Financing
Originally funded with modest grants from the German Research Foundation and the Reich Agricultural Organization, the Ahnenerbe began needing more resources. To meet this end, they created the Ahnenerbe Foundation, which sought out private donations to help fund the research. One of the largest donations, approximately 50,000 Reichsmark, came from Deutsche Bank boardmember Emil Georg von Strauss’ associates, including BMW and Daimler-Benz.
In 1936, the SS formed a joint company with Anton Loibl, a machinist and driving instructor. The SS had heard about reflector pedals for bicycles, that Loibl and others had been developing. Assuring that Loibl got the patent himself, Himmler then used his political weight to ensure the passing of a 1939 law requiring the use of the new reflective pedals—of which the Ahnenerbe received a share of the profits, 77,740 Reichsmark in 1938.
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