Vehicle and hunting weapons factory "Ernst Thälmann"

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VEB vehicle and hunting weapons factory "Ernst Thälmann"
legal form VEB
founding 1st January 1968
Seat Suhl
Branch Arms manufacturer , two-wheeler manufacturer

Hunting weapons from Suhl
Motor scooter Simson Schwalbe KR51 from Suhl

The VEB vehicle and hunting weapons factory "Ernst Thälmann" was a state-owned company of the GDR in Suhl . The company manufactured two-wheelers and rifles under various brand names from 1968 to 1990 . In official correspondence, for example with the licensing authority, the company was often abbreviated as "FAJAS".

history

The VEB Fahrzeug- und Jagdwaffenwerk “ Ernst Thälmann ” went back to various Suhl companies, which were partially dismantled by the Soviet Union as reparations after the Second World War, and partially converted into public property by the Soviet military administration in Germany and then the GDR .

The direct predecessors of the company were VEB Fahrzeug und Gerätewerk Simson Suhl (two-wheeler manufacturer) and VEB Ernst-Thälmann-Werk Suhl (weapons manufacturer).

With the departure of many companies and their employees from Suhl and its surroundings, for example JP Sauer & Sohn (founded 1751, now in Isny ), Carl Walther GmbH (founded 1886) and JG Anschütz in Zella-Mehlis , many remained after the Second World War Industrial facilities in the city unused. Nevertheless, with the AWO 425 , the production of motorcycles in Suhl began again in 1948 on the orders of the Soviet military administration. A whole range of vehicles was made later.

Weapons production in Suhl began with hunting rifles, later air and small- bore rifles were also manufactured. As part of the armament of the National People's Army , weapons of the Kalashnikov weapon family were manufactured.

After the German reunification , the VEB was taken over by the Treuhandanstalt and privatized. Successors included Suhler Fahrzeugwerk GmbH , Jagd- und Sportwaffen Suhl GmbH , today Merkel Jagd- & Sportwaffen GmbH , as well as several small weapons companies.

Brands

Suhl gunsmith monument on the Suhl market

The weapons produced in GDR times were sold under the brand names of various traditional Suhl companies:

See also

literature

  • Norbert Moczarski et al .: Thuringian State Archives Meiningen. Department of the Regional Economic Archive South Thuringia in Suhl . A brief inventory overview. Ed .: Thuringian State Archives Meiningen. 1st edition. Druckhaus Offizin Hildburghausen, 1994, Development of traditional industrial areas in South Thuringia until 1990, p. 16-24 .

Web links

Commons : VEB Fahrzeug- und Jagdwaffenwerk "Ernst Thälmann"  - collection of images, videos and audio files