A Wehrwirtschaftsführer (WeWiFü; German language plural: Wehrwirtschaftsführer, English literal translation: Defense Economy Leader) was, during the time of Nazi Germany (1933–1945), an executive of a company or of a large factory (). Wehrwirtschaftsführer were appointed, starting in 1935, by the (department which existed from 1939 for implementing the policy of directing the nation's economic activity towards preparation for and support of the war effort, including armaments) being a part of the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW), that was pushing the build-up of arms for the Wehrmacht (which was founded in March 1935). Appointments aimed to bind the Wehrwirtschaftsführer to the Wehrmacht and to give them a quasi-military status.
After 1938, the appointed the Wehrwirtschaftsführer. From 1940 on, this title was given more and more also to leading employees in companies not belonging to the armament branch, also to demonstrate that those companies were contributing to the wartime economy.
Especially before 1940, appointments did not indicate the political attitude of the person receiving the title. The designation also gave no indication that a given company was important for armaments.
If a manager was appointed Wehrwirtschaftsführer, their company could more easily degrade employment conditions for the workers and employees.
Appointees
Gustav Böhme, owner of Dr. Ing. Böhme & Co., Metallwarenfabrik, Minden-LübbeckerstrasseReinhold Blanke-Bohne, “Die unterirdische Verlagerung von Rüstungsbetrieben und die Außenlager des KZ Neuengamme in Porta Westfalica bei Minden.” Dissertation, University of Bremen, 1984. , chief executive officer and general director of the coal mining companyGustav-Hermann Seebold, "Ein Stahlkonzern im Dritten Reich – Der Bochumer Verein 1927–1945", Peter Hammer Verlag Wuppertal 1981, p. 242 Carl Friedrich Wilhelm Borgward William Borm Carl Bosch Max Brose Richard Bruhn (Auto Union) Heinrich Bütefisch (I.G. Farben) () Manfred Overesch, Bosch in Hildesheim 1937–1945: freies Unternehmertum und nationalsozialistische Rüstungspolitik, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2008, Claude Dornier Gerhard Fieseler Friedrich Flick Fritz Gajewski Edmund Geilenberg Berthold Geipel, founder of Erfurter Maschinenfabrik (ERMA) Alfred Freiherr von Harder Ernst Heinkel Jost Henkel Paul Henrichs (Carl Zeiss, Jena) Arthur Hess Heinrich Hörlein
Max Ilgner
Hans Kohnert , Zeiss (company), Jena Fritz Kranefuss Carl Krauch Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach Gustav Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach Heinz Küppenbender (Carl Zeiss, Jena) Carl Lautenschläger Friedrich Linde, of Linde plc Wilhelm Meinberg Ernst Klee, Das Personenlexikon zum Dritten Reich. Wer war was vor und nach 1945. Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag, 2nd aktualisierte Auflage, Frankfurt am Main 2005, , p. 404. Wilhelm Emil Messerschmitt
Fritz Nallinger Heinrich Nordhoff
Paul Pleiger Ernst Poensgen Ferdinand Porsche
Günther Quandt Philipp Fürchtegott Reemtsma Friedrich Reinhart
Hermann Röchling Alexander Rodenstock Willy Sachs
Hermann Schmitz Christian Schneider Georg Schnitzler
Hermann von Siemens
Otto Steinbrinck Gerd Stieler von Heydekampf Kurt Tank Alfred Teves
Ernst Hellmut Vits
Hans Walz Gerhard Alois Westrick Ludger Westrick (Siemens) Carl Wurster Wilhelm Zangen
Wehrwirtschaftsführer after the war After the end of the war, most military leaders were punished by the Allies, but were soon reinstated in key posts of reconstruction under Cold War conditions. Symptomatic of this was the return to power of Friedrich Flick, the greatest business leader of the Third Reich and the most prominent leader of the military economy. After seven years of captivity, he again became the greatest entrepreneur of the Federal Republic, awarded the Grand Cross of Merit with shoulder strap and star. (Comprehensive list of World War II "Wehrwirtschaftsführer" as of 1941/42 and their role in German economy and politics which was firmly established again after the war; also, history of the Flick-Konzern).
Literature Paul Erker: Industrieeliten in der NS-Zeit: Anpassungsbereitschaft und Eigeninteresse von Unternehmen in der Rüstungs- und Kriegswirtschaft, 1936 - 1945. Passau: Wissenschaftsverlag Rothe, 1993, 120 p. Kurt Pritzkoleit: Gott erhält die Mächtigen - Rück- und Rundblick auf den deutschen Wohlstand. Düsseldorf: Karl Rauch Verlag, S. 430, pp. 95 -123 (comprehensive list of World War II "Wehrwirtschaftsführer" and their role in German economy and politics which was firmly established again after the war).
References