One of those whom fate invariably favored was a German politician and diplomat, Franz von Papen. Over his long life, he many times found himself on the verge of death, or at least on the verge of a prison. However, every time a fortune wanted to rid him of troubles and give him the opportunity to live to old age, which he clearly did not deserve.
The youth of a descendant of the crusaders
He was lucky to be born into the family of a large landowner, one of the descendants of an ancient knightly family, whose ancestors once rode along the dusty hills of Palestine. It happened in 1879. As befits in noble families, the boy was given such a long name that not everyone managed to pronounce him in one breath - Franz Josef German Michael Maria von Papen.
Youth, wealth and a big name - what else is needed for a brilliant career and a profitable marriage? Even with a youthful cannon on his cheeks, he was already an officer of the General Staff, and soon he was quick to arrange his family affairs by marrying the richest bride in Germany - the daughter and sole heiress of a major tycoon, the owner of Villeroy & Boch, one of the world's leading ceramic manufacturers .
The end of a military career
The beginning of the First World War, Franz von Papen met in the United States, as a German military attache. However, at some point, the young diplomat made a miscalculation and, convicted of espionage, as well as subversive activities, was expelled from the country. Returning to his homeland, he found himself in the army, fighting in Belgium, Alsace, Latoringia and northeastern France.
In 1918, Franz von Papen left the army with the rank of lieutenant colonel. Prior to that, he managed to serve as a representative of the German General Staff in the Turkish army, who was trying in Palestine to confront the advancing units of the British troops. He added to his track record and very dubious negotiations with the Irish Republicans, who secretly bought weapons from Germany to fight the army of Her Majesty the Queen.
The rise of a political career
Having become a civilian, von Papen, as befits a man of his circle, devoted himself to politics, speaking as a deputy of the Prussian Landtag (Zemsky Parliament) from the Catholic centrist party. Skilfully maneuvering between various political trends, in 1932 he managed to take the post of head of government under the Hindenburg, but stayed at that post for only five months - summed up the almost complete lack of support in the Reichstag.
Saving the situation, he tried to create a coalition, attracting the party of National Socialists, which had gained strength by then, to his side. However, Franz von Papen and Hitler could not agree. The possessed Fuhrer was eager for sole power and did not want to share it with anyone. As a result, in early December 1932 the government was dismissed, and its head was temporarily out of work.
Vice Chancellor's mistake
From birth, having endowed von Papen with wealth and a big name, fate also endowed him with the qualities necessary for a successful politician: he was smart, energetic and, importantly, unprincipled. Thanks to this, a year after his forced resignation, Franz von Papen is the vice chancellor of the Third Reich, created by his former political opponent Adolf Hitler.
However, such a dizzying take-off soon almost cost him his life. The reason for this was the speech delivered by von Papen in June 1934. In it, he dared to express support for the business and financial elite of the country, dissatisfied with Hitler extremism and its socialist rhetoric. It is known that in a totalitarian state, any opinion that runs counter to the leader’s policy is considered treason and severely punished. In this case, the abusive vice chancellor was saved from imminent death by his close friend Goering.
However, this was far from the last such incident in his life. Franz von Papen, whose biography will continue to be full of critical situations from which he always came out unscathed, is an example of a biography of a true minion of fate.
Slaughter ambassador
Having escaped the highest anger for his freethinking, but having lost his previous post, in 1934 von Papen was appointed German ambassador to Austria. Trying to make amends with all his might, he rendered all-round support to various kinds of pro-German local nationalist organizations. But instead of gratitude, he again found himself on the verge of death.
The fact is that in order to capture Austria, which went down in history under the name Anschluss, Hitler needed a specious occasion. And what could be more appropriate than killing an ambassador? To this end, a plan was developed in accordance with which von Papen was intended to play the role of an innocent victim. Fortunately for him, in January 1938, two months before the German invasion, Austrian police raided the headquarters of the local Nazis and got documents that shed light on this insidious plan. Thus, the descendant of the Crusaders again miraculously escaped death.
Further misfortunes of the diplomat
The next time fate had the opportunity to save von Papen from death during the Second World War, but this did not happen in the army. Having happily escaped the front, he spent five years holding the post of German ambassador to Turkey. However, far from the front line life was fraught with many dangers. This time, it was repeatedly tried to be "removed" by employees of the Soviet special services, whose duty was to prevent the German ambassador from persuading the Turkish government to participate in the war on the side of Germany. However, here luck was on the side of von Papen.
She did not change him even after the Third Reich was defeated by the forces of the Allied armies. Arrested by the military administration of the Ninth American Army, and among other Nazis who appeared in the Nuremberg dock, he was acquitted. Franz von Papen escaped not only the gallows that his former friends went to, but even the prison cell.
The result of a stormy life
True, he still had to spend two years in prison. In 1947, in post-war Germany, a commission was established on denazification - the cleansing of German society of the consequences of Nazi ideology. To von Papen, she was less lenient than the Nuremberg Tribunal, and sentenced him to eight years in prison. However, two years later, the lawyers hired by him did their job, and he was free.
Already in his declining years, Franz von Papen, whose photos are presented in the article, tired of politics, indulged in writing memoirs. As a writer, he turned out to be very prolific and, before his death, which followed in 1969, managed to publish many books. In them, he invariably tried to justify German policy after Hitler came to power.