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German Car Firm 'Used Auschwitz Hair'

Nazi links may torpedo Schaeffler's hopes of a government bailout

By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff

Posted Mar 3, 2009 5:43 AM CST

(Newser) – A German auto parts firm's hopes of a government bailout have been dealt a serious blow with the discovery that it used the hair of Auschwitz prisoners to make fabric, the Independent reports. The Schaeffler company denies the accusations, but an Auschwitz historian says two tons of hair, shaved from some 40,000 prisoners before they were gassed, was found in one of the firm's factories after the war.

Schaeffler—whose officials admitted that the company used slave labor under the Third Reich—is struggling under almost $30 billion of debt. The German government was believed to be willing to help until the latest news of the firm's wartime activities surfaced. "It is a difficult moral call to be seen helping a company that may have utilized the hair of tens of thousands of murdered people," one insider said.

Mugshots show boys interned at the Auschwitz concentration camp, Auschwitz, Poland, circa 1940.
Mugshots show boys interned at the Auschwitz concentration camp, Auschwitz, Poland, circa 1940.   (Getty Images)
The headquarters of Schaeffler KG, maker of automotive components, in Herzogenaurach, southern Germany.
The headquarters of Schaeffler KG, maker of automotive components, in Herzogenaurach, southern Germany.   (AP Photo/Andreas Beil)
The entry to the concentration camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau, Poland, with snow covered railtracks leading to the camp, is shown in this 1941 file photo.
The entry to the concentration camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau, Poland, with snow covered railtracks leading to the camp, is shown in this 1941 file photo.   (AP Photo)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 7 comments
Guest
Mar 3, 2009 9:11 PM CST
The optics of assistance from the German government for this firm are terrible. The Holocaust was unspeakable but cannot be forgotten; acts of abstract condemnation, such as this, are inadequate yet these gestures must be considered and, occasionally, made.
Guest
Mar 3, 2009 7:48 PM CST
Absurd.
Rob
Mar 2, 2009 10:34 PM CST
Way to spout, riffran. Guess you needed to say something and so just opened your mouth so things could dribble out.

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