- 352 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub
West German Industry and the Challenge of the Nazi Past, 1945-1955
About this book
In the aftermath of World War II and the Holocaust, West German industrialists faced a major crisis in their public image. With mounting revelations about the use of forced and slave labor, the “Aryanization” of Jewish property, and corporate profiteering under National Socialism, industrialists emerged from the war with their national and international reputations in tatters.
In this groundbreaking study, Jonathan Wiesen explores how West German business leaders remade and marketed their public image between 1945 and 1955. He challenges assumptions that West Germans — and industrialists in particular — were silent about the recent past during the years of denazification and reconstruction. Drawing on sources that include private correspondence, popular literature, and a wealth of unpublished materials from corporate archives, Wiesen reveals how German business leaders attempted to absolve themselves of responsibility for Nazi crimes while recasting themselves as socially and culturally engaged public figures. Through case studies of individual firms such as Siemens and Krupp, Wiesen depicts corporate publicity as a telling example of postwar selective memory.
In his introduction and conclusion, Wiesen considers the recent establishment of a multibillion dollar fund to provide financial compensation to the victims of industrial exploitation during World War II. This acknowledgment by German industry of its ongoing responsibility for its past crimes underscores the contemporary relevance of Wiesen’s study.
In this groundbreaking study, Jonathan Wiesen explores how West German business leaders remade and marketed their public image between 1945 and 1955. He challenges assumptions that West Germans — and industrialists in particular — were silent about the recent past during the years of denazification and reconstruction. Drawing on sources that include private correspondence, popular literature, and a wealth of unpublished materials from corporate archives, Wiesen reveals how German business leaders attempted to absolve themselves of responsibility for Nazi crimes while recasting themselves as socially and culturally engaged public figures. Through case studies of individual firms such as Siemens and Krupp, Wiesen depicts corporate publicity as a telling example of postwar selective memory.
In his introduction and conclusion, Wiesen considers the recent establishment of a multibillion dollar fund to provide financial compensation to the victims of industrial exploitation during World War II. This acknowledgment by German industry of its ongoing responsibility for its past crimes underscores the contemporary relevance of Wiesen’s study.
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Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Yes, you can access West German Industry and the Challenge of the Nazi Past, 1945-1955 by S. Jonathan Wiesen in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in History & Business History. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.
Information
Table of contents
- Cover Page
- West German Industry and the Challenge of the Nazi Past, 1945–1955
- Copyright Page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Illustrations
- Acknowledgments
- Glossary and Abbreviations
- Introduction
- Chapter One A Company Encounters the Past: The Case of Siemens
- Chapter Two The Beginnings of a Collective Identity
- Chapter Three Creating the New Industrialist
- Chapter Four Selling the New Industrialist
- Chapter Five Industry, Culture, and the Decline of the West
- Chapter Six Trade Unions, Workers, and the New Social Partnership
- Chapter Seven Krupp, the United States, and the Salvation of West German Industry
- Conclusion
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index