NMT Case 6

Summary

Trial VI, "The United States of America vs. Carl Krauch, et al", is commonly known as the 'I. G. Farben Trial." The twenty-three defendants were all officials of the "I. G. Farbenindustrie Aktiengesellschaft," a large German conglomerate of chemical firms. The trial convened on 152 days between May 3, 1947 and December 28, 1948. It was the third largest of all of the Nuremberg Trials. It was the second of the so-called "industrialist" trials, falling between Trial V, the "Flick Trial" and Trial VII, the "Krupp Trial". Of the 24 men arraigned, 13 were found guilty; one defendant was severed from the trial due to illness. No one was found guilty on counts 1, 4, or 5 of the indictment.

I.G. Farben, originally created in 1925 and vastly strengthened in subsequent years through mergers and acquisitions, was by 1932 the largest chemical conglomerate in the world. By 1939, it was the largest industrial group in Germany, holding participating interests in 400 German firms, including manufacturing, sales and power installations, railroads, coal mines, electric plants, and gypsum and salt mines. It also held participating interests in over 500 firms outside of Germany, with manufacturing plants across Europe and a presence in all commercial and industrial centers in the world.

The company was among the earliest and most significant financial supporters of the Nazi Party. Because Germany lacked key natural resources, Farben's capacity to produce nitrates (for explosives and gunpowder), synthetic gasoline, and synthetic rubber was of critical importance for war planning. Farben's ability to produce these substances was key in making Germany self-sufficient in these crucial war materials. Other critical war materials manufactured by Farben included nickel, magnesium and aluminum alloys, and poison gas.

During the trial, the prosecution introduced into evidence 2,282 written exhibits; the defense introduced 4,102. A total of 189 witnesses gave testimony.

Persons Involved

Military Tribunal VI

• Curtis Grover Shake, Presiding Judge
• James Morris, Judge
• Paul Macarius Hebert, Judge
• Clarence F. Merrell, Alternate Judge

Commissioners of the Tribunal

• Judge Johnson T. Crawford
• Mr. James G. Mulroy

Prosecution Counsel

• Brigadier General Telford Taylor, Chief of Counsel
• Mr. Josiah E. DuBois, Jr., Deputy Chief Counsel
• Mr. Drexel A. Sprecher, Chief, I.G. Farben Trial Team

Associate Counsel:

• Mr. Morris Amchan
• Mr. Jan Charmatz
• Mrs. Mary Kaufman
• Albert G. D. Levy
• Miss Belle Mayer
• Mr. Emanuel Minskoff
• Mr. Randolf Newman
• Mr. Virgil Van Street

Defendants

Defense Counsel

• Dr. Fritz Drischel (Ambros)
• Dr. Theodor Klefisch (Brueggemann)
• Dr. Werner Schubert (Buergin)
• Dr. Hans Flaechsner (Buetefisch)
• Dr. Alfred Seidl (Duerrfeld)
• Dr. Ernst Achenbach (Gajewski)
• Dr. Rudolf Aschenauer (Gattineau)
• Dr. Walter Vinassa (Haefliger)
• Dr. Karl Hoffman (von der Heyde)
• Dr. Fritz Sauter (Hoerlein)
• Dr. Hans Laternser (Ilgner)
• Dr. Oskar Krauss (Jaehne)
• Dr. Horst Pelckmann (von Knieriem)
• Dr. Conrad Boettcher (Krauch)
• Dr. Guenther Lummert (Kuehne)
• Dr. Helmut Henze (Kugler and Oster)
• Dr. Fritz Sauter (Lautenschlaeger)
• Dr. Erich Berndt (Mann and ter Meer)
• Dr. Otto Kranzbuehler (Schmitz)
• Dr. Hellmuth Dix (Schneider)
• Dr. Walter Siemers (von Schnitzler)
• Friedrich Wagner (Wurster)

Chronology Overview

The indictment consisted of five counts:

1. Planning, preparation, initiation, and waging of wars of aggression
2. Plunder and spoliation
3. Slavery and mass murder
4. Membership in the SS
5. Common plan or conspiracy

Indictment

Count 1 (all defendants): Planning, preparation, initiation, and waging of wars of aggression and invasions of other countries, through their connection with enterprises, specifically I.G. Farben, involved in the commission of these crimes.

Count 2 (all defendants): Plunder and spoliation in occupied countries and territories, again through their connection with I.G. Farben. This involved direct confiscation of raw materials, machinery and production facilities, as well as more devious means of acquiring control of production such as forced loans and "negotiations" under threat of force. Farben planned and carried out acquisition of the chemical industries of all occupied nations.

Count 3 (all defendants): Slavery and mass murder; enslavement and deportation to slave labor of civilians of countries and territories occupied or controlled by Germany; enslavement of concentration camp inmates; use of prisoners of war for war-related work.

Count 4: Membership in the SS (Schneider, Buetefisch, and von Heyde)

Count 5: Common Plan or Conspiracy (all defendants). Common plan/conspiracy to commit crimes against peace, including acts constituting war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Other Entities and Organizations Mentioned in Trial

Vorstand (executive board of a company—19 defendants were on Farben's Vorstand)

• TEA (Technical Committee, part of the Vorstand of Farben)
  • TEKO (Technical Commission, a subsidiary body of the TEA)
• KA (Commercial Committee)
• CHEMA (Chemicals Committee)
• FA (Dyestuffs Committee)
• Pharmaceuticals Committee (etc)

Aufsichtsrat (board of directors, from which a Vorstand is chosen/appointed)

Zentralausschuss (Central Committee of Farben)

Auslandsorganisation or AO (foreign branch of the NSDAP)

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

Wirtschaftsgruppe Chemische Industrie (Economic Group Chemical Industry)

GEBECHEM (Plenipotentiary for Chemical Production, position held by Carl Krauch)

Vermittlungsstelle W (Farben's military liaison agency in Berlin)

Vierjahresplan (Office of the Four-Year Plan, headed by Goering)

• 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)

Council for Propagation of the German Economy

Wirtschaftliche Forschungs G.m.b.H. (WIFO) (Economic Research Corporation, a company that stockpiled gasoline and oil for the Wehrmacht)

BRABAG (Braunkohle-Benzin AG, government-sponsored corporation to make synthetic gasoline)

DAG (Dynamit Aktien Gesellschaft) formerly Alfred Nobel & Co.

Circle of Experts of the Propaganda Ministry

Carl Schurz Association (group active in disseminating Nazi propaganda overseas)

Prager Verein (Verein fuer Chemische und Metallurgische Produktion of Prague, competitor of I.G. Farben until December 1938)

Chemische Werke Aussig-Falkenau G.m.b.H. (new company organized by Farben which took over the assets of the Prager Verein in 1939)

Ostgesellschaften (state-controlled consortia—at least 17—set up to exploit industries in the USSR; Farben participated in four)

• Kontinental Oel A.G. (set up to exploit oil resources in the East)
• Chemie Ost G.m.b.H. (set up to exploit Soviet chemical industry)
• Stickstoff Ost (set up to exploit nitrogen facilities in East)
• BHO (Berg- und Huettenwerksgesellschaft Ost m.b.H., set up to exploit iron mines and foundries in USSR)

Haupttreuhandstelle Ost (HTO: Main Trustee Office East; managed seized assets in Poland)

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

Berlin N. W. 7 (group of departments of I.G. Farben located in Berlin)

• WIPO (Wirtschaftspolitische Abteilung, economic policy department)
• VOWI (Volkswirtschaftliche Abteilung, economic research department)
• ZEFI (Central Finance Committee)

JASCO (Joint American Study Company, set up in 1930 to exchange research findings between Standard Oil and I. G. Farben)

Francolor (new chemical consortium set up by Farben to include formerly French concerns in dyestuffs industry)

Norsk Hydro (Norwegian hydroelectric power works)

Dynamit Nobel AG ("DAG", subsidiary of I.G. Farben)

Monowitz (Farben's buna plant at Auschwitz, with its own camp)

DEGESCH, Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Schaedlingsbekaempfung (Farben subsidiary company, manufacturer of Zyklon-B gas)

DAF (Deutsche Arbeitsfront, German Labor Front, Nazi trade union; most defendants were members of the DAF)

Selected Terms Important in this Trial

Wehrwirtschaftsfuehrer ("Military Economy Leader/s"—12 defendants)

Wehrwirtschaftsrat (Military Economic Council, including the above)

Sonderfuehrer ("Special Leaders", designated to take over Soviet factories)

Beschlagnahme (sequestration [of assets, firms, etc] in occupied lands)

Neuordnung (New Order, in broadest sense, Nazi plan for reorganization of Europe)

Buna (synthetic rubber produced in Farben plants)

Erdoel (mineral oil, or petroleum)

Sprengstoffe (explosives)

Stickstoff (nitrogen)

EVIDENCE FILE DOCUMENT GROUPS used in trial: NI, EC, D, PS, L

Trial Chronology

Detailed chronology showing dates, transcript page numbers, and content

Sentences

Acquitted: Gajewski, Gattineau, von der Heyde, Hoerlein, von Knieriem, Kuehne, Lautenschlaeger, Mann, Schneider, Wurster

Removed from trial for medical reasons: Brueggemann

Guilty Verdicts:

• Ambros: guilty, count 3, eight years
• Buergin: guilty, count 3, two years
• Buetefisch: guilty, count 3, six years
• Duerrfeld: guilty, count 3, eight years
• Haefliger: guilty, count 2, two years
• Ilgner: guilty, count 2, three years
• Jaehne: guilty, count 2, 18 months
• Krauch: guilty, count 3, six years
• Kugler: guilty, count 2, eighteen months
• Ter Meer: guilty, counts 2-3, seven years
• Oster: guilty, count 2, two years
• Schmitz: guilty, count 2, four years
• Von Schnitzler: guilty, count 2, five years