Washington, D.C. — International Business Machines (IBM) announced on Friday that it will be donating over 5 million dollars to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum located on Washington D.C’s National Mall. On November 1, 1978, President Jimmy Carter established the President’s Commission on the Holocaust, chaired by Elie Wiesel, a prominent author and Holocaust survivor. On April 26, 1993, the Museum opened to the general public. Its first visitor was the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet.
“IBM has a long and proud tradition of being both an innovator and a progressive force in the workplace,” said IBM Director of Communication and Public Outreach Bethany Millbright. “With this large donation to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, we hope to put to rest all the controversy of IBM’s alleged involvement with the 3rd Reich.”
In a 2001 book by Edwin Black titled IBM and the Holocaust: The Strategic Alliance between Nazi Germany and America’s Most Powerful Corporation, Mr. Black outlined the way in which IBM’s technology helped facilitate Nazi genocide through generation and tabulation of punch cards based upon national census data.
IBM has neither confirmed nor denied the accusation until hinting about it at today’s announcement. Instead, the company attacked Mr. Black’s methods and conclusions and claims that all documents regarding the partnership, which may or may not have existed, were destroyed during the war.
