Robert Teigrob - Four Days in Hitlers Germany: Mackenzie Kings Mission to Avert a Second World War

FOUR DAYS IN HITLERS GERMANY

Mackenzie Kings Mission to Avert a Second World War

University of Toronto Press 2019
Toronto Buffalo London
utorontopress.com
Printed in Canada

ISBN 978-1-4875-0550-9

Printed on acid-free, 100% post-consumer
recycled paper with vegetable-based inks.

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Title: Four days in Hitlers Germany : Mackenzie Kings mission to avert a Second World War / Robert Teigrob. Names: Teigrob, Robert, 1966 author.
Description: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: Canadiana 20190087501 | ISBN 9781487505509 (hardcover)
Subjects: LCSH: King, William Lyon Mackenzie, 18741950. | LCSH: Hitler, Adolf, 18891945. | LCSH: World War, 19391945 Diplomatic history. | LCSH: Canada Foreign relations Germany History 20th century. | LCSH: Germany Foreign relations Canada History 20th century.
Classification: LCC D754.C2 T45 2019 | DDC 940.53/220971dc23

This book has been published with the help of a grant from the Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences, through the Awards to Scholarly Publications Program, using funds provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

University of Toronto Press acknowledges the financial assistance to its publishing program of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council, an agency of the Government of Ontario.

It is what we prevent, rather than what we do that counts most in Government.

Mackenzie King, 1936

Contents

Thanks to all of my colleagues in the History Department at Ryerson University for their support and counsel. Several whose expertise intersects with this subject deserve special recognition: Ross Fair, Catherine Ellis, Tomaz Jardim, Carl Benn, and David Mackenzie shared their insights and pointed me to helpful source materials; Ingrid Hehmeyer tutored me in the nuances of the German language, lent me the camera that captured some of the images in this book, and, together with Norbert Schappacher, enriched my knowledge of the history and culture of Berlin; Arne Kislenko helped plant the seed for this project by connecting me with Freie Universitt Berlin back in 2010 and giving me an expert tour of the city.

Ryersons history department, Office of the Dean of Arts, and faculty association provided funding that helped to cover some of the research, travel, and production costs associated with this book. Stefan Fergus performed his usual magic with the index, and his keen eye caught a few typos and inconsistencies in word usage.

The truly fabelhaft staff at the Freie Universitt Berlin International Summer Program (FUBiS) in particular, program director Sophia Krause have been a perennial source of assistance and hospitality. Staff at the Koblenz and Berlin chapters of the German Bundesarchiv and at Library and Archives Canada provided invaluable assistance; the latters Alexandra McEwen was especially helpful in following up on some loose ends. Susan Ross of the Canadian War Museum was of great assistance in securing some of the photographs. Ryerson history student Matthew Czipf tracked down newspaper articles and other sources, and students in my classes in international and German history at both Ryerson and FUBiS sparked new questions and insights that enriched aspects of this study. Alexander Freund at the University of Winnipeg helped me think through some important issues when I wrote the book chapter that initiated this larger project, One Fuhrer, Two Kings: A Canadian Prime Minister in Nazi Germany and the Dilemma of Responsibility, which he was kind enough to include in his forthcoming edited collection History, Memory, and Generation: German-Canadian Experiences in the Twentieth Century (University of Manitoba Press). The anonymous readers at the University of Toronto Press furnished superb commentary that strengthened the final product considerably.

Once again, the staff at the University of Toronto Press have been a pleasure to work with. Acquisitions editor (and, full disclosure, great friend) Lennart Husband championed the project diligently, while managing editor Frances Mundy handled production duties with characteristic professionalism. To anyone seeking a crack copyeditor I would recommend without reservation Terry Teskey, who boasts a surfeit of both savoir faire and good humour.

My siblings, nieces, nephews, and parents are a constant source of support and encouragement; the latter now drill me regularly in German, a language they initially reserved for confidential discussions about die Kinder . My wife Suzanne is my greatest champion and source of inspiration, and I dedicate this book to her.

Allgemeine Elektricitts-Gesellschaft (AEG) : General Electricity Company

Bundesarchiv : German Federal Archives

Deutsche Demokratische Republik (DDR) : German Democratic Republic, aka East Germany

Deutsch-Englische Gesellschaft (DEG) : German-English Fellowship Society

Deutsche Arbeitsfront (DAF) : German Labour Front

Einsatzgruppen : literally, special task force; mobile Nazi death squads

Freikorps : literally, free corps; in Weimar Germany, right-wing paramilitary groups

Gedenksttte Deutscher Widerstand: German Resistance Memorial, Berlin

Gemtlichkeit : warmth, hospitality

Gleichschaltung : Nazi program of coordination/synchronization

Hitlerjugend : Hitler Youth

Kraft durch Freude (KdF) : Strength through Joy, a program of the DAF

Kristallnacht : literally, night of crystal, or night of broken glass; the anti-Jewish pogroms that swept across German-held territory on 9 and 10 November 1938.

Lebensraum : living space

Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (NSDAP) : National Socialist German Workers Party (Nazi Party)

Reichsarbeitsdienst (RAD) : Reich Labour Service

Reichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM) : Reich Ministry of Aviation

Reichsprsidentenpalais : Reich Presidents Palace

Schnheit der Arbeit (SdA) : Beauty of Work, a program of the DAF

Schutzstaffel (SS) : literally, protection squad; Nazi paramilitary organization

Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands (SED) : Socialist Unity Party of Germany, the ruling communist party of East Germany

Staatsoper : State Opera

Stadtschloss : literally, city castle; here, the Berlin residence of the House of Hohenzollern

Sturmabteilung (SA) : literally, storm detachment; Nazi paramilitary organization

Sturmbannfhrer : literally, assault unit leader; a high-ranking SS officer

Trmmerfrau : rubble women, those assigned to clear debris from German cities following the Second World War

Welthauptstadt Germania : World Capital Germania, name for Albert Speers proposed remaking of Berlin

Wehrmacht : literally, defence force; the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany

Crerars map of Berlin (overleaf page spread): Nazi-era tourist map of Berlin used by Colonel H.D.G. Crerar during his visit to the city in June, 1937, just prior to Mackenzie Kings own. From Library and Archives Canada, Crerar fonds, MG30 E157, vol. 10, file Notes on Visit to Germany (2F-L, 2K: Visit to Germany).

Sites plotted on the map visited by King include:

7: Pergamon Museum

40: Staatsoper (State Opera House)