Fritz Thyssen

Fritz Thyssen (born Nov. 9, 1873, Mülheim, Ger.—died Feb. 8, 1951, Buenos Aires) German industrial magnate, head of the great Vereinigte Stahlwerke (United Steel Works) combine, and an early and lavish financial supporter of the National Socialist movement.

The son of a German iron and steel pioneer, Thyssen succeeded to his father’s industrial empire in 1926, becoming, as head of the Vereinigte Stahlwerke trust, one of the richest and most powerful men in Germany. Early embracing the National Socialist cause, he contributed 100,000 gold marks to the party in 1923, although he did not join it officially until 1931; and he remained one of its principal financial backers. In January 1932 he helped to organize a meeting of German industrialists with Adolf Hitler. The resulting contracts and financial contributions greatly helped to advance Hitler’s political career. Gradually, however, he became disenchanted with the movement and finally fled to Switzerland shortly after the outbreak of World War II. In 1941 he was intercepted on his way to South America and was reported to have been interned at Dachau. In 1948 he was found guilty of being a “minor Nazi” by a German denazification court and assessed a heavy indemnity.