FX.co ★ Companies with murky past

BMW

During World War II, the Quandt family -the largest shareholder in BMW - was confiscating property from Jewish entrepreneurs. In 2016, the company expressed its “deepest regrets” for using slave labour for supporting the Nazis.

Volkswagen, Porsche, and Audi

These three brands, today owned by the Volkswagen Group, date back to World War II. Famous German engineer Ferdinand Porsche was a member of the Nazi Party. He created the original Volkswagen Beetle car under a contract with Hitler. Audi's predecessor company, Auto Union, also used forced labor during the war.

Chanel

Two memoirs about Coco Chanel suggest that the famous designer collaborated with German intelligence during World War II. She was thought to be a secret agent of Baron Hans Gunther von Dincklage, a German intelligence officer, with whom she was in a relationship during the war.

L'oréal

The founder of L'oréal, Eugène Schueller, was a member of La Cagoule - a secret fascist organization aimed to overthrow the democratic government of France before the outbreak of World War II.

Hugo boss

Hugo Ferdinand Boss was a German fashion designer and a founder of the clothing company Hugo Boss AG. He was also an active member of the Nazi party. Not surprisingly, he designed the uniform for the SS and Hitler Youth using forced labour of French and Polish prisoners. Later, the company donated to the Foundation Remembrance, Responsibility and Future - organization with the purpose of making financial compensation available "to former forced laborers and to those affected by other injustices from the National Socialist period".

Ford

Few people know that American businessman and innovator Henry Ford was spreading anti-Semitic views at the beginning of the 20th century. He was the owner of the Dearborn Independent where he published a series of articles about Jewish conspiracy against America.

Koch

In her book Dark Money, Jane Mayer wrote that Winkler-Koch, predecessor of the modern Koch Industries, were planning to build refineries in Nazi Germany.The company explained the situation as follows: Koch had agreed to work at a refinery in Hamburg six years before Germany’s intervention to Poland. Later, the businessman left Germany immediately after it became clear that Hitler’s regime was totalitarian.

Adidas and Puma

Adolf and Rudolf Dassler, the founders of the Adidas and Puma shoe brands, were members of the Nazi party during WW II. Initially, the brothers worked in cooperation but later they drifted apart. Notably, none of the brothers were true supporters of the Nazis. Despite his political beliefs, the founder of Adidas sponsored African-American athlete Jesse Owens during the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin. Jesse Owens won four gold medals at that time. A spokesman for Adidas said that Adolf Dassler’s priority was to help athletes reach new heights and that the company was proud that Dassler showed courage in the darkest times of German history.

IBM

“IBM and the Holocaust” by Edwin Black was published in 2001. The author reveals, based on the archive documents, that IBM had provided technological support to Nazi Germany for 12 years. However, the IBM representatives denied it and said that Black’s work was refuted by some scientists. Moreover, the company considers the actions of the Nazis a terrible crime. In addition, a company spokesperson cited Kevin Maney, who wrote that the company most likely did not know what the Nazis were using their technology for.