke Bernadotte Folke Bernadotte, Count of Wisborg (2 January 1895 – 17 September 1948) was a Swedish nobleman and diplomat. In World War II he negotiated the release of about 31,000 prisoners from German concentration camps, including 450 Danish Jews fr ...

which enabled the Count to receive the request from

Heinrich Himmler Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was of the (Protection Squadron; SS), and a leading member of the Nazi Party of Germany. Himmler was one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany and a main architect of th ...

for an armistice.OSS Interrogation Report (US National Archives, 943085/200/15/1) He agreed to serve as a witness for the allies at the

Nuremberg Trials The Nuremberg trials were held by the Allies of World War II, Allies against representatives of the defeated Nazi Germany, for plotting and carrying out invasions of other countries, and other crimes, in World War II. Between 1939 and 1945 ...

, but was instead incarcerated by the British in MecklenburgIvar Andersson, "Från det nära förflutna , Människor och händelser 1940-1955", P.A. Norstedts & Söners förlag 1969, p74 for 18 months without charges ever being brought against him. During this time he also took up painting (October 1945- February 1947.) Dr. Dankwort rejoined the West German diplomatic corps in 1950 and was assigned as Consul General and then Ambassador to Canada in 1951, effectively restoring Germany's relations with

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

after the war. From 1956 to 1958, he served as German Ambassador to

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, and finally as the West German Observer to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...

from 1958 to 1960. He died on December 19, 1986 in

Hyannis, Massachusetts Hyannis is the largest of the seven villages in the town of Barnstable, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is the commercial and transportation hub of Cape Cod and was designated an urban area at the 1990 census. Because of this, many refer ...

Family

Werner Dankwort married Irma Salvisberg in 1938 and raised two sons, Rudolf, and Juergen. Werner and his wife both shared anti-Nazi sentiments and both had strong opinions opposing Hitler's rule. The two of them moved to Sweden, a neutral country during World War II. Werner Dankwort's strategic position as Counsellor of the German Delegation in Stockholm enabled him to dissuade Nazi intentions to invade and occupy Sweden which, in turn, permitted that country to serve as a refuge for those in need of protection from Nazi persecution, imprisonment, and extermination Alf W. Johansson, Var vi så fega egentligen? Respons, Jan. 2014. Online at http://tidskriftenrespons.se/issue/1/2014. Rudolf completed his undergraduate studies at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...

and post-graduate work in electrical engineering at

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist Jam ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...

. He married and settled in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

. Juergen returned to Canada rather than remain in the U.S. during the American-led war in

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making ...

, and completed his undergraduate and post-graduate studies at

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Univer ...

. He obtained his doctorate in social work from the

Université de Montréal The Université de Montréal (UdeM; ; translates to University of Montreal) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte- ...

in 1994 and moved to

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, for ...

where he teaches, conducts research, and is a social activist concerning human rights and social injustice. He is director of the Institute on Victimization and Social Injustice. Werner Dankwort's wife, Irma, who volunteered as a hospital aide during the war while in Stockholm, died on February 9, 1999.

External links

Institute on Victimization and Social Injustice
Official website. Retrieved March 29, 2010

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dankwort, Werner 1895 births 1986 deaths People from Gusev University of Würzburg alumni Members of the Kreisau Circle German resistance members People from East Prussia Commanders of the Order of Vasa Ambassadors of West Germany to Brazil Ambassadors of West Germany to Canada Knights Commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany