Jona von Ustinov
Encyclopedia
Jona Baron von Ustinov (December 2, 1892December 1, 1962) was a German
journalist and diplomat who worked for MI5
during the time of the Nazi regime
. He was the son of Baron Plato von Ustinov and father of the actor Sir Peter Ustinov
.
von Ustinow in Jaffa
, Palestine
, then part of the Ottoman Empire
, the son of Plato von Ustinov, a former Russia
n officer and naturalised citizen of the Kingdom of Württemberg
, who had married Magdalena Hall, then living in Jaffa, the daughter of the Ethiopia
n court-lady Katharina Hall, also known as Welette-Iyesus and her husband Moritz Hall, a Jewish-born convert to Protestantism, cannon-caster of Negus Tewodros II of Ethiopia
and missionary of St. Chrischona Pilgrim Mission in Ethiopia
, and later in Jaffa. Magdalena and Plato von Ustinov had four children, Jonah being the eldest. Jonah von Ustinov disliked his first name and chose the nickname "Klop" ("Bedbug" in Russian), by which he was known to his friends and relatives for the rest of his life.
Ustinov went to school in Jaffa, where - until 1900 - his father hosted the school of the Protestant Immanuel congregation in his Hôtel du Parc, later in Düsseldorf
, and Yverdon. He studied at Grenoble University
in France
and worked at Frederick William University of Berlin before moving to London
. This peripatetic life engendered in Ustinov a cosmopolitan attitude that made him averse to any kind of nationalism.
He is "unique" in having performed service in the Russian , German and British armies.
In World War I
he was conscripted into the German Army and served in the Army Air Service
unit Flieger-Abteilung (Artillerie) 250. He was awarded the Württembergian
Military Merit Order
for his services. His brother Peter von Ustinow joined the same unit and was killed in action on 13 July 1917. After the war Ustinov worked for "Wolff's Telegraphisches Bureau", the first German news agency, in Amsterdam
.
On July 17, 1920 he married the painter Nadezhda Leontievna Benois (aka Nadia Benois) (1896-1975), daughter of Leon Benois
. The Ustinovs returned to London where Klop became a press officer for the German Embassy. Their son Peter
was born on April 16, 1921.
Due to his political opinions Ustinov got into problems with the new Nazi government almost immediately. In 1935 the conflict culminated when Ustinov refused to prove that he was not of Jewish descent ("Ariernachweis
"). As a result he lost his job and chose to become a British citizen
, thus avoiding internment or deportation later during the war.
Meanwhile, he had begun working for the British intelligence service MI5
and hosted secret meetings of senior British and German officials at his London home. Notable among these guests were the diplomat Robert Vansittart
and Winston Churchill
(then out of power). Another was Baron Wolfgang zu Putlitz, a First Secretary of the German Embassy in London who provided detailed information about German rearmament. It was, wrote Peter Wright, "priceless intelligence, possibly the most important human-source intelligence Britain received in the prewar period",
He also tried to convince the British government of a more robust attitude towards Nazi Germany. Seven months before the occupation of Czechoslovakia
in 1939, he was able to acquire the German plans. He later regretted that Prime Minister
Neville Chamberlain
could not bring himself to take any action.
Ustinov died on December 1, 1962 in Eastleach
, Gloucestershire
.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
journalist and diplomat who worked for MI5
MI5
The Security Service, commonly known as MI5 , is the United Kingdom's internal counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its core intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service focused on foreign threats, Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence...
during the time of the Nazi regime
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...
. He was the son of Baron Plato von Ustinov and father of the actor Sir Peter Ustinov
Peter Ustinov
Peter Alexander Ustinov CBE was an English actor, writer and dramatist. He was also renowned as a filmmaker, theatre and opera director, stage designer, author, screenwriter, comedian, humourist, newspaper and magazine columnist, radio broadcaster and television presenter...
.
Biography
Ustinov was born Jonah FreiherrFreiherr
The German titles Freiherr and Freifrau and Freiin are titles of nobility, used preceding a person's given name or, after 1919, before the surname...
von Ustinow in Jaffa
Jaffa
Jaffa is an ancient port city believed to be one of the oldest in the world. Jaffa was incorporated with Tel Aviv creating the city of Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel. Jaffa is famous for its association with the biblical story of the prophet Jonah.-Etymology:...
, Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
, then part of the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
, the son of Plato von Ustinov, a former Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n officer and naturalised citizen of the Kingdom of Württemberg
Kingdom of Württemberg
The Kingdom of Württemberg was a state that existed from 1806 to 1918, located in present-day Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It was a continuation of the Duchy of Württemberg, which came into existence in 1495...
, who had married Magdalena Hall, then living in Jaffa, the daughter of the Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
n court-lady Katharina Hall, also known as Welette-Iyesus and her husband Moritz Hall, a Jewish-born convert to Protestantism, cannon-caster of Negus Tewodros II of Ethiopia
Tewodros II of Ethiopia
Tewodros II was the Emperor of Ethiopia from 1855 until his death....
and missionary of St. Chrischona Pilgrim Mission in Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
, and later in Jaffa. Magdalena and Plato von Ustinov had four children, Jonah being the eldest. Jonah von Ustinov disliked his first name and chose the nickname "Klop" ("Bedbug" in Russian), by which he was known to his friends and relatives for the rest of his life.
Ustinov went to school in Jaffa, where - until 1900 - his father hosted the school of the Protestant Immanuel congregation in his Hôtel du Parc, later in Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
, and Yverdon. He studied at Grenoble University
Joseph Fourier University
Université Joseph Fourier , often known as UJF, is a French university situated in the city of Grenoble and focused on the fields of sciences, technologies and health...
in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and worked at Frederick William University of Berlin before moving to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. This peripatetic life engendered in Ustinov a cosmopolitan attitude that made him averse to any kind of nationalism.
He is "unique" in having performed service in the Russian , German and British armies.
In 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 was conscripted into the German Army and served in the Army Air Service
Luftstreitkräfte
The Deutsche Luftstreitkräfte , known before October 1916 as Die Fliegertruppen des deutschen Kaiserreiches , or simply Die Fliegertruppen, was the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I...
unit Flieger-Abteilung (Artillerie) 250. He was awarded the Württembergian
Kingdom of Württemberg
The Kingdom of Württemberg was a state that existed from 1806 to 1918, located in present-day Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It was a continuation of the Duchy of Württemberg, which came into existence in 1495...
Military Merit Order
Military Merit Order (Württemberg)
The Military Merit Order was a military order of the Kingdom of Württemberg, which joined the German Empire in 1871. The order was one of the older military orders of the states of the German Empire...
for his services. His brother Peter von Ustinow joined the same unit and was killed in action on 13 July 1917. After the war Ustinov worked for "Wolff's Telegraphisches Bureau", the first German news agency, in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
.
On July 17, 1920 he married the painter Nadezhda Leontievna Benois (aka Nadia Benois) (1896-1975), daughter of Leon Benois
Leon Benois
Leon Benois was a Russian architect. He was the son of architect Nicholas Benois, the brother of artists Alexandre Benois and Albert Benois, and the grandfather of the actor Sir Peter Ustinov...
. The Ustinovs returned to London where Klop became a press officer for the German Embassy. Their son Peter
Peter Ustinov
Peter Alexander Ustinov CBE was an English actor, writer and dramatist. He was also renowned as a filmmaker, theatre and opera director, stage designer, author, screenwriter, comedian, humourist, newspaper and magazine columnist, radio broadcaster and television presenter...
was born on April 16, 1921.
Due to his political opinions Ustinov got into problems with the new Nazi government almost immediately. In 1935 the conflict culminated when Ustinov refused to prove that he was not of Jewish descent ("Ariernachweis
Ahnenpass
The Ahnenpaß documented the Aryan lineage of citizens of Nazi Germany. It was one of the forms of the Aryan certificate ....
"). As a result he lost his job and chose to become a British citizen
British nationality law
British nationality law is the law of the United Kingdom that concerns citizenship and other categories of British nationality. The law is complex because of the United Kingdom's former status as an imperial power.-History:...
, thus avoiding internment or deportation later during the war.
Meanwhile, he had begun working for the British intelligence service MI5
MI5
The Security Service, commonly known as MI5 , is the United Kingdom's internal counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its core intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service focused on foreign threats, Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence...
and hosted secret meetings of senior British and German officials at his London home. Notable among these guests were the diplomat Robert Vansittart
Robert Vansittart, 1st Baron Vansittart
Robert Gilbert Vansittart, 1st Baron Vansittart GCB, GCMG, PC, MVO was a senior British diplomat in the period before and during the Second World War...
and Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
(then out of power). Another was Baron Wolfgang zu Putlitz, a First Secretary of the German Embassy in London who provided detailed information about German rearmament. It was, wrote Peter Wright, "priceless intelligence, possibly the most important human-source intelligence Britain received in the prewar period",
He also tried to convince the British government of a more robust attitude towards Nazi Germany. Seven months before the occupation of Czechoslovakia
German occupation of Czechoslovakia
German occupation of Czechoslovakia began with the Nazi annexation of Czechoslovakia's northern and western border regions, known collectively as the Sudetenland, under terms outlined by the Munich Agreement. Nazi leader Adolf Hitler's pretext for this effort was the alleged privations suffered by...
in 1939, he was able to acquire the German plans. He later regretted that Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
Neville Chamberlain
Neville Chamberlain
Arthur Neville Chamberlain FRS was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from May 1937 to May 1940. Chamberlain is best known for his appeasement foreign policy, and in particular for his signing of the Munich Agreement in 1938, conceding the...
could not bring himself to take any action.
Ustinov died on December 1, 1962 in Eastleach
Eastleach
Eastleach is a civil parish in the county of Gloucestershire, England. It was created in 1935 when the separate parishes of Eastleach Turville and Eastleach Martin were combined as the civil parish of Eastleach...
, Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
.