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You Don't Know These Businesses Nazis Actually Owned: The Definitive Historical Playbook

Beyond the well-known propaganda and wartime atrocities, the Nazi regime built and controlled an enormous corporate empire that spanned industries from manufacturing to banking. Many of these businesses operated under shell companies, front organizations, and forced-labor arrangements that remained hidden for decades. This article reveals the full scope of Nazi-owned enterprises — what they were, how they operated, and why understanding them matters today.

Key Takeaways

• The Nazi regime controlled an estimated 60+ major corporations through direct ownership, front companies, and coerced partnerships with private industry.
• Aryanization was the systematic process of seizing Jewish-owned businesses and transferring them to non-Jewish owners — often regime loyalists at deeply discounted prices.
• Firms like IG Farben, Krupp, and BMW knowingly collaborated with the regime, profiting from forced labor and war production.
• The Reichswerke Hermann Göring was the largest state-owned industrial conglomerate in Nazi Germany, rivaling American steel giants.
• Post-war accountability was incomplete — many executives and corporate structures survived denazification with minimal consequences.
• Modern research and lawsuits continue to uncover hidden assets, stolen property, and corporate complicity linked to Nazi-era enterprises.

How the Nazi Corporate Empire Was Built

1. Aryanization: The Seizure Economy

Starting in 1933 and accelerating after Kristallnacht in 1938, the Nazi government enacted policies that stripped Jewish citizens of their businesses, banks, and assets. This process — called Aryanization — transferred thousands of enterprises to "Aryan" owners, many of whom were Nazi Party members or complicit collaborators.

Key mechanisms included:

• Forced liquidation of Jewish-owned companies at 1–10% of market value
• Mandatory registration of all Jewish business assets with the Reich
• Appointing Nazi commissioners to "manage" seized firms
• Requiring non-Jewish buyers to swear loyalty to the regime

2. The Reichswerke Hermann Göring

Established in 1937 and named after Hermann Göring, the Reichswerke became the largest industrial conglomerate in Nazi Germany. Starting with a single steel plant, it grew to control:

• Over 300 iron and steel plants
• Coal mines across the Reich and occupied territories
• Copper, nickel, and manganese operations
• Chemical and armaments factories
• Shipbuilding and machinery works

At its peak, Reichswerke employed over 300,000 workers — including tens of thousands of forced laborers from concentration camps and occupied nations.

3. Direct Party and SS Ownership

Beyond state-controlled enterprises, individual Nazi leaders and the SS built personal and organizational wealth through direct business ownership:

• SS-WVH (SS Economic and Administrative Main Office): Operated bakeries, publishing houses, construction firms, and eventually the Großdeutsche Maschinenfabrik (gwm) in Berlin, which manufactured machine guns using forced labor.
• Hermann Göring: Accumulated personal art collections, estate holdings, and controlling shares in multiple industrial firms through coercive acquisitions.
• Heinrich Himmler: The SS invested in real estate, agricultural enterprises, and industrial ventures across occupied Europe.
• Joseph Goebbels: Controlled media and propaganda enterprises, with indirect ownership stakes in publishing and film production.

Major Businesses and Corporations Linked to Nazi Ownership

Comparison Table: Key Nazi-Era Enterprises

Enterprise	Type	Ownership Model	Scale (Peak)	Key Notoriety
Reichswerke Hermann Göring	State conglomerate	Direct Nazi state ownership	300,000+ employees	Largest industrial combine in Nazi Germany
IG Farben	Chemical/pharma	Private with state contracts	~100,000 employees	Built Auschwitz III; produced Zyklon B
Krupp Industries	Steel/arms	Private with state oversight	~140,000 employees	Major user of forced labor; postwar merger with Thyssen
Bayer	Chemical/pharma	Private (absorbed into IG Farben during war)	Thousands employed	Produced chemicals for war effort and gas chambers
BMW	Automotive/aviation	Private with military contracts	~12,000 workers	Used forced labor for aircraft engine production
Siemens	Electrical/industrial	Private with state contracts	~30,000 forced laborers	Extensive use of concentration camp labor
Volkswagen	Automotive	State-owned (Strength Through Joy program)	Thousands employed	Built with forced labor; postwar British transformation
Fly Works (Focke-Wulf)	Aviation	Private with SS oversight	Thousands employed	Used concentration camp labor for aircraft production
Görlitzer textile mills	Textiles	Aryanized from Jewish owners	Moderate scale	Example of mass Aryanization of Jewish commerce

The Hidden Businesses: Less-Known Nazi Enterprises

Beyond the corporate giants, the Nazi regime controlled or seized a vast network of smaller but significant enterprises:

Banking and Finance

• Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank — Facilitated looted assets and funded occupation economies
• Dresdner Bank