Lutz Graf Schwerin von Krosigk
Johann Ludwig "Lutz" Graf Schwerin von Krosigk (22 August 1887 – 4 March 1977) was a German politician.
Lutz Graf Schwerin von Krosigk | |
|---|---|
 Official Portrait, 1932 | |
| Chancellor of Germany | |
| In office 1 May 1945 – 23 May 1945 | |
| Preceded by | Joseph Goebbels |
| Succeeded by | Allied military occupation 1945-1949 Konrad Adenauer (West Germany) Otto Grotewohl (East Germany) (as Chairman of the Council of Ministers (GDR)) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 22 August 1887 Rathmannsdorf, German Empire |
| Died | 4 March 1977 (aged 89) Essen, West Germany |
| Political party | Nazi Party (since 1937) |
| Occupation | Soldier (Officer), Nobleman |
Early life
Johann Ludwig von Krosigk was born in Rathmannsdorf, in the Kingdom of Saxony. His father was from a noble family in Anhalt, his mother was a daughter of one of the Counts ("Graf") von Schwerin. He studied law and politics in Halle, in Lausanne and, as a Rhodes Scholar, at the University of Oxford.
He became a Lieutenant in the German Army during World War I, and he won the Iron Cross. In 1918, Krosigk married Baroness Ehrengard von Plettenberg. They had four sons and five daughters.
Nazi years
Pre-World War II
Schwerin von Krosigkut was a conservative, but not a member of any political party when was appointed Minister of Finance by Franz von Papen in 1932. President Paul von Hindenburg asked him to stay in office under Kurt von Schleicher. Hitler kept him as finance minister throughout the period of Nazi Party rule, even though several members of his family took part in attempts to kill Hitler.
World War II
On 1 May 1945, Schwerin von Krosigk was asked to be the Chancellor (Reichskanzler) of the Flensburg cabinet by the new President (Reichspräsident) Karl Dönitz.
On 7 May 1945, Dönitz allowed the German Army to surrender at Rheims before General Eisenhower.
Winston Churchill recognised the Flensburg Government de facto because he said the surrender was allowed by "Grand Admiral Dönitz the designated Head of State". The government was dissolved when its members were captured by British forces on 23 May 1945, at Flensburg.
Schwerin von Krosigk was tried at the Ministries Trial at Nuremberg along with other leading members of the Nazi Government. Schwerin von Krosigk was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment but was released during an amnesty in 1951.
After World War II
In later years Schwerin von Krosigk wrote several books about economics policy and two versions of his memoirs.
He was one of the first to talk about an "Iron Curtain" coming down across Europe, in a broadcast to the German people on 2 May 1945, a phrase which he had picked up from an article by Joseph Goebbels,[1] and later used by Winston Churchill in a speech that made the phrase famous.
Schwerin von Krosigk died in 1977 in the town of Essen, Germany, aged 89.
Works
- Es geschah in Deutschland, 1951
- Die große Zeit des Feuers - Der Weg der deutschen Industrie, 3 volumes, 1959
- Alles auf Wagnis - der Kaufmann gestern, heute und morgen, 1963
- Persönliche Erinnerungen, memoirs, 3 volumes, 1974
- Staatsbankrott (Studie über die deutsche Finanzpolitik von 1920 bis 1945), 1975
- Memoiren (short version of Persönliche Erinnerungen), 1977
Lutz Graf Schwerin Von Krosigk Media
The first meeting of Hitler's cabinet in 1933, with Krosigk standing third from left.
Krosigk and Goebbels salute at the Reichstag
Graf Schwerin von Krosigk on trial in Nürnberg
References
- ↑ (Joseph Goebbels, 'Das Jahr 2000,' Das Reich, 25 February 1945, pp. 1-2)