Im curious if any of those companies were held accountable for supplying Hitler with weapons, equipment…Everyone else that somehow made money off the Nazis, or thru what they were doing, was eventually hated by most people and looked down upon, most were prosecuted… example, those men who made alot of money off real estate when the blood was flowing.
It only makes sense those companies that produce/ sell weapons, tanks, etc would NOT want peace, companies want a USE for their products,so more sales take place, that is common sense, Im sure its no different with arms manufacturers.
Most were not prosecuted and of those who were, the average sentence was 3 to 5 years, usually numbering one person to a handful of the owners/directors. The Americans tried a de-Nazification program where many people in key positions were replaced by those loyal to the Allies, including members of the US Military Occupation Government. It didn’t work for various reasons. Bottlenecks occurred and soon, almost all of the former key employees were back in their old positions. The rest were considered vital to maintaining a post-War German economy and putting people back to work making consumer goods.
Others escaped prosecution by offering valuable documents to the Allies in exchange for being let go. In one example where knowledge was more important than any criminal actions that may have occurred, the head of Hitler’s Foreign Intelligence Service in the East surrendered to the Americans along with his staff. They had extensive intelligence about the Russians which the Allies desperately needed, especially since the Russians became our new enemy even before the last bullets were fired at the end of the war.
Of those sacrificed were various Generals and others who did commit certain war crimes. Execution by firing squad, and suicide spared them their jail time for crimes that did not warrant execution. Others successfully fled the country under a preplanned escape system. Others were hidden by Allied intelligence agencies since they were sources of vital intelligence. It was practical, even though justice was not served.
Otto Skorzeny, and his specially trained SS teams, executed daring operations during the war, including the rescue of Mussolini who the British claimed they had in custody. Skorzeny would reestablish himself in Spain after the war and live comfortably.
The massive chemical cartel, I. G. Farben, remained intact and would not be dismantled until decades after the war. They were key in providing synthetic rubber, lubricants, fuel additives and other chemicals and compounds that were vital to the German war effort. Then there was the issue of nerve gas. The Germans had tons of it loaded into artillery shells which were confiscated. The Americans converted one small production facility into producing antifreeze but it could be converted to producing nerve gas again very quickly.
In order to prove someone once owned property in the former Greater Reich, they had to produce documents. Most of the owners of seized properties did not have them. Others burned their documents.
Ed
