Kurt Baron von Schröder
Baron Kurt von Schröder (November 24, 1889 in Hamburg, Germany – November 4, 1966) was a German banker based in Cologne who was a member of the Nazi Party (NSDAP), and who hosted a notorious meeting between Franz von Papen and Adolf Hitler that facilitated Hitler's rise to power. His SS Honor Ring surfaced in the United States by Don Boyle historian from Scranton, PA. and Author of (SS Totenkopf H. Himmler Honor Ring 1933 to 1945). This Honor Ring was the Highest award given to an SS Officer. von Schröder became an SS General on April 20, 1943 Adolf Hitler's Birthday the Honor Ring given to SS General (Brigadeführer) von Schröder and was engraved inside the ring ( S.lb. v. Schröder 20.4.38 H. Himmler). It was presented to General von Schröder on Adolf Hitler's Birthday in 1938 by the head of the SS (RFSS) Heinrich Himmler. Baron von Schröder was on the personal staff of the RFSS Himmler. Brigadeführer von Schröder joined the SS on (September 13, 1936) and his SS number was #276904 . His NSDAP Party number was # 1475919 .
Schröder was born in Hamburg, Germany, on 24 November 1889. He was a student at the University of Bonn, and joined the Reichswehr during World War I. He there served as a captain in the General Staff.
After the war he joined a firm of bankers in Cologne. In 1928 he joined the German People's Party. He contributed money to the Nazi Party and joined the Circle of Friends of the Economy (Freundeskreis der Wirtschaft) and the National Socialist German Workers Party.
Role in supporting Hitler
Schröder was an important member of the Freundeskreis der Wirtschaft, which provided Adolf Hitler and his party with enough financial support to survive through the early 1930s. He also hosted a critical meeting on 4 January 1933 between Papen and Hitler that eventually led to Hitler's appointment as Chancellor of Germany. As a result of Schröder's efforts, Heinrich Himmler awarded him with the rank of SS Brigadefuhrer on April 20,1943 Adolf Hitler's Birthday. On 24 November 1939 (his birthday), Schroeder was presented with a SS honor Degen (sword) by Himmler bearing the inscription "Meinen Lieben Kurt Freiherr von Schröder zum 24.11.39. H Himmler. Reichsfuhrer SS". The sword was discovered by military historian Craig Gottlieb in 2000 in Sacramento California.[1]
Schröder figures prominently in the book by former Hoover Institution scholar Antony C. Sutton titled Wall Street And The Rise Of Hitler. As Sutton observes,
| “ | Baron Kurt von Schröder was born in Hamburg in 1889 into an old established German banking family. An earlier member of the Schröder family moved to London, changed his name to Schröder (without the dierisis) and organized the banking firm of J. Henry Schröder in London and J. Henry Schröder Banking Corporation in New York....
Schröder acted as a conduit for I.T.T. money funneled to Heinrich Himmler's SS organization in 1944, while World War II was in progress and the United States was at war with Germany. |
” |
After the war, there were attempts to conceal the financing of Nazi regime, some by the former American bankers and officials of the Allied military government, especially by blocking the investigation of the bank Bankhaus J.H. Stein based in Cologne, Germany. This bank, the so-called "bank of the cartel kings", had been suspected to have served as a conduit for funding Heinrich Himmler's SS through deposits by German industrial cartels.
Rewards for support
Schröder became chairman of the board of directors of several major companies in Germany and was president of the Rhineland Industrial Chamber in Cologne.
Postwar
After the Second World War, Schröder was arrested and was tried by a German court for crimes against humanity. He was found guilty and was sentenced to three months' imprisonment.
Kurt von Schröder died on November 4, 1966.
References
- The Nazi Hydra in America: Suppressed History of a Century, by Glen Yeadon, John Hawkins