Bequest Hans Kugler

The Fritz Bauer Institute acquired the bequest of Hans Kugler from his granddaughter in July 2021. Hans Kugler was born in Frankfurt (Main) on December 12, 1900. After completing a commercial apprenticeship, he studied economics. Starting in 1921, he worked as a manager in the administration department Farben of the Farbwerke Hoechst. In 1924, he earned his doctorate. The same year, he became a procurator for the Farbwerke Hoechst and in 1928 for the I.G. Farben. As an I.G. Farben's representative Kugler co-founded the "Drei-Sparten-Farbstoff-Kartell" (three-branch-dye-cartel) in 1929. In 1934, he was appointed as an officer in the "Verkaufsgemeinschaft Farbstoffe" (Sales Group Dyestuffs) of the I.G. Farben. In 1939, he transferred the department tea-dye of the Aussig-Falkenauer factories of the Association for Chemical and Metallurgical Production in Prague to the I.G. Farben and then became chief executive of the new department. He also became a member of the I.G. Farben's Southeast Committee and Trading Committee. The same year, he joined the NSDAP. In 1941, he additionally became a member of the Trading Committee of the Francolor S.A. after the company was appropriated by the I.G. Farben. Beginning in 1943, he was the assistant director of panel 16 at the Wirtschaftsgruppe Chemie. In 1944, he also became a member of the advisory board for export issues at the Prüfungsstelle Chemie. In his position, Kugler was intimately involved in the confiscation of factories and companies in the territories occupied by Germany. As a result, he was arrested after the end of World War II. He then stood trial. At the Subsequent Nuremberg Trial, Case VI, the so-called I.G. Farben trial, he was found guilty on count two, plundering and spoliation, and sentenced to one and a half years in prison. After his release from prison, he was a board member at the Cassella-Farbwerke Mainkur AG and the Riedel de Haen AG and also a member of the main committee of the Association of the Chemical Industries e. V. Hans Kugler died in Bad Homburg on September 14, 1968. The bequest Hans Kugler covers after description, demetallization, and filing 51 archival units with a total extent of 1.8 running meters. Since the record group did not have an inner structure upon the acquisition in July 2021 the processor Inga Steinhauser completely reorganized the holding during indexing from April to July 2022. It follows the "rules for the description of personal papers and autographs" (RNA, Regeln zur Erschließung von Nachlässen und Autographen). The archives group is now structured in four sections: "opus" ("Werk"), "correspondence" ("Korrespondenzen"), "personal documents" ("Lebensdokumente"), and "collections" ("Sammlungen"). The section "opus" ("Werk") contains Kugler's dissertation and a casebound typescript in which Kugler wrote down his memories of his time at the I.G. Farben in 1967 as well as other related typescripts and correspondence. Due to copyright restrictions, the documents are not accessible. The section "correspondence" ("Korrespondenzen") covers Kugler's private correspondence. The section "personal documents" ("Lebensdokumente") first contains records and correspondence from Kugler's work for the I.G. Farben before 1945. These include documents regarding the dismissal of Jewish employees. Secondly, the section covers records from the Subsequent Nuremberg Trial, Case VI, the so-called I.G. Farben trial. These include extracts from the trial's Prosecution Document Books and interrogations as well as Kugler's notes. Thirdly, the section comprises records and correspondence regarding the re-employment of NS-Belastete and Kugler's work for the I.G. Farben i. L. and the I.G. Farben's successor companies after 1945. The section "collections" ("Sammlungen") contains economic analyses and papers.