Julius von Zech-Burkersroda (1885-1946) (cropped)

Julius von Zech-Burkersroda (german: Dr Julius

Graf (feminine: ) is a historical title of the German nobility, usually translated as "count". Considered to be intermediate among noble ranks, the title is often treated as equivalent to the British title of "earl" (whose female version is "coun ...

von Zech-Burkersroda; 1885–1946) was the German ambassador to

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

at the start of World War II. He was the son in law of Theobald Bethman-Hollweg who died in 1921. Zech-Burkersroda studied law at universities in Germany,Graf von Zech-Burkersroda
Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Amsterdam, retrieved 17 January 2011 and was commissioned as an officer in the cavalry. After twenty years' service in the diplomatic corps, he was appointed minister to The Hague in 1928 during the

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 ...

. He remained at The Hague for the next decade, during which

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

gained power in Germany. In February 1940, Zech-Burkersroda claimed that the

Duke of Windsor Duke of Windsor was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 8 March 1937 for the former monarch Edward VIII, following his abdication on 11 December 1936. The dukedom takes its name from the town where Windsor Castle, ...

had leaked the Allied war plans for the defence of Belgium, which the Duke later denied. In May 1940, Zech-Burkersroda was given the responsibility of passing the

German declaration of war against the Netherlands At 6:00 am ( Amsterdam Time) on 10 May 1940, during the Battle of the Netherlands, the German envoy Count von Zech-Burkersroda gave the Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Van Kleffens a message. It was not an actual declaration of war. The message ...

to Dutch foreign minister

Eelco van Kleffens Eelco Nicolaas van Kleffens (17 November 1894 – 17 June 1983) was a Dutch politician and diplomat. Biography Eelco van Kleffens descended from an old Frisian family of public servants. He was the son of Henricus Cato and Jeannette Frésine ...

.van Kleffens, Eelco (1941) ''Juggernaut over Holland: the Dutch foreign minister's personal story of the invasion of the Netherlands'', Columbia University Press According to Van Kleffens, Zech-Burkersroda was stunned speechless by the actions of the Nazis. On 7 June 1940, he retired from the diplomatic service, shortly after the Netherlands fell to the Nazis. Five years later, after the defeat of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

, he was arrested by the Soviet occupation forces, and died shortly thereafter in

Bautzen Bautzen () or Budyšin () is a hill-top town in eastern Saxony, Germany, and the administrative centre of the district of Bautzen. It is located on the Spree river. In 2018 the town's population was 39,087. Until 1868, its German name was ''Budi ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zech-Burkersroda, Julius Von German diplomats 1885 births 1946 deaths