Daimler-Benz in der NS-Zeit: Rüstungskonjunktur und Zwangsarbeit

Lecture and discussion

At the beginning of the 1930s, Daimler-Benz AG was in great economic difficulties. Even before 1933, the Board of Management cooperated with and supported the rising Nazi Party. The company subsequently profited from the massive rearmament policy of the Nazi regime and the elimination of workers' interest groups.

During the Second World War, Daimler-Benz AG expanded in occupied Europe. With more and more forced laborers, who were deported from Poland, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and, from 1941, also from the Soviet Union, it was possible to expand armaments production. Plant security worked closely with the Gestapo to monitor and repress the forced laborers. The armaments boom brought the company immense growth. It became an important producer of armaments and created an excellent starting position for the new start after the war.

In their presentation, Karl Reif, former deputy chairman of the works council for the Mercedes-Benz Untertürkheim plant, and Harald Stingele, member of the "Forced Labor in Stuttgart Working Group" of the Hotel Silber Learning and Memorial Site Initiative, outline the history of Stuttgart's largest company during the Nazi era. They will also show when and how the company began to face up to its responsibility for this legacy.

Organizers: Haus der Geschichte Baden-Württemberg, Initiative Lern- und Gedenkort Hotel Silber e. V.

Admission free.

Please register at veranstaltungen-hs@hdgbw.de.