In 2014, Volkswagen, Daimler and BMW financed an experiment in which caged monkeys were forced to watch cartoons while inhaling fumes from a Volkswagen Beetle. The car manufacturers’ aim was to show that the nitrogen dioxide emissions found in exhaust fumes are harmless to humans — even if the opposite had already been scientifically proven.

Netflix broke the story in Dirty Money, a documentary aired last week. Since then, the companies have rushed to apologise. They have sought to distance themselves “in the strictest terms” (Daimler); expressed regret that they “hit the brake too late” (BMW); and have accepted blame for actions that were “wrong, unethical and repulsive” (VW).

And rightly so. But the scandal represents much more than primates being exposed to exhaust fumes. It reveals just how quickly the strength of German car manufacturers can become a fatal weakness. Where was the debate over the ethics? Or an effective compliance team? And, more fundamentally, where was any sense of historical awareness?