History Unplugged Podcast Nazi Billionaires: The Business Dynasties That Built Hitler’s War Machine and Still Profit Today
May 26, 2022
41:24
After the Allies defeated Germany in WW2, high-ranking Nazis and collaborators lived in a long, strange twilight. The lucky ones were recruited by the Allies (such as Wernher von Braun and his rocket science team who built America’s space program) but others either fled or tried to disappear back into German society.
But many of the closest Nazi collaborators became scions of German industry.
Today’s guest is David De Jong, author of the book Nazi Billionaires: The Dark History of Germany’s Wealthiest Dynasties. He investigated the secret alliances between Germany’s richest modern business dynasties—many of which also have a large U.S. presence—and the Nazi Party during World War II. The tycoons, lauded by society today, seized Jewish businesses, procured slave laborers, and ramped up weapons production to equip Hitler’s army as Europe burned around them. The brutal legacy of the dynasties that dominated Daimler-Benz, cofounded Allianz, and still control Porsche, Volkswagen, and BMW has remained hidden in plain sight.
But many of the closest Nazi collaborators became scions of German industry.
Today’s guest is David De Jong, author of the book Nazi Billionaires: The Dark History of Germany’s Wealthiest Dynasties. He investigated the secret alliances between Germany’s richest modern business dynasties—many of which also have a large U.S. presence—and the Nazi Party during World War II. The tycoons, lauded by society today, seized Jewish businesses, procured slave laborers, and ramped up weapons production to equip Hitler’s army as Europe burned around them. The brutal legacy of the dynasties that dominated Daimler-Benz, cofounded Allianz, and still control Porsche, Volkswagen, and BMW has remained hidden in plain sight.
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