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34-500: The town is known for the Leunawerke , at 13 km one of the biggest chemical industrial complexes in Germany, where a very wide range of chemicals and plastics is produced. In 1960, Leuna's population was nearly 10,000, but after reunification high unemployment rates and poor living conditions, including pollution from nearby industries, caused significant outward migration. Before

68-623: A non-military state of emergency for Hamburg and the province of Saxony, on the basis of Article 48 of the Imperial Constitution. On the same day, the KPD proclaimed a general strike throughout the empire, which, however, failed to materialise. Solidarity strikes only occurred in Lusatia , parts of the Ruhr area and Thuringia . In Hamburg , unemployed people occupying some shipyards had violent clashes with

102-500: Is an important intermediate product for the manufacture of nitric acid and other nitrogen compounds, needed to produce fertilizers and explosives in particular. The increasing demand for explosives during World War I exceeded the ammonia production capacities of the Oppau works of BASF , who owned the patents for the Haber process . Leuna in central Germany, out of range of French aircraft,

136-593: Is being built by the French company Global Bioenergies and should start during 2016. Leuna works The Leuna works ( German : Leunawerke ) in Leuna , Saxony-Anhalt , is one of the biggest chemical industrial complexes in Germany . The site, now owned jointly by companies such as TotalEnergies , BASF , Linde plc , and DOMO Group , covers 13 km and produces a very wide range of chemicals and plastics. Ammonia

170-687: The Buna Werke Schkopau synthetic rubber plant, then a subsidiary of Leuna ammonia works, started in 1936. Following the Kapp Putsch the Leuna works were a centre of organising by the Communist Workers Party of Germany (KAPD) and the associated workplace organisation the General Workers' Union of Germany (AAUD) to which half of the 20,000 workforce belonged. Peter Utzelmann co-ordinated

204-625: The Federal Republic of Germany , the Soviet Union, and the United Kingdom . In the 1950s an oil refinery was built, which processed crude oil supplied from the Soviet Union via a branch of the Druzhba pipeline . The latter also had a branch to Rostock port allowing the import of oil of other origin by sea. Following the oil price hikes of 1973/1974, and of 1979/1980, and the reduced supply from

238-469: The German Democratic Republic . Next to the existing plant, the construction of Leuna II started in 1959. This was a modern petrochemical plant, with equipment such as a cracking plant for the production of ethylene and propene and the subsequent processing facilities for the production of phenol , caprolactam , and HDPE partly being supplied domestically, partly being imported from

272-459: The 20,000 strong workforce belonged to their associated workplace organisation, the General Workers' Union of Germany (AAUD). During the revolt they fought with rifles and automatic weapons. They also built their own tank, which they deployed against the police. The authorities only retook the plant with the use of artillery. The broader strike movement broke down on April 1, 1921, when the last group of strikers led by Max Hoelz near Beesenstedt

306-516: The 31 December 2009 incorporation of ten neighbouring municipalities, its population had declined to 6,670. The town Leuna consists of Leuna proper and the following 10 Ortschaften or municipal divisions: Leuna's industrial site stretches over 13 km² , making it one of the largest chemical industry sites in Germany in terms of geographical area. At the beginning of the 21st century, a wide range of chemical products and plastics are made there. A pilot plant to produce isobutylene from vegetal stock

340-533: The Eighth, 119 planes were lost and not one bomb fell on the Leuna works. The Eighth Air Force also dropped 12,953 tons of explosives on nearby Merseburg . The successful aerial attacks contributed vitally to the defeat of Germany in World War II, since they deprived the country and its troops of essential commodities. On 4 April 1945, production in Leuna stopped entirely. After partial destruction in World War II and

374-470: The KPD, which had long been seeking pretexts for the violent overthrow of the hated Weimar parliamentary democracy, hoped for a spontaneous uprising of the workers in Central Germany in response to the intervention of state power there. Revolutionary actions were to be initiated primarily through propaganda in the party newspaper " Rote Fahne " (Red Flag). The workers initially behaved cautiously. Despite

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408-436: The Leuna oil refinery to French company Elf Aquitaine (who later became part of Total) in 1990/1991. Dubious transactions at that time led to the so-called Leuna affair and criminal proceedings against manager Alfred Sirven . In 1997, the new refinery MIDER ( Mitteldeutsche Erdoel-Raffinerie ), now TRM ( TotalEnergies Raffinerie Mitteldeutschland ) started production after two and a half years of construction time. It represents

442-572: The Soviet Union, substantial investments were made in the oil processing industry. New, more sophisticated cracking plants were imported from the Federal Republic of Germany, from Japan , Austria , and Sweden , and were operated with modern distributed control systems originating in the FRG and the United States . Thereby, the fraction of so-called "black products" such as bitumen and heavy fuel oil

476-511: The air raid protection organization which operated over 600 radar-directed guns , while the fire-fighting force consisted of 5,000 men and women. A total of 6,552 bomber sorties over 20 US Eighth Air Force and 2 RAF attacks dropped 18,328 tons of bombs on Leuna. As the most heavily defended industrial target in Europe, Leuna would become so dark from flak, German smoke pots, and exploding oil tanks that " we had no idea how close our bombs came to

510-660: The armed workers due to the instigation of violence by Hoelz. The uprising movement also threatened to spread to the Free State of Saxony , where unsuccessful bombings against justice buildings in Dresden, Leipzig and Freiberg had occurred. Bloody clashes between workers and police also occurred in Hamburg, where the Senate had to impose a state of emergency on the city. Against this background, on March 24 Reich President Friedrich Ebert declared

544-501: The call from the KPD district leadership for a general strike on March 21, work continued in most companies outside the district of Mansfeld. Only on the following day did the work stoppages in the mining area Mansfeld-Eisleben expand. With the arrival of the KAPD member Max Hoelz , who had already emerged as a violent and radical 'leader in the 1919/1920 workers' unrest in the Vogtland region,

578-591: The chemical industry dominated, there had been continued strikes, clashes between workers and the police, and thefts in factories and farms since the Lüttwitz-Kapp putsch of March 1920. All attempts to prevent such property offences by the Werkspolizei , including body searches and stricter surveillance, failed. The province of Saxony also worried the Prussian state government because there were still numerous weapons in

612-404: The companies are provided by InfraLeuna. With the closure of unprofitable plants and general modernization, the number of employees was reduced significantly from 28000 (1978) to 9000 in 2014. QUINN Chemicals invested in a plant to manufacture methyl methacrylate (MMA) but construction has halted as of January 2009 due to heavy cost overruns. Chancellor Helmut Kohl mediated the transfer of

646-483: The dissolution of IG Farben, the works were transferred into a Soviet holding. About half of the remaining production plants were dismantled and shipped to the Soviet Union as war reparations . In the following years, the Leuna site was gradually rebuilt and expanded. In 1954 the works were transferred into public property and became known as " VEB Leuna-Werke Walter Ulbricht ", the largest chemical production site in

680-667: The early 1920s exacerbated widespread social discontent, especially among industrial workers. This led to left-wing parties becoming very popular in industrial areas. In the elections to the Prussian state parliament on February 20, 1921 the KPD became the strongest party in the Halle-Merseburg constituency (in Prussian Saxony), winning almost 30 percent of the vote there. In the Central German industrial area, where lignite mining and

714-943: The hands of the workers that could not be confiscated after the suppression of the March uprisings of 1920 . In addition, a failed bomb-attack on the Berlin Victory Column on 13 March, 1921 had been traced to Saxony. This prompted the Prussian Minister of the Interior Carl Severing and the President of the Prussian Province of Saxony, Otto Hörsing (1874-1937), to intervene in the Central German industrial area. On 19 March, 1921, police were sent to Mansfeld and Eisleben to restore "order and security". The leadership of

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748-407: The hydrogenation of lignite, amines and detergents . The synthesis of petrol, although expensive compared to world market prices, was pursued in order to reduce Germany's dependency on imported oil products . As Germany possesses very few petroleum deposits of its own, seven hydrogenation plants were constructed and were producing synthetic petrol by 1939, Leuna being the largest. Construction of

782-551: The largest direct investment of a French company in the new states of Germany and was supported by an EU state aid of 1400 million Deutsche Mark , corresponding to 27% of the total investment. With the construction of new plants in an area named Leuna III , the industrial complex has expanded towards the village of Spergau . March Action The March Action ( German : März Aktion or Märzkämpfe in Mitteldeutschland , i.e. "The March battles in Central Germany")

816-414: The main plant, and employed 35,000 workers, including 10,000 prisoners and forced labourers . The 14th Flak Division responsible for protecting Leuna had 28,000 troops, 18,000 RAD personnel, 6,000 male and 3,050 female auxiliaries, 900 Hungarian and Italian 'volunteers', 3,600 Russian Hiwis , and 3,000 others, thus making up a total of 62,550 persons. More than 19,000 of Leuna's workers were members of

850-505: The new low-pressure methanol plant. This hydrogenation -based technology required a large amount of hydrogen and was not profitable. Leunawerke employed about 30,000 people, the fenced-in complex extended over an area about 7 km long and 3 km wide. Two railway stations on the Halle–Bebra railway and several stops of Halle tramway line 5 served the works. Wear and tear of the up to 70 years old plants, in particular those for

884-419: The police. In the Central German industrial area, after the presidential decree became known the fighting intensified, also spilling over to Halle, Merseburg, Wittenberg , Delitzsch and Bitterfeld . However, the government troops managed to gain the upper hand and at the end of March the uprisings were finally suppressed. The Leuna works was a particularly strong bastion of influence of KAPD, where half of

918-465: The production of syngas ( hydrogen and carbon monoxide ) and tests of coal conversion into liquid fuels on an industrial scale. The Leuna plant for the commercial hydrogenation of lignite started production on April 1, 1927. In late 1925, BASF became a branch of IG Farben , operating as Ammoniakwerk Merseburg GmbH – Leuna Werke . The site was rapidly expanded in the 1920s and 1930s, with plants producing methanol , synthetic petrol derived from

952-527: The production of syngas and ammonia and the high-pressure methanol plant, increased considerably until the 1980s, so that the high expenditures for energy, upkeep, and manpower made their economical operation impossible. To counter the shortage of manpower, construction soldiers were also employed. After German reunification in 1990, the Leuna works were divided into several smaller units that were sold to several companies, among them Total S.A. , BASF , Linde AG , and Belgian DOMO Group . Common utilities for

986-908: The strike committee during the March Action in March 1921. As one of the largest synthetic oil plants and second most extensive chemical operation in Nazi Germany , the IG Farben Leuna works headed by Heinrich Bütefisch was a prime target for the Allied bombing offensive against German oil production . Leuna had been the first plant to test the Bergius process , which synthesized oil products from lignite, but switched to brown coal tar in 1944, due to air raid damages. Leuna covered 3 square miles (7.8 km ) of land with 250 buildings, including decoy buildings outside

1020-688: The strike movement escalated into a violent insurrection. Hoelz spoke at various strike assemblies and called on the workers to violently resist the police. The first violent attacks on police officers in Eisleben occurred during 22 March. Hoelz began to equip striking workers and unemployed miners with weapons and organise them into raiding parties, which subjected the area around Mansfeld, Eisleben and Hettstedt to arson, looting, bank robbery and explosives attacks. Trains were derailed and railway lines blown up. The KPD district leadership in Halle increasingly lost control of

1054-545: The target. ". On clear days, only 29% of the bombs aimed at Leuna landed inside the plant gates; on radar raids the number dropped to 5.1%. During the first raid of the Oil Plan , 126 Leuna workers were killed. However, after defenses were increased, only 175 additional workers were killed in 21 subsequent raids. Leuna bombing from May 12, 1944 to April 5, 1945, cost the Eighth Air Force 1,280 airmen. In three separate attacks by

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1088-684: Was a failed communist uprising in 1921, led by the Communist Party of Germany (KPD), the Communist Workers' Party of Germany (KAPD), and other far-left organisations. It took place in the industrial regions of Halle , Leuna , Merseburg , and Mansfeld , in the Province of Saxony . The revolt ended in defeat for the communists, and a weakening of contemporary communist influence in Weimar Germany . The precarious economic situation in Germany

1122-520: Was reduced to almost zero in favour of the "white products" such as gasoline , diesel fuel , and light heating oil . Motor fuels produced in Leuna II were also exported outside the socialist bloc to bankroll the new plants and to earn hard currency. For instance, Leuna gasoline was sold in West Berlin . Even the heaviest residues from oil processing were used as raw material for the production of syngas in

1156-447: Was selected as the location of a second plant named Badische Anilin- und Sodafabrik, Ammoniakwerk Merseburg . Construction started on 25 May 1916, and the first tank car with ammonia left the works in April 1917. In 1920, the ammonia works of Leuna and Oppau merged into Ammoniakwerke Merseburg-Oppau GmbH . The proximity of the site to lignite (brown coal) mines was also advantageous for

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