Inside IG Farben: Hoechst During the Third Reich

In 1925, the three leading chemical firms in Germany - BASF, Bayer, and Hoechst - merged, together with some smaller firms, to become IG Farben. IG Farben became, like no other firm, synonymous with the participation of German industry in the most heinous crimes of the Nazi regime. This book deals in depth with one of IG Farben's leading factories, Hoechst, during the Third Reich. On the basis of long and meticulous archival research, including previously inaccessible company records, the author describes and analyzes the relationship between management and employees, and with the Nazi party and its organizations. The exclusion and persecution of employees, particularly Jewish employees, is revealed, as is the extent of Hoechst's involvement in the exploitation of forced labor, and its active participation in human experiments in concentration camps. Throughout, the author sheds light on the motivations of those responsible for this conduct.