I myself am Jewish, I drive a BMW, I know personally many Jews who drive German made cars. I was just curious if anyone knew the history of Mercedes Benz as to whether or not they had a part of the Nazi Germany party?
For example, I know VW is spoken/written about quite a bit in articles and books I've read that spoke about how Hitler used many different VW cars for his army and such.
It is also well photographed and fairly well known that Hitler himself was driven in a Mercedes Benz.
I am doing a paper on it for school about Nazi Germany and the German automobile, and just curious if anyone knew of any interesting articles, books, or had any thoughts on the matter.
Thanks for your time and help, feel free to post here, or you can PM me too.
Steve
Considering how many Americans drive Japanese, Italian and German cars, I believe your question is more directed to the circumstances of the concentration camps and slave labor, no?
I am Polish and I drive German car.
Poland and Germany were enemies not only in XX Century. One of the famous battle was at Grunwald in 1410.
So what couple of wars matter comparing to half of the Millennium?
BTW I heard horrible things about Holocaust, but was stunned during my visit to Germany 20 years ago how many lawyer there were Jewish.
Makes you wonder...
I know where your coming from, but to get to the point, they probably did. But for example VW would 'hire' some of the slaves in the camps as there workers. So for anything, I would be grateful if one of them turned out to be my old grandpa. Because if VW didn't 'hire' him at the time, I wouldn't be alive. etc.
But that’s like saying, lets never use Nokia, or wear Nike clothing (which I don't) or purchase Fuel or Oil or purchase Intel's products... Why? Because there’s most probably been some poor guys blood spilt over it getting to you. Don't forget (which many don't know) IBM computer systems where operating back in the 1930's as technology which was used to punch in numbers and it would pull up information on that person if he was to live or die. This was used on the Jews at the time, they would all be tagged on there arm with a number, and that would be entered into this machine, which will tell you if he was any good to you. i.e: body weight, height, age etc.
So if you really think about it? If your computers Intel... Dump it. Anything that is bought to you commercially, I can guaranteed you that it has someone’s blood spilt over it. Let it be 100 years ago, or present. It’s just how the world works kid. You should research this info and add it into your paper you working on. You would be surprised at the attention it gets.
I am from India and I am proud of the fact that India is the only country where Jews were NOT persecuted. Jews thrived and prospered, they were free to practise their faith and follow their customs, most of them were wealthy businessmen.
MB like any industrial giant had to follow the diktats of the ruling party under threat of nationalisation. The principle aim of any business organisation is profit, and army contracts were big money, further they could never go against the Nazis. MB, a prestigious maker of fine automobiles manufactured limos for the ruling elite, they also made staff cars, trucks, engines for aircraft.
Even Opel a subsidiary of GM in Germany even before the start of WW2, supplied Opel Kaddets to the Wehrmacht
Maybach made engines for Panzar tanks. BMW, Zundapp and DKW motorcycles were extensively used by DRs (dispatch riders), forward and reconnaissannce (spelling ?) units of the armoured corps (BMW and Zundapp side car outfits were usually fitted with machine guns). BMW made some of the earliest jet engines for the Luftwaffe.
In the MB museum in Germany, it shows the history of the brand during WW2 and although the tone is that they are not proud of their association, they did co-operate with the Nazis as they would have been overruled had they not (as Raju states).
I believe the MB factories produced munitions also?
I understand that Mercedes had retired before the nutcracker became Chancellor. The Company, as other multinationals had to follow the ills of the time.
Mercedes and Auto Union Audi - Were commissioned to showcase german engineering and built the Silver Arrows which where some of the fastest cars in the world at that time.
If Hitler still lives today, he must have several Mercedes parked in his 20-car garage. Maybe two VWs for the housekeepers, a BMW for the cook, a Porsche and an AMG for weekend driving, perhaps a Prius if gas is $10, etc.
The Nazi leaders were driven in MBs because they were the top tier automobles in Germany of that era, much like the British royalty are driven in Rolls Royces to this day. Whether, or not, they contributed to the war machine should be well documented.
Isn't blaming an ethnic group for some kind of inherited cultural guilt something the NAZIS did?
Certainly almost every German company contained Nazi employees and co-operated with the Nazis either willingly or not. All of those people are dead and gone. If you knew any young Germans you would find them all very anti-fascist and shocked by what their grandparents did.
Even the music of Wagner was recently played in Israel.
Than don't know how much of that is the truth, but suppose the first US atomic bombs were build bu NAZI scientists.
Than rereading this old thread, do we consider driving MB a relationship?
Ironically, a lot of the leading scientists in the Manhattan project came from occupied Europe, especially Fermi and Bohr. Germany didn't get far with nuclear research, Hitler dismissed it as 'Jewish physics'.
Japan got a bit further, but didn't have the resources to create enough fissionable material. However, they did develop and perfect another WMD: biological; with smallpox, bubonic plague, a few other nasty diseases. The delivery platform was infected fleas air dropped in a clay bomb housing, and it was successfully tested on Chinese communities. There were plans to build a six engine aircraft with the range to reach the US west coast with that deadly payload, but it was never completed.
The first customer for the Boeing 787 was All Nippon Airways. This, despite what Boeing built B29's did to their country. Maybe it's best to put that behind us and move on.
am a gear head driving 'mercs'.
Last year I meet with several current and former engineers at MB in Stuttgart.
This question came up and they were very blunt...
employees at MB were given a choice, continue to work at MB or go with there families to a labor camp, ie death by slave labor and starvation.
In fact, this threat was used to get them to work 7 days a week often 20 hours a day. And, if there quality fell down the same threat was used.
The nationlist party did not care if you were a jewish engineer or Catholic engineer, you either worked 'for the party' or you and your family were 'out' of MB.
Very ugly indeed, but what woud you do ?????
Let us all be VERY CAREFULL when any fundementalist rises to power.
am a gear head driving 'mercs'.
Last year I meet with several current and former engineers at MB in Stuttgart.
This question came up and they were very blunt...
employees at MB were given a choice, continue to work at MB or go with there families to a labor camp, ie death by slave labor and starvation.
In fact, this threat was used to get them to work 7 days a week often 20 hours a day. And, if there quality fell down the same threat was used.
The nationlist party did not care if you were a jewish engineer or Catholic engineer, you either worked 'for the party' or you and your family were 'out' of MB.
Very ugly indeed, but what woud you do ?????
Let us all be VERY CAREFULL when any fundementalist rises to power.
You people must understand, at the time it was very patriotic to assist in your country's growth and prosperity. You make it sound like the general German population was forced to work for these "tyrannical companies" against their will. Have you seen any imagery of places such as Nurnberg and Munich during the rise of the Reich? Most people WANTED to help their country succeed, it was patriotic.
Just like helping Bush putting us in depression?
My father being Polish teenager was forced to work in German arm manufacturing as well. He is prizing himself for few sinked Nazi submarines
Looks like the thread is going to OT section?
I am not a historian but when I travel I am not a tourist, I live and mingle with the people of that country.
They tell me that the reich and the nazis were two very different organizations. The 3rd reich was a socialist religious alternative to communism and the king. the reich attracted the vulnerable and youth. The nazis let the reich take power then killed the leadership and took over.
Correct me if I am wrong, this is the take I have from being in the country.
OBTW the people are very sad about this, and point out that there were 49 attempts on his life, 47 from within the country.
When I was in Germany in 1977 I asked a few young Germans about Adolf Eichmann (plus a couple of other notorious Nazis) and none admitted to knowing who they were or what their roles were in WW2. The impression I formed at the time (rightly or wrongly) was that era had been supressed from their history lessons.
I have no doubt that most living Germans are ashamed of what happened between 1933 (Hitler's ascent to chancellor) and 1945 (his death).
In 1977 there were 2 German countries. Which one was it?
I think the most ashamed Germans could be by the fact that their nation was split and the halves went into different directions for a generation. Germans were killing Germans desperate running for freedom.
I visited communistic Berlin in former DDR and the Brandenburg Gate was symbol of freedom unreachable from this side. Lot gave their life running to it. Than a decade later, while coming from USA I rented a car in Berlin and drove through the city going to Gdansk. To my HUGE surprise I drove right under Brandenburg Gate. That was quite a shock for me at the time.
You must have been coming from communist Poland during your earlier visit? I didn't try to see East Germany and was no where near. But I remember reading there was a stark comparison between the east and west. After reunification, rebuilding the east was/is a severe drain on the overall German economy. I want to return and see much more of the country.
I was in West Germany (GDR?) in and around Stuttgart. The reason I went there was because I owned a 911 at the time and the "Porschefabrik" was there. Unfortunately, the factory tours were shut down because they were retooling to produce the 928. I had no interest in MB at the time or might have realized that's where their famous museum is too!
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