History Happy Hour

This Week on History Happy Hour: The story of German tycoons who made billions off the horrors of the Third Reich and World War II – and were never brought to justice because of political expediency. Many of the dynasties they started continue to control swaths of the world economy today, owning iconic brands such as Porsche, Volkswagen, and BMW.

Chris and Rick welcome Dutch journalist David De Jong, author of Nazi Billionaires: The Dark History of Germany’s Wealthiest Dynasties. A deep dive investigation into family fortunes made off of slave labor, seized Jewish businesses, and other atrocities. The Wall Street Journal calls the book “A provocative group portrait of five industrialists who expanded their fortunes by colluding with Hitler and . . . walked away with minimal punishment and barely a dent in their bottom lines.”

David de Jong is a journalist who previously covered European banking and finance from Amsterdam and hidden wealth and billionaire fortunes from New York for Bloomberg News. His work has also appeared in Bloomberg Businessweek, the Wall Street Journal, and the Dutch Financial Daily. A native of the Netherlands, de Jong currently lives in Tel Aviv. He spent four years in Berlin researching and writing this book.