Emil Georg von Stauss

Emil Georg von Stauss
Born	Template:Birth date
Died	December 11, 1942(1942-12-11) (aged 65)
Occupation(s)	Banker, corporate leader, politician
Known for	Director-General of Deutsche Bank, chairman of Daimler-Benz and BMW, Reichstag member

Emil Georg von Stauss (6 October 1877 – 11 December 1942) was a prominent German banker and corporate leader who held the position of Director-General on the board of Deutsche Bank. Initially affiliated with the conservative German People's Party, he later aligned himself with Adolf Hitler's Nazi Party, playing a key role in financing their political advancement. Von Stauss occupied a seat in the Reichstag and held multiple significant roles until his passing.

Business career

Von Stauss's influence extended beyond banking into the oil industry, where he joined the board of Deutsche Petroleum in 1920. He became a board member of Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft in 1925 and subsequently assumed the chairmanship of Daimler-Benz. In 1926, he took on the role of chairman at BMW, thereby leading several major industrial corporations.

Politics

A trusted ally of Hjalmar Schacht, von Stauss developed close connections with the Nazi Party starting in 1930. He maintained personal relationships with both Adolf Hitler and Hermann Göring, contributing substantial financial support to facilitate the Nazi Party’s rise to power. Von Stauss played a pivotal role by introducing Göring to influential business figures, which helped alleviate corporate fears about socialism and smoothed the Nazis’ path to governance.

Although a prominent figure within the German People's Party (DVP), he served as a deputy in the Reichstag between 1930 and 1932. At Göring’s urging, he remained within the DVP to steer it towards a pro-Nazi orientation before transitioning to the Nazi-controlled Reichstag after the DVP’s dissolution in 1933. He held the position of Third Vice-President of the Reichstag but never officially joined the Nazi Party, functioning instead as a "guest" member.

In September 1933, Göring appointed von Stauss to the newly restructured Prussian State Council. He was also among the founding members of Hans Frank's Academy for German Law and was appointed senator of the Kaiser Wilhelm Society in 1935. Von Stauss retained all these appointments until his death in 1942.