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| Reich Iron and Steel Works | |
|---|---|
| Name | Reich Iron and Steel Works |
| Native name | Reichseisen- und Stahlwerke |
| Industry | Iron and steel production |
| Fate | Nationalization and wartime expansion |
| Founded | 19th century |
| Defunct | mid-20th century (restructured) |
| Headquarters | Essen |
| Key people | Gustav Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach; Friedrich Flick; Hermann Göring; Albert Speer |
| Products | Pig iron, steel rails, armor plate, armaments |
| Num employees | 100,000+ |
Reich Iron and Steel Works was a major German metallurgical conglomerate centered in the Ruhr and Saar regions that played a central role in industrialization, rearmament, and wartime production from the late 19th century through World War II. It intersected with leading industrial families, state institutions, and military procurement networks, influencing policies associated with the German Empire, Weimar Republic, and Nazi Germany. The company's activities connected to major firms, political figures, and events across Europe and worldwide.
The company evolved amid the expansion of the Zollverein, the rise of the Krupp dynasty, and the consolidation of heavy industry in the Ruhr. Early growth paralleled projects like the construction of the Dortmund–Ems Canal, the development of the Ruhrgebiet coalfields, and investments by financiers tied to Thyssen and Friedrich Krupp. During World War I it supplied ordnance to the Imperial German Army and collaborated with firms such as Siemens-Schuckert and Rheinmetall. In the interwar years the concern was implicated in reparations debates following the Treaty of Versailles and in cartel arrangements with the International Steel Cartel. Under Nazi Germany it expanded under directives from the Four Year Plan and officials like Hermann Göring and Walther Funk, aligning with ministries such as the Reich Ministry of Armaments and War Production and figures like Albert Speer. Occupation-era activities overlapped with entities including IG Farben, Deutsche Bank, and wartime collaborators in annexed territories like Alsace-Lorraine and the Sudetenland. Postwar restructuring involved the Allied Control Council, Marshall Plan programs, and executives appearing before the Nuremberg Trials.
Operations spanned blast furnaces, Bessemer converters, open-hearth furnaces, and rolling mills similar to those employed by ThyssenKrupp, Hoesch AG, and Vereinigte Stahlwerke. Products included pig iron, steel rails for the German State Railways (Deutsche Reichsbahn), armor plate for the Kaiserliche Marine, locomotive frames for Henschel & Son, and specialized steels for Daimler-Benz and Focke-Wulf. The works also produced munition casings for Krupp AG and components for Messerschmitt Bf 109 airframes, supplying firms like BMW and Heinkel. Subsidiaries handled coke production, foundry work, and chemical byproducts linked to BASF processes.
Ownership was concentrated among industrial dynasties and banks such as Krupp, Thyssen, Flick (family), Schacht, Deutsche Bank, and Dresdner Bank. Key executives had cross-appointments with institutions including the Reichsbank, the Prussian State Ministry, and chambers like the Prussian State Council. Directors negotiated with politicians such as Friedrich Ebert, Paul von Hindenburg, Adolf Hitler, and ministers from the Nazi Party hierarchy. Corporate governance reflected patterns seen at United Steel Companies and Carnegie Steel affiliates, with supervisory boards incorporating representatives from Reichstag-affiliated business caucuses and from paramilitary entities like the Sturmabteilung in certain procurement contexts.
The workforce included miners from the Saar Basin, steelworkers from Essen, and migrant labor recruited from Poland, Czechoslovakia, and occupied Eastern territories. Labor relations intersected with unions such as the German Metalworkers' Union prior to its suppression, and with the state-run German Labour Front under Robert Ley. Strikes during the Weimar Republic paralleled actions by the Communist Party of Germany and the Social Democratic Party of Germany, while wartime labor deployment involved forced labor programs administered alongside agencies like the Reich Ministry of Labor. Postwar worker councils formed under Allied supervision and influenced denazification processes handled by the International Military Tribunal and local tribunals.
Facilities comprised integrated plants in cities like Essen, Duisburg, Dortmund, Essen-Kruppstahlwerke, and in the Saarbrücken region, connected by rail links to the Rheinische Eisenbahn. The company operated mining concessions in areas tied to the Rhenish Massif and maintained ports on the Rhine and the Emscher for coal and ore shipping. Engineering collaborations involved firms like Mannesmann for pipe production and Thyssen for rolling mill technology. Research laboratories liaised with technical universities including RWTH Aachen University, Technische Universität Berlin, and institutes such as the Kaiser Wilhelm Society.
The works were integral to rearmament programs under policies influenced by the Four Year Plan and procurement overseen by ministries like the Reich Ministry of Aviation (Reichsluftfahrtministerium). It underpinned naval construction at yards including Kaiserliche Werft predecessors and supported armored divisions fielding equipment from Alkett and Rheinmetall-Borsig. Economically, it was a pillar of industrial output measured in statistics compiled by the Reich Statistical Office and debated in Reichstag fiscal committees alongside ministers such as Hjalmar Schacht. Its strategic importance made it a target during air campaigns by the Royal Air Force and the United States Army Air Forces in Strategic bombing during World War II.
Environmental effects included contamination of waterways like the Ruhr and the Saar with heavy metals, legacies noted in remediation efforts coordinated with postwar agencies including the European Coal and Steel Community and later institutions such as the Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe. Industrial archaeology studies involve scholars affiliated with the German Historical Institute and conservation projects at sites like the Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex and the LWL Industrial Museum Henrichshütte. The corporate lineage influenced modern firms such as ThyssenKrupp AG, and its historical entanglements are examined in literature on corporate complicity published by researchers connected to Yad Vashem, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, and academic centers studying denazification.
Category:Steel companies of Germany Category:Industrial history of Germany