An American Ambassador in Berlin: Observing Hitler's Gambles in Foreign Policy, 1933-1937

William Edward Dodd served as United States ambassador to Germany between August 1933 and December 1937. Using archival sources, this thesis examines Dodd's reactions to and analyses of three events in Nazi German history, with reference to how these episodes altered the landscape of international security. These events are the withdrawal from the Disarmament Conference and League of Nations in October 1933, the announcement of conscription in March 1935, and the remilitarization of the Rhineland in March 1936. By focusing on these three critical moments, this thesis traces the evolution of Dodd's perception of the threat Nazi Germany posed to world peace. The four years of Dodd's service converted a man once conservatively optimistic about the Hitler regime's future to one deathly afraid of it, convinced that action by foreign powers was the only avenue to stop Germany's march towards war. Few in the State Department shared his doomsday beliefs. The Ambassador was left isolated and ignored.

Author dc:creator

• Glowalla, Kevin P

Repository record dc:identifier.uri

https://repository.upenn.edu/handle/20.500.14332/36266

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:repository.upenn.edu:20.500.14332/36266