During World War II, E. Merck and Company in Darmstadt, Germany, had not paid royalties accrued for the production of Vitamin B1, a patent administered by Research Corporation. But in 1953, Merck paid those back royalties.
After the war, America’s first impulse had been to strip Germany of all means of production, leaving it a rural farming economy. Winston Churchill, however, insisted that post-war Germany should not be left bankrupt and embittered, and, after rethinking the issue, the U.S. soon agreed.
In a similar spirit, when Merck made back-payment on those Vitamin B1 royalties, Research Corporation decided to use the money to establish the “West German Grants Program” to help scientists in Germany rebuild their laboratories. German scientists had always been among the best in the world and Research Corporation saw the benefits of encouraging their research. The West German Grants Program began in 1954 and ended in 1961.