# Did Krups, Braun, and Mercedes-Benz make Nazi concentration camp ovens? Did Hitler name the Volkswag **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [October 12, 2012, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-krups-braun-and-mercedes-benz-make-nazi-concentration-camp-ovens-did-hitler-name-the-volkswag/637510 "2012-10-12T13:29:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Marc\_Xenos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@Marc\_Xenos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marc_Xenos)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-krups-braun-and-mercedes-benz-make-nazi-concentration-camp-ovens-did-hitler-name-the-volkswag/637510/1 "2012-10-12T13:29:21Z")
In similar discussion to the article, [Did Krups, Braun, and Mercedes-Benz make Nazi concentration camp ovens? Did Hitler name the Volkswagen? - The Straight Dope](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1095/did-krups-braun-and-mercedes-benz-make-nazi-concentration-camp-ovens), it was Mitsubishi that manufactured the Japanese A6M2 “Zero” fighter planes which bombed Pearl Harbor and shot down so many of our pilots in WWII. The three diamond pattern represents the propeller. So think about that the next time you’re looking at a Galant at your dealership. Or 65" big screen HD TV. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-krups-braun-and-mercedes-benz-make-nazi-concentration-camp-ovens-did-hitler-name-the-volkswag/637510/2 "2012-10-12T13:39:52Z")
> [@Marc\_Xenos](#): > > In similar discussion to the article, > [Did Krups, Braun, and Mercedes-Benz make Nazi concentration camp ovens? Did Hitler name the Volkswagen? - The Straight Dope](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1095/did-krups-braun-and-mercedes-benz-make-nazi-concentration-camp-ovens), > it was Mitsubishi that manufactured the Japanese A6M2 “Zero” fighter planes which bombed Pearl Harbor and shot down so many of our pilots in WWII. The three diamond pattern represents the propeller. The company’s logo predates aircraft. The “Mitubishi Shokai” company name and 3-diamond _mon_-style logo date back to 1873. Since the company started out as a shipping company, the logo may relate to steamship propellers. The company name literally means “three diamonds”. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-krups-braun-and-mercedes-benz-make-nazi-concentration-camp-ovens-did-hitler-name-the-volkswag/637510/3 "2012-10-12T13:41:47Z")
The Mitsubishi logo was in use by its precursor company in the 1870s which was before powered flight let alone WWII. > **[History of our corporate logo | History | About | MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC Global...](https://www.mitsubishielectric.com/en/about/history/logo/index.html)** > > History of our corporate logo, in the History section of Mitsubishi Electric's website. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-krups-braun-and-mercedes-benz-make-nazi-concentration-camp-ovens-did-hitler-name-the-volkswag/637510/4 "2012-10-12T13:52:26Z")
> [@Marc\_Xenos](#): > > In similar discussion to the article, > [Did Krups, Braun, and Mercedes-Benz make Nazi concentration camp ovens? Did Hitler name the Volkswagen? - The Straight Dope](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1095/did-krups-braun-and-mercedes-benz-make-nazi-concentration-camp-ovens), > it was Mitsubishi that manufactured the Japanese A6M2 “Zero” fighter planes which bombed Pearl Harbor and shot down so many of our pilots in WWII. The three diamond pattern represents the propeller. > > So think about that the next time you’re looking at a Galant at your dealership. Or 65" big screen HD TV. Hold a grudge much? ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-krups-braun-and-mercedes-benz-make-nazi-concentration-camp-ovens-did-hitler-name-the-volkswag/637510/5 "2012-10-12T16:00:09Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > Hold a grudge much? FWIW, I wasn’t gonna respond to that last bit. On one hand, the tone comes across as either trollish or (if sincerely held) likely beyond reasoning with. Poe’s Law in action. ---
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-krups-braun-and-mercedes-benz-make-nazi-concentration-camp-ovens-did-hitler-name-the-volkswag/637510/6 "2012-10-12T16:00:51Z")
He’s probably still mad at the British for burning down the White House too. ---
**Author:** ![colonial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/34f0e0/32.png) [@colonial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colonial)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-krups-braun-and-mercedes-benz-make-nazi-concentration-camp-ovens-did-hitler-name-the-volkswag/637510/7 "2012-10-12T16:10:15Z")
By “Braun” do you mean Werner Von Braun? If so the answer is almost certainly no, since his attention would have been fully commanded by his field of specialty, which was rocket science. However, Braun may have been complicit in the criminal mistreatment of slave labor used to support the German V weapons program. If so, he escaped unpunished. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-krups-braun-and-mercedes-benz-make-nazi-concentration-camp-ovens-did-hitler-name-the-volkswag/637510/8 "2012-10-12T16:32:59Z")
does anyone advocate wearing only synthetic fibers and only using ‘artificial’ sweeteners? ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-krups-braun-and-mercedes-benz-make-nazi-concentration-camp-ovens-did-hitler-name-the-volkswag/637510/9 "2012-10-12T17:26:23Z")
> [@colonial](#): > > By “Braun” do you mean Werner Von Braun? > > If so the answer is almost certainly no, since his attention would have been fully commanded > by his field of specialty, which was rocket science. > > However, Braun may have been complicit in the criminal mistreatment of slave labor used > to support the German V weapons program. If so, he escaped unpunished. No, [Braun](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braun_(company)) is a company that is famous for its electric shavers and household appliances and has nothing to do with Werner von Braun. They’re currently a wholly owned subsidiary of Proctor & Gamble and had nothing to do with manufacturing items of war or equipment used for Nazi atrocities in WWII. ---
**Author:** ![Bookkeeper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bookkeeper/32/281_2.png) [@Bookkeeper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bookkeeper)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2012, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-krups-braun-and-mercedes-benz-make-nazi-concentration-camp-ovens-did-hitler-name-the-volkswag/637510/10 "2012-10-17T15:56:38Z")
Porsche was involved in a lot more of the German wartime effort than just the Volkswagen. He produced one of the competing designs for the chassis/hull of the Tiger tank. After Henschel won out on the Tiger design, the 100 hulls which Porsche had ordered produced in anticipation of being selected were used as the basis for the “Ferdinand” tank destroyer (named after Porsche). He later recycled the chassis design, again unsuccesfully, for the Tiger II. He also designed the massive Maus tank, for which only two incomplete prototypes were built. He can’t be charged with use of slave labour, however, as his company was an engineering design firm, and didn’t expand into the manufacturing business until after the war. ---
**Author:** ![SpyOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@SpyOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpyOne)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-krups-braun-and-mercedes-benz-make-nazi-concentration-camp-ovens-did-hitler-name-the-volkswag/637510/11 "2012-10-19T14:27:48Z")
Oh hell, where to begin. The name Hitler gave the car was Kraft durch Freude-Wagen, which means Strength through Joy Car. The WWII Kubelwagen was only superficially similar to the Type-181 military vehicle developed in 1968, which was sold in the US as the Thing. The pictures at wikipedia make the differences obvious enough. The modern Volkswagen company was basically created by the British Army during the occupation, and it’s only connection to the wartime era company was inheriting it’s factory and all the equipment and parts therein, so boycotting them would be especially silly. As for working with the Nazis, Porsche also designed the Panzerkampfwagen VIII Maus, the biggest tank ever, and was apparently a member of the Nazi party, but as Patton pointed out, a lot of people joined just because they were the party in power and that was how to get ahead. I certainly hope that he was apolitical, and just loved Germany and being an engineer, but perhaps he was a true believer. I am unaware of any company in Germany in WWII that refused slave labor. I imagine that if there were companies that did so, they had their management replaced with someone more … “Patriotic”. And anyway, Porsche was hardly in charge (although the Kubelwagen being made in that factory was one of his designs, and the amphibious Schwimmwagen was a design of his son’s). ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2012, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-krups-braun-and-mercedes-benz-make-nazi-concentration-camp-ovens-did-hitler-name-the-volkswag/637510/12 "2012-10-25T17:06:18Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > They’re currently a wholly owned subsidiary of Proctor & Gamble and had nothing to do with manufacturing items of war or equipment used for Nazi atrocities in WWII. Even worse-the Church of Satan! (joking) Not to be too big a jerk, or nothing, but, since we’re at peace, mol, I would much rather have a vehicle manufactured by a company whose product shot down a bunch of US fighters than by a company whose product didn’t shoot down many. ---
**Author:** ![gamerunknown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6bbea6/32.png) [@gamerunknown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gamerunknown)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2012, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-krups-braun-and-mercedes-benz-make-nazi-concentration-camp-ovens-did-hitler-name-the-volkswag/637510/13 "2012-10-26T12:05:43Z")
> [@SpyOne](#): > > I am unaware of any company in Germany in WWII that refused slave labor. The fact that Porsche was “merely” an opportunist rather than a true believer does not ameliorate the contribution he made towards the enslavement and extirpation of the population. If slavery is necessary for success, any successful individual is convicted of enslavement. Le Monde Diplomatique has a [good articl](http://mondediplo.com/1998/01/11volkswag)e discussing the public record (particularly “Volkswagen and its workers during the Third reich”) and the intransigence of Porsche’s relatives and the French ministry of the interior to share salacious details. ---
**Author:** ![Powers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Powers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Powers)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2012, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-krups-braun-and-mercedes-benz-make-nazi-concentration-camp-ovens-did-hitler-name-the-volkswag/637510/14 "2012-10-30T16:57:33Z")
> [@gamerunknown](#): > > The fact that Porsche was “merely” an opportunist rather than a true believer does not ameliorate the contribution he made towards the enslavement and extirpation of the population. If slavery is necessary for success, any successful individual is convicted of enslavement. Arguably, though, wouldn’t acquiescing to use the slave labor be morally superior if the alternative was committing the would-be laborers to the gas chamber? Powers &8^]