The Fate of Small Business in Nazi Germany

Published by the United States Senate Special Committee to Study Problems of American Small Business in 1943, the preface opens with: "One of the secrets of fighting an effective war is knowing the enemy, how he operates, and what are his aims. Yet, although we have been officially at war with Hitler's germany for more than a year, there is still an insufficient understanding among the American people of the relationship between National Socialism and the cause of independent small business enterprise. "This study establishes two points that, in my opinion, deserve the closest attention of thoughtful Americans. "First, it shows that despite their wild promises to small business, the Nazis have systematically proceeded to destroy small business. Often it is done directly by forcing smaller concerns to close down. Still more often it is done by undermining the independence of smaller concerns; that is, by making them completely subservient to a giant cartel, a prime contractor, or the Third Reich itself. ... "Moreover, the study lays bare the fact that the neglect of small business by the pre-Hitler Government assisted Hitler in his rise to power. ..." Claude Pepper Member, Special Committee to Study Problems of American Small Business United States Senate