“IBM contributed to the holocaust” was a rather abstract bad thing for me until I read this thread & started to understand that it was deliberate and profitable and _crucial_ to the Nazi’s machinery of death. More info: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dehomag https://twitter.com/perplamps/status/1038103949956460544 …
-
Show this thread
-
The numbers the Nazis tattooed on prisoners’ wrists were IBM identifcation codes. The IBM computers decided where people were sent. I wonder: is this the first big example of using the fence of “it’s just algorithms” to declaim personal responsibility?
28 replies 173 retweets 422 likesShow this thread -
Replying to @sarahmei
The numbers given to the registered prisoners of Auschwitz have noting to do with the IBM identification codes.
2 replies 4 retweets 37 likes -
Replying to @AuschwitzMuseum
Interesting! Any references you can point me to on how were the sequences were determined and what they were used for?
3 replies 0 retweets 1 like -
Replying to @sarahmei @AuschwitzMuseum
If not no worries, I’m happy to do my own homework, but if you’ve got anything at hand it’d be appreciated.
5 replies 0 retweets 1 like -
Replying to @sarahmei @AuschwitzMuseum
Geez please delete this thread Sarah. This is how misinformation is spread.
2 replies 0 retweets 15 likes -
Replying to @6Gems
I’m having trouble understanding this request. One detail is wrong (the tattooed numbers were not IBM computer codes) but the rest of it is not in dispute. People had numbers inside IBM’s systems which allowed the Nazis to track & “relocate” them efficiently.
2 replies 0 retweets 2 likes -
I feel like maybe I don’t have a good perspective on it though, so if you feel like you could elaborate I’d be grateful.
3 replies 0 retweets 1 like
This happened in the middle of WWII. Did IBM's predecessor company know that this was being used for anything more than keeping track of mass movements of people out of war zones to be brought back later? Did IBM know what was really going on?
Loading seems to be taking a while.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.