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John Clarence Cudahy ( ); December 10, 1887 – September 6, 1943) was an American real estate developer and diplomat. In the years leading up to World War II, Cudahy served as United States ambassador to Poland and Belgium, and as United States minister to Luxembourg and the Irish Free State.
Cudahy served during World War I as a lieutenant in Company B of the U.S. Army's 339th Infantry Regiment. This regiment was part of the Polar Bear Expedition, which was sent to north Russia to intervene on behalf of the anti-communist forces in the Russian Civil War. On November 14, 1918, Cudahy led a counter-attack that succeeded in breaking through and routing the 1,000 Bolshevik troops that on November 11 (Armistice Day) had encircled and attacked the 600 American, Canadian, and Royal Scots soldiers who were holding the village of Tulgas on the Northern Dvina. However, his eventual disillusionment with the campaign in north Russia led him to write (under a pseudonym) the book Archangel: The American War with Russia.
Back in the United States, Cudahy headed his family's real estate company, building the Cudahy Tower Apartments on the shore of Lake Michigan in Milwaukee.
From September 6, 1933, until April 23, 1937, Cudahy served as the American ambassador to Poland. His time in Poland was marked by a militarily backed government under Józef Piłsudski and continued tensions between Poland and Nazi Germany under Adolf Hitler.
From August 23, 1937, Cudahy served as minister to the Irish Free State, which became the Republic of Ireland in December 1937. His official title was Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, and he served until January 15, 1940.
In January 1940, Cudahy became both the ambassador to Belgium and the minister to Luxembourg. He was forced to leave these posts after Germany occupied Luxembourg and Belgium in May 1940, and the nations set up governments-in-exile. A close friend of King Leopold III, he publicly denounced Britain, France and the U.S. for a failure to plan an adequate defense. He became an embarrassment to Washington, which was officially neutral.Timothy P. Maga, "Diplomat among Kings: John Cudahy and Leopold III." Wisconsin Magazine of History 67.2 (1983): 82-98 online.
In 1941, Life magazine commissioned Cudahy to interview Hitler, which he did at Berghof. Cudahy later authored the book The Armies March, recounting his experiences in Europe leading up to the war, including the Battle of Belgium and his meeting with Hitler.
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