Hiroshi Ohshima

Army officer and diplomat. Born in Gifu Prefecture. His father was former Minister of War, Oshima Kenichi. He graduated from the Military Academy in 1905 (Meiji 38) and the Army War College in 1915 (Taisho 4). After serving as an artillery captain, a member of the General Staff, a military attaché in Austria, and a section chief in the General Staff, he became a military attaché at the German Embassy in 1934 (Showa 9), where, as a pro-Nazi, he promoted the conclusion of the Anti-Comintern Pact between Japan and Germany in 1936. In 1938, he became a lieutenant general, and after being transferred to the reserves, he was appointed ambassador to Germany. He plotted the conclusion of the Tripartite Pact between Japan, Germany, and Italy. When the issue of the Tripartite Pact was put on hold with the signing of the German-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact in 1939, he resigned as ambassador, but was reappointed ambassador to Germany after the conclusion of the Tripartite Pact in 1940. After the war, he was indicted as a Class A war criminal by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East and sentenced to life imprisonment, but was released in 1955 (Showa 30).

[Kenzo Kitagawa]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

陸軍軍人、外交官。岐阜県に生まれる。父は元陸相大島建一。1905年（明治38）陸軍士官学校卒業、1915年（大正4）陸軍大学校卒業。砲兵大尉、参謀本部員、駐オーストリア武官、参謀本部課長などを経て、1934年（昭和9）ドイツ大使館付武官となり、親ナチス派として1936年の日独防共協定の締結を推進した。1938年には中将となり、予備役に編入ののち駐ドイツ大使に就任。日独伊三国軍事同盟締結を画策した。1939年の独ソ不可侵条約締結により三国同盟問題が中断したため大使を辞任したが、1940年三国同盟締結ののち、ふたたび駐ドイツ大使に任命された。戦後は極東国際軍事裁判にA級戦犯として起訴され、終身刑を受けるが、1955年（昭和30）出獄した。

［北河賢三］

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例