Hell's Cartel_IG Farben and the Making of Hitler's War Machine

by Diarmuid Jeffreys

  I would like to say a very big thank you to the archivists and librarians of the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum Archives, the Unternehmensarchiv der BASF AG, the Werksarchiv der Bayer AG, the Bundesarchiv, the Berlin Document Center, the British Library, the Carl Bosch Museum, the Chester Fritz Library at the University of South Dakota, the Hoechst Archive, the Imperial War Museum (Duxford), the London Library, the Manchester Museum of Science and Industry, the National Newspaper Library, the State Archive of the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom National Archives (formerly the Public Record Office), the University of Southampton Library, the University of Sussex Library, the U.S. Library of Congress, the U.S. National Archives, the U.S. Holocaust Museum, and the Wellcome Library for the History and Understanding of Medicine. Without exception, the staffs of these institutions were courteous and patient when responding to my requests and provided more assistance and advice than I had any right to hope for, particularly as, at times, they also had to cope with my very obvious linguistic deficiencies. Hans Hermann Pogarell at Bayer and Dr. Susan Becker at BASF were especially helpful in this regard, and I am very much in their debt. In a similar vein, I am beholden to Mark Nash for helping me find relevant material in the United States, to Karl Hause and Sonia Remer for doing the same in Germany and for providing much-needed help with translation, and to Neil Gower for the excellent chart and map.

  It is equally important, I feel, to pay tribute to the scholarship of the many academic historians whose insights and erudition informed my understanding of the relationship between German industry and the Nazi state, the nature and scale of IG Farben, and the tragedy of Auschwitz. There are too many of them to name individually and, in any case, a full list of relevant books and articles can be found in the bibliography, but the works of the following were particularly helpful: Michael Burleigh, Richard Evans, Peter Hayes, Gottfried Plumpe, Martin Gilbert, Adam Tooze, Franciszek Piper, Deborah Dwork, and Robert Jan Van Pelt. In addition, I should mention the late Primo Levi, whose published accounts of his dreadful experiences at the Buna-Werke proved a constant inspiration.

  I am also very grateful to the National Ex–Prisoner of War Association for helping me find former British POWs from IG Auschwitz and to Denis Avey, Ronald Redman, Jack Green, John Melville-White, Cyril F. Quartermaine, and a number of other surviving POWs and their families who prefer to retain their privacy for sharing their often painful memories with me in letters and conversation. Their tale, which I have only touched on in this book, has been somewhat overshadowed by the wider tragedy of the Holocaust but it deserves to be remembered and I hope that one day a better storyteller than I will do it full justice. My deepest thanks, too, go to Belle Mayer Zeck, Drexel Sprecher (both, sadly, now deceased), and Benjamin Ferencz for their memories of Nuremberg; to Ernst Eichengrün for his insights on Arthur Eichengrün’s work at Bayer; to the late Hermann Müller and the Wolff, Gordon, and Heuytens families for their time and reflections; and to others, among them descendants of former IG Farben employees, who agreed to help me anonymously.

  My extraordinarily gifted editor, Sara Bershtel, somehow imposed order on the complex narrative that landed on her desk, corrected my most egregious mistakes, and was always on hand with advice and encouragement. Her colleague Riva Hocherman supplied invaluable readings and ingenious suggestions. Any writing of merit in this book is surely down to them, and to Roslyn Schloss, who copyedited the manuscript with remarkable sensitivity and attention to detail. I am enormously grateful for the professionalism, skill, and patience of all those involved in the editorial production process at Metropolitan Books. Likewise to Bill Swainson at Bloomsbury, who was unstinting with support, wise counsel, and perceptive, constructive criticism. I am also delighted to be able to thank the Society of Authors and the Authors’ Foundation, in particular Antonia Fraser, Daniel Johnson, John Mole, Stella Tillyard, and Erica Wagner, for giving material assistance at an absolutely critical juncture, and Ileen Maisel, who always believed in this book and generously provided lunch and encouragement at difficult times.

  My agent and dear friend Anthony Sheil, who astonished me yet again by his willingness to read through and comment incisively on early drafts of a manuscript, was typically unflagging in his kindness and support and dispensed wine, sympathy, and sound advice whenever things got tough. As ever, I am hugely indebted to him and to Leah Middleton, Sally Riley, and all at Aitken Alexander Associates for their careful handling of my affairs.

  And last but not least, I want to thank my parents, family, and friends for their love and understanding and for enduring my preoccupation with a project that took far longer than anyone anticipated. Fortunately, Patsy, Laura, and Joe, who had to live with it every day, never let me forget what was truly important. They know what I owe them.

  INDEX

  The index that appeared in the print version of this title does not match the pages in your eBook. Please use the search function on your eReading device to search for terms of interest. For your reference, the terms that appear in the print index are listed below.

  Abbott Laboratories

  Abwehr (military intelligence service)

  Abyssinia

  acetanilide

  acetophenetidine

  acetylsalicylic acid. See aspirin

  Adkin, John

  Adolzfurt DAG plant

  advertising

  A.E.G. (German electrical power combine)

  Agfa (Aktiengesellschaft für Anilinfabrikation)

  agriculture

  Albania

  alizarin red

  Allied bombing

  WW I and

  WW II and

  Allied Chemicals

  Allied Control Council

  Allies, WW I. See also specific countries

  chemical industries and

  German settlement with

  peace commission, post–WW I

  poison gas and

  Rhineland occupation by

  U-boat campaign vs.

  Allies, WW II, See also specific countries

  advance at end of war

  death camps and

  IG Farben at end of war and

  alloy mines

  Alsace-Lorraine

  aluminum

  Ambros, Otto

  Amchan, Morris

  American IG Chemical Company

  ammonia, synthetic. See nitrogen and nitrates, synthetic

  ammonium sulphate saltpeter

  anarcho-syndicalists

  aniline dyes See also coal tar; and specific dyes

  animal experiments

  antiepilepsy drugs

  Antifebrine (acetanilide)

  antipyrine

  anti-Semitism. See also Jews

  antitrust laws

  antranalic acid

  Anzio, battle of

  AO (Auslandorganisation, Foreign Organization)

  Arbeitsausschuss (Working Committee)

  Argentina

  Armistice Commission at Wiesbaden

  arsenicals

  Aryanization

  aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid)

  Latin America and, (Cafiaspirina)

  UK and

  U.S. and

  Aspro brand

  Association for Sales Promotion

  Aufsichstrat (supervisory board)

  Auschwitz camps. See also Buna-Werke; Monowitz

  Aussiger Verein firm

  Austria

  Anschluss and

  autarky (self-sufficiency)

  Autobahnen

  automobile industry

  Aventis

  Avey, Denis

  Baeyer, Adolf von

  BASF-Agfa-Bayer Dreibund

  BASF (Badische Anilin und Soda Fabrik)

  American assets and

  Dreibund and

  early dye industry and

  fuels research and

  IG Farben founding and

  Ilgner at

  labor and

  nitrates and

&
nbsp; Oppau explosion and

  poison gases and

  post–WW I

  post–WW II

  rubber research and

  Schmitz hired by

  VKPS uprising and

  WW I and

  WW II and

  BASF Group

  Bauer, Max

  Baumann, Ernst

  Bayer, Friedrich

  Bayer AG

  aspirin and

  Dreibund and

  Duisberg and

  early pharmaceuticals and

  founded as Friedrich Bayer and Company

  heroin and

  IG Farben and

  joins IGDT

  labor and

  Lower Rhine work group and

  nitrate research and

  patents and

  pharmaceuticals and

  pharmaceuticals division, and WW II

  poison gas and

  post–WW II

  rubber research and

  South America and

  U.S. and

  WW I and

  Bayer and Company (U.S. subsidiary)

  Bayer family

  Bayer Rensselaer plant

  BBC

  Bedford, Fred

  Beilin, Aharon

  Belgian labor

  Belgian POWs

  Belgium

  Belorussia

  Belzec camp

  Benes, Eduard

  Benzinvertrag (gasoline contract)

  Bergen-Belsen camp

  Bergius, Friedrich

  Bergius process

  Berlin

  Allied bombing of

  Depression and

  at end of war

  Olympics of 1936

  Berlin, University of

  Berliner Handelsgesellschaft

  Berlin NW7 (satellite departments)

  Berlin West bank

  Berlin work group

  Berndt, Erich

  Berr, Raymond

  Bethmann-Hollweg, Chancellor

  Billingham hydrogenation plant

  Birkeland, Kristian

  Birkenau camp

  Bismarck, Otto von

  Black Reichswehr

  blitzkrieg

  Blockmeisters

  Blomberg, Werner von

  Bockelberg, Alfred von Vollard

  Bohemia

  Bohle, Ernst

  Bölitz DAG plant

  Bolshevisim

  Bormann, Martin

  Boruta dye firm

  Bosch, Carl

  death of

  death of Duisberg and

  Depression and

  DuPont and

  early career of

  IG Farben and

  Nazis and

  Nobel Prize and

  Oppau explosion and

  politics and

  Standard Oil and

  synthetic fuels and

  Versailles Treaty and

  Bosch, Robert

  Bosch firm (electrical manufacturer)

  Bose, Herbert von

  Bracht, Fritz

  Braun, Werner von

  Braunkohlenwerke Bruckdorf AG

  Braunsfeld DAG plant

  Brazil

  Brest-Litovsk Treaty (1917)

  British Army

  Expeditionary Force

  Fifteenth Corps

  Intelligence

  Seventh Armored Division

  British Association for the Advancement of Science

  British Chemical Warfare Service

  British Foreign Office

  British Intelligence Objectives Subcommittee (BIOS)

  British Labour Party

  British Parliament

  British POWs

  British Royal Air Force (RAF)

  British Royal College for Chemistry

  British Royal Navy

  bromine gas (T-Stoff)

  bromine process

  Brüggemann, Max

  Brunck, Heinrich

  Bruning, Adolf

  Bruning, Gustav von

  Bruning family

  Brüning, Heinrich

  Brunner Mond and Company

  Brzeszcze coal mine

  Buchenwald camp

  Budapest

  Bulgaria

  buna (synthetic rubber)

  Buna-Werke (Auschwitz)

  Bureau Haber

  Bürgin, Ernst

  Burth, Georg

  butadiene

  Bütefisch, Heinrich

  butyl

  Caesar, Julius

  Caladium seguinum bush

  Caporetto, Battle of

  Carbidwerke Deutsch-Matrei AG

  Caro, Heinrich

  cartels, American

  Cassella (Leopold) firm

  Catholic Center Party (German)

  Catholic Church

  cellophane

  Central Committee (IGF)

  Central Germany work group

  Central Powers

  Central Rhine work group

  Chamberlain, Neville

  Charmatz, Jan

  Charteris, Horace

  Chelmno death camp

  Chemical Industry Association (Verein zur Wahrung der Interessesen der chemischen Industrie Deutschlands)

  chemicals sales combine

  chemical weapons (poison gas)

  Chemie Grünenthalemie-Verwaltungs AG

  Chemische Fabrik von Heyden

  chemistry. See also specific companies, individuals, and products

  origins of industrial

  rise of German, in nineteenth century

  Childers, Erskine

  Chile

  China

  chlorine

  Ciba

  cinchona bark

  Circle of Economic Advisers

  Circle of Friends

  Clay, Lucius

  coal

  coal tar

  Cold War

  Cologne factory

  Commercial Committee

  Commerzbank association

  Commissar Order (1941)

  Communism

  Communist Party (Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands, KPD)

  Communist Party (Soviet Union)

  concentration camps. See also specific camps

  Condor Legion

  Congo red

  Conservative People’s Party (German)

  Coolidge, Calvin

  Coronel, Battle of

  corporatism

  Coward, Charles

  Creditanstalt

  Crookes, William

  Crowley, Leo

  Czechoslovakia

  Dachau camp

  Daily Mirror

  Daily Telegraph

  Dales, Leonard

  Daly, Edward

  Davidson, Frederick

  Dawes Plan

  Decree for the Consolidation of the German Nation (1939)

  deflationary measures

  Degesch. See Deutsche Gesellschaft für Schädlingsbekämpfung

  Deladier, Edouard

  denazification

  Denmark

  depression

  of 1920–21

  of 1929–33, (Great Depression)

  detergents

  Deutsche Allgemeine Zeitung (wire service)

  Deutsche Bank

  Deutsche Gasolin group

  Deutsche Gesellschaft für

  Schädlingsbekämpfung (Degesch, German Pest Control Company)

  Deutsche Länderbank

  Deutschland (U-boat)

  Dietrich, Gerhard

  Dietrich, Hermann

  Die Zeit (newspaper)

  diglycol

  divisional management committees

  Doctors’ Trial

  Donau-Chemie AG

  Dondero, George A.

  Dönitz, Karl

  Dow Chemical

  Doyle, Eric

  Dreibund

  Dresdener Bank

  Dreser, Heinrich

  DuBois, Josiah E.

  Duchemin, René


  Duisberg, Carl, Jr. (son)

  Duisberg, Curt

  Duisberg, Friedrich Carl, Sr.

  Duisberg, Friedrich Carl (“Carl”)

  death of

  Dreibund and

  early career of

  IG Farben and

  Leverkusen house of

  Nazis and

  synthetic fuels and

  U.S. and

  Versailles Treaty and

  Weimar and

  WW I and

  Duisberg, Joanna

  Duisberg, Walter

  Duisberg, Wilhelmine

  Duisberg explosive plant

  Dulles, Allen

  Düneberg DAG plant

  Dunkirk evacuation

  DuPont Corporation

  Durlach plant

  Dürrfeld, Walter

  Düsseldorf Industrial Club

  DVNP. See German National People’s Party

  dye industry. See also specific companies

  products evolved from

  Dyhernfurth plant

  Dynamit AG (DAG)

  Dynamit Nobel AG

  Dzieditz mine

  Ebert, Friedrich

  Eckell, Johannes

  Economy Party (Wirtschaftspartei)

  Edison, Thomas

  Ehrlich, Paul

  Eichengrün, Arthur

  Eichmann, Adolf

  Einsatzgruppen

  Einstein, Albert

  Eisenhart, Karl

  Eisenhower, Dwight D.

  Elberfeld factory

  emergency decrees

  Empelde DAG plant

  Enabling Act (1933)

  Engelhorn, Friedrich

  Engelmann, Max

  Enigma code breakers

  Essen Krupp works

  Essen plant

  Etablissements Kuhlmann

  Ethyl Export Corporation

  Ethyl Gasoline Corporation

  Eugénie, empress of France

  Europäische Revue (periodical)

  explosives. See also nitrogen and nitrates, synthetic

  Eyde, Samuel

  Falkenhayn, Erich von

  Falkland Islands

  Farbenfabriken of Elberfeld Company (Bayer subsidiary)

  Farbenfabriken vormals Friedrich Bayer & Co.

  Farish, Walter

  Fascists, Italian

  Faust, Max

  Feder, Gottfried

  Federal German Republic (West Germany)

  Federation of the German Chemical Industry

  Feinberg, Kai

  Ferde DAG plant

  Ferenca, Benajmin B.

  Ferris, Robert

  fertilizers

  fibers, synthetic

  Fifth Amendment (U.S.)

  First Bavarian Regiment

  Fischer, Franz

  Fischer-Tropp process

  Flachslaender, Joseph

  Flick, Friedrich

  Flick firm

  foreign currency reserves

  Foreign Economic Administration