Nazi Billionaires: The Dark History of Germany's Wealthiest Dynasties

Today's nonfiction post is on Nazi Billionaires: The Dark History of Germany's Wealthiest Dynasties by David de Jong. It is 400 pages long and is published by Marine Books. The cover is grey with tall buildings and a swastika in the center. The intended reader is someone who is interested in World War II history and how it intersects with modern culture. There is no foul language, no sex, and no violence in this book. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the dust jacket- A groundbreaking investigation of how the Nazis helped German tycoons make billions off the horrors of the Third Reich and World War II—and how America allowed them to get away with it. In 1946, Günther Quandt—patriarch of Germany’s most iconic industrial empire, a dynasty that today controls BMW—was arrested for suspected Nazi collaboration. Quandt claimed that he had been forced to join the party by his archrival, propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels, and the courts acquitted him. But Quandt lied. And his heirs, and those of other Nazi billionaires, have only grown wealthier in the generations since, while their reckoning with this dark past remains incomplete at best. Many of them continue to control swaths of the world economy, owning iconic brands whose products blanket the globe. The brutal legacy of the dynasties that dominated Daimler-Benz, cofounded Allianz, and still control Porsche, Volkswagen, and BMW has remained hidden in plain sight—until now. In this landmark work of investigative journalism, David de Jong reveals the true story of how Germany’s wealthiest business dynasties amassed untold money and power by abetting the atrocities of the Third Reich. Using a wealth of previously untapped sources, de Jong shows how these tycoons seized Jewish businesses, procured slave laborers, and ramped up weapons production to equip Hitler’s army as Europe burned around them. Most shocking of all, de Jong exposes how America’s political expediency enabled these billionaires to get away with their crimes, covering up a bloodstain that defiles the German and global economy to this day.

Review- An interesting and eye-opening account about Nazi history and those who are still in power. The book starts in the present day with an interview of a CEO of a big German company and their history with the Nazi party. Then we move back to the 1930's and all the power players in German's economy during the Weimar Republic and the rise of Nazism. De Jong does a wonderful job of telling this story and of giving the information in clear language. He wants everyone to know and understand this story and the impact that it still has on modern German society. I would recommend this book and I would like to read more by De Jong. 

I give this book a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this book from my local library.