Hans Frölicher (3 December 1887 - 30 January 1961) was the Swiss ambassador to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

during World War II. He remains controversial in Switzerland due to his sympathies for the Third Reich while Ambassador in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

Ambassador to Germany

Frölicher replaced Paul Dinichert, who had served as Ambassador to Germany between 1932 and 1938. Frölicher was received by

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 ...

as Ambassador to Germany at a ceremony on June 9, 1938. Early in his tenure, Frölicher was able to delay relocating the Swiss Embassy, which had been required to fulfill Albert Speer's vision of Germania. Beginning in 1938, Frölicher was involved in negotiations between the governments of Germany and Switzerland aimed at reducing the number of

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

seeking refuge in Switzerland. In 1939, a Swiss theology student named

Maurice Bavaud Maurice Bavaud (15 January 1916 – 14 May 1941) was a Swiss theology student who attempted to assassinate Adolf Hitler in 1938. Background Maurice Bavaud was born in on 15 January 1916 in Neuchâtel, the son of Alfred Bavaud, a postal worker, ...

attempted to assassinate

. Although Bavaud was facing execution, Fröhlicher refused to intervene, going so far as to decline an offer to exchange Bavaud for captured Gestapo spies imprisoned in Switzerland. Instead, he condemned Bavaud for his actions. Frölicher remained the Swiss Ambassador to Germany until 1945.

Post-ambassadorship

A memoir of his was privately published in 1962, entitled ''Meine Aufgabe in Berlin'' (''My Task in Berlin'').

In Media

The main character of Thomas Hürlimann's play "Der Gesandte", Heinrich Zwygart, is based on Hans Frölicher, focusing on his reception in Switzerland in 1945. This play was turned into a movie by Laurent Nègre in 2023 entitled "A Forgotten Man".

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Frolicher, Hans 1887 births 1961 deaths Ambassadors of Switzerland to Germany Knights Commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany