The Times: Krupps' Work For Hitler

From Our Correspondent at Nuremberg

With the arraignment of the house of Krupp, by name and tradition identified so closely with Prussian militarism, the armament makers of the Third Reich take their place before the Nuremberg Court in succession to the Nazi leaders already condemned and punished for their crimes ia planning and conducting war. The case of I.G. Farben is already before one of the American military tribunals occupied during the past year with individual chapters of the international trial, and the entry of Krupps will considerably extend the legal inquiry into the activities of German industrialists under Hitler. Whatever may have been the hidden controversy over bringing the Farben case into court, it was always the intention of the allies to proceed against Krupps. The aged Gustav Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach, head of the concern until 1943. who in the absence of a male heir had adopted the name on his marriage with Bertha Krupp, was indicted, it will be, recalled, among the major war criminals sentenced by the international tribunal. His condition of senile decay, however, made it improbable that he would ever come to trial, and a last-minute attempt to put Alfried Krupp, his son and successor, in the dock was frustrated by the British argument that this was not a game in which a substitute could be fielded with- out more ado. FATHER AND SON It is Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach who now heads the list of 12 directors and officials of the firm. Although much of the prosecution's case is based on evidence against the father, the son clearly held high positions in the inner councils of Krupps and kindred organiza- tions before becoming its sole owner. He and his- co-defendants are charged under the four familiar counts of the inter- national court with crimes against peace in planning and waging wars of aggres- sion; with war crimes and crimes against humanity in plundering occupied countries and exploiting slave labour; and with participation in a common plan or con- spiracy in the commission of these deeds. They are further accused of aiding invasions that adversely affected the lives and happiness of many millions of people. General Telford Taylor's indictment in the name of the United States combines an historical sketch of the period with a close study of the policy and influence of the house of Krupp which is apt now and again to become over-simplified. It is argued, for instance, that the development and background of the crimes charged may be traced through a period of over 100 years of German militarism and 133 years, embracing four generations, of Krupp armament making, although pre- sumably in those early days the guns were being made to fight Napoleon. In the first world war, it is added, Krupps' contribu- tion to German might included the " Big Bertha" gun that terrorized the popula- tion of Paris; in the second Alfried Krupp, following an example of his forebears, offered Hitler " Big Gustav," which shelled Sebastopol. A " MODEL ENTERPRISE" And when in 1940, in the Fuhrer's presence, Krupps was officially desig- nated as a model enterprise of National-Socialism the award was accepted as a tribute to " a social-political attitude which, while having its roots in a 128-year-old tradition, has developed or- ganically so as to fit into the new times in the National-Socialist-Germany." Three years later, in further token of his grati- tude, Hitler decreed that the enterprise, which deserved the highest recognition for its incomparable efforts to increase Ger- many's military potential, should be pre- served as family property, with Alfried Krupp as owner and leader. From the early days of his reign Hitler was a fre- quent visitor to the florid Villa HIgel at Essen, what time the book value of the firm rose from 170m. marks in 1933 to 513m. marks in 1943. Net profits soared from 57m. in 1935 to lllm. in 1940. The indictment examines closely this flourishing of the house of Krupp. the principal German maker of heavy artillery, armour-plate, and other high- quality armaments, the largest private builder of U-boats and warships, and the second largest producer of iron and coal in the Reich. By the time Hitler went to war it had become a gigantic vertical enter- prise composed mainly of coal and iron- ore mines, blast furnaces, rolling mills, and shipyards, together with its machine and armament plants. In 1939 the Essen colossus controllcd at least 175 intcrnal and 60 foreigan subsidiaries. A good deal was heard during the inter- national trial at Nuremberg about the use of Krupps' prestige and financial support in bringing the Nazi Party to power. It was related how Gustav Krupp with other industrialists met Hitler at Goring's housc in Berlin shortly before the March elec- tions of 1933 and, having heard the Fiihrer's intention to seize power by force if the vote went against him, headed his election fund with a contribution of 3m. marks. It is nowv shown that long before the Nazi period Krupps, in viola- tion of Versailles, were quietly preparing against the day. As the board recorded in 1938, precious "experience" irreplaceable for the German war potential was preserved by Krupps as the trustees of a historical heritage in order to be ready to execute armament orders wvhen required. "Even the Allied snoop commissioners were duped," boasted Gustav Krupp; and in March, 1941, he wrote that through years of secret labour thc scientific groundwork was laid on which they could work again for the German armed forces at the appointed hour without loss of time and experience. Manufacture of tanks, according to the indictment, began in 1926; research and experiments were executed on naval arma- ment, and in 1929 remote control of naval fire was demonstrated. Experimental work on rocket designing began in 1930. Once Hitler was in the saddle, Gustav Krupp, as chairman of the Reich Associa- tion of German Industry, undertook to bring the industrialists into "agreement with the political aims of the Reich Government." In April, 1933, he sub- mitted his plan for the introduction of the Fiilzrerprinzip into industry, and the way was open for the promotion of a war economy. From that time on, it is charged, all the productive facilities of Krupps, indispensable to Hitler's aggres- sive intentions, were coordinated with th'e armaments programme. Essen provided other firms with the necessary blueprints and information. Krupps were among the founder of the " Mefo " bills by which Germany concealed an expenditure on armaments of 12,000m. marks in three years. Their foreign patents and agree- ments abroad provided them with tech- nical intelligence and foreign exchange. NAMES OF ACCUSED Meanwhile, it is alleged, the closest liaison was maintained betwecn the defendants and the German .High Command and Government througlh the key positions they held in the nation's economy. It is claimed that the sub- marine " wvolf packs" which harried Atlantic shipping and the tanks which overran most of Europe and North Africa wcre products of Krupps, which, besides building warships in the enlarged Gcrmania yards, armcd the Bismarck and Tirpitz and most of the other battleships. Unlike a few of Hitler's prominent sup- porters, who broke away from him, Krupps intensified their collaboration wvith the political and military Icaders whcn war became irnmi- nent. Their export programme, of coursc, was designed either to-cut off war materials from prospective victims or to reduce them to tlle minimum quantities necessary to allay sus- picion. A weck beforc Hitler announced his intention of attacking Poland they were advised to suspend deliveries of armaments. An in- quiry from Holland in tDtober, 1939, concern- ing anti-aircraft guns was marked by Krupp " Not to bc answered." During the conflict. moreover, Krupps became one of the chief beneficiaries of German invasion. The indict- ment contains many allegations regarding the seizure or exploitation of plants in Austria, Francc, and. Belgium, chromium ore deposits in Yugoslavia, nickel mines in Greece, and the iron and stcel of the Sovict Union. Finally, prisoners of war and non-combatants of thcse and other countries were compelled to work for Krupps in the manufactLurc of arms and muni- tions-and the world has already heard somc- thing of conditions in the slave labour camps at Essen. Besides Alfried Krupp, who, in addition to his family concerns, was a director of the Reich iron and coal associations and a sponsoring member of the S.S., the defendants are:- Ewald Loeser, member of the Krupp board and Reich trustee for Phillips Radio, Eindhoven, in 1944; Eduard Houdremont, head of several Krupp plants and adviser to the Four-Year Plan; Erich Mueller, head of the artillery de- sisning department and one of Hitler's advisers on armaments; Friedrich Janssen, head of the Berlin office until 1943: Karl Pfirsch, head of the war materials sales department; Max Otto Ihn. concerned particularly with staffs and intelligence Ileinrich Korschan, trustee for Krupps' war-time enterprises in eastern and south-eastern Europe; Karl Eberhardt; Fried- rich von Biilow, chief of military and political counter-intelligence at Krupps,' Essen, and direct representative with the Gestapo and S.S.; Werner Lehmann, in charge of labour procurement; and Hans Kupke, head of the experimental firing ranges at Essen. All were members of the Nazi Party or other Nazi organizations. KRUPPS' WORK FOR HITLER TRIAL OF DIRECTORS OPENS AT NUREMBERG CASE FOR THE ALLIED PROSECUTION