Georg von Schnitzler
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Georg August Eduard ''
Freiherr (; male, abbreviated as ), (; his wife, abbreviated as , literally "free lord" or "free lady") and (, his unmarried daughters and maiden aunts) are designations used as titles of nobility in the German-speaking areas of the Holy Roman Empire ...
'' von Schnitzler (29 October 1884, in
Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...
– 24 May 1962, in
Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...
) was a member of the board at
IG Farben Interessengemeinschaft Farbenindustrie AG (), commonly known as IG Farben (German for 'IG Dyestuffs'), was a German chemical and pharmaceutical conglomerate (company), conglomerate. Formed in 1925 from a merger of six chemical companies—BASF, ...
and a Nazi war criminal.


Early years

Schnitzler studied law at a number of universities, eventually completing his doctorate at the
University of Leipzig Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 Decemb ...
in 1907.Georg von Schnitzler (1884–1962)
/ref> After a year's travel he went to work for Bankhaus J.H. Stein of Cologne. He married Lily von Mallinckrodt in 1910. His new wife was a noted figure in German high society and Baron von Schnitzer himself was noted for his immaculate dress sense and expensive tastes in wine and the arts.


Corporate career

In 1912 he moved to Farbwerke Hoechst, a company where his father held a leading position, and worked as a salesman of dyes in
Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
for them. He joined the board as an alternate member in 1920 and achieved full membership in 1924. The company merged with IG Farben in 1925 and he was appointed an alternate member of their board, eventually becoming manager of their sales department in 1930. In 1927 he oversaw the establishment of a
Franco Franco may refer to: Name * Franco (name) * Francisco Franco (1892–1975), Spanish general and dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975 * Franco Luambo (1938–1989), Congolese musician, the "Grand Maître" Prefix * Franco, a prefix used when ref ...
-German dye sales cartel and by 1932 had added
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and
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companies to the arrangement. He became chairman of the Commercial Committee of IG Farben in 1937.


Under the Nazis

In February 1933 von Schnitzer supported moves for IG Farben to provide financial backing to the
Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...
. He had recently represented the company at a summit of leading German industrialists organised by
Hjalmar Schacht Hjalmar Schacht (born Horace Greeley Hjalmar Schacht; 22 January 1877 – 3 June 1970, ) was a German economist, banker, centre-right politician, and co-founder in 1918 of the German Democratic Party. He served as the Currency Commissioner a ...
and addressed by
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
and had been impressed by the Nazi leader. Schnitzler did not immediately seek to join the Nazis after their seizure of power although he did establish a "salon" in
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
at which high-ranking Nazis and leading industrialists could meet and discuss issues of mutual benefit. However he joined the
Sturmabteilung The (; SA; literally "Storm Detachment") was the original paramilitary wing of the Nazi Party. It played a significant role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s. Its primary purposes were providing protection for Nazi ral ...
in 1934 and eventually held the rank of
Hauptsturmführer __NOTOC__ (, ; short: ''Hstuf'') was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was used in several Nazi organizations such as the SS, NSKK and the NSFK. The rank of ''Hauptsturmführer'' was a mid-level commander and had equivalent seniority to a ...
. He was admitted to the Nazi Party itself in 1937. In 1938, ''
Freiherr (; male, abbreviated as ), (; his wife, abbreviated as , literally "free lord" or "free lady") and (, his unmarried daughters and maiden aunts) are designations used as titles of nobility in the German-speaking areas of the Holy Roman Empire ...
'' von Schnitzler developed a scheme whereby IG Farben would fund German newspapers in
Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...
to drive a massive pro-Nazi propaganda campaign. The scheme, which was eventually directed by
Max Ilgner Max Ilgner (28 June 1899 – 28 March 1966) was a German industrialist. He was a member of the board of IG Farben and held the title ''Wehrwirtschaftsführer'' or war economy leader under the Nazi regime. After the war, he was convicted by the Al ...
, played a central role in gaining ethnic German support for the annexation of the
Sudetenland The Sudetenland ( , ; Czech and sk, Sudety) is the historical German name for the northern, southern, and western areas of former Czechoslovakia which were inhabited primarily by Sudeten Germans. These German speakers had predominated in the ...
and the destruction of Czechoslovakia. He was also aware of the projected invasion of Poland during the summer of 1939 after being told of the plans by his friend Claus Ungewitter, an official in the Economics Ministry and an associate of leading figures in 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 ...
. Following the invasion of Poland Schnitzler was sent into the country as the leader of an IG Farben delegation and in this role he ensured that a number of important Polish chemical factories came under the company's control. Following the invasion of
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
Schnitzler was once again despatched and once again he secured a number of chemical sites in France for IG Farben. He was named one of the Nazi regime's ''Wehrwirtschaftsführers'' (war economy leaders) in 1942. His role at IG Farben continued to grow and in 1943 he was named chairman of the Chemical Committee. According to Diarmuid Jeffreys, Schnitzler was around this time also made aware of the "
Final Solution The Final Solution (german: die Endlösung, ) or the Final Solution to the Jewish Question (german: Endlösung der Judenfrage, ) was a Nazi plan for the genocide of individuals they defined as Jews during World War II. The "Final Solution to th ...
" after his friend Martin Müller-Cunradi had told him about it following a visit to
Buna Werke Buna Werke may refer to: * Buna Werke Schkopau, the first large-scale synthetic rubber plant in Schkopau, Germany * Monowitz Buna Werke Monowitz (also known as Monowitz-Buna, Buna and Auschwitz III) was a Nazi concentration camp and labor camp ...
in 1943. With defeat imminent Schnitzler dropped off the IG Farben scene in March 1945, retiring to his country estate at
Oberursel (Taunus) Oberursel (Taunus) () is a town in Germany and part of the Frankfurt Rhein-Main urban area. It is located to the north west of Frankfurt, in the Hochtaunuskreis county. It is the 13th largest town in Hesse. In 2011, the town hosted the 51st Hes ...
. Russell Nixon and James Martin, two agents attached to the US Military Government's Cartels Division, arrived on the estate in May and arrested Schnitzler.


Post-war

In the questioning following his arrest Schnitzler admitted to some "mistakes" on his part and agreed that IG Farben as a company had played a central role in the growth of Hitler and his arming of Germany. His frank responses did not meet the approval of many of his old colleagues and during a period of fraternisation in prison he was confronted by an angry
Fritz ter Meer Fritz ter Meer (4 July 1884 – 27 October 1967) was a German chemist, Bayer board chairman, Nazi Party member and war criminal. From 1925 to 1945 Fritz ter Meer was on the board of IG Farben AG. He was involved in the planning of Monowitz co ...
. Following their conversation Schnitzler announced that he wished to withdraw his earlier statements, claiming that they had been delivered under extreme pressure. Brought to
trial In law, a trial is a coming together of Party (law), parties to a :wikt:dispute, dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence (law), evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to Adjudication, adjudicate claims or d ...
by the
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after 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 ...
for war crimes, von Schnitzer was found guilty of "plunder and spoliation" and sentenced to five years imprisonment. However, after the U.S. military instituted a good behavior credit system, von Schnitzer, who had been in custody since 1945, was released from prison on 21 December 1945, several months before his sentence was supposed to expire. Following his release he returned to the business world as president of Deutsch-Ibero-Amerikanische Gesellschaft. He also returned to high society and occasionally showed up in the pages of European magazines covering these upper echelons.Jeffreys, p. 348


Bibliography

*Diarmuid Jeffreys, ''Hell's Cartel: IG Farben and the Making of Hitler's War Machine'', Bloomsbury, 2009


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schnitzler, Georg 1884 births 1962 deaths Businesspeople from Cologne 20th-century German businesspeople German industrialists German chemical industry people IG Farben people Prussian nobility Sturmabteilung officers Leipzig University alumni German people convicted of crimes against humanity People convicted by the United States Nuremberg Military Tribunals People from the Rhine Province