IBM and World War II
| Industry | Information technology |
|---|---|
| Predecessor | Deutsche Hollerith Maschinen Gesellschaft (Dehomag) (German subsidiary) |
| Founded | June 16, 1911 in United States |
| Headquarters | Armonk , United States |
| Products | Punched card systems, computing equipment |
| Website | www |
Both the United States and Nazi Germany incorporated IBM punched card systems into certain aspects of their administrative and operational processes.
Germany
Throughout World War II, IBM’s German branch, Deutsche Hollerith Maschinen Gesellschaft (Dehomag), was involved in contentious activities. Key points include:
- The use of Dehomag’s technology and records to support Nazi wartime initiatives, especially concerning the Holocaust and the administration of Nazi concentration camps;
- Contrasting the roles of IBM subsidiaries in various countries engaged in wartime efforts;
- Evaluating IBM’s ethical and legal accountability for crimes enabled by its machinery;
- Implementation of selection procedures designed to identify civilians targeted for extermination.
United States
Within the United States, IBM subcontracted the punched card system project related to the internment camps for Japanese Americans, compiling comprehensive demographic data that included connections to Japan.
IBM’s equipment also underpinned cryptographic operations conducted by U.S. Army and Navy units such as Arlington Hall and OP-20-G, as well as Allied intelligence groups including the Central Bureau and Far East Combined Bureau.
Additionally, IBM contributed to the creation of the Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator, which was utilized for complex calculations during the Manhattan Project.
Criticism of IBM's actions during World War II
Edwin Black’s 2001 publication, IBM and the Holocaust, argued that IBM’s business dealings in Nazi Germany implicate the company morally in the Holocaust. The 2002 paperback edition introduced further evidence indicating that IBM’s headquarters in New York managed its Polish subsidiary’s interactions with Nazi authorities.
In 2001, concentration camp survivors filed a lawsuit under the Alien Tort Claims Act in a U.S. federal court, accusing IBM of supplying punched card technology that facilitated Holocaust operations while concealing Dehomag’s involvement. This case was eventually withdrawn due to concerns it could delay disbursements from a German Holocaust compensation fund, to which IBM’s German division contributed $3 million without acknowledging fault.
In 2004, the human rights organization Gypsy International Recognition and Compensation Action initiated legal action against IBM in Switzerland; however, the case was dismissed in 2006 because of the statute of limitations expiration.
Responses to critics
In a statement issued in February 2001, IBM confirmed that its German subsidiary, Deutsche Hollerith Maschinen GmbH (Dehomag), provided Hollerith machines used by Nazi forces. The company pointed out that Dehomag, like numerous foreign enterprises operating in Germany at that time, was placed under Nazi control during World War II. IBM also noted that Thomas J. Watson, Sr., had received but subsequently rejected a medal from the German government recognizing his international economic contributions. These details were cited by IBM as context for recent accusations.
Richard Bernstein of The New York Times Book Review (2001) remarked that many American corporations behaved similarly to IBM during this period and questioned what distinguished IBM as uniquely culpable. He acknowledged that although Edwin Black’s IBM and the Holocaust is thoroughly documented, it does not definitively establish IBM’s exclusive or decisive responsibility.
Following Black’s revised paperback release, IBM issued a March 2002 statement denying allegations that it withheld archival documents from that era and criticized such claims as attempts to boost book sales.
See also
- IBM and the Holocaust
- German re-armament
- List of International subsidiaries of IBM
- Never Again pledge