Dieter Sattler

Dietler Sattler (2 February 1906 – 9 November 1968) was a German architect who became involved in politics, especially with respect to culture, the arts and foreign policy. Between 1966 and 1968 he served as the West German ambassador to the Holy See.

Life Provenance and family connections Dieter Sattler was born in Munich, the second of his parents' four children. His father was the architect Carl Sattler (1877-1966). His paternal grandfather, Ernst Sattler (1840-1923), was a painter. His mother was born Eva Hildebrand. His maternal grandfather was the sculptor Adolf von Hildebrand (1847-1921). There had been close links between the Sattler and Hildebrand families since at least 1848. They met at a Theology seminar. She came originally from Düsseldorf. That marriage resulted in six recorded children. These included Birgit Albrecht who worked as a librarian, Monika Schätz, a book dealer, Christoph Sattler (born 1938), a Munich-based architect, Florian Sattler, a Communications Chief for the city of Munich, Martin Sattler, a Law Professor Emeritus at Heidelberg University and Stephan Sattler (born 1947), a prominent arts journalist. ) had been a reason for the break-up. He received his first degree in 1929 and a doctorate of engineering (Dr. Ing) in 1931. His dissertation topic was the sculptor (and his own grandfather) Adolf von Hildebrand. Either way, after receiving his doctorate in 1931 it seems that he found time for several lengthy visits abroad, becoming fluent (where he was not already) in English, French and Italian.

Nazi Germany Dietrich von Hildebrand's influence extended beyond the narrow issue of a religious denomination. Sattler also came to share his uncle's hostility to the Nazi party which took power in January 1933 and spent the next few months transforming the country into a one-party dictatorship. Dieter Sattler's marriage to Maria Clara Schiedges took place on 19 May 1933 in Salzburg, at that stage still just across the border from Nazi Germany, in Austria. In 1932 Sattler had acquired a property at Grendach near Taching am See, close to Salzburg but on the German side of the frontier. The region was far off the beaten track, but his brother, the landscape painter Berhard Sattler, already lived in an adjacent hamlet. Bernhard had "discovered" the region which he valued for its visual and artistic beauty. Dieter Sattler caused a seemingly unprecedented surge in employment opportunities for the small holders in the village by having the former cowshed on his property converted into a family home. During his time as a member of the Bavarian government he was closely involved in the establishment, in 1948, of the Bavarian Fine Arts Academy ("Bayerische Akademie der Schönen Künste") and of the Bavarian Institute for Art History ("Zentralinstitut für Kunstgeschichte"). Having planted the idea already in 1945, Sattler was from the beginnings in 1947 up to its final establishment in 1950, the main driving force behind the establishment of the Munich-based Institute for Contemporary History, the first German institute of its kind and still one of the most important academic institutions committed to research on Nazi Germany.

After the election at the end of 1950, Dieter Sattler and his minister, Alois Hundhammer were both replaced in the government. This may in part have been connected with the fact that Sattler had served as what amounted to an "under-minister" despite never actually having been elected a member of the Bavarian regional parliament ("Landtag"), or it may simply have reflected the shifting power balance within the party. Between 1950 and 1952 Sattler served as president of the German Theatre Association ("Deutscher Bühnenverein"). He also served during 1951/52 as chair of the broadcasting council at Bayerischer Rundfunk, the Bavarian broadcasting company. By this time, following the dramatic events in and above Berlin during 1948/49, Germany's American, British and French military occupation zones (but, conspicuously, not the Soviet occupation zone) had been combined in May 1949 and relaunched as the US-sponsored German Federal Republic (West Germany).

Diplomacy Dieter Sattler found further uses for his experience of government service in July 1952, the month in which he was sent to Rome as a cultural attaché by the recently formed West German government. During his first few years much of his time was spent negotiating the return of the assets from the German Culture and Scientific Institute which had been confiscated by the Allied Armies during the war. As the political tensions between East and West Germany spilled over into the cultural sphere, his seven years in the office coincided with a period of significant "soft power" investment. Sattler's objective was to anchor activities of the culturally focused German overseas institutions more firmly within the country's overall foreign policy strategy, which in some ways reflected his own life and career, using diplomatic instincts and personal panache to bring together the worlds of the arts and of politics. a position for which his previous career made him, in the opinion of one commentator, the "ideal candidate". caused by a nerve infection.

Awards and honours 1961 Bavarian Order of Merit 1963 Grand Cross with star of the National Order of Merit (France) 1964 Grand Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria in Gold with Star 1965 Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, Grand Officer 1965 Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) 1965 Ordre des Palmes Académiques, highest rank (Commandeur) 1965 Commander with star of the Order of St. Gregory the Great, awarded by Pope Paul VI 1968 Order of Pope Pius IX, Knight Grand Cross (GCPO) awarded by Pope Paul VI 1968 Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (Grand Cross)