Erwin Wickert (7 January 1915 – 26 March 2008) was a German diplomat who, during the 1970s, served as the ambassador to Romania and China.

Early life and education

Born in Bralitz and raised in

Wittenberg Wittenberg ( , ; Low Saxon: ''Wittenbarg''; meaning ''White Mountain''; officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg (''Luther City Wittenberg'')), is the fourth largest town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Wittenberg is situated on the River Elbe, north of ...

, Wickert applied to join the ''

Sturmabteilung The (; SA; literally "Storm Detachment (military), Detachment") was the original paramilitary wing of the Nazi Party. It played a significant role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s. Its primary purposes were providing pro ...

'' at the age of 18 before ultimately enrolling at the

University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (german: link=no, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick Will ...

in 1934, where he studied philosophy. The following year, in 1935, he won a scholarship to

Dickinson College , mottoeng = Freedom is made safe through character and learning , established = , type = Private liberal arts college , endowment = $645.5 million (2022) , president = ...

in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and transferred there to complete his studies, graduating with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analy ...

and

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and ...

in 1936. Wickert spent the year following graduation traveling the United States and

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an ...

, before returning to Germany. During his travels, he worked odd jobs, including as a waiter in San Francisco and for a travel agency in New York City. In 1939 he completed a doctorate in philosophy at

Heidelberg University } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...

Career

Bundesarchiv_B_145_Bild-F048673-0022%2C_Bonn%2C_Scheel_empfängt_deutsche_Botschafter

By September 1939, Wickert had joined the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...

and was hired by the German foreign ministry. That year he was appointed "radio attaché" at the German consulate in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

, where he was responsible for managing the German propaganda station

XGRS XGRS was a Shanghai-based radio station broadcasting on both shortwave and long wave which was owned and operated by the German government in Japanese-occupied China during World War II. Originally established as a German-language station design ...

. Towards the end of the war he was reassigned to

Tokyo, Japan Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.4 ...

. From 1947 Wickert worked as a freelance writer in

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

. Upon the sovereignty of the

Federal Republic of Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south ...

in 1955, Wickert resumed working for the foreign ministry, holding posts in

Paris Paris () is the capital and 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), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, and a domestic assignment in

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ru ...

. From 1971 to 1976 he served as German ambassador to

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, a ...

and, from 1976 to 1980, as ambassador to the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, sli ...

. Wickert retired in 1980. Shortly after, he returned to Dickinson College for the first time since his graduation 44 years earlier and led a question-and-answer session at the college's Memorial Hall. During his life, Wickert wrote more than a dozen fiction and non-fiction books. In 1998 he edited the diaries of

John Rabe John Heinrich Detlef Rabe (23 November 1882 – 5 January 1950) was a German businessman and Nazi Party member best known for his efforts to stop war crimes during the Japanese Nanjing Massacre (also known as Nanking) and his work to prot ...

Personal life

In 1939 Wickert married Ingeborg Weides, with whom he had two sons and one daughter. Wickert was the father of the German journalist

Ulrich Wickert Ulrich Wickert (born 2 December 1942) is a German journalist. He is one of the best-known broadcasters in Germany. Early life Born in Tokyo, Japan, Wickert grew up in Heidelberg and Paris as a result of his father Erwin Wickert being employe ...

and grandfather of actress

Emily Wood Emily Wood (October 11, 1978 ) is a German actress. Life and career Wood became known through her performances in the Sat.1-comedy series ''Sechserpack''. She also appeared in '' Alpha Team'', ''Großstadtrevier'', ''Der Ermittler'' and ''Schwar ...

.Diplomat und Autor Erwin Wickert gestorben

Die Welt ''Die Welt'' ("The World") is a German national daily newspaper, published as a broadsheet by Axel Springer SE. ''Die Welt'' is the flagship newspaper of the Axel Springer publishing group. Its leading competitors are the ''Frankfurter Allg ...

, 27 March 2008 Emily Wood biography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wickert, Erwin 1915 births 2008 deaths People from Bad Freienwalde People from the Province of Brandenburg Dickinson College alumni German people of World War II Heidelberg University alumni Nazi propagandists Nazi Party members Ambassadors of West Germany Ambassadors of Germany to China Ambassadors of Germany to Romania Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany