 |
the cause of truth and justice was silent for reasons of expediency
or even raised his voice to serve his own interests and not truth. All the
deeper is the feeling of gratitude to those who, ignoring all these
considerations, tried really to see to it that what had been the truth for 20
years remained the truth before this Tribunal.
I personally was filled
with special satisfaction by a statement which, unfortunately, arrived too late
and which came from the field of work which from 1930 to the outbreak of war
was not only an important part of my professional work but to which I was also
personally devoted; that is, the International Nitrogen Convention which
included ten European countries. The French General Lavre said, in an affidavit
dated 11 May 1948 and intended for this Tribunal, after describing my work as
president of the Convention International de l'Azote: |
| |
“In the course of these many
meetings I had occasion to have frequent conversations with Dr. Schmitz. I must
report on this subject that whether because of my age and the function which I
held, or whether from a personal feeling of sympathy which I shared equally,
Dr. Schmitz always demonstrated toward me a deference expressed so delicately
that I have always been extremely grateful to him and that I wish today to
express my gratitude.
“In numerous conversations which I had under
these various circumstances with Dr. Schmitz, he never gave me occasion to
think that he could possibly belong to the Nazi Party, that he could even have
any sympathy for this party, and he never let me feel that his efforts as an
executive of I. G. Farben Industry could be directed in a subversive manner
against the peace of the world and against France in
particular.” |
To these words of an upright man, spoken without any animosity which
the affiant might have felt as a Frenchman, I have nothing to add.
A
last word to clarify one question which has been brought up here so often in
the last few months. How could such a big enterprise be directed at all and how
was it directed? Two words characterize the work of the Vorstand of I. G.
Farben: common sense and confidence. Common sense in the standards of the
decisions to be made in big things and in small, and applying this principle in
the daily work meant that a business transaction was sound only when, in the
final analysis, it could satisfy both partners; but confidence was the bond
between the responsible men who in such difficult times were at the head of IG,
no lighthearted confidence but a deep feeling of trust, based on the knowledge
of the technical and — which is more important — the human qualities
of all concerned. |
1058 |
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