IBM and the Holocaust
IBM and the Holocaust by Edwin Blackby Edwin Black
Shares rank 12 of 51 history books by recommenders
Recommended as a well-researched, instructive history of IBM's dealings during WWII, and as a starting point for readers new to the topic.
Recommended as a well-researched, instructive history of IBM's dealings during WWII, and as a starting point for readers new to the topic.
7 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 7
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 6 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 7 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 6 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Thorough historical documentation
“The book is good because of the extensive historical documentation of IBM practices”
Comment from 4 Dec 2025 in “Palantir CEO Says Making War Crimes Constitutional Would Be Good for Business” “Well-researched, well-regarded & a bestseller.”
Comment from 1 Nov 2025 in “You can't refuse to be scanned by ICE's facial recognition app, DHS document say” Explains IBM's wartime history clearly
“it explains what went down for those who don't know”
Comment from 27 Jan 2026 in “Aside from That, Mr. Cook, What Did You Think of the Movie?” “Good read about the history of IBM during WWII”
Comment from 21 May 2026 in “IBM invented semiconductor manufacturing automation” Instructive on IBM's wartime role
“Read books by Edwin Black to learn why this is a bad idea.”
Comment from 30 Jun 2026 in “Should every baby's DNA be sequenced?” “The book “IBM and the Holocaust” is instructive here.”
Comment from 1 Jul 2026 in “The Anti-Palantir Manifesto”
Other history books people recommend
The four most recommended other history books, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Dawn of Everythingby David Graeber and David Wengrow | 23 | 5 | 82% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Cadillac Desertby Marc Reisner | 18 | 0 | 100% | 11 | — | Approved |
| The Boxby Marc Levinson | 16 | 0 | 100% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Sapiensby Yuval Noah Harari | 13 | 9 | 59% | 8 | — | — |
| IBM and the Holocaustby Edwin BlackThis page | 7 | 0 | 100% | 6 | — | — |
What people said
All 7 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“The book “IBM and the Holocaust” is instructive here.”
“Read books by Edwin Black to learn why this is a bad idea.”
“Good read about the history of IBM during WWII”
“it explains what went down for those who don't know”
“The book is good because of the extensive historical documentation of IBM practices”
“If this kind of thing interests you, you could do a lot worse than picking up Edwin Black's 'IBM and the Holocaust'.”
“Well-researched, well-regarded & a bestseller.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.