Following the unhinged and antisemitic ramblings of rapper Kanye West, whose legal name is Ye, in an interview with controversial conservative talk show host Alex Jones, it should come as no surprise that a number of falsehoods were stated in his remarks. For instance, he falsely stated that Adolph Hitler invented microphones and highways. But it may surprise you to know that there is a prominent audio equipment company still in operation today whose founder worked for the German Army during World War II, which Ye might have been referring to in a convoluted way.
First of all, it needs to be stated outright that we absolutely disavow Ye’s disgusting hate speech in the interview, and do affirm that the Holocaust did indeed happen, that Hitler was one of history’s worst examples of human evil, and that yes, he killed six million Jews — all of which are things Ye denied in the interview.
When it comes to Ye’s claim that the fascist dictator somehow invented microphones or highways, We Got This Covered previously created a detailed explanation about why that is wholly incorrect, such as the fact that the modern microphone was invented in the late 1800s and highways first came to prominence before even then.
However, when it comes to high-end audio equipment, the company Sennheiser has some surprising connections to Nazi Germany that Ye may have been referring to when he mentioned: “the very microphone that I use as a musician.”
The company, which is still in operation today, manufactures microphones that are routinely “used by recording artists including Pink, Beyoncé and the Jonas Brothers,” according to the New York Times. It was founded by Fritz Sennheiser, who died in 2010 at the age of 98.
According to the article, Sennheiser studied electrical engineering at the Technical University of Berlin and later earned a doctorate from the Heinrich Hertz Institute in 1940. Sennheiser also “helped the German Army with the radio transmissions of coded messages” during World War II, the article said.
A Sennheiser-designed reverberation monitor was also used during the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, according to the National Association of Music Merchants. That was the very same Olympics event that Hitler used to spread his antisemitic propaganda, including banning many Jewish athletes from participating, according to the United States Holocaust Museum.
Although Sennheiser did not invent the microphone proper, and neither did Hitler for that matter, his company did bring a few innovations to the technology such as the creation of the shotgun microphone. Sennheiser’s eponymously-named company was also responsible for the invention of one of the first set of open headphones in 1968.
Owing to the wide usage of shotgun microphones in film productions, Sennheiser was even given a Scientific and Engineering Oscar by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 1987, according to Sennheiser UK. The Emmys have also honored the company on multiple occasions, including for Sennheiser’s innovations in wireless RF microphone technology.
None of this information is meant as a way of trying to bolster any of Ye’s arguments, which we condemn unequivocally. Instead, it is meant as a way of providing context. After all, if you are in the market for buying audio equipment yourself, this history may be something you want to consider before making a final purchase.
According to the Anti-Defamation League, antisemitic incidents reached an “all-time high” in 2021, and 2022 is on a similar track. This includes assault, harassment, and vandalism. For more information on the dangers of antisemitic rhetoric and what you can do to stop it, see the American Jewish Committee’s Call to Action Against Antisemitism in America.