OK, from my notes, more about the Ford-Werke before, during and after WWII.
- Communication between Ford in Dearborn and Ford-Werke ceased by November, 1941. In May, 1942, the Reich Commissioner for the Treatment of Enemy Property assumed custodianship of Ford-Werke.
- Researchers have classifed the labor employed by Ford-Werke into three groups: civilians, forced labor and slave labor. Usage of slave labor began at the plant in 1944. The best available evidence suggests that a maximum of 65 slave laborers were used at the Köln facility over time.
Albert Speer of the Armaments Ministry intiated the idea to eventually employ slave labor from concentration camps because companies indicated that increased production couldn't be met without additional labor. POWs and forced laborers from Eastern Europe, Soviet Union, France and Italy were primarily used to a much greater extent than slave laborers. Addtionally, POWs and forced laborers initially received much less in wages and were taxed comparatively more than Western civilian workers at the plant. Further into the war, the pay of forced workers increased to nearly the same rate of civilian workers. As stated earlier, Ford-Werke compensated the SS between RM 4-6/day for slave labor.
- According to financial records analyzed by Pricewaterhouse-Coopers in 2000, while Ford-Werke earned modest profits early in the war, enormous losses occured between 1944-45 that wiped out the earlier gains.
- There exists enough evidence to suggest management and standarization conflicts inhibited the political influence of Ford-Werke on the Nazi government. Carl Bosch (general manager of IG Farben) and Heinrich Albert, a long-time lawyer for Ford's German affairs, along with Alwin Schurig, were chosen for the undertaking's board of directors. Edmund Heine, a German-born naturized American was initially appointed manager of the Köln operations. Within three years after Heine's appointment, German authorities made it very clear to the German board of directors that Heine was unacceptable.
Ford-Werke also experienced considerable issues with the rising German nationalism of the period. Erich Diestel, a lawyer and former manager of the Berlin Electric Works succeeded Heine in 1934. Diestel was regarded by many Nazis and even various Ford dealers in Germany as a "Jew". Albert wrote Dearborn that "the Jewish question" could materialize into real sales resistance. According to company correspondance, Charles Sorensen, a Ford exec, intended on keeping Diestel in his position. However, because of performance shortfalls, Edsel Ford, Sorensen and Lord Percival Perry of Ford/UK decided in 1938 to let Diestel go after four years on the job. Diestel resigned and received a severance package.
- Allied bombing missions specifically targeted the Köln plant on at least four occasions during the war. Ford-Werke received RM 362,000 from the Third Reich in 1942 as bomb damage compensation. Damages during this first raid included vehicles, parts, material and buildings outside the main plant. Some damage resulted from German AA fire shrapnel.
Later in 1942, the Third Reich prohibited war damage claims by companies with 25 percent or greater foreign ownership. Therefore, Ford-Werke found itself entering into an agreement in which the German subsidiary offered its property as collateral in the form of a mortgage in order to offset further war damage.
On three other occasions (August 19, October 2 and 18, 1944), the plant was again targeted by strategic bombing. Finally, during the U.S. Army's advance through the area in March, 1945, the facility was again hit; this time by artillery fire. Still, despite all of the fighting and superficial damage, the plant was termed as structurally sound - in "excellent condition" by representatives of the U.S. military government on March 11, 1945.
Ford filed a number of claims with the U.S. and British military governments after the war. In 1959, the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission awarded Ford $377K for damages to Ford of Hungary and $370K for losses to Ford of Romania. It isn't clear whether or not the award for the Romanian operation was even paid by the U.S.
On April 5, 1967, the same commission awarded Ford $785K for losses to Ford-Werke and Ford of Austria. At the time of that particular award, enough money existed in the fund to permit distributions equaling roughly 80-90 percent of the awarded payout. To this day, there is no confirmation indicating when or how much of this award was received by Ford Motor Company from the U.S government.
- We should also remember that Ford had numerous subsidiaries operating throughout Europe. Documents reveal an organizational structure in which the parent company had to accomodate itself to local and sometimes hostile conditions. The relationship of parent and local companies was further complicated by the parent company's relationships with other production facilites operating in neighboring and often competing countries within the same regional market.
You might also take into consideration the following: A study based on records in the National Archives indicates more than 250 American subsidiaries with investments valued at over $450 million conducted business in Nazi Germany in 1943. The present-day parent companies of the subsidiaries includes ITT, Coca-Cola, Woolworth, Quaker Oats, Otis Elevator, Kraft Cheese, American Express, Steinway and Sons, Libby's, NCR, Gillette, Eastman Kodak, Singer and Standard Oil.
In conclusion, the issues involving Ford, slave labor and compensation are far more complex than the media and various biased books suggest.
I have additional information concerning GM and IBM. Admittedly, this information is neither as comprehensive nor favorable as that which can be presented on Ford's behalf. Perhaps next Sunday, I'll post more.
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