A damning new history . . .Jeffreys brings a rare combination of forensic acumen and narrative flair. ―Chicago TribuneAt its peak in the 1930s; the German chemical conglomerate IG Farben was one of the most powerful corporations in the world. To this day; companies formerly part of the Farben cartel―the aspirin maker Bayer; the graphics supplier Agfa; the plastics giant BASF―continue to play key roles in the global market. IG Farben itself; however; is remembered mostly for its infamous connections to the Nazi Party and its complicity in the atrocities of the Holocaust. After the war; Farben's leaders were tried for crimes that included mass murder and exploitation of slave labor. In Hell's Cartel; Diarmuid Jeffreys presents the first comprehensive account of IG Farben's rise and fall; tracing the enterprise from its nineteenth-century origins; when the discovery of synthetic dyes gave rise to a vibrant new industry; through the upheavals of the Great War era; and on to the company's fateful role in World War II. Named one of the best books of the year by Business Week; Hell's Cartel sheds new light on the codependence of industry and the Third Reich; and offers a timely warning against the dangerous merger of politics and the pursuit of profit.
#485098 in Books Metropolitan Books 2002-11-01Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 11.10 x 1.49 x 5.46l; #File Name: 0805059644464 pagesGreat product!
Review
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful. Exhaustive; Erudite but Somewhat One-Sided.By R. SELIGThe progress of Jews toward full acceptance in the society of Germany and Austria--or at least Vienna--is traced thoroughly and at length. Writers; politicians; artists and industrialists; all are met here. Of some figures--those of peculiar importance or eccentricity--a whole biography is written. Others are mentioned almost in passing; never to be heard of again. The unique role of the **HofJude** (court Jew) and the **KaiserJude** (Emperor's Jew); these being close to power without actually wielding it; is well explained for readers in democratic America.The one weakness in the book lies in its failure adequately to explain how things went from sugar to s--t so quickly. It's an account of steady gains; almost a mutual love affair between the Jews who contributed so much and the society that valued them like none other; then suddenly; in the final chapter; it's all taken away and the Jews must flee for their lives as Hitler and the Nazis come to power.There is a bit more to the story but you will read little of it here. Even the most sympathetic chronicler has acknowledged that along with the flowering of art; literature and theater during the Weimar Republic came a fair amount of decadence and depravity. Many sectors of German society; those from the rural areas especially; were deeply offended by what went on in smart-set Berlin in the twenties; and by the alienated political commentary of some Jewish writers of the time which was intended to wound and did so.Perhaps little of this was perceived at the time. Elon seems hardly to perceive it in retrospect; devoting all of two sentences on the second to last page to the excesses of the Weimar period.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. This book chronicles the difficult arrival of Moses Mendelsohn into Berlin as a poor and low cast Jew through his years of strugBy jk jacobsThis is a marvelous history of the Jews in Germany for the past 190 years ending in 1933. This book chronicles the difficult arrival of Moses Mendelsohn into Berlin as a poor and low cast Jew through his years of struggle and education to high highly respected position at his death. The rise of particularly Berlin Jewry though the 19th and early 20th century is revealed in beautiful prose. The respect; wealth and assimilation brought to German Jews is forthrightly declared. Their loyalty in World War I to the Kaiser is not surprising as their assimilation and recognition proved them proud Germans; though less Jewish. The writing is easy and interesting to read more like a good novel though the text is factually correct.. I strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in Jewish history or the position of Jews in Germany prior to the rise of Hitler.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Very goodBy Victoria WilkersonLoved it
