AFFIDAVIT OF GEORG VON SCHNITZLER.
I, Georg von Schnitzler, a member of the Vorstand of I.G. Farben, make the following deposition under oath:
At the end of February 1933, 4 members of the Vorstand of I.G. Farben including Dr. Bosch, the head of the Vorstand, and myself were asked by the office of the president of the Reichstag to attend a meeting in his house. The purpose of which was not given. I do not remember the two other colleagues of mine who were also invited. I believe the invitation reached me during one of my business trips to Berlin. I went to the meeting which was attended by about 20 persons who I believe were mostly leading industrialists from the Ruhr.
Among those present I remember:
Dr. Schacht, who at that time was not yet head Of the Reichsbank again and not yet Minister of Economics.
Krupp von Bohlen, who in the beginning of 1933 presided over the Reichsverband der Deutschen Industrie which later on was changed into the semi-official organization "Reichsgruppe Industrie".
Dr. Albert Vogler, the leading man of the Vereinigte Stahlwerke.
Von Lowenfeld from an industrial work in Essen.
Dr. Stein, head of the Gewerkschaft Auguste Victoria, a mine which belongs to the I.G. Dr. Stein was an active member of the Deutsche Volkspartei.
I remember that Dr. Schacht acted as a kind of host.
While I had expected the appearance of Goering, Hitler entered the room, shook hands with everybody and took a seat at the top of the table. In a long speech he talked mainly about the danger of communism over which he pretended that he just had won a decisive victory.
He then talked about the "Bündnis" (alliance) into which his party and the Deutsche-Nationale Volkspartei had entered. This latter party in the meantime had been reorganized by Herr von Papen. At the end he came to the point which seemed to me the purpose of the meeting. Hitler stressed the importance that the two aforementioned parties should gain the majority in the coming Reichstag election. Krupp von Bohlen thanked Hitler for his speech. After Hitler had left the room, Dr. Schacht proposed to the meeting the raising of an election fund of—as far as I remember—RM 3,000,000. The fund should be distributed between the two "Allies" according to their relative strength at the time
501
EC-439
being. Dr. Stein suggested that the Deutsche Volkspartei should be included which suggestion when, I rightly remember, was accepted. The amount which the individual firms had to contribute were not discussed.
I did not take part in the discussion but reported the matter the next day, or on the one following, to Dr. Bosch in Frankfurt who together with Geh. Rat Schmitz had reserved exclusively for themselves the handling of distribution of money to political parties, the press etc. and had made a special point of "Ver-trauliehkeit" (secrecy) in this respect.
Dr. Bosch did not, as far as I remember, make any remark to my report, but shrugged his shoulders.
I never heard again of the whole matter but I believe that either the buro of Goering, or Schacht, or the Reichsverband for Deutschen Industrie had asked the office of Bosch or Schmitz for payment of I.G.'s share in the election fund. As I did not take the matter up again I did not know, even at that time, whether and which amount had been paid by the I.G. According to the volume of the I.G. I should estimate I.G.'s share being something like 10% of the election fund, but as far as I know there is no evidence that I.G. Farben participated in the payment.
I understand the English language.
G. von Schnitzler
Sworn to before me this 10th day of November 1945 at Frankfurt, Germany.
Otto P. Streubel
2nd Lt. Inf.