Hjalmar Schacht
Hjalmar Schacht (born Horace Greeley Hjalmar Schacht; 22 January 1877 – 3 June 1970, German pronunciation: [ˈjalmaʁ ˈʃaxt]) was a German economist, banker, politician, and co-founder of the German Democratic Party. He served as the Currency Commissioner and President of the Reichsbank under the Weimar Republic. He was a fierce critic of his country's post-World War I reparations obligations. He was also central in helping create the group of German industrialists and landowners that pushed Hindenburg to appoint the first NSDAP-led government.
Hjalmar Schacht | |
|---|---|
| Reichsminister of Economics | |
| In office 3 August 1934 – 26 November 1937 | |
| Führer | Adolf Hitler |
| Chancellor | Adolf Hitler |
| Preceded by | Kurt Schmitt |
| Succeeded by | Hermann Göring |
| General Plenipotentiary for War Economy | |
| In office 21 May 1935 – 26 November 1937 | |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Walther Funk |
| President of the Reichsbank | |
| In office 22 December 1923 – 7 March 1930 | |
| Preceded by | Rudolf E. A. Havenstein |
| Succeeded by | Hans Luther |
| In office 17 March 1933 – 20 January 1939 | |
| Preceded by | Hans Luther |
| Succeeded by | Walther Funk |
| Reichsminister without Portfolio | |
| In office 26 November 1937 – 22 January 1943 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Horace Greeley Hjalmar Schacht 22 January 1877 Tinglev, German Empire |
| Died | 3 June 1970 (aged 93) Munich, West Germany |
| Resting place | Munich Ostfriedhof |
| Political party |
|
| Spouses | Luise Sowa
(m. 1903; died 1940)Manci Vogler (m. 1941) |
| Children | Cordula Schacht |
| Education | University of Munich University of Leipzig University of Berlin University of Paris Kiel University |
| Profession | Banker, economist |
| Awards | Golden Party Badge |
| Signature | |
He served in Adolf Hitler's government as President of the Central Bank (Reichsbank) 1933–1939 and as Minister of Economics (August 1934 – November 1937).
While Schacht was for a time feted for his role in the German "economic miracle", he opposed elements of Hitler's policy of German re-armament insofar as it violated the Treaty of Versailles and (in his view) disrupted the German economy. His views in this regard led Schacht to clash with Hitler and most notably with Hermann Göring. He resigned as President of the Reichsbank in January 1939. He remained as a Minister-without-portfolio, and received the same salary, until he left the government in January 1943.
In 1944, Schacht was arrested by the Gestapo following the assassination attempt on Hitler on 20 July 1944 because he allegedly had contact with the assassins. Subsequently, he was interned in the concentration camps and later at Flossenbürg. In the final days of the war, he was one of the 139 special and clan prisoners who were transported by the SS from Dachau to South Tyrol. This location is within the area named by Himmler the "Alpine Fortress", and it is speculated that the purpose of the prisoner transport was the intent of holding hostages. They were freed in Niederdorf, South Tyrol, in Italy, on 30 April 1945.
Schacht was tried at Nuremberg, but was acquitted despite Soviet objections. Later, a German denazification tribunal sentenced him to eight years of hard labour, which was also overturned on appeal.