German biscuit heiress accused of downplaying use of forced labor under Nazi rule

The heiress to a German biscuit company sparked controversy after she downplayed the company’s use of forced labor under the Nazi regime, according to Reuters.

Verena Bahlsen, daughter of the owner of the Bahlsen company, told German newspaper Bild that the company “did nothing wrong” during World War II, when it employed about 200 forced laborers, most of them women from Nazi-occupied Ukraine.

{mosads}“This was before my time and we paid the forced laborers exactly as much as German workers and we treated them well,” Bahlsen said.

The comments drew swift condemnation from social media and German politicians, according to Reuters, with Lars Klingbeil, secretary general of the center-left Social Democrats party, telling Bild “If you inherit such a large estate you also inherit responsibility and should not come across as aloof.”

The company, which has annual sales of over $562 million, said in a statement it understood the “moral responsibility” for those who used forced labor. 

“The company is aware of the big suffering and injustice experienced by forced laborers and many more people at the time and recognizes its historical and moral responsibility,” the company said, according to Reuters.

The company also noted that in 2001 it voluntarily paid 1.5 million deutschmarks, or about 750,000 euros, to a compensation fund established for 20 million people forced into labor by the Nazis, the news agency reported.

However, several former forced laborers for the company have lost in court battles to secure compensation from the biscuit manufacturer, with German courts citing the statute of limitations, according to Reuters.

In March, the German family that owns Panera Bread and Krispy Kreme donuts announced it would donate millions to charity after discovering records indicating their forebears, many of whom were members of the Nazi party, had used forced labor provided by Russian civilians and French prisoners of war.