Carl Lautenschläger
Encyclopedia
Carl Ludwig Lautenschläger (27 February 1888 in Karlsruhe
- 6 December 1962 in Karlsruhe) was a German
chemist and physician.
in 1913. Lautenschläger served for a year in the German Imperial Army before returning to medical study, eventually receiving his MD from the University of Freiburg
in 1919. He followed an academic career initially, becoming a non-tenured professor of pharmacy at the University of Greifswald in 1920.
's pharmaceutical department and by 1922 was in charge of the company's Science Office. He became an alternate member of the managing board of parent company IG Farben in 1931 as well as a member of their Pharmaceutical Main Assembly. Having initially concentrated his research on developing drugs to fight diabetes Lautenschläger's remit now broadened to take in the production and development of drugs for vaccination and pest control.
.
According to Diarmuid Jeffreys Lautenschläger became aware of the Holocaust
in 1943 after junior colleagues who had witnessed gassings told him about their experiences.
the following year on charges of mass murder and slavery. The court stated that the pharmaceutical department had been responsible for sending drugs to the Schutzstaffel
in order that they be tested on prisoners but ruled that Lautenschläger himself was not personally to blame and so acquitted him.
Like many of his colleagues at IG Farben he was taken under the wing of Bayer
chairman Ulrich Haberland, who gave him a job as a research associate at the company's Elberfeld
facility. He retired in 1952 and died ten years later.
Karlsruhe
The City of Karlsruhe is a city in the southwest of Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, located near the French-German border.Karlsruhe was founded in 1715 as Karlsruhe Palace, when Germany was a series of principalities and city states...
- 6 December 1962 in Karlsruhe) was a German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
chemist and physician.
Early life
Lautenschläger was the son of Ludwig Lautenschläger, an architect and his wife Paula Schober. He was trained in pharmacy before studying chemistry, medicine and pharmacy at a number of universities, receiving his doctorate in engineering from the Karlsruhe Institute of TechnologyKarlsruhe Institute of Technology
The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology is a German academic research and education institution with university status resulting from a merger of the university and the research center of the city of Karlsruhe. The university, also known as Fridericiana, was founded in 1825...
in 1913. Lautenschläger served for a year in the German Imperial Army before returning to medical study, eventually receiving his MD from the University of Freiburg
University of Freiburg
The University of Freiburg , sometimes referred to in English as the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg, is a public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.The university was founded in 1457 by the Habsburg dynasty as the...
in 1919. He followed an academic career initially, becoming a non-tenured professor of pharmacy at the University of Greifswald in 1920.
Joining Farben
In 1920 he was taken on at Hoechst AGHoechst AG
Hoechst AG was a German chemicals then life-sciences company that became Aventis Deutschland after its merger with France's Rhône-Poulenc S.A. in 1999...
's pharmaceutical department and by 1922 was in charge of the company's Science Office. He became an alternate member of the managing board of parent company IG Farben in 1931 as well as a member of their Pharmaceutical Main Assembly. Having initially concentrated his research on developing drugs to fight diabetes Lautenschläger's remit now broadened to take in the production and development of drugs for vaccination and pest control.
Under the Nazis
Lautenschläger became a member of the Nazi Party in 1938. At the same time his duties at IG Farben expanded further as he took over the management of the company's Mittelrhein/Maingau Operating Unit and their Höchst plant. With this increased remit Lautenschläger was also admitted to full membership of the board. He was made a Wehrwirtschaftsführer in 1942 and presented with a First Class War Merit CrossWar Merit Cross
The War Merit Cross was a decoration of Nazi Germany during the Second World War, which could be awarded to civilians as well as military personnel...
.
According to Diarmuid Jeffreys Lautenschläger became aware of the Holocaust
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
in 1943 after junior colleagues who had witnessed gassings told him about their experiences.
Post-war
Arrested by the American Military Government in 1946 he was brought before the IG Farben trialIG Farben Trial
The United States of America vs. Carl Krauch, et al., also known as the IG Farben Trial, was the sixth of the twelve trials for war crimes the U.S. authorities held in their occupation zone in Germany after the end of World War II....
the following year on charges of mass murder and slavery. The court stated that the pharmaceutical department had been responsible for sending drugs to the Schutzstaffel
Schutzstaffel
The Schutzstaffel |Sig runes]]) was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Built upon the Nazi ideology, the SS under Heinrich Himmler's command was responsible for many of the crimes against humanity during World War II...
in order that they be tested on prisoners but ruled that Lautenschläger himself was not personally to blame and so acquitted him.
Like many of his colleagues at IG Farben he was taken under the wing of Bayer
Bayer
Bayer AG is a chemical and pharmaceutical company founded in Barmen , Germany in 1863. It is headquartered in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and well known for its original brand of aspirin.-History:...
chairman Ulrich Haberland, who gave him a job as a research associate at the company's Elberfeld
Elberfeld
Elberfeld is a municipal subdivision of the German city of Wuppertal; it was an independent town until 1929.-History:The first official mentioning of the geographic area on the banks of today's Wupper River as "elverfelde" was in a document of 1161...
facility. He retired in 1952 and died ten years later.