It is known that greed obscures the eye. And when the desire for easy money blinded even the intelligence services and the government of the Federal Republic of Germany, subsequently they had to seriously try to hide their shame from the whole world.
When the judge read out the verdict, from which it followed that Hermann Meinke would spend three years behind bars, the convict only smiled. After all, for almost two years he led the Federal Republic of Germany by the nose, as well as princes, dukes, barons, financial magnates.
Intelligence report
This story began in June 1951, when at a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers of the FRG one of the most pressing issues was the economic crisis looming in the country. After the disappointing report of the Minister of Economics Ludwig Erhardt, Gen. Reinhard Gehlen, the founder of the Gehlen organization and the future head of the German Federal Intelligence Service (BND), asked to speak. His speech was short, but impressive: his illegal agents in the GDR contacted a certain doctor Hermann Meinke, who lived in Berlin, who had developed a unique technology for making artificial diamonds. And if this process is introduced into production, then …
However, there was no need to continue. It became clear even to those uninformed in economics that this is a real and quick way to replenish the state treasury! A month later, the scientist, together with his charming assistant Edeltraut, got off the plane at Bonn airport.
The guests were taken to the residence of the Minister of Economy Erhard. Keeping up with dignity, Dr. Meinke confirmed that he really was the developer of the technology for the production of artificial diamonds and offered to look at the process of making a sample at least in laboratory conditions. This requires a very small amount of money: only to purchase the necessary equipment and the simplest raw materials - coal, graphite and chemicals. And a little more for personal expenses.
Meinke and the assistant were accommodated in the luxurious Plaza Hotel and two technical assistants were assigned to the scientists. The joy of Ludwig Erhard knew no bounds when a month later he was informed that everything was ready for the production of the first sample.
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On the first day of the fall of 1951, members of the state commission gathered in the secret laboratory, who were invited to take their places, and the scientist began to minister. From that moment on, those present did not take their eyes off the thermal oven, where the final product was supposed to appear. And now the final stage. Meinke instructs the assistant to turn off the device. Following the order, the woman opened the door and took out an asbestos tray with a handful of ash. Herman tugs at him with tweezers and … pulls out a crystal! There and then professors from among the members of the state commission conducted an examination, albeit primitive. Their conclusion was unequivocal - an artificial diamond was obtained, which in its characteristics is not inferior to natural. Now it was necessary to think about large-scale production. The first experiment took place in secrecy. But research very soon ceased to be a secret for the German elite. It became known that a joint-stock company "HAMAK" was being organized, which would produce artificial diamonds - two and a half million carats a month, which promised fabulous profits. Everyone who had solid bank accounts immediately wanted to become shareholders. Among them were not only the ministers of the FRG government Erhard, Lehr and Dehler, but also representatives of the noble families: the Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar Karl August, Prince August zur Lippe, barons Harold von Felkersamt and Hannibal von Luttihau. Major industrialists also did not stand aside - representatives of the oligarchy, led by the steel magnate Krupp, joined the game. Suffice it to say,that after the first meeting of the board of the joint-stock company "HAMAK" an impressive amount of more than a million marks was formed in his bank accounts.
US demands a share
But that was only the beginning. News of the company's prospects spread so quickly that many smaller businessmen also sought to invest in a profitable business. And then they learned about artificial diamonds overseas. John McCloy, High Commissioner of the US Occupation Zone in West Germany, informed the Bonn government that American interests should also be taken into account. The general said that his government has expressed its readiness to invest in the concern, since it needs the diamond dust left over from diamond processing, which will be used in military technology. Therefore, the US government is ready for its part to immediately invest $ 20 million in the program. The proposal was accepted favorably.
And then the most important thing began. Dr. Meinke presented the draft of the work to Erhard, and he immediately signed it. After receiving carte blanche, Meinke began to buy up land plots, order equipment, and meet new investors. The head of the Ministry of Labor and Employment, Helmut Storch, received instructions from above to select four thousand (!) Workers to work at the new plant, and, given the secrecy of the project, only with an impeccable reputation. Meanwhile, the doctor, who wished to receive a salary of 60 thousand marks a month (his assistant began to receive 10 thousand less), shuttled between temporary laboratories and a construction site, on the territory of which production workshops and administrative buildings were being erected. Construction went on, but the shareholders, who saw nothing but a prototype,began to show a certain concern - when will they start receiving dividends? In response, commercial director Ernst Werner reassured shareholders: they say it takes time.
The Trust That Burst
Neither officials nor investors were alarmed by the fact that the "HAMAK" society exceeded the construction budget, first by ten million marks, and six months later by the same amount. Money continued to flow from both the government coffers, private investors, and the US Department of Defense. It was decided that the "inventor of diamonds" urgently needed assistants from among the scientists. They were represented by two doctors of sciences - Jungerich and Everheim. But, having worked at HAMAK for only a couple of weeks, they asked for an audience with Minister Erhard. His hair stood on end when he heard the details of the "diamond project" from his counterparts.
Their conclusion was as follows: Mr. Meinke and his assistant not only have no higher technical education, but they do not understand physics and chemistry even at the level of high school students. And, in general, the whole history of the production of artificial diamonds is nothing more than a grandiose scam.
Indeed, for two years this whole team of high-ranking fools was led by the nose, not by a scientist, but … by an apprentice of a tailor who did not even have a secondary education! On Sundays, the future "scientist" went to sit in some restaurant. And over a glass of beer, posing as a doctor of sciences at the University of Berlin, he told all sorts of stories to his neighbors at the table. One of these tales was about the production of artificial diamonds. He took the topic from an article in a popular science magazine. But this chatter got into the ears of an agent of West German intelligence, who stated his views in a report to his superiors.
I must say that Meinke was not going to become a swindler. It was empty bragging for the sake of raising their prestige in the eyes of others. But when an emissary of the FRG special services approached him and made a tempting offer, he decided not to refuse. His wife Edeltraut, also a seamstress, agreed to become an accomplice in the scam. This lady also performed the same spectacular trick for the appearance of a diamond in a handful of ash. On the advance payment, which was allocated for the creation of the first laboratory, the criminal couple bought a tiny natural diamond in a jewelry store. Hiding it under the false fingernail of her little finger, the assistant, taking the tray out of the oven, discreetly threw the crystal into ash.
All the victims chose, in order to avoid a scandal, not to attend the court hearings. Hermann Meinke was sentenced to three years in prison, while his accomplice Edeltraut was sentenced to 13 months. The fate of the scammers in the future is unknown. I think that's not bad. Commercial director Ernst Werner disappeared in an unknown direction, and the accounting documents turned out to be so confusing that even eminent financial experts could not figure out where most of the money allocated for the project was transferred. Most likely, to the secret accounts of scammers. The German government did everything possible to prevent the scandal from gaining widespread publicity. And the main initiator of the project, Ludwig Erhard, later even took the chair of the chancellor.
Magazine: World of Crime No. 15