Talk:Walther Funk

message: Walter Funk was one of the most important promoters of the idea of a European Economic Community and European Union, later supported by the Americans through the Marshall Plan and by Helmut Kohl and Francois Mitterrand in 1993 (Maastricht Treaty)
Walter Funk envisioned a European Union even if that would be led by Germany while the one built later was led by the U.S.A., an extra-Europen Power.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.154.36.47 (talk) 00:34, 9 February 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  One of the Founding Fathers of the European Union 

message: some information here must be valid for the article. 
Walter Funk was born into a merchant family in Danzkehmen, Kreis Stallupönen, East Prussia. He was the son of Wiesenbaumeister Walther Funk the elder and his wife Sophie (née Urbschat). He studied law, economics, and philosophy at the University of Berlin and the University of Leipzig. In World War I he joined the infantry but was discharged as unfit for service in 1916.
In 1919 Funk married Luise Schmidt-Sieben. Following the war he worked as a journalist, and in 1922 he became the editor of the center-right financial newspaper the Berliner Börsenzeitung. He joined the Nazi Party in 1931, and shortly thereafter became one of Hitler's personal economic advisers.
On 30 January 1933, he was made Press Chief in the Reich Government, and on 11 March 1933 became Under Secretary in the Ministry of Propaganda and shortly thereafter a leading figure in the various Nazi organizations which were used to control the press, films, music, and publishing houses.  He took office as Minister of Economics and Plenipotentiary General for War Economy in early 1938, and as President of the Reichsbank in January 1939.
Walter Funk became active in the economic field after the Nazi plans to wage aggressive war had been clearly defined. One of his representatives attended a conference on 14 October 1938, at which Goering announced a gigantic increase in armaments and instructed the Ministry of Economics to increase exports to obtain the necessary exchange.
In 1939 one of Funk's subordinates sent a memorandum to the OKW on the use of prisoners of war to make up labor deficiencies which would arise in case of mobilization. On 30 May 1939, the Under Secretary of the Ministry of Economics attended a meeting at which detailed plans were made for the financing of the war.
Funk participated in the economic planning which preceded the attack on the U.S.S.R. His deputy held daily conferences with Rosenberg on the economic problems which would arise in the occupation of Soviet territory. Funk himself participated in planning for the printing of ruble notes in Germany prior to the attack to serve as occupation currency in the U.S.S.R. After the attack he made a speech in which he described plans he had made for the economic exploitation of the "vast territories of the Soviet Union" which were to be used as a source of raw material for Europe.
In January 1939 Funk gained another credit to his name when he assumed the post of President of the Reichsbank, again replacing Schacht. He was made a member of the Ministerial Council for the Defense of the Reich in August 1939, and a member of the Central Planning Board in September 1943.
=== Hitler, Schacht & the Reichsbank Directors ===
Despite his highly visible role in the Nazi hierarchy, Funks activities were limited to the economic sphere under the supervision of Goering as Plenipotentiary of the Four Year Plan. He did, however, participate in the economic preparation for certain of the aggressive wars, notably those against Poland and the Soviet Union, but his guilt can be adequately dealt with under Count Two the Nuremberg  Indictment's against him at his later trial.
=== Nuremberg Trial===
After the war Funk was tried with other Nazi leaders at the Nuremberg Trials. Accused of conspiracy to commit crimes against peace; planning, initiating and waging wars of aggression; war-crimes and crimes against humanity, he argued that, despite his titles, he had very little power in the regime.
One tense moment in the trial occurred when documentary evidence was presented by the prosecutor's staff that the Reichsbank received and held a large deposit from the SS. The deposit consisted of bags of jewelry and other valuables, including dental gold, taken from Jewish victims in eastern Europe. Funk consistently denied knowledge of  the contents of those bags and the prosecutors could never show conclusively that he did have such knowledge. Now could they demonstrate conclusively that he was instrumental in planning military operations, or that he was directly involved in "crimes against humanity."
::: Can we see that document first? Or is that another one were typewritten copies were used? 102.66.5.135 (talk) 08:18, 28 March 2023 (UTC)
replies: text: Note that the preceeding text is copied directly from a site that on the Wikipedia spamlist.  A different source would need to be found for this material to use it. Ravensfire2002 (talk) 15:02, 19 May 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  Walter Funk 

message: After the war Funk was tried with other Nazi leaders at the Nuremberg Trials. Accused of conspiracy to commit crimes against peace; planning, initiating and waging wars of aggression; war-crimes and crimes against humanity, he argued that, despite his titles, he had very little power in the regime.
One tense moment in the trial occurred when documentary evidence was presented by the prosecutor's staff that the Reichsbank received and held a large deposit from the SS. The deposit consisted of bags of jewelry and other valuables, including dental gold, taken from Jewish victims in eastern Europe. Funk consistently denied knowledge of  the contents of those bags and the prosecutors could never show conclusively that he did have such knowledge. Now could they demonstrate conclusively that he was instrumental in planning military operations, or that he was directly involved in "crimes against humanity."
::: Can we see that document first? Or is that another one were typewritten copies were used? 102.66.5.135 (talk) 08:18, 28 March 2023 (UTC)
replies: text: Note that the preceeding text is copied directly from a site that on the Wikipedia spamlist.  A different source would need to be found for this material to use it. Ravensfire2002 (talk) 15:02, 19 May 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  Nuremberg Trial

message: So when Hermann Göring called Funk "insignificant", was he belittling him or trying to protect him?  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 209.180.40.12 (talk) 21:07, 17 August 2009 (UTC)
replies: text:  Guess he was stating his perception. The article doesn't distinguish between: What he said, what others claimed and what is proven. If there is no distinction between opinion and fact, it's a bad article. --105.0.4.206 (talk) 21:25, 22 May 2022 (UTC)
thread_title:  Göring's Testimony 

message: I believe that the aspect ratio of the infobox image in this article is such that presented at the infobox's default value it is too large, the visual equivalent of SHOUTING.  I suggest that the current size is more appropriate. Beyond My Ken (talk) 02:12, 17 December 2018 (UTC)
thread_title: Infobox image size

message: The article is categorized under Christian fascists and German Protestants, I couldn't find any mention in the article which stated what his religion was.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2601:982:8202:CDA0:E990:C637:FA0E:828D (talk) 16:56, 2 October 2021 (UTC)
thread_title:  Categories, Christian fascists & German Protestants