Schacht, Hjalmar Horace Greeley.

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Schacht, Hjalmar Horace Greeley, the son of the merchant William Leonhard Ludwig Maximillian Schacht born in Tingleff in North Schleswig  on 22-01-1877. His mother was Baroness Constanze Justine Sophie von Eggersund; she came from a Danish family, born 22-01-1887 in Tinglev. His father had lived in the United States and named his son after the radical journalist, Horace Greeley     he died age 61, on 29-11-1872  a prominent campaigner in America against slavery. Schacht studied medicine in Kiel, philology in Munich and political science Berlin before taking a degree in economics in 1899. he joined the Dresdner Bank and during the First World War was financial consultant for the German occupation government in Belgium. In 1916 he became a director of the German National Bank. In 1923 he became Reich currency commissioner and was praised for bringing Germany’s inflation under control. Schacht was rewarded by being appointed president of the Reichsbank. In 1929 he headed the German delegation that negotiated the Young Plan. Schacht developed right-wing political ideas and in 1930 was converted to fascism after reading Mein Kampf . On 18-07-1925, Hitler’s book Mein Kampf (My Struggle) was published. He wrote it in the Landsberg prison, where he was serving a sentence for a failed coup in 1923. In Mein Kampf, Hitler wrote about his ideology and presented himself as the leader of the extreme right. He describes his life and talks about his youth, his ‘conversion’ as an anti-Semite (someone who hates Jews) and his time as a soldier in the First World War. He rails against the Treaty of Versailles and the reparations Germany must pay because of the treaty. He does not believe in parliamentary democracy. Mein Kampf is also full of racist ideas and hatred against Jews and communists. Hitler writes a lot about the future of Germany in Mein Kampf. He wants more territory for Germany in Eastern Europe and he wants the Jews out of Germany, because according to him they threaten the survival of the German people. Mein Kampf does not contain the plans for the later mass murder during the Second World War (the Holocaust), but it does show that his hatred of Jews existed early on. The first part was largely dictated by himself during his imprisonment in Landsberg am Lech prison in 1924. The manuscript was later edited by Rudolf  “Rudi” Hess (Hitler’s secretary at the time),
supporters such as the temporary refugee Ernst “Putzi” Hanfstaengl and the priest and journalist Bernhard Stempfle, and fellow detainees. It is less known that Dr. Karl Ernst Haushofer , a renowned German geopolitician, also had a major and direct influence on the book. In addition, some of Henry Ford’s ideas are literally included in the text. The Führer once indicated his desire to help ‘Heinrich Ford’ become ‘the leader of the growing Fascist movement in America.’
Bernhard Stempfle in 1920 was leader of the secret anti-republican Organization Kanzler (Orka), named after the leader was Rudolf Kanzler and in 1923 the editor-in-chief of the anti-Semitic daily Miesbacher Anzeiger. He was a leading journalist within the popular anti-Semitic movement in Catholic Bavaria. Stempfle was a close confidant of Hitler. According to Hitler’s photographer Heinrich Hoffmann, Stempfle regularly visited Munich and belonged to Hitler’s inner circle. He helped Hitler write Mein Kampf. Stempfle must have fallen into disgrace, because in June 1934, as a victim of the Night of the Long Knives, after deportation to Dachau concentration camp, his lifeless body was found in the woods of Harlaching. The aim of the Orka was to provide financial and logistical support to the home guard groups in the Austrian federal states, which had mostly constituted themselves as “self-protection associations” in 1918/19.
In January, 1931 Hermann Goering (did you know) (see Goering-Fock) arranged a meeting with Adolf Hitler (see Hitler parents) . Schacht agreed to raise funds for the Nazi Party. Schacht, who had good contacts with Germany’s industrialists persuaded Albert Voegler, here on the left United Steel Works, Gustav Krupp and Alfried Krupp
  to join people such as
Fritz Thyssen 403px-Bundesarchiv_Bild_102-06788,_Fritz_Thyssen Emile Kirdorf Carl Bechstei  and Hugo Bruckmann  in providing money for the party. In November, 1932, Schacht organized the letter signed by Germany’s leading industrialists that urged Paul von Hindenburg
  to appoint Adolf Hitler (see Alois Hitler) as chancellor. This was successful and on 20-02-1933, Schacht arranged a meeting of the Association of German Industrialists that raised 3 million marks for the Nazi Party in the forthcoming election. After Adolf Hitler (see Hitler Paula)
 .   passed his Enabling Bill Schacht toured the United States where he made forty speeches, appeared on radio and wrote several articles for American newsletters where he claimed that Hitler would soon return Germany to democracy. He met Franklin Delano Roosevelt  but made a bad impression on the president who later described him as “extremely arrogant”. In August, 1934, Hitler appointed Schacht as his minister of economics. Deeply influenced by the economic ideas of John Maynard Keynes, he died of heart problems, age 62, on 21-04-1946  and Roosevelt’s New Deal, Schacht encouraged Hitler to introduce a programme of public works, including the building of the Autobahnen. Schacht also introduced the New Plan which rigorously controlled everything that was imported into Germany. This involved negotiating a series of bilateral trade agreements including one with the Soviet Union in 1935. Like other Nazis Schacht was extremely hostile to Germany’s Jewish population. In one speech he argued that “the Jews must realize that their influence in Germany has disappeared for all time.” In 1934 he arranged with the World Zionist Organization , a deal where German Jews could pay 15.000 Reichmarks to emigrate to Palestine. It is estimated that over the next four years over 170.000 reached Palestine under this agreement. Schacht disagreed with what he called “unlawful activities” against Jews and in August, 1935 made a speech denouncing Julius Streicher,  he is hanged 16-10-1946 and the articles he had been writing in Der Stürmer . He pointed out that Jews had fought bravely in the German Army in the First World War and deserved to be treated fairly. Schacht also had doubts about the large amounts of money being spent on armaments. He warned Hitler that he was building armed forces far beyond the country’s economic capacity. He found it increasingly difficult working under Hermann Goering (see Goering Peter) who fully supported the government’s policy on military spending. As Goering (see Emmy Goering)
  told Schacht “If the Führer wishes it then two times two are five.” In November, 1937, Schacht resigned as minister of economics. However, he remained as President of the Reichsbank where he continued to oppose excessive expenditures for armaments. Schacht’s secretary, Fraulein Steffeck, described his work as currency commissioner: What did he do? He sat on his chair and smoked in his little dark room, which still smelled of old floor cloths. Did he read letters? No, he read no letters. Did he write letters? No, he wrote no letters. He telephoned a great deal: he telephoned in every direction, and to every German or foreign place that had anything to do with money and foreign exchange, as well as with the Reichsbank, and the Finance Minister. And he smoked. We did not eat much during that time. We usually went home late, often by the last suburban train, travelling third class. Apart from that he did nothing. Hitler eventually removed Schacht from power in January, 1939. During World War II he was approached by Hans Dohnanyi, Hans Dohnanyi, the son of an Hungarian pianist, was born in Vienna, on 01-01-1902 sent to Sachsenhausen concentration camp, Dohnanyi was murdered on 08-04-1945, age 43
   
           Grave Dohnanyi.                               Hans Dohnanyi.            Erwin von Witzleben.
and Erwin von Witzleben, he was hanged by a piano wire, on 08-08-1944, age 62, the torture was filmed and Hitler, Martin BormannJoseph  Goebbels (did you know) and other watched the movie at the Berghof, as untertaining, to become involved in plots against Hitler. Schacht refused but in 1944 he was arrested and charged with being involved in the July Plot. He was sent to Dachau Concentration Camp but was still alive at the end of the war. Arrested by the Allies he was accused of crimes against humanity at the Nuremberg War Crimes Trial. He was found not guilty but the German government had him re-arrested and charged him with other offences. He was sentenced to eight years imprisonment but he was freed on 02-09-1948. Schacht’s son Jens Hjalmar
 , born 14-10-1910, died in a Russian prison camp, age 34, in June 1945. On his release he formed his own bank in Dusseldorf. He also advised several foreign governments including Gamal Nasser in Egypt.

Death and burial ground of Schacht, Hjalmar Horace Greeley.

  Hjalmar Schacht died in Munich on 04-06-1970, old age 93 and is buried on the Ostfriedhof of Munich, close to the graves of Hitler’s oldest secretary Johanna Wolf and Hitler’s WWI sergeant Max Amann. Schacht is buried opposite the crematorium of the East Cemetery, where his Nurnburg colleagues, who were less lucky, were cremated. Goering  committed suicide hours before his hanging, .
  

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