Hans Bernd Gisevius

Hans Bernd Gisevius (July 14, 1904 – February 23, 1974) was a German diplomat and intelligence officer during World War II. A leading opponent of the Nazi regime, he served as a liaison in Zürich between the American OSS and the German Resistance forces in Germany.

Pre WWII

Gisevius was born in Arnsberg in the Prussian Province of Westphalia. After law school, he joined the Prussian Interior Ministry in 1933 and was assigned to the newly-formed Geheime Staatspolizei, or Gestapo. After joining the Gestapo, he immediately had disagreements with his senior, Rudolf Diels, and was discharged. He continued with police work in the Interior Ministry. When Himmler took over Police functions in 1935 in the German Reich, he removed Gisevius from office. Gisevius later transferred to the Reich Ministry of the Interior. Although he had no position of power, he maintained connections, notably to Arthur Nebe, that kept him informed of the political background. Gisevius joined the secret opposition to Hitler, began gathering evidence of Nazi crimes (for use in a later prosecution) and attempted to restrain the increasing power of Heinrich Himmler and the SS. He maintained links with Hans Oster and Hjalmar Schacht.

WW II

When World War II started, Gisevius joined the German intelligence service, the Abwehr, which was headed by Admiral Wilhelm Canaris, also an opponent of Hitler. Canaris had surrounded himself with Wehrmacht officers opposed to Hitler and he welcomed Gisevius into this group. Working from the consulat in Zurich, he was involved in secret talks with the Vatican. Canaris arranged for appointment of Gisevius as Vice Consul in Switzerland, where Gisevius met with Allen Dulles in 1943, and agreed to serve as a liaison with the German opposition to Hitler, including General Ludwig Beck, Canaris, and Mayor Carl Goerdeler of Leipzig.

Upon returning to Germany, he was investigated by the Gestapo, but released. In 1944, after the failed assassination attempt against Hitler, Gisevius who was not involved in the final planning of the plot, first hid at the home of his future wife, the Swiss national Gerda Woog, and fled to Switzerland in 1945, making him one of the few conspirators to survive the war. There, he contacted the Swiss authorities.

After WW II

Gisevius served as a key witness for the prosecution at the Nuremberg Trials in the case against Hermann Göring, his former boss in the Prussian Ministry of the Interior. He also testified against Keitel and Kaltenbrunner. In the cases against Hjalmar Schacht and Wilhelm Frick, he served for the defense. His autobiography, "Bis zum bitteren Ende", ("To the Bitter End"), published in 1946, offered a sharp indictment of the Nazi regime, many of whose leading members Gisevius knew personally, as well as of the German people, who, Gisevius claimed, pretended not to know about the atrocities being committed in its name. At the same time, it also offers an exciting insider's account of the German resistance movement.

In 1946 Gisevius was charged and acquitted by the Swiss authorities in a trial for espionage. Gisevius was later criticized as he diminished the contributions of other members (i.e. Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg) of the opposition to Hitler. In the early 50's he moved to the United States of America, but soon returned, and lived in Switzerland. Gisevius died in Müllheim in Baden-Württemberg in 1974.

Works

Gisevius H.B.: "Bis zum bitteren Ende", 1946

References

Gisiger C: Ein sensationeller Prozess? Das militärgerichtliche Strafverfahren gegen Eduard von der Heydt, Hans Bernd Gisevius und Josef Steegman vor dem Divisionsgerischt 6 (1946-1948). Historisches Seminar Univerty Zurich, October 2005.