Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface of the Historical Commission Appointed to Examine the History of the Deutsche Bank in the Period of National Socialism
- Author's Preface
- Selected Abbreviations Used in the Text
- 1 Business and Politics: Banks and Companies in Nazi Germany
- 2 The Structure, Organization, and Economic Environment of Deutsche Bank
- 3 National Socialism and Banks
- 4 The Problem of “Aryanization”
- 5 Deutsche Bank and “Aryanization” in the Pre-1938 Boundaries of Germany
- 6 Deutsche Bank Abroad: “Aryanization,” Territorial Expansion, and Economic Reordering
- 7 Jewish-Owned Bank Accounts
- 8 The Profits of Deutsche Bank
- 9 Some Concluding Reflections
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
8 - The Profits of Deutsche Bank
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 September 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface of the Historical Commission Appointed to Examine the History of the Deutsche Bank in the Period of National Socialism
- Author's Preface
- Selected Abbreviations Used in the Text
- 1 Business and Politics: Banks and Companies in Nazi Germany
- 2 The Structure, Organization, and Economic Environment of Deutsche Bank
- 3 National Socialism and Banks
- 4 The Problem of “Aryanization”
- 5 Deutsche Bank and “Aryanization” in the Pre-1938 Boundaries of Germany
- 6 Deutsche Bank Abroad: “Aryanization,” Territorial Expansion, and Economic Reordering
- 7 Jewish-Owned Bank Accounts
- 8 The Profits of Deutsche Bank
- 9 Some Concluding Reflections
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
The published overall profit-and-loss accounts do not show the extent of the profit from “aryanization,” although there is a notable (if small) spike in 1938, which reflects the additional business of that year and the income from additional commissions (see Figure 1). The state was concerned to limit private profiteering from “aryanization,” at least where nonparty members were concerned, and banks, which on ideological grounds were distrusted, were subject to especially close attention. There was no standard bank commission on “aryanization” transactions: Deutsche Bank generally obtained a figure of between one and three percent.
Nevertheless, the big commercial banks did produce some data on their profits derived from “aryanization.” In the case of Deutsche Bank, these figures were found in the balance-sheet material prepared for 1938 and subsequent years, but there is no equivalent data for the period before 1938. This material was found not in the Historical Archive of Deutsche Bank but in its Control Department, which unearthed it and revealed its existence to Professor Pohl and the Historical Institute in the wake of the controversy over “Nazi gold”: These documents were also the basis for the report on gold transactions written by Jonathan Steinberg.
Before analyzing these data, it is worth reflecting why they were produced. The special listing of “aryanization” profits clearly reflects a perception by someone that “aryanization” constituted a peculiar and unique revenue, quite distinct from the normal course of business activity.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Deutsche Bank and the Nazi Economic War against the JewsThe Expropriation of Jewish-Owned Property, pp. 204 - 210Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2001