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The German chemical firm, I.G. Farben, remains an object of historical scrutiny. Responsible for developing the gasoline and aviation fuel so integral to the Nazi regime’s military campaign, the company’s executives enabled the Third Reich’s war crimes through their use of forced labor from the Auschwitz concentration camp. While this complicity did result in their conviction at the Nuremberg trials, Stephan H. Lindner provides a fresh perspective on this watershed event, highlighting how the legacy of this trial shaped postwar Europe’s understanding of collusion and reparation. Charting its build up, the events of the trial itself, and its aftermath, this volume spotlights the complexities of corporate social responsibility and of putting the military-industrial complex on trial.
“This well researched, deliberate, and lucid book throws new light on the strengths and weaknesses of the American prosecution and trial of IG Farben’s corporate leaders following World War II. Lindner’s account is a significant and sobering addition to our knowledge.” • Peter Hayes, Professor Emeritus of History and Holocaust Studies at Northwestern University
"The trial of the managers of I.G. Farben is a legal thriller driven by a desire for justice, personal ambition, and the political realities between World War II and the Cold War. Based on an exhaustive analysis of archival material, Stephan Lindner brilliantly reconstructs the real story behind the gossip and disillusionment and shows how much justice, even in the most heinous cases, depends on context and will.” • Angelika Nußberger, Former Vice-President of the European Court of Human Rights
“The German chemical firm I.G. Farben has been a focus of attention and controversy for decades […] Based on research in a wide range of archives, including the papers of judges, attorneys on both sides, and the accused, this book tells the story of the trial’s origins and organization, the trial itself, and its outcome. […] It offers a complement to these existing treatments, providing rich historical background to contemporary discussions about corporate social responsibility, the military-industrial complex, and the complexities of bringing these issues into the courtroom” • Ray Stokes, University of Glasgow
Stephan H. Lindner is Professor of Interdependence of Technological and Social Change at the University of the Bundeswehr in Munich. He is the author of numerous publications in economic history and in the comparative history of industrial textiles in Germany and France. His recent publications include: Unternehmertum und Politik in der Weimarer Republik (de Gruyter, 2022); Sartorius 1870-2020 (Piper, 2021); and Aufrüstung - Ausbeutung - Auschwitz. Eine Geschichte des I.G.-Farben-Prozesses (Wallstein, 2020).
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
List of Abbreviations
Introduction
Chapter 1. Prehistory and Preparation of the Trial
Chapter 2. The Indictment and the Composition of the Court in Case VI
Chapter 3. The Trial
Chapter 4. The Posthistory of the Trial
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index