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Sir Henri Deterding and Adolf Hitler: Flirtation with disaster

EXTRACT FROM AN ARTICLE BY CHRISTIAN STADLER PUBLISHED TODAY BY FORTUNE

5 ways to keep your company alive

March 7, 2011

In the years before World War II, Shell was very much a one-man-band led by Sir Henri Deterding. Under Deterding’s firm control, the group prospered but also flirted with disaster as he saw Adolf Hitler as the man most likely to preserve Europe from Communism. Luckily for Shell, Deterding retired in 1936 before he could make any disastrous commitments. The company did not forget its narrow escape.

(Photo: The Shell Mex House, Shell’s former headquarters in London. Photo taken in 1955)

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Comment added by John Donovan. In fact Deterding remained a director of Royal Dutch Shell until his death in February 1939.

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

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