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Multinational Enterprise, ‘Corporate Responsibility’ and the Nazi Dictatorship: The Case of Unilever and Germany in the 1930s

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 May 2007

NEIL FORBES*
Affiliation:
Head of School – International Studies and Social Science, and Associate Director of the Applied Research Centre in Human Security, Coventry University, GE Building, Priory Street, Coventry CV1 5FB; n.forbes@coventry.ac.uk.

Abstract

The reason why a fuller understanding of the significance of the Hitler dictatorship did not emerge in prewar democracies remains a question of enduring historical interest. This article examines the way in which Unilever, one of the earliest multinational corporations, responded to the challenges of political risk posed by the Third Reich, and how aspects of business activity that gave rise to moral issues were weighed against the need to survive commercially. The realisation that Unilever could be seen as an unwitting accomplice in the dictatorship's criminal activities seems to have come late to the company. While corporate culture reflected the values of contemporary society, multinational business was partly responsible for the failure to sound the alarm over the unique dangers inherent in National Socialism.

Unilever et l'allemagne dans les années 1930: entreprise multinationale, responsabilité de la firme et dictature nazie

Pour les historiens, la raison pour laquelle une véritable compréhension de la signification de la dictature d'Hitler n'a pas émergé au sein des démocraties de l'entre-deux-guerres reste durablement une question d'un grand intérêt. Cet article analyse comment Unilever a répondu au défi du risque politique posé par le Troisième Reich. Il examine comment des aspects de son activité économique suscitant des questions morales ont pesé contre la nécessité de survivre commercialement. C'est seulement tardivement qu'on a réalisé qu'Unilever pouvait être vue comme une complice involontaire dans les activités criminelles de la dictature. Tandis que la culture de la firme reflétait les valeurs de la société contemporaine, le commerce multinational était en partie responsable de ne pas avoir donné l'alarme sur les grands dangers inhérents au national socialisme.

Multinationale unternehmen, ‘corporate responsibility’ und die nazidiktatur: der fall unilever und deutschland in den 1930er jahren

Weshalb die Demokratien der Vorkriegszeit kein umfassenderes Verständnis von der Bedeutung der Hitler-Diktatur entwickelten, bleibt eine Frage von historischem Interesse. Dieser Aufsatz analysiert, wie Unilever auf die politischen Risiken infolge des Dritten Reichs reagierte, und wie Aspekte des Geschäftslebens, die zu moralischen Fragen wurden, gegen die Notwendigkeit des kommerziellen Überlebens abgewogen wurden. Die Erkenntnis, dass Unilever möglicherweise als unbewusster Mittäter der kriminellen Handlungen der Diktatur gesehen werden könnte, scheint dem Unternehmen erst spät in den Sinn gekommen zu sein. Während die Unternehmenskultur die Werte der damaligen Gesellschaft widerspiegelte, waren multinationale Unternehmen mit dafür verantwortlich, nicht auf die dem Nationalsozialismus immanenten speziellen Gefahren aufmerksam gemacht zu haben.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2007

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References

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21 UARM, SD, 75, ‘Currency Positions in Central Europe – Germany’, J de Blank, 3 March 1932.

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39 UARM, DMC, 30 Aug. 1934.

40 UARM, DMC, 12 Sept. and 24 Oct. 1935.

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47 UARM, DMC, 13 and 20 Feb. 1936.

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56 Straumann and Wildmann, Schweizer Chemieunternehmen, 71.

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