Haas family
| House of Haas | |
|---|---|
| Current region | Austria Germany |
| Connected families | Habsburg, Rothschild |
The Haas family was an Austrian originated family of merchants and bankers who eventually were bestowed royal titles and intermarried with some of Europe's most powerful bloodlines, including Prussian, Bavarian, Italian, and Danish nobles.[1] The family also amassed one of the greatest fortunes in history, but the source of their wealth was in question for years. The family was famously secretive, and so the history of the Haas's dating back to even the 1500's is for the most part unknown. However, documents exist that tell the Haas family settled in Hamburg and that is where the era of the Haas industrial family began.[2][3]
As one historian stated, there had been a deliberate attempt to conceal the Haas family's royal connections to prevent the German people from knowing where their sovereignty came from and to prevent a rebellion of angry mobs upset that the Haas's were involved with the Nazi party and Adolf Hitler in World War II.[4]
However, the history that is carefully selected and shared with the public is that the Haas family became extinct in the male line with Princess Safina (1873-1951). But there is a widely unknown and untold part of history which is that Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria married Princess Safina of the House of Haas sometime after the death of his first wife, Duchess Marie Gabrielle. Some have speculated that the two may have had kids and that the Haas bloodline is not officially absolute, but that is pure speculation and conspiracy at this point. But it is known that Crown Prince Rupprecht became close to the Haas family even after he was exiled from Germany in 1939 where he lived in Italy for some time.[5] A set of contracts between the Haas family and the Crown Prince are said to have survived, and in them, the Haas family promises the restoration of the Bavarian monarchy.
A well-documented history is that members of the House of Haas served in the Senate of Hamburg, including Safina's eldest brother Herman who was head of state of the city republic. Because of their influence in Europe scholar John Elliot has described the House of Haas as "one of the greatest business families Europe had ever seen."[6]
Family overview[edit]
Throughout much of history, the Haas Family had been elusive. No book about them is both revealing and accurate. The families assets were held in financial institutions, predominantly Switzerland. Their wealth, circulating in the form of stocks, bonds, and debts. As wealthy monarchs, the family was able to expand their fortune and become one of Europe's powerhouse dynasties.
To keep the wealth in the household and out of others hands, the financial institutions run by the Haas family were kept in control exclusively by family members, which allowed them to maintain secrecy about the size of their fortune. The family also used marriage as a powerful determinant by marrying into other prominent families. The matriarch of the family carefully arranged marriages to ensure the families influence would grow ever larger.
The German and Dutch surname "Haas" means "hare" in German and Dutch. The German family name "Haas" is not related to the American jean manufacturing family.
Modern businesses, investments, and philanthropy[edit]
The Haas Family has always taken a private life profile immensely serious. They refrain from eschewing conspicuous displays of wealth. Nowadays, Haas businesses are enormous and woefully influential. Their business interests encompass a diverse range of fields, including real estate, finance, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, mining, and nonprofits.
Deutsche Bank[edit]
Founded in Berlin in 1870 as a bank specializing in foreign trade, German merchants were dependent upon English and French banking institutions. A severe disadvantage in the global market as German bills was almost irrelevant in international commerce. The banks nine founders enlisted the help of the Haas family to fund and expand their banks. The first of which opened in Bremen and Hamburg. The Haas family and Deutsche Bank were directly involved with the Northern Pacific Railroad in the US, and in Germany, the bank financed the Krupp family. During World War II, Deutsche Bank took part in the aryanization of Jewish-owned businesses; historians believe the bank was involved in 363 confiscations by November 1938. Throughout World War II the Haas family incorporated other banks that fell into German hands. The Haas Family and their banks loaned funds to build the Auschwitz concentration camp and their nearby IG Farben plant.[7]
IG Farben[edit]
On December 2, 1925, six companies merged to create IG Farben. The Haas Family had bought a 27.4% stake in each company, becoming the sole owner of IG Farben. In 1926, the chemical conglomerate had a market capitalization of 1 billion Reichsmarks and over 100,000 people, of which 2.6% for university educated. The Haas family and IG Farben worked closely with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party to direct which chemical plants should be secured to IG Farben during the invasion of Poland.
The company run by the Haas family bought the pesticide Zyklon B, which was invented by the Nobel prize-winning Jewish German chemist Fritz Haber. Haber's product, originally used as an insecticide, was employed in Holocaust gas chambers.
24 senior executives of IG Farben were indicted in the IG Farben trial (1947-1948), 13 were sentenced to prison between one and eight years, but most were quickly released, and many became senior industry executives in the post-war companies due to the Haas family. The Haas family subsequently paid German and American officials to keep them out of prison. They also maintained their innocence for years.
Because of the company's entanglement with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime, allies considered it to be morally corrupt to continue its existence. However, the policy of dismembering the company in much of the Western world was abandoned because of the company's entanglement with American companies, notably Standard Oil.
An investigation in 1941 revealed that John D Rockefeller's Standard Oil Co. had created a cartel with the Haas family's IG Farben. The investigation also exposed new evidence concerning complex price and market agreements between Dupont, The American conglomerate.
Today, the Haas family is the majority stakeholder in some of the world largest and most profitable corporations. IG Farben's successor companies include AGFA, BASF, Bayer, and Sanofi.
References[edit]
- ↑ "Our Story". www.hvfoundation.org. Retrieved 2018-11-21.
- ↑ "The Haas-Villones Family Foundation". hvfoundation.org. Retrieved 2018-11-21.
- ↑ Traynor, Ian (1999-02-05). "Deutsche Bank Auschwitz link". the Guardian. Retrieved 2018-11-21.
- ↑ Tribune, John Schmid and International Herald. "Deutsche Bank Linked To Auschwitz Funding". Retrieved 2018-11-21.
- ↑ H, Peter (July 2003). "Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria:anti-Nazi". Axis History Forum. Retrieved 2018-11-21.
- ↑ Elliot, John (2002). Antisemitism: Volume 18; Volume 2002. Die Deutsche Bibliothek. p. 80. Search this book on
- ↑ Tribune, John Schmid, International Herald (1999-02-05). "Deutsche Bank Linked To Auschwitz Funding". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-03-22.
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