According to historian Andrea Schneider-Braunberger, companies should maintain a clear separation from the AfD and other political fringes. The managing director of the Society for Corporate History told the “Handelsblatt” that if one normalizes a party, they make it acceptable, and consequently, “if they enter a government, they get the entire party.”
Drawing historical lessons, Schneider-Braunberger pointed out that at first, industrialists made accommodations with the Nazi regime without immediate economic pressure. However, only starting in 1936 or 1937, when key resources, labor, and foreign exchange became scarce, they reportedly joined the NSDAP in large numbers to guarantee the continued existence of their businesses. She stressed that ideological proximity to Nazism rarely yielded any tangible economic benefit for these entrepreneurs.
Despite current societal instability, Schneider-Braunberger sees parallels to the Great Depression. Nevertheless, she noted that today’s businesses can build on over 70 years of positive democratic experience and contribute constructively to societal balance.
