Hans-Joachim Caesar (17 May 1905 – 18 May 1990) was a German lawyer and banking official, working for the German

Reichsbank The ''Reichsbank'' (; 'Bank of the Reich, Bank of the Realm') was the central bank of the German Reich from 1876 until 1945. History until 1933 The Reichsbank was founded on 1 January 1876, shortly after the establishment of the German Empi ...

from 1931 until the end of

World War II 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 opposing ...

. He was director of

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

during

and basically served as "second-in-line" to Vice President Emil Puhl. From 1940 to 1944, Caesar served as German Banking Administrator/Comptroller ("Bankenkommissar") for France in Paris.

Life

Born in

Neisse The Lusatian Neisse (german: Lausitzer Neiße; pl, Nysa Łużycka; cs, Lužická Nisa; Upper Sorbian: ''Łužiska Nysa''; Lower Sorbian: ''Łužyska Nysa''), or Western Neisse, is a river in northern Central Europe.Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

, Caesar studied law in Marburg, Münster and Kiel, and started to work for Reichsbank in Berlin in December, 1931, shortly before the end of the Weimar Republic. On January 1, 1935, he was appointed "Reichsbankrat" (Reichsbank Councillor), a few years later he became a member of the directorate. As a Reichsbank Director he was, for example, responsible for the administration of U.S. assets and accounts within the territory and zone of control of the Reich. In that role, some authors see Caesar as second-in-line to "de facto" head of the Reichsbank and official Vice President Emil Puhl,Chapter 2: The Chase Nazi Account: in: Charles Higham, 1983, Trading with the enemy - An exposé of the Nazi-American money plot, 1933-1949: Delacorte Press, who managed business operations of Reichsbank on behalf of the nominal head, the President of Reichsbank and Minister of Economy of the Reich

Walther Funk Walther Funk (18 August 1890 – 31 May 1960) was a German economist and Nazi official who served as Reich Minister for Economic Affairs (1938–1945) and president of Reichsbank (1939–1945). During his incumbency, he oversaw the mobi ...

. From 1940 until 1944, Caesar was German Bank Comptroller/Administrator in France, located in Paris. In that role, Caesar supervised the Paris branches of Allied banks such as Barclays and

Chase Manhattan Bank JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., doing business as Chase Bank or often as Chase, is an American national bank headquartered in New York City, that constitutes the consumer and commercial banking subsidiary of the U.S. multinational banking and fi ...

. Caesar was also responsible for "enemy banks" in German-occupied British territory on the

Channel Islands The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...

, and visited

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label= Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west France. It is the l ...

in January, 1941.

John Nettles John Vivian Drummond Nettles, OBE, (born 11 October 1943) is an English actor and author. He is best known for his starring roles as detectives in the crime drama television series '' Bergerac'' (1981–1991) in the title role, and ''Midsomer M ...

: Jewels and Jackboots: Hitler's British Isles, the German Occupation of the British Channel Islands 1940-1945: Channel Island Publishing; Auflage: 1st Limited edition (24. Oktober 2012): Caesar's role is controversial. Some authors stress his participation in the theft and exploitation of Jewish property, as a close aide of Puhl and Funk. Others point out that he reportedly refused offers of over-eager French bank officials to blackmail Jewish colleagues or assist with the confiscation of Jewish property. However, unlike Funk, who was sentenced to life at the First Nuremberg Trial in 1946, and Puhl, who was sentenced to five years jail at the so-called "Wilhelmstrasse"-Trial, there were apparently no legal proceedings against Caesar. After 1945, Caesar lived in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

(

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

) and was board member of several German banks, as well as representative of foreign, for example Swiss, banks in Germany. He died in Cologne on May 18, 1990.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Caesar, Hans-Joachim 1905 births 1990 deaths Nazi Party officials German Protestants German economists Lawyers in the Nazi Party Central bankers People from Nysa, Poland People from the Province of Silesia University of Marburg alumni University of Münster alumni University of Kiel alumni