Frederic von Rosenberg (1874-1937) served as a foreign services diplomat in several different functions and was for a short time even Foreign Minister in the cabinet of Chancellor Cuno. The biography of this conservative diplomat impressively shows how internal and external forces acted together to create politics. This is especially apparent in the phase between Germany¿s defeat in World War I and the preparation of a new constitution in 1918, during the Ruhr Crisis of 1923, and during the beginnings of the Nazi regime under Adolf Hitler, which broke with all the traditional methods of the German diplomatic services. By taking reference to Rosenberg¿s biography and autobiography, this volume can help us to better understand this eventful and complex period of German history and German foreign policy, stretching from the uneasy phase of Wilhelmine Germany to the beginnings of the Nazi dictatorship.

Dr. Winfried Becker ist em. Professor für Neuere und Neueste Geschichte an der Universität Passau.