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A review by komet2020
Nazi Billionaires: The Dark History of Germany's Wealthiest Dynasties by David de Jong
dark
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
Nazi Billionaires: The Dark History of Germany's Wealthiest Dynasties is a comprehensively researched, well-written book about some of the key German industrialists (e.g., Günther Quandt; Friedrich Flick; Wilhelm von Finck Sr.; Ferdinand Porsche, his son-in-law Anton Piëch, and Porsche's son 'Ferry'; and Rudolf-August Oetker) who greedily enriched themselves and were able to expand their economic power through their support of the Nazis during their reign in Germany (1933-1945).
This is a history in which German industrialists supported Hitler and profited from their association with his government through the "Aryanization" of Jewish-owned businesses which became available for these industrialists to acquire and build their individual industrial empires upon. By so doing, they helped make possible the economic recovery and growth of the national economy in the 1930s, and the development of the German war machine.
The book goes a long way to highlight, in considerable detail, the ways in which these industrialists shamelessly used and exploited forced and slave labor during World War II in both Germany and German-occupied Europe, and their later efforts in the immediate post-war era to downplay or whitewash their past associations with the Nazis. For a time, most of these industrialists (even those like Quandt, Flick, von Finck Sr., the two Porsches and Piëch, and Rudolf-August Oetker) put on trial at Nuremberg for war crimes - most of these men either served short stints in prison or were --- in the case of Quandt --- acquitted - were able over time, due to Cold War imperatives and pressures, to reacquire some of their businesses, and rebuild and expand their wealth and influence in Germany.
Frankly, it amazed me to learn about the current generation of billionaires in Germany who are the direct heirs and beneficiaries of the prewar generation of industrialists. Sadly, much of this current generation, when presented with the Nazi past of their forebears, either choose to ignore that past or minimize its lasting impact on Germany and the world at large. I urge anyone with interests in German and postwar economic history, to read this book.
This is a history in which German industrialists supported Hitler and profited from their association with his government through the "Aryanization" of Jewish-owned businesses which became available for these industrialists to acquire and build their individual industrial empires upon. By so doing, they helped make possible the economic recovery and growth of the national economy in the 1930s, and the development of the German war machine.
The book goes a long way to highlight, in considerable detail, the ways in which these industrialists shamelessly used and exploited forced and slave labor during World War II in both Germany and German-occupied Europe, and their later efforts in the immediate post-war era to downplay or whitewash their past associations with the Nazis. For a time, most of these industrialists (even those like Quandt, Flick, von Finck Sr., the two Porsches and Piëch, and Rudolf-August Oetker) put on trial at Nuremberg for war crimes - most of these men either served short stints in prison or were --- in the case of Quandt --- acquitted - were able over time, due to Cold War imperatives and pressures, to reacquire some of their businesses, and rebuild and expand their wealth and influence in Germany.
Frankly, it amazed me to learn about the current generation of billionaires in Germany who are the direct heirs and beneficiaries of the prewar generation of industrialists. Sadly, much of this current generation, when presented with the Nazi past of their forebears, either choose to ignore that past or minimize its lasting impact on Germany and the world at large. I urge anyone with interests in German and postwar economic history, to read this book.