German settlement company
The German settlement company ( DAG ) was founded on February 5, 1898 as a German settlement bank with its seat in Berlin-Halensee . Its original tasks were expanded significantly during the National Socialist era .
history
The Deutsche Ansiedlungsbank was founded to promote agricultural interests through mortgage banking and to develop the terrain. It had a statutory right of first refusal to buy large agricultural properties. The company acquired, sold, leased, and operated farms. These were then divided up for agricultural use.
According to a resolution of the general meeting on September 9, 1936, the name was changed from Deutsche Ansiedlungsbank to Deutsche Ansiedlungsgesellschaft .
In 1938 the sphere of influence of the German settlement company was extended to the occupied territories. Offices were set up in Innsbruck and Mährisch Schönberg . From 1939 the influence of the National Socialists on society grew . She was subordinated to the Reich Commissioner for the Consolidation of German Volkstum Himmler . SS group leaders Oswald Pohl and Günther Pancke and SS brigade leader Ulrich Greifelt were accepted into the company's supervisory board. On behalf of Himmler and the High Command of the Army , the fiduciary management of agricultural property in the incorporated areas took place. As early as 1941 it became clear that the required number of farms for new settlers could not be reached by regular means. Tax orders in the occupied territories in the context of resettlement of ethnic Germans and foreigners were part of the company's area of responsibility. Special tasks such as the establishment of military training areas were also handled by the company.
An essential function of the German settlement company was the handling of financial transactions between the SS and the banks. Dresdner Bank is particularly committed to this in its review of business developments during the Nazi era.
At the end of 1939, for example, the main activities of the company were the fiduciary management of 724 agricultural holdings with an area of 53,100 hectares . In the following year 1940, the relocation of South Tyrolean farmers was carried out as part of a replacement purchase and finally extended to Carinthia . At the same time, appraisal work was carried out as part of the resettlement of “ethnic German” farmers from Estonia , Latvia , the General Government , Romania and Russia .
In 1952 the German settlement company filed for bankruptcy and was dissolved in 1953. In 1958 her entry in the commercial register was deleted.