Sosthenes Behn

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sosthenes_Behn

Sosthenes Behn, (born Jan. 30, 1882, St. Thomas, Danish Virgin Islands—died June 6, 1957, New York City), telephone executive, president and founder, with his brother Hernand, of the International Telephone and Telegraph Corporation (itt), one of the largest communications companies in the world.

Educated on the island of Corsica and in Paris, Behn began his career in 1901 with a New York City bank. Five years later he and his brother Hernand took over the sugar business of their stepfather in Puerto Rico and, while living on that island, purchased the Puerto Rican Telephone Company; they later acquired the Cuban Telephone Company. The brothers’ business activities were interrupted by World War I; Behn served in the United States Army Signal Corps.

In 1920 the Behns and a third partner organized Itt, into which they incorporated their Puerto Rican and Cuban holdings. They later obtained telephone concessions for Spain and Romania. The onset of the depression in 1931 brought financial difficulties, but Behn’s skillful handling of the firm’s indebtedness enabled Itt to survive and grow. Hernand died in 1933, leaving his brother in full control. World War II brought more problems when certain European holdings were seized by Adolf Hitler; During the war, all of ITT's German holdings were put under Nazi control. These included a minority share in airplane manufacturer Focke-Wulf, which ITT had acquired through its contacts with German financier Kurt Baron von Schröder. After the end of the war, the US authorities returned these assets to their rightful US owner.

Behn appointed Gerhard Westrick to the board of Focke-Wulf after the reconstitution in 1936. He was ITT's corporation chairman in Germany. After Pearl Harbour, at meetings with Baron Kurt von Schröder and Behn in Switzerland, Westrick nervously admitted he had run into a problem. Wilhelm Ohnesorge, the elderly minister in charge of post offices, who was one of the first fifty Nazi party members, was strongly opposed to ITT's German companies continuing to function under New York management in time of war. Behn told Westrick to use Schröder and the protection of the Gestapo against Ohnesorge. In return, Behn guaranteed that ITT would substantially increase its payments to the Gestapo through the Circle of Friends. A special board of trustees was set up by the Nazis to cooperate with Behn and his thirty thousand staff in Occupied Europe. Ohnesorge savagely fought these arrangements and tried to obtain the support of Himmler. However, Schröder had Himmler's ear, and so, of course did his close friend and associate Walter Schellenberg. Ohnesorge appealed directly to Hitler and condemned Westrick as an American sympathiser. However, Hitler realized the importance of ITT to the German economy and proved supportive of Behn.

In 1943, ITT became majority shareholder of Focke-Wulf Flugzeugbau GmbH with 29% due to Ludwig Roselius' Kaffee HAG share falling to 27% after he died on May 15.