Customer Reviews

Daimler-Benz in the Third Reich

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The basic premise of this book is that Daimler-Benz, the maker of Mercedes-Benz automobiles, placed profit before principle and committed criminal acts during World War II. The evidence is displayed as if presented by a prosecutor in court. There is little room for doubt or deception. The book is not always easy to read and the story line is at times hard to follow. There are too many abbreviations that require frequent clarification. Maps should have been included that would have assisted the reader in following the location of the many Daimler-Benz plants. The "story" is important and represents an original contribution, however, the book could have been more "user friendly".

I rate this book specially for its contents, describing what happened during a difficult period of German History with an objective view.

The study of Daimler Benz history is a good case to see how things happened, what economic conditions were present, what management concepts were used at the time and a description of the development of production technology that made possible the German Industrial power to develop during the Third Reich.

It may also help understand the behavior of the managers in charge of the company, in relation to the human values involved.
This topic is difficult to handle with objectivity. I recommend reading Daniel Faber's book on Alfred Sloan of General Motors to have a feeling of how american top management behaved and thought during the 30's and the second world war(book title: Sloan Rules). It is important to understand how management in America thought their mission, their rights and what they thought was normal behavior to make a paralel to what their contemporaries in Germany were doing.

I think this book is must reading for anyone that is interested in the history of business.