Ernst von Weizsäcker
German diplomat in the Nazi regime and convicted war criminal (1882-1951)
Ernst Heinrich Freiherr von Weizsäcker (25 May 1882 – 4 August 1951) was a German naval officer, diplomat, politician and convicted war criminal. He served as State Secretary at the Foreign Office of Nazi Germany from 1938 to 1943, and as its ambassador to the Holy See from 1943 to 1945. He was a member of the prominent Weizsäcker family, and the father of German President Richard von Weizsäcker and physicist and philosopher Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker.
In 1949, as part of the Ministries Trial, Weizsäcker was found guilty of crimes against peace, war crimes, and crimes against humanity, and sentenced to 7 years in prison, although the same year, the sentence was reduced to 5 years after his conviction for crimes against peace was overturned.
Early life
Weizsäcker was born in 1882 in Stuttgart to Karl Hugo von Weizsäcker, who would become minister president (the equivalent of prime minister) of the Kingdom of Württemberg and raised to personal nobility in 1897, and to Paula von Meibom. In 1911, he married Marianne von Graevenitz, who belonged to the old nobility. In 1916 he became a Freiherr (Baron), as his father and his family were raised to the inheritable nobility, less than two years before the fall of the Württembergish monarchy.
Naval career
In 1900, Weizsäcker joined the Imperial German Navy to become an officer, serving mainly in Berlin. In 1916, he served as Flag Lieutenant to Admiral Reinhard Scheer aboard the German flagship SMS Friedrich der Grosse during the Battle of Jutland. In 1917, during the latter portion of the First World War, he earned the Iron Cross (both classes) and was the next year was promoted to Korvettenkapitän (corvette captain) (equivalent to the British and American rank of lieutenant commander).
The public source identifies “Ernst von Weizsäcker” as german diplomat in the Nazi regime and convicted war criminal (1882-1951). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Ernst, Weizsäcker and German.
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The record creator and administrative purpose are central evidence, because official documentation reflects both action and institutional priorities. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 8, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q60650. VIAF identifies the subject as 22934878. The Library of Congress control number is n82079350. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1882, 1951, 1938 and 1943.
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This entry incorporates text from “Ernst von Weizsäcker” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.