Evaluate the claim that German big business was willingly and Essay

Evaluate the claim that German big business was willingly and profitably cooperated with the Nazi regime in the exploitation of Europe, 1939-45 - Essay Example One of the stronger reactions is given to those companies which are discovered or confess to having links with the Nazi regime and from an examination of historical records as well as various other documents it seems clear that many companies willingly cooperated with the Nazis towards the exploitation of Europe. However, it can be shown that the companies had little interest in ideology or the motives of the Nazis; rather, they were interested in making money since that was their main objective. The economic background of the era is important in this respect because when the Nazis came into power, the economic situation of Germany was disastrous. High unemployment rates meant that the economy was under productive and under pressure. During this time, the economic reorganization of the state was made the responsibility of a respected banker, Hjalmar Schacht. Under his guidance, several changes were made to the economic policy and some of the first economic changes were the elimination of trade unions and establishment of the wage controls in German society (Wikipedia, 2006). These measures certainly helped the business community since trade unions had been able to strike as well as negotiate salaries on a collective basis. Needless to say businesses approved of these ideas and worked hand in hand with the Nazis to improve the economy as Hitler saw fit. The money supply to the economy was expanded with the aid of deficit spending with interest rates held firmly at 4.5%. Shell companies were setup such as the MEFO company which issued bonds but these were actually utilized to hide expenditure on arms which was a violation of the Versailles Treaty (Wikipedia, 2006). The creation of a black market was stopped simply because the Germans could send violators to concentration camps or shot after a summary trial. Imports were limited while exports were expanded leading to an overvalued mark. Despite all of these measures,