Dehomag

Dehomag
Company type	Subsidiary (before independence)
Industry	Computing technology
Predecessor	The Tabulating Machine Company (patent licenses)
Founded	1910
Fate	Rebranded as IBM Deutschland in April 1949
Headquarters	Germany
Key people	Hermann Rottke (general manager)
Parent	IBM (formerly Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company until 1924)

Dehomag functioned as a German branch of IBM before becoming an independent entity that dominated the German market prior to and during World War II. The company’s name is derived from the syllabic abbreviation of Deutsche Hollerith-Maschinen GmbH (German Hollerith Machines LLC), honoring Herman Hollerith, the pioneer behind punched card technology. In April 1949, this firm was rebranded as IBM Deutschland.

Background

The origins of punched card technology trace back to the 18th century, initially developed for textile manufacturing and player pianos. Its use for data recording and processing was first implemented by Semyon Korsakov around 1805, and later envisioned by Charles Babbage in 1832 for his analytical engine. Herman Hollerith advanced this innovation during the 1880s, applying it notably to the 1890 United States census and other governmental census operations.

History

In 1910, Willy Heidinger, associated with Hollerith, secured exclusive patent licenses from Hollerith's The Tabulating Machine Company to launch Dehomag within Germany. The following year, The Tabulating Machine Company merged with three other firms to establish the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company (CTR). By 1923, CTR had acquired a 90% stake in Dehomag, thereby controlling its patent portfolio. CTR subsequently rebranded as IBM in 1924.

Holocaust

During its tenure as an IBM subsidiary, Dehomag served as the chief supplier of computing devices and technology within Nazi Germany. It facilitated two official censuses after 1933 and enabled efficient population data searches. Dehomag’s tabulating machines were instrumental in identifying Jews and political opponents prior to events such as Kristallnacht, allowing rapid database queries. These technologies were extensively employed by the Gestapo and other agencies across occupied Europe to locate and detain victims, playing a crucial role in the execution of the Holocaust.

Dehomag provided leased punched card machines to the German government and was responsible for their maintenance. Before the outbreak of World War II, Hermann Rottke, Dehomag’s general manager, reported directly to IBM President Thomas J. Watson based in New York. Business operations with Germany remained lawful under U.S. regulations until December 1941. Although Watson was awarded the Order of the German Eagle medal in 1937 and contemplated severing ties with Germany following the 1938 pogroms, he was dissuaded by then United States Secretary of State Cordell Hull, postponing any decisive measures until 1940.

IBM’s New York office created Watson Business Machines within the occupied territory known as the General Government to oversee railway logistics amid the Holocaust in Poland. The German Transport Ministry utilized IBM equipment through this New York-managed subsidiary based in Warsaw, rather than via Dehomag directly. Watson Business Machines operated a punch card printing facility near the Warsaw Ghetto, producing punch cards that displayed Dehomag’s markings.

Leon Krzemieniecki, who managed rail transport connected to Auschwitz and Treblinka, observed that punched card machines bore English inscriptions, indicating their origin outside Germany. Revenues generated from leased machines in the General Government were funneled through Geneva back to IBM headquarters in New York.

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