Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach

Alfried Felix Alwyn Krupp von Bohlen und Halbachcite web
url=http://encyclopedia.jrank.org/Cambridge/entries/076/Alfried-Alwin-Felix-Krupp-von-.html
title=Alfried (Felix Alwyn) Krupp (von Bohlen Und Halbach) Biography (1906–67)
accessdate=2007-11-14
work=Crystal Reference Encyclopedia] (August 13, 1907 – July 30, 1967), often referred to as Alfried Krupp, was a member of the 400-year Krupp dynasty of industrialists in Germany, and head of the Krupp company, which is now part of ThyssenKrupp, during World War II. He was an early member of the Nazi party, and later the main defendant in the Krupp Trial, convicted, and pardoned. Alfried Krupp also competed in the 1936 Olympic games in Berlin in 8 Meter Class sailing and won a bronze medal.

Biography

Krupp was a German industrialist and the head, at the time of his death in 1967 of a large Ruhr River Valley steel concern Fried. Krupp A.G., Essen that, despite its appearance under the then-prevailing German Company Law as a joint-stock company, was historically an undertaking owned and operated throughout most of the company's 350 years, by one person, a sole proprietor. This was done through a loophole created by Krupp's father, Gustav von Bohlen und Halbach, the former German Ambassador to China under the Qing Dynasty's Empress Dowager. Gustav, at the age of 37, married Bertha Krupp, daughter of Friedrich Krupp (Fritz), who died without any male heir.

The dynasty ended upon Alfried's death and took the German financial community by surprise. It also shocked the German press establishment, which followed Krupp and much of his family after the end of the Second World War. It was, however, during World War II, when Krupp replaced his father as head of the firm, that much attention was received to an agreement that would later be upheld in the courts of the Allied Military Government. It was known as the Lex Krupp of 12 November 1943, which later continued to be recognized in Germany's first post-war successor government, Bundesrepublik Deutschland, after the fall of the Third Reich.

The Lex Krupp was approved and made into law, by Adolf Hitler, was one of the few major laws Hitler himself made which survived both him and his government. Being a law made solely for the benefit of the family concern, it established a continuity of the wealth and leadership of the firm, as a gesture of gratitude by Hitler, for whom Krupp designed ordinance and tanks that were first secretly, and later openly and in large numbers produced by his firm and subsequently deployed in every theatre of war.

Krupp contributed heavily to the campaigns of the National Socialist German Workers' Party. It was for the material aid he gave to Hitler that New York banker John J. McCloy had Krupp prosecuted and upheld his conviction. Later, as the former main defendant in the Krupp trial, Alfried was the only one to be pardoned and the previous mandated forfeiture of all property was reversed.The Arms of Krupp by William Manchester]

Prior to Krupp's death, through the workings of his assistant, Berthold Beitz, the Krupp concern was transformed into a foundation or Stiftung, which was monitored by three members of Superviory Board. Most notably was Hans Josef Abs, of the former Deutsch-Asiatische Bank A.G. and Deutsche Bank AG. In this agreement, Krupp's son and heir, Arndt von Bohlen und Halbach {1938-1986}, relinquished any claim over his father's concern, and was to be paid a modest cash amount, in yearly installments, until his own death.

Krupp enjoyed classical music, flying, annual class reunions with former classmates at the Aachner Technisches Hochschule, and racing his automobiles through the streets of Essen, but he was a serious engineer, who during the war, worked closely with Albert Speer, the Minister of Armaments, and Ferdinand Porsche and developed a large array of tanks.

His first marriage to Ilse ended in divorce not long after the birth of Arndt, before the war, and his second marriage, consummated just after his release from his imprisonment at Landsberg, resulted in a scandal and an expensive settlement which took a heavy toll on Krupp's emotional composure, as well as the firm's financial health. During the Berlin Olympiad of 1936, Krupp participated in 8 Meter Class sailing and won a bronze medal. [http://www.databaseolympics.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=KRUPPALF01 Alfred Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach at databaseOlympics] ] [http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9046299/Alfried-Krupp-von-Bohlen-und-Halbach Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach at the"Encyclopædia Britannica"] ]

ee also

The Krupp Diamond (now owned by Elizabeth Taylor)

References