fitz said:
so, are saying that every business, or organization that ever helped the nazi's should be forced to close their doors? The great majority of German companies aided the Nazi war effort (BMW, Daimler-Benz, VW, etc) and there also reports that both Ford and IBM also worked and collaborated with the Nazi regime prior to the US entering the war. And don't forget the Swiss banks that helped to hide all their stolen art and bank accounts..
Compaines (like people) have made stupid and boneheaded decisions. Both are capable of change. A company today should not forever be blacklisted for the stupid decisions it made in it's past under different leadership.
Now, should they shoulder some responsibility and remorse? Yes.. absolutely. Should they try to make amends for their past mistakes.. again yes. But should they be forced to close their doors? No.
Understand, I have no love affair with Siemens (or any other german company). Personally, after working for them, I can testify that their "german engineering" is a major culture difference in trying to get things done compared to the US way. For example, when they plan out a project, they expect every step from idea to production planned out before even starting the real work where here, we tend to "fly by the seat of our pants" a little more. There is planning here, but we are a little more flexible when the work starts and shows that the project isn't working like it was orignally planned.
There is a LARGE difference between a company offering its goods, say mercedes for its power plants for cars, planes etc, and to a company (Siemens), which by its OWN admision, said they did what the NAZI regime wanted, and re-tooled there specific industrial engineering efforts to make huge EZ-bake ovens, WHAT THE HELL were they going to use them for?
IT does NOT take a genious to ask such questions, and NO not all companies who helped support the war effort should have been punished but there should also be common sense as to what you are doing... especially when what you are doing and/or constructing will help in the annialation of millions of people... sorry man, you have had MANY MANY good posts, this one, however, is not...
compare apples to apples, not eggs to cows....
if you had compard Siemens to the group of engineers here in the US who helped create Fatman and Littleboy, I would have agreed... or even if you had compared Siemens to any other company who afforeded the Nazis with weaponry.
As for your comments about closing a company, I disagree, I think after the war, the world knowing what siemens help do, should have forced that company out of business, there was a NEED for the people, a responsibility of the companies people to SPEAK OUT against what they were building....
they didnt...
DO I hold those people who work for Siemens NOW responsible, of course not....
ANYWAY, Petros I apologize, I was not trying to hijack your thread, I needed to respond to this however...