I'm currently reading "Hidden Beneath The Thorns" ghost written by Gabrielle Quinn. It chronicles the memoirs of a young girl who grew up during the Nazi era.
Her family was one of a number that went out of it's way to rescue and hide Jews, at great risk to the family. The following really caught my interest:
"The usual census methods of recording who was a Jew were laboriously slow. Along came the solution people. International Business Machines (IBM), was an American conglomerate. It's owner, Thomas J. Watson was a man with a shady past. He readily agreed to help Hitler and his Nazi regime by customizing the applications to count and classify every citizen of Germany. In this way, it was easy to sort out those of Aryan descent apart from those of Jewish descent. Even better, it could be done quickly, the Hollerith, was capable of sorting 250,000 cards in one hour. It soon became a manager of murder.
Am army of 750,000 dedicated volunteer census takers descended an all cities, towns, villages and farms within Germany. No one was over looked. They went house to house collecting the required information. Pointed questions were asked about all aspects of personal life and citizens of the Reich willingly cooperated. Jewish citizens had no idea what was ahead.
Loaded with this data, Jews could now be registered by name. This was a list of those they would eventually annihilate; a list which eventually would drift up crematoria chimneys.
Because of the massive relationship foreseen with Hitler, IBM purchased land in Germany to build a manufacturing plant for more Hollerith machines. This corporation then expanded operations to include neighbouring countries to expand census taking capabilities in those regions. If the extermination of the Jews from European soil was to be a successful endeavour, Jews of newly acquired territories also had to be brought into the final tally. Included were France, Belgium, Holland, Austria, Czechoslovakia, and Poland. This meant that when Hitler waltzed in and occupied them, the required information was already at hand."
The book further states that the IBM operation was never bombed because of the heavy foreign investment!
I've often wondered about the efficiency of the Germans in rounding up Jews and others in occupied countries. This system, coupled with the willing cooperation of the occupied countries sealed the fate of European Jewry. The mass exodus of Jews was effectively stopped when most countries closed their borders to refugees.
In other words - they were complicit in the mass extermination of millions.
Her family was one of a number that went out of it's way to rescue and hide Jews, at great risk to the family. The following really caught my interest:
"The usual census methods of recording who was a Jew were laboriously slow. Along came the solution people. International Business Machines (IBM), was an American conglomerate. It's owner, Thomas J. Watson was a man with a shady past. He readily agreed to help Hitler and his Nazi regime by customizing the applications to count and classify every citizen of Germany. In this way, it was easy to sort out those of Aryan descent apart from those of Jewish descent. Even better, it could be done quickly, the Hollerith, was capable of sorting 250,000 cards in one hour. It soon became a manager of murder.
Am army of 750,000 dedicated volunteer census takers descended an all cities, towns, villages and farms within Germany. No one was over looked. They went house to house collecting the required information. Pointed questions were asked about all aspects of personal life and citizens of the Reich willingly cooperated. Jewish citizens had no idea what was ahead.
Loaded with this data, Jews could now be registered by name. This was a list of those they would eventually annihilate; a list which eventually would drift up crematoria chimneys.
Because of the massive relationship foreseen with Hitler, IBM purchased land in Germany to build a manufacturing plant for more Hollerith machines. This corporation then expanded operations to include neighbouring countries to expand census taking capabilities in those regions. If the extermination of the Jews from European soil was to be a successful endeavour, Jews of newly acquired territories also had to be brought into the final tally. Included were France, Belgium, Holland, Austria, Czechoslovakia, and Poland. This meant that when Hitler waltzed in and occupied them, the required information was already at hand."
The book further states that the IBM operation was never bombed because of the heavy foreign investment!
I've often wondered about the efficiency of the Germans in rounding up Jews and others in occupied countries. This system, coupled with the willing cooperation of the occupied countries sealed the fate of European Jewry. The mass exodus of Jews was effectively stopped when most countries closed their borders to refugees.
In other words - they were complicit in the mass extermination of millions.
