Editing Joachim von Ribbentrop (section)

===Background===
Ribbentrop became Hitler's favourite foreign-policy adviser, partly by dint of his familiarity with the world outside Germany but also by flattery and sycophancy.<ref>Craig, pp. 420–421.</ref><ref name="Rees 93">Rees, p. 93.</ref> One German diplomat later recalled, "Ribbentrop didn't understand anything about foreign policy. His sole wish was to please Hitler".<ref name="Rees 93"/> In particular, Ribbentrop acquired the habit of listening carefully to what Hitler was saying, memorizing his pet ideas and then later presenting Hitler's ideas as his own, a practice that much impressed Hitler as proving Ribbentrop was an ideal Nazi diplomat.<ref>Craig, p. 420.</ref> Ribbentrop quickly learned that Hitler always favoured the most radical solution to any problem and accordingly tendered his advice in that direction as a Ribbentrop aide recalled:

<blockquote>When Hitler said "Grey", Ribbentrop said "Black, black, black". He always said it three times more, and he was always more radical. I listened to what Hitler said one day when Ribbentrop wasn't present: "With Ribbentrop it is so easy, he is always so radical. Meanwhile, all the other people I have, they come here, they have problems, they are afraid, they think we should take care and then I have to blow them up, to get strong. And Ribbentrop was blowing up the whole day and I had to do nothing. I had to break – much better!"<ref>Rees, p. 95.</ref></blockquote>

Another reason for Ribbentrop's rise was Hitler's distrust of and disdain for Germany's professional diplomats. He suspected that they did not entirely support his revolution.<ref>Jacobsen, pp. 59–60, in ''The Third Reich''.</ref> However, the Foreign Office diplomats loyally served the government and rarely gave Hitler grounds for criticism,<ref name="Jacobsen p. 59">Jacobsen, p. 59, in ''The Third Reich''.</ref> while the [[Federal Foreign Office|Foreign Office]] diplomats were ultranationalist, authoritarian and antisemitic.{{confusing-inline|date=October 2024}} As a result, there was enough overlap in values between both groups to allow most of them to work comfortably for the Nazis.<ref name="Trevor-Roper pp 241-242">Trevor-Roper, Hugh "Hitler's War Aims" from ''Aspects of the Third Reich'', H. W. Koch (ed.), London: Macmillan, 1985, pp. 241–242.</ref> Nonetheless, Hitler never quite trusted the Foreign Office and was on the lookout for someone to carry out his foreign policy goals.<ref name="Jacobsen p. 59"/>