Hermann Göring Works

Hermann Göring Works
East of Borschov · Public domain · source
Name	Hermann Göring Works
Native name	Reichswerke Hermann Göring
Type	State-owned industrial conglomerate
Industry	Steel, mining, armaments, petroleum, chemicals
Founded	1937
Founder	Hermann Göring
Defunct	1945
Headquarters	Salzgitter, Salzkotten (Reich)
Key people	Wilhelm Keppler, Paul Pleiger, Albert Speer, Walther Funk
Products	Steel, iron, coke, synthetic oil, armaments, rolling stock
Parent	Four Year Plan (Nazi Germany)

Hermann Göring Works

The Hermann Göring Works was a large Nazi-era industrial conglomerate created to integrate Reichswerke-style heavy industry under state direction during the Four Year Plan (Nazi Germany). It became a central actor in Reichswerke Hermann Göring-led expansion of mining, steelmaking, and synthetic fuel production across occupied Poland, Czechoslovakia, and other territories, linking to institutions such as the Ministry of Aviation (Nazi Germany), Reichsbank, and the German Labour Front. The conglomerate interfaced with leading figures like Hermann Göring, Albert Speer, Paul Pleiger, Wilhelm Keppler, and industrial corporations including Krupp, Thyssen, and IG Farben.

History

The conglomerate emerged from earlier state interventions including initiatives by Hjalmar Schacht and the Four Year Plan (Nazi Germany), formalized amid political struggles involving the Reichstag, Prussian State Council, and Nazi economic organs. Its origins involved acquisition programs tied to the Anschluss, the Munich Agreement, and the annexation of the Sudetenland; later expansion followed the invasions of Poland (1939), France (1940), and the Soviet Union (Operation Barbarossa). The enterprise's growth paralleled wartime directives from the OKW and coordination with the Reich Ministry of Armaments and War Production.

Establishment and Expansion

Established in 1937 by decree under figures allied to Hermann Göring, the conglomerate consolidated mining assets such as the Reichswerke holdings and facilities transferred from firms like Friedrich Krupp AG and Vereinigte Stahlwerke. Expansion employed state expropriation after the Anschluss (1938) and property transfers following the Treaty of Versailles legacy disputes. Major acquisitions included steelworks in the Silesia region, collieries in the Upper Silesia basin, and metallurgical plants in the Sudetenland, frequently coordinated with agencies like the Four Year Plan (Nazi Germany) administration and executives from Reichswerke Hermann Göring leadership.

Organization and Management

Formally organized as a state-controlled conglomerate, the works reported through channels linked to Hermann Göring and officials such as Paul Pleiger and Wilhelm Keppler, while technical oversight intersected with Albert Speer and the Reich Ministry of Armaments and War Production. Management teams included directors with prior ties to Thyssen, Krupp, and IG Farben, and administrative control involved the Reichsbank for finance and the Reich Ministry of the Interior for personnel. Occupational structure mirrored corporate models seen at Rheinmetall-Borsig, Demag, and Siemens subsidiaries, with production managers coordinating with military procurement agencies like the OKH and the Wehrmacht quartermaster branches.

Products and Production Facilities

The works operated integrated facilities producing pig iron, steel plate, rolled sections, coke, and synthetic fuel via processes promoted by IG Farben researchers and plants modeled after Leuna Works and Buna-Werke Schkopau. Rolling mills, blast furnaces, and coke ovens were located in industrial centers such as Salzgitter, Hindenburg (Zabrze), and Ostrowiec. The conglomerate supplied heavy components for armament producers including Krupp, Heinkel, Messerschmitt, and rolling-stock firms supplying Deutsche Reichsbahn. Synthetic oil production tied to hydrogenation methods supported tanker and aviation fuel needs for the Luftwaffe.

Role in the Nazi War Economy

Integrated into wartime mobilization, the works served as a strategic resource hub for the Wehrmacht and Luftwaffe, channeling inputs to armament programs overseen by the Reich Ministry of Armaments and War Production and field demands from the OKW. Its territorial acquisitions were part of broader economic exploitation strategies akin to those executed by Organisation Todt and logistics networks supporting operations like Operation Barbarossa and Case Blue. Coordination with corporations such as Krupp and IG Farben enabled scaling for campaigns including the Battle of France and the Battle of Stalingrad.

Labor, Forced Labor, and Workforce Conditions

Labor policies mirrored wider Third Reich practices: a mix of voluntary German workers, migrants from Reichskommissariat Ostland, and coerced laborers from occupied areas including Poland, Soviet Union, and France. The conglomerate utilized forced labor systems administered alongside SS-linked agencies and institutions like the German Labour Front and Reich Main Security Office (RSHA), with prisoners from concentration camps and POWs compelled to work under harsh conditions. Supervisory structures referenced practices seen at Buna-Werke Schkopau and transport coordination by Deutsche Reichsbahn for labor movement.

Postwar Fate and Legacy

After 1945, Allied authorities overseen by the Control Council for Germany and agencies including the International Military Tribunal and occupation authorities dismantled many facilities, with assets redistributed to firms such as Krupp and national administrations in Poland and Czechoslovakia. Several plants were seized as reparations or integrated into postwar industrial reconstruction under policies enacted by the Allied Control Council and later administrations like the Soviet Military Administration in Germany. The legacy of the works continues to inform scholarship on wartime industry, reparations, and corporate complicity debated in contexts involving the Nuremberg Trials, De-Nazification, and historiography by scholars analyzing Third Reich economic structures.

Category:Industrial history of Germany Category:Nazi Germany economic institutions