David De Jong - Nazi Billionaires

This is not a cheerful book, but it is an important one. It deals with the close links between German big business and the Nazi regime, primarily during Nazi rule, but it also touches on the importance of big business and its money, to helping Hitler come to power. This is not a new subject, but De Jong's book takes a slightly different approach with a deep dive into the finances and activities of a small number of very powerful, and very wealthy individuals and the corporations they headed. Tragically we find that most of the guilty, who benefited greatly from Nazi war crimes, state antisemitism and the Holocaust, got of completely, and their firms and families continue to benefit from the money made during the Nazi era.

Five families, or dynasties, are discussed in detail, the Quandts, the Flicks, the von Fincks, the Porsche-Piëch and the Oetkers. Some of the products associated with these companies, and their legacy, will be familier to readers today from the brand names. Others are less well known, but their role in banking, mining, engineering and arms manufacturing ensured they were central to the Nazi war effort. Out of this they made millions. 

The Quandts are the focus for much of the book. The complicated family tree, which alongside that of the others is helpfully reproduced in the book's appendices, shows the patriarch, Günther Quandt and a couple of children from two wives. The second of these, Magda Ritschel, became the "first lady" of the Reich, after marrying Joseph Goebbels. The complex story of Magda and Joseph Goebbels battle to adopt one of Günther's and Magda's children is told, but it is only the backdrop to the darker tale of how these close relations led to close financial and then industrial support for Hitler's regime. Magda might have been an ardent Nazi from early on, but her former husband was a classic capitalist. Willing to find wealth through whatever opportunity he could.

And opportunities abounded during the Nazi era. The Quandts, alongside the other families, saw ways to expand their influence and holdings through the takeover of factories and banks in occupied lands, the Aryanization of businesses and the manufacture of arms and ammunition for the war machine. Several of the companies, including corporations that remain house hold names, benefited from slave labour in their workplaces.

It is a sickening story, and De Jong has spent long hours in the archives drawing out the details of what took place, and often correcting official stories or judicial records. For most of the industry heads managed to paint their wartime activity in an entirely different light, rewriting history for the benefit of the future.

De Jong's book is a marvel of research. But it is also a breath taking read, taking the inexpert reader through the maze of financial transactions and legal records. Marxists have long argued that capitalism does not need liberalism or democracy, but is happy to make profits wherever it can. Here is proof that it will use the most diabolical methods to do that. But what De Jong also shows, though perhaps he doesn't draw it out enough, is that big business was keen to support the Nazis (among other right-wing possible future governments) because Hitler promised and end to the troublesome workers' movement. Indeed, the boom time of profits during Hitler's rule was not just about the massive state spending, but also because the trade unions were outlawed and the labour movement crushed.

I was disappointed that the book did not delve much into the links between business and the Holocaust. Some of this material is already known - such as the role of IBM's subsidiaries and IG Farben. More must be out there.

De Jong opens and closes the book by discussing the way that Germany today has not yet fully reckoned with the reality of corporate behaviour during the war. He illustrates this with a number of examples that show how the families and the companies today have, or more usually haven't, attempted to acknowledge their guilt. With the rise of fascist and far right organisations today, this is a legacy that must urgently be explored and highlighted. The companies must be held accountable. The possibility of this has been demonstrated by the Black Lives Matter movement which has forced corporate and public recognition of colonialism and slavery in many, though not enough, areas. De Jong argues that:

This movement toward facing the past is somehow bypassing many of Germany's legendary businessmen. Their dark legacy remains hidden in plain sight. This book, in some small way, tries to right that wrong.

With Nazi Billionaires David De Jong has made an enormous contribution to this process and I encourage everyone to read it.

Related Reviews

Black - IBM and the Holocaust
Paxton - The Anatomy of Fascism
Guerin - Fascism and Big Business
Roseman - The Villa, The Lake, The Meeting: Wannsee and the Final Solution