Edwin Black (1950--) IBM and the Holocaust (2001).
The strategic alliance between Nazi Germany and America's most powerful corporation.
To my daughter, Rachel, who will read this book, and to six million who will not.
Revelation and Responsibility
The Publication of the Hardcover Edition of IBM and the Holocaust on February 12, 2001
...Although I was astonished by the statements of a few historians, my friends in academia simply chuckled. They had seen it many times before. Still, others involved in the study of Holocaust history did not find these misstatements humorous. "Most dismaying to me was the reaction of some of the Holocaust scholars I had come especially to respect," says Wolfe, arguably one of the world's most accomplished Holocaust scholars. He adds, "Some refused to read the book, others indulged in ad hominem attacks on its author. They are defensive because they were scooped. . . . I have always assumed that the essence of scholarship is . . . cogent interpretation of the best available sources. Perhaps it is embarrassing that most Holocaust experts (with the notable exception of the late Sybil Milton) missed the role of punch-cards in enabling the Third Reich . . . to engage in war crimes such as operating concentration camps where extermination through labor was conducted. Some of the most telling records of the amoral and profitable involvement of IBM with Nazi Germany were in my custody for a third of a century, but it took Edwin Black to draw their significance to my attention."
...Numerous lawsuits were filed or threatened against IBM by Jews in America, Poland, and France, and by Gypsies throughout Europe, seeking to open IBM's archives. Ironically, some of these lawsuits were deemed to threaten the final financial reparations agreed to by Germany. Eventually, rather than endure months and years of additional delay due to any IBM litigation, U.S. and German government officials as well as organizational leaders pressured the plaintiffs' lawyers to desist. The U.S. State Department itself issued a statement announcing one lawsuit dismissal, asserting, "The primary remedy sought by the plaintiffs in the IBM case was the opening of IBM's archives in relation to the World War II period. The United States strongly supports the opening of all archives, public and private, relating to the Holocaust era in order to facilitate further research and encourage greater understanding of the Holocaust and its historical context." Unfortunately, other than the two partial transfers, none of the other archives has yet been opened. Nor did the carefully worded State Department statement indicate when those IBM archives might be opened.
To my daughter, Rachel, who will read this book, and to six million who will not.
Revelation and Responsibility
The Publication of the Hardcover Edition of IBM and the Holocaust on February 12, 2001
...Although I was astonished by the statements of a few historians, my friends in academia simply chuckled. They had seen it many times before. Still, others involved in the study of Holocaust history did not find these misstatements humorous. "Most dismaying to me was the reaction of some of the Holocaust scholars I had come especially to respect," says Wolfe, arguably one of the world's most accomplished Holocaust scholars. He adds, "Some refused to read the book, others indulged in ad hominem attacks on its author. They are defensive because they were scooped. . . . I have always assumed that the essence of scholarship is . . . cogent interpretation of the best available sources. Perhaps it is embarrassing that most Holocaust experts (with the notable exception of the late Sybil Milton) missed the role of punch-cards in enabling the Third Reich . . . to engage in war crimes such as operating concentration camps where extermination through labor was conducted. Some of the most telling records of the amoral and profitable involvement of IBM with Nazi Germany were in my custody for a third of a century, but it took Edwin Black to draw their significance to my attention."
...Numerous lawsuits were filed or threatened against IBM by Jews in America, Poland, and France, and by Gypsies throughout Europe, seeking to open IBM's archives. Ironically, some of these lawsuits were deemed to threaten the final financial reparations agreed to by Germany. Eventually, rather than endure months and years of additional delay due to any IBM litigation, U.S. and German government officials as well as organizational leaders pressured the plaintiffs' lawyers to desist. The U.S. State Department itself issued a statement announcing one lawsuit dismissal, asserting, "The primary remedy sought by the plaintiffs in the IBM case was the opening of IBM's archives in relation to the World War II period. The United States strongly supports the opening of all archives, public and private, relating to the Holocaust era in order to facilitate further research and encourage greater understanding of the Holocaust and its historical context." Unfortunately, other than the two partial transfers, none of the other archives has yet been opened. Nor did the carefully worded State Department statement indicate when those IBM archives might be opened.