Georg von Schnitzler

Georg August Eduard von Schnitzler (29 October 1884 – 24 May 1962) was a German nobleman, member of the board at IG Farben and a Nazi war criminal.

Early years Born into the family of briefadel, Georg was as the son of Paul Wilhelm Jakob von Schnitzler (1856–1932) and his wife, Fanny Emilie Joest (1861), younger sister of Carl August von Joest (1858–1942). Schnitzler studied law at a number of universities, eventually completing his doctorate at the University of Leipzig in 1907. After a year's travel he went to work for Bankhaus J.H. Stein of Cologne.

They had one daughter, Gabrielle von Schnitzler (1918–2017), who married Count Franz Joseph von Seefried auf Buttenheim, Freiherr zu Hagenbach, the youngest son of Princess Elisabeth Marie of Bavaria and her husband, Count Otto Ludwig Philipp von Seefried auf Buttenheim, Freiherr zu Hagenbach (1870–1951).

Corporate career In 1912, Schnitzler moved to Farbwerke Hoechst, a company where his father held a leading position, and worked as a salesman of dyes in Munich for them. Schnitzler did not immediately seek to join the Nazis after their seizure of power although he did establish a "salon" in Berlin at which high-ranking Nazis and leading industrialists could meet and discuss issues of mutual benefit. However he joined the Sturmabteilung (SA), the Nazi Party paramilitary organisation, in 1934 and eventually held the rank of SA-Sturmhauptführer (later redesignated SA-Hauptsturmführer). He was also aware of the projected invasion of Poland during the summer of 1939 after being told of the plans by his friend Claus Ungewitter, an official in the Economics Ministry and an associate of leading figures in the Schutzstaffel. Following the invasion of Poland, Schnitzler was sent into the country as the leader of an IG Farben delegation and in this role he ensured that a number of important Polish chemical factories came under the company's control. Following the invasion of France, Schnitzler was once again despatched and once again he secured a number of chemical sites in France for IG Farben.

Schnitzler was named one of the Nazi regime's Wehrwirtschaftsführers (war economy leaders) in 1942. With defeat imminent, Schnitzler dropped off the IG Farben scene in March 1945, retiring to his country estate at Oberursel (Taunus). Russell Nixon and James Martin, two agents attached to the US Military Government's Cartels Division, arrived on the estate in May and arrested Schnitzler.

Post-war life In the questioning following his arrest, Schnitzler admitted to some "mistakes" on his part and agreed that IG Farben as a company had played a central role in the growth of Hitler and his arming of Germany. His frank responses did not meet the approval of many of his old colleagues and during a period of fraternisation in prison he was confronted by an angry Fritz ter Meer. Following their conversation, Schnitzler announced that he wished to withdraw his earlier statements, claiming that they had been delivered under extreme pressure.

Indicted by the United States after the Second World War for war crimes in the IG Farben trial, Schnitzer was found guilty of "plunder and spoliation" and sentenced to five years imprisonment on 30 July 1948. However, after the U.S. military instituted a good behavior credit system, Schnitzler, who had been in custody since 1945, was released from prison on 21 December 1949, several months before his sentence was scheduled to expire. Following his release, he returned to the business world as president of Deutsch-Ibero-Amerikanische Gesellschaft.