Krise und Konjunktur: die Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft von der Weltwirtschaftskrise bis zum Ende des Zweiten Weltkrieges

Abstract

To be sure, the history of the Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft (FSG; Flensburg Shipbuilding Company) has already been variously published, particularly in the 1980s and ‘90s. Those studies, however, were limited primarily to the context of shipbuilding itself and the presentation of the vessels constructed by the FSG. Far less attention was paid to economic and, above all, social aspects and interrelationships. This article takes a different approach. It focuses chiefly on the economic fate of this prestigious Flensburg enterprise in the context of the social and political framework conditions of the era in question. For the FSG, and indeed for all German shipbuilding enterprises, the period between the world wars was characterized by major upheavals which were the consequences of inflation and world depression. In response, the company management was called upon to develop new strategies for survival, entrepreneurial courage, fantasy and the willingness to take risks, economic farsightedness and, not least of all, a fine instinct for the political situation. The contribution retraces the company history from 1923 to the early 1950s. Based on surviving correspondence, business reports and other sources, it provides lively insights into the company’s efforts to defend itself against the threat of bankruptcy and hostile acquisition, master the political, economic and social challenges arising during the period of the "Third Reich" and Second World War, and finally, after 1945, starting out again from scratch. Extensive sources and pictorial material were evaluated for the analysis hereby submitted. Moreover, it proved possible to supplement that material with statements by witnesses to the historical events, who openly answered the author’s questions within the framework of various interviews carried out over a period of two years.