Bill LaytnerDetroit Free Press
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Dutch-born David de Jong, 38, formerly with Bloomberg News in New York City and now a Middle East reporter based in Israel, will be in metro Detroit on Sunday to talk about his acclaimed book, “Nazi Billionaires: The dark history of Germany’s wealthiest dynasties,” published in 2022.
The book tells how the richest German families before World War II, particularly those identified with Germany's main industry — auto manufacturing — remain the richest, and that the triumphant Allies punished them hardly at all after the war, despite their having supported Adolf Hitler’s war machine while using slave labor, and despite their having significantly added to their wealth before the war by using Nazi race laws to seize Jewish interests in factories, mines, foundries and ships. They took from Jewish partners entire brands such as Porsche automobiles, buying them at deep discounts, and keeping what they expropriated even after the war.
Truly sinister is the book's description of a secret meeting early in 1933, when Hitler addressed two dozen of the nation’s wealthiest business leaders. Relying on archival research, the author says that Hitler offered a deal: If they'd support his continuing rise to power, he'd ensure the political stability the tycoons needed to keep raking in profits. He'd do it by smashing the labor riots that socialists and Communists were planning to stage. But to do that, Hitler’s almost-bankrupt Nazi party needed lots of cash to enable victories in the upcoming parliamentary elections, after which there would be no more elections, he promised. That night, the tycoons gave Hitler what he needed – so they’d get what they needed.
The following Q&A previews what de Jong will discuss on Sunday, 2:30-4:30 p.m., at the Zekelman Holocaust Center, 28123 Orchard Lake Road in Farmington Hills. Admission to the event is $10 (free for center members). To register, see www. holocaustcenter.org/june.
Q. Your book tells a Nazi-era history of familiar car makers and of the families that, for the most part, still control such brands as BMW, Volkswagen, Porsche, and Mercedes-Benz, as well as less-known marques, including Audi, Bentley, and Lamborghini. To those who say your book revisits a distant past that has no relevance today, you point out in your book that "statues of Confederate generals, slave traders, and Christopher Columbus are being torn down" and yet the evil history behind familiar German brands stayed hidden. What do you say to car dealers who just want this history, and you, to go away?
A. This book is an argument for transparency. These families celebrate their grandfathers for their business success, but they leave out their Nazi associations and their war crimes. The families behind BMW, VW, whatnot — they support global foundations and media prizes and academic chairs, and museums, in the name of their grandfathers, but they do it without any reckoning with history. I would say to car dealers, you're contributing to this whitewash of history. And I would say to consumers, be aware of what you're spending your money on.
Q. What got you started on this book?
A. When I was a reporter in New York, I was asked by my American bosses to be part of an investigative team, and I went to Europe. I started visiting the Bloomberg News bureaus, and I discovered that these families that ran the biggest companies in Germany had a history that wasn't getting any attention. For example, the academic studies on the millions of slave laborers were just sitting on shelves. I wanted to shine a light on that.
Q. How long did it take to write the book?
A. After I moved to Berlin in 2017 to conduct the research on the book — I was freelancing on the side for Bloomberg — it took me four years. I did wide-ranging archival research but also (looked at) memoirs, letters, academic studies — a lot of primary research, actual historical documents. I also did research at the National Archives at College Park, in Maryland.
Q. Do you see parallels between Germany in the 1930s, a time that led to the Nazi dictatorship, and the political climate of today?
A. Yes, I see the wave of discontent in the 1930s in Germany as similar to the wave of discontent after the financial crisis of 2008 to 2012. We saw candidates use that, with disinformation spreading around the world, and the far right gaining power around the world, from Europe to America to the Middle East.
Q: Your books shows that Hitler didn't so much grab power as he was given it by the voters, following a disinformation campaign financed by these same uber-wealthy German families. He didn't have social media. How did he do it?
A. His propaganda campaigns were very effective. You had a very vulnerable population in Germany, with major unemployment and people looking for scapegoats, whether it was the Jews or the Communists. Hitler provided easy answers. Today, we see other people offering easy answers.
Q. Why did the victorious Allied forces, led by American generals and diplomats, give such lenient treatment to Germany's tycoons after the war? After all, many had been Nazi party members. They used slave labor. They stole entire factories from Jewish owners. But instead of execution or prison terms, as the Nazi military leaders got, these tycoons received what you term "a slap on the wrist." And they got to keep what they stole.
A. This happened because of the Cold War. In early 1947, the Truman administration changed from punitive measures. The Nazi war became old news. The new priority was to make West Germany an economic powerhouse and a liberal democracy, as a bulwark against Communism. Where that went wrong is that the Allies handed the former Nazis back to German authorities, at the de-Nazification trials. And the German authorities were thinking, "We need to put this behind us, and we need these (industry leaders) to restart the economy. So there was very limited return of assets to Jewish owners. Some of these disputes are still in the courts today."
Q. You're living in Israel at a tumultuous and controversial time. Has the conflict in Gaza put you in any danger?
A. I'm a reporter. I was in the kibbutzes (Israeli farm towns) following the Hamas attack in October. I saw the destruction with my own eyes. Am I in danger? The entire region is in turmoil. I'm just doing my job. It's an incredibly grim situation for all involved. I will go back to the Netherlands eventually (to rejoin his family). But for now, I'm so immersed in war coverage, I don't really think about the future.
Q. You say the Zekelman Holocaust Center is paying for your visit. In a statement emailed to the Free Press, the center's CEO, Rabbi Eli Mayerfeld, called your book "a perfect match" for the center, "where visitors learn from the past, become alert to the dangers of antisemitism, and take action to ensure that good prevails over evil." How is the book doing?
A. Very well. It's been translated into 18 languages. The fourth edition is coming out soon in Germany.
Contact Bill Laytner: blaitner@freepress.com
