Karl Rasche
Karl Emil August Rasche | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 23, 1892 |
| Died | September 13, 1951 (aged 59) |
| Occupation(s) | Banker, SS officer |
| Known for | Board member and spokesperson for Dresdner Bank during the Third Reich; convicted at the Ministries Trial |
Karl Emil August Rasche (23 August 1892 – 13 September 1951) held the rank of SS-Obersturmbannführer, earned a doctorate in law, and served as a prominent board member and later spokesperson for the Dresdner Bank during the era of the Third Reich. On 11 April 1949, he received a seven-year prison sentence at the Ministries Trial due to his conduct under the Nazis.
Early career
Rasche pursued studies in economics and law across several universities, including those in Münster, Munich, Leipzig, Berlin, and Bonn. He fought on the Western Front during the First World War. After sustaining injuries in 1917, he authored a dissertation focused on Prussian police legislation. In the post-war period, he contributed to fundraising and recruitment efforts for the Baltische Landeswehr. Beginning in July 1919, Rasche served as a court clerk in Hamm, before transitioning in 1921 to a role as rehabilitation specialist at Barmer Bank Corporation. By early 1933, he had joined the board of Bochum Westfalenbank AG, working alongside Paul Pleiger.
During the Nazi period
In 1934, Rasche advanced to deputy board member and from August 1935 became a full board member of the Dresdner Bank, aided by support from Wilhelm Keppler. Together with Emil Heinrich Meyer, he was considered a reliable banker for the SS. Although Rasche officially joined the Nazi Party in May 1933, his membership was backdated to May 1937. He was also affiliated with organizations such as the German Labor Front (DAF), Rechtswahrerbund, and Nationalsozialistischer Reichsbund für Leibesübungen. Serving as deputy head of the Reich Office for professional athletics during the 1936 Summer Olympics, he gained direct access to Adolf Hitler and entered the influential Freundeskreis Himmler circle through Fritz Kranefuss.
Rasche became an SS member in May 1939 at the rank of Hauptsturmführer, with membership retroactively effective from November 1938. Following the Anschluss of Austria in 1938, he facilitated Dresdner Bank’s expansion into Austria, the Sudetenland, and the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. From the mid-1930s onward, Rasche held leadership positions in subsidiaries such as Handelstrust West NV (Amsterdam) and Continentale Bank SA (Brussels), contributing to wartime economic initiatives.
In late 1942, after organizational restructuring, Rasche was elevated to co-CEO of Dresdner Bank alongside Carl Lüer. By December 1943, he joined the Executive Group West based in Bad Nauheim.
Rasche was instrumental in securing credit arrangements for the SS, which operated Nazi forced labor camps and financed Germanisation projects across occupied Eastern Europe. He played a role in Aryanization schemes within the Netherlands and Bohemia-Moravia. Furthermore, he assisted in transferring Czech arms manufacturing facilities to Reichswerke Hermann Göring together with Hans Kehrl.
After the war
In April 1945, Rasche was detained at Bad Nauheim and held by French authorities, where his activities were limited to fostering cross-border economic cooperation under French military administration. In November 1945, after being assigned liaison duties with U.S. investigators in the American occupation zone, he was promptly re-arrested in Frankfurt and incarcerated at facilities including Darmstadt, Ludwigsburg camp 74, and Dachau. His trial took place in April 1947 during the Nuremberg Ministries Trial; notably, he was the sole banker from private industry charged. His defense attorney was Egon Kubuschok.
The prosecution failed to establish definitive evidence linking Rasche to involvement with slave labor operations or financing concentration camps. He was released early from Landsberg Prison in August 1950 and completed denazification proceedings by November that year. Although barred from returning to Dresdner Bank employment, a settlement addressing compensation and pension entitlements was finalized in May 1951. Rasche subsequently worked as a consultant until his death from a heart attack while traveling by train to Basel in September 1951.
Participation in Supervisory Boards
- Chairmanship Positions
- 1938–1945: Perlmooser Cement AG, Vienna
- 1939–1944: Bohemian Escompte Bank, Prague (subsidiary of Dresdner Bank)
- 1939–1944: Poldi Hütte AG, Prague
- 1941–1945: Commercial Credit Bank Ltd., Riga
- 1943–1945: West German Bodenkreditanstalt, Cologne
- 1943–1945: Tatra Werke AG, Prague
- Engelhardt-Brauerei AG Brewery, Berlin
- Hardy & Co. Ltd. Bank, Berlin
- Vice-Chairmanship Roles
- 1944: Allgemeine Versicherungs AG, Vienna
- 1936–1945: Dyckerhoff Portland Cement AG, Mainz-Amöneburg
- 1939–1945: Rheinische Rayon AG, Krefeld
- Supervisory Board Memberships
- 1936–1945: Mülheim Mining Association
- 1936–1939: Junkers Aircraft and Engine Plants AG
- 1937–1945: Winter Hall AG, Kassel
- 1937–1945: GEA Group AG, Frankfurt
- 1938–1944: Gerling Group Life Insurance AG, Cologne
- 1938–1945: Felten & Guillaume AG, Cologne
- 1938–1945: Coal AG of Essen
- 1938–1945: Country Bank Wien AG (subsidiary of Dresdner Bank)
- 1938–1945: Iron and Steelworks AG, Cologne-Beckum
- 1939–1945: Accumulatoren Factory AG, Hagen
- 1939–1945: Brno Arms Factory AG, Prague
- 1939–1944: Döhrener Werke AG, Hannover
- 1940–1944: Coal-Benzin AG (Brabag), Berlin
- 1940–1945: Continental Oil AG, Berlin
- 1940–1945: Škoda Works AG, Hanover
- 1940–1945: Rheinmetall AG, Düsseldorf