NCJ Number
240967
Journal
British Journal of Criminology Volume: 52 Issue: 6 Dated: November 2012 Pages: 1033-1050
Date Published
November 2012
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This article presents criminological explanations of corporate crime for use in explaining corporate involvement in the Holocaust.
Abstract
Corporate complicity in international crimes is a largely neglected phenomenon that exists on the border of the criminological study of international crimes and the study of corporate crime. In this article, the German corporation Topf & Suhne is analyzed as a case study of corporate involvement in international crimes. Topf built the cremation ovens for various concentration and extermination camps in Nazi Germany. It is clear that existing explanations of corporate crime such as the urge to survive, competition between sub-units, corporate culture, normalization and neutralization are applicable. However, the extraordinary circumstances of the Nazi regime had a crucial influence on the motivations, opportunity and lack of control that caused Topf's involvement in the Holocaust. (Published Abstract)