VEESENMAYER, EDMUND (1904–1977). A prominent SS func-
tionary involved in numerous subversion operations, Edmund
Veesenmayer was born in Bad Kissingen (Bavaria) on 12 November
1904, the son of a teacher. Receiving a doctorate in political science
from the University of Munich in 1928, he taught at the Political-
Economics Institute of the Munich Technical College for four years.
Shortly after meeting Wilhelm Keppler, Adolf Hitler’s advisor on
economic matters, Veesenmayer joined the Nazi Party in November
- A year later, he became a member of the SS, and by 1934 he
had obtained a position in the Führer’s economic affairs office in
Berlin. Despite his membership in the SS, his assignments stemmed
from Keppler in the prewar period and then from the Foreign Min-
istry during the war.
In the wake of the failed 1934 Nazi putsch in Austria, Veesen-
mayer’s first foreign operation involved making secret preparations
for the eventual Anschluss. His main tasks included bringing the
rival factions of the outlawed Austrian Nazi Party into alignment
with the gradualist approach favored in Berlin, forcing the resigna-
tion of Chancellor Kurt Schuschnigg, and establishing key economic
connections between Austria and Germany. For his efforts, he was
promoted by Heinrich Himmler to SS-Standartenführer (lieutenant
colonel) on 13 March 1938—the day of the Anschluss itself. He
next played a key role in the dismemberment of Czechoslovakia by
assisting the Slovakian People’s Party led by Jozef Tiso. Initially
reluctant, Tiso eventually succumbed to the pressure applied by
Veesenmayer and others, and a treaty confirming the subservience
of the new Slovakian state to Nazi Germany was signed in March
In late August, Veesenmayer was selected by Foreign Minister
Joachim von Ribbentrop for an information-gathering mission to
Danzig (now Gdansk, Poland). Acting for the first time on his
own initiative, he undertook a variety of measures designed to
heighten tensions between Poland and Nazi Germany. Although
he achieved no major results—the “Danzig question” remained
a secondary issue among the events leading to the outbreak of
war—he was awarded the Danzig Cross Second Class for his ef-
forts. Between 1940 and 1943, undercover activities in Ireland be-
came part of his responsibilities with the Foreign Ministry. But the
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