Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Introduction by the Editor
- I Becoming a Global Corporation – BASF from 1865 to 1900
- II The Power of Synthesis (1900–1925)
- III From the IG Farben Fusion to the Establishment of BASF AG (1925–1952)
- IV BASF Since Its Refounding in 1952
- Appendix Trade Volume and Profits of BASF since its Founding in 1865
- Bibliography
- Index of Archives
- Index of Corporations
- Index of Persons
- Index of Products and Processes
- Subject Index
- Plate section
III - From the IG Farben Fusion to the Establishment of BASF AG (1925–1952)
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 25 July 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Introduction by the Editor
- I Becoming a Global Corporation – BASF from 1865 to 1900
- II The Power of Synthesis (1900–1925)
- III From the IG Farben Fusion to the Establishment of BASF AG (1925–1952)
- IV BASF Since Its Refounding in 1952
- Appendix Trade Volume and Profits of BASF since its Founding in 1865
- Bibliography
- Index of Archives
- Index of Corporations
- Index of Persons
- Index of Products and Processes
- Subject Index
- Plate section
Summary
INTRODUCTION
The establishment of IG Farbenindustrie AG in late 1925 by BASF and other major German chemical companies set the stage for one of the most tumultuous eras in German industrial history. Buffeted throughout its existence by severe economic and political upheaval, IG Farben was nonetheless large and powerful enough to determine its own fate and to help shape that of its country. For that reason alone, it must be held partly responsible for the fact that what began in 1925 with great promise ended ultimately in disaster. Critical examination of this co-responsibility will therefore be one of the main areas of focus in this section of the history of the firm.
But it is nevertheless important to make one point clear at the outset: Except in a fairly narrow technical sense (which will be explored further in the next section), during the period from 1925 through 1945, BASF was not IG Farben. Rather, it was simply one of the concern's major works groups (Betriebsgemeinschaften). This might seem to be stating the obvious, but it is nonetheless worth highlighting because of some of its implications. After all, most of the extensive scholarly and popular literature on the German chemical industry during this period – and virtually all of it that focuses on the Nazi years – deals almost exclusively with IG Farben.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- German Industry and Global EnterpriseBASF: The History of a Company, pp. 206 - 361Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2003
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