No Future without Remembrance
As a responsible company, Bayer is committed to strengthening resilience against antisemitism and other forms of inhuman and hateful ideologies, so that history does not repeat itself – today or in the future. To this end, Bayer is contributing to the development of a culture of remembrance within the company and beyond. A number of initiatives now support the research and critical examination of the activities of I.G. Farben during the period of National Socialism. By consciously engaging with our role throughout history, we help shape an ethical framework as part of the global community. We seek to foster a corporate culture that is firmly aligned with our values and principles.
In 1925, six German companies took the decision to form a community of interests – Interessengemeinschaft Farbenindustrie AG, or I.G. Farben for short. Farbenfabriken vorm. Friedr. Bayer & Co was one of the founding members. Today’s Bayer AG emerged from I.G. Farben in 1952.
Shaping Remembrance. Advancing Research. Strengthening Resilience.
The Hans and Berthold Finkelstein Foundation strengthens the culture of remembrance at Bayer and supports research and remembrance projects on the crimes of the National Socialists - in particular on the subject of Nazi forced labor and I.G. Farben. It also develops programs for a corporate and management culture characterized by historical responsibility, for democratic action and promotes dialogue-oriented educational projects to strengthen resilience to hatred and totalitarianism.
Bayer established the independent Hans and Berthold Finkelstein Foundation in 2023.
The work of the Hans and Berthold Finkelstein Foundation is built upon three mutually reinforcing pillars:
Closing gaps in scholarship on the history of National Socialism, with a particular focus on I.G. Farben and the use of forced labor
Making visible the stories of victims and perpetrators, as well as the role played by corporations
Standing up against antisemitism, racism, hatred, and (digital) violence, and in defense of democratic values
The foundation deals with the legacy of I.G. Farben, shapes contemporary remembrance and makes the stories of victims and perpetrators visible, in particular with regard to Nazi forced labor.
Annette Schavan, former Federal Minister of Education and Research and long-standing member of the German Bundestag, was appointed Chairwoman of the advisory council. Since 2019, Schavan also serves as Chair of the Board of Trustees of the EVZ Foundation.
Right image: Hans Finkelstein’s son Berthold Finkelstein headed the Gustav Stresemann Institute until 1996. Photo: © Gustav-Stresemann-Institut e.V.
In the history of the Finkelsteins, we look at Dr. Hans Finkelstein and his son Berthold, who both had connections to I.G. Farben and are representative of the fate of persecuted people at I.G. Farben during National Socialism and the Second World War. Their stories came to light during research activities in the Bayer archives. We know that many more stories like these have remained and will perhaps remain hidden. We can only tell them through extensive and systematic research and a targeted examination of the past. The research is still ongoing and we continue to support it.
By telling stories like these, we are helping to keep their memory alive. We want to ensure that neither their fate nor that of other victims is ever forgotten.
Learn more about the fate of the Finkelstein family.
Setting a shared example
In 2025, the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration and extermination camps marked its 80th anniversary. On this occasion, the World Jewish Congress invited Bill Anderson, along with other representatives of German companies, to the official commemorative ceremony in Oświęcim/Auschwitz, Poland.
The commemoration honored the last surviving Holocaust survivors. Representatives of Jewish communities also attended. In addition to the formal memorial ceremony with around 3,500 guests at the former Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration and extermination camp, Bill Anderson and other corporate leaders visited the site of Monowitz (Auschwitz III) and the city of Oświęcim today. During the visit, participants reflected on the history of their companies and reaffirmed their commitment to combating antisemitism and upholding human rights.
Leadership Seminar in partnership with the Auschwitz Memorial: A focus on ethics, historical responsibility, and a culture of remembrance
In collaboration with the International Center for Education about Auschwitz and the Holocaust (ICEAH) and the Auschwitz Memorial, Bayer has developed what is, so far, a unique leadership seminar. Since 2023, the program has been offered annually, providing senior leaders with a dedicated space for collective reflection on ethics in a corporate context, societal responsibility, and the importance of actively cultivating a culture of remembrance.
Learning from history – Understanding responsibility
A central element of the seminar is an in-depth examination of Bayer’s corporate history and its historical ties to I.G. Farben. The program aims to deepen senior executives’ understanding of moral responsibility and to strengthen their ability to recognize ethical gray areas within their decision-making authority. Participants are encouraged to make well-informed decisions -particularly in times of geopolitical tension and increasing societal polarization – by engaging with questions such as:
- What role does a culture of remembrance play in ethical decision-making in everyday business?
- How can leaders act responsibly under pressure?
- What forms of resilience are required of leaders today?
Experiences from previous cohorts show that the seminar is deeply moving and generates lasting learning outcomes.
Memorial for the victims of forced labor at the Lower Rhine sites of I.G. Farben
To promote a company culture guided by remembrance and reflection, Bayer has built a memorial for the victims of forced labor at I.G. Farben during the Second World War next to its Headquarters in Leverkusen. The memorial honors the approximately 16,000 forced laborers from numerous occupied countries in Europe who were deployed at the Lower Rhine sites to expand production from 1940 to 1945. According to available documents, approximately one-third of these forced laborers were women. Most were between 17-23 years old when they arrived, and there were also children among them.
The memorial was designed and built by an interdisciplinary group of artists and designers led by Professor Jussi Ängeslevä from ART+COM Studios. The intent was to create a physical and artistic interpretation of an original dataset containing information from the Bayer archives about the approximately 16,000 people. Located at the very heart of the company in Leverkusen, the place is also designed to enable an individual engagement with the past.
The computationally designed sculpture of wood, steel and living plants will intentionally transform over time due to the forces of nature, reminding employees and visitors that remembering the past is imperative when thinking of the future. The physical installation is augmented by a site-specific mobile app that helps visitors decipher its unique form and obtain impressions of various data: from spatial references to demographic details and personnel documents of 26 forced laborers of I.G. Farben who are quoted verbatim. The examples reveal the fates of the forced laborers and make the perspective of those responsible explicitly clear.
Supporting the Pears Jewish Campus in Berlin
To actively promote Jewish life in Germany and further embed the legacy of Hans and Berthold Finkelstein in the company's remembrance culture, Bayer has sponsored three student labs within the Hans-Finkelstein-Wing at the Pears Jewish Campus Berlin.
Four years after construction began, the Jewish Campus (PJC) in Berlin was opened in June 2023. The 8000 m2 interfaith campus is based on three pillars: education, culture and sports. The education facilities now also include Bayer science labs, allowing students to study chemistry in a state-of-the-art setting.
The wing was named after Dr. Hans Finkelstein, as was the Hans and Berthold Finkelstein Foundation recently established by Bayer.
Open doors to the company archive
The Heritage Communications department – Bayer's historical archive – has been accessible for interested scientists since the 1960s. The first study on the role of industrial companies during National Socialism and the Second World War, in which files from the archive were used, was published in 1972. Since then, several scientific papers have been created based on documents from the archive, which deal with a wide variety of aspects of the company's history - and in particular with the era of I.G. Farbenindustrie AG.
Hero image “Stolpersteine”: © Chris Rausch