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facilities of this plant, which was to produce concentrated nitric
acid for the explosives industry; we knew the amount invested, and the owner,
namely, the WIFO (Wirtschaftliche Forschungsgesellschaft).
Before
building the Doeberitz plant, WIFO had obtained a preliminary cost estimate in
order to ascertain whether a firm other than IG could construct this shadow
factory more cheaply. The "building contract" specified that IG was to build
according to the latest and most modern methods, that it was to furnish its
experimental data, and also subsequent improvements. In return, IG was to
receive a certain compensation apart from actual building costs, for which it
had to render accounts to WIFO. This compensation, a kind of license, was
negotiated with WIFO by Mr. Forsthoff, in agreement with the Sparte office
which handled all license agreements in the sphere of Sparte I.
3. WIFO
was founded as a G.m.b.H. I learned later on that Farben also had a part in the
foundation, to wit: to the extent of 5,000 reichsmarks* of a foundation capital
of 20,000 reichsmarks. I do not think that there were other firms besides
Farben which participated in the foundation of WIFO.
4. When, later on
in 1936, I came to Vermittlungsstelle W, I learned further details about shadow
factories, WIFO, et cetera. For example, that WIFO funds were furnished by the
Reich Ministry of Economics, that the orders for the construction of shadow
factories came from the OKW Military-Economics Staff, and that their real
source of origin lay in the demands of the Ordnance Office or the General
Staff.
5. Upon completion of each shadow factory or stand-by plant,
Farben concluded an “operational contract ” in addition to the
“building contract.” The former specified the manner of cost
accounting, distribution or use of any profits or losses, etc. According to
instructions of the authorities, Farben, as a private firm, was to suffer no
losses for operating Reich-owned shadow factories, on the one hand, but was to
be interested in operating them as economically as possible through the
inducement of profit sharing. On the other hand, excess profits, for instance
by increased sales of nitric acid to the explosives industry, were not to be
tolerated.
Above all, in these operational contracts for shadow
factories. Farben had to pledge itself to keep up the production capacity of
the plant and always to preserve its nature of a stand-by plant, that is, to
hold this plant always in readiness for operations, or |
__________
* Document NI-6347
Prosecution Exhibit 754 indicates that Farben's share was RM 4,000 as of 26
November 1935, and that on that date Farben transferred its share in WIFO to
the Deutsche Bau- und Bodenbank Aktiengesellschaft. Not reproduced herein.
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