Paul Häfliger
Paul Friedrich Häfliger (in the literature sometimes referred to as Paul Häflinger ; born November 19, 1886 in Steffisburg , † November 15, 1950 in Mühlheim am Main ) was on the board of IG Farben and a convicted war criminal .
Life
After attending school in Bern , Häfliger, son of the Bolivian Consul General Johann Friedrich Häfliger, graduated from the Ecole de Commerce Supérieure in Neuchâtel from 1903 to 1905 . After working for several companies in the commercial sector, he became a sales correspondent at the chemical company Griesheim-Elektron , where he was appointed deputy plant manager in Griesheim in 1924 . During the First World War , he headed the War Acid Commission in Berlin from 1915 .
After the chemical factory Griesheim-Elektron joined IG Farbenindustrie AG in 1925 , he took over the sales management for heavy chemicals. From 1926 he was a deputy board member and from 1938 a full board member of IG-Farben, where he was a member of the commercial and chemical committee. At the same time he was appointed honorary consul in Frankfurt by the Swiss Federal Council on February 1, 1934 . On April 30, 1938, Häfliger submitted his démission.
Häfliger, married and father of three children, became a German citizen in 1941. The War Merit Cross (KVK) first class was awarded to him in 1942.
After the end of the war, Häfliger was arrested by the US Army in 1945 and again in 1947 and charged with 22 other accused during the Nuremberg Trials in the IG Farben trial . On July 30, 1948, he was sentenced to two years in prison for “looting and robbery” in Norway. In the grounds of the judgment, the following was stated about the conviction of Häfliger:
"Häfliger was [...] involved in the plans for the spoliation [ plundering ] of Norway in a criminal way [...] We are unequivocally convinced that Häfliger knew, due to his extensive work in this whole matter, that the Norsk-Hydro was against the Willingly and without the consent of the owners, they were forced to participate in this project which envisaged the use of their factories for the benefit of enemy armaments during a military occupation. "
literature
- Jens Ulrich Heine: Verstand & Schicksal: The men of IG Farbenindustrie AG (1925–1945) in 161 short biographies. Verlag Chemie, Weinheim 1990, ISBN 3527281444 .
- Documents by and about Häfliger, Paul in the Dodis database of Diplomatic Documents of Switzerland
Web links
- Wollheim Memorial - biography of Paul Häfliger
- Markus M. Haefliger: The Swiss Paul Häfliger is the only foreigner who sits in the dock of the Nuremberg military tribunal after the Second World War. The allegations: looting, enslavement, deportation, murder. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung , July 21, 2020.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c From the pronouncement of the verdict in the IG Farben trial. Quoted in: Wollheim Memorial from The verdict in the IG Farben trial. The full text. , Offenbach am Main, Bollwerk 1948, p. 100f.
- ^ Häfliger, Paul in the Dodis database of diplomatic documents in Switzerland
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Hafliger, Paul |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Häflinger, Paul Friedrich |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Swiss-German entrepreneur, board member of IG Farben and convicted war criminal |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 19, 1886 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Steffisburg |
| DATE OF DEATH | November 15, 1950 |
| Place of death | Mühlheim am Main |