Harold Hilgard Tittmann, Jr. (January 8, 1893 - December 29, 1980) was an American
diplomat
A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...
who became an expert on
Fascist
Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...
Vatican
Vatican may refer to:
Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum
The Holy See
* The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...
during World War II.
Early life and education
Harold Hilgard Tittmann, Jr. was born in 1893 in St. Louis, Missouri, into a family of German immigrants who came to this country from the Saxon city of Dresden. His grandfather, Edward Tittmann, was the first ancestor to come to America, arriving in Belleville, Illinois, in 1833. His father Harold Hilgard Tittmann was the seventh child born to Edward and Rosa Hilgard Tittmann. He attended the Taft School in St. Louis, graduating in 1912 and then entered Yale University where he graduated in 1916. He worked for a year before the United States entered World War I.
Military service
After the United States entered
World War 1
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
in 1917, he enlisted in the
United States Army Air Service
The United States Army Air Service (USAAS)Craven and Cate Vol. 1, p. 9 (also known as the ''"Air Service"'', ''"U.S. Air Service"'' and before its legislative establishment in 1920, the ''"Air Service, United States Army"'') was the aerial war ...
In 1920, he joined the U.S. Foreign Service and was sent to the American Embassy in Paris as Third Secretary. In 1925, the year that
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...
asserted his right to supreme power and became dictator of Italy, he was posted to the Rome embassy where he remained for the next eleven years, thus becoming one of the State Department's leading experts on Fascist Italy. There he met Eleanor Barclay, from San Antonio, Texas. They were married in 1928. Their first son, Harold III was born in 1929, and their second son, Barclay, was born in 1932.
In 1936, he was transferred to the State Department in Washington, where he spent three years in the Division of Western European Affairs. In August 1939, a few weeks before the outbreak of World War II he was assigned to Geneva, Switzerland, as Consul General. His involvement with the
Vatican
Vatican may refer to:
Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum
The Holy See
* The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...
began at that time as he was also assigned as part-time assistant to
Myron Taylor
Myron Charles Taylor (January 18, 1874 – May 5, 1959) was an American industrialist, and later a diplomat involved in many of the most important geopolitical events during and after World War II.
In addition he was a philanthropist, giving ...
, President Roosevelt's personal representative to the Vatican. Although most European countries had ambassadors to the Vatican, because of religious objections from a largely Protestant nation, the President could not politically appoint an American ambassador to the Pope. A concerted effort was made many times by Taylor to persuade the Pope to try to influence Mussolini to remain neutral in the war. The Pope sent many messages to Mussolini during the first half of 1940, as did Taylor, but on June 10, 1940, after the defeat of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), Italy declared war on England. After that happened, it became clear that the mission had failed. The European ambassadors to Italy moved out of the embassies into
Vatican City
Vatican City (), officially the Vatican City State ( it, Stato della Città del Vaticano; la, Status Civitatis Vaticanae),—'
* german: Vatikanstadt, cf. '—' (in Austria: ')
* pl, Miasto Watykańskie, cf. '—'
* pt, Cidade do Vati ...
as diplomatic relations with Italy were cut. After Pearl Harbor and the US. entry into the war in 1941, Tittmann was reassigned to Rome, and he also moved into the Vatican where he became the
Charge d'Affaires
Charge or charged may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Charge, Zero Emissions/Maximum Speed'', a 2011 documentary
Music
* ''Charge'' (David Ford album)
* ''Charge'' (Machel Montano album)
* ''Charge!!'', an album by The Aqua ...
and the chief source of information to President Roosevelt of the happenings inside
Fascist
Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...
Italy. After Taylor returned to the United States, Tittmann remained inside Vatican City until the liberation of Rome in 1944. At that time he and his family moved back to Rome where he remained until 1946.
Post-war career
He was then appointed Ambassador to
Haiti
Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...
. In 1948 he was named Ambassador to
Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal
, national_motto = "Fi ...
, a post he held until 1955. He then became the Director of the Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration in Geneva (
International Organization for Migration
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is a United Nations agency that provides services and advice concerning migration to governments and migrants, including internally displaced persons, refugees, and migrant workers.
The IOM was ...
) from 1955 until his retirement in 1958 at the age of 65. He spent his retirement writing the memoirs of his Vatican assignment during World War II, which were edited and published by his son Harold H. Tittmann III. He died in Manchester, Massachusetts, on December 29, 1980, a few days prior to his 88th birthday.