Alexander Kreuter
Alexander Kreuter | |
|---|---|
| Born | Template:Birth date |
| Died | September 27, 1977 (aged 90) |
| Occupation(s) | Corporate lawyer, banker |
| Known for | Financial activities during Nazi occupation of France; managing Société de Crédits et d'Investissements; member of SS |
Alexander Kreuter (29 November 1886 – 27 September 1977) was a distinguished German corporate lawyer and banker active during the Nazi regime’s control of France.
Education and early career
Beginning in 1906, Kreuter pursued studies in law and political science at the University of Munich, completing his doctorate by 1909. Throughout World War I, he functioned as the civil commissioner in occupied Leuven, Belgium. In 1918, he provided counsel to the Armistice Commission on economic and financial issues connected to the Treaty of Versailles.
In 1919, Kreuter assumed the role of commissioner for raw materials and products on the "Dictatorial Economic Committee" and later became a member of the Provisional Reich Economic Council in 1922. He played a key role in negotiating the German-Dutch financial agreement signed in May 1920. After departing from public service, he established and managed Tredefina GmbH—the trust administration overseeing this agreement—for more than five decades. In recognition of his contributions, the Dutch government awarded him the Order of Orange-Nassau.
Additionally, Kreuter represented New York investment bank Dillon, Read & Co. in Berlin and was a personally liable partner at Deutsche Kreditsicherungs-KG, which secured a $10 million loan from Dillon Read during the 1920s.
Activities during the Nazi period
During the Second World War, Kreuter held membership in the SS and operated as a German financial official stationed in Nazi-occupied Paris under Walter Schellenberg’s foreign intelligence branch within the Reich Security Main Office (RSHA).
He managed the "Société de Crédits et d'Investissements" (SCI), which had evolved from the Aryanized "Société Financière pour l'Étranger" (SFE). After a capital increase in 1942, Tredefina became its principal controlling entity. Barclays Bank provided financing derived from assets seized from foreign Jews, transferred under directives issued by German military authorities. These resources passed through multiple intermediaries before reaching Kreuter’s SCI.
With backing from Tredefina, SCI acquired Aryanized equity stakes in French enterprises such as Société des Schistes Bitumineux d’Autun (engaged in oil shale extraction) and the department store chain Galeries Lafayette. Kreuter also led the German branch of Bank Worms et Cie and maintained close connections with officials within the Vichy regime.
Due to his participation in these financial dealings, Kreuter was designated as one of the Red Flag Names by the OSS Art Looting Investigation Unit in 1945.
Post-war disputes
Following Nazi Germany’s defeat, despite his identification as an SS affiliate, Kreuter was employed by the US military government. This appointment drew criticism from American media outlets. In 1947, journalist Drew Pearson reported that General William Henry Draper Jr. of Dillon Read had assigned Kreuter to his team in Germany notwithstanding his SS ties. James Stewart Martin, head of the Decartelization Branch under Military Government in Germany, disclosed that Jack Bennet, director of financial affairs, challenged Kreuter’s hiring and sought to impose travel restrictions until his SS involvement was clarified. Kreuter asserted that his association with the storm trooper organization was "purely nominal and for business reasons only."
Kreuter passed away in 1977 and was interred within the former chapel of the dead located in Waidring.
Honors
On 15 December 1959, Kreuter was honored with the Bavarian Order of Merit. Later, in February 1967, he received the Grand Cross of Merit with Star from the Federal Republic of Germany, recognizing his contributions to the Art History Institute in Florence, where he had held the position of treasurer since 1960. That same year, he was also granted honorary membership in the Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts.
Family
Kreuter was married to the art historian Helga Kreuter-Eggemann. Their acquaintance began in occupied France, where she was employed by the Nazi art confiscation agency, the Reichsleiter Rosenberg (ERR), which was responsible for seizing artworks in France between 1941 and 1944.
Publications
- Zur Preisbildung in der Linienreederei. Ein Beitrag zur Morphologie des Seefrachtenmarktes. Munich, 1909 (Dissertation)
See also
Literature
- James Stewart Martin: All Honorable Men. Little, Brown, Boston 1950, pp. 205–208 [Full text] (PDF; 4.6 MB)
- Annie Lacroix-Riz: Industriels et banquiers français sous l'Occupation, Arman Colin, Paris, 2013, ISBN 978-2-200-28891-4
- Burkhardt Göres: Kunstwerke für das Schloß. Eine Schenkung zum Gedächtnis an Geheimrat Dr. Alexander Kreuter. In: Museumsjournal 14, 1 (2000), pp. 43–45 with illustration
- Christina Giannini: I giorni dell’alluvione al Kunsthistorisches Institut dalla corrispondenza di Alexander Kreuter e Hans Martin von Erffa. In: Mitteilungen des Kunsthistorischen Institutes in Florenz 54, 1 (2010/12), pp. 196–206