Das Kapital sciences published before 1950. In "Das Kapital" (1867), Marx proposes that the motivating force of capitalism is in the exploitation of labor, whose unpaid work is the ultimate source of surplus value. The owner of the means of production is able to claim the right to this surplus value because he or she is legally protected by the ruling regime through property rights and the legally established distribution of shares which are by law only to be distributed to company owners and their board members. The historical section shows how these rights were acquired in the first place chiefly through
Thomas Kuczynski of his study of compensation claims for forced labour victims of the Nazi years (""Entschädigungsansprüche für Zwangsarbeit im ‚Dritten Reich‘ auf der Basis der damals erzielten zusätzlichen Einnahmen und Gewinne""). Kuczynski concluded that the German Federal Republic should pay victims of forced labour under Nazi Germany approximately 180 Billion Deutsche Marks. Later, in his book ""Brosamen vom Herrentisch"", he increased his estimate to 228 Billion Deutsche Marks (equivalent to €116 Billion). In 2007 Kuczynski took part in the theatre project, "Karl Marx: Das Kapital - Erster Band" (""Karl Marx: Das Kapital - First volume""), a show presenting a range of