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Last century saw the rise and clash of three dominant political ideologies capitalism, Marxism andfascism. The inherent conflicts between these ideologies created a deep and sinister impact on theworld politics and humanity at large. Towards the end of 1920, the meteoric rise of National Socialism inGermany, and with it of Nazi dictatorship, emerged as a major threat to communist Russia and Capitalist

United states.

In those eventful 12 years of Nazi rule (1933-1945) that culminated into WWII, Germany created apowerful industrial -military complex which was far more potent and interconnected than anyone hadever seen. As a result of this alliance between Nazi leadership and industrial-military complex, many bigcorporations in those times witnessed a sudden upsurge in their profits. Industries big and small all overGermany became part of Hitler's massive war machine. In fact, many of the most dominant corporationsof our time made fortunes funding both sides of the war and this not only had German firms but also

some of the major US and European companies and banking giants. This post is an attempt to exploresuch mutualistic relations between some of these big names with the Nazi leadership and otherimportant actors involved.

I.G. Farben

The foremost name in this list is that of I.G. Farben, the colossus nazi industrial trust that created thenotorious Auschwitz concentration camp. I.G. farben was a chemical conglomerate formed in 1925 bymajor companies such as BSAF, Bayer, and Hoechst among others. I.G. Farbens top officials werestaunch Nazi followers and some of them were SA officers who personally knew both Rudolf Hess andErnst Roehm . I.G farben had a very pivotal role in the creation of Nazi war machine. As post-war

investigation by US war department revealed

Without I. G.'s immense productive facilities ,its intense research, and vast international affiliations, Germany's prosecution of the war would have been unthinkable and impossible;

Farben not only directed its energies toward arming Germany, but concentrated on weakening her intended victims, and this double-barreled attempt to expand the German industrial potential

for war and to restrict that of the rest of the world was not conceived and executed "in thenormal course of business." The proof is overwhelming that I. G. Farben officials had full prior knowledge of Germany's plan for world conquest and of each specific aggressive act later undertaken ....

I.G. Farben obtained all major government and military contracts, thanks to its nazi connections, to buildfactories and provide rubber, gasoline, lubricating oils, magnesium, fibres, explosives and otherchemicals. In its most infamous plant at Auschwitz, it even installed its own patented pesticide Zyklon B in the gas chambers. It didnt stop there. Farben used unwilling inmates in these camps as guinea pigs totest their chemicals, pharmaceuticals and vaccines resulting in disturbing consequences.

In this due course I.G Farben immensely grew in size and power and acquired controlling interests innumerous German and foreign firms. Its reach was not restricted to Europe alone. It formed complexcartels with US firms such as Standard Oil of New Jersey (Rockefeller owned), DuPont, Alcoa, DowChemical, and others to acquire the raw materials from abroad. It also received heavy financing from

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Wall Street bankers such as National city bank, Federal Reserve Bank of NY. In the Nuremberg trials, all

directors of Farben were charged guilty of war crimes.

Thyssen and Krupp

Thyssen, a major German steel manufacturer set by by influential German industrialist August thyssen,merged with another German firm Friedrich Krupp AG Hoesch-Krupp in 1999 to form ThyssenKrupp , alarge conglomerate world famous for its elevators. Krupps were a very prominent 400 year old Germandynasty and famous steel manufacturers. After Nazi seizing power in 1933, Hitler appointed GustavKrupp von Bohlen und Halbach, then controller of Krupp industry, as chairman of the Reich Federation

of German Industry who eventually succeeded by his son Alfried Krupp. During Nazi rearmamentprogram, Krupp was the principal German maker of large caliber artillery, armor plate, and other highquality armament, the largest private builder of U-boats and warships, the infamous German Panzertanks, and the second largest producer of iron and coal in Germany. On the other hand Fritz Thyssen,son of August thyssen, was partially inclined towards Nazi ideology of Communist and social democratssuppression but could accept the idea of anti-Semitism. While trying to emigrate to France and then hewas captured and sent to Dachau till he was liberated by axis forces.

Volkswagen and Porsche

German Volkswagen group and world famous expensive car manufacturer Porsche was founded byFerdinand Porsche, who threw himself in the services of German war machine and eventually benefitted

by it. Ferdinand Porsche enjoyed a strong reputation with both Hitler and Josef Stalin. Designed underthe Nazi regime, VW beetle became the famous peoples car. Hitler helped Porsche with land, fundand other means to set up his plants close to autobahn and canals. Being obsessed with the productivityconcerns, Porsche turned to his SS friend, Fritz Sauckel, responsible for the mass deportation of workers.

With his help, Porsche employed forced laborers sourced directly from death camps at VW factories atminimum or no cost which allowed for pocketing huge profits. Ferdinand Porsche himself served Hitler

during the war as the head of his tank commission.

Likewise, The Quandt family empire, which became a major shareholder in BMW after the Second WorldWar building it up to become one of the most desirable car brands were linked inseparably with Nazis.Family patriarch, Gnther Quandt and his son Herbert collaborated with Nazis and used estimated50,000 slave labourers from concentration camps in their factories to supply arms contracts to theregime.

Similarly, another giant in the german automobile industry, Mercedes Benz accepted that its armamentproduction accounted for an ever- growing proportion of the companys revenues up to the start of thewar. The company focussed on the manufacture and assembly of military components for the army,navy and air force. Daimler-Benz also used forced laborers. These prisoners of war, abducted civiliansand detainees from concentration camps were housed close to the plants. Forced laborers fromWestern Europe lived in guest houses, private accommodation or schools.

Adidas and Puma

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The two German brothers - Adolf ("Adi") and Rudolf Dassler- shot to fame when Jasse Owen, fastestsprinter of his day, wore sprinting shoes manufactured by them in the Berlin's Olympic and won a goldmedal in 100 mt race. In 1924, Adolf and Rudolf Dassler founded the "Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory" tospecialize in athletic shoes in home town Bavaria. Later both joined Nazi party in 1933. After 1934, whenHitler received a huge blow on account of German army retreating on all fronts, Dassler Brothers'

factory was replaced with making Panzerschreck, fire weapons. All manufacturing facilities employedforced laborer. After the fall of Nazi regime, when American tanks rolled up in the city both the brotherssucceeded in convincing them of their innocence and persuaded into believing that their only interestrested in manufacturing sports shoes. In 1948 due to mutual differences, Rudolf separated from Adi andformed a rival shoe company called Puma. Adi renamed his outfit Adidas. In later years when Americanslearnt about the fact that the Dassler brothers had produced the shoes that Jesse Owens had run in,they started buying all the products the company could produce thus making company a worldwidesuccess story.

IBM

Beginning with Hitlers rise to power in 1933, IBM began a series of contracts with the Third Reich.Among them, running railroads, organizing concentration camp slave labor, and most disturbingly,taking under the task of identifying and categorizing all German and European Jews and other minoritiestermed by the Nazis as being invalids.2 The job was so monumental in scope, and so intricate in detail, itrequired the ability of a computer, however, there were no computers in the 1930s, but luckily for IBM,they manufactured the closest thing at the time, their punch card machines. The punch card machineswould punch in specific numbers, which would have different meanings, for example, one number

would identify the person to whom it is being assigned as a Jew or a Gypsy or a Communist, and so on.