GHDI logo


Destroyed Factory Workshop at the Krupp Works in Essen (1947)

After the war, the Krupp plant was dismantled and decartelized. Additionally, Gustav Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach, the former chairman of the board of Friedrich Krupp, Inc., was supposed to be indicted in the Nuremberg Trial of the Major War Criminals, but his health prevented him from from being able to stand trial. The judges of the International Military Tribunal rejected a motion made by the head prosecutor to indict Krupp's son Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach – sole heir to the firm since 1943 – as a "representative" of his father. Instead, Alfried was indicted in one of the later Nuremberg trials, along with eleven high-ranking company officials. In July 1948, an American military tribunal sentenced the accused to prison terms for having plundered occupied territories and used forced laborers; Alfried Krupp was sentenced to twelve years in prison and deprived of his assets. However, on January 31, 1951, U.S. High Commissioner John J. McCloy pardoned those convicted in the Krupp trial. Shortly after his release, Alfried Krupp, who rersumed ownership, announced that his firm would no longer produce armaments. Photo by Erich Andres.

print version     return to image list previous image      next image

Destroyed Factory Workshop at the Krupp Works in Essen (1947)

© Bildarchiv Preußischer Kulturbesitz