Lutz Graf Schwerin von Krosigk (22 August 1897 – 4 March 1977) was the Finance Minister of Nazi Germany from 1 June 1932 to 23 May 1945, succeeding Hermann R. Dietrich; from 1 May to 23 May 1945, he also served as Chancellor of Nazi Germany, succeeding Joseph Goebbels, he served as Foreign Minister from 2 to 23 May 1945, succeeding Arthur Seyss-Inquart.
Biography[]
Lutz Graf Schwerin von Krosigk was born on 22 August 1897 in Rathmanssdorf, Anhalt, German Empire, descended from an ancient German noble family. Krosigk served in the Imperial German Army during World War I and became a senior government official of the Weimar Republic in 1922, and Krosigk had to deal with the issue of paying reparations to the Triple Entente under the Treaty of Versailles.
In 1932, Chancellor Franz von Papen appointed Krosigk as Finance Minister of Germany, and he would remain in this post under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party, which he joined in 1937. However, he was really just an administrator of the finances of Germany, as Hitler did not hold any cabinet meetings after 1938, and Albert Speer and Armaments Ministers would control the German economy during World War II. Krosigk held several posts under the "Flensburg government" after the Battle of Berlin in May 1945, holding the titles of "Leading Minister" (Chancellor), Finance Minister, and Foreign Minister. In 1949, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison as a Nazi leader, but he was released in 1952 and died in Essen, West Germany in 1977.