[Vision2020] Bayer Aspirin

[Scott Dredge]

What is the end goal on this...don't buy Bayer A. G. products until they apologize (again) and/or pay fines (again) and/or damages (again)?

Seems like there was already due process on this based on <All things considered, they got off with
 wrist slaps.  The corporation was ordered to pay reparations to the 
surviving members of the thousands of I.G. Farben slave laborers forced 
to work under the usual heinous conditions employed by Nazi 
collaborators.   After their all-too-brief prison sentences the 
following jackasses bounced right on back to their old positions of 
power and authority.>

If this were a US criminal case, they wrongdoers would be protected by double jeopardy.  Of course, it's not so all bets are off.

From: donaldrose at cpcinternet.com
To: vision2020 at moscow.com
Date: Mon, 16 Jun 2014 11:38:16 -0700
Subject: [Vision2020] Bayer Aspirin

[Short version of this email]
 Please do not buy medications or over the counter products from Bayer A.G. (a German based corporation) or its U.S. based subsidiaries purchased “In 1978, Bayer purchased Miles Laboratories and its subsidiaries Miles Canada and Cutter Laboratories (along with a product line including Alka-Seltzer, Flintstones vitamins and One-A-Day vitamins, and Cutter insect repellent).  In 1994, Bayer AG purchased Sterling WinthropI's over-the-counter drug business from SmithKline Beecham and merged it with Miles Laboratories, thereby reacquiring the U.S. and Canadian trademark rights to "Bayer" and the Bayer cross, as well as the ownership of the Aspirin trademark in Canada.”  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayer
[The longer version with background and citations that explains the reason for my request follows below.] Last night I watched a PBS show on the commercial development and marketing of aspirin around the end turn of the 19th century. The work was initiated and directed by a brilliant Jewish chemist, Dr. Arthur Eichengrün , in Germany.  At the time the company was known as Bayer – the surname of one of the original owners. Thanks to  recent research this by Dr Walter Sneader of Strathclyde University the previous anti-Semitic error of attributing this “invention” to a man named Hoffman has been corrected.    Dr. Eichengrün left the company in 1908 to pursue an independent career.  In the years prior to World War II  Dr. Eichengrün was recognized as a brilliant and inventive fellow who (theoretically) enjoyed the respect of business and intellectual German communities. Post WWI Bayer Company changed its name to I.G. Farben.  Does the name sound familiar?  I hope it does.  Following WWII the significant managers of I.G. Farben were charged with war crimes (see below). All things considered, they got off with wrist slaps.  The corporation was ordered to pay reparations to the surviving members of the thousands of I.G. Farben slave laborers forced to work under the usual heinous conditions employed by Nazi collaborators.   After their all-too-brief prison sentences the following jackasses bounced right on back to their old positions of power and authority.  Please click on the names of the men below.   Yes, it will take a small amount of your time to read about these unrepentant monsters, but you have the luxury of being able to educate yourself – a gift denied millions of others (including American service men and women in the European theatre) who died because of them and their company’s products. For example: Hermann Schmitz,  became a member of the supervisory board for the Deutsche Bank in Berlin and honorary chairman of the supervisory board of Rheinische Stahlwerke AG [19]Georg von Schnitzler, served as president of the Deutsch-Ibero-Amerikanische Gesellschaft [20]supervisory board member of several firms [21]Otto Ambros, held seats on supervisory boards Chemie Grünenthal (being active during the Contergan scandal), Feldmühle, and Telefunken, and worked as an economic consultant in Mannheim [22]Heinrich Bütefisch, became a member of the supervisory boards for Deutsche Gasolin AG, Feldmühle, and Papier- und Zellstoffwerke AG, and consultied with Ruhrchemie AG Oberhausen and subsequently joining its supervisory board.[23]Max Ilgner, became the chairman of the executive board of a chemistry firm in Zug [24]Heinrich Oster, became a member of the supervisory board of Gelsenberg AG.[25]Some of the people who were acquitted (what a miscarriage of justice) and later became leaders in post war-companies include:
Fritz Gajewski, became chairman of the board of Dynamit Nobel.[26]Christian Schneider (chemist), became a member of the supervisory boards of Süddeutsche Kalkstickstoff-Werke AG Trostberg and Rheinauer Holzhydrolyse-GmbH, Mannheim [27]Hans Kühne, held a position at Bayer Elberfeld.[28]Carl Lautenschläger, became a research associate at Bayer Elberfeld.[29]Wilhelm Rudolf Mann, resumed his position as head of pharmaceutical sales at Bayer. He also presided over the GfK, Society for Consumer Research, and the Foreign Trade Committee of the BDI, Federation of German Industry.[30]Carl Wurster, resumed his position of chairman of the managing board, and was the major force behind the reestablishment of BASF. After retiring, he continued to be active as a member and chairman of supervisory boards in companies such as Bosch, Degussa (later being acquired by RAG [31]), and Allianz.[32]Heinrich Gattineau, beame a member of the board and supervisory council of WASAG Chemie-AG, and Mitteldeutsche Sprengstoff-Werke GmbH [33]Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IG_Farben I.G. Farben was reorganized as an empty holding company in order to avoid paying the ordered reparations to the slave labor survivors used by their company. The litigation, which lasted over sixty years effectively allowed the corporation to dodge essentially all payments. I.G. Farben reverted to its pre World War I name, Bayer A.G, and has continued to thrive worldwide.    Which brings me to the reason for this email (and arguably, more post WWII business history than you ever want to know).  “In 1978, Bayer purchased Miles Laboratories and its subsidiaries Miles Canada and Cutter Laboratories (along with a product line including Alka-Seltzer, Flintstones vitamins and One-A-Day vitamins, and Cutter insect repellent).  In 1994, Bayer AG purchased Sterling WinthropI's over-the-counter drug business from SmithKline Beecham and merged it with Miles Laboratories, thereby reacquiring the U.S. and Canadian trademark rights to "Bayer" and the Bayer cross, as well as the ownership of the Aspirin trademark in Canada.”
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayer .  This source also includes recent law suits against Bayer A.G. and its subsidiaries  - demonstrating that I.G. Farben philosophy (in all but name) is  alive and well in 2014.      
If I.G. Farben corporate officers had not been reinstated or had not easily found other prominent corporate positions in Germany after World War II, if the company (or the men) had accepted responsibility for their monstrous behavior and allegiance to the Nazi party and insisted that their corporation(s) pay reparations we might accept that they felt some kind of guilt and responsibility for the Holocaust.  They didn’t – and as recently as 2003 Farben I.G. dba Bayer A.G. were still tying up unpaid reparations  in senseless litigation.  However, they were and remained unapologetic Nazi collaborators that enriched themselves before, during, and after WWII.  
There is nothing we can do about the deaths of millions of people seventy + years ago.  There is something we can do now.  The lack of contrition of this corporation deserves a response even at this late date.
I urge you not to buy or use products from Bayer A.G. or the subsidiaries listed above.  It is a small, indeed insignificant, stand when considered against the global reach of the corporation.  But it is a matter of conscience that we can easily adopt.  And, we can encourage others in our various circles of friends, family, and co-workers  to stand with us in opposition against this wretched corporation.
Rose Huskey
 
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