, (
August 22 ,
1887 –
March 4 ,
1977 ),
German politician, was born '''Johann Ludwig von Krosigk''' in
Rathmannsdorf in the
Kingdom Of Saxony , and studied law and political science in
Halle , in
Lausanne and at
Oxford University . During
World War I , he served in the German Army, finally as a First Lieutenant, and was awarded the
Iron Cross .
Krosigk married Baroness Ehrengard von Plettenberg, with whom he had four sons and five daughters, in 1918. He was adopted by his uncle, Alfred Graf von Schwerin, in 1925, taking the surname Schwerin von Krosigk, and became on his uncle's death Graf von Schwerin. Since aristocratic titles had been abolished by the
German Republic , he added the title "Graf" to his legal name, becoming . He was known by the personal name "Lutz," a form of Ludwig.
A non-partisan conservative, Schwerin von Krosigk was appointed Minister of Finance by
Franz Von Papen in
1932 , and continued in that office at the request of President
Paul Von Hindenburg under
Kurt Von Schleicher and throughout the period of
Nazi Party rule. Several members of his family took part in assassination attempts against
Adolf Hitler . Schwerin von Krosigk was rarely seen in public appearances and Hitler did not have regular Cabinet meetings, so he was more of an apolitical manager of his ministry.
In
May 1 ,
1945 , Schwerin von Krosigk was appointed Leading Minister of the Acting Government (in effect, Chancellor) by President
Karl Dönitz . Dönitz and Schwerin von Krosigk attempted to negotiate an armistice with the Western allies while continuing to resist the Soviet Army, but the government was not recognised by the Allies and was dissolved when its members were captured by British forces on
May 23 ,
1945 , at
Flensburg . Schwerin von Krosigk was held in captivity until he was released during an amnesty in 1951.
In later years Schwerin von Krosigk wrote several books on economic policy, as well as two versions of his memoirs. He referred to an "
Iron Curtain " coming down across Europe, a phrase which he had picked up from Goebbels's anti-Soviet speeches, and was later used by
Winston Churchill in a speech that made the phrase famous. He died in
Essen , aged 89.
- ''Es geschah in Deutschland'', 1951
- ''Die große Zeit des Feuers - Der Weg der deutschen Industrie'', 3 volumes, 1959
- ''Alles auf Wagnis - der Kaufmann gestern, heute und morgen'', 1963
- ''Persönliche Erinnerungen'', memoirs, 3 volumes, 1974
- ''Staatsbankrott'' (Studie über die deutsche Finanzpolitik von 1920 bis 1945), 1975
- ''Memoiren'' (short version of ''Persönliche Erinnerungen''), 1977
