Reederei Sauber Gebr.
The shipping company and coal company Sauber Gebr. Was founded on July 6, 1839 in Hamburg by the brothers Johann Sauber (* 1810; † 1878) and Carl Sauber (* 1813; † 1849). It existed until the beginning of 1960.
Company history
1839 to 1870
The company Sauber Gebr. Initially dealt exclusively with the import and sale of English hard coal . Stimulated by the flourishing development of the coal business, the company decided to put its own ships into service. In 1845 the Galiote Rebecca and Johanna , a ship of 157 GRT and around 314 t carrying capacity, was purchased, which remained in the company's possession until 1852. In the course of the next few years the shipping company put further sailing ships into service, all of which were used in the coal trade from England . This also included the Galiote Steinwärder . Carl Sauber died when it went down in 1849. The death of his brother and the loss of the ship were a severe blow to Johann Sauber.
1871 to 1913
The difficult economic conditions in Germany and particularly in Hamburg forced the company to stop operating for several years. It was not until 1871 that a new ship, this time a steamer , was put into construction at a Hamburg shipyard. The steamer John Sauber , a ship with a deadweight of 1070 t, set sail for the first voyage to England in 1872. He was lost in the North Sea on a journey home from Sunderland in 1874 . In 1875 he was followed by another steamer, which had been given the name Hermann Sauber and had a carrying capacity of 1,800 t. It was lost after six years of service and is missing.
Nevertheless, the acquisition of the steamers was a great economic success, which made it possible to participate in the Hamburg shipbuilding industry . In 1873 the company Sauber Gebr. Became a partner in the Heinrich Brandenburg shipyard , which had existed at Steinwärder since 1845. The shipyard was expanded considerably with Sauberer's capital. The commercial management passed into the hands of the Sauber shipping company, which owned 50 percent of the shipyard . Now Johann Sauber was able to experience that the shipyard managed by him and his son Hermann experienced a brilliant upswing. Heinrich Brandenburg built barges and tugs and repaired the sea steamers of the Sauber Gebr shipping company. The product range ranged from work ships to customs steamers . Heinrich Brandenburg repaired and rebuilt: workboats for HADAG , steam launches , steam tugs , fire boats , trawlers , grain elevators, coal Heber, people steamers , barges, seagoing vessels , water conservation steamer and customs steamer. Heinrich Brandenburg was also an important machine factory and boilermaker. At last the shipyard had 450 to 600 workers and employees. At peak times sometimes 900.
In the last years of his life, Johann Sauber moved his private apartment from Albertstraße to Uhlenhorst on Langen Zug. Here he died at the age of seventy-seven in January 1878, after having managed the company he founded for almost 40 years. He had achieved what he had strived for: shipping company, coal trade and half the partnership at a major shipyard. Johann Sauber left his only surviving son, Hermann Carl Sauber, who was 35 years old at the time, a versatile and well-founded company, which he continued to successfully run. The first-born son John Sauber, who was born in 1840, emigrated to the USA in 1863 and was missing there.
After Hermann Sauber was lost in 1881 , the company commissioned Emma Sauber from the Reiherstieg shipyard in 1883 . Helene Sauber from the Flensburger Schiffsbau-Gesellschaft followed in 1888 . Emma Sauber and Helene Sauber were extraordinarily happy ships. In 1896 Emma Sauber made 55 trips from Hamburg to Sunderland and back. Times had changed. In 1852 it was a special achievement of the sailors Rebecca and Johanna that he had covered the same distance seven times in one year. Not sailors but showers could now unload the cargo in ten hours. The Helene Sauber , who also made several trips to West Africa, drove for ten years without any collision under Captain Kruse. After these two ships had been sailing for the shipping company for more than 20 years, they were sold. In 1906, the Sauber Gebr. Already owned four steamers with which around 342,000 tons of coal were imported, a quantity that rose to 696,000 tons in 1913.
In 1882, Hermann Sauber acquired property in Wandsbek , which was still rural at the time . Here he lived with his wife Emma Johanna, geb. Boesch. The couple had eight children: Herman, Helene, Gertrud, Else, Martha, Hedwig, Anna and Emma. Gertrud Sauber married the wealthy Hamburg merchant and art collector Henry B. Simms in 1895 . Else also marries a Hamburg entrepreneur: Albert Kaumann. In 1896 Helene married Konrad Engel, a limited partner in the Heinrich Brandenburg shipyard. Anna Hariett married Eduard Kannengiesser, the Senate President at the Hanseatic Higher Regional Court in Hamburg. Martha remained unmarried. Hedwig married Waldemar von Holten and Emma married into the Gädeke family.
At the end of 1894, Hermann Sauber died of a serious illness at the age of 50. After his death in 1894, his widow Emma Sauber became the sole owner of the Sauber Gebr. Company, as the only son Herman Johann Matthias was only 12 years old. Under her leadership, the company developed extremely successfully in the following years. The Heinrich Brandenburg shipyard was converted into a limited partnership in 1897, with Emma Sauber remaining as a limited partner. Emma Sauber was a generous patron of the Hamburg Scientific Foundation . In 1903 her son Herman also became a personally liable partner in the shipyard. In 1913, Herman Sauber became a Hamburg commercial judge .
Most recently, the shipyard employed 450 to 600 workers. Major investments were needed to thoroughly modernize it. Heinrich Brandenburg and the partners, Sauber Gebr., Did not raise the necessary capital. Heinrich Brandenburg was sold to the Reiherstieg shipyard in 1912 after lengthy merger negotiations with the neighboring Stülcken shipyard had collapsed.
1914 to 1938
During the First World War , the company's business came to a standstill and was difficult to get back on track in the first few years after the war. Because of the general lack of fuel, the company exploited a peat bog near Lübeck; one of the captains took over the management. The company even dealt with clearing tree stumps during this difficult time. It was not until 1920 that the first load of coal could be bought again for shipment to Hamburg in Holland . These coals were declared American, but turned out to be German reparations coal , which was offered in large quantities in Rotterdam, while there was a lack of fuel in Hamburg. The steamer Emma Sauber was badly damaged on the Norwegian coast in 1920. It was repaired and renamed Herbert Sauber . The following year the steamship Emma Sauber, newly built at the Deutsche Werft , followed . The company was then able to put a number of ships back into service. In 1922 Emma Sauber withdrew from business life. Her son Herman Johann Matthias Sauber took over the management and became sole owner of the company after Emma Sauber's death in 1928.
In 1933 the company Sauber & Co. was founded and became the sole owner of the sea steamers. Coal storage, tug fleet and barge fleet remained in the possession of Sauber Gebr. The new establishment took place for reasons of capital distribution. Herman JM Sauber was the personally liable partner in both companies . In 1936 and 1938 his two sons, Robert CF Sauber and John A. Sauber, joined the company.
1939 to 1960
In 1939 the 100th company anniversary was celebrated. On this occasion, Herman Sauber published a company chronicle. July 6, 1939 was the high point in the company's history. The Elbkurhaus Blankenese celebrated on a large scale. The evening before, there was a gala dinner for friends and English business partners in Haus Sauber on Lichtwarkstrasse.
When the Second World War broke out on September 1st, Herman Sauber had arranged his four ocean-going ships so that everyone in Hamburg was safe. The steamers Emma Sauber , Robert Sauber , Herman Sauber and Emily Sauber remained without major damage until the end of the war. As a result of the Potsdam resolutions, however, the entire fleet had to be handed over to the Allies. So at the end of the war the company was left without ships. Their large coal store and the building holdings were destroyed. Two thirds of the barges had been destroyed and the coal trade had almost completely come to a standstill. In the period between the capitulation in May 1945 and the currency reform in June 1948 there was not much to do for the companies Sauber Gebr. And Sauber & Co.
After the introduction of the Deutsche Mark , the supply situation in Germany suddenly improved. The first steamers loaded with English coal reached the port of Hamburg. This enabled the Sauber Gebr. To resume their import business of British coal. Herman Sauber had the destroyed floor in the commercial building at Ballindamm 26, where the company had been based for decades, expanded at his own expense. From 1949 onwards, in addition to the senior manager, the general manager and the employees, the oldest son, the junior manager Robert Sauber, who had returned home healthy from the war, worked here. Albert Sauber, the second son, was badly wounded. The youngest son, Herbert Sauber, died in 1944 from serious war injuries in the hospital in Flensburg .
The steamer Emma Sauber , which was lifted in 1949 and restarted in 1950, fulfilled the hopes placed in it. He strengthened the company's capital formation. In 1951, the new Herman Sauber building was put into service. Half of the pre-war tonnage could be achieved with the two ships. The coal storage facility on the Osterbek Canal was cleared of rubble and the buildings required for the square trade were erected. In addition to bank balances, the company was able to a. Determine the following values: 2 sea steamers, 2 harbor tugs , 24 barges, 3 houses, Ballindamm 26 office floor. As a continuation of the anniversary publication from 1939, the second volume in the company's history was published at the end of 1951. In September 1952, Herman Sauber was 70 years old. He transferred the day-to-day business more and more to the junior boss Robert Sauber.
When the coal trade lost its importance because coal was displaced by heating oil , the end finally came. At the beginning of the 1960s, the company Sauber Gebr. Went bankrupt .
Shipping accidents
Right from the start, the Sauber Gebr. Shipping company suffered heavy losses from the dangers at sea:
- The Galiote Steinwärder had sailed for three years on the coal voyage to England. She had such good sailing characteristics that she was trusted to sail across the Atlantic. In 1848 the gold rush had broken out in California . A merchant who could bring a ship loaded with essentials to San Francisco was a made man. In the spring of 1849 the Steinwärder was loaded. Carl Sauber himself, the younger of the two shipowners, embarked with the ship. The team was increased to nine men, since Cape Horn had to be rounded. On March 25, the sailor got caught in a heavy storm that threw them onto the sandbanks off Essex . The entire crew and the three passengers were killed.
- The Bark Andreas left the Port of Hamburg on July 6, 1852 with a crew of fifteen for overseas. In December, carpenter, cook and two sailors died of yellow fever in the West Indies within days . The ship was damaged on the return journey from Honduras . The crew was rescued and the wreck was sold.
- The steamer John Sauber had sailed as a coal cargo ship between England and Hamburg for three years. In 1874 he was lost in the North Sea on a trip home from Sunderland .
- The steamer Hermann Sauber was lost in 1881 after six years of service.
- The steamer Betty Sauber , built in 1876, ran aground in the fog near Helgoland on the voyage from Grimsby to Hamburg and sank.
- The steamer John Sauber , put into service in 1908, was lost in 1916 due to the effects of the war near Memel .
- The steamer Herbert Sauber sank on the Dogger Bank on November 3, 1922 on the way from Seaham to Hamburg . 25 crew members were killed and one man was saved.
- The steamer Herman Sauber was also lost in 1922. Northwest of Helgoland, near the Heulboje Sellbrunnen, the ship went over the cliffs on a hurricane night in November. Nobody could be saved by the crew.
Sailing ships of the shipping company
- Galiote Rebecca and Johanna , bought in 1845, named after the wives of the two owners, sold in 1852.
- Galeasse Christine Marie , bought in 1846, sold to shipbuilder JH Cors in 1852.
- Galiote Steinwärder , bought in 1846, sunk on the Essex coast on March 25, 1849.
- Bark Andreas , bought in 1852, wrecked in West Indian waters in 1853, sold as a wreck.
Sea steamer of the shipping company
- Steamer John Sauber , built in 1871 at the Reiherstieg shipyards & boiler shops near Hamburg, lost in the North Sea in 1874.
- Steamer Hermann Sauber , built in 1875 by the Reiherstieg shipyards & boiler shops near Hamburg, lost in 1881.
- Steamer Betty Sauber , built in 1876 by Reiherstieg Schiffswerfte & Kesselschmiede near Hamburg, total loss near Helgoland in 1894.
- Steamer Emma Sauber , built in 1883 by Reiherstieg Schiffswerfte & Maschinenfabrik AG near Hamburg, sold in 1908.
- Steamer Helene Sauber , built in 1888 by the Flensburger Schiffsbau-Gesellschaft, in Flensburg, sold in 1909.
- Martha Sauber steamer , built in 1897 by SP Austin & Sun in Sunderland, sold in 1909.
- Steamer Herman Sauber , built in 1904 by Henry Koch in Lübeck, sold in 1912.
- Steamer John Sauber , built in 1908 by Henry Koch in Lübeck, total loss in the First World War near Memel in 1916.
- Steamer Herbert Sauber , ex Emma Sauber , ex Pallione , bought in 1909 (built by William Oxford & Sons in Sunderland), total loss on Doggerbank in 1922.
- Steamer Herman Sauber , built in 1912 by William Oxford & Sons in Sunderland, total loss at Helgoland in 1922.
- Steamer Robert Sauber , bought in 1921 (built at Howaldtswerke in Kiel 1920), sold in 1924.
- Steamer Albert Sauber , bought in 1921 (built at Howaldtswerke in Kiel 1920), sold in 1923.
- Steamer Emma Sauber , built in 1922 at the Deutsche Werft in Hamburg, sunk in January 1945 by an air raid in the port of Hamburg, lifted after the war and put back into service.
- Steamer John Sauber , ex Monkstone Light , ex Mecklenburg , bought in 1922 (built at the Stettiner Vulkan in 1910), broken up in 1932.
- Steamer Albert Sauber , ex Targis , bought in 1923 (built at Llekkerkerk in Holland in 1921), sold in 1925.
- Steamer Robert Sauber , ex Rotherhill , bought in 1925 (built by Richardson & Co. in Stockton on Tees 1910).
- Steamer Herman Sauber , built in 1936 by the Flensburger Schiffsbau-Gesellschaft, in Flensburg, taken over by the Kriegsmarine for conversion in 1941 and equipped and armed as a net layer, used by the Netzsperrgruppe Nord in Norway.
- Steamer Emily Sauber , built in 1939 by the Flensburger Schiffsbau-Gesellschaft, sunk on April 28, 1945 by an air raid off Hella in Norway.
literature
- Hildegard von Marchtaler, Herman Sauber: Sauber Gebr., 1839–1939. The history of the company Sauber Gebr. Published on the occasion of the 100th company anniversary . Broschek, Hamburg 1939.
- Hildegard von Marchtaler, Herman Sauber: Sauber Gebr., Founded in 1839, Sauber & Co., Hamburg. Company history 1939–1951 . Sauber Gebr., Hamburg 1951.
Web links
- Website about Henry B. Simms and his wife Gertrud, geb. Clean
- Hamburgisches Weltwirtschaftsarchiv / Reederei Sauber
- Early documents and newspaper articles on the Sauber Gebr. Shipping company in the 20th century press kit of the ZBW - Leibniz Information Center for Economics .
Individual evidence
- ^ Johannes Gerhardt: The founders of the Hamburg Scientific Foundation . Hamburg University Press, Hamburg, 2nd edition 2015, ISBN 978-3-943423-23-5 , p. 62.
- ↑ Hamburger Tageblatt of June 27, 1939
- ↑ Sauber Gebr., 1839–1939 The history of the Sauber Gebr.
- ↑ Hildegard von Marchtaler, Herman Sauber: Sauber Gebr., 1839-1939. The history of the company Sauber Gebr. Published on the occasion of the 100th company anniversary . Broschek, Hamburg 1939.
- ↑ Hildegard von Marchtaler, Herman Sauber: Sauber Gebr., Founded in 1839, Sauber & Co., Hamburg. Company history 1939–1951 . Sauber Gebr., Hamburg 1951.