Heinrich Seelheim

Heinrich Seelheim (born August 15, 1884 in Essen , † December 18, 1964 in Göttingen ) was a German geographer and diplomat . He worked as a German consul in Winnipeg , Canada and as a consul general in Yokohama , Japan .

Life

His parents were the factory master Karl Seelheim and his wife Johanna, geb. Beer house.

After attending the secondary school in Essen, Heinrich Seelheim studied modern languages, history and German studies in Marburg from 1905 and geography , geology and related natural sciences in Greifswald from 1906 . During his studies he became a member of the Arminia Marburg fraternity and later an honorary member of the Germania Greifswald fraternity . In Greifswald he was awarded a Dr. phil. PhD . In 1911/12 he took part in the first section of the Second German Antarctic Expedition . From January 11, 1916 to December 24, 1918 he did military service , most recently as a lieutenant in the reserve . In 1918/19 he lived in Göttingen.

From December 1, 1919, he worked as a councilor in the Reich Migration Office. In 1920 he became a member of the German People's Party (DVP). On November 25, 1920 he was drafted into the Foreign Service . From January 31, 1921 to August 28, 1923, Seelheim was the legation secretary at the German legation in Rio de Janeiro . On July 19, 1923 he was entrusted by the Foreign Office with the management of Section E (Emigration) in Department VI (Culture). On April 17, 1924, Seelheim was promoted to Legation Council II class. From March 17, 1927 he was Legation Councilor . Seelheim passed his consular examination on May 3, 1928. On December 23, 1929 he was promoted to Legation Council First Class.

A few months later, on May 21, 1930, he was appointed German consul in Winnipeg , Canada , and took over the business on August 6 of that year. On June 1, 1934, Seelheim joined the NSDAP (membership number 3.454.646). Among other things, he wrote reports on emigrated members of the Reichstag in Canada, appeared as a staunch anti-Semite and racial dogmatist and supported the National Socialist movement in Canada; so also the German Federation Canada and the German newspaper for Canada . In 1935 he was denounced by a German in Winnipeg of being hostile to Hitler, whereupon he had to undergo a loyalty test. After a detailed examination of the facts by the Foreign Office, the allegations against Seelheim turned out to be "unfounded slander".

In October 1937 he was transferred to Yokohama , Japan , as consul . A few days later he was given the title of Consul General and took over the business on January 11, 1938. Seelheim was one of the most important informants of the police attaché known as the "butcher of Warsaw" at the German embassy in Tokyo, Josef Meisinger . After the war he reported that Seelheim had visited him twice a week, usually for more than an hour to tell him what he had learned.

In 1948 Seelheim returned to Göttingen, where he lived until his death.

Works

• The Ückermünder Heide. A contribution to Pomeranian cultural studies. Dissertation University of Greifswald 1910.
• together with Wilhelm Filchner : Across Spitzbergen. A German exercise expedition in the central area east of the Icefjord. ES Mittler and Son, Berlin 1911.

literature

General

• Bernd Isphording, Gerhard Keiper, Martin Kröger: Biographical Handbook of the German Foreign Service 1871-1945. Editor: Foreign Office, Historical Service, Volume 4, S, Schöningh, Paderborn 2012, ISBN 978-3-506-71843-3 .
• Helge Dvorak: Biographical Lexicon of the German Burschenschaft. Volume I: Politicians. Volume 8: Supplement L – Z. Winter, Heidelberg 2014, ISBN 978-3-8253-6051-1 , pp. 284-285.
• Clemens Jochem: The Foerster case: The German-Japanese machine factory in Tokyo and the Jewish auxiliary committee Hentrich and Hentrich, Berlin 2017, ISBN 978-3-95565-225-8 .

Canada

• Jonathan F. Wagner: Brothers Beyond the Sea: National Socialism in Canada Wilfrid Laurier University Press, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada 1981, ISBN 0-88920-096-3 .
• Jonathan F. Wagner: The Nazi Movement in Canada In Vierteljahrshefte für Zeitgeschichte, Volume 29, Issue 2, 1981, pp. 246–268.
• Graeme S. Mount: Canada's Enemies: Spies and Spying in the Peaceable Kingdom Dundurn Press Limited, Toronto, Canada 1993, ISBN 1-55002-190-7 .
• Richard Menkis, Harold Troper: More than Just Games: Canada and the 1936 Olympics University of Toronto Press, Toronto, Buffalo, London 2015, ISBN 978-1-4426-2690-4 .

Web links

• Girls and women from the Kanagawa Doll Makers Association hold Japanese dolls as they march to the German Consulate where they present the dolls to German women on http://www.gettyimages.de./ Seelheim gives a speech (from 0:20 min)
• Short description and trailer of the Canadian documentary “The Paper Nazis” (2011) on https://www.farpointfilms.com./ The documentary also covers in detail Seelheim's work in Winnipeg, Canada.
• Catherine van Reenen: "Documentary explores prewar anti-Semitism in Manitoba" on http://uniter.ca/
• Grant W. Grams: “Deportation from Saskatchewan during the Great Depression: The Case of HP Janzen” on https://ml.bethelks.edu

Individual evidence

1. ^ Letter from the State Secretary and Head of the Reich Chancellery of July 8, 1935, quoted in: Clemens Jochem: Der Fall Foerster: The German-Japanese machine factory in Tokyo and the Jewish Aid Committee Hentrich and Hentrich, Berlin 2017, p. 30, ISBN 978-3- 95565-225-8 .
2. ↑ Bernd Isphording, Gerhard Keiper, Martin Kröger: Biographical manual of the German Foreign Service 1871-1945. Editor: Foreign Office, Historical Service, Volume 4, S, p. 241, Schöningh, Paderborn 2012, ISBN 978-3-506-71843-3 .
3. ↑ Clemens Jochem: The Foerster case: The German-Japanese machine factory in Tokyo and the Jewish Aid Committee Hentrich and Hentrich, Berlin 2017, p. 169, ISBN 978-3-95565-225-8 .