5/26/2023 0 Comments Franz von papenHowever, Canadian authorities and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police were able to thwart this mission. He dispatched men to blow up crucial portions of the Canadian Pacific Railway, thus preventing troops from reaching the transports destined to take them to England. While he never ordered acts of overt terrorism in the United States like his predecessor, Papen evidently did authorize such activities in Canada. However, instead of being allowed to continue assisting the war effort by using his own methods, Papen was placed in the position made vacant by Rintelen’s departure, that of supervising sabotage in the United States. Papen got his way, and Rintelen was indeed ordered home to Germany. merchant vessels and the 1917 explosion at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard in San Francisco (in which 16 children were killed), Papen was consistently cabling the Abwehr (Germany’s intelligence agency) insisting that his more flamboyant associate be recalled to Germany. While Rintelen was busy funding sabotage operations against U.S. As a young soldier in the German Army Franz von Papen poses wearing the traditional Prussian spiked helmet. Papen was of the opinion that Rintelen’s “loose cannon” approach was not only reckless in its own right, but it potentially endangered the plans implemented by Papen as well. Rintelen’s approach to espionage vastly differed from that of Papen, who preferred quieter, more sophisticated methods of harassing Germany’s enemies. Sent from Berlin to coordinate sabotage efforts in the United States, Rintelen was intent on blowing up military installations and warehouses. Incidents such as this increased the tension between Franz von Rintelen and Papen as well. It contained sensitive documents, and their eventual publication in American newspapers caused significant embarrassment to the German diplomatic corps, particularly Papen. The case was promptly seized by an American intelligence agent. In particular was one Heinrich Albert, an attaché at the embassy who inadvertently left his briefcase on a train in New York. Though these two operations were relatively successful in assisting Germany’s war effort, other efforts were not, primarily because of the ineptitude of Papen’s subordinates. Instead, the gunpowder languished in warehouses never to see use during the war at all. Other fictitious firms created by Papen bought all the gunpowder available in the United States under the guise that these fabricated companies were manufacturing grenades and artillery shells destined for England. With no intention of filling the orders, their customers were continually given excuses about the endless delays, thus helping Germany’s cause. Dummy corporations were established which then took all the orders they could for Allied armaments. Charged with overseeing German espionage agents and their activities concentrated on preventing American armaments from reaching England, Papen was given a considerable budget to fund the operation. His unofficial job while in America had been that of spymaster. The couple had grown quite popular among the Washington diplomatic corps by 1915 when Papen was declared persona non grata by the U.S. Papen had married the niece of a French marquis, who taught him to speak almost perfect French. By World War I he had risen to become the military attaché to the German Embassy in Washington, D.C. Like many young men of the day, he decided upon a career in the military. Both characteristics seemed to follow Papen throughout his career, before and after his term as chancellor.īorn October 29, 1879, in Werl, Westphalia, Franz von Papen was the son of a wealthy landowner. Intent on preserving peace while contending with unstable political and economic situations domestically, Papen’s six-month administration as chancellor instead was dominated by controversy and international intrigue. The hand of fate had taken an unusual route in guiding this career diplomat and spy to the helm of Germany. On May 31, 1932, Franz von Papen achieved the pinnacle of a long career serving his country when, in a surprising move, the aging President Paul von Hindenburg named him Chancellor of Germany.
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