Association of German Iron and Steel Industrialists

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Association of German Iron and Steel Industries (VDEStI) was an association founded in 1874 and existing until 1935 to represent common economic and socio-political issues in the field of the iron and steel producing and processing industry in Germany. Finally, at least in part, employer organizations were also affiliated. The most important was the employers' association for the north-western group of the association (short work north-west).

founding

Shortly after the establishment of the German Empire , the Langnam Association was a merger of the Rhenish and Westphalian coal and steel industries. In addition, other similar organizations emerged. With the approaching start- up crisis , the need for a stronger union increased. As early as 1873, at the insistence of Louis Baare (from the Bochumer Verein ), companies in West Germany joined forces, which soon after came into contact with the mining industry in Upper Silesia . The Association of German Iron and Steel Industries was founded in October 1874 as a pan-German interest group. Chairman was Karl Richter , Director General of the United royal and Laurahütte selected. He held this position until 1893. Louis Baare and August Servaes , both from the Rhenish-Westphalian industrial area , had a particularly strong influence . Henry Axel Bueck became managing director . He was also Secretary General of the Langnam Association and the Northwestern Group of the VDEStI.

structure

The headquarters of the association was Berlin and was divided into several regional groups. These had different strengths. The north-western group, founded in 1874 and based in Düsseldorf , had the greatest weight . She was responsible for the Rhenish-Westphalian industrial area and contributed a considerable part of the association's contribution. The eastern group, also founded in 1874, was based in Katowice and was responsible for Upper Silesia. The North German group (1875) was based in Hanover , the Central German group (1875) was based in Chemnitz and mainly represented companies from Saxony . The southern German group from 1875 was based in Frankfurt am Main . A south-western group was formed in 1878 for the Saarland and Alsace-Lorraine . Their seat was in Saarbrücken . Then there was the group of the north German wagon factories based in Cologne-Deutz and that of the German shipyards in Berlin.

Depending on the regional economic structure, different sub-areas dominated the groups. In the north-west, east and south-west groups, smelting works and comparable companies dominated. In the North German, South German and Central German groups, the mechanical engineering companies had the greatest weight. The machine industry, however, formed its own association from 1891.

Since a change in the statutes in 1905, the sub-groups had achieved a strong degree of independence. Each group was then responsible for representing their respective special interests. The general association was responsible for overarching interests and held an annual general meeting to which the groups sent their representatives.

Interest politics

The association sought to influence economic, traffic, tax and customs policy in the broadest sense as well as the regulation of employment relationships and social policy. In addition, he tried to contribute to understanding between the individual entrepreneurs in the industry. In the first years of its existence it agitated in particular against free trade and for protective tariffs .

The fight for protective tariffs is an example of how the association works. As early as 1875 a major memorandum on the state of the German iron and steel industry was presented. Numerous petitions to governments and parliaments followed. The association managed to find allies in other industries and thus to increase its influence.

The organization played an important role in founding the Central Association of German Industrialists . Like him, the association fought primarily for the transition from free trade to protective tariff policy. A common line between CDI and VDEStI came about for a long time because there was a personal union in the management of both associations until 1893. The VDEStI retained a very strong influence and provided 67 of 220 delegates at the CDI meetings. An organizational separation took place in 1910.

Employer organization

An employers' organization was only formed in 1904, with a delay compared to other branches and regions. The employers' association for the north-western group of the VDEStI (Arbeits Nordwest for short) pursued an uncompromising policy geared towards the defense of its own interests and, like no other, ruthlessly represented the “master of the house” position. The association therefore followed a strictly anti-union course. This was one of the reasons why the trade union movement in the iron and steel industry in Rhineland and Westphalia was as good as unable to gain a foothold until World War I.

In 1935 the association was transferred to the "Iron Industry Economic Group". After the Second World War, the Iron and Steel Industry Association, today's Steel Association , continued this tradition.

Chairperson

Publications (selection)

  • Why economic hardship? Increasing loads, decreasing yield. Diagrams on the German economic situation for the joint general assembly of the Langnam Association and the Northwest Group of the Association of German Iron and Steel Industrialists, Statistical Department, in Düsseldorf on June 3, 1931. Bagel, Düsseldorf 1931 (also known as: "Northwest Group")
  • Charts on the German economic situation. For the joint general meeting of the Langnam Association and the Northwest Group in Düsseldorf on November 4, 1930. Publisher: Stahlhof, Düsseldorf 1930 & Verein z. True d. common. economic Interests in Rhineland a. Westphalia

literature

  • Geun-Gab Bak: Industrial Interest Policy in the Early Empire. The Association of German Iron and Steel Manufacturers 1874 - 1895 . Diss. Phil. Bielefeld 1987
  • Helmut Kaelble: Industrial Interest Policy in the Wilhelminian Society. Central Association of German Industrialists 1895-1914 . Berlin, 1967
  • Toni Pierenkemper: Trade and Industry in the 19th and 20th Centuries . Munich, 1994 ISBN 3-486-55015-2 p. 80
  • Hans-Ulrich Wehler: German history of society Bd.3: From the "German double revolution" to the First World War 1849-1914. Munich, 1995 ISBN 3-406-32263-8 pp. 640f.