André François-Poncet
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André François-Poncet (13 June 1887 – 8 January 1978) was a French
politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...
and
diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...
whose post as ambassador to Germany allowed him to witness first-hand the rise to power of
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
and the
Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...
, and the
Nazi regime Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictat ...
's preparations for
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.


Biography

François-Poncet was the son of a counselor of the Court of Appeals in Paris. A student of
German studies German studies is an academic field that researches, documents and disseminates German language, literature, and culture in its historic and present forms. Academic departments of German studies therefore often focus on German culture, German h ...
at the Paris Institute of Political Studies, his first area of study was journalism. One of François-Poncet's early written works included observations made during several journeys to the
German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...
in the years prior to
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. During the war, he served as an infantry lieutenant. Between 1917 and 1919, he was assigned to the press office of the French embassy in
Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...
,
Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
and later served with the International Economic Mission in the United States and in other diplomatic roles under a series of French leaders. François-Poncet became managing director of the ''Société d'études et d'informations économiques'' (Society for Economic Studies and Information). In 1924, he was replaced by Émile Mireaux. He served as a delegate to the
League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...
, and in August 1931 was named undersecretary of state and ambassador to Weimar Germany. From his post in
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
, François-Poncet witnessed the rise of Hitler and later observed signs of Germany's plans for World War II. The insightful François-Poncet was described by American journalist William Shirer in his '' The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich'' as "the best informed ambassador in Berlin", but the French government generally did not heed the ambassador's many warnings about Hitler's intentions. François-Poncet was inadvertently involved in the purge of the Night of the Long Knives when, in Hitler's justification for the killings, he referred to a dinner that François-Poncet had attended with Ernst Röhm and Kurt von Schleicher as evidence that the men had been conspiring with the French to overthrow the German government. As the evidence was manufactured, François-Poncet himself was never named or charged with anything. An arrest of such a high-ranking diplomat on trumped-up charges would also have caused a major international scandal. Despite his personal aversion to Nazism, François-Poncet was viewed favorably by Hitler, who remarked that "Poncet is the most intelligent of the diplomats I've known -- including the German ones, of course." Shortly after the
Munich Agreement The Munich Agreement was reached in Munich on 30 September 1938, by Nazi Germany, the United Kingdom, the French Third Republic, French Republic, and the Kingdom of Italy. The agreement provided for the Occupation of Czechoslovakia (1938–194 ...
was signed in 1938, François-Poncet left his post as French ambassador to Germany after a farewell visit to Hitler at the Eagle's Nest on 18 October 1938. He was then reassigned to
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
as ambassador to
Fascist Italy Fascist Italy () is a term which is used in historiography to describe the Kingdom of Italy between 1922 and 1943, when Benito Mussolini and the National Fascist Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictatorship. Th ...
. François-Poncet was appointed ambassasdor to Italy largely because he shared the desire of the Foreign Minister, Georges Bonnet, for closer Franco-Italian ties. On 19 November 1938, François-Poncet arrived at the Quirinal Palace to present his letters of accreditation to King Victor Emmanuel III as the ambassador of the French republic to the Kingdom of Italy. Most notably, François-Poncet addressed King Victor Emmanuel III as both King of Italy and Emperor of Ethiopia, thereby recognising the Italian conquest of Ethiopia. He served in that position until 1940 when Italy declared war on France. On 23 January 1941, François-Poncet was made a member of the National Council of
Vichy France Vichy France (; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was a French rump state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II, established as a result of the French capitulation after the Battle of France, ...
.Journal officiel de la République française. Lois et décrets
/ref> Arrested by the
Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...
during the wartime
German occupation of France The Military Administration in France (; ) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zone in areas of northern and western France. This so-called ' was established in June 19 ...
, François-Poncet was imprisoned for three years, held as an '' Sonderhaftling'' ("special prisoner") in Ifen Hotel in Kleinwalsertal, Austria. In 1949, he was named French high commissioner to
West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...
, a position which was later elevated to ambassador. François-Poncet served in this capacity until 1955. He was later vice president and president of the French Red Cross. In 1952, he was elected to the
Académie française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...
, taking the seat previously occupied by Marshal Philippe Petain. Occasionally contributing to the French newspaper ''
Le Figaro () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It was named after Figaro, a character in several plays by polymath Pierre Beaumarchais, Beaumarchais (1732–1799): ''Le Barbier de Séville'', ''The Guilty Mother, La Mère coupable'', ...
'', François-Poncet wrote numerous books, several based on his experience as French ambassador to Germany in the 1930s and reflecting his lifelong interest in Germany. At least one of his works, ''Souvenirs d'une ambassade à Berlin'', published in France in 1946, was translated to English as ''The Fateful Years: Memoirs of a French Ambassador in Berlin, 1931–1938'' in 1949. André François-Poncet was the father of Jean François-Poncet, also a French politician and diplomat who served as
Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...
under French President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing.


References


Books and articles

*


External links


Article on François-Poncet by the Académie française
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Francois-Poncet, Andre 1887 births 1978 deaths People from Provins Democratic Republican Alliance politicians Democratic and Social Action politicians Members of the 13th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 14th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of Parliament for Seine Members of the National Council of Vichy France Ambassadors of France to Germany Ambassadors of France to West Germany Ambassadors of France to Italy 20th-century French diplomats French male non-fiction writers 20th-century French journalists 20th-century French memoirists 20th-century French male writers Sciences Po alumni Members of the Académie Française French Army officers French military personnel of World War I World War II prisoners of war held by Germany Grand Crosses 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Burials at the Cemetery of Notre-Dame, Versailles