Hans Gisevius German diplomat and writer. Date of Birth: 14.07.1904 Country: Germany

1. Hans Bernd Gisevius: German Diplomat and Resistance Fighter
2. Diplomatic Career and Anti-Nazi Activities
3. Nuremberg Trials and Post-War Years
4. Memoir and Eyewitness Accounts

Hans Bernd Gisevius: German Diplomat and Resistance Fighter

Hans Bernd Gisevius was born on July 14, 1904, in Arnsberg, Germany. He entered diplomatic service in 1933 after the rise of the Nazis to power.

Diplomatic Career and Anti-Nazi Activities

Gisevius held various positions within the Foreign Ministry, including postings as vice-consul in Zurich from 1940 to 1944. During this time, he met frequently with Allen Dulles, a representative of the American intelligence service.

Gisevius became involved in several anti-Hitler conspiracies. He was a key figure in the July 1944 plot to assassinate Hitler, but it failed. Afterward, he remained in Switzerland.

Nuremberg Trials and Post-War Years

Gisevius appeared as a principal witness for the prosecution at the Nuremberg Trials. He spent several years in the US and West Berlin after the war, but eventually returned to Switzerland. He died in West Germany on February 23, 1974.

Memoir and Eyewitness Accounts

In his memoirs, titled "To the Bitter End," Gisevius chronicled the key figures of the Third Reich and the attempts to remove Hitler. He was deeply disturbed by the moral bankruptcy of the Nazi regime, particularly the events of "Kristallnacht," the anti-Jewish pogrom of November 9-10, 1938.

Gisevius described the devastation in graphic detail, emphasizing that the term "pogrom" was inadequate: "Not a single Jewish home was left untouched, not a single Jewish business left unplundered, not a single synagogue left unburnt." He believed that the responsibility for these atrocities ultimately rested with Hitler himself.