Ribbentrop

by Michael Bloch

An insightful look into the Third Reich examines the life of Nazi diplomat Joachim von Ribbentrop, an influential member of Hitler's inner circle. By the author of Wallis & Letters 1931-37 .List of IllustrationsAcknowledgementsBackground & Early Life 1893-30Helping Hitler to Power 1930-33Travelling Salesman 1/33-4/34Disarmament Commissioner 4/34-6/35Envoy at Large 6/35-4/36The London Appointment 4-10/36Ambassador Ribbentrop 10/36-8/37The Keys 8/37-2/38Office & Anschluss 2-3/38Munich-The Man Who Wanted War 3-9/38The Arbiter 8/38-3/39The Pact of Steel 3-8/39The Nazi-Soviet Pact 8/39Peace Nipped in the Bud 8-9/39The Campaign Trail 9/39-6/40After the Victory 6-8/40Diplomatic Debacle 9-12/40Towards Barbarossa 1-6/41The European Idea 6-12/41The Final Solution 1/42-2/43The Break-up of the Axis 2/43-1/44Plots against Hitler 1-7/44Dissolving Empires 7/44-6/45In the Dock 6/45-10/46NotesBibliographyIndex

Genres: Biography, Germany, History, World War II

515 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

Reviews

[Olethros · Rating 3 out of 5]

-Vida y suerte de “Brickendrop”.-

Género. Biografía.

Lo que nos cuenta. El libro Ribbentrop (publicación original: Ribbentrop, 1992) es un acercamiento casi psicoanalítico (al menos puede hacer ese ejercicio el lector en base a multitud de cosas que presenta la obra) a la figura de Ulrich Friedrich Willy Joachim Ribbentrop, que llegó a ser ministro de Relaciones Exteriores del Reich.

¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:

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[Sean Chick · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid biography of a loathsome man. Ribbentrop was a major player and decisive in starting World War II and therefore worthy of a major book. Yet, while this is a solid narrative and a good read, it is too light on analysis to be a great biography.

[Ted · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dense and informative.

[Simon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book up to the point where I realized what a pointless exercise in biography it is. And no disrespect to Bloch, who has penned a perfectly competent, if unexciting, biography of Joachim Ribbentrop. Bur it becomes grindingly clear reasonably early in the book that the man existed solely to Greek-chorus Adolph along. And in the end, we are reading about a man whose Foreign Ministry maintained relationships with something like eight countries, at least two of which existed only in his dotty worldview. Bloch also is frustrated by the refusal of the surviving family members to help a brother out; Ribbentrop's relationship with his wife and in-laws is described with tantalizing hints but no follow-through. So why should we care about this little nebbish, other than the fact that he helped orchestrate World War II? My favorite image from this book was Ribbentrop squeaking "My name is von Ribbentrop!" over and over to Goering right after the 1944 assassination attempt, when the boys were all sitting around blaming each other for why the war wasn't going their way, and Goering kept slurring him by not using his precious von. These are the people responsible for the deaths of millions? There is a hint at the end of the book that Ribbentrop took 20 minutes to die when hanged at Nuremberg. Good.

[Erik Graff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Joachim Ribbentrop was one of the more pathetic members of the Nazi hierarchy to be executed after the second world war according to this biography by a specialist about the Duke of Windsor. Neither very educated nor very wise, he rose to become German ambassador to Britain before the outset of conflict and died by order of the Nuremberg tribunal in 1946.

One of the more interesting things about Nazism is that Hitler's ascension was indeed a revolution. Not just a change at the top, the National Socialist Workers' Party paralleled and dominated traditional institutions like the armed forces. The regional aristocracies were sidelined. The capitalists, most of them, including some US corporations, just went along. As a result, some very unlikely persons rose to positions of power, Hitler's concerns being more about loyalty than about competence. Ribbentrop was such a one.

[Stephen Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nasty piece of work.

[Sebastian Sandino · Rating 4 out of 5]

Es una investigación a profundidad acerca de uno de los hombres más criticados de la historia, Joachim Von Ribbentrop. Es un libro dificil de leer ya que cada página tiene bastante información sustentada por biografías lo que hace un documento muy interesante para entender varios sucesos del nacionalsocialismo, periodo entre guerras, la guerra y los juicios.

[Ken Sampson · Rating 4 out of 5]

[13 Dec 2023] This is a meticulously researched and highly informative account of Ribbentrop. It is detailed, well written and has pace, particularly during the war years. He is very much presented as an egocentric buffoon and without doubt was incompetent at most of his roles. He craved adulation and seems to have a yearning for grandiose approval, particularly at first from the British, but when that proved difficult to obtain from the Nazi regime and in particular from Adolf Hitler.

My minor criticisms are that this biography very much focuses on his war ‘work’ and his family and personal life gets very limited coverage. You learn little about the man and secondly there is minimal analysis of his motivations and philosophy and in some way this, I feel, let’s him dodge responsibility for his actions and for his complicit contributions to the horrific actions of the Nazi regime. Hitler worship and ‘I was only following orders’ is an inadequate explanation for this man’s crimes.

A very informative biography, but written in a classic style, prevalent at the time, but now superseded by a more personal approach.

[Jonathan Fryer · Rating 5 out of 5]

By far the best of Michael Bloch's biographies and historical studies, this magisterial portrait of Hitler's ambassador to England prior to becoming the Third Reich's Foreign Minister, Joachim von Ribbentrop, tells a gripping story of an extraordinary though not especially brilliant man who knew how to charm for his country and close his eyes to the most egregious excesses of its regime. A thoroughly engrossing read.

[Alain · Rating 3 out of 5]

Long. Très long. Trop long.
Pas dénué d'intérêt mais souvent anecdotique et manquant de perspectives synthétiques.

Un mot sur la traduction : c'est de l'anglais, mais cela parle de réalité allemande... Voir écrit "putsch du Beer Hall" pour le coup d'Etat manqué de novembre 1923 peut faire grincer des dents.

[Clayton Brannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read not only on Ribbentrop but all those of the upper echelon of Hitler's followers.