The topic of the economic history of German-occupied countries during World War II is challenging because sources are scattered. Felix Matheis’ book touches on a specific issue: the economic activities of entrepreneurs from Hamburg and Bremen in the General Government during World War II. In fact, this is an important contribution to research on the economic history of Poland under German occupation. The author details the mechanism of German economic expansion during the genocide and economic exploitation of Polish territories. He discusses the relationships between the private sector and the state sector: entrepreneurs and their organizations (such as chambers of commerce, etc.), officials and functionaries of the NSDAP.
After the outbreak of World War II on September 1, 1939, Polish territories were divided between Germany and the Soviet Union, with small fragments being given to Lithuania and Slovakia. Parts of the Polish areas occupied in 1939 (Upper Silesia, Greater Poland, the Łódź region, Pomerania, and northern Mazovia) were directly annexed by Nazi Germany, while in other parts (central, south, and east Poland), the General Government was established – a German zone of occupation. Economic activity in the General Government was regulated by the occupying German authorities. Germans decided who could conduct economic activities there, they confiscated or closed Jewish and Polish enterprises instead establishing German ones, and promoted Ukrainian enterprises.
Historians have shown that German entrepreneurs developed extensive activities in the General Government. They had knowledge of Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Kreisgroßhändler im Generalgouvernement, Kartell der Kreisgroßhändler im Generalgouvernement and Handelsgesellschaft deutscher Kaufleute im Generalgouvernement. They knew that wholesalers from Hamburg and Bremen were engaged to build structures of Kreisgruppen Handel in the Distriktsgruppen Handel in the Hauptgruppen Gewerbliche Wirtschaft und Verkehr in den Distriktskammern. The historians new what role Walter Emmerich (Präsident der Hauptabteilung Wirtschaft in the Regierung des Generalgouvernements) played in bringing these entrepreneurs to the General Government. However, it was partial knowledge. Matheis explains why these entrepreneurs appeared in the General Government. He explores many aspects of this issue and aptly refers to them as “Hanseatic merchants” (Hanseaten).
The author demonstrates a strong familiarity with the literature and sources. He has conducted research in chambers of commerce archives and many other German archives. He does not diminish the role of German chambers of commerce during World War II. Simultaneously, he addresses a broader issue: the participation of entrepreneurs in the Third Reich, including the utilization of forced labor and the elimination of “non-German” competitors. He accurately identifies the areas of entrepreneurs’ activity: aryanization and public administration. He showcases the entrepreneurs’ activity against the backdrop of the evolving wartime policies of the Third Reich. From a theoretical standpoint, he utilizes insights from postcolonial theory. He also provides numerous biographical details. Consequently, readers learn about the entrepreneurs themselves and the organizational transformations of their businesses. However, at times this book is too detailed as the author focuses on numerous details and minor historical facts.
Matheis’ monograph consists of an introduction, five chapters, a conclusion and – very useful for readers – annexes (a list of enterprises and maps), a bibliography, a list of tables and illustrations, a list of abbreviations, and an index of names. In the first chapter, the author describes how public institutions in the economic sphere adapted to the systems of the Third Reich. He shows that Gleichschaltung (the process of Nazification) was not always imposed by force, but was the result of entrepreneurs’ adaptation to Nazi policies. Chambers of commerce underwent self-Nazification from within. Entrepreneurs had to adapt to the foreign trade policy of the Third Reich which included foreign exchange restrictions, clearing and compensation systems, and import restrictions. This posed a problem for Hanseatic merchants because they lost their connection to foreign markets and their turnover subsequently declined. Consequently, they began to advance their careers within the NSDAP. They obtained subsidies from the Reich Treasury, collaborated with central offices in Berlin, gained support from Gauleiter Karl Kaufmann, and subsequently proposed a program for the colonization of Africa and the takeover of local Jewish businesses.
At the time of the Annexation of Austria (Anschluss) and the partition of Czechoslovakia, Hanseatic merchants redirected their attention to southeastern Europe. They aimed to take over the overseas trade relations from Austria and Czechoslovakia. They also took over some of the confiscated Jewish-owned enterprises. However, this plan failed primarily because the militarized economy of the Third Reich was autarkic. The Third Reich did not import colonial goods but rather raw materials for military purposes. Additionally, the outbreak of war paralyzed overseas trade.
Chapter three focuses on the reaction of the Hanseatic merchants to the attack on Poland in 1939. The British naval blockade prevented them from working, but opportunities for expansion to the east opened up for them. This was facilitated by their previous contacts with the NSDAP and central offices in Berlin. In this context, Matheis provides a broader description of the economic situation in Polish territories incorporated into the Reich. For the Hanseatic merchants, cooperation with the trustee office, which managed enterprises confiscated from Poles and Jews, was disappointing. The office transferred confiscated shops to Volksdeutsche and Baltendeutsche. Matheis aptly characterizes the first period of the occupation as a “Zeit in Raub und Demontage”.
The administration of the General Government was “flooded” with requests from Germany for the takeover of Jewish shops. Hans Frank, the General Governor, and his officials did not want to allow such a large number of entrepreneurs from the Reich into the market under his control, one which was already weakened by the war. Therefore, in early 1940, it seemed that the prospects for the Hanseatic merchants in the General Government were as bleak as in Austria and the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia.
However, Hans Frank’s government changed its policy. A decision was made that overseas companies from Bremen and Hamburg would be settled in the occupied areas of Poland. However, they were not supposed to conduct normal foreign trade activities. Instead, they were to contribute to the Grossraumwirtschaft – facilitating imports and exports between the Reich and the General Government. Additionally, they were to directly participate in the aryanization and economic exploitation of the Polish territories. They were incorporated into the system of plundering of the occupational economy. Officials of Hans Frank and German economic activists from the General Government therefore began to seek out such Hanseatic merchants who were willing to start economic activities in the General Government.
In the fourth chapter, Matheis describes the activities of the Hanseatic merchants in the General Government from 1940 to 1945. This chapter is extensive, the largest in the entire book, divided into six subsections. The structure of the book is therefore complicated. The author details the relocation of companies from Bremen and Hamburg to the General Government, their transformation into so-called Einsatzfirmen, the involvement of entrepreneurs in the exploitation of agriculture, and their engagement in building a new, German, and anti-Semitic order. Einsatzfirmen were companies that distributed premium goods among farmers, mainly vodka, tobacco, and sugar.
Polish farmers were forced, under the threat of death penalty or deportation to concentration camps, to deliver quotas of food (potatoes, grains, milk, pork, cattle, etc.), which were sent to the Reich. In return, they were just to receive premium goods. The Einsatzfirmen earned money as intermediaries. To ensure their obedience, the Germans employed mass reprisals and collective punishment, murdering hostages, families, and sometimes entire villages. Therefore, Hanseatic merchants derived significant profits from aryanization, agricultural exploitation, and collaboration with the apparatus of repression.
Frank, Emmerich, Gauleiter Karl Kaufmann, and others including lobbyists like Heinrich Lauts, the Bremen and Hamburg chambers of commerce, and officials from the Ministry of Economy of the Reich deliberately selected companies from Bremen and Hamburg. Matheis demonstrates the crucial role played in this scheme by Emmerich. In June 1940, Frank appointed him as the head of the economy department, sidelining his political opponents. This paved the way for Hanseatic merchants to dominate the market of the General Government. Matheis explains when, where, and which companies were located, illustrating the intricate network of personal contacts among German entrepreneurs.
In the fifth chapter, he describes the post-war period, demonstrating that some entrepreneurs who benefited from the genocide became involved in public life under the patronage of the Allied authorities. They capitalized on the economic boom after the unification of the occupation zones and the establishment of West Germany by becoming significant exporters and resuming overseas trade. Additionally, they received compensation for property lost during the war in the Governorate, yet this was property seized from Poles and Jews. Matheis also discusses – unknown to researchers – the post-war fate of Emmerich.
In summary, Matheis’ book, especially from the perspective of Polish historiography, is highly significant. The author presents the dual role of German entrepreneurs in the occupied Polish territories. They possessed pre-war experience in colonial trade. During the war, they implemented a program of agricultural exploitation, utilized property left by murdered Jews and Poles justifying it as development of Polish land, and operated with a colonial mindset.