John Clarence Cudahy (December 10, 1887 – September 6, 1943) was an American real estate developer and diplomat. In the years leading up to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, Cudahy served as United States ambassador to

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

and

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, and as United States minister to

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

and the

Irish Free State The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between ...

Early life

Cudahy was born in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

, the son of Anna (Madden) and Patrick Cudahy, a

meat packing The meat-packing industry (also spelled meatpacking industry or meat packing industry) handles the slaughtering, processing, packaging, and distribution of meat from animals such as cattle, pigs, sheep and other livestock. Poultry is generally ...

industrialist. He graduated from

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 high ...

in 1910 and from the

University of Wisconsin Law School The University of Wisconsin Law School is the professional graduate law school of the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Located in Madison, Wisconsin, the school was founded in 1868. The University of Wisconsin Law School is guided by a "law in ...

in 1913. Cudahy served during

World War I 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 ...

as a lieutenant in Company B of the U.S. Army's

339th Infantry Regiment The 339th Infantry Regiment is an infantry regiment of the United States Army, raised for service in World War I, that served in the North Russia Intervention and World War II. North Russia intervention The 339th Regiment was created in June 19 ...

. This regiment was part of the

Polar Bear Expedition The American Expeditionary Force, North Russia (AEF in North Russia) (also known as the Polar Bear Expedition) was a contingent of about 5,000 United States Army troops that landed in Arkhangelsk, Russia as part of the Allied intervention in th ...

, which was sent to north Russia to intervene on behalf of the anti-communist forces in the

Russian Civil War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Russian Civil War , partof = the Russian Revolution and the aftermath of World War I , image = , caption = Clockwise from top left: {{flatlist, *Soldiers ...

. On November 14, 1918, Cudahy led a counter-attack that succeeded in breaking through and routing the 1,000 Bolshevik troops that on November 11 (

Armistice Day Armistice Day, later known as Remembrance Day in the Commonwealth and Veterans Day in the United States, is commemorated every year on 11 November to mark the armistice signed between the Allies of World War I and Germany at Compiègne, Fran ...

) had encircled and attacked the 600 American, Canadian, and Royal Scots soldiers who were holding the village of Tulgas on the

Northern Dvina The Northern Dvina (russian: Се́верная Двина́, ; kv, Вы́нва / Výnva) is a river in northern Russia flowing through the Vologda Oblast and Arkhangelsk Oblast into the Dvina Bay of the White Sea. Along with the Pechora River ...

. However, his eventual disillusionment with the campaign in north Russia led him to write (under a pseudonym) the book ''Archangel: The American War with Russia''. Back in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, Cudahy headed his family's real estate company, building the Cudahy Tower Apartments on the shore of Lake Michigan in

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...

Diplomatic service

Between 1933 and 1940, Cudahy served the United States as minister to several European nations. From September 6, 1933, until April 23, 1937, Cudahy served as the American ambassador to

. His time in Poland was marked by a militarily backed government under

Józef Piłsudski Józef Klemens Piłsudski (; 5 December 1867 – 12 May 1935) was a Polish statesman who served as the Naczelnik państwa, Chief of State (1918–1922) and Marshal of Poland, First Marshal of Second Polish Republic, Poland (from 1920). He was ...

and continued tensions between Poland and

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 ...

under

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 ...

. From August 23, 1937, Cudahy served as minister to the Irish Free State, which became the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...

in December 1937. His official title was

Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary An envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, usually known as a minister, was a diplomatic head of mission who was ranked below ambassador. A diplomatic mission headed by an envoy was known as a legation rather than an embassy. Under the ...

, and he served until January 15, 1940. In January 1940, Cudahy became both the ambassador to

and the minister to

. He was forced to leave these posts after Germany occupied Luxembourg and Belgium in May 1940, and the nations set up

governments-in-exile A government in exile (abbreviated as GiE) is a political group that claims to be a country or semi-sovereign state's legitimate government, but is unable to exercise legal power and instead resides in a foreign country. Governments in exile u ...

. A close friend of King Leopold III, he publicly denounced Britain, France and the U.S. for a failure to plan an adequate defense. He became an embarrassment to Washington, which was officially neutral. In 1941, ''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for Cell growth, growth, reaction to Stimu ...

'' magazine commissioned Cudahy to interview Hitler, which he did at Berghof. Cudahy later authored the book ''The Armies March'', recounting his experiences in Europe leading up to the war, including the Battle of Belgium and his meeting with Hitler.

Death and descendants

Cudahy died in September 1943, when he was thrown from a horse on his Brown Deer estate north of

. Cudahy's son, Michael Cudahy, founded Marquette Electronics and became a major philanthropist in the city of

. Cudahy's daughter, Mary Keogh-Stringer (born Mary Toulgas Cudahy), was a successful artist; the dedication of ''The Armies March'' reads;

Works

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References

External links