For exactly that reason, some powerful nations today view international law and the Nuremberg precedents with greater suspicion than previously. The most powerful forces working against an evenhanded application of international law today are those that have up to now usually gained the most from its terms.
Major powers continue to cynically exploit international law to support propaganda claims against their rivals. They call for strict enforcement of international sanctions when it suits their purpose, but they ignore rulings by international courts when it is opportune to do so. In recent years U.S. administrations (and the media, “opinion leaders,” and so on) have consistently invoked international law to justify actions against Libya, Iran, Iraq, Grenada, Panama, and other enemies du jour. U.S. leaders usually present themselves as the only real defenders of international order in a world that would otherwise be cast into anarchy. Yet, they maintain an icy silence when the law is less to their liking, as when the International Court of Arbitration at The Hague ruled that the U.S. mining of Nicaraguan harbors, shooting down of an Iranian civilian airliner, and a list of similar acts constituted serious international crimes.6 The fact that such obvious deceits pass by largely without comment in most parliaments, newspapers, and journals vividly illustrates the extent to which double-think on genocide and human rights remains ingrained in the present world order.
Who then, or what, is the splendid blond beast? It is the destruction inherent in any system of order, the institutionalized brutality whose existence is denied by cheerleaders of the status quo at the very moment they feed its appetite for blood.
The present world order supplies stability and rationality of a sort for human society, while its day-to-day operations chew up the weak, the scapegoats, and almost anyone else in its way. This is not necessarily an evil conspiracy of insiders; it is a structural dilemma that generates itself more or less consistently from place to place and from generation to generation.
Much of modern society has been built upon genocide. This crime was integral to the emergence of the United States, of czarist Russia and later the USSR, of European empires, and of many other states. Today, modern governments continue extermination of indigenous peoples throughout Asia, Africa, and Latin America, mainly as a means of stealing land and natural resources. Equally pernicious, though often less obvious, the present world order has institutionalized persecution and deprivation of hundreds of millions of children, particularly in the Third World, and in this way kills countless innocents each year.7 These systemic atrocities are for the most part not even regarded as crimes, but instead are written off by most of the world’s media and intellectual leadership as acts of God or of nature whose origin remains a mystery.
It is individual human beings who make the day-to-day decisions that create genocide, reward mass murder, and ease the escape of the guilty. But social systems usually protect these individuals from responsibility for “authorized” acts, in part by providing rationalizations that present systemic brutality as a necessary evil. Some observers may claim that men such as Allen Dulles, Robert Murphy, et al. were gripped by an ideal of a higher good when they preserved the power of the German business elite as a hedge against revolution in Europe. But in the long run, their intentions have little to do with the real issue, which is the character of social systems that permit decisions institutionalizing murder to take on the appearance of wisdom, reason, or even justice among the men and women who lead society.
Progress in the control of genocide depends in part on confronting those who would legitimize and legalize the act. The cycle of genocide can be broken through relatively simple—but politically difficult—reforms in the international legal system. It is essential to identify and condemn the deeds that contribute to genocide, particularly when such deeds have assumed a mantle of respectability, and to ensure just and evenhanded punishment for those responsible. But the temptation will be to accept the inducements and rationalizations society offers in exchange for keeping one’s mouth shut. The choice is in our hands.
Appendix
The chart that follows summarizes publicly available reports of corporate use of concentration camp inmates. It is compiled from official records of the West German government, International Red Cross reports, captured SS records, International Military Tribunal affidavits, and studies by leading scholars.
Companies reported to have contracted with the SS for use of concentration camp prisoners, or which established their own in-house prison camps with SS approval, are displayed below in regular type. The name of the main SS concentration camp from which prisoners were drawn is in bold type. The source that states the company’s relationship to the administration of the concentration camps is indicated in the brackets next to each entry and identified at the end of this Appendix (p. 310). The notes inside parentheses summarize the type of work performed by prisoners, when that data is available. Minor variations in the rendering of corporate names in the original reports have been corrected in this table for the sake of clarity.
This list is not complete. In hundreds of instances, available records identify the location of an SS labor camp but not its corporate customers. Conversely, there are hundreds of corporate forced labor centers known to have operated in cooperation with the SS whose link to a particular concentration camp has been lost because of the Germans’ destruction of witnesses and records. That was the case with Kontinentale Öl’s short-lived empire, for example, and with many other forced labor projects in the Nazi-occupied zones of Poland, the USSR, and Yugoslavia. The SS’s own proprietary corporations, such as the German Earth and Stone Works (Deutsche Erd- und Steinwerke—DES), German Armament Works (Deutsche Ausrustungswerke—DAW), various labor commandos, and others, have also been passed over in this list, except in instances where the private sector customers for the SS services can be established.
The pattern is nonetheless clear. Germany’s largest companies exploited forced labor on a massive scale, at hundreds of factories, and for central elements of their production. Even in instances when companies went out of their way to avoid documenting their use of slaves—and that often became standard operating procedure—Germany’s private sector dependence upon the laborers became so great as to require large administrative staffs to account for the prisoners’ work and to make economic projections concerning the availability of forced laborers for future production.
TABLE OF GERMAN COMPANIES AND MAIN SS CONCENTRATION CAMPS REPORTED TO BE ACTIVE IN EXPLOITATION OF FORCED LABOR DURING THE THIRD REICH
Auschwitz
AEG (electronics) [5]
Barthl (construction) [5]
Bata Schlesische Schuhwerke (leather, shoes, and factory construction) [10]
Benton-Monteur-Bau (construction) [10]
Berle Hoch- und Tiefbau (construction) [10]
Berliner Baugesellschaft (construction) [10]
BRABAG (mining, synthetic fuel) [3]
Breitenbach Montanbau [10]
Borsig-Koks-Werk (coal processing) [10]
Charlottengrube (Hermann-Göring-Werke) (tunnel construction) [10]
Concordia Kohlenbergwerk (coal processing) [10]
Deutsche Gasrusswerke, Gleiwitz [5] [8]
Dyckerhoff & Widman (construction materials) [5]
Egefeld (construction) [10]
Emmerich Machold (textiles) [10]
Energie-Versorgung-Oberschlesien AG (electrical construction for Elektrizitätswerk “Walter”) [10]
Erdöl Raffinerie Trzebinia GmbH (oil refining) [10]
Fürstengrube GmbH (coal mining) [10]
Fürstlich Plessische Bergwerks AG (coal processing) [10]
Godula (factory construction) [10]
Grün und Bilfinger (construction) [10]
Gute Hoffnung Janinagrube (coal mining) [10]
Heinkel (aircraft components, munitions) [5] [10]
Hubertushütte (coal processing) [10]
IG Farben—Buna Werke (construction, synthetic fuel) [3] [4] [5]
[8] [10]
Junkers (aircraft) [5]
Klotz und Co. (construction) [10]
Königshütte Metallwerke (metal works) [10]
Königs- und-Bismarckhütte AG (armored cars and tanks) [10]
Krupp (munitions) [4] [5]
Krupp—Laurahùtte (munitions) [8]
Lasota (tunnel & road construction) [10]
Oberschlesische Gerätebau GmbH [10]
Oberschlesische Hydrierwerke (construction of synthetic gasoline works) [5] [8] [10]
Ölschieferanlagen (oil refinery construction) [8]
Ost-Maschinenbau GmbH (OSMAG) (cannon) [2] [5] [8] [10]
Pfitzner und Kamper (munitions, loading) [10]
Philipp Holzmann (construction) [10]
Pluschke und Grosser (construction) [10]
Portland-Zement-Fabrik AG (construction materials) [10]
Riedel (tunnel and roadbuilding) [10]
Rheinmetall-Borsig (munitions) [3]
Schuchtermann und Kremer Bau AG (construction) [10]
Schweinitz (construction) [10]
S. Frankel—Schlesische Feinweberei AG (textiles) [10]
Siemens-Schuckert (electronics for aircraft) [2] [3] [10]
Union Metallindustrie (munitions) [4] [5]
Vacuum Öl (oil refinery) [5] [10]
Vereinigte Aluminiumwerke (aluminum) [5]
Wayss und Freytag (construction) [10]
Zieleniewski (munitions) [10]
Zwirnfabrik G. A. Buhl und Sohn (textiles) [10]
Bergen-Belsen
Rheinmetall-Borsig (munitions) [8]
Buchenwald*
AEG (electronics for V-2 project) [10]
AGO Oschersleben (production for Focke-Wulf) [2] [5] [10]
AGO (Arbeitsgemeinschaft Otto) Flugzeugwerke (Siebenberg GmbH) [10]
Allgemeine Transportanlagen GmbH, Leipzig (loading) [8] [10]
Amoniakwerke Merseburg GmbH [10]
Anhydrit (production for Junkers in Stollen) [2] [5]
Annaburger Gerätebau GmbH [10]
Anschütz & Co. [5]
Architekt Wilhelm Fricke (construction) [10]
Bauwens (construction) [10]
BMW (Eisenach plant, aircraft engines) [5] [8] [10]
BMW (Abteroda plant, aircraft engines) [5] [8] [10]
Bochumer Verein AG (Eisen und Huettenwerk Bochum AG, steel) [5] [8] [10]
Bode (construction) [10]
BRABAG (mining, synthetic fuel) [1] [3] [5] [8] [10]
Bruns Apparatebau (aircraft components for Heinkel) [5] [8] [10]
Büro Prinz (V-2 project) [10]
Christian Mansfeld AG (construction) [1] [5] [8] [10]
Dessau Waggonfabrik AG [8] [10]
Dietrich & Hermann (construction) [5]
Dora Mittelbau Projekt (construction and rocket assembly) [1] [5] [10]
Dortmund-Horder Hüttenverein AG (munitions) [10]
Dynamit Nobel (explosives) [3] [5] [10]
Eisen- und Hüttenwerke AG [10]
Erla-Maschinenwerke (aircraft components) [2] [5] [8] [10]
Ford-Werke Köln (trucks) [1] [5] [8] [10]
Gebrüder Thiele (munitions) [10]
Gerätebau GmbH (aircraft components) [10]
Gelsenberg Benzin AG (munitions) [10]
Geyer und Sohn [10]
Gollnow und Sohn [10]
Grün und Bilfinger (construction) [10]
Gustloff-Werke (Krupp munitions) [5] [8] [9] [10]
Heerbrandt Werke AG [10]
Heinkel (aircraft components) [5] [10]
Heinrich Kalb (construction) [10]
Hermann Göring Werke (factory construction) [10]
Heyman, Darmstadt [8]
Hugo Schneider AG (HASAG) (munitions, panzers) [5] [8] [10]
Ingenieurbüro Prof. Dr. Rimpl [10]
Ingenieurbüro Schlempp [10]
IG Farben (construction of film factory) [5] [10]
Iser-Werke (aircraft components) [10]
Julius Schmidt (construction) [10]
Junkers Flug-und-Motorenwerke [1] [2] [3] [5] [8] [10]
Kabel-und Leitungswerke AG [10]
Kaliwerk Georgi (construction) [10]
Kranz und Co. (at Nordhausen) [5] [10]
Krupp (munitions) [3] [5] [6] [10]
Kühlhaus Weimer (refrigeration plant construction) [5] [8]
Kurt Heber Maschinenfabrik (munitions) [10]
Langenwerke AG (aircraft components) [5] [10]
Leichtmetallwerke Rautenbach [2]
Leichmetallwerke Wernigerode (production for Junkers) [8]
Lippstädter Eisen und Metallwerke (metal working) [1] [10]
Lippstädter Metallindustrie (metal working; may be same as previous entry) [8]
Ludwig Renner (construction) [10]
Luftmunitionsanstalt (air munitions) [8]
Maschinenbau GmbH (aircraft parts) [10]
Maschinenfabrik Schmidt (at Nordhausen) [5] [10]
Maschinenfabrik Kurt Heber, Osterode (aircraft components) [8] [10]
Maibaum [10]
Maifisch (construction) [5] [8]
Malachit AG (also: Malachyt) (tunnel building) [5] [10]
Mauserwerke (munitions) [8]
Max Gerthwerke (aircraft components) [5] [10]
Mittelwerke GmbH (joint project for V-2 rocket construction) [10]
Moiski (construction) [10]
Mühlenwerke AG (production for Junkers) [10]
M. Wagner (construction) [10]
Nationale Radiatoren (V-2 electronics) [10]
Ohl und Vattrodt (construction) [10]
Ortelsbruch-Bauleitung (excavation) [10]
Polte-Werke (munitions) [10]
Rautal-Werke GmbH [10]
Reichsbahn Ausbesserungswerk Jena (construction) [1]
G. E. Reinhardt, Sonneberg [8] [10]
Reh, Strassfurt und Hecht (construction) [5] [8]
Rheinmetall-Bofsig (munitions) [3] [5] [8] [10]
Roeder (munitions) [10]
Ruhrstahl AG [10]
Saupe und Mulke (paper factory) [10]
Siebel Flugzeugwerke (aircraft components) [5] [8] [10]
Siebenberg GmbH (aircraft components) [10]
Siemens Bau-Union GmbH (construction) [3]
Siemens-Schuckert Werke AG (underground factory construction) [10]
Solvay Werke [5] [10]
Starkstromanlagen AG (construction) [10]
Staupendahl (loading, transport) [5]
Stein (construction) [10]
Tanroda Papierfabrik (paper) (Mitteldeutsche Papierwerke) [5] [10]
Thyra-Werke (aircraft components for Junkers) [5] [8] [10]
Vereinigte Westdeutsche Waggon-Werke AG (Westwaggon AG) (motor vehicles) [5] [8] [10]
Walzer & Co. (panzers) [1] [8] [10]
Wernig-Werke, Hasserode [10]
Westfälisch-Anhaltische Sprengstoff AG (WASAG) (chemicals, explosives) [10]
Westfälische Metallindustrie (munitions) [8] [10]
WIFO Wirtschaftliche Forschungsgesellshaft mbH [10]
Wilhelm Bischoff (air raid shelter construction) [5]
Wintershall AG (fuel, energy) [5] [8] [10]
Dachau
AEG (electronics) [3]
AGFA-Kamerawerke [10]
Anorgana GmbH [10]
Arnold Fischer [10]
Bartholith-Werke [10]
Berliner Baugesellschaft (BBG) [10]
BMW (aircraft motors) [1] [2] [5] [8] [10]
Chemiegauer Vertriebsgesellschaft [10]
Chemische Werke GmbH Otto Barlocher [10]
Dachau Entommologisches Institut (construction) [1]
Dornier-Werke GmbH (aircraft components) [2] [10]
Dyckerhoff & Widmann (construction) [1] [5] [10]
Dynamit Nobel (munitions) [3] [5] [10]
Feller-Tuchfabrik [10]
Fleischkonservenfabrik Hans Wulfert (butchery, food processing) [5] [8] [10]
Formholz [10]
Franz Nutzl
[10]
Gebrüder Helfman [10]
Giesing Kamerawerke (optics) [1]
Hebel [10]
Hess, Ilse [10]
Hochtief GmbH [10]
Philipp Holzmann (construction) [3]
I. Ehrenput [10]
IG Farben[10]
Dr. Jung [10]
Karl Bucklers [10]
Keller und Knappich [10]
Dr. Ing. Kimmel (generators) [2]
Kirsch [10]
Klockner-Humbolt-Deutz AG [10]
Kodel und Bohm [10]
Kuno (munitions for Messerschmitt) [10]
L. Bautz [10]
Loden-Frey, München [8] [10]
Luftfahrtforschungsanstalt München (airfield construction) [2]
Magnesit [10]
Messerschmitt AG (aircraft) [1] [2] [3] [5] [10]
Michel-Fabrik Augsburg [1]
München-Allach Porzellan Manufaktur (ceramics) [1]
Ölschieferanlagen (oil refinery construction) [8]
Praezifix (aircraft components) [2] [5] [8] [10]
Pumpel und Co. [10]
Reichsbahnausbesserungswerk München (construction) [1] [8]
Reichsstrassenbauamt Innsbruck (construction) [1]
Sager und Worner [10]
U. Sachse-Kempten KG (factory construction) [2] [8] [10]
Schuhhaus Meier [10]
Schurich [10]
Dr. Schweninger [10]
Unic [10]
Zeppelin Luftschiffbauu (dirigibles) [8] [10]
Flossenberg
AEG (electronics) [10]
Agaricola GmbH [10]
Alu-Werke Nürnberg (factory production) [5]
A. Schulze Jr. (textiles) [5] [10]
Astra-Werke AG (factory production) [5] [10]
Auto-Union (momtor vehicles) [5] [8] [10]
Bäckerei Hans Kraus (food processing) [10]
Bäckerei Paul Rotgen (food processing) [5] [10]
Ballauf [10]
Bayreuther Bekleidungsindustrie (textiles, uniforms) [5]
Bernsdorf & Co. (munitions) [1] [5] [8] [10]
Broer[10]
Danzer [10]
Deutsche Erd- und Steinwerke (DES) (construction for Messerschmitt) [2] [5]
The Splendid Blond Beast Page 34
