Friedrich Carl Arthur Kranefuß (19 October 1900 in

Herford Herford (; nds, Hiarwede) is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, located in the lowlands between the hill chains of the Wiehen Hills and the Teutoburg Forest. It is the capital of the district of Herford (district), Herford. Geography ...

– 1945), known as Fritz Kranefuß, was a German industrialist and a ''Wehrwirtschaftsführer'' (Military Economy Leader) in the

Third Reich Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. Kranefuss was on the board of Braunekohle-Benzin AG (

Brabag Brabag (Braunkohle Benzin AG) was a German firm, planned in 1933 and operating from 1934 until 1945, that distilled synthetic aviation fuel, diesel fuel, gasoline, lubricants, and paraffin wax from lignite. It was an industrial cartel firm closely ...

), a conglomerate of chemical firms and collieries concerned with the production of synthetic fuel.Benjamin B. Ferencz, ''Less Than Slaves: Jewish Forced Labor and the Quest for Compensation'', Indiana University Press, 2002, p. 177 He joined the Nazi Party in 1932. He was one of three directors of the

Dresdner Bank Dresdner Bank AG was a German bank and was based in Frankfurt. It was one of Germany's largest banking corporations and was acquired by competitor Commerzbank in May 2009. History 19th century The Dresdner Bank was established on 12 Novemb ...

, the others being

Karl Rasche Karl Emil August Rasche (23 August 1892 – 13 September 1951) was an SS-Obersturmbannführer and a Doctor of Philosophy, Ph.D. in law as well as a board member and banker, later spokesman, of the Dresdner Bank during the Third Reich. On 11 Apri ...

and

Emil Heinrich Meyer Emil Heinrich Meyer (6 May 1886 in Wiesbaden – 9 May 1945 in Berlin) was a German business executive. Meyer was a board member at the ITT Corporation's Germany-based subsidiaries Standard Elektrik Lorenz and Mix & Genest as well as AEG. Meyer wa ...

, to belong to the exclusive ''Freunde des

Reichsführer-SS (, ) was a special title and rank that existed between the years of 1925 and 1945 for the commander of the (SS). ''Reichsführer-SS'' was a title from 1925 to 1933, and from 1934 to 1945 it was the highest rank of the SS. The longest-servi ...

'' circle. Kranefuss had been introduced to

Heinrich Himmler Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was of the (Protection Squadron; SS), and a leading member of the Nazi Party of Germany. Himmler was one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany and a main architect of th ...

by his uncle

Wilhelm Keppler Wilhelm Karl Keppler (14 December 1882 – 13 June 1960) was a German businessman and one of Adolf Hitler's early financial backers. Introduced to Hitler by Heinrich Himmler, Keppler helped to finance the Nazi Party and later served as one of Hi ...

Freundeskreis der Wirtschaft The Freundeskreis der Wirtschaft, or ''Circle of Friends of the Economy'' (which became known as "Freundeskreis Reichsführer SS", "Freundeskreis Himmler" or " Keppler Circle") was a group of German industrialists whose aim was to strengthen the t ...

, although it was Kranefuss' idea to make the movement more specific to Himmler. As a consequence it was Kranefuss who was chosen as head of the circle. His involvement in the circle also entitled him to the

Schutzstaffel The ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS; also stylized as ''ᛋᛋ'' with Armanen runes; ; "Protection Squadron") was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, and later throughout German-occupied Europe d ...

rank of

Brigadeführer ''Brigadeführer'' (, ) was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) that was used between the years of 1932 to 1945. It was mainly known for its use as an SS rank. As an SA rank, it was used after briefly being known as ''Untergruppenf� ...

. He also helped to ensure that BRABAG became one of the leading users of

forced labour Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, violence including death, or other forms of ex ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Towards the end of the war Kranefuss, a well-connected international businessman, was also used by Himmler to open unofficial channels of contact with the Allies. At the war's end Kranefuss destroyed all the "Friends of Himmler" files and took his own life to keep its secrets.David Irving, "True Himmler", Focal Point, 2020, p. 228

References

1900 births 1945 deaths Businesspeople from North Rhine-Westphalia SS-Brigadeführer 20th-century Freikorps personnel People from Herford Nazis who committed suicide in Germany {{nazi-stub