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51-506: Friedrich Krupp AG contracted with the Venezuelan government in 1888 to build the railway in exchange for £12,800 per kilometer to be repaid at 7 percent interest. Disconto-Gesellschaft financed the project; and terms were renegotiated at £11,000 per kilometer in 1891. The railway was completed in February 1894. The railway replaced a difficult carriage road through mountainous terrain. Caracas

102-700: A contract with the British armaments company Vickers and Son Ltd. (formerly Vickers Maxim) to supply Vickers-constructed Maxim machine guns. Conversely, from 1902 Krupp was contracted by Vickers to supply its patented fuses to Vickers bullets. It is known that wounded and deceased German soldiers were found to have spent Vickers bullets with the German inscription "Krupps patent zünder [fuses]" lying around their bodies. Krupp received its first order for 135 Panzer I tanks in 1933, and during World War II made tanks , artillery, naval guns, armor plate, munitions and other armaments for

153-525: A new iron and steelworks in Dortmund, in the then-province of Westphalia, to capitalize on the location advantages of the emerging Ruhr region (rich coal deposits, railway for ore transportation). During the 1890s, Hoesch also took-over parts of the manufacturing of the former Hüsing & Co in Warstein, the foundry part was merged with Siepmann . The new company survived the founder's crisis and in 1899 acquired

204-539: A pioneering steel foundry in Essen in 1811. After his death, his sons Alfred and an unidentified brother operated the business in partnership with their mother. An account cited that, on his deathbed, the elder Krupp confided to Alfred, who was then 14 years old, the secret of steel casting. In 1848, Alfred became the sole owner of the foundry. This next generation Krupp (1812–87), known as "the Cannon King" or as "Alfred

255-505: A problem for Ford Motor Company in 1964 when they desired to export their car of the same name to Germany, especially since American military personnel stationed there wanted the new car. Although Krupp offered to sell the Mustang name to Ford for a reasonable price, Ford declined and as a result, badged all Mustangs destined for Germany "T-5." By 1978 Krupp's rights to the Mustang name expired and all Mustangs exported to Germany henceforth retained

306-479: Is at an altitude of 3,000 feet (910 metres) and to reach Valencia the railway had to climb higher to cross the Coastal Range . Contemporary accounts expressed great praise for the construction, which used Krupp steel railroad ties . The Caracas terminus was adjacent to the 3 ft ( 914 mm ) gauge La Guaira and Caracas Railway to the coast, which operated until 1951. The Great Venezuela Railway entered

357-720: The Great Venezuela Railway from 1888 to 1894 raised Venezuelan national debt. Venezuela's suspension of debt payments in 1901 led to gunboat diplomacy of the Venezuela Crisis of 1902–1903 . Russia and the Ottoman Empire both bought large quantities of Krupp guns. By 1887, Russia had bought 3,096 Krupp guns, while the Ottomans bought 2,773 Krupp guns. By the start of the Balkan wars the largest export market for Krupp worldwide

408-587: The Nazi Party . After the Nazis came to power in 1933, Hoesch served as an armaments company producing Panther and Tiger II tank casings, tank ammunition, gun barrels and armor plate. During World War II , the company made extensive use of forced laborers. In December 1944, over one-third of the workers at Hüttenwerk Hoesch were forced laborers. The steelworks were later targeted by the Raf on 23rd May 1943 Bomber command launched

459-633: The Venezuelan crisis of 1902–1903 , a naval blockade involving gunboat diplomacy . The summit section of the railway forms part of a recreation park called Parque El Encanto (El Encanto is also the name of one of the stations). Work began in 2015 on a 350 million bolivar plan to restore 7 km (4.3 mi) of track as a heritage railway , with 7 tunnels and 5 bridges, providing for a 25-minute journey from Los Lagos to El Encanto. Krupp Friedrich Krupp AG Hoesch-Krupp (formerly Fried. Krupp AG and Friedrich Krupp GmbH ) trading as Krupp ,

510-463: The u is usually treated as short in both languages, corresponding logically (in either language's regular orthography) with the doubled consonant that follows. A British documentary on the Krupp family and firm included footage of German-speakers of the 1930s who would have had speaking contact with the family, which attests the long [uː] , thus [kʁuːp] or [kɾuːp] , rather than what would be

561-584: The 1914 420 mm Big Bertha , the 1916 Langer Max , and the seven Paris Guns in 1917 and 1918. In addition, Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft built German warships and submarines in Kiel. During the war, Krupp also modified the design of an existing Langer Max gun, which they built in Koekelare . The gun called Batterie Pommern was the largest gun in the world in 1917 and was able to shoot shells of ±750 kg from Koekelare to Dunkirk . Before World War I Krupp had

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612-560: The 20th century the company was headed by Gustav Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach (1870–1950), who assumed the surname of Krupp when he married the Krupp heiress, Bertha Krupp . After Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany in 1933, the Krupp works became the center for German rearmament. In 1943, by a special order from Hitler, the company reverted to a sole-proprietorship, with Gustav and Bertha's eldest son Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach (1907–67) as proprietor. After Germany's defeat, Gustav

663-400: The 285-metre (935 ft) Calvario tunnel for level grade to Antímano where a 2 percent climb began to a 1,227-metre (4,026 ft) summit in 267-metre (876 ft) Corozal tunnel 30 kilometres (19 mi) from Caracas. From Corozal tunnel the railway required 212 Krupp steel viaducts and 84 tunnels to cover 44 kilometres (27 mi) of gently descending grade across steep canyons to reach

714-464: The 4-4-4T locos could reach 70 km/h (43 mph), trains took 7 hours for the 179 km. Early in the line's history it was adversely affected by political instability in Venezuela. Krupp computed Venezuela's debt (including damages arising from the revolution against Venezuelan president Raimundo Andueza Palacio ) as £1,900,000. Suspension of debt payments by Cipriano Castro in 1901 was followed by

765-471: The German boy of the future must be slim and slender, as fast as a greyhound, tough as leather and hard as Krupp steel" ( "... der deutsche Junge der Zukunft muß schlank und rank sein, flink wie Windhunde, zäh wie Leder und hart wie Kruppstahl." ) During the war Germany's industry was heavily bombed. The Germans built large-scale night-time decoys like the Krupp decoy site (German: Kruppsche Nachtscheinanlage) which

816-561: The German military. Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft shipyard launched the cruiser Prinz Eugen , as well as many of Germany's U-boats (130 between 1934 and 1945) using preassembled parts supplied by other Krupp factories in a process similar to the construction of the US liberty ships . In the 1930s, Krupp developed two 800 mm railway guns , the Schwerer Gustav and the Dora . These guns were

867-593: The Great", invested heavily in new technology to become a significant manufacturer of steel rollers (used to make eating utensils) and railway tyres. He also invested in fluidized hotbed technologies (notably the Bessemer process ) and acquired many mines in Germany and France . Initially, Krupp failed to gain profit from the Bessemer process due to the high phosphorus content of German iron ores. His chemists, however, later learned of

918-624: The Mustang name. Krupp Steel Works of Essen, Germany, manufactured the spherical pressure chamber of the dive vessel Trieste , the first vessel to take humans to the deepest known point in the oceans, accomplished in 1960. This was a heavy duty replacement for the original pressure sphere (made in Italy by Acciaierie Terni) and was manufactured in three finely machined sections: an equatorial ring and two hemispherical caps. The sphere weighed 13 tonnes in air (eight tonnes in water) with walls that were 12.7 centimetres (5.0 in) thick. Krupp Steel Works

969-914: The Westfalia coal mine with its associated Kaiserstuhl coke plant. During the Weimar Republic , Hoesch was one of the few heavy industry companies not integrated into the United Steel Works. In 1930, Hoesch merged with the Cologne-New-Essen Mining Association and in 1966 acquired the Dortmund-Hörder Hüttenunion. Following the National Socialist takeover in 1933, Hoesch served as an armaments conglomerate, producing tank hulls for Panther and Tiger II types, tank ammunition, gun barrels, and armor plates. During World War II,

1020-407: The bid was abandoned after resistance from Thyssen management and protests by its workers. Nevertheless, Thyssen agreed to merge the two firms' flat steel operations, and Thyssen Krupp Stahl AG was created in 1997 as a jointly owned subsidiary (60% by Thyssen and 40% by Krupp). About 6,300 workers were laid off. Later that year, Krupp and Thyssen announced a full merger, which was completed in 1999 with

1071-470: The biggest artillery pieces ever fielded by an army during wartime, and weighed almost 1,344 tons. They could fire a 7-ton shell over a distance of 37 kilometers. More crucial to the operations of the German military was Krupp's development of the famed 88 mm anti-aircraft cannon which found use as a notoriously effective anti-tank gun. In an address to the Hitler Youth , Adolf Hitler stated "In our eyes,

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1122-637: The company extensively utilized forced labor, with over a third of the workers at the Hoesch steelworks being forced laborers by December 1944. As a subsidiary, the Hoesch-Benzin GmbH was established in 1936 for the production of synthetic fuels using the Fischer-Tropsch process. The gasoline plant commenced operation in 1939. During the air raids on the Ruhr region, the facilities were nearly completely destroyed —

1173-419: The company had a steelmaking capacity of around eight million metric tons and sales of about 28 billion DM (US$ 18.9 billion). The new Krupp had six divisions: steel, engineering, plant construction, automotive supplies, trade, and services. After two years of heavy losses, a modest net profit of 40 million DM (US$ 29.2 million) followed in 1994. In 1997 Krupp attempted a hostile takeover of the larger Thyssen, but

1224-416: The entire floors of these lavatories. The Tatars and Kirghiz suffered most; they collapsed like flies [from] bad housing, the poor quality and insufficient quantity of food, overwork and insufficient rest...Countless fleas, bugs and other vermin tortured the inhabitants of these camps..." The survivors finally returned home in the summer of 1945 after their liberation by the allied armies. Krupp industries

1275-504: The fertile valley of Lake Valencia . The 106-metre (348 ft) viaduct over Agua Amarillo was the longest on the line and stood 47 metres (154 ft) above the water. The Valencia terminus was at San Blas, but the line was eventually connected to the Puerto Cabello and Valencia Railway which had its own terminus at Camoruco . By 1922 the railway had 18 locomotives , 30 passenger cars , 68 flatcars , and 20 stock cars . Although

1326-539: The firm. In 1968, the company became an Aktiengesellschaft and ownership was transferred to the Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach Foundation . In 1999, the Krupp Group merged with its largest competitor, Thyssen AG ; the combined company— ThyssenKrupp , became Germany's fifth-largest firm and one of the largest steel producers in the world. In the early 1980s, the company spun off all its operating activities and

1377-441: The first time upon merging with Hoesch AG . In 1999, it merged with Thyssen AG to form the industrial conglomerate ThyssenKrupp AG . Controversy has not eluded the Krupp company. Being a major weapons supplier to multiple sides throughout various conflicts, it was sometimes blamed for the wars themselves or the degree of carnage that ensued. Friedrich Krupp (1787–1826) launched the family's metal-based activities, building

1428-439: The formation of ThyssenKrupp AG. Cromme and Ekkehard Schulz were named co-chief executives of the new company, operating worldwide in three main business areas: steel, capital goods (elevators and industrial equipment), and services (specialty materials, environmental services, mechanical engineering, and scaffolding services). The unexpected victory of Prussia over France (19 July 1870 – 10 May 1871) demonstrated

1479-636: The giant Krupp steel works in Essen . Low pay, long hours, frequent bombings, and crowded air raid shelters added to the unpleasantness of poor housing, inadequate heating, limited food, and poor medical care, all compounded by harsh Nazi discipline. In an affidavit provided at the Nuremberg Trials following the war, Dr. Wilhelm Jaeger, the senior doctor for the Krupp slaves, wrote: Sanitary conditions were atrocious. At Kramerplatz only ten children's toilets were available for 1200 inhabitants...Excretion contaminated

1530-486: The late 1880s the manufacture of armaments represented around 50% of Krupp's total output. When Alfred Krupp started with the firm, it had five employees. At his death twenty thousand people worked for Krupp—making it the world's largest industrial company and the largest private company in the German empire . Krupp's had a Great Krupp Building with an exhibition of guns at the Columbian Exposition in 1893. In

1581-475: The majority of rail to the new continental railway system. "Nearly all railroads were using Krupp rails, the New York Central , Illinois Central , Delaware and Hudson , Maine Central , Lake Shore and Michigan Southern , Bangor and Aroostook , Great Northern , Boston and Albany , Florida and East Coast , Texas and Pacific , Southern Pacific , and Mexican National ." In 1893, a mechanical engineer by

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1632-840: The merger with Dutch company Estel was stopped by Detlev Karsten Rohwedder , and Hoesch became again an independent company. In 1991, German competitor Krupp (presently ThyssenKrupp ) bought Hoesch and the merger was completed by 1992. The Hoesch family had long been established in the Eifel region with various metalworking companies prior to the founding of the Dortmund company, operating factories in Monschau , Lendersdorf near Düren (since 1819), and Eschweiler (since 1847). In 1871, Leopold Hoesch , along with his sons Wilhelm (1845–1923) and Albert Hoesch (1847–1898), as well as his cousins Viktor (1824–1888) and Eberhard Hoesch (1827–1907), founded

1683-456: The name of Rudolf Diesel approached Gustav with a patent for a "new kind of internal combustion engine employing autoignition of the fuel". He also included his text " Theorie und Konstruktion eines rationellen Wärmemotors ". Four years later, the first 3- horsepower diesel engine was produced. The common English pronunciations are / k r ʊ p / or / k r ʌ p / . The common German pronunciations are [kʁʊp] or [kɾʊp] . Thus

1734-474: The problem and constructed a Bessemer plant called C&T Steel. Unusual for the era, he provided social services for his workers, including subsidized housing and health and retirement benefits. The company began to make steel cannons in the 1840s—especially for the Russian, Turkish, and Prussian armies. Low non-military demand and government subsidies meant that the company specialized more and more in weapons: by

1785-481: The regime and was one of many German businesses that profited from slave labor during World War II . Upon the war's end, the head of the company, Alfried Krupp , was tried and convicted as a war criminal for employing prisoners of war, foreign civilians and concentration camp inmates under inhumane conditions in support of the Nazi war effort . Despite being sentenced to imprisonment for twelve years, he served just three and

1836-474: The regular German spelling pronunciation , [kʁʊp] or [kɾʊp] . The documentary's narration used the English / uː / equivalent, / k r uː p / . This would seem to indicate that the short u is a spelling pronunciation , but it is nonetheless the most common treatment. Hoesch AG Hoesch ( / h ɜːr ʃ / ; German : Hoesch AG ; formerly also Eberhard Hoesch & Sons and Hoesch-Werke )

1887-521: The remaining portion was intended to continue production after World War II under the name Dortmunder Paraffinwerke GmbH but fell victim to the demilitarization orders of the Western Allies. In 1965, the Hoesch Group generated a revenue of 2.358 billion Deutsche Marks and employed 48,600 workers. At that time, one-fifth of the gainfully employed population in Dortmund worked for "Karl Hoesch." This term

1938-469: The superiority of breech-loaded steel cannon over muzzle-loaded brass. Krupp artillery was a significant factor at the battles of Wissembourg and Gravelotte , and was used during the siege of Paris. Krupp's anti-balloon guns were the first anti-aircraft guns. Prussia fortified the major North German ports with batteries that could hit French ships from a distance of 4,000 yd (3.7 km; 2.3 mi), inhibiting invasion. Krupp's construction of

1989-490: The thousands, as detailed in the book The Arms of Krupp . Nazi Germany kept two million French POWs captured in 1940 as forced laborers throughout the war. They added compulsory (and volunteer) workers from occupied nations, especially in metal factories. The shortage of volunteers led the Vichy government of France to deport workers to Germany, where they constituted 15% of the labor force by August 1944. The largest number worked in

2040-460: Was prosecuted after the end of war for its support to the Nazi regime and use of forced labour. Krupp's trucks were once again produced after the war, but so as to minimize the negative wartime connotations of the Krupp name they were sold as " Südwerke " trucks from 1946 until 1954, when the Krupp name was considered rehabilitated. Krupp also used the name "Mustang" for some of their products, causing

2091-512: Was Turkey, which purchased 3,943 Krupp guns of various types between 1854 and 1912. The second-largest customer in the Balkans was Romania, which purchased 1,450 guns in the same period, while Bulgaria purchased 517 pieces, Greece 356, Austria-Hungary 298, Montenegro 25, and Serbia just 6 guns. Krupp produced most of the artillery of the Imperial German Army, including its heavy siege guns:

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2142-410: Was a German decoy-site of the Krupp steel works in Essen . During World War II, it was designed to divert Allied airstrikes from the actual production site of the arms factory. Krupp Industries employed workers conscripted by the Nazi regime from across Europe. These workers were initially paid, but as Nazi fortunes declined they were kept as slave workers . They were abused, beaten, and starved by

2193-597: Was a German steel and mining conglomerate headquartered in Dortmund and several subsidiaries across the Ruhr region and Siegen . Founded in 1871, by Leopold Hoesch , it employed over 30,000 people by 1938 and was among the largest companies in Nazi Germany . In 1972, the prominent steel producer merged with the Dutch Hoogovens steel company to form Estel . Hoesch was formerly the largest employer in Dortmund . In 1982,

2244-538: Was a fondly meant token of respect among Hoesch employees and serves as a pars pro toto, particularly for anything related to the Hoesch company. The September Strike, a successful wildcat strike, began on September 2, 1969. Amidst the peak of the steel crisis, Hoesch merged in 1972, on the initiative of Fritz Harders, with the Dutch Koninklijke Hoogovens to form the Estel Group. However, the collaboration

2295-587: Was acquired by the then Krupp Group. The economically profitable Hoesch AG was bought through a so-called leveraged buyout by the heavily indebted Krupp AG at the time. This hostile takeover thus became the first leveraged buyout of a German stock corporation in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany. Friedrich Springorum represented Hoesch AG at the Secret Meeting of 20 February 1933 , at which prominent industrialists met with Adolf Hitler to finance

2346-526: Was also contracted in the mid-1960s to construct the Effelsberg 100-m Radio Telescope , which, from 1972 to 2000 was the largest fully steerable radio telescope in the world. Krupp was the first company to patent a seamless, reliable and strong enough railway tyre for rail freight. Krupp received original contracts in the United States and enjoyed a period of technological superiority while also contributing

2397-529: Was pardoned (but not acquitted) by John J. McCloy . As a result of this pardon, all of Krupp's holdings were restored. In the years following the Third Reich's collapse, Krupp rose once again to become one of the wealthiest companies in Europe. However, this growth did not last indefinitely. In 1967, an economic recession resulted in significant financial losses for the business. In 1992, the company went public for

2448-449: Was restructured as a holding company. VDM Nickel-Technologie was bought in 1989, for high-performance materials, mechanical engineering and electronics. That year, Gerhard Cromme became chairman and chief executive of Krupp. After its hostile takeover of rival steelmaker Hoesch AG in 1990–1991, the companies were merged in 1992 as "Fried. Krupp AG Hoesch Krupp," under Cromme. After closing one main steel plant and laying off 20,000 employees,

2499-598: Was senile and incapable of standing trial, and the Nuremberg Military Tribunal convicted Alfried as a war criminal in the Krupp Trial for "plunder" and for his company's use of slave labor . It sentenced him to 12 years in prison and ordered him to sell 75% of his holdings. In 1951, as the Cold War developed and no buyer came forward, the U.S. occupation authorities released him, and in 1953 he resumed control of

2550-546: Was terminated in 1982 at the behest of then Hoesch CEO Detlev Rohwedder, who was convinced that the corporate cultures were incompatible and that the Dutch steel managers were disadvantaging the interests of the Dortmund business units. Rohwedder was awarded "Manager of the Year" in 1983 for the successful restructuring of the Hoesch Group. In 1991, as part of a hostile takeover, the Hoesch AG

2601-543: Was the largest company in Europe at the beginning of the 20th century as well as Germany 's premier weapons manufacturer during both world wars . It produced battleships , U-boats , tanks , howitzers , guns , utilities, and hundreds of other commodities. The company also produced steel used to build railroads in the United States and to cap the Chrysler Building . After the Nazis seized power in Germany , Krupp supported

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