PEEBLES PROFILES
EPISODE 164
Hans von Flotow
THE PRE-WAR ERA
Hans Ludwig Carl Theodor von Flotow was born on September 10, 1862 at the family estate of Felsenhagen near Pritzwalk. He was part of a large noble family from Mecklenburg; the son of manor owner Ludwig von Flotow and Anna (née von Avemann). Young Hans attended the gymnasium in Wittstock and graduated from the Ritterakademie in Brandenburg in the early spring of 1882. At the latter, he became friends with future Imperial Chancellor Bernhard von Bülow.
Financially well off, Flotow was able to study law at Heidelberg University… as well as political science at the University of Berlin. Then in 1886, he trained as a senior officer in the Prussian civil service. After completing his training and briefly working in Prussia’s Finance Ministry, Flotow joined the diplomatic service in the summer of 1892. He was trained in the Foreign Office and later employed at various Imperial foreign missions and Prussian legations.
From 1893 to 1895, Flotow served as legation secretary in Washington D.C., then in Dresden (1895-1898) and finally The Hague (1898-1900). He was then secretary to the embassy in Vatican City from 1900 to 1904.
Flotow travelled to Paris, taking on the role as counselor from 1904 to 1907. He then became head of the personal staff at the Foreign Office in Berlin… serving in that capacity for the next three years.
As 1910 dawned, Flotow succeeded Nikolaus von Wallwitz as German Ambassador to Belgium. Later in September, he married Marie, Countess von Keller, a Russian woman and widow of a general (nee Princess Schachowsky). However, the marriage proved to be an unhappy one, and the couple eventually divorced six years later.
In 1911, Flotow worked towards German-French relations during the Agadir Crisis in Morocco. For his recognition, Flotow was made Grand Croix of the Legion d’Honneur. He would hold the office of German Ambassador to Belgium until he was succeeded by Claus von Below-Saleske in early 1913.
On February 15th, Flotow travelled to Rome to accept the post of German Ambassador to Italy. The previous appointee (Martin Rücker von Jenisch) had resigned on health grounds, and the office had been vacant for over a month! The previous ambassador was Gottlieb von Jagow, who had become the new German Foreign Minister.
ITALY AND THE GREAT WAR
Hans von Flotow was in Rome when the Great War broke out in August 1914. The Germans demanded to know where Italy stood as the conflict started to spread across the continent.
Although nominally allied with the German Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire via an 1882 agreement that created the Triple Alliance, the Kingdom of Italy declared neutrality and did not join the Central Powers. In fact, Germany and Austria–Hungary had taken the offensive… while the Triple Alliance was recognized as a defensive pact.
Moreover, the agreement recognized that both Italy and Austria-Hungary were interested in the Balkans. It required the three nations to consult each other before changing the status quo… and to provide compensation for whatever advantage in that area. Austria-Hungary did in fact consult Germany, but NOT Italy before issuing the ultimatum to Serbia.
However, Italy also maintained good relations with republican France and Tsarist Russia. The other European powers understood this duality, and they did not expect Italy to join the war in 1914. But secretly, the Italians began looking for a better deal with the Allies, especially in terms of gaining territory from the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
On August 20th, Pope Pius X died. The Papal conclave assembled in Rome and elected Pope Benedict XV on September 3, 1914. He immediately declared the neutrality of the Holy See as the European conflict escalated.
Antonio Salandra was the Italian prime minister, but the decision for war was in the hands of Foreign Minister Antonino Paternò Castello, the Marchese di San Giuliano. Castello was an experienced diplomat, but cynical and cautious. He was also in poor health… and died on October 16, 1914. He was succeeded on November 5th by Sidney Sonnino, who quickly maneuvered to join the Allied cause.
However, Russia had its own pro-Slavic interests in the Balkans. To complicate matters even further, Serbia wanted to claim much of the same territory sought by Italian irredentists. Russia’s position was greatly weakened by heavy military losses throughout the first year of the war. In the face of insistence from London and Paris, Tsarist Russia abandoned its support for most of Serbia’s claims by the spring of 1915. The Cossacks accepted terms for Italy’s entry into the war, which would limit the Russian strategic presence in the postwar Adriatic.
On November 29, 1914, neutral Italy occupied the port of Valona (Vlorë) in Albania. The reason was pretentious: to protect Albanian territories from a Greek invasion. As December opened Sonnino started negotiations in Vienna. By mid-April 1915, he was asking for territorial compensation in return for remaining neutral. The Italian draft treaty included the following:
1. The Trentino-Alto-Adige (Südtirol) and its capital Bolzano (Botzen)
2. The Isarco Valley
3. Lands off the Dalmatian coast including the town of Gorizia (Görz)
4. Autonomy for the Istrian town of Trieste
5. A waiver on all Austrian claims on Albania
6. A guarantee of Italian neutrality in the ongoing war.
These lands would be the triumphant climax of “Risorgimento” (Italian unification) that began over fifty years earlier. The dream of Italian Irredentism would be realized.
Meanwhile in Rome on December 14th, Hans von Flotow went on sick leave. He was superseded in the German Embassy by Bernhard von Bülow. The latter’s appointment was given the title of “special ambassador”. Bülow boasted he would be able to convince Italy not to enter the war against Austro-Hungary and Germany.
In truth, the Kingdom of Italy was not prepared for war. The country lacked materiel and capital; its industrial base was small, run-down, and outdated. Militarily, there were thirty-six divisions numbering 875,000 soldiers (most of them ill-trained). But this army outnumbered the Austrians in the Trentino and the Isonzo by two to one!
Public and elite opinion in Italy was split on the wisdom of entering the war, for either side. Prime Minister Salandra had little experience in international affairs, and his hold on office was not strong. But fears of nationalist disorder and open rebellion allowed Salandra to continue in his post.
While Sonnino was dealing with Vienna, Italy began negotiations with the Triple Entente on March 4, 1915. Italian Ambassador Guglielmo Imperiali promptly handed over the conditions to British Foreign Minister Edward Grey.
On April 16th, Austria-Hungary rejected the Italian demands outlined in the draft treaty prepared by Sonnino. Vienna reiterated that it was prepared to give only part of the Trentino. Consequently, Austro-Italian negotiations were interrupted, paving the way for a secret pact with the Entente.
The Treaty of London was formalized on April 26, 1915, signed by Grey and the ambassadors from Italy, France, and Russia. In it, Italy was pledged the Trentino, Istria, Dalmatia, Cisalpine Tyrol, a base at Valona in Albania, and a permanent title to the Dodecanese Islands. The kingdom was also promised a share of German colonies and Turkish lands in the Middle East once the Central Powers were defeated. In return, Italy would join the Allies against all enemies.
With the deal completed, Italy officially revoked the Triple Alliance on May 3, 1915. Just over two weeks later, the Chamber of Deputies passes a single-article bill transferring both legislative and executive powers to the government, empowering it to do what it deemed necessary to ensure the security of the state (the vote was 407 to 74). On May 23rd, Italy declared war on Austria-Hungary, formally entering the conflict on the Allied side.
Although the kingdom broke off diplomatic relations with Germany, Italy did not declare war on the Teutonic empire! It would be over a year before the Italians took such action, days after taking Gorizia from the Austrians in the Sixth Battle of the Isonzo in August 1916.
For Bernhard von Bülow, the hopes of keeping Italy out of the war ended in embarrassing failure. For Hans von Flotow, it signaled an end to his diplomatic career…
THE RETURN HOME
Ill and tired, Hans von Flotow moved to his Altenhof estate in the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin as Gutsherr (lord of the manor). He remained a temporary diplomat until his full retirement on New Year’s Day 1928. Flotow was cared for by a niece, whom he later adopted as his daughter… and made his heir (although there is no surviving written will).
Flotow contributed an essay on Bülow’s role in Rome to Dr. Friedrich Thimme’s 1931 anthology entitled “Front wider Bülow”. It basically corrected some of the historical errors in Bülow’s memoirs.
Flotow was also a member of the German Men’s Club. He had distant relatives, including Ludwig Freiherr von Flotow (Austro-Hungary’s last Foreign Minister) and Friedrich von Flotow (composer and director of the Hoftheater in Schwerin).
Hans von Flotow died in Berlin on December 19, 1935 at the age of seventy-three.
BLOGGER’S NOTE
There is no known photograph of Hans von Flotow, but below is the family coat of arms.