The Chemical Factory Joh. A. Benckiser in the Nazi Era

An exemplary study of a mid-sized industrial enterprise during the Nazi era. The Chemische Werke Joh. A. Benckiser in Ludwigshafen was a Mittelstand company - a family business run by Albert Reimann Senior and Albert Reimann Junior. Between 1930 and 1960 they laid the foundation for an aspiring chemical company. Paul Erker examines the development of the company as well as its owners in the years between 1933 and 1945, contributing as such to the ongoing research on the history of German family businesses during the Nazi era. The historical study of these two entrepreneurs and the conclusions made are exemplary for the widespread enthusiasm for the Nazis prevalent in large sections of the Mittelstand at the time that was upheld throughout the whole period.

Prof. Dr. Paul Erker, born in 1959, is an professor extraordinarius at the LMU Munich, where he teaches modern and contemporary history with a focus on economic and corporate history and works as a freelance corporate historian. He is the author of numerous publications, particularly on the institutional and corporate history of the Nazi era.