Henri Deterding
  Henri Deterding    (deep politician) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 19 April 1866 |
| Died | 4 February 1939 (Age 72) |
| Nationality | Dutch, British |
| Interests | • oil cartels • Seven Sisters • anti-communism |
Anglo-Dutch oil tycoon, one of the richest men in the world, oil cartel instigator, very early sponsor of Hitler | |
Henri Wilhelm August Deterding was a Dutch / British industrialist. As the main shareholder of the Royal Dutch/Shell corporation, he was one of the richest men in the world in his time.[1] He was considered the "Napoleon of petroleum". [2]
As part of this empire, Deterding owned 60 percent of the vast Caucasian oil reserves, which was expropriated in the course of the October Revolution of 1917. With enormous sums of money, he soon unleashed a campaign against the purchase of the "stolen oil", and supported numerous anti-Soviet groups.
He was one of the earliest sponsors of the Hitler and the German Nazi Party. Picked as a promising group as early as 1921, his contribution of 4 million Guilders through his agent Georg Bell made possible for the still unknown Hitler to finance a movement and gain prominence.
Deterding was instigator behind the 1928 Achnacarry Agreement, a cartel conspiracy between the Seven Sisters oil companies, to keep prices high and reduce competition.
Financial support for National Socialism
Deterding noted Adolf Hitler as early as 1921 and donated 4 million Dutch guilders to him through the agent Georg Bell.[3] This donation was confiscated in 1923 after the failed Hitler coup. The money came in addition to support from certain early American and German industrialist backers.
Deterding financed party ideologue Alfred Rosenberg early on, who visited him in 1931 and in May 1933 in his country house in Buckhorst Park in Ascot, England.
Deterding financially supported the German Freikorps volunteer military units in the Baltic states (1917-21) and armed uprisings in the Soviet Union.
Deterding founded the International Group of Oil Companies in Russia in 1922 and hired the head of the British military espionage service George Macdonogh as political advisor. His liaison with the SA was Georg Bell. Conferences were held in London in 1926 and 1927 arranged by Deterding, at which the plans of industrialist Arnold Rechberg and General Max Hoffmann to wage an anti-Soviet campaign were discussed.
In Spain he first undermined the Second Spanish Republic and, after the beginning of the Spanish Civil War (1936), promoted the interests of the Spanish fascists rebels.
In total, Deterding is said to have donated up to 55 million pounds to the NSDAP.
In 1936, Deterding bought the manor of Dobbin, near Krakow am See, in Mecklenburg, Germany, and moved there. He also had a property in St. Moritz, Switzerland, and was there when he died on 4 February 1939.
Event Participated in
| Event | Description |
|---|---|
| Achnacarry Agreement | A top secret 1928 agreement to form an oil cartel of all the major oil producers of the time |
Rating
References
- ↑ http://www.shellnews.net/wikipedia/AATHETIMES6FEB1939.html
- ↑ Matthieu Auzanneau: Or noir – La grande histoire du pétrole, page 85
- ↑ http://www.shellnews.net/wikipedia/MostPowerful1.pdf
