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A chemistry laboratory in the Buna synthetic-rubber works in the
Buna-Monowitz camp. Poland, between 1941 and January 1945.
(Photo courtesy of USHMM)
In April 1941, I.G. Farben, the leading German conglomerate of chemical manufacturers, began construction of the Buna factory in Monowice, a Polish city located a few miles from the Auschwitz concentration camp. Slave laborers from Auschwitz were forced to build the factory and, upon its completion, to work in its synthetic rubber-producing chemical laboratories. Though most of the initial laborers were Polish prisoners, from the spring of 1942 forward, as more and more Jews were deported to Auschwitz, Jewish prisoners became the primary labor force.
It is evident that I.G. Farben, in collaboration with the German authorities, intended to exploit the Auschwitz prisoners. With the German defeat at Moscow and the United States’s entry into the war in December 1941, German authorities were eager to compensate for labor shortages and the increasing need for military weapons, machinery, and supplies. They negotiated contracts with private companies, such as I.G. Farben, through which the companies agreed to produce goods for the war effort in exchange for free laborers, most of whom were Jewish. Thus, I.G. Farben’s decision to build the factory in Monowice was primarily motivated by its close proximity to Auschwitz.
Dr. Walter Durrfeld, the manager of the I.G. Farben Buna factory, initially protested the malnutrition and poor health of the prisoners who were brought from Auschwitz. However, the consistent flow of European Jewry into Auschwitz proved that there would be a near endless supply of Jewish slave laborers. Thus, maintaining the physical health of the workers was unimportant. When a Jewish laborer became too weak or sick to work, he was simply sent to the gas chambers.
Ironically, several Jews had served on the esteemed board of I.G. Farben in the pre-war years. More astonishingly, 1933 Nazi propaganda highlighted I.G. Farben as a prime example of a Jewish company that took advantage of its workers. Yet, in seeking prospects for economic advancement, I.G. Farben heavily supported Hitler during his campaign. By 1933 all Jewish scientists had been fired from the company, and by 1937 the I.G. Farben board had been cleansed of all Jews.
While the Buna factory slave laborers were initially marched to the Buna site each morning, in March 1942, in an effort to increase efficiency by reducing workers’ travel time, construction of Auschwitz III-Monowitz, a subcamp of Auschwitz located on the Buna factory grounds, began. At its peak, Monowitz housed approximately 11,000 slave laborers, over 90% of whom were Jewish.
This model of creating a subcamp for Jewish and other prisoners who worked in a nearby factory was replicated at many other concentration camps. Examples include Wiener Neudorf, a subcamp of Mauthausen that was situated near an airplane factory, and Dora-Mittelbau, a subcamp of Buchenwald whose inmates worked in an underground rocket factory.
As terrible as the conditions were at these work sites, an inmate had a greater chance of survival at a labor camp than at a death camp like Chelmno, Sobibor, or Treblinka. In most death camps, all inmates, regardless of their capacity to work, were sent directly to their deaths in a gas chamber. In distinction, many slave laborers held glimmers of hope of overcoming the malnutrition, the harsh work environment, and the general bestiality of the SS officers, and of eventually surviving the war.
During the post-Holocaust years, several high-ranking officials from I.G. Farben were tried in the Nuremberg proceedings. The charges included preparing an aggressive war, committing crimes against humanity, and enslaving civilian populations. In 1953 the Federal Republic of Germany established that a Jewish prisoner could sue I.G. Farben for compensation. As a result, I.G. Farben released 30 billion Deutsche Mark to the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany to be distributed to the surviving Jewish slave laborers from Monowitz and three other subcamps. I.G. Farben claimed that the money was a voluntary contribution and should not be interpreted as an expression of guilt or an admission of wrongdoing.
When discussing I.G. Farben, the Buna factory, and Auschwitz III-Monowitz with your students, consider the reasons why German authorities and public and private companies exploited Jewish slave laborers. Why did German authorities offer companies Jewish slave laborers? Why did I.G. Farben and some other companies agree to this arrangement? How and why were German authorities able to “Nazify” businesses and industries? Did the actions of I.G. Farben managers warrant their being tried at Nuremberg? What would be an adequate sentence for crimes committed by business and industry leaders during the Holocaust?
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