10 Companies Linked to The Nazi Party
Published in Education at March 23rd, 2017 at 6:42 AM
Coca Cola
Nothing like a refreshing glass of Coca Cola! However, Looking past it's refreshing taste and going back long before Coca Cola Zero, New Coke and Coca Cola Vanilla, they were supplying both the american troops AND the Nazi soldiers with refreshing regular Coca Cola.
In 1941, when the Coca-Cola head office cancelled the supply to their German counterparts of the syrup needed to make Coke, Coca-Cola GmbH decided to invent a completely new beverage in order to keep the German troops happy,
And thus Fanta was born! Suddenly i want to start drinking Pepsi instead now.
BMW
Next to Mercedes and Jaguar, BMW is one of the worlds most luxurious car manufacturers. With it's sleek design, comfortable interior and incredible German engineering puts it at the forefront of the market. However, as with most big manufacturers based in Germany, You know the company is going to have a dark past. During World War II, BMW’s factory workers were essentially made up of slave laborers who were forced into work by the Nazi Party. Some sources estimated that around 40,000 slaves were put to work..
When owned by Günther Quandt, He and his son were good friends with Adolf Hitler himself and was considered a big part of his regime.
BMW’s factories exclusively produced aircraft and motorcycle parts for the Nazi war effort. In fact, many inmates were put to work on the Luftwaffe engines, namely the BMW 132..
Nestle
When you think of nestle, you probably think of the best treats you received during your childhood. Well i’m here to ruin that for you as they were involved in a disturbing plan hatched by the Nazis.
This first came to light in 2000, When Nestle donated a staggering $14 million to a Holocaust survivor's’ fund. The reason for this is because the company back in the 1940s used slaves from several concentration camps near the German border with Switzerland and used Chocolate bars to lure in young Jewish children into captivity before shipping them to concentration camps.
Nestle went on to donate money to families related people who were directly affected by the holocaust.
Volkswagen
One of the more recognisable companies linked to the Nazi Party, The man behind both Volkswagen and Porsche, Ferdinand Porsche met with Adolf Hitler himself in 1934, to discuss the creation of a “people’s car” which translates to Volkswagen.
Hitler told Porsche to make the car with a streamlined shape, “like a beetle.” and thus the Volkswagen beetle was created. Not only was it designed by Nazis but it was named by Hitler himself!
Siemens
Siemens AG is a well known global conglomerate that makes everything from circuits to wind turbines .
The company was created back in the 19th century when famed scientist Werner von Siemens got bored finding and inventing new things and instead decided to make money off of what was already discovered. Smart business tactic right? Well not when your company is forever related to the Nazification of Germany in which Siemens was a major player in. Instead of circuit building however, they were given the task to build factories around Germany for slave labor.
Well not when your company is forever related to the Nazification of Germany in which Siemens was a major player in. Instead of circuit building however, they were given the task to build factories around germany for slave labor.
Hugo Boss
We all know Hugo Boss. Hell it’s advertised all over the place, showcasing it’s overpriced apparel that only the rich can buy and boast about.
Even if you're too poor to afford Boss' goods, you can recognise Boss ads from a mile away.
Well at least if someone sporting their clothing comes up to you showing off, at least you can say you don’t support companies that are related to the Nazi party.
That’s right, Hugo Boss provided the SS with sleek all-black uniforms. These SS uniforms were used as a way to command respect and invoke fear to the populace.
Chase Bank
Although most banks during the war were very shady (In fact, Most banks in general are just downright shady altogether), none have done things as bad as this swiss bank.
Chase Bank was the worst of them all as their Paris branch was doing deals with the Nazis with the full knowledge of the American head office before and after Pearl Harbor.
It has been reported that over the years, Chase Bank has been accused of freezing accounts belonging to European Jewish users during the war, effectively reducing their ability to flee to an allied country and all but destroying their chance of survival.
IBM
We’ve all had a product by IBM at some point. Whether it’s a Hard Drive or a whole PC, It’s fairly likely that you’ve used one of their products. Well it turns out that IBM and other computing firms during World War II were a vital part to the Nazis’ successes.
IBM created custom computers so that the Nazis could keep tabs on train-line timetables and the number of Jews being shipped around, allowing for an accurate record of all those going to and from death camps such as Auschwitz and Treblinka. In a way,
This makes them somewhat the bureaucrats of the Holocaust and that is something you do NOT want to be linked too.
General Electric
When the war ended In 1946, General Electric was heavily fined by the US government because of its activities during the war and links to the nazi party.
In partnership with Krupp, it is because of general electric that the price of tungsten carbide had risen as it was a sought after material that was vital for machining metals necessary for the war effort.
It has also been documented that General Electric had also bought shares in Siemens before war broke out, making them complicit in the use of slave labor to build the very same gas chambers where many of the stricken laborers met their end.
Kodak
It has been well documented that Kodak’s history with one of the regime is darker than an undeveloped photograph.
Wilhelm Keppler was one of Hitler’s main advisers. He is known by the US Intelligence Agency as the “Kodak man” for his business and personal relations with the firm. Keppler is noted to have worked somewhat as a double agent, providing information to Kodak and several other, smaller US companies.
So as if the Keppler link wasn't bad enough, During the war, The German branch used slave laborers from concentration camps to produce some of their products, and they also branched out into the manufacturing markets of triggers, detonators, and other other military equipment instead of focusing solely on cameras.
