A History of the I.G. Farben Trial

The German chemical firm, I.G. Farben, remains an object of historical scrutiny. Responsible for developing the gasoline and aviation fuel so integral to the Nazi regime’s military campaign, the company’s executives enabled the Third Reich’s war crimes through their use of forced labor from the Auschwitz concentration camp. While this complicity did result in their conviction at the Nuremberg trials, Stephan H. Lindner provides a fresh perspective on this watershed event, highlighting how the legacy of this trial shaped postwar Europe’s understanding of collusion and reparation. Charting its build up, the events of the trial itself, and its aftermath, this volume spotlights the complexities of corporate social responsibility and of putting the military-industrial complex on trial. 

Author Biography

Stephan H. Lindner is Professor of Interdependence of Technological and Social Change at the University of the Bundeswehr in Munich. He is the author of numerous publications in economic history and in the comparative history of industrial textiles in Germany and France. His recent publications include: Unternehmertum und Politik in der Weimarer Republik (de Gruyter, 2022); Sartorius 1870-2020 (Piper, 2021); and Aufrüstung – Ausbeutung – Auschwitz. Eine Geschichte des I.G.-Farben-Prozesses (Wallstein, 2020).