William de Ropp
Encyclopedia
Baron William Sylvester de Ropp (Sylvester Wilhelm Gotthard von der Ropp) (born 1877) was a British agent involved in dealings with Nazi Germany
before and during World War II
. He was described as one of the most mysterious and influential clandestine operators" of the era.
De Ropp was born in Lithuania
the last child of Wilhelm Edmund Karl Reinhold Alexander Baron von der Ropp and his wife Lydia Gurjef. His father was from a family of Baltic barons and owned an estate called Daudzegir and his mother was a cossack
from the Crimea
.
De Ropp was educated in Dresden, Germany . In 1910 he moved to England and became naturalised in 1915. During World War I
, he served in the RFC
under the command of F. W. Winterbotham
. In the 1920s, de Ropp went to Berlin as a representative of the Bristol Aircraft Company and became an associate of Alfred Rosenberg
, a fellow Balt and a Nazi enthusiast. Rosenberg's function was to establish links with establishment figures in Britain for the Nazis. De Ropp had contacts with a powerful segment of the British elite who favoured appeasement, known as the "Cliveden Set
", and also some of the royal family, namely Duke of Kent
. Through Rosenberg, de Ropp met Adolf Hitler
and Rudolf Hess
. According to Ladislas Farago
, a close personal relationship developed between the Führer and de Ropp. Hitler used him as his confidential consultant about British affairs and outlined to him frankly his grandiose plans...a trust no other foreigner enjoyed to this extent." Lulled by this congenial atmosphere, the Luftwaffe
naively gave away its secrets to the British. F. W. Winterbotham had become head of Air Intelligence, part of MI6, and nurtured de Ropp over three years. While the Nazis considered de Ropp their agent in England his standing helped facilitate a visit by Winterbotham to Germany in 1934. WInterbotham met Rosenberg and Hermann Göring
and obtained a considerable amount of information on the growth of the Luftwaffe.
De Ropp married firstly Ruth Fisher and had a son Robert and a daughter Ruth. His wife died in the 1918 flu pandemic. He married again in 1925 to Marie Woodman. His son Robert de Ropp, with whom he maintained little contact, became a research biochemist and author on personal enlightenment.
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
before and during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He was described as one of the most mysterious and influential clandestine operators" of the era.
De Ropp was born in Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
the last child of Wilhelm Edmund Karl Reinhold Alexander Baron von der Ropp and his wife Lydia Gurjef. His father was from a family of Baltic barons and owned an estate called Daudzegir and his mother was a cossack
Cossack
Cossacks are a group of predominantly East Slavic people who originally were members of democratic, semi-military communities in what is today Ukraine and Southern Russia inhabiting sparsely populated areas and islands in the lower Dnieper and Don basins and who played an important role in the...
from the Crimea
Crimea
Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
.
De Ropp was educated in Dresden, Germany . In 1910 he moved to England and became naturalised in 1915. During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, he served in the RFC
Royal Flying Corps
The Royal Flying Corps was the over-land air arm of the British military during most of the First World War. During the early part of the war, the RFC's responsibilities were centred on support of the British Army, via artillery co-operation and photographic reconnaissance...
under the command of F. W. Winterbotham
F. W. Winterbotham
Frederick William Winterbotham was a British Royal Air Force officer who during World War II supervised the distribution of Ultra intelligence. Later, Winterbotham published the first popular account of Ultra....
. In the 1920s, de Ropp went to Berlin as a representative of the Bristol Aircraft Company and became an associate of Alfred Rosenberg
Alfred Rosenberg
' was an early and intellectually influential member of the Nazi Party. Rosenberg was first introduced to Adolf Hitler by Dietrich Eckart; he later held several important posts in the Nazi government...
, a fellow Balt and a Nazi enthusiast. Rosenberg's function was to establish links with establishment figures in Britain for the Nazis. De Ropp had contacts with a powerful segment of the British elite who favoured appeasement, known as the "Cliveden Set
Cliveden set
The Cliveden Set were a 1930s right-wing, upper class group of prominent individuals politically influential in pre-World War II Britain, who were in the circle of Nancy Astor, Viscountess Astor...
", and also some of the royal family, namely Duke of Kent
Prince George, Duke of Kent
Prince George, Duke of Kent was a member of the British Royal Family, the fourth son of George V and Mary of Teck, and younger brother of Edward VIII and George VI...
. Through Rosenberg, de Ropp met Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
and Rudolf Hess
Rudolf Hess
Rudolf Walter Richard Hess was a prominent Nazi politician who was Adolf Hitler's deputy in the Nazi Party during the 1930s and early 1940s...
. According to Ladislas Farago
Ladislas Farago
Ladislas Farago was a military historian and journalist who published a number of best-selling books on history and espionage, especially concerning the World War II era....
, a close personal relationship developed between the Führer and de Ropp. Hitler used him as his confidential consultant about British affairs and outlined to him frankly his grandiose plans...a trust no other foreigner enjoyed to this extent." Lulled by this congenial atmosphere, the Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
naively gave away its secrets to the British. F. W. Winterbotham had become head of Air Intelligence, part of MI6, and nurtured de Ropp over three years. While the Nazis considered de Ropp their agent in England his standing helped facilitate a visit by Winterbotham to Germany in 1934. WInterbotham met Rosenberg and Hermann Göring
Hermann Göring
Hermann Wilhelm Göring, was a German politician, military leader, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. He was a veteran of World War I as an ace fighter pilot, and a recipient of the coveted Pour le Mérite, also known as "The Blue Max"...
and obtained a considerable amount of information on the growth of the Luftwaffe.
De Ropp married firstly Ruth Fisher and had a son Robert and a daughter Ruth. His wife died in the 1918 flu pandemic. He married again in 1925 to Marie Woodman. His son Robert de Ropp, with whom he maintained little contact, became a research biochemist and author on personal enlightenment.