Synopses & Reviews
During World War II, hundreds of thousands of prisoners were worked to death by the Nazis under a brutal system of slave labor in the concentration camps. By 1942, this vast network of slavery extended across all of German-occupied Europe, but the whole operation was run by a surprisingly small staff of bureaucrats--no more than 200 engineers and managers who worked in the Business Administration Main Office of the SS. Their projects included designing and constructing the concentration camps and gas chambers, building secret underground weapons factories, and brokering slave laborers to private companies such as Volkswagen and IG Farben.
The Business of Genocide powerfully contradicts the assumption that the SS forced slavery upon the German economy, demonstrating that instead industrialists actively sought out the Business Administration Main Office as a valued partner in the war economy. Moreover, while the bureaucrats who oversaw Holocaust operations have often been seen as technocrats or simple "cogs in the machinery," the book reveals their ideological dedication, even fanatical devotion, to slavery and genocide in the name of National Socialism.
Review
Allen's study is a major contribution to the histories of Nazi criminality and the German economy in wartime and deserves a wide and attentive readership. (Peter Hayes, Northwestern University)
Review
Well-researched and convincing. . . . Present[s] a new picture which is emerging of the history of the Third Reich and its crimes. (Times Literary Supplement)
Review
Opens up a new realm for anyone interested in how professional expertise helps implement political policies. (Choice)
Review
Well-researched. . . . Should contribute to better understanding of Nazi Germany and its crimes. (Los Angeles Times Book Review)
Review
"Allen's study, presenting crucial aspects of the history of the WVHA, proves to be a major contribution. . . . Well-researched and well-written . . . Adds significantly to the ongoing discussion about the motives of those men who actually ran the numerous bureaucracies in Nazi Germany. (American Historical Review)"
Synopsis
Allen examines the SS executives and engineers who built up the vast slave-labor system in Nazi concentration camps. While the bureaucrats who oversaw Holocaust operations are often portrayed as simply "cogs in the machinery," he reveals their ideological dedication to National Socialism.
Synopsis
Well-researched and convincing. . . . Present[s] a new picture which is emerging of the history of the Third Reich and its crimes. (Times Literary Supplement)
Synopsis
Well-researched. . . . Should contribute to better understanding of Nazi Germany and its crimes. (Los Angeles Times Book Review) Opens up a new realm for anyone interested in how professional expertise helps implement political policies. (Choice) "Allen's study, presenting crucial aspects of the history of the WVHA, proves to be a major contribution. . . . Well-researched and well-written . . . Adds significantly to the ongoing discussion about the motives of those men who actually ran the numerous bureaucracies in Nazi Germany. (American Historical Review)" Well-researched and convincing. . . . Present[s] a new picture which is emerging of the history of the Third Reich and its crimes. (Times Literary Supplement)
About the Author
Michael Thad Allen is assistant professor of modern German history and the history of technology at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta.