Campus Crossfire

BMW: Creators of the ultimate driving machine or corroborators in the largest genocide in modern history?
Many of us have been raised by our parents, grandparents and friends, never to purchase any items from a German manufacturer, only because of their possible connections and involvement with the atrocities of the Holocaust. I believe that it is time for this embargo to end.Many companies have paid reparations for their involvement. Credit-Suisse, a Swiss based investment bank, has paid large sums of money to Holocaust survivors who had their savings confiscated by the Nazis. A huge percentage of Israeli taxis are Mercedes-Benz, owned by Daimler-Chrysler, a company heavily involved in construction of death camp ovens and other horrific acts connected to the holocaust. Mercedes-Benz sells their vehicles to Israel at an extremely low price, as part of their war reparations. Gasoline is heavily taxed in Israel, often causing hardships for taxi owners. Diesel gas, however, is not taxed as highly, and therefore Mercedes-Benz sells their diesel run vehicles to Israel in order to help them benefit as much as possible.
The world of today is drastically different from the world of Nazi Germany and World War II. Although there were several companies that were involved in assisting the Nazis with their mass extermination, I am confident that these companies would never again involve themselves with something remotely similar to the Holocaust.

If we were to continue to boycott German companies that were involved with the Nazis, we would be at somewhat of a disadvantage. Have you ever had your iPod or Apple computer repaired? That was shipped via DHL, a German shipping company. Have you ever listened to a popular music CD? There is a 25% chance it was produced under the auspices of Bertelsmann, a giant German media conglomerate. Have you ever taken a Bayer aspirin to alleviate a headache after studying for 67 consecutive hours? That too was made by a German company, Bayer AG. Have you ever had the privilege of experiencing the thrill of driving a BMW? Another German company rumored to have had involvement in the Holocaust.

Some of our friends in the business school, myself included, will choose to apply and/or work at companies such as Credit-Suisse, UBS AG, and Deutsche Bank. All of these firms are investment banks that once guarded Nazi funds and confiscated Jewish money.

My point is that none of these companies would ever consider operating under a dictatorship. All of these companies have deeply regretted their involvement with the Holocaust and are making significant attempts to investigate what exactly their company's involvement was, and what they can do to repair their relationship with the Jewish community.

We can never justify the actions these corporations took during the Holocaust, but over sixty years later, these companies are very different. They have new managements, new cultures, and new rules and laws, in order to prevent something like the Holocaust from ever happening again.

When we have childhood squabbles with our friends, we are told to forgive, forget, and move on. I believe we should consider forgiveness, never forget, and end our boycott of German products.


Benjy Spiro is a junior American studies major. He can be reached at bspiro08@umd.edu