Helmut Sonnenfeldt (September 13, 1926 – November 18, 2012), also known as Hal Sonnenfeldt, was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

foreign policy expert. He was known as ''Kissinger’s Kissinger'' for his philosophical affinity with and influence on

Henry A. Kissinger Henry Alfred Kissinger (; ; born Heinz Alfred Kissinger, May 27, 1923) is a German-born American politician, diplomat, and geopolitical consultant who served as United States Secretary of State and National Security Advisor under the preside ...

, the architect of American foreign policy in the Nixon and Ford administrations. He was a veteran staff member of the

United States National Security Council The United States National Security Council (NSC) is the principal forum used by the President of the United States for consideration of national security, military, and foreign policy matters. Based in the White House, it is part of the Execu ...

, and held several advisory posts in the U.S. government and the private sector. Later in life he was a visiting scholar at the Johns Hopkins

School of Advanced International Studies The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) is a graduate school of Johns Hopkins University based in Washington, D.C., United States, with campuses in Bologna, Italy, and Nanjing, China. It is consistently ranked one of the ...

and a guest scholar at the

Brookings Institution The Brookings Institution, often stylized as simply Brookings, is an American research group founded in 1916. Located on Think Tank Row in Washington, D.C., the organization conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in ec ...

Early life

Sonnenfeldt was born in 1926 in

Berlin, Germany Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constituent ...

, to Drs. Walther and Gertrud (Liebenthal) Sonnenfeldt. His family was Jewish. He spent his childhood in

Gardelegen Gardelegen (; nds, Garlä) is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the right bank of the Milde, 20 m. W. from Stendal, on the main line of railway Berlin-Hanover. History Gardelegen has a Roman Catholic and three Evangelical chur ...

, Germany, where his parents had a family medical practice. In 1938, Sonnenfeldt was sent to Anna Essinger's

Bunce Court School The Bunce Court School was an independent, private boarding school in the village of Otterden, in Kent, England. It was founded in 1933 by Anna Essinger, who had previously founded a boarding school, Landschulheim Herrlingen in the south of Germa ...

in England, as was his brother, Richard Sonnenfeldt. Helmut Sonnenfeldt remained in England until 1944, when he immigrated to the United States and rejoined his parents, who had resettled in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. He entered the U.S. Army in 1944, became a naturalized American citizen and served in both the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

and in the U.S. occupation forces in

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 ...

. After military service, he attended

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

(BA 1950, MA 1951, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies).

Career

Sonnenfeldt entered service in the U.S. Department of State in 1952 as a member of the staff of the Office of Research on the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, and served as the Director of that Office from 1963–1969. Within days of the 1968

Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

election, Henry Kissinger picked him to serve on the National Security Council staff. He was a senior staff member of the

National Security Council A national security council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security. An NSC is often headed by a na ...

from 1969–1974. In 1974, he was appointed Counselor of the U.S. Department of State, where he served from 1974, continuing after

Nixon's resignation President Richard Nixon made an address to the American public from the Oval Office on August 8, 1974, to announce his resignation from the presidency due to the Watergate scandal. Nixon's resignation was the culmination of what he referred to ...

for the duration of the

Ford administration Gerald Ford's tenure as the 38th president of the United States began on August 9, 1974, upon the resignation of Richard Nixon from office, and ended on January 20, 1977, a period of days. Ford, a Republican from Michigan, had served as vic ...

. During his time in the National Security Council and in the State Department, he was a close assistant and adviser of Kissinger and became known as "Kissinger's Kissinger." On the 7th January 1971 Sonnenfeldt, in a memo regarding US / Soviet relations complained to

Henry Kissinger Henry Alfred Kissinger (; ; born Heinz Alfred Kissinger, May 27, 1923) is a German-born American politician, diplomat, and geopolitical consultant who served as United States Secretary of State and National Security Advisor under the presid ...

that he had been excluded from Kissinger's confidence. "My undoubted personal disappointment that you have almost completely excluded me from participation in or even knowledge of the more sensitive aspects of our dealings with the USSR." After leaving government service, he was a visiting scholar at the Johns Hopkins

. Since 1978, he had been a Guest Scholar at the

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

Family

In 1953, he married Marjorie Hecht. They had three children: Babette Hecht, Walter Herman and Stewart Hecht.

Death

Sonnenfeldt died on Sunday, November 18, 2012 after a long illness, leaving behind his wife and their three children. The cause was complications of Alzheimer’s disease. As a veteran, he was interred at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

. His brother was Richard Sonnenfeldt, an American engineer also noted for being the U.S. prosecution team's chief interpreter in 1945 at the Nuremberg Trial after World War II.

Publications

Books * ''Soviet Style in International Politics''. Washington, DC:

Washington Institute for Values in Public Policy The Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, widely known as the Unification Church, is a new religious movement, whose members are called Unificationists, or "Moonies". It was officially founded on 1 May 1954 under the name Holy Sp ...

(1985) * ''Soviet Politics in the 1980s''. Boulder:

Westview Press Taylor & Francis Group is an international company originating in England that publishes books and academic journals. Its parts include Taylor & Francis, Routledge, F1000 Research or Dovepress. It is a division of Informa plc, a United Ki ...

(1985) * ''Soviet Perspectives on Security''. Adelphi papers, no. 150. London:

International Institute for Strategic Studies The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) is a British research institute or think tank in the area of international affairs. Since 1997, its headquarters have been Arundel House in London, England. The 2017 Global Go To Think T ...

(1979) – with

William G. Hyland William George Hyland (January 18, 1929 – March 25, 2008) was Deputy National Security Advisor to President of the United States Gerald Ford and editor of '' Foreign Affairs'' magazine. Biography William G. Hyland was born in Kansas City, Mi ...

Book contributions * "The Chinese Factor in Soviet Disarmament Policy" (Chapter 4). In: Halperin, Morton H. (editor). ''Sino-Soviet Relations and Arms Control''. Cambridge:

MIT Press The MIT Press is a university press affiliated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts (United States). It was established in 1962. History The MIT Press traces its origins back to 1926 when MIT publish ...

(1967): 95-113. ::"Written under the auspices of the Center for International Affairs and the East Asian Research Center,

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

." Interviews * Kennedy, Charles Stuart
"Interview with Helmut Sonnenfeldt."
''

Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training (ADST) is a United States non-profit organization established in 1986 by retired Foreign Service officers. It produces and shares oral histories by American diplomats and facilitates the publica ...

'' (July 24, 2000
Foreign Affairs Oral History Project.

Awards

* 1997

Leo Baeck Medal The Leo Baeck Medal has been awarded since 1978 by the Leo Baeck Institute of New York City, an international research institute devoted to the study of the history and culture of German-speaking Jewry. It is the highest recognition the Institute b ...

* U.S. Navy Superior Public Service Award Sonnenfeldt has also been honored by the governments of France, Germany, Luxembourg, and Sweden.

References

External links

Biography at History Commons.org site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sonnenfeldt, Helmut 1926 births 2012 deaths American businesspeople American foreign policy writers American male non-fiction writers American people of the Vietnam War American political writers Burials at Arlington National Cemetery City College of New York alumni Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United States International relations scholars Nixon administration personnel Operation Condor People educated at Bunce Court School People from Gardelegen Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients United States National Security Advisors Writers from Washington, D.C. Johns Hopkins University alumni