A prominent German industrial dynasty, known for its significant stakes in global brands, has publicly acknowledged the brutal exploitation of slave laborers during the Nazi era. This revelation casts a dark shadow on the Reimann family, owners of JAB Holding, a major investor in companies like Keurig Dr Pepper and Pret A Manger.
Peter Harf, a partner at JAB Holding and spokesperson for the Reimann family, expressed the family’s profound shock and dismay upon discovering evidence of Nazi abuses within their company’s history. The revelations, initially brought to light by the German newspaper Bild am Sonntag through archival research, detailed the abhorrent treatment of forced laborers.
According to Harf, Albert Reimann Sr. and Albert Reimann Jr., the family patriarchs during the Nazi period, were not merely passive participants but were culpable of severe misconduct. “Reimann senior and Reimann junior were guilty… they belonged actually in prison,” Harf stated, underscoring the gravity of their actions. In response to these findings, the Reimann family has pledged to donate €10 million to a charitable organization, as a first step towards addressing their historical responsibility.
Reports in Bild am Sonntag highlighted the grim realities faced by slave laborers at Reimann premises in Ludwigshafen. Victims, primarily women from Nazi-occupied Eastern Europe, were subjected to racial discrimination, physical violence, and sexual abuse. Among these victims was a Russian maid, representing the widespread exploitation of Eastern European populations deemed “racially inferior” by the Nazi regime.
The Reimann family’s current wealth is estimated to be around €33 billion, positioning them as one of Germany’s wealthiest families. Their investment firm, JAB Holding, wields considerable influence in the consumer market, with substantial holdings in Keurig Dr Pepper, Coty Inc., Jacobs Douwe Egberts, and the popular sandwich chain Pret A Manger. This vast business empire was built, in part, on the backs of forced laborers during one of history’s darkest periods.
While Albert Reimann Sr. and Jr. passed away in 1954 and 1984, respectively, the full extent of their Nazi affiliations and the company’s use of slave labor remained largely hidden for over seven decades. Millions of individuals from Slavic countries endured brutal conditions as forced laborers in Nazi Germany, contributing to the regime’s war economy with minimal or no compensation. While Jews were also subjected to slave labor, their fate under the Nazi regime was predominantly extermination.
The Reimann family’s acknowledgment follows the commissioning of historian Professor Paul Erker to investigate their company’s Nazi-era history. Harf recounted the family’s reaction to the interim report: “we were speechless… We were ashamed and turned white. You cannot gloss over any of that. Those crimes are abhorrent.” Professor Christopher Kopper, another historian who reviewed the Reimann files, concluded that the Reimanns were not merely opportunistic Nazis but “convinced National Socialists.”
The Reimann case echoes similar revelations and legal actions against other prominent German companies that profited from Nazi atrocities. Volkswagen, for instance, founded under Hitler’s regime, utilized over 15,000 slave laborers during World War II. The Reimann family’s public admission and commitment to atonement mark a significant step towards confronting their historical legacy and addressing the ethical responsibilities that come with immense wealth and corporate power.
