German Orient Bank
The Deutsche Orientbank (DOB) was a German foreign bank founded in 1906 , which became part of Dresdner Bank in the Great Depression of 1929 and was finally liquidated in 1946.
founding
The bank was founded with a significant contribution from Dresdner Bank. In addition, the National Bank for Germany (later merged into the Danat Bank ) and the A. Schaaffhausen'scher Bankverein were involved. Driving forces were in particular Eugen Gutmann and his son Herbert M. Gutmann . The bank was based in Berlin. The initial capital was 16 million marks . Dresdner Bank accounted for 37.5% of this. The other two banks involved in the establishment each held 31.25%.
The background to the establishment was the attempt of the German Empire to expand its influence in the Middle East . The Baghdad Railway , largely financed by Deutsche Bank , played an important role in this. By founding the DOB, Dresdner Bank tried to compete with Deutsche Bank in the Middle East.
structure
The structure of the womenswear differed significantly from the commitment of Deutsche Bank. The latter only had one branch in Istanbul . The DOB, on the other hand, built up a broad network of branches. The basis was the branches in Constantinople and Hamburg. These were taken over by the Banque d'Oriente, founded in 1904 by the National Bank for Germany and the Greek National Bank . Up until 1912 there were six branches in what would become Turkey in addition to Istanbul. In Egypt there were five branches in addition to Alexandria . There were also other branches in Casablanca and Tangier . These were sold to the French Société Générale in 1913 . The planned establishment of a branch in Tehran was not carried out because the plans had met criticism from Great Britain and Russia . The planned takeover of the branches of the Deutsche Palestine Bank failed in 1914 because of the outbreak of the First World War . The most important branches were Hamburg, Constantinople, Cairo and Alexandria. In the capital of the Ottoman Empire , the company had a representative office called "Germania Han". In addition to the members of the Gutmann family, Samuel Ritscher and Hans Pilder , who later held important positions at Dresdner Bank, also worked for DOB before the First World War .
In 1910 the bank's capital was doubled. This made it the most important of the eight German foreign banks. In the Ottoman Empire and in the British Protectorate of Egypt , DOB was one of the leading banks. In Egypt she was mainly active in the financing of cotton exports. She did business with numerous countries not only in Africa and Asia, but also in America. In 1916 the Schaffhausen'sche Bankverein withdrew from the project. Their shares were taken over by various private banks, the Deutsche Bank and Austrian and Hungarian institutions. This means that almost all banks from the German Empire and Austria-Hungary that are active in the oriental business were represented in the DOB .
Time of the First World War and Weimar Republic
With the beginning of the First World War , the branches in Egypt were closed by the British. Business in the Ottoman Empire ended with its defeat. It was not until 1923 that the DOB was able to resume business in the Middle East. There were now branches in Istanbul, Izmir , Cairo and Alexandria.
DOB was hit hard by the banking crisis of 1931 . The two major shareholders Dresdner Bank and Danat-Bank were affected to a large extent. When Danat-Bank became insolvent in July 1931 and Dresdner Bank was also in dire straits, customers in the foreign branches withdrew their money. The branches had to close. The Egyptian branches were taken over by Dresdner Bank in 1931. In addition, she received a Reich loan of 15 million Reichsmarks. After the merger of the Danat-Bank and the Dresdner Bank, the Turkish branches of the DOB also fell to the Dresdner Bank. However, they continued to operate under the old name of the DOB.
National Socialism
After 1933 it experienced only a weak upswing, but it became increasingly important for German foreign trade policy. It became a major player in the chrome and gold trade during World War II . This also played looted gold from the German Reich occupied territories and the gold of the victims of the concentration camps a significant role. Istanbul became the hub of the trade in stolen gold.
literature
- Wolfgang G. Schwanitz: gold, bankers and diplomats. On the history of the German Orient Bank 1906–1946 . Berlin 2002, ISBN 3-89626-288-2 .
- Wolfgang G. Schwanitz: "We dine at the Adlon." Herbert M. Gutmann and the German Orientbank. In: Ulrich van der Heyden et al. (Ed.): "... power and share in the world economy". Berlin and German colonialism. Unrast Verlag, Münster 2005, pp. 81–86. (PDF file; 2.0 MB)
- Johannes Bähr: The Dresdner Bank in the Third Reich. Volume 1: The Dresdner Bank in the economy of the Third Reich. R. Oldenbourg Verlag, Munich 2006, ISBN 3-486-57759-X , pp. 255ff.
Web links
- Klaus Jaschinski: Review of: Wolfgang G. Schwanitz: Gold, bankers and diplomats. On the history of the German Orientbank 1906-1946. Digital form