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and informers being around, who
like the guards of the prison, could hunt you for a single incautious word, or
later on, as is well-known, even on account of a political joke or on remarks
overheard which could have been interpreted as
defeatism?” |
The story will have to be written of how the German people got more
and more hopelessly entangled in this plague, by the threat of drastic measures
by their rulers, especially of the Gestapo which in time became more and more
cruel. And finally it was reduced to a mass without a will and to an object
which had to obey and to be silent, just as in prison. Living in Germany since
1909, as a Swiss, my mental attitude from the beginning invariably had been not
to mix in political matters and to face the German politics from the angle of a
neutral observer.
I was fully absorbed by my profession. My
acquaintances and my friends were throughout open-minded, world-experienced
men. Is it to be wondered that strong sympathy connected me with Germany, well
understood, with the other, the tolerant, broad minded and peaceful Germany?
But all the time it was my view to remain Swiss. After 1933 my situation,
however, became increasingly more difficult, in view of the growing narrow
minded nationalism and chauvinism. I felt myself watched by small Hitlers who
by no means belonged to the circle of the defendants here present. And I,
therefore, was glad that after my nomination as a Swiss consul, at the end of
1933, I was able to confirm my neutrality visibly also to the outside. I was
well aware that under the Nazi regime the maintenance of my nationality meant
that I had to sacrifice all hopes to candidacy as a successor of my senior
colleague, Mr. Weber-Andreae, and to be entrusted with the responsibility of
the Sales Combine Chemicals of IG when he, as it was supposed, would retire in
1936. But by no means a reproach is made thereby to the IG, for it was entirely
my own decision not to remove this obstacle by a naturalization.
Besides, it is probably a rare case that a man in my position in any
foreign country could be active for over 30 years without acquiring the
citizenship of his host country. Furthermore, it would be a complete error to
assume, for instance, that the IG thought it advantageous to make use of me for
being a foreigner. This, in fact, never happened. If, in 1939, Dr. Krueger, in
order to help me in my fight to retain my Swiss nationality, on his own
initiative, had to take this step of a cloaking maneuver on my behalf, as set
forth in his respective affidavit, this throws a further significant spotlight
on the kind of ideas you had to resort to under the prevalent conditions in the
Third Reich.
As to the only foreigner in the Vorstand of IG, it would
have been naturally quite impossible for me to oppose any decisions or measures
deemed to be necessary in the national interests. The very fact that
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