Corporate Leadership and Mass Atrocity

Sarah Federman

doi:10.1007/s10551-020-04506-4

Abstract

With the last Holocaust survivors quietly passing away, one might also expect to see accountability debates slowing to a trickle. Surprisingly, however, recent years show an upswing in corporate World War II-related atonement debates. Interest in corporate participation in mass atrocity has expanded worldwide; yet what constitutes ethical corporate behavior during and after war remains understudied. This article considers these questions through a study of the French National Railways’ (SNCF) roles during the German occupation and its more recent struggle to make amends. This study demonstrates that ethical business leadership requires taking responsibility for past as well as current decisions. Most executives grappling with complex corporate histories work in isolation, in part because the scholarship on business ethics fails to provide guidance. Without such guidance, corporations often respond to accusations about their pasts with carefully crafted statements and legal strategies rather than deep expressions of moral leadership. To assist in remedying this tendency, this paper simultaneously encourages companies to engage in deeper reflection on corporate history, while urging scholars to help guide corporations through critical ethical conversations.

Highlights

In July 2019, the Shoah memorial in Paris hosted a namesreading ceremony for Convoy 77, the last deportation train that left Paris for Auschwitz
The Reimann family and JAB Holdings might not be household names, many recognize their brands: Dr Pepper, Krispy Kreme Donuts, Panera Bread, Peets Coffee, Pret A Manger, Einstein’s Bagels, and Coty. Survivors and their descendants called upon the French, Dutch, and Hungarian National Railway companies to compensate for their predecessors’ participation in the Holocaust (Karasz 2019). These debates extend beyond Europe: In October 2019, a South Korean court asked Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal to pay damages for slave labor used during the war (Sang-Hun and Gladstone 2018)
Scholarship concerned with ethical leadership provides little guidance for those business executives willing to engage beyond carefully crafted public statements and legal strategies

Summary

Introduction

In July 2019, the Shoah memorial in Paris hosted a namesreading ceremony for Convoy 77, the last deportation train that left Paris for Auschwitz. Survivors and their descendants called upon the French, Dutch, and Hungarian National Railway companies to compensate for their predecessors’ participation in the Holocaust (Karasz 2019). These debates extend beyond Europe: In October 2019, a South Korean court asked Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal to pay damages for slave labor used during the war (Sang-Hun and Gladstone 2018). This article aims to provide some guidance, first by arguing that ethical corporate leadership requires taking responsibility both for present-day business activities and the decisions of predecessors Through this more timeless conception of moral responsibility, past harms can be addressed and current or future violations can be interrupted

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