 |
Rothschild refused to give the information and was threatened several
times. He was told by Sandre: “If you don't want to give me that
information, well, you can just imagine what will happen to you.”
Rothschild still refused.
On 21 February 1944 Rothschild was arrested
and on 7 March was taken to Auschwitz from which concentration camp he has
never returned. He sent a note through a friend to Celap, his brother-in-law,
while being held in a transit camp in France* that he had exact information to
the effect that the whole affair had been arranged by Sandre and Damour (Damour
was the lawyer for the commissioner for Jewish properties at Lyon).
The
Krupp workers evacuated the plant just a few days before the entry of the
American troops. Eighteen machines which they had collected in France were
dismantled and taken to Germany. Among these were two of the machines
originally obtained from the Austin plant.
The lease and management of
the plant, the purchase of the machinery, and the attempts to permanently
acquire the property were carried on by the finance department of the Krupp
firm which was headed by defendant Loeser until April 1943, thereafter by
defendant Janssen. The contract for the purchase of the machinery and the lease
for the plan were approved by defendants Krupp and Loeser on behalf of the
Vorstand. The programs for production at the plant and decisions relating
thereto were made by defendants Krupp, Janssen, and Eberhardt. In November 1943
defendant Alfried Krupp inspected the plant. He was pleased with its operation
but suggested the production of Widia tools in order that the plant might be
fully utilized. A subordinate in the finance department passed this
recommendation on to defendants Janssen and Eberhardt suggesting a meeting at
Essen. As a result the installation of Widia tool production at the Austin
factory had been started by March 1944.
On 24 May 1941 a circular was
issued by the Krupp Direktorium, signed by defendant Loeser, stating that the
Krupp firm's interest as to acquiring other plants must be pursued as
opportunities occur and that essential information must be communicated without
delay to him so that the treatment of the matter can be decided within the
small circle of the directorate. On the distribution list were defendants
Krupp, Houdremont, Mueller, Janssen, Pfirsch, and Korschan.
We conclude
from the credible evidence before us that the confiscation of the Austin plant
based upon German inspired anti-Jewish laws and its subsequent detention by the
Krupp firm |
__________
* This note is reproduced
above in section VII D 1 as an enclosure to Document NIK-10590, Prosecution
Exhibit 662.
1352 |
. 
