Unilever’s Struggle for Control

This article examines the effects of Germany's occupation of the Netherlands on the corporate governance structure of the Anglo-Dutch Unilever company, which had huge interests on both sides ofWorldWar II. It focuses on the continental side of the business, in particular on the Netherlands and Germany, at the highest corporate level. I argue here that Unilever survived various serious threats by the German occupation because the group had prepared itself legally well in advance of the war. Its highly decentralised operating structure helped the company to survive the ambitions of some parts of the Nazi State. However, the infighting between various German agencies prevented a complete sequestration of the continental business. In the end the appointment of a special Reichs Commissioner for the Unilever group as well as the deteriorating war conditions for Nazi Germany eventually worked to the advantage of Unilever. S the unification of Germany and the end of the Cold War increasing numbers of companies have allowed and often commissioned academics to study their history during the Third Reich. 1 The end of the Cold War has reduced the fear that industry's relationship with the Nazi regime would discredit a company's name. Most monographs treat the behaviour of German companies in the Third Reich and little has been written about the international dealings of these companies. Even fewer studies deal with, for example, American, British and Dutch multinationals which had subsidiaries in Nazi Germany. In the 2000s, however, a few studies were published that also dealt 1 I am indebted to Geoffrey Jones (Harvard Business School) and Hein Klemann (Erasmus University Rotterdam) for their excellent PhD supervision over the past few years. This article is only a part of the result of my research into Unilever. In addition, I thank Keetie Sluyterman (Utrecht University) and two anonymous reviewers for their comments on the first draft of this article. Finally, I am grateful to Unilever, and Ton Bannink (Head of Historical Archives) in particular, for their welcoming and open attitude towards my research. 2 Examples of excellent academic monographs: Peter Hayes, Industry and Ideology. I. G. Farben in the Nazi Era, Cambridge 1987; Hans Mommsen, Das Volkswagenwerk und seine Arbeiter im Dritten Reich, Düsseldorf 1996; Neil Gregor, Daimler-Benz in the Third Reich, New Haven 1998; Gerald D. Feldman, Allianz and the German Insurance Business, 1933-1945, Cambridge 2001;Werner Abelshauser et. al., German Industry and Global Enterprise. BASF: The History of a Company, Cambridge 2004; Harold James, The Nazi Dictatorship and the Deutsche Bank, Cambridge 2004; Peter Hayes, From Co-operation to Complicity: Degussa in the Third Reich, Cambridge 2004; Stephan H. Lindner, Hoechst. Ein I.G. Farben Werk im Dritten Reich, Munich 2005. 3 Some exceptions of general studies of M N E s based in Allied countries which also deal with the war period include: Mira Wilkins/Frank Ernst Hill, American Business Abroad: Ford on six continents, Detroit 1964; The Maturing of Multinational Enterprise. American Business Abroad from 1914 to 1970, Cambridge, M A 1974; Geoffrey Jones, Courtaulds in Continental Europe, 1920-194}, in: Geoffrey Jones, British Multinationals: Origins, Management and Performance, Aldershot 1 9 8 6 , 1 1 9 1 3 6 ; The multinational expansion ofDunlop 1890-1939,