Fibag scandal

The Fibag affair in 1961 /62, the headlines.

The news magazine Der Spiegel reported in 1961, German Defence Minister Franz Josef Strauss had his U.S. colleagues Thomas S. Gates, the company Fibag ( Finanzbau Aktiengesellschaft ) is recommended to build in the Federal Republic of thousands of apartments for the U.S. Army. At the Fibag including the conservative Passau publisher Hans Kapfinger and Friedrich Zimmermann as Trustee Strauss were themselves involved. Strauss was accused in the office because his friend Kapfinger held shares of Fibag taking advantage. At the request of the SPD and the FDP of the allegation was investigated by an investigating committee of the Bundestag. This came in 1962 with a slim majority to the conclusion that Strauss had not committed any wrongdoing. The FDP, which was a partner in the ruling coalition, it strongly criticized.

The transaction between the Fibag and the U.S. Army did not materialize.

The Fibag affair led together with other affairs ( Starfighter affair, Spiegel Affair ) to the fact that Strauss was forced to resign in 1962 by the Office of the Federal Minister of Defence.