The Wieland-Werke 1933–1945

History and responsibility

The war years of the Second World War were also a difficult time for Wieland-Werke AG, and the company has historically been aware of its responsibility during this time. As a manufacturer of non-ferrous semi-finished products Wieland was given preferential treatment by the authorities, but still had to work tirelessly for the continued existence and protection of the company and its employees.

As an important manufacturer of non-ferrous semi-finished products, Wieland-Werke played a central role in the National Socialist war economy. Wieland supplied preliminary products for various armament programmes. It had been declared a 'war model plant' in May 1944 and received, for this reason, preferential treatment from the authorities throughout World War II which enabled Wieland-Werke not only to maintain operations but even to expand production as required despite a shortage of raw materials and labour.

Although Wieland was a "wartime important" company, the conscription of employees for military service during the Second World War tore sensitive gaps which the company tried to close by increasing the employment of women, but above all by using foreign labour. On 1st September 1944, 47% of the employees at the Ulm plant were foreigners, i.e. either prisoners of war or "civilian workers" from Nazi-occupied countries in Europe who had been brought here to work. The majority of the foreigners deployed at Wieland were the so-called "Eastern workers" from the Soviet Union, who were often accommodated under very poor conditions in the collection camps operated by Ulm-based industrial companies.

During the Second World War, Wieland-Werke was managed by Karl Eychmüller and Dr. Hans Wieland, who worked tirelessly for their company and their employees during difficult times. Wieland suffered a serious setback in the Allied bombing raid of 1st March 1945, in which 80% of the Ulm plant was destroyed. Ulm had been largely in ruins since 17th December 1944. When the Americans marched in on 24th April 1945, Karl Eychmüller played an important role for his hometown. Until 6th June 1945 Karl Eychmüller served as provisional mayor of Ulm, after which he returned to his board position at Wieland with a temporary interruption for the duration of his denazification trial.

Immediately after the end of the war, reconstruction work began at the company. On 1st May 1945, 71 employees resumed work at the Ulm headquarters, and the Wieland plants received an official operating permit from the U.S. military government on 18th October 1945. Although it was not possible to prevent important machines from being dismantled and removed by the Allies, Wieland managed to resume work surprisingly quickly thanks to the immense commitment of its employees, who firmly believed in the survival of their company.