Working for the New Order : European Business Under German Domination, 1939-1945

Damned if you do - damned if you don't. During the Second World War, the collaboration dilemma regarding Europe's business life came to the forefront as business leaders were faced with the necessity of cooperating with the German enemy in order to maintain production and survive as economic units. Addressing a wide range of European countries under German control during the Second World War, this book analyzes the conditions of business during the war, showing how contrary to many beliefs and post-war conceptions, occupation and dependency on the German market - as part of a formal or informal empire - was not solely a story of Nazi plunder and the subsequent ruin of national economies. At the same time, levels of business activity for companies in a number of European countries actually increased, as they became part of the German supply lines during the war. Producing for Germany potentially meant not only a means of survival for an individual company, but also an actual source of stabilization. The conditions of business survival varied according to the politics of the occupying power, the cooperation potential of local business and what was left of local political authority. However, in most European countries, one way or another, business chose to cooperate and accept German contracts. Europe's business during the Second World War is a story of corporate survival in a highly unstable business environment. Cooperation with the dominant European power aimed at securing the future for business, national economies - and the nation states of Europe. With this point of reference, Europe's business life contributed substantially to the Nazi German war effort. It was working for the New Order.