Well before the onset of “state-driven aryanization,” Deutsche Bank was involved in economic discrimination against Jews through its extensive business contacts and its representation on the supervisory boards of other corporations. This did not always involve a sale of the enterprise. A characteristic process for firms was to push for the removal of Jewish managers or directors to claim the status of “Aryan enterprise” (even though until 1938 there was no formal or legal definition of what this involved).
[…]
In the cases of both Hutschenreuther and Jeserich, the initial pressure for the purge came from inside the firm. In the porcelain firm, it originated from the firm’s employees as reorganized, after the introduction of a new labor law, into the National Socialist Works Council. With Jeserich, the radical agitation by the workforce ultimately had its source in one of the firm’s directors who deliberately used politics to take management into his own hands.
[…]
Individual branches of the commercial banks conducted their own “aryanizations.” Deutsche Bank also compiled a central list of 700 firms, of which 200 were sold by July and 260 by the end of August 1938.
In November 1938, shortly before the anti-Semitic pogrom, Kimmich reported that Deutsche Bank had participated in the “aryanization” of 330 businesses. “The difficulties, notably in personal terms, are not inconsiderable [he said]. Specialists with capital are thin on the ground.” At this time, he estimated the total Jewish-owned capital in Germany to amount to RM 6 billion to 8 billion.
Free market purists and other collaboration apologists will inevitably dismiss the importance of this with the excuse that the increase of state intervention in the late 1930s somehow nullifies it, and they’ll omit this fact:
The “aryanization” of banking was a special case, both because of the problematic character of the business – in the National Socialist world view it was “speculative” or “Jewish” – and because of the close business and personal links that already existed among the banking elite. In some cases, therefore, “aryanization” was conducted in close cooperation with the legitimate owners, and with a substantial amount of care for the protection of their interests. This was particularly the case with the involvement of Deutsche Bank in the sale or liquidation of two of the most important private banks in Germany, Mendelssohn of Berlin and Simon Hirschland of Essen.
(Emphasis added in call cases.)
Many capitalists themselves already wanted increased state intervention, not only for the simple fact that it’s more effective at preparing for war than the market is, but also because in many cases it’s just useful for increasing individual profits. The logical conclusion of free market purism (i.e. utopian capitalism) — that a state expanding and protecting businesses is committing ‘socialism’ — is so obviously boneheaded that it does not deserve to be taken seriously, otherwise even stubbing their toes would still be a greater concern for capitalists than socialism would be.
It’s disturbing to know that capitalists don’t need to be forced by the state to be anti-Semitic because they’ll do it on their own if that’s where the profits are.
capitalists don’t need to be forced by the state
Capitalists are the state, it’s the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie. Under nazism they used the state to spread their antisemitism
Yeah, even if they personally weren’t antisemites, they used it to gain profits. Again example how capitalism is always equalling down to the worst dregs and will never stop in their pursuit of profit.
