François Genoud
Encyclopedia
François Genoud was a noted Swiss
financier and a principal benefactor of the Nazi
diaspora
through the ODESSA
network and supporter of Middle East
ern liberation groups during the post-World War II
20th century. He was considered the Swiss financier of the Third Reich.
in 1932 as a teenager in a hotel while studying in Bonn.
, and for reportedly making a fortune from publishing Goebbels' diaries which he held the posthumous rights for along with Hitler and Bormann's works. This enterprise suffered a setback in 1960 when Paula Hitler
died without him securing the full rights to the literature works of Adolf Hitler
.
Nazi hunters such as Serge Klarsfeld and Simon Wiesenthal
, journalist David Lee Preston and others have asserted that his role as a benefactor for surviving National Socialist interests goes much deeper, offering evidence that Genoud was no less than the principal financial manager of the hidden Swiss assets of the Third Reich after World War II
.
's government, he was introduced to the leaders of the Algerian Liberation Front, which he would eventually finance by 1954 after originally supplying weapons. In 1958 he founded the Arab Commercial Bank, which would be active in lending to Arab nationalist groups and as the chief repository for the Algerian National Liberation Front
.
organisation, met in Barcelona in April 1969 where Palestinian groups received financial support and Genoud placed them in contact with former Nazis who would assist their military training, including pledged support designated for the Palestinian Liberation Organisation. He was a close associate of Dr. George Habash
and Jacques Verges
, and in September 1969 he contributed finances for the legal expenses of three Palestinians from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
following their attack on an El Al
flight in Zurich
, where he personally sat at their defense table.
, Karl Wolff
, and Klaus Barbie
during the years of the Third Reich.
Genoud financed several legal defenses, including Adolf Eichmann
and Klaus Barbie
. He financed the defense of Bruno Breguet
during the 1970s after a bombing mission in Israel
in 1970. The PFLP called for the release of both Breguet and Leila Khalid, part of the Che Guevara Commando Unit of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
, together in 1970. Genoud helped Ilich Ramírez Sánchez in 1994, after playing a key role in the success of his missions in the previous decades.
He was closely associated with Ali Hassan Salameh
, providing him medical care, and he also bankrolled Ayatollah Khomeini's exile in France when Iran was governed by Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi. He was a mentor of Ahmed Huber
.
Throughout the 1970s he financed many left-wing groups with the goal of armed Arab liberation.
He was associated with Noam Chomsky
, Simone de Beauvoir
, and Jean-Paul Sartre
, sitting on a committee with them in the 1970s, which resulted in the pardon of Bruno Breguet
.
, the overseas arm of the Saudi Binladin Group.
In 1993 a bomb exploded outside his home and by 1996 Jewish and Swiss authorities were still investigating him for his financial activities during the Third Reich.
, Genoud is mentioned by Ilich Ramírez Sánchez's character portrayed by Édgar Ramírez
. The production has been criticized for downplaying the historical role of Genoud with Sánchez.
group Exit, at age 81 on May 30, 1996.
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
financier and a principal benefactor of the Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
diaspora
Diaspora
A diaspora is "the movement, migration, or scattering of people away from an established or ancestral homeland" or "people dispersed by whatever cause to more than one location", or "people settled far from their ancestral homelands".The word has come to refer to historical mass-dispersions of...
through the ODESSA
ODESSA
The ODESSA, from the German Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen, meaning “Organization of Former SS Members,” is believed to have been an international Nazi network set up toward the end of World War II by a group of SS officers...
network and supporter of Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
ern liberation groups during the post-World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
20th century. He was considered the Swiss financier of the Third Reich.
Early life
Genoud was from Lausanne, Switzerland. He met Adolf HitlerAdolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
in 1932 as a teenager in a hotel while studying in Bonn.
Post war
Genoud is notable for being the executor of last will and testament of Nazi propagandist Joseph GoebbelsJoseph Goebbels
Paul Joseph Goebbels was a German politician and Reich Minister of Propaganda in Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. As one of Adolf Hitler's closest associates and most devout followers, he was known for his zealous oratory and anti-Semitism...
, and for reportedly making a fortune from publishing Goebbels' diaries which he held the posthumous rights for along with Hitler and Bormann's works. This enterprise suffered a setback in 1960 when Paula Hitler
Paula Hitler
Paula Hitler was the younger sister of Adolf Hitler and the last child of Alois Hitler and his third wife, Klara Pölzl...
died without him securing the full rights to the literature works of Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
.
Nazi hunters such as Serge Klarsfeld and Simon Wiesenthal
Simon Wiesenthal
Simon Wiesenthal KBE was an Austrian Holocaust survivor who became famous after World War II for his work as a Nazi hunter....
, journalist David Lee Preston and others have asserted that his role as a benefactor for surviving National Socialist interests goes much deeper, offering evidence that Genoud was no less than the principal financial manager of the hidden Swiss assets of the Third Reich after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Arab liberation
Genoud became a passionate supporter of Arab liberation causes, funding many nationalist and left-wing organisations.Algerian Liberation Front
While in Egypt in the 1950s, through contacts in Gamal Abdel NasserGamal Abdel Nasser
Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein was the second President of Egypt from 1956 until his death. A colonel in the Egyptian army, Nasser led the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 along with Muhammad Naguib, the first president, which overthrew the monarchy of Egypt and Sudan, and heralded a new period of...
's government, he was introduced to the leaders of the Algerian Liberation Front, which he would eventually finance by 1954 after originally supplying weapons. In 1958 he founded the Arab Commercial Bank, which would be active in lending to Arab nationalist groups and as the chief repository for the Algerian National Liberation Front
National Liberation Front (Algeria)
The National Liberation Front is a socialist political party in Algeria. It was set up on November 1, 1954 as a merger of other smaller groups, to obtain independence for Algeria from France.- Anticolonial struggle :...
.
Palestine
In the 1960s Genoud began supplying arms for Palestinian causes. The Lausanne-based New European OrderNew European Order
The New European Order was a neo-fascist Europe-wide alliance set up in 1951 to promote Pan-European nationalism. It was a more radical splinter-group of the European Social Movement....
organisation, met in Barcelona in April 1969 where Palestinian groups received financial support and Genoud placed them in contact with former Nazis who would assist their military training, including pledged support designated for the Palestinian Liberation Organisation. He was a close associate of Dr. George Habash
George Habash
George Habash also known by his laqab "al-Hakim" was a Palestinian nationalist. Habash, a Palestinian Christian, founded the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, which pioneered the hijacking of airplanes as a Middle East militant tactic...
and Jacques Verges
Jacques Vergès
Jacques Vergès, born 5 March 1925 in Ubon Ratchathani, Siam , is a French-Vietnamese lawyer who has earned fame continually since the 1950s, first as an anticolonialist communist figure and then for defending a long string of well-known clients from anticolonialist Algerian militant Djamila...
, and in September 1969 he contributed finances for the legal expenses of three Palestinians from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine is a Palestinian Marxist-Leninist organisation founded in 1967. It has consistently been the second-largest of the groups forming the Palestine Liberation Organization , the largest being Fatah...
following their attack on an El Al
El Al
El Al Israel Airlines Ltd , trading as El Al , is the flag carrier of Israel. It operates scheduled domestic and international services and cargo flights to Europe, North America, Africa and the Far East from its main base in Ben Gurion International Airport...
flight in Zurich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
, where he personally sat at their defense table.
Notable aid recipients and associations
Genoud was a close friend of Otto SkorzenyOtto Skorzeny
Otto Skorzeny was an SS-Obersturmbannführer in the German Waffen-SS during World War II. After fighting on the Eastern Front, he was chosen as the field commander to carry out the rescue mission that freed the deposed Italian dictator Benito Mussolini from captivity...
, Karl Wolff
Karl Wolff
Karl Friedrich Otto Wolff was a high-ranking member of the Nazi Schutzstaffel , ultimately holding the rank of SS-Obergruppenführer and General of the Waffen-SS. He became Chief of Personal Staff to the Reichsführer and SS Liaison Officer to Hitler until his replacement in 1943...
, and Klaus Barbie
Klaus Barbie
Nikolaus 'Klaus' Barbie was an SS-Hauptsturmführer , Gestapo member and war criminal. He was known as the Butcher of Lyon.- Early life :...
during the years of the Third Reich.
Genoud financed several legal defenses, including Adolf Eichmann
Adolf Eichmann
Adolf Otto Eichmann was a German Nazi and SS-Obersturmbannführer and one of the major organizers of the Holocaust...
and Klaus Barbie
Klaus Barbie
Nikolaus 'Klaus' Barbie was an SS-Hauptsturmführer , Gestapo member and war criminal. He was known as the Butcher of Lyon.- Early life :...
. He financed the defense of Bruno Breguet
Bruno Breguet
Bruno Breguet was a Swiss associate of Ilich Ramírez Sánchez, better known as "Carlos the Jackal". He disappeared in 1995.-Israel:In 1970 Breguet, then 19 years old, traveled to Lebanon to join the PFLP. A few weeks later he was arrested in Israel carrying two kilograms of explosives...
during the 1970s after a bombing mission in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
in 1970. The PFLP called for the release of both Breguet and Leila Khalid, part of the Che Guevara Commando Unit of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine is a Palestinian Marxist-Leninist organisation founded in 1967. It has consistently been the second-largest of the groups forming the Palestine Liberation Organization , the largest being Fatah...
, together in 1970. Genoud helped Ilich Ramírez Sánchez in 1994, after playing a key role in the success of his missions in the previous decades.
He was closely associated with Ali Hassan Salameh
Ali Hassan Salameh
Ali Hassan Salameh was the chief of operations—code name Abu Hassan—for Black September, the organization responsible for the 1972 Munich massacre and other attacks. He was also the founder of Force 17...
, providing him medical care, and he also bankrolled Ayatollah Khomeini's exile in France when Iran was governed by Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi. He was a mentor of Ahmed Huber
Ahmed Huber
Ahmed Huber was a Swiss German journalist, and a convert to Islam, who was active in both Islamist and Far Right politics...
.
Throughout the 1970s he financed many left-wing groups with the goal of armed Arab liberation.
He was associated with Noam Chomsky
Noam Chomsky
Avram Noam Chomsky is an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, and activist. He is an Institute Professor and Professor in the Department of Linguistics & Philosophy at MIT, where he has worked for over 50 years. Chomsky has been described as the "father of modern linguistics" and...
, Simone de Beauvoir
Simone de Beauvoir
Simone-Ernestine-Lucie-Marie Bertrand de Beauvoir, often shortened to Simone de Beauvoir , was a French existentialist philosopher, public intellectual, and social theorist. She wrote novels, essays, biographies, an autobiography in several volumes, and monographs on philosophy, politics, and...
, and Jean-Paul Sartre
Jean-Paul Sartre
Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre was a French existentialist philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary critic. He was one of the leading figures in 20th century French philosophy, particularly Marxism, and was one of the key figures in literary...
, sitting on a committee with them in the 1970s, which resulted in the pardon of Bruno Breguet
Bruno Breguet
Bruno Breguet was a Swiss associate of Ilich Ramírez Sánchez, better known as "Carlos the Jackal". He disappeared in 1995.-Israel:In 1970 Breguet, then 19 years old, traveled to Lebanon to join the PFLP. A few weeks later he was arrested in Israel carrying two kilograms of explosives...
.
Legal troubles
Genoud found himself in legal troubles from time to time, such as in 1983, when he was represented by Baudoin Dunant, a leading Geneva-based lawyer who sits on the board of over 20 companies, including the Saudi Investment CompanySaudi Investment Company
The Saudi Investment Company , headquartered Geneva, Switzerland and founded on May 19, 1980, represents the worldwide interests of the Saudi Binladin Group.- Overview :...
, the overseas arm of the Saudi Binladin Group.
In 1993 a bomb exploded outside his home and by 1996 Jewish and Swiss authorities were still investigating him for his financial activities during the Third Reich.
Legacy
Genoud said "my views have not changed since I was a young man. Hitler was a great leader, and if he had won the war the world would be a better place today."Popular culture
In the miniseres CarlosCarlos (TV miniseries)
Carlos is a 3-part French television drama mini-series, first broadcast on Canal+ in 2010. Produced by Film En Stock's Daniel Leconte in coproduction with Jens Meuer in association with Canal +, Studio Canal, ARTE, the Sundance Channel, it was created by Daniel Leconte and written by Dan Franck and...
, Genoud is mentioned by Ilich Ramírez Sánchez's character portrayed by Édgar Ramírez
Edgar Ramirez
Édgar Filiberto Ramírez Arellano is a Venezuelan actor. He played Carlos in the 2010 French-German biopic series Carlos, a role for which he won the César Award for Most Promising Actor at the César Awards 2011. He also played "Paz", a CIA assassin in the movie The Bourne Ultimatum.Ramírez...
. The production has been criticized for downplaying the historical role of Genoud with Sánchez.
Death
Genoud committed suicide, with (according to his family) the help of a Swiss pro-euthanasiaEuthanasia
Euthanasia refers to the practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering....
group Exit, at age 81 on May 30, 1996.