The Deutsche Bank and the Nazi Economic War against the Jews: The Expropriation of Jewish-Owned Property

by Harold James

• ISBN13: 9780521803298
• ISBN10: 0521803292
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2001-03-23
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

The Deutsche Bank, Germany’s largest financial institution, played an important role in the expropriation of Jewish-owned enterprises during the Nazi dictatorship, both in the existing territories of Germany, and in the area seized by the German army during World War II. In this book Harold James uses new and previously unavailable materials, many from the bank’s own archives, to examine policies which led to the eventual genocide of European Jews. How far did the realization of the vicious and destructive Nazi ideology depend on the acquiescence, the complicity, and the cupidity of existing economic institutions, and individuals? In response to the traditional view that business co-operation with the Nazi regime was motivated by profit, this book closely examines the behaviour of the bank and its individuals to suggest other motivations. No comparable study exists of a single company’s involvement in the economic persecution of the Jews in Nazi Germany.

Author Biography

Harold James is Professor of History at Princeton University.

Table of Contents

Preface of the Historical Commission Appointed to Examine the History of the Deutsche Bank in the Period of National Socialism	vii
Author's Preface	ix
Selected Abbreviations Used in the Text	xi
Business and Politics: Banks and Companies in Nazi Germany	1	(10)
The Structure, Organization, and Economic Environment of Deutsche Bank	11	(10)
National Socialism and Banks	21	(15)
The Problem of ``Aryanization''	36	(7)
Deutsche Bank and ``Aryanization,'' in the Pre-1938 Boundaries of Germany	43	(84)
Deutsche Bank Abroad: ``Aryanization,'' Territorial Expansion, and Economic Reordering	127	(69)
Jewish-Owned Bank Accounts	196	(8)
The Profits of the Deutsche Bank	204	(7)
Some Concluding Reflections	211	(8)
Notes	219	(26)
Bibliography	245	(10)
Index	255