These 13 brands have controversial, dark origins (LOREAL, IBM)

2019 brought about a number of bombshell revelations regarding JAB Holding Company, the conglomerate behind notable brands like Panera Bread, Pret a Manger, Krispy Kreme, and Au Bon Pain.

JAB is controlled by Germany's billionaire Reimann family. German newspaper Bild uncovered documents indicating that company founders "Albert Reimann Sr. and Albert Reimann Jr. were supporters of the Nazi party and that during World War II they used Russian civilians and French prisoners of war as forced laborers."

According to the New York Times , the company's history became even more complicated when it was revealed that the Reimann family actually descends from both Albert Reimann Jr. and Emilie Landecker, a young woman whose Jewish father was killed by the Nazis.

JAB Holding has set about addressing the controversy through philanthropic contributions . A JAB spokesperson told Business Insider that the company has set up a "10 million fund, donated to provide humanitarian assistance for survivors of the Holocaust and victims of forced labor in World War II."

JAB Holding isn't the only company that's had to reckon with its past, although its story is arguably more complicated than most.

Business Insider rounded up a number of companies with particularly dark histories. Out of those, L'Oral, Chanel, the Volkswagen Group, Ford, Hugo Boss, and BMW did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment. Puma declined to comment.

Here's a look at a number of companies with notably controversial pasts:

In addition to its 10 million donation, a JAB spokesperson told Business Insider that the company also plans "to provide 250 million to the Alfred Landecker Foundation over the next 10 years, which will become a rolling commitment in perpetuity."

BusinessInsider USA Images

Matt Dunham/AP Images

Source: Business Insider , Alfred Landecker Foundation

The Alfred Landecker Foundations stated mission is to educate "current and future generations about the Holocaust and the terrible price paid when intolerance and bigotry reign." The foundation is named for Emilie Landeckers father.

BusinessInsider USA Images

Helen89/Shutterstock

Source: Business Insider , Alfred Landecker Foundation

Fashion designer Hugo Boss was an active member of the Nazi Party during World War II. So its no surprise that his firm produced uniforms for both the SS and the Hitler Youth, sometimes using the forced labor of French and Polish prisoners.

BusinessInsider USA Images

AP Images

Source: BBC

LOral founder Eugne Schueller was a member of La Cagoule, a fascist secret society bent on overthrowing Frances democratic government in the years before World War II.

BusinessInsider USA Images

Photo 12 / Contributor / Getty Images

Source: Business Insider

In 1925, Fred Koch Sr. founded Winkler-Koch Engineering Company, a predecessor to the modern-day Koch Industries. In her book "Dark Money," Jane Mayer wrote that Winkler-Koch went on to build refineries in Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin.

BusinessInsider USA Images

MSNBC/Youtube

Source: Business Insider , " Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right "

Koch Industries responded to Business Insiders request for comment with a statement saying that Ed Koch agreed to work on a Hamburg refinery "six years before Germany invaded Poland" and that the businessman quit dealing with Nazi Germany "when it became clear that Hitlers government was a tyrannical regime."

BusinessInsider USA Images

Sue Ogrocki/AP Images

Source: Koch Industries

Edwin Blacks 2001 book "IBM and the Holocaust" alleged that IBM provided extensive technological support to Nazi Germany for 12 years, based on a trove of archived documents.

BusinessInsider USA Images

AP Images

Source: HuffPost , " IBM and the Holocaust "

An IBM spokesperson said that Blacks work has been "discredited by several reviewers and scholars" and told Business Insider: "We have been consistently clear: IBM and its employees around the world maintain that the atrocities committed by the Nazi regime are abhorrent and condemn any actions which aided their unspeakable acts."

BusinessInsider USA Images

Chicago History Museum/Getty Images

The spokesperson also cited Kevin Maney, who wrote that Thomas Watson Sr. likely didnt know what the Nazis were using his technology for, and said that IBMs German operations "came under the control of Nazi authorities prior to and during World War II."

BusinessInsider USA Images

Bettmann / Contributor / Getty Images

Two biographies on iconic fashion designer Coco Chanel "Sleeping with the Enemy: Coco Chanels Secret War" and "Coco Chanel: An Intimate Life" allege that Chanel became a secret agent for Baron Hans Gunther von Dincklage, a German intelligence officer with whom she struck up a relationship during World War II.

BusinessInsider USA Images

AP Images

Source: Business Insider , The Associated Press , " Sleeping with the Enemy: Coco Chanel's Secret War ," " Coco Chanel: An Intimate Life "

Today, the car brands Volkswagen, Porsche, and Audi are all situated under the umbrella of the the Volkswagen Group. The trio of brands also share a dark past when it comes to World War II.

BusinessInsider USA Images

AP Images

Source: Business Insider's Household Name , BBC , New York Daily News ,

Ferdinand Porsche was a famous German engineer and Nazi Party member known for founding his namesake car company and inventing the Volkswagen Beetle on orders from Hitler. Audis predecessor, Auto Union, also reportedly relied on slave labor during the war.

BusinessInsider USA Images

AP Images

Source: Business Insider's Household Name , BBC , New York Daily News ,

The founders of shoe brands Adidas and Puma werent just brothers Adolf and Rudolf Dassler were also both members of the Nazi Party during World War II. The Dassler brothers worked together in the shoe business initially, but they ultimately broke up over some mysterious falling out.

BusinessInsider USA Images

Eckehard Schulz/AP Images

Source: Business Insider , The Cut , Vice

Adolf went on to found Adidas, while Rudolf launched Puma. Vice reported that neither brother was particularly committed to Nazism, however.

BusinessInsider USA Images

Ralph Orlowski/Getty Images

Source: Business Insider , The Cut , Vice

Adidas founders stated political leanings also didnt stop him from quietly sponsoring African-American athlete Jesse Owens during the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. Owens went on to win four gold medals at the Games.

BusinessInsider USA Images

AP Photo

Source: Adidas

An Adidas spokesperson told Business Insider that helping athletes "perform at their best was more important to Adi Dassler than politics," and that the company is "proud that Adi Dassler showed moral courage ... in this darkest phase of German history."

BusinessInsider USA Images

Bethany Biron/Business Insider

Source: Adidas

Henry Ford was an innovative American businessman, but he used his status to spread anti-Semitic views in the early 20th century. PBS reported that by buying the newspaper The Dearborn Independent, Ford was able to print a 91-issue "series of articles that claimed a vast Jewish conspiracy was infecting America."

BusinessInsider USA Images

AP Images

Source: PBS

The Quandt family, longtime powerful BMW shareholders, benefitted by "taking over scores of Jewish businesses" during World War II, according to the Independent. The New York Post reported in 2016 that the car company expressed "profound regret" for using slave labor and supporting the Nazi war effort by manufacturing aircraft and motorcycles.

BusinessInsider USA Images

AP Images

Source: New York Post , Forbes

Got tips? Email acain@businessinsider.com.

These 13 brands have controversial, dark origins (LOREAL, IBM)

In addition to its 10 million donation, a JAB spokesperson told Business Insider that the company also plans "to provide 250 million to the Alfred Landecker Foundation over the next 10 years, which will become a rolling commitment in perpetuity."

The Alfred Landecker Foundations stated mission is to educate "current and future generations about the Holocaust and the terrible price paid when intolerance and bigotry reign." The foundation is named for Emilie Landeckers father.

Fashion designer Hugo Boss was an active member of the Nazi Party during World War II. So its no surprise that his firm produced uniforms for both the SS and the Hitler Youth, sometimes using the forced labor of French and Polish prisoners.

LOral founder Eugne Schueller was a member of La Cagoule, a fascist secret society bent on overthrowing Frances democratic government in the years before World War II.

In 1925, Fred Koch Sr. founded Winkler-Koch Engineering Company, a predecessor to the modern-day Koch Industries. In her book "Dark Money," Jane Mayer wrote that Winkler-Koch went on to build refineries in Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin.

Edwin Blacks 2001 book "IBM and the Holocaust" alleged that IBM provided extensive technological support to Nazi Germany for 12 years, based on a trove of archived documents.

The spokesperson also cited Kevin Maney, who wrote that Thomas Watson Sr. likely didnt know what the Nazis were using his technology for, and said that IBMs German operations "came under the control of Nazi authorities prior to and during World War II."

Today, the car brands Volkswagen, Porsche, and Audi are all situated under the umbrella of the the Volkswagen Group. The trio of brands also share a dark past when it comes to World War II.

Ferdinand Porsche was a famous German engineer and Nazi Party member known for founding his namesake car company and inventing the Volkswagen Beetle on orders from Hitler. Audis predecessor, Auto Union, also reportedly relied on slave labor during the war.

The founders of shoe brands Adidas and Puma werent just brothers Adolf and Rudolf Dassler were also both members of the Nazi Party during World War II. The Dassler brothers worked together in the shoe business initially, but they ultimately broke up over some mysterious falling out.

Adolf went on to found Adidas, while Rudolf launched Puma. Vice reported that neither brother was particularly committed to Nazism, however.

Adidas founders stated political leanings also didnt stop him from quietly sponsoring African-American athlete Jesse Owens during the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. Owens went on to win four gold medals at the Games.

An Adidas spokesperson told Business Insider that helping athletes "perform at their best was more important to Adi Dassler than politics," and that the company is "proud that Adi Dassler showed moral courage ... in this darkest phase of German history."

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