Business and Industry in Nazi Germany (Vermont Studies on Nazi Germany and the Holocaust (2))

During the past decade, the role of Germany's economic elites under Hitler has once again moved into the limelight of historical research and public debate. This volume offers a brief but focused introduction to the role of Germany businesses and industries in the crimes of Hitler's Third Reich. Financial institutions in Nazi Germany: reluctant or willing collaborators? / Gerald D. Feldman -- Banks and business politics in Nazi Germany / Harold James -- The chemistry of business-state relations in the Third Reich / Peter Hayes -- The business of genocide: the SS, slavery, and the concentration camps / Michael Thad Allen -- Corporate social responsibility and the issue of compensation: the case of ford and Nazi Germany / Simon Reich -- Writing the history of business in the Third Reich: past achievements and future directions / Volker R. Berghahn -- Law for the restoration of the professional civil service, 7 April 1933 -- The leadership of the German Government on the effect on the economy of German Policy toward the Jews, August 1935 -- The launching of the four-year plan, August to September 1936 -- The structure of business organization -- Regulation for the elimination of the Jews from the economic life of Germany, 12 November 1938 -- An "Aryanization" Contract, 27 December 1938 -- German court order declaring Ford-Werke enemy property and placing it under Nazi custodianship, 15 May 1942 -- Research findings about Ford-Werke under the Nazi Regime (report summary), 2001.

There has been a growing body of historical research into the relationship of business and industry to the German Nazi regime since the 1980s. Centered on the issue of complicity, this volume, edited by Nicosia (history, Saint Michael's College) and Huener (history, U. of Vermont), adds six more investigations to the corpus. Among the discussions presented are examinations of the financial sector's qualified support of the Nazis, the way organizational shifts in banking led to increased collaboration with the Nazis, the symbiosis between state and business in the case of the chemical industry, the role of the SS and German corporations in organizing and distributing forced and slaved labor, and the relationship of the American corporation Ford Motor Company and its German subsidiary to the Nazi state. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

During the past decade, the role of Germany's economic elites under Hitler has once again moved into the limelight of historical research and public debate. This volume brings together a group of internationally renowned scholars who have been at the forefront of recent research. Their articles provide an up-to-date synthesis, which is as comprehensive as it is insightful, of current knowledge in this field. The result is a volume that offers students and interested readers a brief but focused introduction to the role of German businesses and industries in the crimes of Hitler's Third Reich. Not only does this book treat the subject in an accessible manner; it also emerges as particularly relevant in light of current controversies over the nature of business-state relations, corporate social responsibility, and globalization.