German potash certificate
The German Kalisyndikat GmbH (short: Kalisyndikat ) was a German economic cartel of Kali -Industrie. It was founded on October 16, 1919 as a compulsory syndicate as a result of the Potash Industry Act of April 24, 1919 and existed until the end of World War II .
The roots go back almost 30 years to 1890, when the "Deutsche Kalisyndikat" was founded in Staßfurt - Leopoldshall , the birthplace of potash mining in Germany. It worked there until 1910 before it was relocated to Berlin.
history
| Companies | Rate in% |
|---|---|
| Wintershall AG | 38.58 |
| Dr. W. Sauer works | 2.51 |
| Salzdetfurth - Aschersleben - Westeregeln |
21.66 |
| Burbach-Gumpel | 16.78 |
| Kali-Chemie AG | 3.95 |
|
German Solvay works |
2.22 |
| Mansfeld unity | 5.11 |
| Preussag AG | 5.95 |
| Anhaltische Salzwerke, Leopoldshall | 3.12 |
The first price agreements in the potash industry already existed in the years after 1860. The forerunner was the "Kalisyndikat GmbH" founded by a Reich law of April 24, 1910, whose name was retained.
The seat of the first “German Potash Indicator” in 1890 was in Leopoldshall , and it owned 13 potash plants. They had come together to "prevent or stop the price drop and squandering of potash salts and to regulate the profit and sale of salts for manufacturing and agricultural purposes according to the needs of the market". In 1910 it was relocated from Leopoldshall to Berlin.
The syndicate set prices, wages and subsidy quotas and promoted exports. The largest members were Wintershall AG , the Salzdetfurth-Aschersleben-Westeregeln group, Burbach Kaliwerke AG and Preussag AG .
The "Reichskalirat" was formed, which was appointed by the government and made up of representatives of the potash companies, the Reichsländer, trade, consumers and workers.
Germany had a world monopoly on potash until after the First World War . With the cession of Alsace-Lorraine , France became a large potash producer. The resulting price war was ended in the spring of 1926 with the Treaty of Lugano and the Franco-German "Potash Treaty" of Paris at the end of 1926. Exports were split 70:30 in favor of Germany. In 1930 this cartel disintegrated as a result of the global economic crisis .
Between 1919 and 1921, all German potash producers were forced by state law to join the syndicate. One of the goals was to prevent exports at low prices.
The determination of the funding quotas resulted in a strong wave of concentration. Smaller potash plants were bought up by the large companies in order to take over their production quota and then shut down. At the same time, the high-performance plants were comprehensively modernized and rationalized in order to produce the quotas granted to them with minimal costs. Between 1926 and 1933, 125 of 229 pits were shut down. The number of conveyor shafts fell from 175 in 1914 to 38 in 1933. Between 1922 and 1933 the number of employees fell from 48,700 to 12,000.
In 1933 the Reichskaligesetz (“Potash Industry Act of December 18, 1933”, Reichsgesetzblatt 1933, II, p. 1027) was enacted. According to § 3 of this law, all potash mine owners had to come together to form a distribution group (potash indicator). Partners could only be potash mine owners, owners of a special factory and certain other potash producers. According to § 59 of the law, the potash indicator, which had existed since 1919, was considered to be the merger required by this new law. The seat of the "Deutsches Kalisyndikat, Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung" company and its administration was still in Berlin. So-called propaganda offices of the German Potash Indicate existed in 18 German cities as well as in Cairo, Cape Town and Tokyo.
With the Potash Industry Act of 1933 (pursuant to Section 44), the Reich Minister of Economics secured the overall supervision of the German potash industry. The latter was thereby authorized to intervene in the drafting of the syndicate's articles of association. Furthermore, he had a direct influence on the pricing of the potash products, the supply contracts and the participation figures of the individual potash producers.
After the onset of the Great Depression, production increased again enormously, from 2000 tons in 1930 to 120,000 tons in 1939.
After the Second World War , the syndicate was dissolved on the instructions of the Allies. The successor was the "Sales Association of German Potash Works".
Economic war with the USA
Up until World War I, the US was 90% dependent on German imports. During the war it artificially pushed its potash industry; Nevertheless, the German potash industry was able to recapture a large part of the American market. When the Franco-German "potash contract" led to price increases, the US government launched a fight against the German potash monopoly. The measures ranged from attempting to bring representatives of the German potash industry to justice for violating US anti-trust laws to total bond freezing. This struggle, which was also waged with journalistic means, resulted in a considerable clouding of relations between Germany and the USA.
More Kali Syndicates
The interest group of Deutsche Kaliindustrie GmbH , founded on January 21, 1930, pursued the interests of the shareholders of the potash, rock salt, bromine, chlorine magnesium and Epsom salt industries. The other potash salt syndicates listed below also existed until 1945:
| Syndicate name | Establishment date | Property of the Company | Number of member companies |
|---|---|---|---|
| German Rock Salt Syndicate GmbH | January 21, 1930 | Regulation and promotion of domestic and foreign sales of rock salt | 16 |
| German Epsom Salt Syndicate GmbH | January 21, 1930 | Regulation and promotion of domestic and foreign sales of Epsom salts | 7th |
| German Bromine Syndicate GmbH | January 21, 1930 | Regulation and promotion of domestic and foreign sales of liquid bromine, iron bromine and bromine for the production of anti-knock agents | 7th |
| German Chloromagnesium Syndicate GmbH | January 21, 1930 | Regulation and promotion of domestic and foreign sales of magnesium chlorine and magnesium chlorine lye, with the exception of anhydrous magnesium chlorine | 7th |
See also
- German nitrogen syndicate, a cartel also founded in 1919 with state participation.
Web links
- ( Page no longer available , search in web archives: wars, crises, competitions. Loss of monopoly and concentration processes (1914–1945). ) In: Dirk Reder, Severin Roeseling, Thomas Prüfer: Experience growth - The history of the K + S Group 1856–2006 . Kassel 2006.
- Deutsches Kalisyndikat GmbH (1879–1960). in the Federal Archives.
- Documents and newspaper articles on the German Potash Certificate in the 20th Century Press Kit of the ZBW - Leibniz Information Center for Economics .
literature
in chronological order backwards:
- Ernst Laue: Staßfurt - the cradle of potash mining. Zaltbommel (Netherlands) 2010, ISBN 978-90-288-6614-0 .
- Miners' association "Staßfurt, cradle of potash mining" eV (publisher): 150 years of salt mining 1852–2002. 2 brochures in a slipcase, Staßfurt 2002, without ISBN.
- Ernst Laue: Leopoldshall as it used to be. From the location of a salt works to the Staßfurt district. Wartberg Verlag 2001, ISBN 3-86134-826-8 .
- Emil Baumecker : Leopoldshall, its origin, development and significance. Festschrift on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the St. Johanniskirche. Leopoldshall 1901. Published in 1993 as an extended reprint by Hartmut Wiest, Staßfurt-Leopoldshall. ISBN 3-930207-00-1 .
- Frank Kowolik: The old Staßfurt. A central German industrial city in old and rare pictures. Oschersleben 1992, ISBN 3-928703-06-4 .
- Handbook of Potash Mines, Salt Pans and Deep Drilling Companies. Finanz-Verlag GmbH, Berlin 1936.
- B. Cartels, syndicates and similar associations. 3. Potash certificate. In: Berlin yearbook for trade and industry . Report of the elders of the merchants of Berlin. Born in 1909. Georg Reimer, Berlin 1910, V. Economic Development in Berlin., P. 166–170 ( booksnow1.scholarsportal.info [PDF; 60.1 MB ; accessed on October 22, 2015]).
- Erich Lierke: Fertilizing the flowers. A short guide to the appropriate fertilization of ornamental gardens, potted and house plants. Kalisyndikat GmbH (Ed.), 28 pages, 16 of which are black and white, 12 cm × 17.5 cm. Leopoldshall-Staßfurt 1906.
- Potash consumption in German agriculture from 1890 to 1902. Published by the sales syndicate of the potash works, Statistical Bureau, Leopoldshall - Staßfurt. Book printing by Carl Trippo, 59 pages, Staßfurt 1903.
- Potash salts and their use in German agriculture. Issued by the sales syndicate of the potash works, agriculture department, Leopoldshall-Staßfurt; Otto Thiele's printing press, Staßfurt 1901.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Law on the regulation of the potash industry, April 24, 1919, RGBl. 1919, pp. 413-415 . - Implementation Ordinance, July 18, 1919, RGBl. 1919, pp. 663-682 .
- ^ Ulrich Lauf: The hospitals of the German Knappschaftsvereine in the 19th and 20th centuries . Ed .: Deutsche Rentenversicherung Knappschaft-Bahn-See DRV-KBS. Graphic companies of DRV-KBS, Bochum 2005, p. 12 and 86 of 96, format A5 .
- ↑ Frank Kowolik: The old Staßfurt. A central German industrial city in old and rare pictures. Oschersleben 1992, ISBN 3-928703-06-4 , p. 179 ff.
- ^ Emil Baumecker: Leopoldshall, its origin, development and significance. Festschrift on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the St. Johanniskirche. Leopoldshall 1901. Staßfurt-Leopoldshall, Reprint 1993, p. 39 ( ISBN 3-930207-00-1 ).
- ↑ Werner Link : The American Stabilization Policy in Germany 1921-32 . Düsseldorf 1970, p. 362 f.
- ↑ d-nb.info