Convicted War Criminal. He was Adolf Hitler's personal press agent for the Nazi Regime during World War II. In March of 1933, he became State Secretary in Josef Goebbels's propaganda ministry before being Minister for Economic Affairs from 1938 to 1945. Nazi leader Hermann Goering later in 1939 named Funk the president of the "Reichsbank." In June of 1945, British troops arrested Funk. At the Nuremberg trials, Funk denied any knowledge of the concentration camps, yet evidence was given that as president of the "Reichsbank," he stored all the gold teeth and jewelry that were confiscated by the SS from the imprisoned Jews. He was sentenced to life. On May 16, 1957, he was released from Spandau prison because of his ill health. He died three years later in Düsseldorf. He had studied law, economics, and philosophy at the University of Berlin and the University of Leipzig. In World War I, he was wounded while serving in the infantry and subsequently discharged as medically unfit for service in 1916. Following the end of the war, he worked as a journalist, and in 1924 he became the editor of the center-right financial newspaper the "Berliner Börsenzeitung" before becoming involved with the Nazi Regime.
Convicted War Criminal. He was Adolf Hitler's personal press agent for the Nazi Regime during World War II. In March of 1933, he became State Secretary in Josef Goebbels's propaganda ministry before being Minister for Economic Affairs from 1938 to 1945. Nazi leader Hermann Goering later in 1939 named Funk the president of the "Reichsbank." In June of 1945, British troops arrested Funk. At the Nuremberg trials, Funk denied any knowledge of the concentration camps, yet evidence was given that as president of the "Reichsbank," he stored all the gold teeth and jewelry that were confiscated by the SS from the imprisoned Jews. He was sentenced to life. On May 16, 1957, he was released from Spandau prison because of his ill health. He died three years later in Düsseldorf. He had studied law, economics, and philosophy at the University of Berlin and the University of Leipzig. In World War I, he was wounded while serving in the infantry and subsequently discharged as medically unfit for service in 1916. Following the end of the war, he worked as a journalist, and in 1924 he became the editor of the center-right financial newspaper the "Berliner Börsenzeitung" before becoming involved with the Nazi Regime.
Bio by: Linda Davis
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