Hermann Schmitz

Schmitz after his arrest by the U.S. Army.

Hermann Schmitz (January 1, 1881 – October 8, 1960) was a German industrialist and Nazi war criminal. CEO of IG Farben from 1935 to 1945, he was sentenced to four years in prison in the IG Farben Trial.

Hermann Schmitz in 1931

Schmitz was born in Hessen on 1 January 1881, son of factory worker Diedrich Schmitz and Luise Wöhrmann. In 1898 he began studying at Ahrenbergische Aktiengesellschaft für Bergbau und Hüttenbetrieb in Hessen, and in 1905 he entered the Commerce College in Nuremberg. After completing his studies, he was hired by Metallurgische Gesellschaft (Metallurgy Company), where after some time he became consultant of Wilhelm Merton, member of the supervisors' council of the company, who helped Schmitz promote his career.

In 1914 he was required to serve in the army. He was injured during the First World War and, after recovering from his injuries, he was made Reich's supervisor for chemical products production in the materiel department (1915).

In 1919, as an expert in fertilizers and nitric salts, he took part in the assembly that negotiated the Treaty of Versailles. There he met Carl Bosch, a chemist of worldwide fame. In July 1919 Schmitz was hired at BASF by Bosch as his financial advisor. He was promoted to administrator of BASF's exterior department, a position he maintained after the company became part of IG Farben. As per his job requirements he maintained contacts with large businesses, such as Standard Oil, with which he took part in negotiations, always having the support of that era's governments in the interests of IG Farben.