Chapter Seven - The Nuremberg Trials

CHAPTER SEVEN

The Nuremberg Trials

THE WAR ENDED in 1945.
The trials began in 1947.

Among the many proceedings held in the wake of World War II, one was specifically focused on IG Farben, the industrial engine behind the Nazi war machine. It was officially called The United States of America vs. Carl Krauch, et al., but it became known simply as the IG Farben Trial.

Twenty-four executives stood accused.

Charges included war crimes, crimes against humanity, plunder of occupied territories, and slavery. Including the use of forced labor at Auschwitz. Some had overseen the Bayer division before and during IG Farben’s control. Others had overseen factories or approved financial support to the SS.

They didn’t deny what happened.

They argued it wasn’t their fault.

The defense was simple: they were businessmen. They followed orders. They didn’t make policy, they implemented it. They were part of a system. And the system, they claimed, was bigger than any one of them.

In 1948, verdicts were handed down.

Thirteen executives were found guilty. Their sentences ranged from 18 months to 8 years. Most served less. A few were acquitted. None were executed.

And when the sentences ended, many of them went back to work.

Some later returned to leadership roles in post-war Bayer. Others found roles in politics, finance, or industry. One later became chairman of a major West German corporation. Another joined the board of Deutsche Bank.

IG Farben itself was ordered to be broken up. The company was too powerful, too compromised, and too dangerous to be allowed to continue.

But its parts, including Bayer, were simply spun back out.

Same plants.
Same labs.
Same people.

History moved on.