1922 W.A. Harriman & Co. opens its European headquarters in Berlin with the aid of the Hamburg-based M.M. Warburg & Co. Government investigators later said it was during this time that Harriman first became acquainted with the German industrialist, Fritz Thyssen. Harriman subsequently agreed to set up a bank for Thyssen (Union Banking Corporation) in New York City. The following year, Thyssen would become one of Hitler's largest financial backers.