Alfried Krupp Alfried Krupp and his father, Gustav Krupp, were industrialists in Germany during World War II. Their company, Friedrich Krupp AG, was the largest armaments company in Germany by the time World War I started. Krupp joined the Schutzstaffel (SS) in 1933, knowing that trade unions would soon be gotten rid of by Adolf Hitler. Also, the political left which Krupp was previously aligned with would be eradicated by Hitler.
The Treaty of Versailles forced Friedrich Krupp AG to switch their production form armaments to agricultural machinery. When Hitler came to power and began building the German war machine again, Krupp’s factories began producing tanks. The same factories also built German submarines. The production of tanks, armaments, and munitions by Krupp’s factories never stopped. Friedrich Krupp AG was one of the largest producers of goods for the German Army. Krupp didn’t limit himself to building tanks however, he also moved factories from occupied countries to Germany. In addition to moving factories, many new factories were built inside German occupied countries. These factories took advantage of the free labor provided by thousands of concentration camp inmates. One such factory in Auschwitz produced fuses, while a factory in Silesia built howitzers. Thousands of inmates died at the hands of Krupp’s guards and their terrible methods. Krupp was the Minister of the War Economy for two years until he was arrested by the Canadian Army in 1945. Tried as a war criminal, accused of plundering occupied territories and treating POWs and inmates terribly, Krupp was found guilty and sentenced to twelve years in prison. All of his wealth and property was confiscated (Simkin). |
Max Amann
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Klaus Barbie Klaus Barbie joined the Nazi Party in 1932 at the age of 19, and the Schutzstaffel (SS) three years later. At this time Barbie was assigned to the SD Security Service. Barbie would receive promotions to second lieutenant, and eventually SS Obersturmführer by 1940. Barbie served in the Central Bureau for Jewish Emigration along with the SD Security Service.
While working in France, Barbie was responsible for the capture of many significant members of the French Resistance. These included René Hardy, jean Moulin, Pierre Brossolette, and Charles Delestraint. Barbie tortured all three and was responsible for the deaths of Moulin and Brossolette. Barbie was recruited by the US Counter-Intelligence Corps (CIC) in 1944 after fleeing to Nazi Germany. Barbie was employed by the CIC and was very valuable due to the sheer amount of information he could give the U.S. Barbie was very dangerous for the U.S. and France however, because of what he knew the U.S. was doing, and because he knew of the corruption in France’s top officials. For this reason, the U.S. kept Barbie hidden in a safe house for years, even after the French asked for information on his location. The U.S. eventually smuggled Barbie out of Germany in 1951, and moved him to Bolivia, where he became a citizen in 1957. Nazi hunters found Barbie in 1983 and he was extradited to France. Barbie died in prison after having been found guilty of crimes against humanity (Simkin). |
Citation
Simkin, John. "Spartacus Educational." Spartacus Educational. N.p., Aug. 2014. Web. 11 May 2016.
<http://spartacus-educational.com/FWWkruppA.htm>.
Simkin, John. "Spartacus Educational." Spartacus Educational. N.p., Aug. 2014. Web. 11 May 2016.
<http://spartacus-educational.com/GERamann.htm>.
Simkin, John. "Spartacus Educational." Spartacus Educational. N.p., Aug. 2014. Web. 11 May 2016.
<http://spartacus-educational.com/GERbarbie.htm>.
Simkin, John. "Spartacus Educational." Spartacus Educational. N.p., Aug. 2014. Web. 11 May 2016.
<http://spartacus-educational.com/FWWkruppA.htm>.
Simkin, John. "Spartacus Educational." Spartacus Educational. N.p., Aug. 2014. Web. 11 May 2016.
<http://spartacus-educational.com/GERamann.htm>.
Simkin, John. "Spartacus Educational." Spartacus Educational. N.p., Aug. 2014. Web. 11 May 2016.
<http://spartacus-educational.com/GERbarbie.htm>.