Adolf Hitler's bodyguard
When Hitler returned to Munich from military service in 1918, he became a member of the Nazi Party, an extremist far-right political party in Bavaria. In 1921, he was elected leader of the party. As his speeches promoted violence and racism, Hitler needed permanent security.
Max Ilgner
Ilgner was offered membership of the Nazi Party in 1933 but refused on the grounds that he wished to retain his membership of Rotary International, an organisation that Joseph Goebbels had declared incompatible with Nazism. Nevertheless, Ilgner was happy to work closely with the fledgling Nazi regime and encouraged public support for Nazism by the company's factory workers. He also worked with Goebbels in an attempt to get the Minister of Propaganda to tone down some of his rhetoric, which Ilgner believed was damaging Germany's reputation internationally, an initiative which initially enjoyed some success until Goebells became angry at Ilgner telling him what to do and broke off communication. Undeterred Ilgner hired the services of the American public relations expert Ivy Lee to improve the reputation of Adolf Hitler on the world stage. After Lee's initial suggestion, the dropping of anti-Semitism, was rejected out of turn by Hitler, they agreed on a programme of presenting Germany as a welcoming, historical destination to American investors whilst also plotting a policy of arranging for pro-Hitler articles to be added to American newspapers. Ilgner's work was criticised by other "Vorstand" members, who felt that he was undertaking too much government propaganda and not enough work for IG Farben, but his initiatives won Hitler's approval and increasingly IG Farben's overseas offices also became centres of Nazi Party propaganda. In return Ilgner was able to boost IG Farben's contracts with the government, notably their fading Leuna arm which was rejuvenated considerably when Ilgner was able to use contacts in the Reichswehr's Weapons Office to secure for this branch of the company the contract to produce fuel for the Luftwaffe, which was being covertly built up in contravention of the Treaty of Versailles but which would have been discovered had they been forced to import large quantities of aircraft fuel. According to Ilgner's much later claims his influence amongst the Nazi hierarchy even saved the life of Gattineau on Night of the Long Knives after his fellow executive had been arrested due to his membership of the "Sturmabteilung" and his friendship with Ernst Röhm. Ilgner would finally join the Nazi Party in 1937.