WW2 Pod: We Have Ways of Making You Talk Auschwitz: The Cost Of Cruelty (Part 2)
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Jan 30, 2025 Discover how Auschwitz transformed into a chilling industrial hub under the Nazis, entwining capitalism with atrocity. Delve into the exploitation of forced labor and the dire conditions faced by victims in IG Farben’s factories. The podcast reveals the intricate architecture of oppression and examines the evolving policies of extermination that defined the Holocaust. A haunting exploration of the chilling connections between economic motives and human suffering during one of history's darkest chapters.
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Auschwitz & Industrial Colonization
- Auschwitz became a center for the Third Reich's expansion into Poland, blurring the lines between industry and the SS.
- German businesses, integral to this colonization, partnered with the SS in Auschwitz, seeking stakeholders in their vision of a new Germany.
IG Farben and Auschwitz
- IG Farben, a German chemical giant, planned a synthetic rubber (Buna) factory in Auschwitz due to its resources and planned labor.
- The factory's construction was intertwined with the SS, with Himmler seeing forced labor as crucial to the war effort and the company seeing an opportunity to grow.
Intertwined Fates of Auschwitz and IG Farben
- IG Farben's presence in Auschwitz led to the town's redesign, with the factory providing essential utilities like electricity, heating, and water.
- This close connection between the town, the camp, and the factory symbolized the Nazis' vision of economic annexation and racial selection in the East.