Nuremberg: Trials of large industrialists

2024-09-27 12:00:00

TRIBUNE – Nuremberg and its trials, the continuation of the part 1, 2 etc 3

Chapters dedicated to Philippe Valode “test of great engineers” Another myth that is still alive for some, that of the Second World War was only made by Adolf Hitler, to his desire for expansion and his desire for revenge after the humiliation of the Treaty of Versailles of 1919. Historian’s revelations on election of pre-Hitler Germany is amazing, just like you are about a combination of interests between German and American companies.

Three groups were involved, and their main leaders were prosecuted: the Flick group, 3Th The most powerful German group in coal and steel, the Krupp group, the main competitor of the former, and finally IG Farben which, in addition to many mining operations, produced in 1935 almost all magnesium, nickel, methanol, rubber . and dyes in Germany.

Flick side test

The six main leaders of the Flick groupnamely Friedrich Flick and five main associates, were accused of crimes against peace and war crimes, and they were also members of a syndicate. The study shows the looting of industrial property, in France (Société Lorraine des Aciéries de Rombas for example) and in the USSR (Aciéries du Dniepr et de Riga among others), the Aryanization of industrial property of the Over the entire Reich, ie. their direct confiscation, the departure and saving of civilian jobs from the countries occupied by Hitler’s Reich, and the use in the war industry of military prisoners from concentration camps, also in unexamined conditions, a total of 40,000 people.

The American judges were very lenient towards these defendants: they finally rejected the accusation of Aryanization, they were interested in the accusations of theft of businesses in the conquered countries, of enslaving thousands of people, and support for the SS and they were found guilty only Friedrich Flick, the boss of the group, his brother Bernhard Weiss, and his right-hand man Otto Steinbrick (the other three are ordinary and insignificant); sentenced to more than light sentences from which the duration of the internship and probation are exempted, they are quickly released and, like high officials, have successful jobs afterwards. Friedrich Flick, for example, by becoming the largest shareholder of Daimler-Benz, quickly became one of the richest in the FRG.

Philippe Valode concludes his speech: “The reader notices like the historian that in spite of the total mourning of the Nazi regime, the leaders of the Flick group enjoyed interesting jobs after the war, without being different from each other. Denazification came after economic reconstruction…” (1).

Krupp group test

Them Krupp research concerned 12 directors of the company and the special surprises that are in store because it shows the absolutely incredible involvement of Alfried Krupp and those close to him in the activities of the Nazi regime, who thirst for revenge on the winners of the First World War who hopefully. Indeed, since 1919, the Krupp group, a major industrial organizer for the production of weapons (including shipping), with “the great difficulty of the government of the Weimar Republic”, Philippe Valode tells us (2), who shamelessly broke the contract. of Versailles which banned, among other things, the production of armored vehicles and drastically limited the German navy. However, from 1920, two submarines were built in Japan by Kawasaki for the Germans, with the blessing of the German Admiralty. From 1922 to 1933, through the company ivs that it has created many submissions for Turkey then Finland and thus informed the knowledge of the smoke war.. In 1933, the production of “water equipment” began: parts of twelve ships have been manufactured and stored, ready to assemble, while their future workers have already been trained on the buildings sold to Spain and Finland. That is why, on March 16, 1935, the Nazi government of Germany completely lost its sovereignty, and re-established military service, in just a few months, it seized twelve ships. this! “Germany’s fraud and forgery from the pre-Hitler years of the Weimar Republic and from the first Nazi years, this is the truth that we must stop being silent about. », wrote Philippe Valode (3). One more, we may be tempted to answer.

Krupp led a similar approach in terms of the production of weapons and tanks: in 1922, a secret agreement was made with the Ministry of Defense to develop cannons, improve the quality of the steel used, and design armor weapons. Construction tanks are officially called “tractors”. All this production was kept secret and the weapon was stored for years, until the man came to power to whom the leaders of the Krupp Group pledged total loyalty, Adolf Hitler. His close collaboration with the Nazi authorities was thus the first charge.

Like his competitor Flick, the Krupp group was engaged in the robbery and theft of industrial and mining properties, all activities favored by the proximity to the government in place: in France of course where Krupp took over, among the others, the ELMAG group, its four. Alsatian companies, its subsidiary Alstom in Belfort, other companies in Clichy, Issoudun and Cholet; in Benelux, Austria, Yugoslavia, Greece; and of course in the USSR. This is the second cost.

The 12 defendants, former managers of the Krupp group, are also accused of “displacement, gross exploitation, forced labor of large quantities in its factories” (4) (third charge): 70,000 foreign workers (1/3 of the workforce) was therefore treated in the factories of the group, which was most obvious, as was usual among the Nazis, the Poles, the Russians and the Jews. As with Flick, the work and treatment of prisoners of war in the same factories, under appalling conditions, is fourth rate.

There is a comparison with the leaders of the Flick group; Three additional charges are facing the directors of the Krupp group:

• Establishment of disciplinary or penal camps for foreign workers,
• The establishment of a children’s camp in Voerde, near the center of Essen, where many babies and children died, taken from their mothers (who were Russian and Polish), factory workers in the company of it is near.
• The construction and operation of the Gelsenberg women’s “concentration” camp for the Krupp factories in Essen where hundreds of Jewish women, mostly Hungarians, made it through the Buchenwald camp, experienced a real hardship before being destroyed during the evacuation of the camps in March 1945.

Despite the seven very serious charges, the verdict of the American judges was unfair. The person who was most condemned was Alfried Krupp, the leader of the group, who is remembered for violating the Treaty of Versailles in 1920, which brought him close to Hitler in 1933: he was sentenced to twelve years in prison, and he saw it. all your company and private property is taken… for one time only. “He was released on February 4, 1951, after only 18 months of internment in exceptionally comfortable conditions” (5). Because of the Korean War, Chancellor Adenauer personally liaised with the American high command in Germany to have the prisoner Krupp released as quickly as possible. When he was released, all his corporate and personal assets were returned to him and he took control of a group that, by 1963, had become the largest in the Common Market. Only one of the other 11 accused was acquitted; As for the other ten, regardless of the prison case, they were all released in 1951… without a single one.

To follow: the trial of key industrialists: IG Farben; the inevitable denazification of Germany

1. : “The 12 Forgotten Nuremberg Trials” Philippe Valode, ed. du Rocher, 2023, page 343
2. : Ibidem, page 350
3. : Ibidem, page 351
4. : Ibidem, page 364
5. : Ibidem, page 387