Sigismund
Freiherr
(; male, abbreviated as ), (; his wife, abbreviated as , literally "free lord" or "free lady") and (, his unmarried daughters and maiden aunts) are designations used as titles of nobility in the German-speaking areas of the Holy Roman Empire ...
von Braun (14 April 1911 – 13 July 1998) was a German
diplomat and Secretary of State in the Foreign Office (1970–1972).
Biography
Sigismund von Braun was born 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 ...
-
Zehlendorf in 1911, the eldest son of the East Prussian landowner and later Reich Food Minister
Magnus von Braun (senior). His brothers were rocket scientists
Wernher von Braun
Wernher Magnus Maximilian Freiherr von Braun ( , ; 23 March 191216 June 1977) was a German and American aerospace engineer and space architect. He was a member of the Nazi Party and Allgemeine SS, as well as the leading figure in the develop ...
and
Magnus von Braun
Magnus "Mac" Freiherr von Braun (10 May 1919 – 21 June 2003) was a German chemical engineer, Luftwaffe aviator, rocket scientist and business executive. In his 20s he worked as a rocket scientist at Peenemünde and the Mittelwerk.
At age 26, ...
, and he was the father of politician Carola von Braun and
cultural theorist
Culture theory is the branch of comparative anthropology and semiotics (not to be confused with cultural sociology or cultural studies) that seeks to define the heuristic concept of culture in operational and/or scientific terms.
Overview
In ...
Christina von Braun.
After an apprenticeship in 1934, Braun spent a year at the
University of Cincinnati
The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,0 ...
in the
United States of America
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 territo ...
, studying law on a scholarship from the
German Academic Exchange Service
The German Academic Exchange Service, or DAAD (german: Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst), was founded in 1925 and is the largest German support organisation in the field of international academic co-operation.
Organisation
''DAAD'' is a ...
. After this, he made a trip around the world, taking in Japan, China, Malaya, and India. In 1936, he became an
attaché
In diplomacy, an attaché is a person who is assigned ("to be attached") to the diplomatic or administrative staff of a higher placed person or another service or agency. Although a loanword from French, in English the word is not modified accord ...
in the
German Foreign Service. Until April 1937, he was the personal assistant of the German ambassador in Paris, but in September, due to a dispute with
Baldur von Schirach he was reassigned to a new posting at
Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa (; am, አዲስ አበባ, , new flower ; also known as , lit. "natural spring" in Oromo), is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. It is also served as major administrative center of the Oromia Region. In the 2007 census, t ...
. On 1 October 1939, he joined the
Nazi party
The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...
. In 1943 he became Legation Secretary of the Embassy to the
Holy See
The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...
in Rome, where he remained until 1946. During
denazification, Braun was classified as "discharged", despite his party membership, as he had "supported clerical and other offices in hiding people persecuted for religious, political and racial reasons and to obviate their deportation, taking high personal risk." After internment in Germany, he occasionally worked in the private sector, first as an assistant at several
Nuremberg trials
The Nuremberg trials were held by the Allies against representatives of the defeated Nazi Germany, for plotting and carrying out invasions of other countries, and other crimes, in World War II.
Between 1939 and 1945, Nazi Germany invaded m ...
, then on the
Wilhelmstrasse trial of
Ernst von Weizsäcker
Ernst Heinrich Freiherr von Weizsäcker (25 May 1882 – 4 August 1951) was a German naval officer, diplomat and politician. He served as State Secretary at the Foreign Office of Nazi Germany from 1938 to 1943, and as its Ambassador to ...
, and finally as an employee of the state of
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...
.
In 1954, Braun entered the diplomatic service of the
Federal Republic of 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 between ...
, and in 1956 joined the
FDP.
He was Chief of Protocol of the Foreign Office from 1962 to 1968, Permanent Representative at the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...
in New York from 1968 to 1970, Secretary of State from 1970 to 1972, and then German Ambassador to France from 1972 to 1976.
[
]
Awards
* 1962: list of all conferred by the President of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria in 1952
(PDF, 6.9 MB)
Publications
* France and Germany, in view of the European elections, held lectures at the invitation of East Prussia sheet and the Heads of State and Political Economy Society e V. Hamburg on 16 May 1979 in Hamburg / Sigismund Freiherr von Braun. - Hamburg: State and Society Political Economy, 1979. - 16 pages - (Small swg-series, H 17)
* Sigismund von Braun: ''Volatile Guests. On World Tour 1933–1935''. Herchen + Hague, Frankfurt am Main 1993,
Literature
* Christina von Braun: ''Stille Post. Eine andere Familiengeschichte''. Propylaea-Verlag, Berlin 2007, (in German).
* Jobst Knigge: ''The Ambassador and the Pope. Weizsäcker and Pius XII. The German Embassy Vatican 1943–1945''. Verlag Dr. Kovac, Hamburg 2008, .
* Maria Keipert (ed.): ''Biographical Handbook of the German Foreign Service 1871–1945''. Issued by the Foreign Office, Historical Service. Volume 1: John Hurter : A-F. Schöningh, Paderborn and others 2000, .
External links
*
Commons:Sigismund von Braun - collection of images, videos and audio files
Scores by Sigismund von Braunin the catalog of the
German National Library
The German National Library (DNB; german: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek) is the central archival library and national bibliographic centre for the Federal Republic of Germany. It is one of the largest libraries in the world. Its task is to colle ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Braun, Sigismund von
1911 births
1998 deaths
Diplomats from Berlin
Wernher von Braun
Barons of Germany
Free Democratic Party (Germany) politicians
Ambassadors of West Germany to France
Permanent Representatives of West Germany to the United Nations
Nobility in the Nazi Party
People from Steglitz-Zehlendorf