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69. From 1937 on, Farben embarked upon an intensive program to
camouflage and cloak its foreign holdings to protect them from seizure in the
coming wars by enemy custodians. These measures not only served the interests
of Farben, but enabled its foreign empire to carry out the greatly intensified
efforts of the Nazi government to strengthen Germany at the expense of other
nations. The defendant von Schnitzler stated: "Even without being directly
informed that the government intended to wage war, it was impossible for
officials of IG or any other industrialists to believe that the enormous
production of armaments and preparation for war starting from the coming into
power of Hitler, accelerated in 1936, and reaching unbelievable proportions in
1938, could have any other meaning but that Hitler and the Nazi government
intended to wage war, come what may. In view of the enormous concentration on
military production and of the intensive military preparation, no person of IG
or any other industrial leader could believe that this was being done for
defensive purposes. We of IG were well aware of this fact as were all German
industrialists, and on a commercial side, shortly after the Anschluss in 1938,
I. G. Farben took measures to protect its foreign assets in France and the
British Empire."
70. Immediately prior to the Munich Conference of 29
September 1938, a special procedure was worked out by the officials of the
German Government, after consultation with Farben, authorizing the cloaking of
German foreign assets through transfers to neutral trustees as a protection
against wartime seizure.
71. In March of 1939, the Legal Committee of
Farben, whose chairman was the defendant von Knieriem, concluded that: "* * *
the risk of seizure of the sales organizations in the event of war is minimized
if the holders of shares or similar interests are neutrals residing in neutral
countries. Such a distribution of holdings of shares or other interests has the
further advantage of forestalling any conflicts which may trouble the
conscience of an enemy national who will inevitably be caught between his
patriotic feelings and his loyalty to IG. A further advantage is that the
neutral, in case of war, generally retains his freedom of movement; enemy
nationals are frequently called into the service of their country in various
capacities and, therefore, can no longer take care of business matters."
Farben's Legal Committee then recommended that Farben sever all "legal" ties
with Farben cloaks.
72. Thereafter Farben, in anticipation of coming
wars of aggression, made the drastic recommendation to the German Government
that it be permitted to transfer outright hundreds of millions of dollars of
foreign assets. On 24 July 1989, a letter |
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