Europe’s largest media company has opened a corporate archive in Munich that will display all the documents it holds on its activities during the Nazi period.
Bertelsmann opened the archive to public scrutiny following an admission by its chief executive Gunter Thielen that the German company had played down its links with the Nazi party in the years up to and during the second world war.
Four years ago, it established an independent historical commission to document its history during this time.
The commission, which had full access to the company’s records, has now published its findings.
Thielen expressed ‘sincere regret’ for inaccuracies in an official history of the company published in 1985 and said this ‘reinforced why ... transparency must be an integral part of our company’s core values’.
As one of the largest media companies in the world, Bertelsmann had ‘a special responsibility to promote openness and public debate on these issues’, he said.