Less Than Slaves: Jewish Forced Labor and the Quest for CompensationAs a United States war crimes investigator during World War II, Benhamin B. Ferencz participated in the liberation of Nazi concentration camps. He returned to Germany after the war to help bring perpetrators of war crimes to justice and remained to direct restitution programs for Nazi victims. In Less Than Slaves, Ferencz describes the painstaking efforts that were made to persuade German industrial firms such as I. G. Farben, Krupp, AEG, Rheinmetall, and Daimler-Benz to compensate camp inmates who were exploited as forced laborers. The meager outcome of these efforts emerges from searing pages that detail the difficulties confronted by Ferencz and his dedicated colleagues. This engrossing narrative is a vital resource for all who are concerned with the moral, legal, and practical implications of the recent significant increase in the number of compensation claims by victims of persecution. First published in 1979, Ferencz's penetrating firsthand account returns to print with the author's evaluation of its historical significance and current relevance. |
Contents
The Final SolutionA Brief Reminder | 1 |
The Diabolical Design 1933May 1939 | 2 |
Conquest as a Prelude to Annihilation August 1939July 1940 | 5 |
Auschwitz and Einsatzgruppen July 1940February 1942 | 9 |
The German Defeat and Nuremberg | 30 |
Auschwitz Survivors v IG Farben | 33 |
IG Farben on Trial | 34 |
Jewish Organizations Enter the Fray | 37 |
Siemens Pays | 117 |
Finding the Survivors | 122 |
The Cannons of Rheinmetall | 129 |
Hanging On in the Courts | 130 |
Help from an Unexpected Quarter | 133 |
The Power of the Press | 137 |
A Most Unusual Deal | 144 |
Dividing the Fund | 149 |
Bargaining about Auschwitz | 41 |
Farben Settles | 48 |
Verifying the Claims | 52 |
Farben Demands a Refund | 58 |
A Hardship Fund for the Destitute | 61 |
Memorializing Those Who Perished | 64 |
Accounting with Krupp | 69 |
Krupps Rise and Fall and Restoration | 70 |
Former Slaves Demand a Payment | 76 |
The Chips Are Down | 81 |
A Deal Is Made | 85 |
The Truth about Krupps Camps | 88 |
Dividing a Meager Loaf | 96 |
The Electrical Companies See the Light | 105 |
Keeping the Claims Afloat | 106 |
Slaves Consigned Only on Demand | 109 |
The Secret Settlement with AEG and Telefunken | 113 |
The Shark Who Got Away | 155 |
Frederick the Great | 156 |
The Agreement That Never Was | 159 |
Dangling in the Wind | 162 |
To the Bitter End | 165 |
A Medley of Disappointments | 171 |
A Pyrrhic Victory | 172 |
The Courageous Dr Kuril and the Aircraft Companies | 174 |
Brown Coal and Gasoline | 177 |
Construction Companies as Slavemasters | 179 |
A Global Approach Fails | 181 |
The Last Word | 185 |
Hate Is Never the Last Word | 186 |
APPENDIXES | 195 |
Notes | 213 |
243 | |
Other editions - View all
Less Than Slaves: Jewish Forced Labor and the Quest for Compensation Benjamin B. Ferencz Limited preview - 2002 |
Less Than Slaves: Jewish Forced Labor and the Quest for Compensation Benjamin B. Ferencz Limited preview - 2022 |