Were there Jewish diplomats in Nazi Germany?

Question

It is pretty well known that Nazis discouraged US companies from having local representatives who were Jews. I imagine it did not happen all at once and the way foreign Jews were treated was quite different prior to WW2 than German Jews were. Interestingly, Irving Thalberg needed surgery and I guess Germany was so superior to the USA medically prior to WW2 (as it was in many other areas) that he went there and was successfully treated even though friends were worried about this.

I doubt that there were many Jews in the USA diplomatic corps in those days but we do know that Molotov replaced a Jewish diplomat and that in fact there were many Jews in the Soviet corps. So in the early days of USSR Nazi dealings, did Jews actually visit Nazi Germany or have other dealings with Germany?

Answer 1

The fact that Molotov replaced a Jewish diplomat gives a hint as to the status of Jews in the Communist Party at the time. While many "Old Bolsheviks" were Jews, Stalin's socially conservative policies and purges fell disproportionately on Jews on suspicion of Trotskyism (this fate befalls, for example, Hinchuk - ambassador 1930-1934, Weizer - trade representative 1932-34, and Gordon - attache 1934-37).

Alexander Girschfeld was luckier. He served as 1st secretary to the consul in Berlin 1931-1935, and then as the consul in Konigsberg and briefly in Hamburg until 1938. At that point he returned to the USSR (this may be connected to his expulsion from the Party in 1939, as his brother was then purged) and became a historian, returning to military service only during the war.

There is also Suritz (finally an English article!) who was in Berlin 1934-1937, but then sent to Paris to reopen military coordination talks after Tukhachevsky's trial had shaken French confidence in the Red Army.