Hjalmar Schacht

Dr. Hjalmar Horace Greeley Schacht (January 22, 1877 - June 3, 1970) was a German financial expert and Minister of Economics from 1935 until 1937.

Education and rise to President of the Reichsbank

Born in Tinglev, Germany and partially named after American journalist Horace Greeley, Schacht studied medicine, philology and political science before earning a doctorate in economics in 1899. He became one of the directors of the Reichsbank in 1916 and in 1923 became currency commissioner for the Reich. After his economic policies helped reduce German inflation and stabilize the German mark, Schacht was appointed president of the Reichsbank. He collaborated with other prominent figures in economics to form the Young Plan to modify the way that war reparations were paid after Germany's economy was destabilizing under the Dawes Plan.

Involvement in the Nazi Party

Schacht became influenced by Adolf Hitler after reading Mein Kampf and helped to raise funds for his Nazi Party after meeting with him. He successfully organized German industrialists to sign a petition calling for President Paul von Hindenburg to appoint Hitler as Chancellor of Germany in 1933. In August of 1934, Hitler appointed Schacht as his Minister of Economics. He advocated public works programs similar to and influenced by F.D.R.'s New Deal, most notably the construction of the Autobahn to attempt to alleviate unemployment. He was appointed General Plenipotentiary for the War Economy in May, 1935 and was awarded honorary membership of the Nazi Party and the Golden Swastika in January, 1937.

Schacht resigned as Minister of Economics and General Plenipotentiary in November, 1937 due to his disapproval of Hitler's war aims and excessive military spending because he believed it would cause inflation, as well as conflicts with Hermann Göring, but was re-appointed President of the Reichsbank until he was dismissed from the position by Hitler in January, 1939. Schacht instead held the title of Minister Without Portfolio and received the same salary as he did as President of the Reichsbank until he was fully dismissed in January, 1943.

Imprisonment and subsequent life

Schacht was falsely accused of being involved in the 1944 July 20 Plot to assassinate Hitler and was arrested and sent to Dachau concentration camp as a "special prisoner" until it was liberated in April, 1945. He was arrested by the Allies and accused of war crimes at the Nuremberg Trials, but was acquitted and released in 1946. He was again arrested by Germans, tried in a denazification court and sentenced to eight years in a work camp, but was released early in September, 1948. He formed the Dusseldorf Bank after his release and became an economic and financial advisor for developing countries. Schacht died in Munich, Germany on June 3, 1970.

Works

Schacht wrote three books during his lifetime: The End of Reparations, published in 1931; Account Settled, published in 1949 after his acquittal at the Nuremberg Trials; and Confessions of the Old Wizard, an autobiography published in 1953.