ABSTRACT
Not far from Thomas Watson's hotel room, crowds of Germans were mesmerized by the intoxicating spectacle of SS troops marching briskly in lockstep at a customary Berlin party rally. The IBM CEO was in Berlin in 1935 to celebrate the accomplishments of IBM's successful German subsidiary, known as Dehomag. After enjoying a lavish dinner at the ornate Hotel Adoni, Watson consulted with his German staff about how corporate headquarters in New York could further help its prosperous German operations. Watson often boasted of IBM's great success abroad:
Our trade abroad is improving, as shown by the fact that for the first ten months of 1934 our exports increased 35 percent over the corresponding period of 1933. One of the main factors contributing to industrial recovery may be found in the constantly increasing cooperation among political, industrial, and financial leaders. 1
