 |
While I had expected the appearance of Goering, Hitler entered the
room, shook hands with everybody and took a seat at the top of the table. In a
long speech he talked mainly about the danger of communism over which he
pretended that he just had won a decisive victory.*
He then talked
about the "Buendnis" (alliance) into which his party and the Deutsch-Nationale
Volkspartei had entered. This latter party in the meantime had been reorganized
by Herr Von Papen. On the end he came to the point which seemed to me the
purpose of the meeting. Hitler stressed the importance that the two
aforementioned parties should gain the majority in the coming Reichstag
election. Krupp von Bohlen thanked Hitler for his speech. After Hitler had left
the room, Dr. Schacht proposed to the meeting the raising of an election fund
of — as far as I remember — RM 3,000,000. The fund should be
distributed between the two "allies" according to their relative strength at
the time being. Dr. Stein suggested that the Deutsche Volkspartei should be
included, which suggestion when I rightly remember was accepted. The amounts
which the individual firms had to contribute were not discussed.
I did
not take part in the discussion but reported the matter the next day or the
overnext to Dr. Bosch in Frankfurt, who together with Geheimrat Schmitz had
reserved exclusively for themselves the handling of distribution of money to
political parties, the press, etc. and had made a special appoint [sic] of
"Vertraulichkeit" (secrecy) in this respect.
Dr. Bosch did, as far as I
remember, not make any remark to my report, but shrugged his shoulders.
I never heard again of the whole matter, but I believe that either the
buro of Goering or Schacht or the Reichsverband der Deutschen Industrie
had asked the office of Bosch or Schmitz for payment of IG's share in the
election fund. As I did not take the matter up again I not even at that time
knew whether and which amount had been paid by the IG. According to the volume
of the IG I should estimate IG's share being something like 10 percent of the
election fund, but as far as I know there is no evidence that I.G. Farben
participated in the payments.
I understand the English
language. |
| |
| [Signed] G. VON SCHNITZLER |
__________
* A contemporaneous report
on this speech which was discovered in the files of Gustav Krupp is reproduced
later in this subsection.
556 |
. 
