Louis Richard Sosthenes Behn | |
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| Born | January 30, 1884 |
| Died | June 6, 1957(1957-06-06) (aged 73) New York, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Co-founder of thePuerto Rico Telephone Company andITT Corporation |
| Spouse | Margaret Behn |
| Children | 3 |
Sosthenes Behn (January 30, 1884 – June 6, 1957) was an American businessman, and the founder ofITT. He held the rank of lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army.
Sosthenes Behn was born in the island ofSt. Thomas, then part of theDanish West Indies. His ancestry wasDanish on his paternal side, and partFrench on his maternal side. His maternal grandfather wasSephardic Jewish.
Behn served in theUnited States Army and was commissioned a captain, Signal Corps, on June 19, 1917. He later achieved the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, having served with distinction during World War I. Behn served with the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) in France until February 1919. He was given command of the 232nd Field Signal Battalion,Château-Thierry,Saint-Mihiel, Argonne. In recognition of his meritorious service during the war he was awarded theDistinguished Service Medal (DSM).
After his return from military service, Colonel Behn co-founded thePuerto Rico Telephone Company, which eventually spawned ITT.[1] Under his direction ITT was granted themonopoly of telephone service inSpain (Compañía Telefónica Nacional de España) in 1924,[2] and purchased the international division ofWestern Electric, including a factory in Antwerp (theInternational Bell Telephone Company) which manufactured theRotary telephone system.
According to Anthony Sampson's bookThe Sovereign State of ITT, one of the first American businessmen Hitler received after taking power in 1933 was Sosthenes Behn, then the CEO of ITT, and his German representative, Henry Mann.Antony C. Sutton, in his bookWall Street and the Rise of Hitler, makes the claim that ITT subsidiaries made cash payments toSS leaderHeinrich Himmler.
ITT, through its subsidiaryC. Lorenz AG ofBerlin, owned 25% ofFocke-Wulf, the German aircraft manufacturer, builder of some of the most successfulLuftwaffefighter aircraft. In addition, Sutton's book uncovers that ITT owned Dr. Erich F. Huth GmbH (Signalbau Huth, Berlin), which maderadio andradar parts that were used in equipment going to theWehrmacht.
Behn, along with his brother,Hernan, built theTwo Brothers Bridge —Puente Dos Hermanos inSpanish— inSan Juan. The bridge links the districts ofCondado andOld San Juan.
Colonel Behn andLudwig Roselius, founder of the companyCafé HAG, owned 74% of German aircraft manufacturer Focke-Wulf after the company reconstitution in 1936.Barbara Goette referred to Colonel Behn as a huge global player but never trusted him as he was involved with Hitler.[3] Sosthenes Behn met with Hitler on August 3, 1933, and in 1936 there was a high-level meeting in Berlin, where it was proposed that Behn through ITT gain 50% ofFocke-Wulf and oustCafé HAG completely; however, afterBarbara Goette intervened with Hitler, Ludwig Roselius's life was spared, he became the largest shareholder in Focke-Wulf with 46%, and a massive capital injection occurred.[4]
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 financierKurt Baron von Schröder. After the end of the war, the U.S. authorities returned these assets to their rightful U.S. owner.
Behn appointedGerhard Westrick to the board of Focke-Wulf after the reconstitution in 1936. He was ITT's corporation chairman in Germany. After Pearl Harbor, 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 staff of 30,000 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 associateWalter 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 the largest shareholder of Focke-Wulf Flugzeugbau GmbH with 29% due to Ludwig Roselius's Kaffee HAG share falling to 27% after he died on May 15.[5]
Behn, along with his brother,Hernan, built theTwo Brothers Bridge —Puente Dos Hermanos inSpanish— inSan Juan. The bridge links the districts ofCondado andOld San Juan.
In 1928, following the advice of Paul Janet, a physicist and member of the French Academy of Sciences, he, together with his brother Hernand, acquired the former property ofAndré-Marie Ampère inPoleymieux-au-Mont-d'Or near Lyon, which had just been put up for sale. The Behn brothers donated this property to the French Society of Electricians to ensure the scientist’s memory could be preserved through the establishment of a museum, theAmpère Museum, which is managed by theSociety of Friends of André-Marie Ampère.[6] Sosthene and Hernand Behn were honorary members of SAAMA until their passing.
Behn died on June 6, 1957. He is buried atArlington National Cemetery.[7]
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