Overview

In the aftermath of World War II and the Holocaust, West German industrialists faced a major crisis in their public image. With mounting revelations about the use of forced and slave labour, the ""Aryanization"" of Jewish property, and corporate profiteering under National Socialism, industrialists emerged from the war with their national and international reputations in tatters. In this groundbreaking study, Jonathan Wiesen explores how West German business leaders remade and marketed their public image between 1945 and 1955. He challenges assumptions that West Germans - and industrialists in particular - were silent about the recent past during the years of denazification and reconstruction. Drawing on sources that include private correspondence, popular literature, and a wealth of unpublished materials from corporate archives, Wiesen reveals how German business leaders attempted to absolve themselves of responsibility for Nazi crimes while recasting themselves as socially and culturally engaged public figures. Through case studies of individual firms such as Siemens and Krupp, Wiesen depicts corporate publicity as a telling example of postwar selective memory. In his introduction and conclusion, Wiesen considers the recent establishment of a multibillion dollar fund to provide financial compensation to the victims of industrial exploitation during World War II. This acknowledgement by German industry of its ongoing responsibility for its past crimes underscores the contemporary relevance of the book.

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9780807826348

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A true tour de force, justly honored . . . [an] absorbing account. . . . Wiesen's thesis . . . has contributed to a new understanding of West German memory. <br> -- Journal of Modern History

This study is a major contribution to the literature on German business and National Socialism. (Gerald D. Feldman, University of California, Berkeley) An important book, . . . �It� should be read by anyone interested in German history after 1945.( American Historical Review ) This study is a major contribution to the literature on German business and National Socialism. (Gerald D. Feldman, University of California, Berkeley) This important book sets out to explore the mentalities of the West German industrial community as it confronted the Nazi past and sought to define a new future. (Robert G. Moeller, University of California, Irvine) Wiesen provides an important supplement to the history of postwar Germany by bridging the gap between economic recovery begun in 1946 and the heroic role assumed by industry in accounting for the economic miracle of the 1960's. ( Choice ) An important book, . . . [It] should be read by anyone interested in German history after 1945.( American Historical Review ) A true tour de force, justly honored . . . [an] absorbing account. . . . Wiesen's thesis . . . has contributed to a new understanding of West German memory. -- Journal of Modern History

This study is a major contribution to the literature on German business and National Socialism. (Gerald D. Feldman, University of California, Berkeley) This study is a major contribution to the literature on German business and National Socialism. (Gerald D. Feldman, University of California, Berkeley) An important book, . . . It should be read by anyone interested in German history after 1945.( American Historical Review ) This important book sets out to explore the mentalities of the West German industrial community as it confronted the Nazi past and sought to define a new future. (Robert G. Moeller, University of California, Irvine) Wiesen provides an important supplement to the history of postwar Germany by bridging the gap between economic recovery begun in 1946 and the heroic role assumed by industry in accounting for the economic miracle of the 1960's. ( Choice ) An important book, . . . [It] should be read by anyone interested in German history after 1945.( American Historical Review ) A true tour de force, justly honored . . . [an] absorbing account. . . . Wiesen's thesis . . . has contributed to a new understanding of West German memory. -- Journal of Modern History

A true tour de force, justly honored . . . [an] absorbing account. . . . Wiesen's thesis . . . has contributed to a new understanding of West German memory. -- Journal of Modern History

Author Information

S. Jonathan Wiesen is associate professor of history at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.

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