Thomas McKittrick, President of the Bank of International Settements, 1939-1946 McKittrick’s actions speak much louder than his words. By providing the Nazis with the financial resources they needed during the crucial war years, utilizing the transnational mechanisms described in this paper, McKittrick finds himself as a possible leading perpetrator in Nazi geopolitical goals. While McKittrick may have been able to turn a blind eye to brazen plunder and even genocide, the obvious questions are: Why didn’t he resign? Was the survival of the BIS that important to McKittrick? A more compelling answer beyond profit may be what did not happen during his tenure – he was never asked to leave by the U.S. authorities. Neither the American ambassador Leland Harrison nor the OSS station chief Allen Dulles ever decided to remove McKittrick from his post. When communicating with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, every effort was made to help McKittrick. He was honored by Thomas Watson, the American head of the International Chamber of Commerce. Why would all of these Americans provide support to an individual that was so crucial to their nation’s enemy? The answer again may be more than profit. The underside to America’s role in World War II shows an extraordinary amount of corporate involvement. Ford and General Motors monopolized the production of engines inside Germany. ITT fuses were in every German bomb. IBM catalogued the location and means of execution of nearly every Jew in the death camps across Europe. Chase and JP Morgan handled millions of dollars worth of transactions in Nazi controlled banks. The Dulles brother’s law firm, Sullivan & Cromwell, handled legal services for all of these institutions. Where were the loyalties of the management? These are inquiries that require future research
Posted on: Wed, 16 Oct 2013 09:59:10 +0000
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