Hermann Schmitz

Schmitz after his arrest by the U.S. Army.

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.

Hermann Schmitz in 1931

Schmitz was born in Hessen on 1 January 1881, son of factory worker Diedrich
Schmitz and Luise Whrmann. In 1898 he began studying at Ahrenbergische
Aktiengesellschaft fr Bergbau und Httenbetrieb 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 supervisors' 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 materiel 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.