Europe and the Soviet Union
John Gunther Dean: From Nazi Germany to American Diplomacy
A Jewish refugee from Breslau who became ambassador five times and led the 1975 evacuation of Phnom Penh.
- Fled
- Nazi Germany
- Status
- Refugee
- Arrived in the U.S.
- 1939
- Service
- U.S. Ambassador to the Khmer Republic (1974 to 1975), Denmark, Lebanon, Thailand, and India
- Region
- Europe and the Soviet Union
John Gunther Dean was born Gunther Dienstfertig in Breslau, Germany. His mother was convinced that Nazi persecution would not blow over, and the family left in December 1938, reaching the United States in February 1939. They changed their name in New York and settled in Kansas City. He served in Army intelligence during World War II.
He joined the Foreign Service and served as U.S. Ambassador to the Khmer Republic, Denmark, Lebanon, Thailand, and India. In April 1975 he led the evacuation of the U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh as the Khmer Rouge closed in, a day he later called the worst of his life.
Read the history behind this story on the Nazi Germany and Austria page, or browse all the diplomats.