[Peace-discuss] US corporations in Germany during the 1930s

[J.B. Nicholson]

Morton K. Brussel wrote:
> An appropriate, enlightening commentary: Backstage matters…
> 
> https://therealnews.com/stories/d-day-how-the-us-supported-hitlers-rise-to-power 

With regard to part of that:

> [...] the case of many American manufacturers, helped Germany rearm. GM,
> IBM, and Ford played a major role in rearming Germany

For some images to go along with these words, I strongly urge watching one 
of my favorite documentaries, "The Corporation".

I've got a relevant excerpt of what Peter Kuznick was referring to at 
https://files.digitalcitizen.info/corporations-prop-up-fascists/the-corporation-nazi-germany.webm 
featuring Howard Zinn, Noam Chomsky, Michael Moore, and Edwin Black.

In 
https://digitalcitizen.info/2015/03/10/coca-colas-fanta-history-is-no-mistake-corporations-have-propped-up-fascists-for-a-long-time/ 
I cite this clip in response to what corporate comic John Oliver said on 
2014-03-09 when he called an ad for Fanta (soda) an 'unintended mistake' 
because the ad revealed Fanta's ugly history. That ad was no mistake and 
(although you wouldn't know it from Oliver) corporations continue to do 
business with "official enemies of the United States including terrorists, 
tyrants, and despotic regimes" (as "The Corporation" says).

In the above clip from "The Corporation" Edwin Black is seen making the 
same compelling and evidence-based case he raised in his book "IBM and the 
Holocaust": IBM knew they were helping the Nazis. IBM knew what the Nazis 
were up to, regardless of what IBM rep Irving Wladawski-Berger claimed. 
Early IBM employee and later business guru Peter Drucker (now deceased) 
explained in his interview also from "The Corporation":

> Peter Drucker: You know, as it happens, I know that story. I discussed
> it more than once with old Mr. Watson [Tom Watson senior] and I was
> around at the time. I'm not saying that Watson didn't know that the
> German government used punchcards -- he probably did know -- after all
> we had very few customers. Watson didn't want to do it not because he
> thought it was immoral or not, but because Watson, with a very keen sense
> of public relations, thought it was risky.
In the last part of the clip, note how many companies were "fined for 
trading with official enemies of the United States including terrorists, 
tyrants, and despotic regimes" and how they're all companies you've heard 
of even today.

Watch or download "The Corporation":

   https://archive.org/details/The_Corporation_

or if you get the DVD, get the 2-disc version with full-length interviews 
and a hidden bonus.

I read on https://thecorporation.com/#block-views-news_and_events_blog-feat 
that a sequel is underway. If this is as deeply interesting and rich with 
detail as the first movie, I'll end up watching this sequel many times and 
I'll look forward to a home video release.