General Motors and the Nazis : The Struggle for Control of Opel, Europe's Biggest Carmaker

by Henry Ashby Turner, Jr.

• ISBN13: 9780300106343
• ISBN10: 0300106343
• Format: Trade Book
• Copyright: 2005-07-11
• Publisher: Yale University Press

Summary

This book, the first ever based on unrestricted access to General Motors' internal records, documents the giant American corporation's dealings with the Third Reich. GM purchased Opel, Europe's largest automaker, in the 1920s and continued to hold it through the Second World War. Historian Henry Ashby Turner, Jr., uncovers the fascinating story of how the American carmaker conducted business in Germany under the Nazi regime and explores larger issues concerning the relations between international corporations and the Third Reich. The book presents new and detailed information about General Motors' interactions with Hitler and other Nazi officials, including the carmaker's attempt to capture the Volkswagen project. It also reveals how American GM executives thwarted a sustained Nazi effort to gain control of Opel. The author concludes with an assessment of the extent of the company's implication, through Opel, in the Nazi war effort and in the exploitation of forced labor.

Author Biography

Henry Ashby Turner, Jr., is Stillé Professor of History Emeritus, Yale University. His previous books include German Big Business and the Rise of Hitler.

Table of Contents

Preface,	vii
1 GM's Costly Subsidiary Sags with the Slump, Then Soars under the Swastika,	1	(12)
2 Opel and GM Adapt to the Third Reich,	13	(18)
3 GM Fumbles the Volkswagen, Gains a Truck Factory, Identifies Foes and Friends,	31	(18)
4 A Nazi Grasp for Opel Is Fended Off,	49	(20)
5 The Gauleiter Is Thwarted, but Not without Consequences,	69	(16)
6 Opel Is Conscripted for the German War Effort,	85	(19)
7 Mr. Mooney Tries to Stop the Second World War,	104	(23)
8 GM Loses Control but Takes Wartime Profits,	127	(23)
9 Circumstances and Options-Responsibility and Guilt,	150	(9)
Appendix: GM and German Tetraethyl Lead Production,	159	(2)
List of Abbreviations,	161	(2)
Notes,	163	(30)
Bibliography,	193	(4)
Index,	197