Schmitz Hermann
Hermann Schmitz (January 1, 1881– October 8, 1960) was a German industrialist and Nazi war criminal. CEO of IG Farben from 1935 to 1945, he was sentenced to four years in prison in the IG Farben Trial. Schmitz was born in Hessen on 1 January 1881, son of factory worker Diedrich Schmitz and Luise
Wöhrmann. In 1898 he began studying at Ahrenbergische Aktiengesellschaft für Bergbau und Hüttenbetrieb in Hessen, and in 1905 he entered the Commerce College in Nuremberg. After completing his
studies, he was hired by Metallurgische Gesellschaft (metallurgy company), where after some time he became consultant of Wilhelm Merton, member of the superivosors' council of the company, who
helped Schmitz promote his career.
In 1914 he was required to serve in the army. He was injured during the First World War and, after recovering from his injuries, he was made Reich's supervisor for chemical products production in
the matériel department (1915). In 1919, as an expert in fertilizers and nitric salts, he took part in the assembly that negotiated the Treaty of Versailles. There he met Carl
Bosch, a chemist of worldwide fame. In July 1919 Schmitz was hired at BASF by Bosch as his financial advisor. He
was promoted to administrator of BASF's exterior department, a position he maintained after the company became part of IG Farben. As per his job requirements he maintained contacts with large businesses, such as Standard Oil, with
which he took part in negotiations, always having the support of that era's governments in the interests of IG Farben.
In 1933 he was elected to the Reichstag under the banner of the National
Socialist Party, and after two years he succeeded Carl Duisberg as IG Farben's CEO when he died. In
1938 he became war economy administrator (Wehrwirtschaftsführer). In 1941 Hitler gave him a portrait of him with
his autograph as a gift for his dedication to the aims of Nazi Germany. Schmitz led IG Farben until the
end of the Second World War. He was arrested and tried at the IG Farben Trial, during which he was
sentenced to four years imprisonment. He was freed in the end of 1950s and he went on to become member of the administrators' council of Deutsche Bank in Berlin, while he took the honorary president of "Rheinische Stahlwerke AG". Schmitz died in
Heidelberg on 8 October 1960.