Hugo Schneider AG

History

The company was founded in September 1863 as Häckel und Schneider in Paunsdorf, near Leipzig, with 20 employees who made lamps by hand. Hugo Schneider was a 27-year-old Silesian salesman; his partner, Ernst Häckel, was a plumber, who had started the business making lamps, tinware and painted wares in 1854. Over the next few years, the company began making gas lamps, the production of which soon increased with the growing use of gas lighting. Schneider took over his partner's share of the business in 1871 and by 1880, the firm had grown from a simple factory to an industrial plant, with 200 employees. It soon grew to over 300 employees and began exporting not just to other European countries, but also to South America, Asia and Australia. Schneider died on 1 June 1888, and his son, Johnannes Schneider-Dörfel took over the business.

In 1899, with the involvement of the Darmstädter Bank and other banks, the firm was established as an aktiengesellschaft, manufacturing metal goods under the name "Hugo Schneider AG (Hasag)". Schneider's sons retained 63 percent of the company, but bankers now sat on the board controlling the company. A venture involving other banks resulted in the opening of a factory in Warsaw, Poland. In 1902, in addition to lamps, the company began making portable stoves for heating and cooking, bicycle headlights and brass sheeting and wire. The company grew to 1200 employees and the value of the stock increased several times. By 1913, the company was a major producer of all types of petroleum and gas lamps. The outbreak of World War I briefly interrupted the success of the business, as HASAG lost important foreign markets, but this was soon supplanted by the production of small arms. HASAG's 1914 annual report included the news that in September, the company had, after making some adjustments to its operation, succeeded in obtaining large orders for military supplies, which allowed the company to return to "normal sales revenues". In fact, the company's net profit tripled over its previous non-military sales. The company made rounds and other military items in heavy use on the front.

After the war, the company returned to the manufacture of goods it had produced before the war and added production of vacuum flasks to replace the production of shell casings. Sales dropped to pre-war levels. The worldwide economic crisis and the situation in Germany affected HASAG as well, as workers continually found their remuneration to be inadequate. By 1930, HASAG had 1,000 employees and annual sales of 5 million Reichsmarks, but this was a drop from previous levels. In October 1931, the company reported that sales were down nearly 15 percent and the company's value had dropped by nearly 30 percent. The board sought changes in company management and on October 1, 1931, Paul Budin was brought in.

Budin, an SS-Sturmbannführer and Nazi Party member, was appointed manager of HASAG in 1932. One of his deputies was Dr. Georg Mumme, an SA-Sturmführer. As was common in the Nazi armaments industry, nearly all of the deputies and directors were in the SS, the Gestapo or the SA, most notably Wilhelm Renner, father of Hannelore Kohl, who later became the head of the military business and helped develop the Panzerfaust.

In 1934, with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in control of the government and a growing militarization in Germany, HASAG undertook intensive negotiations with the Reichswehr and again received contracts for ammunition production, having been classified as a military supplier. Production began in autumn 1934. Dresdner Bank and the Allgemeine Deutsche Credit-Anstalt financed the development of the company into an arms manufacturer and the old products became a sideline. In 1935, Budin was promoted to general manager; the main plant in Leipzig was expanded and new factories were built.

The military contracts were very lucrative because they did not have to arrange distribution to a large number of retailers, rather they sold in bulk directly to one customer, the Third Reich. By 1939, HASAG had become one of the biggest arms manufacturers in Germany, with 3,700 employees and annual sales of 22 million Reichsmark. Under Renner's leadership, HASAG remained one of the largest arms manufacturers in central Germany till the end of World War II.

HASAG factories, 1942–1945

The precise number of people forced to work at HASAG factories is unclear because many records were destroyed in the war. The numbers below represent a tally of those known to have worked or perished at the factories below and represent a minimum.

Leipzig Permoserstraße (main factory)