Walther Funk

German economist, Nazi politician and convicted war criminal (1890-1960)

  • Fame55.6
  • Momentum0.0
  • Wikipedia16.8K
Source-basedFalling
Lived 1890–1960, aged 70Germany
  • Wikipedia
    47 languages
    Cross-language footprint
  • Era
    1890–1960
    Aged 70
  • Awards
    1
    recognised work
Summary
Updated 2026-06-21

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.

Biography

About

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 w…

Voice

In their own words

Sourced, dated quotes from Walther Funk

Walther Funk
said
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.
To Leon Goldensohn, May 12, 1946, from "The Nuremberg Interviews" by Leon Goldensohn, Robert Gellately - History - 2004
Walther Funk
said
In world history we have other examples of frightful destruction. There was Alexander the Great and all of the destruction he caused.
To Leon Goldensohn, May 12, 1946, from "The Nuremberg Interviews" by Leon Goldensohn, Robert Gellately - History - 2004
Walther Funk
said
Those Russians. They did worse things when they entered Pomerania than we ever did in Russia.
To Leon Goldensohn, May 11, 1946, from "The Nuremberg Interviews" by Leon Goldensohn, Robert Gellately - History - 2004
Walther Funk
said
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.
To Leon Goldensohn, April 14, 1946, from "The Nuremberg Interviews" by Leon Goldensohn, Robert Gellately - History - 2004
Walther Funk
said
I am guilty of one thing - that I should have cleared out and not had anything to do with these criminals in the first place. Later it was too late. I was in up to my neck.
To Leon Goldensohn, April 14, 1946, from "The Nuremberg Interviews" by Leon Goldensohn, Robert Gellately - History - 2004
Where to find them

Platforms

By the numbers

Score breakdown

The six component signals behind the Fame score, and their ranks across the leaderboards.

Fame
Falling
55.6
Composite of search demand, mentions, audience & graph footprint.
Score components
Historical23.7
Source confidence65.0
Completeness75.0
Global rank
Country rank
Category rank
Receipts

Sources

  • Wikipedia
    wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org
    High confidence
  • Wikidata
    wikidata · wikidata.org
    High confidence
  • Pantheon 2.0
    database · pantheon.world
    High confidence