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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 11 December 2015
Before he met death by his own hand in 1946, Colin Ross was one of Germany's most famous journalist-travelers. No less than fifteen books and a host of articles described his visits to countries from the Arctic to the Pacific and Haha Whenua to Africa, “ mit Kind und Kegel und Kamera ”—“ bag, baggage, and camera.” His greatest renown—or notoriety—dated from the Nazi era. Hitler himself said, “A man like Colin Ross, for example, gave me infinitely more precious information on the subject” of the Far East than all of the professional diplomats. Ross was, indeed, regarded with some exaggeration as “ one of Hitler's foremost geopoliticians,” and, probably with even greater exaggeration, as a paid spy for the Third Reich. When he visited South America in 1919-1920, however, it was suspicions of Bolshevist rather than Nazi inclinations which placed obstacles in the path of high ambitions.
1 Ross’s, published travel books include the following: Südamerika, die aufsteigende Welt (Leipzig, 1922)Google Scholar; Der Weg nach Osten; Reise durch Russland, Ukraine, Transkaukasien, Persien, Buchara und Turkestan (Leipzig, 1923); Das Meer der Entscheidungen; beiderseits des Pazifik (Leipzig, 1925); Heute in Indien … (Leipzig, 1925); Mit dem Kurbelkasten um die Welt (Berlin, 1925); Die erwachende Sphinx; durch Afrika vom Kap nach Kairo (Leipzig, 1927); Mit Kamera, Kind und Kegel durch Afrika (Leipzig, 1928); Fahrten- und abenteuerbuch (Berlin, 1930); Der unvollendete Kontinent (Leipzig, 1930); Das Europa-buch … (Berlin, 1931); Das Buch der fernen Welt; Asien, Afrika, Australien, Amerika (Berlin, 1931); Umstrittenes Indien (Berlin, 1931); Haha Whenua—das Land, das ich gesucht; mit Kind und Kegel durch die Südsee (Leipzig, 1933); Zwischen USA und dem Pol; durch Kanada, Neufundland, Labrador und die Arktis (Leipzig, 1934); Mit Kind und Kegel in die Arktis (Leipzig, 1934); Unser Amerika; der deutsche Anteil an den Vereinigten Staaten… (Leipzig, 1936); Der Balkan Amerikas; mit Kind und Kegel durch Mexiko zum Panamakanal (Leipzig, 1937); Das neue Asien (Leipzig, 1940); Das Meer der Entscheidungen … 6., auf Grund neuer Relsen nach Amerika und Ostasien neubearb. Auft. (Leipzig, 1941); Vom neuen Asien (Leipzig, 1941); Umkämpftes Afrike; Kriegsreise durch Marokko, Algerien und Tunisien (Leipzig, 1944). The above listing omits several interpretative studies, notably, Die Welt auf der Waage; der Querschnitt von 20 Jahren Weltreise (Leipzig, 1929); Americas Schicksalstunde; die Vereinigten Staaten zwischen Demokratie und Dikatur (Leipzig, 1935) and Die “ westliche Hemisphäre ” als Programin und Phantom des amerikanischen Imperialismus (Leipzig, 1942).
2 Hitler, Adolf, Hitler’s Table Talk, 1941–1944 (London, 1953), p. 277.Google Scholar
3 Coper, Rudolf, Failure of a Revolution; Germany in 1918–1919 (Cambridge, Mass., 1955), pp. 114n.Google Scholar
4 Ibid.; see also report of Dies Committee, New York Times, April 16, 1943, 4:3.
5 Südamerika, die Aufsteigene Welt, p. 3.
6 Ross, wrote his doctoral dissertation at Heidelberg in 1911: Die Produktionsbedingungen der Seewerke und Ihre Entwicklung (Berlin, 1911)Google Scholar and followed it up with several works on iron production and heavy industry: Eisenhüttenwesen, unter redaktioneller mitwurkung von direktor Wilhelm Vanator und dr. … (München, 1911); Die Entstehung von Grosseisenindustrie an der deutschen Seeküste (Berlin, 1911). In 1930 he explained, “ Later on, when I forsook the technical side of my work—the practice of engineering—and took up journalism, I always picked out those subjects which had to do with a war or with some political trouble. This characteristic—a desire for adventure—is still a part of me to-day.” The World in the Balance; an Analysis of World Problems after Twenty Years’ Travel About the World (London, 1930), p. vii.
7 Im Balkankrieg (München, 1913); Der Balkankrieg, 1912–13; Bilder von der unter-gehenden Türkenherrschaft in Europa (Köln am Rhein, 1913?).
8 Ross, also published a mammoth war memoir, Wir Draussen: zwei Jahre Kriegserleben an vier Fronten (Berlin, 1916).Google Scholar
9 See Coper, , Failure of a Revolution, pp. 114, 155Google Scholar; von Baden, Prinz Max, Erinnerungen und Dokumente (Berlin und Leipzig, 1927), p. 633 Google Scholar; Müller-Franken, Hermann, Die November Revolution. Erinnerungen (Berlin, 1928), pp. 61, 97, 128, 172.Google Scholar
10 Müller-Franken, , Die November Revolution, p. 97.Google Scholar
11 The major files on Ross’s visit to South America are in the Akten of the German Foreign Office, Büro des Reichministers, Akten betr. Südamerika (Captured German Documents, National Archives, Washington, D.C., File T-120, Serial No. 3087H, D 621864-D 622009). These will be cited hereafter, Akten, with the frame numbers of the microfilm copies of the pertinent documents.
12 Südamerika, p. 3.
13 World in the Balance, p. viii.
14 In his interview in El Mercurio of Santiago, Chile, May 12, 1920, Ross mentioned the Ullstein press and that of Huck Hnos. Ullstein later recalled with considerable regret the long sponsorship he had given Ross. See Ullstein, Hermann, The Rise and Fall of the House of Ullstein (New York, 1943), p. 14.Google Scholar
15 Ross named as his contacts in the Foreign Office Conrad Hausmann and Philipp Schneidemann and claimed that his mission, assigned him by Foreign Minister Hermann Müller in October, 1919, was to create good feeling in South America for the new Germany, especially among the Germans abroad, and to report to the Foreign Office on the situation within the South American countries he visited. Ross to Walter Simons, from La Paz, July 6, 1920, Akten, D 621871; enclosure, “An die Nachrichtenabteilung des A.A.” in Ross to Simons from Coeln-Lindenthal, May 12, 1921, ibid., D 621991. A copy of the commission to Ross, addressed to Dönhoff, Graf and signed, “Im Auftrage, Rauscher,” (Dated October 16, 1919,Google Scholar and stamped, “ Geheim! ”) says that although Ross is not given a specific mission and this is left over to the individual embassies,“ great value ” is placed upon his use “ if the embassy agrees that this is worthwhile ” and recommends payment for his services. A specific note is given in the last paragraph that this communication should be forwarded to the embassy in Santiago so that Ross will be “secured for his west coast visits.” Ibid., D 621972-3.
16 Ross received 4,000 pesos in all from Dönhoff, but he claimed that he was to have received another payment on his return from Bolivia and that this was denied him. As a consequence, his journey lost him 4,000 pesos or approximately 80,000 marks, Ibid., D 621989, 621993-4.
17 Articles in La Prensa are listed below. Files of the Argentinisches Tageblatt could not be located, but a listing by Ross on August 20, 1920, is as follows: “Wie es zum Zusammenbruch kam,” Dec. 6, 1919; sketches—of Ebert, Dec. 31, 1919; Prince Max, Jan. 2; Scheidemann, Feb. 3; Gustav Noske, Feb. 6; Conrad Hausmann, Feb. 7; Lebedour, Feb. 10; Richard Müller, Feb. 11, 1920. Ibid., D 621954.
18 La Prensa, interview, Dec. 18, 1919; Ross’s articles, Jan. 27, Feb. 2, 3, 8, 16, 1920.
19 Ibid., March 14, 15, 1920.
20 As Ross phrased it in La Prensa, Feb. 16, 1920, “ While there were reasons for believing that the regime of the Bolsheviks in Russia would fall and be replaced by a democratic government, the natural aversion to Bolshevism on the part of the German bourgeoisie was reenforced by a political consideration: an alliance with the Bolsheviks would discredit Germany in the eyes of those who would be called on to succeed them in power. But today this consideration no longer exists and sincere nationalists are predisposed toward an alliance with Bolshevik Russia.”
21 Account in Südamerika, pp. 76–80.
22 The account of Ross’s activities by his major critic in Chile, Dr. Oestreich, the editor of the Deutsche Zeitzung für Chile, indicates that the propinquity of Ross’s socialism and his advocacy of a political alliance “ of convenience ” with Soviet Russia was just too much for most of the Santiago Germans! El Mercurio, Santiago, Chile, Letter of Oestreich to the Editor, May 13, 1920.
23 Ross included in the materials he sent to the Foreign Office a letter by Adolf Schlach, the chairman of the Gesangverein Frohsinn in Santiago, dated May 29, 1920, in which Dr. Gumprecht, the chargé, was quoted as having said Ross’s “ expensive trips ” were being paid for by Russian gold. Akten, D 621867.
24 Ross was in Temuco at the time. Although he complained bitterly about the imprisonment, he was quickly released and seems to have suffered spiritually more than physically! See criticism in Vorwäarts, “Ein reaktionarer Vertreter Deutschlands. Genosse Colin Ross als Boschewist verhaftet! ” May 22, 1920.
25 Ross did, indeed, have a letter from a friend, one “F. Huber” of Santiago, dated May 30, 1920, which quoted the head of the Chilean Secret Police as saying that Gumprecht had declared Ross’s papers “ bad.” Akten, D 621868.
26 Letter to Simons from La Paz, August 20, 1920, “ After all this I came then to the impression that a great, carefully-laid intrigue has been set up against me, whose planners must not only be sitting in the embassies in South America, but even in the foreign office in Berlin.” Ibid., D 621943.
27 Letter to his cousin, Willy Kyttmann, in La Paz, Feb. 23, 1921. Ibid., D 621939.
28 Ibid.
29 Thus, the official foreign office evaluations of November, 1920, contained seriously exaggerated comments. One of these noted: “ Colin Ross came, to express it rather harshly, as a radical Social Democratic, somewhat Bolshevist inclined, propagandist into a monarchist, nationalist fish pond [Karpfenteich]. The other went even further, saying, “… he [Ross] represented not the views of the Majority Socialists but rather views which one could indeed describe as Bolshevist.” Both commentaries declared Gumprecht had behaved properly and that it had been a mistake to send Ross to South America. Ibid., D 621924; 621977.
30 See Vorwärts, May 5, 1920 and the far from exculpatory answer in Deutsche Zeitung von Mexiko, June 5, 1920.
31 The most direct bid is in a letter to Simons from La Paz, Oct. 16, 1920, in which he refers to German intentions to set up “Emigration Commissioners” in South American states and says that if anything of this sort is intended for Bolivia, he hopes that the agent will get in touch with him and adds that it would be most surprising to him if his own experiences would not be made use of by the Foreign Office. Akten, D 621959. On another occasion he suggested he might be made chargé in La Paz, July 6, 1920. Ibid., D 621884.
32 World in the Balance, p. xiii.
33 lbid., p. ix.
34 Südamerika, pp. 189, 312.
35 World in the Balance, p. xi.
36 Akten, D 621890-621913 (24 pages!).
37 Ibid., D 621890-2.
38 Ibid., D 621893-4.
39 Ibid., D 621895-8.
40 Ibid., D 621899-621901.
41 Ibid., D 621901, 621910-13.
42 Ibid., D 621902-5.
43 Ibid., D 621909.
44 Normano, J.F., The Struggle for South America: Economy and Ideology (Boston, 1931), p. 32.Google Scholar
45 Artucio, Hugo Fernández, The Nazi Underground in South America (New York, 1942), p. 92.Google Scholar See also official comment on work of Transocean, which indicates governmental support, memo dated Feb. 28, 1930, Akten, D 622021-5.
46 Artucio, , Nazi Underground, pp. 24–33 Google Scholar; Beals, Carleton, The Coming Struggle for Latin America (Philadelphia, 1938), pp. 65–70.Google Scholar
47 Ibid.
48 See New York Times, March 16, 1939, 20:2. By this time Ross had already warned Europe against American intrusion in European affairs, ibid., Nov. 8, 1937, 9:1, and declared that “nothing can shake my faith in this man Hitler, whom I love, whose genius I admire,” adding that more than 90% of the German people were back of Hitler. Ibid., Jan. 15, 1939, 30:4.