Krupp trial

Last updated

Prosecutor Telford Taylor (standing, center) opens the case against the defendants Aula della corte - caso Krupp.jpg
Prosecutor Telford Taylor (standing, center) opens the case against the defendants

The United States of America vs. Alfried Krupp, et al., commonly known as the Krupp trial, was the tenth of twelve trials for war crimes that U.S. authorities held in their occupation zone at Nuremberg, Germany, after the end of World War II. It concerned the forced labor enterprises of the Krupp concern and other crimes committed by the concern.

Contents

These twelve trials were all held before U.S. military courts, not before the International Military Tribunal, but took place in the same rooms at the Palace of Justice. The twelve U.S. trials are collectively known as the "subsequent Nuremberg Trials" or, more formally, as the "Trials of War Criminals before the Nuremberg Military Tribunals" (NMT). The Krupp Trial was the third of three trials of German industrialists; the other two were the Flick Trial and the IG Farben Trial.

The case

In the Krupp Trial, twelve former directors of the Krupp Group were accused of having enabled the armament of the German military forces and thus having actively participated in the Nazis' preparations for an aggressive war, and also for having used slave laborers in their companies. The main defendant was Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach, CEO of the Krupp Holding since 1943 and son of Gustav Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach who had been a defendant in the main Trial of the Major War Criminals before the IMT (where he was considered medically unfit for trial).

The judges in this case, heard before Military Tribunal III-A, were Hu C. Anderson (presiding judge), president of the court of appeals of Tennessee, Edward J. Daly from Connecticut, and William J. Wilkins from Seattle, Washington. The Chief of Counsel for the Prosecution was Telford Taylor; the Chief Trial Counsel was H. Russell Thayer, and Benjamin B. Ferencz participated as a Special Counsel. The indictment was presented on November 17, 1947; the trial lasted from December 8, 1947, until July 31, 1948. One defendant (Pfirsch) was acquitted, the others received prison sentences between three and twelve years, and the main defendant Alfried Krupp was ordered to sell all his possessions.

Defendants at the Krupp Trial, from left; Alfried Krupp, Ewald Loser, Eduard Houdremont, Erich Muller, Friedrich Janssen, Karl Pfirsch, and Karl Eberhardt Bundesarchiv Bild 183-R93432, Nurnberg, Krupp-Prozess, Angeklagte.jpg
Defendants at the Krupp Trial, from left; Alfried Krupp, Ewald Löser, Eduard Houdremont, Erich Müller, Friedrich Janssen, Karl Pfirsch, and Karl Eberhardt

The main defendant Alfried Krupp always denied any guilt. In 1947, he stated:

The economy needed a steady or growing development. Because of the rivalries between the many political parties in Germany and the general disorder there was no opportunity for prosperity. ... We thought that Hitler would give us such a healthy environment. Indeed he did do that. ... We Krupps never cared much about [political] ideas. We only wanted a system that worked well and allowed us to work unhindered. Politics is not our business.

Alfried Krupp, in Golo Mann's manuscript first published in (Friz 1988).

Indeed, the Krupp holding did flourish under the Nazi regime. According to conservative estimates, the Krupp enterprises used nearly 100,000 persons in the slave labour programme, about 23,000 of which were prisoners of war.

Indictment

  1. Crimes against peace by participating in the planning and waging of wars of aggression and wars in violation of international treaties;
  2. Crimes against humanity by participating in the plundering, devastation, and exploitation of occupied countries;
  3. Crimes against humanity by participating in the murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation, imprisonment, torture, and use for slave labor of civilians who came under German control, German nationals, and prisoners of war;
  4. Participating in a common plan or conspiracy to commit crimes against peace.

All defendants were charged under counts 1, 3, and 4; count 2 excluded the defendants Lehmann and Kupke. Counts 1 and 4 were soon dropped due to lack of evidence.

Defendants

NameFunctionSentence
Alfried Krupp owner and CEO 12 years plus forfeiture of property; sentence commuted to time served on January 31, 1951, by John J. McCloy and property restored to him. Died July 30, 1967.
Ewald Löser former CFO 7 years; released on health grounds on June 2, 1951. Died December 23, 1970.
Eduard Houdremont  [ de ]director, head of steel works10 years; commuted to time served on January 31, 1951. Died June 10, 1958.
Erich Müller  [ de ]director, head of arms fabrication12 years; released early in 1952. Died April 15, 1963.
Friedrich Wilhelm Janssen CFO, successor to Löser10 years; commuted to time served on December 31, 1951, and released on February 4, 1952. In 1953, he returned to Friedrich Krupp AG and became General plenipotentiary of the Friedrich Krupp works in Essen next to Berthold Beitz. 1955 he retired. During this two-year collaboration between Beitz and Janssen, Janssen became his paternal advisor, who introduced him to the group's individual works. Died October 9, 1956.
Karl Heinrich Pfirsch former head of sales departmentAcquitted. Died 1967.
Max Otto Ihn Personnel and intelligence, deputy to Löser and Janssen9 years; released on time served in February 1951. Died 1983.
Karl Adolf Ferdinand Eberhardt head of sales, successor of Pfirsch9 years; released on time served in February 1951.
Heinrich Leo Korschan deputy head of steel plants6 years; At the beginning of February 1951, Korschan was released from the war criminal prison in Landsberg. He then lived again in Essen-Bredeney. Died January 8, 1973.
Friedrich von Bülow counterintelligence, public relations, and head of the plant police (Werkschutz)12 years; sentence commuted to time served on January 31, 1951, and released the next day. Died January 17, 1984.
Werner Wilhelm Heinrich Lehmann "labor procurement", deputy to Ihn6 years; released February 1951.
Hans Albert Gustav Kupke head of workers' campsTime served. Died 1966.

All eleven defendants found guilty were convicted on the forced labor charge (count 3), and of the ten charged on count 2 (economic spoliation), six were convicted. On January 31, 1951, two and a half years after the sentences, ten (all except Löser) were released from prison. Since no buyer for the Krupp Holding had been found, Alfried Krupp resumed control of the firm in 1953.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Krupp</span> Industrial dynasty from Essen, Germany

The Krupp family is a prominent 400-year-old German dynasty from Essen, noted for its production of steel, artillery, ammunition and other armaments. The family business, known as Friedrich Krupp AG, was the largest company in Europe at the beginning of the 20th century, and was the premier weapons manufacturer for Germany in both world wars. Starting from the Thirty Years' War until the end of the Second World War, it produced battleships, U-boats, tanks, howitzers, guns, utilities, and hundreds of other commodities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">IG Farben</span> Former German chemicals conglomerate

I. G. Farbenindustrie AG, commonly known as IG Farben, was a German chemical and pharmaceutical conglomerate. It was formed in 1925 from a merger of six chemical companies: Agfa, BASF, Bayer, Chemische Fabrik Griesheim-Elektron, Hoechst, and Weiler-ter-Meer. It was seized by the Allies after World War II and split into its constituent companies; parts in East Germany were nationalized.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gustav Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach</span> German foreign service official, businessman and accused war criminal (1870–1950)

Gustav Georg Friedrich Maria Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach was a German foreign service official who became chairman of the board of Friedrich Krupp AG, a heavy industry conglomerate, after his marriage to Bertha Krupp, who had inherited the company. He and his son Alfried would lead the company through two world wars, producing almost everything for the German war machine from U-boats, battleships, howitzers, trains, railway guns, machine guns, cars, tanks, and much more. Krupp produced the Tiger I tank, Big Bertha and the Paris Gun, among other inventions, under Gustav. Following World War II, plans to prosecute him as a war criminal at the 1945 Nuremberg Trials were dropped because by then he was bedridden, senile, and considered medically unfit for trial. The charges against him were held in abeyance in case he were found fit for trial.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Friedrich Flick</span> German businessman and war criminal

Friedrich Flick was a German industrialist and convicted Nazi war criminal. After the Second World War, he reconstituted his businesses, becoming the richest person in West Germany, and one of the richest people in the world, at the time of his death in 1972.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Judges' Trial</span> Third Nuremberg Trial, end of WWII

The Judges' Trial was the third of the 12 trials for war crimes the U.S. authorities held in their occupation zone in Germany in Nuremberg after the end of World War II. These twelve trials were all held before U.S. military courts, not before the International Military Tribunal, but took place in the same rooms at the Palace of Justice. The twelve U.S. trials are collectively known as the "Subsequent Nuremberg Trials" or, more formally, as the "Trials of War Criminals before the Nuremberg Military Tribunals" (NMT).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Subsequent Nuremberg trials</span> 1946–1949 trials of Nazi leadership

The subsequent Nuremberg trials were twelve military tribunals for war crimes committed by the leaders of Nazi Germany (1933–1945). The Nuremberg Military Tribunals occurred after the Nuremberg trials, held by the International Military Tribunal, which concluded in October 1946. The subsequent Nuremberg trials were held by U.S. military courts and dealt with the cases of crimes against humanity committed by the business community of Nazi Germany, specifically the crimes of using slave labor and plundering occupied countries, and the war-crime cases of Wehrmacht officers who committed atrocities against Allied prisoners of war, partisans, and guerrillas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Milch Trial</span> Second of the twelve trials at Nuremberg for war crimes committed by Nazi Germany

The Milch Trial was the second of the twelve trials for war crimes the U.S. authorities held in their occupation zone in Germany in Nuremberg after the end of World War II. These twelve trials were all held before U.S. military courts, not before the International Military Tribunal, but took place in the same rooms at the Palace of Justice. The twelve U.S. trials are collectively known as the "Subsequent Nuremberg Trials" or, more formally, as the "Trials of War Criminals before the Nuremberg Military Tribunals" (NMT).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pohl trial</span>

The Pohl trial against the Nazi German administration of the "Final Solution" was the fourth of the thirteen trials for war crimes that the United States authorities held in their occupation zone in Germany in Nuremberg after the end of World War II. The thirteen trials were all held before U.S. military courts, not before the International Military Tribunal, although both courts presided in the same rooms at the Palace of Justice. They are known collectively as the "Subsequent Nuremberg Trials" or more formally, as the "Trials of War Criminals before the Nuremberg Military Tribunals" (NMT).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flick trial</span> 1947 war crimes trial against German industrialist Friedrich Flick

The United States of America vs. Friedrich Flick, et al. or Flick trial was the fifth of twelve Nazi war crimes trials held by United States authorities in their occupation zone in Germany (Nuremberg) after World War II. It was the first of three trials of leading industrialists of Nazi Germany; the two others were the IG Farben Trial and the Krupp Trial.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">IG Farben Trial</span> Post-WWII war crimes trial

The United States of America vs. Carl Krauch, et al., also known as the IG Farben Trial, was the sixth of the twelve trials for war crimes the U.S. authorities held in their occupation zone in Germany (Nuremberg) after the end of World War II. IG Farben was the private German chemicals company allied with the Nazis that manufactured the Zyklon B gas used to commit genocide against millions of European Jews in the Holocaust.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">High Command Trial</span> War crimes trial

The High Command Trial, also known initially as Case No. 12, and later as Case No. 72, was the last of the twelve trials for war crimes the U.S. authorities held in their occupation zone of Germany in Nuremberg after the end of World War II. These twelve trials were all held before U.S. military courts, not before the International Military Tribunal, but took place in the same rooms at the Palace of Justice. The twelve U.S. trials are collectively known as the "subsequent Nuremberg trials" or, more formally, as the "Trials of War Criminals before the Nuremberg Military Tribunals" (NMT).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ministries Trial</span> Trial

The Ministries Trial was the eleventh of the twelve trials for war crimes the U.S. authorities held in their occupation zone in Germany in Nuremberg after the end of World War II. These twelve trials were all held before U.S. military courts, not before the International Military Tribunal, but took place in the same rooms at the Palace of Justice. The twelve U.S. trials are collectively known as the "Subsequent Nuremberg Trials" or, more formally, as the "Trials of War Criminals before the Nuremberg Military Tribunals" (NMT).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach</span> German industrialist and convicted war criminal

Alfried Felix Alwyn Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach, often referred to as Alfried Krupp, was a German industrialist, a competitor in Olympic yacht races, contributor to the SS and a member of the Krupp family, which has been prominent in German industry since the early 19th century. He was convicted after World War II of crimes against humanity for the genocidal manner in which he operated his factories and sentenced to twelve years in prison, subsequently commuted to three years with time served in 1951.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bertha Krupp</span> Industrial dynasty matriarch (1886–1957)

Bertha Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach was a member of the Krupp family, Germany's leading industrial dynasty of the 19th and 20th centuries. As the elder child and heir of Friedrich Alfred Krupp she was the sole proprietor of the Krupp industrial empire from 1902 to 1943, although her husband, Gustav Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach, ran the company in her name. In 1943 ownership of the company was transferred to her son Alfried.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fritz ter Meer</span> German chemist (1884–1967)

Fritz ter Meer was a German chemist, Bayer board chairman, Nazi Party member and war criminal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach Foundation</span> Foundation

The Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach Foundation is a major German philanthropic foundation, created by and named in honor of Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach, former owner and head of the Krupp company and a convicted war criminal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Otto Ambros</span> German chemist (1901–1990)

Otto Ambros was a German chemist and Nazi war criminal. He is known for his wartime work on synthetic rubber and nerve agents. After the war he was tried at Nuremberg and convicted of crimes against humanity for his use of slave labor from the Auschwitz III–Monowitz concentration camp. In 1948 he was sentenced to 8 years' imprisonment, but released early in 1951 for good behavior.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alfried Krupp Institute for Advanced Study</span>

The Alfried Krupp Institute for Advanced Study in Greifswald is an institute for advanced study named after Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach. On 20 June 2000, this institute was founded by the Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach Foundation, the German Land of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and the University of Greifswald. These three founders co-established and contributed to the Stiftung Alfried Krupp Kolleg Greifswald, which was entrusted with the task of establishing this Wissenschaftskolleg. The Krupp Foundation contributed the plot of land and the building on it, valued at €15.3m, while Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and the University of Greifswald contributed the operational funding that initially amounted to €4.1m.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Private sector participation in Nazi crimes</span>

Private sector participation in Nazi crimes was extensive and included widespread use of forced labor in Nazi Germany and German-occupied Europe, confiscation of property from Jews and other victims by banks and insurance companies, and the transportation of people to Nazi concentration camps and extermination camps by rail. After the war, companies sought to downplay their participation in crimes and claimed that they were also victims of Nazi totalitarianism. However, the role of the private sector in Nazi Germany has been described as an example of state-corporate crime.

References