144 Chapter 6
cludinga measureto mandatethe paymentof compensationto industrialworkersdislo-
catedfromtheiremployment.As theseinitiatives“wouldunavoidablyhavenecessitated
tax increases,theirendorsementby propagandistsof the NSDAPcouldonlyreinforcethe
overwhelminglynegativeassessmentof Nazismin the businesscommunity.”^97
Germanbig businessesdid not startingpouringout largedonationsto the NSDAP
untilafterthe partyhadalreadyattainedpopularinfluence.Thiswasnot primarilybe-
causeGermany’s corporatemanagersprofessedfaithin the Naziideology.Contrariwise,
it was becausetheywantedto hedgetheirbetswithany politicalpartythat wonoffice.As
late as 1932,Hitlerstill receivedmorefanfarefromfarmersand militaryofficialsthanhe
did fromwealthyindustrialists.“In the finaldrama,” writesKershaw,“the agrariansand
the armyweremoreinfluentialthanbig businessin engineeringHitler’s takeover.”^98
But by Novemberof thatyear,addsTurner,businessesfinallygaveup theirprevious
hopesof beingableto defeatHitlerpolitically.TheNaziParty’s cofferstrulybeganto
swellwithcorporatefundingwhena majorityvoteby the Reichstag—thatis, Germany’s
legislature—had democraticallyratifiedthe EnablingAct,whichgrantedHitlerunilateral
lawmakingauthority.At that point,majorGermancorporationsmadefinancialcontribu-
tionsto Hitlerout of fear of politicalrecriminations.^99
Themajorcorporatefundingstartedto roll in on February20, 1933,whenHitler
summonedthe country’s top industrialiststo a presentationon his neweconomicplan.
Oncethe presentationdrewto a close,the NSDAPsolicitedthe industrialistattendeesfor
funds.Theindustrialistspromisedthreemillionmarksto the Führerandprovidedit
withinweeks.Thisoffering,reportsKershaw,“wasless one of enthusiasticbackingthan
of politicalextortion.”^100 Realizingthesefacts,six-timeU.S.SocialistPartypresidential
candidateNormanThomas(1884–1968)admits,“In no waywasHitlerthe toolof big
business.He wasits lenientmaster.So wasMussoliniexceptthathe wasweaker.”^101
Inasmuchas therewasanysuchleniency,it wasshort-lived.ThatI willexplicatein
chapter10.
Remarkably,notesHenryAshbyTurner,therewereadvocatesfor everyone’s liberty
in Germany,includingthe Jews’ rightto do business,“untilthe end.” Turnercitesthe
exampleof the Hansa-Bund,“a pro-free-trade,anti-cartelorganizationwitha sizable
followingin banking,commercial,and manufacturingcircles.. .” The Hansa-Bundstated
thatit consideredthe Nazisthe “vigorousenemyof the individualistand capitalistorder
for whichwe stand.”^102 Of specialnoteis BASFexecutiveCarlBosch.Thereadermay
rememberfromLife in the MarketEcosystemthatBoschassistedFritzHaberin developing
the Haber-Boschprocessfor synthesizingammoniumnitrateto fertilizecrops,which
greatlyimprovedfarmproductivityin the twentiethcenturyand endedChina’s famines
in the 1980s.Duringthe entiredurationof Hitler’s politicalascension,Boschopenlyspoke
out againstthe Nazisand anti-Semitism.^103 Yearsinto Hitler’s reignof dictatorship,Bosch
eventuallydecidedto refrainfrompubliclyairinghis viewsandto haveBASFcomply
withthe Nazistate’s orders.^104 But this newlyfoundsilenceandcompliancecamefrom
the desireto protecthimselfandhis familyfromcensoriousreprisals,not fromany
delusionthat the Nazis’ interestsalignedwithhis owninterestsas a businessman.
Analyzingthe availableevidence,HenryAshbyTurnerconcludesthatit is by no
meansapartfrom“grossdistortion” thatGermany’s big businessescan “be accordeda
crucial,or evenmajor,role in the downfall” of the WeimarRepublic.Andhe goeson that
the repetitionof the academician’s claimthatNaziismwascausedby industrialcom-
merceamountsto propaganda.^105
StanleyG. Payneis a professorof historyat the Universityof Wisconsinat Madison.
Paynelikewisewritesthatleft-wingacademicians“havefailedto provethatbig business
‘bought’ Hitler.... Thatthe Marxistinterpretationis incorrectis howevergreatlyto be