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V. ORGANIZATION OF THE KRUPP CONCERN
AND THE POSITIONS OF THE DEFENDANTS |
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| A. Introduction |
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The judgment of the Tribunal (sec. XI), in its early part, gives a
concise description of the history and organization of the Krupp concern. In
its opening statement, the prosecution asserted that the practical management
of the Krupp firm “was handled by the members of the Krupp Vorstand and
their principal deputies. In 1939, there were three Vorstand members: the
defendants Alfried Krupp and Loeser, and the deceased Paul Goerens * * * The
other ten defendants occupied responsible positions under the three Vorstand
members. Seven of them [Eberhardt, Houdremont, Ihn, Janssen, Korschan, Mueller,
and Pfirsch] in 1939 held the title of ‘Deputy Director’.”
From 1903 until December 1943, the Krupp firm was incorporated under
German law as "Fried. Krupp Aktiengesellschaft.”
“Aktiengesellschaft” (ordinarily abbreviated as “A.G.”) may
be literally translated as “share company.” This form of business
enterprise was ordinarily adopted by most large German business enterprises. An
“A.G.” approximates in legal nature the American corporation. It has
two governing boards, an “Aufsichtsrat” (supervisory board) and a
“Vorstand” (managing board). Concerning these two governing bodies in
the Krupp concern, the Tribunal stated in its judgment: “In practice the
control of the whole Krupp concern was vested in the Vorstand * * *. The
Aufsichtsrat * * * appears to have had the power to review the activities of
the Vorstand. However, it met only once a year, and its functions were purely
formal.”
In December 1943 the Krupp enterprise was converted to an
unincorporated enterprise, solely owned by the defendant Alfried Krupp. An
intrafirm circular at that time stated that the defendant Alfried Krupp
“has the full responsibility and direction of the entire enterprise. To
assist him he has appointed a board of business management with the name Das
Direktorium [often referred to in the case as the Directorate]. The regular and
deputy members of the former Vorstand (managing board), with the exception of
Dr. Loeser, resigned, will hereafter be the regular and deputy members of the
Direktorium. They will have authority to sign for the firm in place of the
owner, and without an adjunct indicating a power of attorney [Prokura].”
(Document NIK–9294, Pros. Ex. 42.) * |
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* Reproduced below in
section B.
226 |
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