The Deutsche Bank and the Nazi Economic War against the Jews
The Deutsche Bank and the Nazi Economic War against the Jews
The Deutsche Bank, Germany's largest financial institution, played an important role in the expropriation of Jewish-owned enterprises during the Nazi dictatorship, both in the existing territories of Germany, and in the area seized by the German army during World War II. In this 2001 book Harold James uses new and previously unavailable materials, many from the bank's own archives, to examine policies which led to the eventual genocide of European Jews. How far did the realization of the vicious and destructive Nazi ideology depend on the acquiescence, the complicity, and the cupidity of existing economic institutions, and individuals? In response to the traditional view that business co-operation with the Nazi regime was motivated by profit, this book closely examines the behaviour of the bank and its individuals to suggest other motivations. No comparable study exists of a single company's involvement in the economic persecution of the Jews in Nazi Germany.
- Uses new material to describe the role of Germany's largest bank in the Nazi dictatorship and the Holocaust
- Looks at the role of individuals in the bank, and questions the bank's responsibilities
- Investigates the controversial question of the profits involved in looting Jewish property in Germany and Central Europe
Reviews & endorsements
"...controversial...moving." Journal of Modern History
"James has produced an intelligent and informative work...indispensable to the study of financial institutions under the Nazi regime...Despite all the complex financial analysis, James never loses sight of the moral issues involved." Canadian Journal of History
"James weaves institutional, biographical material, and case studies together to form a multifaceted history of his subject." Enterprise and Society
"This is a thorough picture of one company's role in the economic persecution of German Jews." www.hbsworkingknowledge.hbs.edu
"...James must be commended for his careful research and his measured yet damning assessment of the Deutsche Bank's behavior during the Third Reich." German Studies Review
"This study provides solid, important research on 'Aryanization'." American Historical Review
"...this is a very well-written, scholarly narrative, largely based on unpublished primary sources skillfully questioned by a committed historian." Business History Review, Christopher Kobrak, ESCP-EAP
"Persuasive." Books and Art
Product details
June 2006Paperback
9780521027304
284 pages
227 × 151 × 17 mm
0.422kg
1 b/w illus.
Available
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Table of Contents
- Preface of the historical commission appointed to examine the history of the Deutsche bank in the period of national socialism
- Author's preface
- Selected abbreviations
- 1. Business and politics: banks and companies in Nazi Germany
- 2. The structure, organization, and economic environment of Deutsche bank
- 3. National socialism and banks
- 4. The problem of 'Aryanization'
- 5. Deutsche bank and 'Aryanization' in the pre-1938 boundaries of Germany
- 6. Deutsche bank abroad: 'Aryanization', territorial expansion, and economic reordering
- 7. Jewish-owned bank accounts
- 8. The profits of the Deutsche bank
- 9. Some concluding reflections
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index.
