Hermann Göring Reichswerke

Hermann Göring Reichswerke. The Hermann Göring Reichswerke was a massive, state-owned industrial conglomerate established in Nazi Germany. Founded by Hermann Göring under the Four Year Plan, its primary aim was to achieve autarky and rapidly expand the German war economy. Through aggressive acquisition and exploitation, it grew into one of the largest corporate entities in Europe, playing a central role in the Nazi economy and the exploitation of occupied territories.

Background and establishment

The conglomerate was founded on 15 July 1937, as the Reichswerke AG für Erzbergbau und Eisenhütten 'Hermann Göring'. Its creation was a direct result of the Four Year Plan overseen by Hermann Göring, who was appointed its Plenipotentiary in 1936. The immediate catalyst was the reluctance of the traditional Ruhr industrialists, such as those at Krupp and Vereinigte Stahlwerke, to exploit low-grade domestic iron ore deposits in Salzgitter, deemed uneconomical. Adolf Hitler and Göring, prioritizing autarky and independence from foreign imports for Wehrmacht rearmament, decided the state would directly control this strategic sector. The enterprise was established with significant capital from the German state and was placed under Göring's personal authority, symbolizing the Nazi Party's intent to dominate key industries.

Structure and operations

The Reichswerke was structured as a sprawling holding company with a complex web of subsidiaries. Its initial core was the massive iron and steel complex built at Salzgitter, near the ore fields. Operational control was largely delegated to general manager Paul Pleiger. The conglomerate rapidly diversified far beyond its original mandate, using its political power and capital to forcibly acquire private companies across critical industries. Its empire soon included major stakes in coal mining in the Ruhr and Upper Silesia, shipbuilding at Deschimag, locomotive manufacturing at Henschel & Sohn, and armaments production. It also controlled significant bauxite and aluminium operations, vital for the Luftwaffe, through interests in Österreichische Aluminium AG.

Economic and industrial role

Economically, the Reichswerke was instrumental in the Nazi economy's shift toward a war economy. It broke the traditional power of the Ruhr barons by creating a huge, party-controlled industrial competitor that directly served the regime's goals. The conglomerate massively increased domestic iron production, though it never achieved full autarky, remaining dependent on high-grade Swedish ore. Its integrated operations supplied essential materials for the Wehrmacht, including tank hulls, artillery pieces, and U-boat components. The Reichswerke also functioned as a key financial instrument for the state, its profits helping to fund the Four Year Plan and other regime projects while deepening the interweaving of the Nazi Party with German heavy industry.

Wartime expansion and exploitation

The outbreak of World War II triggered a phase of explosive and predatory expansion for the Reichswerke across Nazi-occupied Europe. Following the Anschluss, it seized control of major Austrian industries like the Alpine Montan steelworks. After the Invasion of Poland, it absorbed the vast industrial assets of annexed Polish Upper Silesia, including the Huta Pokój and Huta Baildon steel mills. Its most significant plunder occurred after the Fall of France, where it took over lucrative coal mines and steel plants in Lorraine and Luxembourg. In the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, it gained control of the Škoda Works in Plzeň and the Vitkovice mines. This expansion was fueled by the systematic use of forced labor from concentration camps and POWs on a colossal scale, with workers subjected to brutal conditions at sites like the Mittelbau-Dora underground factories.

Postwar dissolution and legacy

With the End of World War II in Europe, the Hermann Göring Reichswerke collapsed. Its assets, scattered across the Allied occupation zones and liberated countries, were subject to postwar industrial plans. In the Soviet occupation zone and later East Germany, many of its former plants, such as the Eisenhüttenkombinat Ost, were nationalized into publicly owned enterprises. In the West, the conglomerate was broken up under policies of decartelization promoted by the United States. The original Salzgitter steelworks evolved into the Salzgitter AG corporation. The Reichswerke remains a prime historical example of a state-owned enterprise driven by militarism and ideology, illustrating the Nazi regime's methods of economic mobilization, Aryanization, and brutal exploitation during World War II.

Category:Nazi Germany Category:Defunct companies of Germany Category:Companies established in 1937 Category:Companies disestablished in 1945