Funk, Walther

Funk, Walther (1890–1960) economic minister of the Third Reich and president of the Reichsbank Walther Funk studied economics at the Universities of Berlin and Leipzig, worked for a time as a 368 Fuchs, Klaus journalist, then joined the German Army in 1914, at the beginning of World War I. Discharged in 1916 as unfit for service, he was hired in 1922 as editor of the Berliner Boersen Zeitung, the most influential financial and economic daily in Germany. He joined the Nazi Party (NSDAP) early in its existence and, in 1931, was chosen by Adolf Hitler as his economic adviser. Funk became Hitler's liaison with Germany's top industrialists, and he was instrumental in forging the economic partnership between the Nazi Party and the German financial-industrial sector. In 1938, Funk was appointed minister of economic affairs in the Third Reich, but, in reality, he had almost no autonomy, answering directly to Hermann Göring, whose control of the reich's "four-year plan" was absolute. On January 20, 1939, while continuing to retain his ministerial post, Funk was appointed president of the Reichsbank, a position of considerably more importance. He was instrumental in the economic planning for the invasion of the Soviet Union and took part in planning the economic aspects of the ongoing persecution of the Jews. He also played roles in all other Nazi economic depredations throughout the war. Funk was arrested by U.S. forces in May 1945 and was held for indictment by the Nuremberg War Crimes Tribunal. Indicted on August 29, 1945, he attempted to present himself as, in reality, a minor figure in the Nazi hierarchy, an assertion that was corroborated by fellow defendant Göring. This notwithstanding, the tribunal found him guilty of war crimes, crimes against the peace, and crimes against humanity. He was sentenced to life imprisonment on October 1 but was released on May 16, 1957. He lived out the rest of his life in retirement in West Germany.