Nazi Conspiracy and Aggression, Volume 02 (of 11) - United States. Office of Chief of Counsel for the Prosecution of Axis Criminality

(1) In a speech prepared in January 1944, for delivery at the University of Berlin, Krupp stated:

“* * * I don’t see why this thought still flutters in many a head occasionally—that the production of war materials should be a sinister trade! No: war material is life-saving for one’s own people and whoever works and performs in these spheres can be proud of it; here enterprise as a whole finds its highest justification of existence. This justification—I may inject this here—crystallized especially during that time of the ‘Interregnum’, between 1919 and 1933, when Germany was lying-down disarmed. * * * It is the one great merit of the entire German war economy that it did not remain idle during those bad years, even though its activity could not be brought to light for obvious reasons. Through years of secret work, scientific and basic ground work was laid, in order to be ready again to work the German Armed Forces at the appointed hour, without loss of time or experience.”

* * * * * *

“Only through this secret activity of German enterprise, together with the experience gained meanwhile through production of peace time goods was it possible after 1933, to fall into step with the new tasks arrived at restoring Germany’s military power, (only through all that) could the entirely new and various problems, brought up by the Fuehrer’s Four Year’s Plan for German enterprise, be mastered. * * *” (D-317)

(2) Krupp played a leading role in the design and production of new weapons for the German armed forces.

(a) In a memorandum concerning a conference held at the Federal Ministry for National Defense in Vienna on 25 September 1936, Pfirsch, a Krupp official, wrote:

“* * * in spite of the obstacles put in our way by the Treaty of Versailles, we had never been inactive throughout the postwar period, but had drawn upon the experience of the war in the creation of new types, and that we had won the prizes for almost every type in the competitions organized by our War Ministry for the construction of new artillery weapons, so much so that the guns introduced into the German Army of to-day, such as the 8.8 cm. anti-aircraft, the 10.5 cm. field gun, the heavy field howitzer and beyond them the larger calibres have been made according to our pattern.” (D-152)

(b) In a memorandum dated 21 February 1944, Woelfert, a department chief in the Krupp concern, wrote:

“First a few facts about the development of tanks by Krupp. We are manufacturing tanks since 1928, which means before rearmament. We started studying on heavy tractors. Krupp built the first mass production tank, the Panzer I, which is also known as LaS. It was shown in public in 1935, the year when rearmament started, and made a great impression. We also originated the Panzer IV, or better the BW, which was especially at the beginning of the war one of the prime factors in our rapid advances into enemy country, so that today we are fighting on the Atlantic coast, in the South, and east and not on German soil. Even today we use the BW-base for many self-propelled guns, assault-guns, anti-aircraft guns etc.” (D-96).