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JAB Holdings, which owns large stakes of numerous American brands, helped the Nazis during World War II and used slave labor.
Germany's second-richest family is promising to donate $11 million to charity after a report exposed their company's ties to the Third Reich in the 1930 and '40s.
The company, JAB Holdings, is owned by the Reimann family; the report in German newspaper Bild showed that Albert Reimann Sr. and Albert Reimann Jr., both deceased, were anti-Semites and Hitler supporters who aided the Nazis. The company employed Russian civilians and French prisoners of war as slaves who were "involved in chemicals-related manufacturing mostly for the food industry," according to The Washington Post. The company's factories also produced weapons for the Nazi war machine.
The Reimanns' company has been in business since the early 19th century and has amassed a fortune. It has a significant stakehold in the American food and pharmaceutical industries, with large stakes in iconic chains and brands, including Panera Bread, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Einstein Bros., Noah's New York Bagels, Manhattan Bagel, Peet's Coffee, Stumptown Coffee, Intelligentsia, Mucinex, Woolite, and Durex condoms.
"It is all correct," family spokesman and JAB Holdings executive Peter Harf told Bild. "Reimann Senior and Reimann Junior were guilty. The two men have passed away, but they actually belonged in prison."
