Veit Valentin

Veit Valentin (25 March 1885, Frankfurt – 12 January 1947, Washington D.C.) was a German historian who was Professor of History at the University of Freiburg.[1]

In comments that caused a storm of controversy in Germany, Valentin attacked Ernst Graf zu Reventlow's Deutschlands Auswärtige Politik in 1916: "It is a classic example of historiographical demagogy and we have no choice but to warn the public against the book and its author".[2] During the First World War, Gustav Stresemann tried to have Valentin sent to court for alleged treasonable utterances.[3]

Valentin was appointed by the German Foreign Office to write a history of German foreign policy, permitting him access to their papers. This was published in 1921 as Deutschlands Aussenpolitik, 1890-1918. In assessing responsibility for causing the World War during the July Crisis, Valentin ranked Russia as the country most to blame, followed by Austria-Hungary, with France, England and Germany joint third. Valentin wrote: "None of the Powers was wholly innocent, none alone guilty. The world spirit was ready for the world war".[2]

In a conversation with Paul Nikolaus Cossmann, the editor of the Süddeutsche Monatshefte, Valentin accused Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz of doctoring statistics related to Germany's performance in the U-boat campaign.[4] Cossmann launched a legal action against Valentin and he resigned his professorship, thus ending his academic career in Germany.[4]