Karol Wojtyla Working for IG Farben
The claim Karol Wojtyla (John Paul II) worked for Farben in his youth is one of the more widespread rumors on the Internet about this pope. Yet despite the repetition of this “fact” over and over again, I have yet to read anywhere that cites a source backing up this assertion. No papal resume, no Farben employment records, no witness statements from co-workers. Quite simply, no shred of evidence to validate these claims.
John Paul was an orphan by 1941 having lost his parents and a brother. He was 21 years old. Contrary to being a Nazi supporter, official histories tell of John Paul’s “intensive” connections to the Jewish community in Krakow, Poland. Furthermore, being a Roman Catholic was not a favorable decision in the eyes of the Nazi regime who had imprisoned numerous priests. During the war, he worked in a quarry (1940-1944) and at the Solvay chemical factory. While at this time I am unclear what this chemical factory was, there is no reason to believe the factory was connected to Farben seeing as John Paul was Polish and the company (Farben) was German.
John Paul’s primary preoccupation during the German occupation of Poland? Preparing himself mentally, spiritually and physically to become a priest. Shortly after the war in November 1946 he was ordained a Roman Catholic priest (having been at the seminary in Krakow since 1942, studying under Cardinal Adam Stefan Sapieha).