The United States of America vs. Alfried Krupp, et al., commonly known as the Krupp trial, was the tenth of twelve trials for war crimes that U.S. authorities held in their occupation zone at Nuremberg, Germany, after the end of World War II. It concerned the forced labor enterprises of the Krupp concern and other crimes committed by the concern.
Prosecutor Telford Taylor (standing, center) opens the case against the defendants
These twelve trials were all held before U.S. military courts, not before the International Military Tribunal, but took place in the same rooms at the Palace of Justice. The twelve U.S. trials are collectively known as the "subsequent Nuremberg Trials" or, more formally, as the "Trials of War Criminals before the Nuremberg Military Tribunals" (NMT). The Krupp Trial was the third of three trials of German industrialists; the other two were the Flick Trial and the IG Farben Trial.
In the Krupp Trial, twelve former directors of the Krupp Group were accused of having enabled the armament of the German military forces and thus having actively participated in the Nazis' preparations for an aggressive war, and also for having used slave laborers in their companies. The main defendant was Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach, CEO of the Krupp Holding since 1943 and son of Gustav Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach who had been a defendant in the main Trial of the Major War Criminals before the IMT (where he was considered medically unfit for trial).
The judges in this case, heard before Military Tribunal III-A, were Hu C. Anderson (presiding judge), president of the court of appeals of Tennessee, Edward J. Daly from Connecticut, and William J. Wilkins from Seattle, Washington. The Chief of Counsel for the Prosecution was Telford Taylor; the Chief Trial Counsel was H. Russell Thayer, and Benjamin B. Ferencz participated as a Special Counsel. The indictment was presented on November 17, 1947; the trial lasted from December 8, 1947, until July 31, 1948. One defendant (Pfirsch) was acquitted, the others received prison sentences between three and twelve years, and the main defendant Alfried Krupp was ordered to sell all his possessions.
Defendants at the Krupp Trial, from left; Alfried Krupp, Ewald Löser, Eduard Houdremont, Erich Müller, Friedrich Janssen, Karl Pfirsch, and Karl Eberhardt
The main defendant Alfried Krupp always denied any guilt. In 1947, he stated:
The economy needed a steady or growing development. Because of the rivalries between the many political parties in Germany and the general disorder there was no opportunity for prosperity. ... We thought that Hitler would give us such a healthy environment. Indeed he did do that. ... We Krupps never cared much about [political] ideas. We only wanted a system that worked well and allowed us to work unhindered. Politics is not our business.
— Alfried Krupp, in Golo Mann's manuscript first published in (Friz 1988).
Indeed, the Krupp holding did flourish under the Nazi regime. According to conservative estimates, the Krupp enterprises used nearly 100,000 persons in the slave labour programme, about 23,000 of which were prisoners of war.
Indictmentedit
Crimes against peace by participating in the planning and waging of wars of aggression and wars in violation of international treaties;
Crimes against humanity by participating in the plundering, devastation, and exploitation of occupied countries;
Crimes against humanity by participating in the murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation, imprisonment, torture, and use for slave labor of civilians who came under German control, German nationals, and prisoners of war;
Participating in a common plan or conspiracy to commit crimes against peace.
All defendants were charged under counts 1, 3, and 4; count 2 excluded the defendants Lehmann and Kupke. Counts 1 and 4 were soon dropped due to lack of evidence.
12 years plus forfeiture of property; sentence commuted to time served on January 31, 1951, by John J. McCloy and property restored to him. Died July 30, 1967.
7 years; released on health grounds on June 7, 1951. Died December 23, 1970.
Eduard Houdremont [de]
director, head of steel works
10 years; commuted to time served on January 31, 1951. Died June 10, 1958.
Erich Müller [de]
director, head of arms fabrication
12 years; released early in 1952. Died April 15, 1963.
Friedrich Wilhelm Janssen
CFO, successor to Löser
10 years; commuted to time served on December 31, 1951, and released on February 4, 1952. In 1953, he returned to Friedrich Krupp AG and became General plenipotentiary of the Friedrich Krupp works in Essen next to Berthold Beitz. 1955 he retired. During this two-year collaboration between Beitz and Janssen, Janssen became his paternal advisor, who introduced him to the group's individual works. Died October 9, 1956.
Karl Heinrich Pfirsch
former head of sales department
Acquitted. Died 1967.
Max Otto Ihn
Personnel and intelligence, deputy to Löser and Janssen
9 years; released on time served in February 1951. Died 1983.
Karl Adolf Ferdinand Eberhardt
head of sales, successor of Pfirsch
9 years; released on time served in February 1951.
Heinrich Leo Korschan
deputy head of steel plants
6 years; At the beginning of February 1951, Korschan was released from the war criminal prison in Landsberg. He then lived again in Essen-Bredeney. Died January 8, 1973.
Friedrich von Bülow
counterintelligence, public relations, and head of the plant police (Werkschutz)
12 years; sentence commuted to time served on January 31, 1951, and released the next day. Died January 17, 1984.
Werner Wilhelm Heinrich Lehmann
"labor procurement", deputy to Ihn
6 years; released February 1951.
Hans Albert Gustav Kupke
head of workers' camps
Time served. Died 1966.
All eleven defendants found guilty were convicted on the forced labor charge (count 3), and of the ten charged on count 2 (economic spoliation), six were convicted. On January 31, 1951, two and a half years after the sentences, ten (all except Löser) were released from prison. Since no buyer for the Krupp Holding had been found, Alfried Krupp resumed control of the firm in 1953.
Referencesedit
Trial proceedings (partial).
from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Transcript of a German radio broadcast from 1999 on the Krupp trial and the IG Farben Trial (in German, with English quotations).
Friz, D. M. (1988). Alfried Krupp und Berthold Beitz—der Erbe und sein Statthalter (in German). Zürich: Orell-Füssli. ISBN3-280-01852-8.
February 16, 2024
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This article includes a list of references related reading or external links but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations February 2013 Learn how and when to remove this template message The United States of America vs Alfried Krupp et al commonly known as the Krupp trial was the tenth of twelve trials for war crimes that U S authorities held in their occupation zone at Nuremberg Germany after the end of World War II It concerned the forced labor enterprises of the Krupp concern and other crimes committed by the concern Prosecutor Telford Taylor standing center opens the case against the defendantsThese twelve trials were all held before U S military courts not before the International Military Tribunal but took place in the same rooms at the Palace of Justice The twelve U S trials are collectively known as the subsequent Nuremberg Trials or more formally as the Trials of War Criminals before the Nuremberg Military Tribunals NMT The Krupp Trial was the third of three trials of German industrialists the other two were the Flick Trial and the IG Farben Trial Contents 1 The case 2 Indictment 3 Defendants 4 ReferencesThe case editIn the Krupp Trial twelve former directors of the Krupp Group were accused of having enabled the armament of the German military forces and thus having actively participated in the Nazis preparations for an aggressive war and also for having used slave laborers in their companies The main defendant was Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach CEO of the Krupp Holding since 1943 and son of Gustav Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach who had been a defendant in the main Trial of the Major War Criminals before the IMT where he was considered medically unfit for trial The judges in this case heard before Military Tribunal III A were Hu C Anderson presiding judge president of the court of appeals of Tennessee Edward J Daly from Connecticut and William J Wilkins from Seattle Washington The Chief of Counsel for the Prosecution was Telford Taylor the Chief Trial Counsel was H Russell Thayer and Benjamin B Ferencz participated as a Special Counsel The indictment was presented on November 17 1947 the trial lasted from December 8 1947 until July 31 1948 One defendant Pfirsch was acquitted the others received prison sentences between three and twelve years and the main defendant Alfried Krupp was ordered to sell all his possessions nbsp Defendants at the Krupp Trial from left Alfried Krupp Ewald Loser Eduard Houdremont Erich Muller Friedrich Janssen Karl Pfirsch and Karl EberhardtThe main defendant Alfried Krupp always denied any guilt In 1947 he stated The economy needed a steady or growing development Because of the rivalries between the many political parties in Germany and the general disorder there was no opportunity for prosperity We thought that Hitler would give us such a healthy environment Indeed he did do that We Krupps never cared much about political ideas We only wanted a system that worked well and allowed us to work unhindered Politics is not our business Alfried Krupp in Golo Mann s manuscript first published in Friz 1988 Indeed the Krupp holding did flourish under the Nazi regime According to conservative estimates the Krupp enterprises used nearly 100 000 persons in the slave labour programme about 23 000 of which were prisoners of war Indictment editCrimes against peace by participating in the planning and waging of wars of aggression and wars in violation of international treaties Crimes against humanity by participating in the plundering devastation and exploitation of occupied countries Crimes against humanity by participating in the murder extermination enslavement deportation imprisonment torture and use for slave labor of civilians who came under German control German nationals and prisoners of war Participating in a common plan or conspiracy to commit crimes against peace All defendants were charged under counts 1 3 and 4 count 2 excluded the defendants Lehmann and Kupke Counts 1 and 4 were soon dropped due to lack of evidence Defendants editName Function SentenceAlfried Krupp owner and CEO 12 years plus forfeiture of property sentence commuted to time served on January 31 1951 by John J McCloy and property restored to him Died July 30 1967 Ewald Loser former CFO 7 years released on health grounds on June 7 1951 Died December 23 1970 Eduard Houdremont de director head of steel works 10 years commuted to time served on January 31 1951 Died June 10 1958 Erich Muller de director head of arms fabrication 12 years released early in 1952 Died April 15 1963 Friedrich Wilhelm Janssen CFO successor to Loser 10 years commuted to time served on December 31 1951 and released on February 4 1952 In 1953 he returned to Friedrich Krupp AG and became General plenipotentiary of the Friedrich Krupp works in Essen next to Berthold Beitz 1955 he retired During this two year collaboration between Beitz and Janssen Janssen became his paternal advisor who introduced him to the group s individual works Died October 9 1956 Karl Heinrich Pfirsch former head of sales department Acquitted Died 1967 Max Otto Ihn Personnel and intelligence deputy to Loser and Janssen 9 years released on time served in February 1951 Died 1983 Karl Adolf Ferdinand Eberhardt head of sales successor of Pfirsch 9 years released on time served in February 1951 Heinrich Leo Korschan deputy head of steel plants 6 years At the beginning of February 1951 Korschan was released from the war criminal prison in Landsberg He then lived again in Essen Bredeney Died January 8 1973 Friedrich von Bulow counterintelligence public relations and head of the plant police Werkschutz 12 years sentence commuted to time served on January 31 1951 and released the next day Died January 17 1984 Werner Wilhelm Heinrich Lehmann labor procurement deputy to Ihn 6 years released February 1951 Hans Albert Gustav Kupke head of workers camps Time served Died 1966 All eleven defendants found guilty were convicted on the forced labor charge count 3 and of the ten charged on count 2 economic spoliation six were convicted On January 31 1951 two and a half years after the sentences ten all except Loser were released from prison Since no buyer for the Krupp Holding had been found Alfried Krupp resumed control of the firm in 1953 References editTrial proceedings partial Description of the trial from the U S Holocaust Memorial Museum Transcript of a German radio broadcast from 1999 on the Krupp trial and the IG Farben Trial in German with English quotations Friz D M 1988 Alfried Krupp und Berthold Beitz der Erbe und sein Statthalter in German Zurich Orell Fussli ISBN 3 280 01852 8 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Krupp trial amp oldid 1195974187, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
