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Walther Funk

German economist, Nazi politician and convicted war criminal (1890-1960) · Germany · Academics · Died at 69

Walther Funk is read about 506 times a day, in 47 languages.

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He ran Nazi Germany's wartime economy and the Reichsbank that processed assets stripped from concentration camp victims. Convicted at Nuremberg for crimes against humanity, he died three years after his early release from prison.

PoliticiansJournalistJournalismInvestingEconomicsPoliticsGermanyEurope

A life in dates

1960Died31 May 19601946“If you follow a certain road for some time, it takes an enormous willpower to leave, although you might recognize that the road was not good.”In their words12 May 1946To Leon Goldensohn, May 12, 1946, from "The Nuremberg Interviews" by Leon Goldensohn, Robert Gellately - History - 2004

“Those Russians. They did worse things when they entered Pomerania than we ever did in Russia.”In their words11 May 1946To Leon Goldensohn, May 11, 1946, from "The Nuremberg Interviews" by Leon Goldensohn, Robert Gellately - History - 2004

“I do feel ashamed of having participated to the slightest even as a tool in those dark days. But I was obliged to serve the state to which I had taken an oath.”In their words14 April 1946To Leon Goldensohn, April 14, 1946, from "The Nuremberg Interviews" by Leon Goldensohn, Robert Gellately - History - 2004

“I can spot a musical type. I can tell by looking at a woman whether she is a contralto or a soprano.”In their words7 April 1946To Leon Goldensohn, April 7, 1946, from "The Nuremberg Interviews" by Leon Goldensohn, Robert Gellately - History - 2004 - Page 83

“At that time I believed in the Führer principle because to me it meant that the best one should be the leader. If the leader is good and responsible, then the government is good.”In their words31 March 1946To Leon Goldensohn, March 31, 1946, from "The Nuremberg Interviews" by Leon Goldensohn, Robert Gellately - History - 2004

“But ignorance of the law is no excuse. A person is guilty even if he breaks the law unknowingly.”In their words31 March 1946To Leon Goldensohn, March 31, 1946 from "The Nuremberg Interviews" by Leon Goldensohn, Robert Gellately - History - 2004

1890Born18 August 1890

Also in Deutsch

Photos 8

Walther Funk, portraitWalther Funk, portraitBundesarchiv Bild 183-H29353, Joseph Goebbels im ArbeitszimmerBundesarchiv Bild 183-H29353, Joseph Goebbels im ArbeitszimmerBundesarchiv Bild 183-E11354, Berlin, Reichstagssitzung, Rede Adolf HitlerBundesarchiv Bild 183-E11354, Berlin, Reichstagssitzung, Rede Adolf HitlerBundesarchiv Bild 183-B06278, Berlin, Reichstagssitzung, Rede Adolf HitlerBundesarchiv Bild 183-B06278, Berlin, Reichstagssitzung, Rede Adolf HitlerBundesarchiv Bild 183-1987-0703-507, Berlin, Reichstagssitzung, Rede Adolf Hitler (color) (cropped)Bundesarchiv Bild 183-1987-0703-507, Berlin, Reichstagssitzung, Rede Adolf Hitler (color) (cropped)Bundesarchiv Bild 183-1987-0703-507, Berlin, Reichstagssitzung, Rede Adolf Hitler (color)Bundesarchiv Bild 183-1987-0703-507, Berlin, Reichstagssitzung, Rede Adolf Hitler (color)Bundesarchiv Bild 183-1987-0703-507, Berlin, Reichstagssitzung, Rede Adolf HitlerBundesarchiv Bild 183-1987-0703-507, Berlin, Reichstagssitzung, Rede Adolf HitlerHitler erklærer USA krig, 1941Hitler erklærer USA krig, 1941

In their own words 9

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Walther Funk
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9 statements, newest first

  1. If you follow a certain road for some time, it takes an enormous willpower to leave, although you might recognize that the road was not good.

    May 12, 1946, To Leon Goldensohn, May 12, 1946, from "The Nuremberg Interviews" by Leon Goldensohn, Robert Gellately - History - 2004, Own words

  2. In world history we have other examples of frightful destruction. There was Alexander the Great and all of the destruction he caused.

    May 12, 1946, To Leon Goldensohn, May 12, 1946, from "The Nuremberg Interviews" by Leon Goldensohn, Robert Gellately - History - 2004, Own words

  3. Those Russians. They did worse things when they entered Pomerania than we ever did in Russia.

    May 11, 1946, To Leon Goldensohn, May 11, 1946, from "The Nuremberg Interviews" by Leon Goldensohn, Robert Gellately - History - 2004, Own words

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About this person

Walther Funk was a finance journalist who joined the Nazi Party in 1931 and rose to a senior post at the Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda. Hitler appointed him Reichsminister for the Economy in 1938 to replace Hjalmar Schacht, then president of the Reichsbank in 1939, placing him at the center of Germany's rearmament and wartime mobilization. He also sat on the Council of Ministers for the Defense of the Reich and the Central Planning Board. His portfolio included overseeing the expropriation of assets taken from concentration camp victims. Removed from his posts on 5 May 1945 when he was left out of the Flensburg Government, Funk was tried by the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg, convicted as a major war criminal, and sentenced to life in prison. He was incarcerated in West Berlin until released on health grounds in 1957 and died in 1960.

Country
Germany
Category
Academics
Type
Academic
Status
deceased
Dates
Lived 1890 to 1960 · aged 69

Academics from Germany 6

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