Wilhelm Rudolf Mann
Encyclopedia
Wilhelm Rudolf Mann was a German
factory manager for IG Farben
and later with Bayer
.
and served a three year apprenticeship at an Elberfeld
steelworks before serving with the German Imperial Army in the First World War.
Following his military service he studied political economy for a time before entering the sales department at Hoechst, rising quickly through the ranks at the company. In 1926 he went to Leverkusen
to being training to ultimately succeed his father at the IG Farben pharmaceuticals and pesticides department and also took a post on the supervisory board of Degesch
. He became a director in 1928 and alternate member of the managing board in 1931, gaining full board membership in 1934. Although his progress has been endorsed by his father Mann had also garnered a reputation for his strong knowledge of the international pharmaceutical market as well as his ability to negotiate good deals for IG Farben.
, achieving the rank of Sturmführer
in the Brownshirts. At the time of his initial membership Mann was the only member of the Vorstand
to hold a Nazi Party card. Mann's membership had lapsed after a year although he quickly renewed his subscription as soon as Adolf Hitler
became Chancellor of Germany
. Following the Nazi seizure of power Mann penned a letter which he sent out to 75 of IG Farben's leading international sales representatives across the world. In the letter Mann told the executives that the Nazis had "won a victory against Bolshevism, the enemy of the entire world" and instructed them to tell their clients in their host countries that stories circulating about Nazi repression contained "not a true word".
After the fall of France
Mann attempted to ensure that Bayer could take control of Rhône-Poulenc
, the company's main rivals over the border, but his efforts were hampered by the fact that most of the company's bases were in Vichy France
rather than the occupied territory. Mann therefore suggested to the directors that they formed a joint sales company, with terms that were much more beneficial to Bayer, but he was rebuffed in his attempt. However Mann then threatened the company with military action leading to the deal being concluded. In 1944 he was decorated with the War Merit Cross
First Class.
. He thus was also aware that the consumption rate at Auschwitz was ten times the level of other similar sized camps, but he claimed that he never considered any connection between this fact and the Holocaust
before later still arguing that he had barely paid any attention to the company accounts in the first place. It was also Mann who personally agreed that IG Farben would finance the research work of Josef Mengele
at Auschwitz, which focused on genetics and involved several experiments on sets of identical twins held in the camps.
. However, despite facing charges of plundering, spoliation and of mass murder he was acquitted in 1948. The following year he returned to his earlier role of head of pharmaceutical sales at Bayer. He also returned to market research company GfK
, of which he had been president from 1935 to 1945, continuing in this role until 1955, whilst also holding a role on the Foreign Trade Committee of the Bundesverband der Deutschen Industrie.
Mann had been twice married, initially to his cousin Else Herrenbrück, who bore him two children before her death, and subsequently to Gerda Liefeldt.
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...
factory manager for IG Farben
IG Farben
I.G. Farbenindustrie AG was a German chemical industry conglomerate. Its name is taken from Interessen-Gemeinschaft Farbenindustrie AG . The company was formed in 1925 from a number of major companies that had been working together closely since World War I...
and later with 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:...
.
Early life
Mann was the son of Rudolf Mann, a shipping agent who later became a board member at IG Farben and Bayer, and his wife Selma Herrenbrück. Mann initially received a commercial education in CologneCologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
and served a three year apprenticeship at an 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...
steelworks before serving with the German Imperial Army in the First World War.
Following his military service he studied political economy for a time before entering the sales department at Hoechst, rising quickly through the ranks at the company. In 1926 he went to Leverkusen
Leverkusen
Leverkusen is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany on the eastern bank of the Rhine. To the South, Leverkusen borders the city of Cologne and to the North is the state capital Düsseldorf....
to being training to ultimately succeed his father at the IG Farben pharmaceuticals and pesticides department and also took a post on the supervisory board of Degesch
Degesch
The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Schädlingsbekämpfung mbH , in short Degesch, was a German chemical corporation during World War II. Degesch produced pesticides used against weeds and insects...
. He became a director in 1928 and alternate member of the managing board in 1931, gaining full board membership in 1934. Although his progress has been endorsed by his father Mann had also garnered a reputation for his strong knowledge of the international pharmaceutical market as well as his ability to negotiate good deals for IG Farben.
Under the Nazis
Mann joined the Nazi Party in 1931, two years before they came to power, and also joined the SturmabteilungSturmabteilung
The Sturmabteilung functioned as a paramilitary organization of the National Socialist German Workers' Party . It played a key role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s...
, achieving the rank of Sturmführer
Sturmführer
Sturmführer was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party which began as a title used by the Sturmabteilung in 1925 and became an actual SA rank in 1928...
in the Brownshirts. At the time of his initial membership Mann was the only member of the Vorstand
Vorstand
In German corporate governance, a Vorstand is the management board of a corporation. It is hierarchically subordinate to the Aufsichtsrat , as German corporate law imposes a two-tier board system....
to hold a Nazi Party card. Mann's membership had lapsed after a year although he quickly renewed his subscription as soon as 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...
became Chancellor of Germany
Chancellor of Germany
The Chancellor of Germany is, under the German 1949 constitution, the head of government of Germany...
. Following the Nazi seizure of power Mann penned a letter which he sent out to 75 of IG Farben's leading international sales representatives across the world. In the letter Mann told the executives that the Nazis had "won a victory against Bolshevism, the enemy of the entire world" and instructed them to tell their clients in their host countries that stories circulating about Nazi repression contained "not a true word".
After the fall of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
Mann attempted to ensure that Bayer could take control of Rhône-Poulenc
Rhône-Poulenc
-History of the company:The Company was founded in 1928 through the merger of Société des Usines Chimiques du Rhône from Lyon and Établissements Poulenc Frères from Paris founded by Étienne Poulenc, a 19th century Parisian apothecary and brought to prominence by his second and third sons Emile...
, the company's main rivals over the border, but his efforts were hampered by the fact that most of the company's bases were in Vichy France
Vichy France
Vichy France, Vichy Regime, or Vichy Government, are common terms used to describe the government of France that collaborated with the Axis powers from July 1940 to August 1944. This government succeeded the Third Republic and preceded the Provisional Government of the French Republic...
rather than the occupied territory. Mann therefore suggested to the directors that they formed a joint sales company, with terms that were much more beneficial to Bayer, but he was rebuffed in his attempt. However Mann then threatened the company with military action leading to the deal being concluded. In 1944 he was decorated with the War Merit Cross
War 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...
First Class.
The Holocaust
Due to his role in Degesch, which included regular scrutinising of the company accounts, Mann was privy to information regarding the vast quantities of Zyklon-B that the company supplied to the SchutzstaffelSchutzstaffel
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...
. He thus was also aware that the consumption rate at Auschwitz was ten times the level of other similar sized camps, but he claimed that he never considered any connection between this fact and 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...
before later still arguing that he had barely paid any attention to the company accounts in the first place. It was also Mann who personally agreed that IG Farben would finance the research work of Josef Mengele
Josef Mengele
Josef Rudolf Mengele , also known as the Angel of Death was a German SS officer and a physician in the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau. He earned doctorates in anthropology from Munich University and in medicine from Frankfurt University...
at Auschwitz, which focused on genetics and involved several experiments on sets of identical twins held in the camps.
Post-war
Mann was arrested by the U.S. Army in 1945 and two years later was indicted as part of 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....
. However, despite facing charges of plundering, spoliation and of mass murder he was acquitted in 1948. The following year he returned to his earlier role of head of pharmaceutical sales at Bayer. He also returned to market research company GfK
GfK
The GfK Group, established in 1934 as Gesellschaft für Konsumforschung is Germany's largest market research institute, and the fourth largest market research organisation in the world, after Nielsen Company, Kantar Group, and IMS Health...
, of which he had been president from 1935 to 1945, continuing in this role until 1955, whilst also holding a role on the Foreign Trade Committee of the Bundesverband der Deutschen Industrie.
Mann had been twice married, initially to his cousin Else Herrenbrück, who bore him two children before her death, and subsequently to Gerda Liefeldt.