I'm Indy Neidell and this is Out of the Foxholes
where I sit here, in my Chair of Infinite
Knowledge, and answer all your questions about
the Second World War!
What happened to the Allied Ambassadors in
the Nazi-occupied countries?
What about the Allied Ambassadors in Soviet
Occupied countries?
– Ioannis Promponas
It’s the job of an ambassador to represent
their state and maintain diplomatic relations
in the country where they are posted.
But a state of war between two countries means
that diplomatic relations have failed.
So while it is the ambassador's job to deliver
declarations of war, after they have done
that they don't really have much to do anymore.
Most simply return home straight away, or
are sometimes forcibly expelled.
Most can do so unharmed, but complications
do arise as in the case of the British ambassador
to Germany, Nevile Henderson.
He is a big appeaser, but as it’s his job
he still delivers the British ultimatum on
September 3 1939.
He plans to leave Berlin along with the rest
of the embassy.
But on his way to the German-Dutch border,
he and his staff are suddenly interned by
the Gestapo.
They want to hold him as a bargaining chip
until the German diplomats return safely from
Britain.
For four days, Henderson is trapped in his
train, and a small crisis evolves on what
will happen.
Eventually, though, the German diplomats arrive
by steamer and Henderson is allowed to proceed.
Most British ambassadors to the nations conquered
by the Nazis still have a job to do as well.
With the establishment of governments in exile,
they have to liaise between these bodies and
the British government.
So, the British ambassador to Norway is still
the British ambassador to Norway, but he just
works in Britain with the Norwegian government
in exile based in London.
Some wartime ambassadors do face unemployment
though.
The Nazis allow the Danish government to keep
running, there is no government in exile.
However, the British ambassador to Denmark
is still forced to leave Copenhagen and return
to Britain jobless.
The same is also true for the ambassador to
Latvia, also accredited to Estonia and Lithuania.
These countries simply cease to exist in 1940
when the Soviet Union annexes them, and Britain
quickly recognizes this, so this diplomat
is also now unemployed.
Poor guy.
What was the German reaction to the Soviet-Japanese
neutrality pact of April 1941?
– Ralf Lewandowski
Actually, quite mild.
The Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Pact is signed
on April 13, 1941, in Moscow by the respective
foreign ministers, Vyacheslav Molotov and
Yosuke Matsuoka.
It dictates strict neutrality for the next
five years and is pretty mutually beneficial.
Joseph Stalin doesn’t have to worry about
a Far Eastern Front, and Japan has secured
its northern border.
Back in Germany, Hitler’s plans to invade
the Soviet Union are in full swing, so the
news of the pact isn't exactly welcome.
But it doesn’t really change his plans.
A month earlier, Hitler actually met with
Matsuoka in Berlin, where he tried to woo
the Foreign Minister with the usual Nazi pomp
of military parades and the like.
Hitler does so because he wants the Japanese
to move south against the British, pushing
for an offensive on Singapore or even British
Malaya.
But Matsuoka disappoints Hitler, telling him
‘at the present moment, he could not under
these circumstances enter on behalf of his
Japanese Empire into any commitment to act’
. Fun fact: Japanese diplomats and statesmen
often refer to themselves in the third person
considering it the most polite and formal
way to speak, hence the “he”.
So this seems to suggest that Japanese assistance
doesn’t really figure in invasion plans
for Operation Barbarossa, and all that Hitler
wants from his allies is a push in the south.
In fact, Hitler doesn’t even bother telling
his Japanese partners about what he has planned
for the Soviets.
Hitler believes that Germany must more or
less stand alone in its quest for hegemony.
So he's just not that bothered about Japan
pledging neutrality to the Soviet Union.
And it's not like he sees non-aggression-pact
as things which can't be reversed anyway.
He doesn't intend to stick to his promises
with the Soviet Union, so probably assumes
that if he needs to, he can pressure the Japanese
to abandon theirs.
Why was Norway invaded, but not Sweden?
- Corbin Gull
At first glance, it is actually pretty odd
that Germany never invades Sweden.
As you’ll know if you’ve been with us
since spring 1940, a big reason for Hitler
invading Denmark and Norway is to secure the
supply of Swedish iron-ore from Gällivare
and Kiruna, which accounts for two-thirds
of German iron production.
But why doesn't Hitler invade Sweden as well?
That way, his iron-ore could be even more
secure.
Well, the Swedish government are all too aware
of this possibility and so they are pretty
cooperative with Germany, even as their neighbors
are invaded and occupied.
They keep exporting iron ore to Germany and
allow German troops and supplies to move through
the country en route to Finland for operations
on the Eastern Front.
Maintaining independence is a priority.
Their strategically weak position helps them
here, as well.
It has Denmark and Norway on one side, which
are Axis controlled, and Finland on the other
which is Axis alligned.
This means Sweden can never be an effective
base for the Allies, so it's just not really
a threat to Germany.
So it just makes no sense for Hitler to invade
Sweden when he has what he needs from it anyway-
and why commit all the men and resources to
invade it and police it afterward?
They can be used elsewhere.
And as the war shifts to the Balkans and Eastern
Europe in 1941, the Nordic countries become
less of a focus.
Swedish neutrality is looking more and more
secure.
While Sweden is neutral during the war, many
Swedes certainly are not.
If you want to see how Swedish volunteers
fought for Finland during the Winter War click
here for our weekly episode on that.
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