13 Facts About Fritz Gajewski

Friedrich Gajewski was a Nazi German businessman with IG Farben and Wehrwirtschaftsfuhrer during the Second World War.

Fritz Gajewski was tried for war crimes for his role in the Holocaust and acquitted.

One of twelve children, Fritz Gajewski only had limited schooling due to his family's lack of money but, following the completion of an apprenticeship as a pharmacist, he was able to enrol in the University of Leipzig in 1905 to study chemistry and pharmacy.

Fritz Gajewski completed his doctorate in 1910 and served for a year in the military, as was mandatory at the time.

Fritz Gajewski entered civilian employment in 1912 with BASF but returned to the German Imperial Army in 1914, serving in the First World War until 1917.

Fritz Gajewski was recalled to manage the BASF gas works at Ludwigshafen-Oppau and around this time he married Elisabeth Seckler, eventually fathering two daughters.

Fritz Gajewski first came to prominence at IG Farben in 1925 when he was appointed assistant to Carl Bosch and a director of the company in 1925.

Fritz Gajewski became a member of the Nazi Party in 1933.

Fritz Gajewski demonstrated his support for the Nazi Weltanschauung during an incident in late 1938 involving a former colleague at IG Farben.

Ollendorf was prevented from leaving until eventually Fritz Gajewski relented and endorsed his departure.

Fritz Gajewski was arrested by the US Army on 5 October 1945.

Fritz Gajewski was brought before the IG Farben trial in 1947 and, although the case saw details of his denouncing of Jewish members of IG Farben's managing board following the Nazi takeover, he was nonetheless acquitted of war crimes.

Fritz Gajewski retired in 1957 and ended his days in the Hahnwald suburb of Cologne.