BAN THE SALE OF PRODUCTS FROM COMPANIES THAT USED SLAVE LABOR

Since we have been removing the statues of slave owners and erasing their names from school buildings and public parks, we should also ban the products made by companies that used slave labor

Lately the country has been on a roll in removing the statues of Robert E. Lee, ‘Stonewall’ Jackson and other Confederate icons who were slaveholders. Their names are also being removed from school buildings and parks. These statues have been standing for more than 200 years with little controversy. The men they honor are now being erased from history because some agitators claim the statues and school names are a painful reminder to African-Americans of white supremacy.

But what about those who enslaved thousands in more recent times? Don’t those things that remind us of them also deserve to be cast aside?

I’m talking about the German companies that used thousands of slave laborers from Nazi concentration camps during WW2. Most of these slaves were Jews. Whenever one of these undernourished slaves became too ill to be productive, they were shipped off to one of the Nazi death camps where they were gassed and cremated.

Those German companies profited from the ‘free’ labor and enriched themselves to the extent that today they are able to sell their products throughout the world.

As a Jew, these companies are a painful reminder to me of the Holocaust during which six million Jewish men, women and children were exterminated, including both sets of my grandparents.

What’s good for the African-American goose should also be good for the American Jewish gander. Accordingly, I propose that we ban the sale in the United States of any product made by one of the German companies that used slave labor during WW2.

Among the slave-using companies are:

Bayer – In addition to aspirin and other products, Bayer developed and provided the SS with Zyklon B, the gas that was used to exterminate Jewish men, women and children in the Nazi death camps.

The car companies BMW, Mercedes , Audi and VW – never mind the VW diesel scandal, their use of slave labor was a much greater sin.

Bosch – out with their overpriced tools, dishwashers and other products.

I was talking to Rabbi David Birnbaum the other day. The rabbi, a strong supporter for the removal of Confederate statues and school names, also agreed that seeing products made by these German companies was a painful reminder of the Holocaust and that their sale in this country should be banned. I asked him how he liked his new car and he said it was his fourth Mercedes, he loves it and wouldn’t drive any other brand of car.

Getting rid of the products made by Holocaust profiteers will rid me of the pain I experience every time I see a VW or Mercedes, a Bayer aspirin or Aleve, and a Bosch power tool. Just thinking about these products gives me a headache.

Son, my fucking head hurts. Please get me a couple of Bayer aspirins.