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The Germany's invasion of Poland in 1939 was heavily reliant on German air power, and not mentioned here is that a critical airplane fuel additive - 500 tons of
by photochemsyn 4y ago
The Germany's invasion of Poland in 1939 was heavily reliant on German air power, and not mentioned here is that a critical airplane fuel additive - 500 tons of tetraethyl lead - was at the time supplied by US Standard Oil via their partnership with German IG Farben.
The Standard Oil - IG Farben partnership of the 1930s revolved around their control of synthetic rubber and fuel oil patents (the Buna rubber process, and Fischer-Tropsch liquid fuel synthesis from coal). The 1930s East Texas oil discoveries caused Standard oil to lose interest in synthetic oil from coal, but Standard Oil's sales of fuel to the Nazi regime various various channels seem to have continued at some level until the 1942 Trading With The Enemy Act.
Some of this hisotry is detailed in Daneil Yergin's "The Prize", i.e. this chapter:
https://www.e-education.psu.edu/egee120/book/export/html/242 https://www.e-education.psu.edu/egee120/book/export/html/242
- simonh 4y agoAs I understand it though, these materials were manufactured in Germany or German occupied territories at IG Farben facilities. Standard Oil was a partner in the venture from before the war, but at the time had no way to prevent continued operations in Europe. IBM was in a similar position, its German subsidiary run by Germans in Germany continued to work for the German regime through the war, but the US management had no way to stop that happening.
- chasil 4y agoI read this book regarding Dehomag and quiet control of it through Switzerland by IBM corporate offices in Armonk, NY. IBM had much more influence over the German subsidiary than you think. 'David Cesarani of Southampton University stated that Black provided "shocking evidence" that IBM in America continued to provide punch cards and other services to the Nazis "in defiance of Allied regulations against trading with the enemy."' https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_and_the_Holocaust https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_and_the_Holocaust This is a famous photo of Thomas J. Watson (CEO of IBM) meeting with Adolf Hitler: https://www.computerhistory.org/revolution/punched-cards/2/15/109 https://www.computerhistory.org/revolution/punched-cards/2/1...](