John B. Chandler, Ph.D.
Texas Tech University
This link is a PDF file of a memo excerpted from an article written by Steven B. Katz titled "The Ethic of Expediency: Classical Rhetoric, Technology, and the Holocaust." The memo was written by a German engineer during the early part of World War II. Katz points out that the memo can be considered well written within the context of the conventions of business and technical writing. Clearly, however, the memo points to sobering ethical and moral issues concerning certain roles engineers play in society. Katz makes an interesting argument in the article regarding ethical and cultural considerations in how technical communication and engineering is taught. I'm not sure I buy his entire argument, but I encourage you to read it critically in order to make up your own mind. The citation for the article is as follows:
Katz, Steven B. (1992) "The Ethic of Expediency: Classical Rhetoric, Technology, and the Holocaust." College English, 54.3, pp. 255-75.