General Motors and the Nazis: The Struggle for Control of Opel, Europe's Biggest Carmaker Book

This book, the first ever based on unrestricted access to General Motorsâ?? internal records, documents the giant American corporationâ??s dealings with the Third Reich. GM purchased Opel, Europeâ??s largest automaker, in the 1920s and continued to hold it through the Second World War. Historian Henry Ashby Turner, Jr., uncovers the fascinating story of how the American carmaker conducted business in Germany under the Nazi regime and explores larger issues concerning the relations between international corporations and the Third Reich.
The book presents new and detailed information about General Motorsâ?? interactions with Hitler and other Nazi officials, including the carmakerâ??s attempt to capture the Volkswagen project. It also reveals how American GM executives thwarted a sustained Nazi effort to gain control of Opel. The author concludes with an assessment of the extent of the companyâ??s implication, through Opel, in the Nazi war effort and in the exploitation of forced labor.