What are some companies that still existed today that assisted Nazi Germany during the Holocaust?

Question

What business was it? How did they assist in the Holocaust? Are they in existence today? Opinion: How guilty r they?

Answer 1

The Bayer Aspirin Co. was part of the chemical co. (I. G. Farben) that created Zyklon-B. The gas that was used for murdering hundreds of thousands in extermination camps such as Auschwitz.

To extend on the answer posted above;

As early as 1947, Simon Wiesenthal began to identify escape routes used by Nazis to escape from Germany. The main route he discovered was from the small Bavarian town of Memmingen to Innsbruck, Austria. From there, it was possible to cross into Italy over the Brenner pass. Wiesenthal later learned the Nazis referred to this as the "B-B" route, from Bremen in Germany to the Italian port of Bari. He also knew that the fugitives had little or no difficulty obtaining false papers and seemed to have enough money available in their new home to establish comfortable new lives. Wiesenthal concluded a secret organization with substantial resources had to be involved in helping fugitive Nazis. The seeds of that project were planted before World War II ended.
By 1944 it was clear that the fortunes of war had turned against Nazi Germany. Many Germans began to anticipate defeat and to plan for that eventuality. On August 10, 1944, a secret meeting of top German industrialists and bankers was held at the Maison Rouge hotel in Strasbourg to devise a means of insuring a secure future for Nazis. Among those attending were coal tycoon Emil Kirdorf, Georg von Schnitzler of IG Farben, Gustav Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach, steel magnate, Fritz Thyssen, and banker Kurt von Schroeder.
The outcome of the meeting in Strasbourg was the genesis of an organization; one well-financed and well-organised, with the express purpose of helping fleeing Nazis escape justice. This organization was called the "Organization Der Ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen" ( "The Organization of former SS members) — better known as Odessa.

Thyssen and Krupp steel owners took part in the formation of the Odessa in 1944. The company still exists today.

President George W. Bush's grandfather, the late US Senator Prescott Bush, was a director and shareholder of companies that profited from their involvement with the financial backers of Nazi Germany.
Newly discovered files in the US National Archives that a firm of which Prescott Bush was a director was involved with the financial architects of Nazism.

His business dealings, which continued until his company's assets were seized in 1942 under the Trading with the Enemy Act, has led more than 60 years later to a civil action for damages being brought in Germany against the Bush family by two former slave labourers at Auschwitz.

New documents, many of which were only declassified last year, show that even after America had entered the war and when there was already significant information about the Nazis' plans and policies, he worked for and profited from companies closely involved with the very German businesses that financed Hitler's rise to power. It has also been suggested that the money he made from these dealings helped to establish the Bush family fortune and set up its political dynasty. Documents reveal that the firm he worked for, Brown Brothers Harriman (BBH), acted as a US base for the German industrialist, Fritz Thyssen, who helped finance Hitler in the 1930s before falling out with him at the end of the decade. Evidence shows that Bush was the director of the New York-based Union Banking Corporation (UBC) that represented Thyssen's US interests and he continued to work for the bank after America entered the war.

Bush was also on the board of at least one of the companies that formed part of a multinational network of front companies to allow Thyssen to move assets around the world. Thyssen owned the largest steel and coal company in Germany and grew rich from Hitler's efforts to re-arm between the two world wars. One of the pillars in Thyssen's international corporate web, UBC, worked exclusively for, and was owned by, a Thyssen-controlled bank in the Netherlands. More tantalising are Bush's links to the Consolidated Silesian Steel Company (CSSC), based in mineral rich Silesia on the German-Polish border. During the war, the company made use of Nazi slave labour from the concentration camps, including Auschwitz.

Three sets of archives spell out Prescott Bush's involvement. All three are readily available, thanks to the efficient US archive system and a helpful and dedicated staff at both the Library of Congress in Washington and the National Archives at the University of Maryland. The first set of files, the Harriman papers in the Library of Congress, show that Prescott Bush was a director and shareholder of a number of companies involved with Thyssen. The second set of papers, which are in the National Archives, are contained in vesting order number 248 which records the seizure of the company assets. What these files show is that on October 20 1942 the alien property custodian seized the assets of the UBC, of which Prescott Bush was a director. Having gone through the books of the bank, further seizures were made against two affiliates, the Holland-American Trading Corporation and the Seamless Steel Equipment Corporation. By November, the Silesian-American Company, another of Prescott Bush's ventures, had also been seized. The third set of documents, also at the National Archives, are contained in the files on IG Farben, who was prosecuted for war crimes.

On July 30 1942 when the New York Herald-Tribune ran an article entitled "Hitler's Angel Has $3m in US Bank". UBC's huge gold purchases had raised suspicions that the bank was in fact a "secret nest egg" hidden in New York for Thyssen and other Nazi bigwigs. The Alien Property Commission (APC) launched an investigation.

Wiesenthal learned of Odessa accidentally during conversations with a former member of German counter-espionage who he met during the Nuremberg trials.The source said the organization was set up in 1946 after many Nazis already had been imprisoned. Those in jail contacted friends and aid committees that had been established to promote the welfare of prisoners. The assistance often went beyond humanitarian aid to abetting their escape.
In short order, Odessa, built a large and reliable network geared to achieve its ends, and began operations. Routes were mapped and contacts were established. Influential Nazis vanished as they were secretly ushered out of Germany and assisted in starting new lives under false names in foreign countries. At the end of the war, only a handful of high-ranking Nazi officials stood trial. Many who were guilty of war crimes escaped with the help of Odessa.
Some countries may not have known about their new immigrants' pasts, but many did and chose to look the other way. Others, including the United States, looked to exploit the knowledge of Nazis.

On a interesting note or if you choose "odd coincidence": In 1948 the Bush family moved to Texas. The name of the small out of the way town? ODESSA Texas.

Odessa, Texas, circa 1988:
Closed down movie theaters and boarded up store fronts. Listed by Money Magazine in 1987 as fifth worst community to live in in the United States. Listed by Psychology Today a year later as the seventh most stressful city to live in in the country based on suicide, alcoholism, and divorce rates, and the community�s educational levels. A perennial holder of the title of the nation�s worst crime rate per capita.

Racism, poverty, ignorance. Thirteen years ago, this declining town was the leading edge of the soon-to-be nationwide recession.

When it comes to variety and fun, Odessa, Texas is the right place to be for your next convention, meeting or vacation! ( An ad posted by the Odessa Chamber of Commerce)

Conclusion:
A) Criminal.........Guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
B) Liability..........Guilty based on a preponderance of the evidence.

Answer 2

So uh, while that was a nice little summary of censorship during Nazi Germany, you didn't really address your own question, which is kind of weird. While there may be evidence to suggest that the regulation of information channels may be a target for both major parties, I do not think it is specifically and solely oriented toward the left. Also, Cicero: You do realize that the political spectrum is a continuum, not a sliding scale correct? Go far enough left and you will become far right? Go far enough right and you will go far left? Tyranny lies at both ends of the spectrum.

Answer 3

In 1998 the Justice Department declassified hundreds of documents that revealed 300 US companies conducted business with Germany during WWII.
In fact it came to light the current White House resident, George W. Bush's paternal grandfather and maternal great- grandfather both were instrumental in supporting Hitler's Nazi Party in the 20's and financing the rearming and
industrialization of Germany.
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You could try to get info on the documents the Justice Department declassified in 1998. They should be available.
I do know many companies made a lot of money from both sides, at the same time, during the war.

Answer 4

Standard Oil of America (Exxon) - gave the Nazis the process for making synthetic rubber in 1940 which prolonged the war.
AEG of Germany made the gas ovens at Auschwitz.

Answer 5

IG farben, a major chemical company used slave labor heavily during the Holocaust. You've used Bayer asprin? thats them. Thyssen-krupp the steel manufacturers were also involved. They are not guilty, they made business decisions that I personally do not faul them for.

Answer 6

Thyssenkrupp Nazi

Answer 7

I don't know if Bush's Grandfather's company is still in existence, but if so, that's one company.

IBM.

Answer 8

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