{"record":{"aliases":[],"appointmentIds":["germany-65b78cd2e6568e"],"appointmentsDataset":"https://chanceries.org/diplomats.json","archivalSources":[],"canonicalUrl":"https://chanceries.org/diplopedia/people/germany-johann-heinrich-von-bernstorff-fffeceb6d0/","countrySlug":"germany","entityId":"https://chanceries.org/diplopedia/people/germany-johann-heinrich-von-bernstorff-fffeceb6d0/#person","eventIds":[],"expandedParagraphs":["Johann Heinrich von Bernstorff entered diplomacy after military service and held posts in Constantinople, Belgrade, St. Petersburg, London, and Cairo. As ambassador in Washington from 1908, he tried to preserve American neutrality during the First World War. He warned Berlin that unrestricted submarine warfare would bring the United States into the conflict and encouraged President Woodrow Wilson’s efforts to mediate a peace.","Bernstorff returned to Germany after diplomatic relations broke in 1917 and later represented Germany in Constantinople. During the Weimar Republic he entered parliament for the German Democratic Party and promoted German membership in the League of Nations. He served on the League’s preparatory disarmament commission and headed organizations supporting international cooperation. After the Nazis took power, he settled in Geneva, where he died in 1939."],"id":"germany:germany-johann-heinrich-von-bernstorff","identifiers":{"gnd":"118656562"},"legacyPersonIds":[],"legacyUrl":"https://chanceries.org/diplomat-fffeceb6d08547b16ee0.html","name":"Johann Heinrich von Bernstorff","notes":[],"paragraphSources":[["bernstorff-ndb"],["bernstorff-ndb","bernstorff-hls"]],"profileUrl":"diplomat-fffeceb6d08547b16ee0.html","relatedEvents":[{"basis":"reviewed-context","country":"Germany","date":"1917-04-06","description":"Congress declares war on Germany after unrestricted submarine attacks and the breakdown of diplomatic relations. Woodrow Wilson commits American forces and resources to the European conflict.","id":"germany-war","note":"Bernstorff’s mission ended with the February break described in the story; no continued accredited service during the war is implied.","sourceUrls":["https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/address-to-congress-declaration-of-war-against-germany","https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1917Supp01v01/d240","https://history.state.gov/countries/germany"],"title":"The United States enters the war","url":"Germany.html#history-germany-war"}],"relatedPeople":[],"relationships":[],"researchStatus":"reviewed","reviewedOn":"2026-10-28","revision":"a8113ef5689d15b3","sources":[{"accessedOn":"2026-10-28","date":"1955","id":"bernstorff-ndb","locator":"NDB 2, pp. 141–142, Friedrich Hermann Schubert","publisher":"Neue Deutsche Biographie / Bavarian Academy of Sciences","title":"Bernstorff, Johann Heinrich Graf von","type":"scholarship","url":"https://www.deutsche-biographie.de/sfz4090.html"},{"accessedOn":"2026-10-28","date":"2002-06-20","id":"bernstorff-hls","locator":"Hermann Wichers, biographical entry","publisher":"Historical Dictionary of Switzerland","title":"Johann-Heinrich von Bernstorff","type":"scholarship","url":"https://hls-dhs-dss.ch/de/articles/028013/2002-06-20/"},{"accessedOn":"","date":"Accessed 23 October 2026","id":"mission-4004483e27002a3fc55a","locator":"Secondary year level roster; exact credentials and all temporary acting appointments not fully audited.","publisher":"","title":"Incoming German ambassadors to the United States: secondary chronology","type":"Mission record","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ambassadors_of_Germany_to_the_United_States"},{"accessedOn":"","date":"Accessed 23 October 2026","id":"mission-011cadc3f8e4f026703b","locator":"","publisher":"","title":"FRUS 1915, Supplement, document 767: Bernstorff to Lansing","type":"Mission record","url":"https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1915Supp/d767"},{"accessedOn":"","date":"Accessed 26 October 2026","id":"mission-2403d1faa9fad56b36b8","locator":"","publisher":"","title":"Historical representation: Prussia","type":"Mission record","url":"https://www.bundestag.de/en/parliament/symbols/flag/flag-199494"},{"accessedOn":"","date":"Accessed 23 October 2026","id":"mission-83913b668e6ddcdcd669","locator":"","publisher":"","title":"U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian: Germany recognition and diplomatic relations","type":"Mission record","url":"https://history.state.gov/countries/germany"}],"topics":["First World War","submarine warfare","League of Nations","disarmament"]},"schemaVersion":1}