59:43
Why did Zimmermann choose to send the message through
the U. S. State Department?
Read the excerpt from The Dark Game.
On January 16, 1917, in a clear attempt to convince the
Mexican government to help Germany in the war, Arthur
Zimmermann, the German foreign secretary, sent a
telegram to Count von Bernstorff, the German ambassador
in Washington. The foreign secretary wanted to be certain
that this message reached von Bernstorff, so he made
arrangements for it to be carried aboard a U-boat to Sweden
den
and from there to Washington through diplomatic channels.
As luck would have it, the departure of the sub was delayed.
Impatient, Zimmermann turned to his second option: sending
the message to his ambassador through the U. S. State
Department. Although Wilson considered the United States
to be neutral, he allowed messages to be sent to von
Bernstorff via the State Department as a courtesy. The
telegram sent, Zimmermann waited for a reply. What
Zimmermann didn't know was that the British were doing a
thorough job of intercepting German wireless transmissions.
The German U-boat was grounded because it needed
repairs.
The Americans planned to enter the war and side with the
Germans.
The content of the message was extraordinarily
important
The safest way of transmitting messages was by
telegram.
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