A thanatopolitical visualisation of accounting history: Giorgio Agamben and Nazi Germany

Abstract

The extensive measures taken to destroy a people are facilitated by a complex matrix of interrelated actors and practices, yet there remains an underdeveloped implication of accounting in the wider moral and political imperatives. The purpose of this article is to introduce a thanatopolitical visualisation of accounting history adapted from the work of Giorgio Agamben and Michel Foucault. The theoretical triptych implicates business and accounting in the State-sanctioned financial, political and actual deaths of people. Through reference to Nazi Germany (1933–1945) and the companies Deutsche Bank and Ford Werke, the utility of the theoretical device is illustrated, and silences in accounting are given exposure through alternative accounts. Adopting a close-reading method, the peripheral yet integral role of accounting helped conceal the human cost of thanatopolitical ideology. Beyond the Holocaust example, this triptych is relevant for the exploration of other instances of thanatopolitics, such as war, natural disasters and pandemics.

Critical race theory, counter-accounting, and the emancipatory potential of counter-stories

“…This counter-story provides one of the most comprehensive accounts of the lives and treatment of asylum seekers detained in centres by the Australian government, despite efforts by the Australian government “which went to extreme lengths to prevent refugee's stories being told [and] constantly [sought] to deny journalists access to Manus Island and Nauru” (Richard Flanagan, forward , Boochani, 2018, p. viii). We adopt as our method a close-reading approach (Amernic and Craig, 2017; Cortese and Andrew, 2020; Twyford, 2021), and in doing so, we follow prior studies using single documents as the primary empirical source (see Amernic and Craig, 2000; Craig and Amernic, 2004; Moerman and van der Laan, 2007; Craig and Brennan, 2012; Pupovac and Moerman, 2017), whilst attending to Scobie's (2021, p. 125) call that “reading this book [Boochani's counter-story], and any others in the genre … are necessary for any social accounting researchers thinking about borders, prisons and migration, or any researchers thinking about social issues more broadly.”…”

Accounting for the Nazi Aryanisation of German banks

“…This study addresses this gap by revealing how Aryanisation depended upon the complicit role of business and the accounting practices, specifically in the concealment of Aryanisation processes and the resultant destruction of Jewish financial bios. This destruction and degradation was a vital foundation for the later enslavement and the attempted extermination of Jewish people during the Holocaust (James, 2001;Twyford, 2021).…”

“…Deutsche Bank's accounting records, including annual reports and financial statements, were obtained from the Historical Association of Deutsche Bank, a non-profit organisation. A close-reading method similar to that used by Amernic and Craig (2017), Cortese and Andrew (2020), Craig and Amernic (2020) and Twyford (2021) was used to collate and examine the sources to elucidate the power relations between business, Jews, accounting practices and the Nazis. These sources were read several times, with the authors taking detailed notes, then rigorously compared and analysed according to context and the theoretical insights adopted from the work of Agamben.…”

Accounting for Death: An Historical Perspective

“…Most prevalent are military, medical or welfare organisations, or instances where labour is institutionalised, such as slavery practices (see for example Baker, 2019; Funnell and Chwastiak, 2015). These studies demonstrate how calculative practices are mobilised to transform death to enable a transaction through enumeration or valuation, such as the inventory-style accounting for enslaved people, the commodification of the corpse to provide specimens for anatomical schools in the 18th and 19th centuries, and financial reporting of work, health and safety or death (see for example Tyson and Oldroyd, 2019; Moerman and van der Laan, 2021a). This research into accounting for death tends to identify death as a transactional phenomenon used in calculative practices; or a consequence of organisational or institutional activity that gives rise to demands for accountability (see for example Fleishman et al, 2004; Sargiacomo et al, 2012).…”