Description
Here is a not so often seen DAF flatware set from the IG Farben Factory. The set consists of a spoon, fork and knife that have the IG Farben logo (“I” over “G”) with the factory location, Leverkusen, stamped below. The reverse side of each piece is stamped with the DAF logo along with M. D. A. Sch. dA (Modell Des Amtes/Schonheit Der Arbeit) “Model of the Office/Beauty of Work.” Also, on the handle it says “Rostfrei” or rust free alongside a maker mark emblem.
IG Farben was a German chemical and pharmaceutical industry conglomerate. Its name is taken from Interessen-Gemeinschaft Farbenindustrie AktienGesellschaft (“community of interests” of dye-making corporations). The company was formed in 1925 from a number of major chemical companies that had been working together closely since World War I. IG Farben was both the largest company in Europe overall and the largest chemical and pharmaceutical company in the world.
One of the more horrifying aspects of I.G. Farben’s cartel was the invention, production, and distribution of the Zyklon B gas, used in Nazi concentration camps. Zyklon B was pure Prussic acid, a lethal poison produced by I.G. Farben Leverkusen and sold from the Bayer sales office through Degesch, an independent license holder. Sales of Zyklon B amounted to almost three-quarters of Degesch business; enough gas to kill 200 million humans was produced and sold by I.G. Farben.
