On a chilly February evening in 1933, a group of Germany’s wealthiest industrialists and financiers gathered in the opulent residence of Hermann Göring, the Reichstag president. These men, representing the titans of steel, chemicals, insurance, and banking, were summoned under the pretense of discussing Germany’s economic future. Instead, they became unwitting financiers of Adolf Hitler’s final push to consolidate power and dismantle democracy.
This pivotal meeting, held on February 20, 1933, was less a dialogue than a carefully orchestrated performance. Adolf Hitler, freshly appointed chancellor, used the occasion to deliver a fiery, 90-minute monologue. Eschewing specifics of economic policy, he painted a stark dichotomy between the right and the left, framing the Nazi Party as the savior of private enterprise against the specter of Communism.
Hitler’s rhetoric was calculated. He refrained from mentioning the more sinister aspects of his agenda—abolishing labor unions, rearmament, or the persecution of Jews. Instead, he focused on the inevitability of his rise and the supposed benefits it would bring to Germany’s industrial elite. “Private enterprise cannot be maintained in the age of democracy,” he declared, appealing to the tycoons’ vested interests in preserving their wealth and influence.
The Price of Stability
As the businessmen listened, their initial skepticism gave way to cautious acquiescence. Gustav Krupp, the steel magnate and de facto spokesperson for the group, chose not to challenge Hitler’s vision. Instead, he offered tepid thanks, acknowledging the clarity of the chancellor’s ideas without delving into their implications.
The true purpose of the meeting emerged only after Hitler’s departure. Göring, in his role as host, made a direct appeal for financial support. He assured the industrialists that their contributions would ensure political stability and protect their enterprises. The election on March 5, he promised, would be the last for a decade—or even a century. Stability, however, came with a price tag: three million reichsmarks, to be raised immediately.
Hjalmar Schacht, the economist and former Reichsbank president, sealed the deal. With cold efficiency, he divided the financial burden among the industries represented: coal, steel, chemicals, and banking. By the meeting’s end, the businessmen had committed to funding the Nazi Party’s election campaign, unwittingly underwriting the demise of German democracy.
The Cost of Collaboration
The funds raised that evening were not merely a financial lifeline for the Nazi Party, which was drowning in debt. They were a catalyst for a propaganda blitz that helped Hitler secure the political dominance he needed to dismantle democratic institutions. Within weeks, many of the attendees wired their contributions to a trust account managed by Schacht.
Among the largest donors were IG Farben, the chemicals conglomerate, and Deutsche Bank. These companies, along with others like Allianz and Krupp, would later play significant roles in the Nazi war machine, profiting from forced labor, expropriation, and the exploitation of occupied territories.
The Legacy of Complicity
The events of February 20, 1933, underscore the complicity of Germany’s industrial elite in the rise of the Third Reich. Motivated by self-interest and a desire for stability, these tycoons failed to foresee—or perhaps chose to ignore—the catastrophic consequences of their actions.
Their contributions enabled Hitler to consolidate power, paving the way for a regime that would unleash unprecedented destruction and human suffering. Decades later, the legacies of these industrialists remain tarnished, their fortunes inextricably linked to one of history’s darkest chapters.
The story of this meeting serves as a stark reminder of the dangers of prioritizing profit over principle. In their quest to protect their interests, Germany’s wealthiest businessmen became enablers of tyranny, demonstrating how the pursuit of power and profit can blind even the most calculating minds to the moral cost of their decisions.
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