Political Meddling
These reservations were not politically motivated. Even though Popp admitted that he joined the Nazi Party on 1 May 1933 under pressure from Gauleiter Wagner, head of the Bavarian administrative district, he kept his distance from the party. Looking back, he maintained that joining the party shortly after the National Socialists seized power was simply intended to prevent his removal as General Director of BMW. In February 1936, the local group leader of the National Socialist Party started proceedings to exclude Popp from the party. This was based on accusations that despite warnings, Popp continued to allow his family to be treated by a Jewish family doctor. Following an official “warning” from the Munich Party Court, Popp put the matter to rest, not least to prevent the issue from escalating and endangering his position as Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG. Popp’s skepticism against shifting the focus of production at BMW to aircraft engine production was based on his thinking that this would provide a one sided orientation for the group by focusing its activities on armament in preparation for war. Although this area was financially lucrative, it would mean that the group was heavily dependent on decisions made by the National Socialist regime. In June 1940, he wrote to the Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Emil Georg von Stauss, explaining that the situation could “threaten the very existence of BMW AG if there were any setback to aircraft engine production”. The strategically important position of BMW for air armament would lead to a rise in the volume of specifications and more interference from political and military agencies, which would in turn increasingly restrict the scope for entrepreneurial manoeuvre. This would weaken the position of the group’s management. It would also erode the position of Franz Josef Popp, who up until then had directed the company largely autonomously and autocratically.
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