SWC Calls Out German Tech Giant Siemens on Israel Boycott Clause in Contract with Turkish Subsidiary

February 9, 2023

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is denouncing German giant Siemens which, according to a report  by Südwestrundfunk (SWR) public radio station signed a  Israel boycott clause in a contract with Turkish state railroads. The broadcaster reported that Siemens had sold high-speed trains to Turkey.

The media report said the Islamic Development Bank in Saudi Arabia financed the state railroad's purchase of the trains and demanded strict compliance with the Arab League and African Union boycott requirements.
“If this report is accurate it again raises questions about Siemens and its dark history,” said Rabbi Abraham Cooper, SWC Associate Dean and Director of Global Social Action.

“Siemens will forever be inexorably linked with the genocidal Nazi Germany. Siemens profited from the Nazis, Aryanization Program which expropriated Jewish businesses and properties. It was key to Germany’s illegal rearmament which was launched by Hitler soon after he became Chancellor in 1933. From 1940 onwards Siemens relied on slave labor —literally cashing in on the Nazis’ “Death through work.” Siemens ran factories at Auschwitz, Buchenwald, Mauthausen, Ravensbruck, Flossenburg, Sachsenhausen, and other camps. Jews, Gypsies, POWs, were literally worked to death.”

“If Siemens indeed cooperated with the Arab Boycott, it is appropriate to ask: What has Siemens learned from its legacy of economic exploitation of genocide in the last century? Their willingness to follow the Arab Boycott of the Jewish State in any framework, proves it always was and remains profits ueber alles,” Cooper concluded.

Read more: Siemens signed Israel-boycott contract with Turkish railways: German media

For further information, please email Michele Alkin, Director of Global Communications at malkin@wiesenthal.com or Shawn Rodgers at srodgers@wiesenthal.com, join the Center on Facebook, or follow @simonwiesenthal for news updates sent directly to your Twitter feed.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is an international Jewish human rights organization numbering over 400.000 members. It holds consultative status at the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the Council of Europe, the OAS, and the Latin American Parliament (PARLATINO).