Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach Foundation

The Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach Foundation (German: Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach-Stiftung) is a major German philanthropic foundation, created by and named in honour of Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach, a former owner and head of the Krupp company. The Krupp company once was the largest company in Europe, and one of largest wartime users of forced labor in Nazi Germany, including the Krupp munitions factory (Weichsel Union Metallwerke) in the Auschwitz death camp.[1] In 1959, the company promised to pay individual compensations of DM5,000 ($1,190) to 2,000 slave workers (2% of all the estimated estimated 100,000 slave workers), totalling DM10,000,000 ($2,380,000). Adjusted for inflation this corresponds to approximately €18.4 million or $20.5 million in 2018.[2]

On the death of Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach in 1967,[3] the entire holdings of the Krupp family were transferred to the foundation. Today, the foundation is the largest shareholder of the ThyssenKrupp industrial conglomerate (20.9% as of 2018) and largely controls the board of the company. The foundation is also tasked with preserving the “unity” of ThyssenKrupp and uses proceeds from ThyssenKrupp's dividend payments to further good causes in science and education.[4]