NMT Case 10

Summary

Trial X, The United States of America vs. Alfried Krupp, et al, also known as the "Krupp Trial", took place between August 1947 and July 1948; appeals of sentences continued through 1949. Twelve defendants were charged: Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach, Ewald Loeser, Eduard Houdremont, Erich Mueller, Friedrich Janssen, Karl Pfirsch, Max Ihn, Karl Eberhardt, Heinrich Korschan, Friedrich von Buelow, Werner Lehmann, and Hans Kupke. During the trial, the prosecution introduced over 1400 written exhibits; the defense introduced over 2800. These exhibits consisted of documents, photographs, affidavits, letters, and charts. Testimony was heard from over 200 witnesses. The tribunal convened 103 times over eleven months.

This was the third and final of the so-called industrialist cases tried in Nuernberg. The defendants were the owner and leading officials in the Krupp Concern. The man who had headed the company until 1943, Gustav Krupp, the father of the first named defendant, was not indicted because of incapacity to stand trial (due to illness). He had also been indicted in the Trial of the Major War Criminals (IMT), but the Tribunal granted an application by his lawyer for postponement of the proceedings. As he did not recover, his son, who headed the firm from 1943 on, was indicted in his stead.

Alfried Krupp and eight of the defendants were members of the Managing Board (Vorstand) of the company. From December 1943, Alfried Krupp was the sole owner and directing head of the Krupp concern. The Krupp concern was "a gigantic vertical enterprise, composed principally of coal and iron ore mines, blast furnaces, rolling mills, shipyards, machine, armament and other manufacturing plants; in 1939 it consisted of at least 175 domestic and 60 foreign subsidiary units."

All defendants were officials of Friedrich Krupp, A.G., Essen, a firm that had been founded in 1812. The Krupp family, one of the most powerful dynasties in Europe since the 16th century, had by 1900 become widely known as Germany's principal weapons manufacturer. The company's history in modern times began with construction of a steel foundry in Essen in 1810 and the acquisition of many mines in Germany and France. The firm began to manufacture cannons by the mid 19th century. Railroad construction became another major area of business at this time, followed by shipbuilding after Krupp's acquisition of the Germania shipyards. Much of the firm's fame and fortune derived from armaments production during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. By 1900 Krupp had become the largest private company in Germany. In 1906, they built the first German submarine. In 1943, Krupp A.G. was succeeded by an unincorporated firm, Friedrich Krupp, Essen, in accordance with a special Hitler decree. The managing body prior to 1943 was referred to as the Vorstand; after the firm's change in legal status, this body was called the "Direktorium".

Persons Involved

Military Tribunal IIIA

• Hu C. Anderson, presiding judge
• Edward Daly, judge
• William Wilkins, judge

Prosecution

• Brigadier General Telford Taylor, Chief of Counsel
• Joseph Kaufman and Rawlings Ragland, Deputy Chief Counsel
• H. Russell Thayer, Chief, Krupp Trial Team
• Cecelia Goetz and Max Mandellaub, Associate Counsel
• John Bowler, Irving Brilliant, Herbert Goldenbert, Maurice Huebsch, Maximilian Koessler, and Maurice Myers, Assistant Counsel
• Benjamin Ferencz, Special Counsel

Defendants

• Alfried Krupp
• Ewald Loeser
• Eduard Houdremont
• Erich Mueller
• Friedrich Janssen
• Karl Pfirsch
• Max Ihn
• Karl Eberhardt
• Heinrich Korschan
• Friedrich von Buelow
• Werner Lehmann
• Hans Kupke

Defense Counsel

• Dr. Otto Kranzbueher (Krupp, Ihn)
• Dr. Wolfgang Pohle (von Buelow)
• Kurt Gollnick (Eberhardt)
• Dr. Walter Siemers (Houdremont)
• Dr. Alfred Schilf (Janssen)
• Dr. Erich Wandschneider (Korschan)
• Dr. Alfred Behringer (Kupke)
• Dr. Gerhard Weise (Lehmann)
• Dr. Kurt Behling (Loeser)
• Heinrich Link (Mueller)
• Dr. Bernd Vorwerk (Pfirsch)

Indictment

Count One: Crimes Against Peace

• Invasion of other countries; wars of aggression
• Wars in violation of international agreements
• As the principal German maker of armament and the largest builder of U-boats and warships, Krupp contributed substantially to the ability of the Third Reich to wage wars of aggression and invade other countries

Count Two: Crimes Against Humanity: Plunder and Spoliation

• Plunder of private and public property
• Spoliation and devastation of property in countries/territories occupied by Germany
• Occupied territories exploited beyond needs of occupying army
• Objects of plunder ranged from raw materials and agricultural products to mining and industrial enterprises taken for use by German industry

Count Three: Crimes Against Humanity: Deportation, Exploitation, Slave Labor

• Murder, enslavement, deportation of civilian populations
• Enslavement of concentration camp inmates
• Employment of prisoners of war in war-related occupations

Count Four: Common Plan or Conspiracy

• Formulation/execution of common plan to commit crimes against peace

(counts one and four were dropped due to lack of evidence)

Chronology Overview

• Indictment filed 16 August 1947
• Arraignment 17 November 1947
• Prosecution opening statement 8 December 1947
• Defense opening statements 22,23 March 1948
• Tribunal dismisses counts 1, 4 5 April 1948
• Prosecution closing statement 24 June 1948
• Defense closing statement 25-30 June 1948
• Judgment 31 July 1948
• Sentence 31 July 1948

Commonly Used Terms in Trial

Wehrwirtschaftsfueher: military economic leader/s (six defendants)

Vorstand: Executive board of a corporation

Direktorium: similar to Vorstand, for unincorporated company

Treuhandschaften: trusteeships

Patenschaften: sponsorships

Beschlagnahme: sequestration (of property or assets)

Sondervermoegen: "marshalled" (confiscated) property, in USSR

Subsidiaries of Krupp -- a selection

Aktiengesellschaft fuer Unternehmungen der Eisen- und Stahlindustrie: holding company, financing and administration

Badische Wolframerz G.m.b.H: company involved in mining tungsten ore

Bergbau A.G. Lothringen-Bochum: coal mining and coke production

Berndorfer Metallwarenfabrik Arthur Krupp A.G.: Austrian manufacturer of small arms, etc, taken over by Krupp

Capito und Klein A.G.: producer of sheet metal and tin plate

Deutsch-Bulgarische Chrom-Erzbergbau A.G.: chrome ore mining and dressing

Deutsche Schiff und Maschinenbau A.G. (Deschimag): shipbuilding concern, making warships and U-boats

ELMAG: plant in Alsace taken over by Krupp, Elsaessische Maschinenfabrik A.G., manufacturer of trucks and machinery

Friedrich-Alfreds Huette, Rheinhausen: rolled products

Friedrich Krupp Berthawerk A.G.: manufacturer of field guns and torpedo tubes

Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft A.G.: shipbuilding, including warships/U-boats

Friedrich Krupp-Grusonwerk A.G.: machine construction/rolling mills/ordnance

Friedrich Krupp-Gusstahlfabrik: steel manufacturing plant in Essen

Gewerkschaft Emscher-Lippe: coal mining and coke production

Gewerkschaft Rossenray der Grubenfelder: coal mining

Gewerkschaft Schlesische Nickelwerke: nickel, ore mining

Gewerkschaft Verein Constantin der Grosse: coal mining, coke production

F.C. Glaser und R. Pflaum Kommandit-Gesellschaf: sale of narrow-gauge railways

Griechische Bergbau A.G.: metal ore mining

I.V.S.: Ingenieurskantoor voor Scheepsbouw, a Dutch front company set up by a group of German shipyards to circumvent restrictions of the Versailles treaty after WWI

Krupp-Brussels S.A: field and narrow gauge railway material

Krupp, S.A, Paris: holding company, automobile repairs, tractor parts

Krupp Druckenmueller G.m.b.H.: heavy construction work

Krupp Raederei- und Kohlenhandel G.m.b.H.: shipping and coal trading

Krupp Treibstoffwerk G.m.b.H.: synthetic oil production

Norddeutsche Huette A.G.: pig iron works

Pantena A.G.: holding company located in Switzerland

Sieg-Lahn Bergbau G.m.b.H.: holding company, administration of iron ore mines

Krupp's Ertshandelmaatschappij N.V.: ore trading and financing in Holland

Krupp's Reederij en Transportbedrijf N.V.: ore shipping, forwarding

N.V. Stuwadoors Maatschappij "Kruwal": Dutch warehousing/shipping firm

Ruhrbenzol G.m.b.H.:

Sartana Eisen- und Metallwerke G.m.b.H.:

Siedlungs-Gesellschaft Rossenray A.G.: building society

"Weser" Flugzeugbau G.m.b.H.: aircraft production firm

Westfaelische Drahtindustrie: manufacturer of wire products, coiled springs

Other Significant Entities/Agencies/Organizations

Reichsvereinigung Eisen: Reich Association Iron (RVE), official body for governance of iron and steel industries

Reichsvereinigung Kohle: Reich Association Coal (RVK), official body for governance of the coal industry

Rheinisch-Westfaelisches Kohlensyndicat (RWKS): subgroup of the RVK, largest coal syndicate in Germany

Berg- und Huettenwerke Gesellschaft Ost m.b.H. (BHO): state monopoly association set up to exploit mining and smelting industries in the USSR, one of several "Ostgesellschaften," companies set up to exploit industries in the East

Keppler Circle aka Friends of Himmler aka Freundeskreis: group of industrialists, bankers, etc who provided significant financial support to the SS

Kleiner Kreis: Small Circle, a group exercising great influence over the coal, iron and steel industries)

Reichswirtschaftsministerium: Ministry of Economics

Vierjahresplan: Office of the Four-Year Plan, headed by Goering, started in 1936

• Amt fuer Deutsche Roh- und Werkstoffe (Office for German Raw Materials and Synthetics, part of the Office of the Four-Year Plan, later known as Reichsamt fuer Wirtschaftsausbau)

Reichsamt fuer Wirtschaftsausbau: Reich Office for Economic Development, see above

Reichsverband der deutschen Industrie: Reich Association of German Industry, later known as Reichsgruppe Industrie

Adolf Hitler Spende: a fund collected from German industry, banking, and agriculture, the largest private source of funds for the NSDAP, set up by Gustav Krupp in 1933

Metallurgische Forschungsgesellschaft m.b.H. (MEFO): a "dummy corporation" set up in 1933 as a front for purchases from armament manufacturers

Ruestungs-Vertretung ("R-Office"): Krupp's liaison office with the Wehrmacht and other military offices of the Reich

Reichsministerium fuer Ruestung und Kriegsproduktion: Reich Ministry for Armament and Munition (Albert Speer's ministry)

• Waffenentwicklungskommission: weapons development commission

Wirtschaftsgruppe Eisenschaffende Industrie (WGE): Economic Group Iron Industry

Lager-Aktion: a requisition program through which nearly 400,000 tons of iron and steel products were shipped to Germany from Holland (1942-44)

Ruhrhilfe-Aktion: a project to dismantle Dutch factories and ship machinery to plants in the Ruhr (1944-45)

Bofors (Aktiebolaget Bofors): Swedish company through which Krupp manufactured guns during period 1920-1935, when this was forbidden by Versailles treaty

Rohstoffhandelsgesellschaf (ROGES): raw materials trading company

Evidence File Document Groups Used in Trial: NI, D, PS, C, EC

Detailed Trial Chronology

Judgment/Sentences

Alfried Krupp: Guilty; counts 2/3, twelve years

Ewald Loeser: Guilty, counts 2/3, seven years

Eduard Houdremont: Guilty, counts 2/3, ten years

Erich Mueller: Guilty, counts 2/3, twelve years

Friedrich Janssen: Guilty, counts 2/3, ten years

Karl Pfirsch: Acquitted

Max Ihn: Guilty, count 3, nine years

Karl Eberhardt: Guilty, counts 2/3, nine years

Heinrich Korschan: Guilty, count 3, six years

Friedrich von Buelow: Guilty, count 3, twelve years

Werner Lehmann: Guilty, count 3, six years

Hans Kupke: Guilty, count 3, time served