As the Nazis gained political power in Weimar Berlin, a US consul/diplomat observed their activities, interceded when they threatened American lives, and developed the earliest and fullest appreciation of the horrors to come. Raymond Geist was sent to Berlin as a consul in 1929. He was not from the right social class to become an ambassador - a role reserved for men of means in the 1920s - and in his duties as a consul he primarily handled visas for emigrants intending to move to the US. Once Hitler's government began to oppress certain categories of German and Austrian citizens as well as foreigners, the consular office became vitally important. It was Geist who expedited the exits of Albert Einstein and Sigmund Freud, and Geist who understood best the urgency of the situation in Germany and the potential catastrophe that awaited the persecuted groups. Geist was a constant presence in Berlin while US ambassadors and consul generals cycled in and out. Never one to...
Description:
As the Nazis gained political power in Weimar Berlin, a US consul/diplomat observed their activities, interceded when they threatened American lives, and developed the earliest and fullest appreciation of the horrors to come. Raymond Geist was sent to Berlin as a consul in 1929. He was not from the right social class to become an ambassador - a role reserved for men of means in the 1920s - and in his duties as a consul he primarily handled visas for emigrants intending to move to the US. Once Hitler's government began to oppress certain categories of German and Austrian citizens as well as foreigners, the consular office became vitally important. It was Geist who expedited the exits of Albert Einstein and Sigmund Freud, and Geist who understood best the urgency of the situation in Germany and the potential catastrophe that awaited the persecuted groups. Geist was a constant presence in Berlin while US ambassadors and consul generals cycled in and out. Never one to...