In 1993, Edwin Black, the son of Holocaust survivors, visited the Holocaust Museum in Washington DC. He wondered how Nazi Germany was able to track down and kill six million people with such ruthless efficiency. Part of the answer is: IBM, International Business Machines.

Edwin Black's new book is called "IBM and the Holocaust: The Strategic Alliance between Nazi Germany and America's Most Powerful Corporation". IBM has spent the last five decades telling us how important it was to the Allied war effort - which it was. Black's book shows it was also of great assistance to the Nazis.

Herman Hollerith was a German-American who in the 1880s invented a machine to use punch cards to store data. The system was first used with great success for the US national census in 1890. A company was created in Germany in 1910 to manufacture the machines for the local market: the German Hollerith Machine Company. The company ran into problems with the collapse of the German economy in 1923.

Meanwhile, in the US Thomas Watson Senior had taken over a company which he renamed International Business Machines. In 1923, he took advantage of the economic chaos in Germany to buy the Hollerith company. Even before the rise of Nazi Germany in 1933, this company was one of the most profitable components of IBM.

Watson was no Nazi but he certainly liked strong leaders. He had no ethical problems about working with the Nazi leadership after 1933. Their emphasis on efficiency, data collection and the ruthless pursuit of profit resonated with his own beliefs.

The Hollerith machine was at the centre of monitoring the German population and their movements. For example, Jews at Auschwitz were tattooed with the IBM-Hollerith machine identification number.

The IBM-Hollerith machines continued to operate throughout World War II. Even when the US was at war with Germany after 1941, the Germans still had to pay for the use of the machines. Ironically, the Nazis were often successful at beating governments (at least for a while) but they were no match for IBM.

Germany could not take over the German part of the company because the machines used a special sort of paper unique for punch cards. IBM controlled those cards. Even if the Nazis had grabbed every Hollerith machine in Germany, their work would have ground to a halt after a few months because of the lack of cards (which would take years to develop a fresh supply).

With the defeat of Germany on the horizon, IBM had a special operation through the Allies to round up all its machines in German territory. IBM also received royalties for the German use of the machines during the war (after all, the Germans did keep good records).

What are the lessons of all this? First, the truth comes out eventually. This book has been a great embarrassment to IBM. Second, it is a reminder of the importance of corporate power - which in this case not even Nazi Germany could defeat in the long term. Third, it is a reminder to ask the bigger questions about what is happening with new technology. It is not enough simply to be impressed with the wonders of each machine - we need to ask what is the social impact of the new technology.

Broadcast On Friday 7th June 2002 On Radio 2GB's "Brian Wilshire Programme" At 9pm And On 9th June 2002 On "Sunday Night Live" At 10.30pm