Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach, Alfried

1907–1967

   At the outbreak of World War II Krupp was one of three deputy directors of the massive Krupp industries which included the Essen armament factories and various mining, energy and steel-making concerns. Between 1939 and 1943 Krupp ‘incorporated’ industries from occupied countries into the Krupp organization. In some cases processing plants were totally dismantled and then transported to and reassembled in Germany—such as the Mariupol electrosteel works which were reconstructed at Berthewerke in Breslau. Krupp was not selective about the labor he used in his many factories: prisoners of war, civilians from occupied countries and inmates from concentration camps. He even went so far as to establish factories near concentration camps because of the availability of ‘cheap’ labor. By 1943 Krupp had become the sole owner of the company, had been awarded the Nazi Cross and had been appointed the War Economy Leader. In 1944 he was arrested by an American patrol and in 1948 was tried as a war criminal. He received twelve years imprisonment.