BMW 'profoundly regrets' its Nazi ties in WWII

German auto giant BMW on Monday expressed its "profound regret" for its role as a German arms industry supplier during World War II and its use of forced labor from concentration camps. The apology was issued as part of the Munich-based company's centennial celebrations.

In a statement on its website, under the heading "Facing up to the Past," BMW said: "As well as its many successes, the BMW Group has faced several major crises and challenges during its history. Under the National Socialist [Nazi] regime of the 1930s and 1940s, BMW AG operated exclusively as a supplier to the German arms industry. As demand for BMW aero engines increased, forced laborers, convicts and prisoners from concentration camps were recruited to assist with manufacturing them. To this day, the enormous suffering this caused and the fate of many forced laborers remains a matter of the most profound regret."

The company noted that "in 1983 we became the first industrial corporation to initiate a public debate about this chapter of its history, publishing a book on the topic. ... The BMW Group is explicitly facing up to this dark chapter of its past and in 1999, it became a founding member of the Erinnerung, Verantwortung, Zukunft [Remembrance, Responsibility, Future] foundation for the compensation of former forced laborers."

An independent study commissioned by BMW in 2007 found that its wartime owners, Gunther and Herbert Quandt, willingly collaborated with the Nazis, The Independent said. The 2007 documentary "The Silence of the Quandts," partially based on the study, revealed MBW munitions factories employed about 50,000 forced laborers during the war.

Gabriele Quandt, Guenther's grandson, said Monday the family was wrong to ignore this chapter in its history.