Thomas J. Watson on Hitler's left side. Tech leaders of…

Per Axbom Bluesky

Thomas J. Watson on Hitler's left side. Tech leaders of today are following a tried playbook. IBM directly supported Hitler's plan with tech.

Watson later returned his award from Hitler and was celebrated in the west for his 'business skills'. They named an AI after him.

axbom.com/digital-comp...

Black and white photo with six men seated in armchairs around a round coffee table - all gazes directed towards Hitler who is seated to the left in the picture. The people in the photo are, from left to right: Adolf Hitler; Thomas J. Watson; R. Schmidt; A. Frohwein; Van Vlissingen; Sir Arthur Balfour. (the order of the last four people is a bit unclear). Photo via Alamy/Associated Press. The picture is marked as taken July 12, 1937

Newspaper clipping from The New York Times –Ffriday, July 2, 1937. Title: Thomas J. Watson is Decorated by Hitler for Work in Bettering Economic Relations.

The start of the article is outlined with a yellow square and reads: “Berlin, July 1.–Thomas J. Watson, president of the International Business Machines Corporation of New York and the new president of the International Chamber of Commerce, has achieved the distinction of being the first American whom Chancellor Adolf Hitler has decorated with the new order of merit of the German Eagle, created for ‘honoring foreign nationals who have made themselves deserving of the German Reich."

🔗 Originally posted on Bluesky