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WITNESS SCHWAB: I was born on 8 June 1886 at Bad Homburg. Upper
Taunus.
Q. Please describe briefly your career with I. G. Farben.
A. In November 1909, I entered the dyestuffs works at Hoechst. In
February 1910, I was transferred to the agency at Vienna for the purpose of
reorganization, and later I had to travel. I stayed in Vienna until the middle
of 1912. In July 1913, 1 was sent to Turin for the purpose of reorganizing the
agency there. In March 1914, 1 came back and went to Brussels. Until July 1914
—
Q. Perhaps you could go into a little less detail, Witness.
A. Then during World War I, I was prisoner of war for 4 years and then
I returned to the plant at Hoechst, and was at first in the “Romanic
Department,” and in the merger with the eastern business in 1929. Then I
was concerned especially with the Polish business. I was in Poland from 1939 to
1943, as trustee of the three Polish dyestuffs factories; and from 1943 to
1945, I was back in my old department in Frankfurt.
Q. When did you
receive power of attorney?
A. In 1921. In 1922, Prokura, and in 1929, I
became “Titular Director.”
Q. Can you describe briefly what
the expression “Titular Director"” means?
A. That means
Procurist under commercial law, but not a member of the board of directors.
Q. Instead of board of directors would you please use the German
expression, so that no translation difficulties arise.
A. Vorstand.
Q. Can you give me a brief description of the Polish dyestuffs
industry, first regarding over-all production?
A. The total production
averaged about 2 thousand tons, with a value of about 10 million reichsmarks.
Q. What was the rate of exchange between the reichsmark and Polish
currency?
A. Before the war, one zloty was equivalent to 47½
pfennigs. During the war, the rate was set at 1 reichsmark for 2 zlotys; that
is, the zloty was equivalent to 50 pfennigs.
Q. What were the largest
Polish dyestuffs factories?
A. The largest one was Pabjanicer.
Q. And the other names, so that we may have them all together?
A. The second largest was Boruta, considered from the point of view of
dyestuffs factories; the third was Winnica, and the fourth one, Wola. Then
there were a few smaller ones.
Q. What percentage of the total of
Polish dyestuffs production was produced by these four larger factories which
you have just named?
A. Almost 95 percent of the production.
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