Addendum...
I was readingthrough my (admittedly scathing) recent post about my interest in Nazi Germany, and thought that I might share some items of interest, for those that "refuse to have anything to do with that part of history." This is a list of companies that produced for and/or supplied items for the Third Reich that are still manufacturing today. Enjoy, and don't forget to throw out any of this stuff if you have it and still haven't bothered to read my previous dissertation.
Nivea (cosmetic products.)
Mercedes-Benz (cars.)
Fanta (soda.)
Warsteiner (beer.)
Faber-Castell (pencils, art supplies.)
Leica (cameras.)
Carl Zeiss (optics, including camera lenses, binoculars, microscope lenses and rifle scopes.)
Blaupunkt (stereos.)
Bayer (aspirin. IG Farben, the company that manufactures Bayer, also manufactured most of the Zyklon-B.)
BMW (cars and motorcycles.)
Volkswagen (cars.)
Paulaner (beer.)
BASF (chemicals, audio/visual tape, etc.)
Agfa (photographic film.)
Ford (as in cars. Henry Ford was awarded the highest honor Germany could bestow on a foreigner in 1938, the Grand Cross of the German Eagle. Henry Ford was much admired by Hitler and was even mentioned in Mein Kampf)
Porsche
Pelikan (fine pens and inks)
Walther (firearms)
Beck's (beer.)
JP Sauer (firearms, now part of Sig-Sauer)
Styer (firearms)
Mauser (firearms)
Esbit (fuel tablets, for stoves)
Staedtler-Mars (art supplies)
Audi (cars.)
IBM (manufactured punch-card machines specifically for camps, to "catalogue prisoners.")
Hugo Boss (clothing. Hugo Boss himself design the black SS uniform among others. The company has admitted that most, if not all, of its labor during the war years was provided by slave laborers from concentration camps.)
Dynamit-Nobel (ammunition.)
Messerschmitt/Airbus (part of the Airbus consortium.)
Krupps (major industrial and military WWII conglomerate/weapons manufacturer, the same people that now bring you toasters, coffee makers, blenders and elevators. They also manufactured major components for the gas chambers.)
Siemens AG (electronics)
Dräger (breathing apparatus, still used by firemen all over the world)
Heckler und Koch (H&K) (some of the most respected and sought-after firearms in the world, used by many police agencies and special forces units in the US military.)
HARIBO (candy)
Opel (cars)
Neumann (microphones, some of the best in the business.)
Bosch (automotive parts, the leading brand of sparkplugs.)
Telefunken (television, radio, premium microphones.)
Hella (automotive lighting and roll-bars. Your general "four-wheelin' Ford off-road" lighbars.)
Side Note:
NASA: If it weren't for Wernher von Braun, the designer of the V2 rocket, we'd have no NASA space program. Period. Most people don't realise that he was more interested in going into space than designing weapons, but decided to offer his services to the Third Reich (in his own words "Officially demanded by the NSDAP to join") because he knew they'd give him the money he needed to further his studies. Yes, he designed the V2 rocket...but if it weren't for Operation Paperclip and him defecting to the US, we wouldn't have a space program. He feigned interest in designing artillery so that he could funnel money into figuring out how to get into space. Despite the fact that he was a listed member of the NSDAP, he did so only to further his career and mostly because the Nazi party basically forced him into joining. He was told to join the SS, but called his commanding officer for advice: He was basically told that he had no choice in the matter. Technically he was a member of the SS, but only attended their horseback-riding school. Although he helped in the design of the V2 rockets, upon hearing of their deployment against London, he said "The rocket worked perfectly, except for landing on the wrong planet," and described his feelings upon hearing of the news as his "darkest day."
It is true that Wernher von Braun was aware of the conditions of the factory (Mittelwerk) that built a lot of the V2 rockets, but in response to the question, he has stated "It is hellish. My spontaneous reaction was to talk to one of the SS guards, only to be told with unmistakable harshness that I should mind my own business, or find myself in the same striped fatigues!... I realized that any attempt of reasoning on humane grounds would be utterly futile." This quote from the book 'Wernher Von Braun: Crusader For Space", page 44 (or thereabouts, depending on your copy's publisher.) Many of the professionals the Nazis employed were cruel sympathizers, but a large portion of them were also railroaded into being major contributors to the Nazi machine, despite their moral protest. Do or die, no other option. Many of these men had families and were threatened with (at the very least), ridicule upon their families and (more than not) threats of retaliation and retribution against their family members.
I have few people I consider heroes or role-models in life: my grandmother, Winston Churchill, Teddy Roosevelt and...Erwin Rommel (whom Churchill said, "We have a very daring and skilful opponent against us, and, may I say across the havoc of war, a great general." The Desert Fox. Even my grandfather, who is of pure Polish descent and who had distant relatives murdered in Birkenau, Treblinka and Majdanek, understands why I like Rommel, after I explained it to him. Rommel was not particularly a Nazi, but a career soldier. He had served with distinction in WWI and stayed in the German military. He was an undisputed genius when it came to infantry and tank tactics. While he was initially a friend of Hitler, he quickly became disenfranchised with him and was very vocal in his opposition to most of Hitler's plans, especially regarding Africa (where he was stationed.) The war in Africa was widely referred to as "Krieg Ohne Hass", War Without Hate. To Rommel and his men, it was just a part of the war and he was following orders as a soldier. But while he followed orders for the most part, he knew Germany could never win the war and wasn't interested in the anti-semetic or Aryan policies of the Third Reich. As a soldier, he served with distinction. But he was also implicated in an assassination plot against Hitler.
Once Hitler was made aware of this fact, Rommel was offered two options: Face a court-martial, which would inevitably result in his family bearing the majority of the retaliation against him (up to and possibly including murder), or commit suicide with a full State funeral to hide his involvement with the plot and therefore spare his family from any retribution by Hitler supporters. Keep in mind that he had children at this time.
Erwin Rommel chose suicide, to spare his family from the inevitable retaliation that would've resulted if he'd been court-martialed as a traitor and conspirator against Hitler. I would've done the same, no questions asked. I'm not "father of the year" by any stretch, but I would never sell my family down the river.
Coincedentally, Rommel was the only known "Nazi" to be respected by both Churchill and George S. Patton, because he was a career soldier and fought valiantly and not considered a ideological Nazi. He was a reknowned family man as well as a very disciplined soldier, something that I respect quite a bit. He was extremely intelligent and thoughtful, and knew when to attack and when to back down.
Erwin Rommel was perhaps one of the greatest soldiers of the 20th century, as well as one of the greatest men. While I was "not allowed" to serve my military because of what amounts to ridiculous reasons, I still admire him and his work. Just like Sun Tsu's "The Art of War", Rommel's "Infantry Attacks" is used today by businessmen to rally the employees and grow their company.
Once again, history is not cut-and-dry, nor black-and-white.
Nivea (cosmetic products.)
Mercedes-Benz (cars.)
Fanta (soda.)
Warsteiner (beer.)
Faber-Castell (pencils, art supplies.)
Leica (cameras.)
Carl Zeiss (optics, including camera lenses, binoculars, microscope lenses and rifle scopes.)
Blaupunkt (stereos.)
Bayer (aspirin. IG Farben, the company that manufactures Bayer, also manufactured most of the Zyklon-B.)
BMW (cars and motorcycles.)
Volkswagen (cars.)
Paulaner (beer.)
BASF (chemicals, audio/visual tape, etc.)
Agfa (photographic film.)
Ford (as in cars. Henry Ford was awarded the highest honor Germany could bestow on a foreigner in 1938, the Grand Cross of the German Eagle. Henry Ford was much admired by Hitler and was even mentioned in Mein Kampf)
Porsche
Pelikan (fine pens and inks)
Walther (firearms)
Beck's (beer.)
JP Sauer (firearms, now part of Sig-Sauer)
Styer (firearms)
Mauser (firearms)
Esbit (fuel tablets, for stoves)
Staedtler-Mars (art supplies)
Audi (cars.)
IBM (manufactured punch-card machines specifically for camps, to "catalogue prisoners.")
Hugo Boss (clothing. Hugo Boss himself design the black SS uniform among others. The company has admitted that most, if not all, of its labor during the war years was provided by slave laborers from concentration camps.)
Dynamit-Nobel (ammunition.)
Messerschmitt/Airbus (part of the Airbus consortium.)
Krupps (major industrial and military WWII conglomerate/weapons manufacturer, the same people that now bring you toasters, coffee makers, blenders and elevators. They also manufactured major components for the gas chambers.)
Siemens AG (electronics)
Dräger (breathing apparatus, still used by firemen all over the world)
Heckler und Koch (H&K) (some of the most respected and sought-after firearms in the world, used by many police agencies and special forces units in the US military.)
HARIBO (candy)
Opel (cars)
Neumann (microphones, some of the best in the business.)
Bosch (automotive parts, the leading brand of sparkplugs.)
Telefunken (television, radio, premium microphones.)
Hella (automotive lighting and roll-bars. Your general "four-wheelin' Ford off-road" lighbars.)
Side Note:
NASA: If it weren't for Wernher von Braun, the designer of the V2 rocket, we'd have no NASA space program. Period. Most people don't realise that he was more interested in going into space than designing weapons, but decided to offer his services to the Third Reich (in his own words "Officially demanded by the NSDAP to join") because he knew they'd give him the money he needed to further his studies. Yes, he designed the V2 rocket...but if it weren't for Operation Paperclip and him defecting to the US, we wouldn't have a space program. He feigned interest in designing artillery so that he could funnel money into figuring out how to get into space. Despite the fact that he was a listed member of the NSDAP, he did so only to further his career and mostly because the Nazi party basically forced him into joining. He was told to join the SS, but called his commanding officer for advice: He was basically told that he had no choice in the matter. Technically he was a member of the SS, but only attended their horseback-riding school. Although he helped in the design of the V2 rockets, upon hearing of their deployment against London, he said "The rocket worked perfectly, except for landing on the wrong planet," and described his feelings upon hearing of the news as his "darkest day."
It is true that Wernher von Braun was aware of the conditions of the factory (Mittelwerk) that built a lot of the V2 rockets, but in response to the question, he has stated "It is hellish. My spontaneous reaction was to talk to one of the SS guards, only to be told with unmistakable harshness that I should mind my own business, or find myself in the same striped fatigues!... I realized that any attempt of reasoning on humane grounds would be utterly futile." This quote from the book 'Wernher Von Braun: Crusader For Space", page 44 (or thereabouts, depending on your copy's publisher.) Many of the professionals the Nazis employed were cruel sympathizers, but a large portion of them were also railroaded into being major contributors to the Nazi machine, despite their moral protest. Do or die, no other option. Many of these men had families and were threatened with (at the very least), ridicule upon their families and (more than not) threats of retaliation and retribution against their family members.
I have few people I consider heroes or role-models in life: my grandmother, Winston Churchill, Teddy Roosevelt and...Erwin Rommel (whom Churchill said, "We have a very daring and skilful opponent against us, and, may I say across the havoc of war, a great general." The Desert Fox. Even my grandfather, who is of pure Polish descent and who had distant relatives murdered in Birkenau, Treblinka and Majdanek, understands why I like Rommel, after I explained it to him. Rommel was not particularly a Nazi, but a career soldier. He had served with distinction in WWI and stayed in the German military. He was an undisputed genius when it came to infantry and tank tactics. While he was initially a friend of Hitler, he quickly became disenfranchised with him and was very vocal in his opposition to most of Hitler's plans, especially regarding Africa (where he was stationed.) The war in Africa was widely referred to as "Krieg Ohne Hass", War Without Hate. To Rommel and his men, it was just a part of the war and he was following orders as a soldier. But while he followed orders for the most part, he knew Germany could never win the war and wasn't interested in the anti-semetic or Aryan policies of the Third Reich. As a soldier, he served with distinction. But he was also implicated in an assassination plot against Hitler.
Once Hitler was made aware of this fact, Rommel was offered two options: Face a court-martial, which would inevitably result in his family bearing the majority of the retaliation against him (up to and possibly including murder), or commit suicide with a full State funeral to hide his involvement with the plot and therefore spare his family from any retribution by Hitler supporters. Keep in mind that he had children at this time.
Erwin Rommel chose suicide, to spare his family from the inevitable retaliation that would've resulted if he'd been court-martialed as a traitor and conspirator against Hitler. I would've done the same, no questions asked. I'm not "father of the year" by any stretch, but I would never sell my family down the river.
Coincedentally, Rommel was the only known "Nazi" to be respected by both Churchill and George S. Patton, because he was a career soldier and fought valiantly and not considered a ideological Nazi. He was a reknowned family man as well as a very disciplined soldier, something that I respect quite a bit. He was extremely intelligent and thoughtful, and knew when to attack and when to back down.
Erwin Rommel was perhaps one of the greatest soldiers of the 20th century, as well as one of the greatest men. While I was "not allowed" to serve my military because of what amounts to ridiculous reasons, I still admire him and his work. Just like Sun Tsu's "The Art of War", Rommel's "Infantry Attacks" is used today by businessmen to rally the employees and grow their company.
Once again, history is not cut-and-dry, nor black-and-white.