Being a leading war industry has not stopped Daimler from extolling the company’s contributions to what it calls "world peace and prosperity in the future." Daimler says it "respects and supports compliance with internationally accepted human rights," and "condemns all forms of forced and compulsory labour." Even if this were true now, it certainly was not always the case.

During World War II, Daimler’s predecessor, DaimlerBenz, made engines for Nazi warplanes, tanks and subs. It also produced parts for Germany’s Mauser rifles. Michael Moore’s website, The Awful Truth, reveals that DaimlerBenz began using

Daimler used tens of thousands of forced foreign workers, POWs, and concentration camp inmates "to build the Luftwaffe [air force] and other weapons of the Nazi war machine."

Since WWII, the Mercedes-Benz division of Daimler has been making heavy-duty military trucks, such as four-wheel drive "Unimog 437s" used by Israel’s military forces.

Daimler’s predecessor, Daimler-Chrysler (D-C), sold "Sufa [Storm]"

jeeps to Israel’s military. (Chrysler is now largely owned by Fiat.)

Between 2000 and 2001, D-C sold US$5.3-million worth of airframe structural components for US F-16s. The US has transferred F-16s to Israel, which used them to bombard Lebanon in 2006, and Gaza in 2008-2009.

Daimler also makes engines through Germany’s MTU Friedrichshafen, which is owned jointly by Daimler and Rolls Royce. (See table "CPP Investments.") For example, MTU engines power Israel’s:

l "Merkava" main battle tanks: Israel used these in the Lebanon War (1982), South Lebanon conflict (1982-2000), 2nd Lebanon war (2006), 1st Intifada (1987-1993), 2nd Intifada (2000–2005) and Gaza (2008-2009).

l Tatra T815 heavy, off-road trucks

l Dolphin class subs, which are widely believed to carry nuclear weapons

l M106: DD’s 6V53T engines power US-made M106 mortar carriers. Starting in 2003, 54 of these tracked, self-propelled artillery vehicles were transferred to Israel. Although equipped with M2 Browning .50 calibre heavy machine guns, the M106’s main weapon is the M30 107 mm heavy mortar.

l EE-11: DD engines power these armoured vehicles made by Brazil’s state-owned arms company, IMBEL. Israel’s military received 24 of these wheeled, amphibious vehicles in 2002.

l Achzarit: These heavy, armoured troop carriers are also powered by DD engines. They have been used by Israel’s military since 1988.

Annual Report 2010
www.daimler.com/Projects/c2c/channel/documents/1985489_Daimler_Annual_Report_2010.pdf

Daimler AG
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daimler_AG

Contracts to Daimler AG
www.fedspending.org/fpds/search.php