Who was Hjalmar Schacht? Everything You Need to Know

Quick Facts

German Celebrities Born In January

Also Known As: Horace Greeley Hjalmar Schacht

Died At Age: 93

Family:

Spouse/Ex-: Manci (m. 1941), Luise Sowa (1903-1940)

father: William Leonhard Ludwig Maximillian Schacht

mother: baroness Constanze Justine Sophie von Eggers

children: Cordula Schacht, Konstanze Schacht

Born Country: Denmark

Economists German Men

Height: 6'3" (190 cm), 6'3" Males

Died on: June 3, 1970

place of death: Munich, Germany

Ancestry: Danish German

Ideology: Nazis

Notable Alumni: University Of Kiel

More Facts

education: Humboldt University Of Berlin, University Of Kiel, University Of Paris, Leipzig University, Ludwig Maximilian University Of Munich

awards: Golden Party Badge

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1

What role did Hjalmar Schacht play in the German economy during the Weimar Republic?

Hjalmar Schacht served as the President of the Reichsbank and played a key role in stabilizing the German economy during the difficult period of hyperinflation in the 1920s.
2

Was Hjalmar Schacht a member of the Nazi Party?

Yes, Hjalmar Schacht joined the Nazi Party in 1933 and was appointed as Minister of Economics in Hitler's government, where he implemented various economic policies.
3

What was Hjalmar Schacht's involvement in rearmament and war preparations in Nazi Germany?

Schacht was initially involved in rearmament efforts but later fell out of favor with Hitler due to his opposition to excessive military spending, leading to his dismissal from government positions.
4

How did Hjalmar Schacht's views on Nazi policies change over time?

Initially supportive of some Nazi economic policies, Schacht later became critical of Hitler's militarization and aggressive expansionist goals, leading to his eventual opposition to the regime.
5

What was the outcome of Hjalmar Schacht's trial at Nuremberg?

Hjalmar Schacht was acquitted at the Nuremberg Trials due to insufficient evidence linking him to the most heinous crimes of the Nazi regime, though he was still considered a controversial figure in post-war Germany.

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Childhood & Early Life

Born on January 22, 1877, in Tingleff, Schleswig-Holstein, Prussia, German Empire (now in Denmark), Hjalmar Horace Greeley Schacht was the son of William Leonhard Ludwig Maximillian Schacht and baroness Constanze Justine Sophie von Eggers.

After Hjalmar Schacht finished his abitur at the Gelehrtenschule des Johanneums, he pursued degrees in medicine, philology, and political science at the Universities of Munich, Leipzig, Berlin, Paris and Kiel. In 1899, he obtained a doctorate from Kiel. He wrote his thesis on mercantilism.

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Early Career

In 1903, Hjalmar Schacht started working for the Dresdner Bank and served as its deputy director from 1908 to 1915. He subsequently became a board member of the German National Bank and held that position until 1922.

Following the merger between the German National Bank and Darmstädter und Nationalbank (Danatbank), he became a board member of the latter bank.

When World War I was going on, Schacht was part of the staff of General Karl von Lumm, the banking commissioner for Occupied Belgium. His main job was to arrange the financing of Germany's purchases in Belgium.

After General von Lumm found out through the Dresdner Bank that Schacht had transferred the note remittances for nearly 500 million francs of Belgian national bonds that were supposed to be payments for the purchases, he fired Schacht.

After his sacking, Schacht spent a brief period at the Dresdner Bank and then held various posts at other banks. In 1923, he unsuccessfully sought to be hired as the head of the Reichsbank.

Appointment as the President of the Reichsbank

The leaders of the Weimar Republic disregarded Hjalmar Schacht’s professional misadventures and appointed him the currency commissioner in November 1923. He also took part in the introduction of the currency Rentenmark, the value of which was tied to a mortgage on all of the properties in Germany. It then became a country with two currencies for a brief period: the Reichsmark, supervised by Rudolf Havenstein, President of the Reichsbank, and Rentenmark, supervised by Schacht.

His economic policies proved to be instrumental in combating the hyperinflation in Germany. He was subsequently appointed the president of Reichsbank on November 12, 1923.

In 1926, he gave the capital for the establishment of IG Farben. He and several other prolific economists came together to create the 1929 Young Plan to change the manner in which Germany was paying war reparations.

Association with the NSDAP & Government

In 1918, Hjalmar Schacht helped set up the German Democratic Party. However, by 1926, he had made his departure from it and become quite close to the Nazi Party (NSDAP). While he never joined them, he was an active supporter and even aided their effort to garner funds after becoming acquainted with Hitler.

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Since leaving the German Democratic Party, his political affiliation leaned towards centre-right. Before 1931, he was closely associated with Heinrich Brüning's centrist government. That changed in October when he joined the radical ring-wing Harzburg Front.

His personal disillusionment with the Weimar Republic was caused by two main factors: his vehement opposition of the Social Party being part of the government and his wish to witness Germany regain its former glory.

After the Nazi Party’s considerable success at the July 1932 elections, Schacht and Wilhelm Keppler supervised a petition of the industry leaders asking President Paul von Hindenburg to make Hitler the chancellor. When the Nazi Party seized power in January 1933, Hitler reinstated Schacht as Reichsbank’s president on 17 March.

In August 1934, Hitler made Hjalmar Schacht the Minister for Economics. Schacht backed public-work programs that had been initiated by von Schleicher's government in late 1932. He also created the ‘’New Plan’’, which was Germany’s bid to gain economic "autarky".

Schacht found innovative and successful ways to deal with the various after-effects of the Great Depression, including foreign currency and government deficits.

In January 1937, he received an honorary membership of the NSDAP and the Golden Party Badge. He opposed what he dubbed the “unlawful activities" against Germany's Jewish minority.

When the economic crisis of 1935–36 hit Germany, Schacht was one of the co-leaders of the "free-market" faction in the German government. This faction requested Hitler to cut down military spending, discard the autarkic and protectionist policies and lower state control in the economy.

On October 18, 1936, Göring was made "Plenipotentiary for the Four Year Plan”, which gave him significant power over various aspects of the Nazi government, including the economy.

Göring’s almost-complete ignorance about economy irked Schacht and he left his posts as minister of economics and general plenipotentiary in November 1937. However, Hitler was aware that Schacht’s complete exit from the government would be questioned outside Germany, so he retained Schacht as a minister without portfolio.

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Eventually, Schacht was fired as the president of the Reichsbank in January 1939. He was removed from his post as a minister without portfolio in January 1943.

After the Night of Broken Glass or Kristallnacht took place in November 1938, Schacht voiced his disdain for such measures and proposed a plan to get rid of Jewish people in a more “humane” way. However, this plan never materialised.

Association with the Resistance & Arrest

According to various sources, Hjalmar Schacht was corresponding with the German resistance even in 1934. Following the assassination attempt on Hitler on July 20, 1944, Schacht was apprehended by the Gestapo on 23 July. He subsequently was placed in the concentration camps in Ravensbrück, Flossenbürg, and Dachau.

One of the 134 special and clan prisoners, he was then moved by the Schutzstaffel into the "Alpine Fortress" to Niederdorf in South Tyrol, where he and other prisoners were released on April 30, 1945.

Later Years

Despite the fact that Hjalmar Schacht spent time in the concentration camps, he was prosecuted during the Nuremberg trials. However, he was completely exonerated. In 1953, he established the bank Deutsche Außenhandelsbank Schacht & Co. He also served as an economic advisor for several developing countries.

Family & Personal Life

Hjalmar Schacht married twice in his life. His first wife was Luise Sowa, to whom he was married from 1903 until her death in 1940. They had two children together, a son, Jens Hjalmar Schacht, and a daughter, Inge Schacht.

In 1941, he exchanged wedding vows with his second wife, Manci.

Facts About Hjalmar Schacht

Hjalmar Schacht, in addition to being an economist and banker, was also a talented pianist and composer, with a deep love for music.

Schacht had a fascination with astrology and often sought guidance from astrologers when making important decisions.

He was known for his distinctive sense of style, often dressing impeccably in tailored suits and accessories.

Schacht was a skilled linguist, fluent in several languages including English, French, and Russian, which helped him in his international financial dealings.

Death & Burial

Hjalmar Schacht passed away on June 3, 1970, in Munich, Bavaria, West Germany. He was 93 years old at the time. He is interred at the Munich Ostfriedhof.

Hjalmar Schacht Biography

You wanted to know

What role did Hjalmar Schacht play in the German economy during the Weimar Republic?

Was Hjalmar Schacht a member of the Nazi Party?

What was Hjalmar Schacht's involvement in rearmament and war preparations in Nazi Germany?

How did Hjalmar Schacht's views on Nazi policies change over time?

What was the outcome of Hjalmar Schacht's trial at Nuremberg?