Graduate School, History and Sociology
University of Bielefeld
PO Box 10 031
D -33 501 Bielefeld bielefeld.de
Prof. Dr. Thomas Welskopp
Ulrike Schulz
ulrike.schulz @ uni-
Sylvia Woelfel
Sylvia.Woelfel @ tu-dresden.de
Veit dam
v.damm @ mx.uni- saarland.de
Swen Steinberg
Swen.Steinberg @ tu-dresden.de
Bielefeld, 10.12.2008
approach to establishing a working group in society for the company's history, and a proposal for a conference panel / workshop
company's history as a transformation of history: History firms in East Germany between 1939-1995
The company's history as an academic discipline is the middle of restructuring and is facing the challenge of new orientation. The societal interest in the history of companies that has been triggered since the mid-1990s as part of the discussion on the participation of German companies and banks to Holocaust and forced labor use, has already depreciated significantly. This development is the medium term for the scientific study of probability and consequences to negative impact on the sustainable promotion of the subject. In the course of this research was critical business history in Germany, opening for their cultural, historical and sociological issues and not least the impressive qualitative results of the last decade may run Danger of getting stuck in their evaluation.
Against this background, the discussion of new approaches and themes in German corporate history research overdue. Similarly, the systematic development of the history of East German companies. For both requirements, a new working group in society created for the company's history. The concentration on the territory of the former GDR or the new federal states is based not only on historical research, but also about the new knowledge to stability criteria or destabilization of economic systems and the development of new approaches the transformation processes of economic crops.
Our goal is to continue to promote networking and exchange of the company's history in East and longer term institutional to tie: The first is to support the scientific work-up in East Germany - the knowledge of individual companies, economic regions or specific industries is largely incomplete , the very rich archives are insufficiently exploited. Second, it is about the specific history of the GDR East German companies, which is conceived primarily as a transformation story.
Projected research:
of transformation of East German companies over the period to close out 1945 and 1989 breaks away. The story begins neither East German companies after the Second World War, yet it ends with the wall in 1989. It seems appropriate to share at least the initial situation of each company before the Second War. Furthermore, assume a transition period until 1995, who decided whether and how the company survived the political and economic system change of 1989. Particularly appealing, especially the comparison of mostly double transformation of these companies, in-depth insights into economic processes in a complex unworldly is total promise. For a
such a system comparison it must be the goal of scientific research to be realistic, in particular, developing socio-economically sound categories and typologies. Large parts of the East German historical research has, for reasons that can not be performed individually, kapriziert too much on politics and culture-historical approaches.
This includes, of course, the German-German economic relations even more strongly embedded in the research context. This will show others that, and how the East has played a special role in the Soviet bloc. In the long term it would be very attractive to integrate the Eastern European perspective.
constitutes a vital part the working group and a desideratum of research is the organization of financing of the East German economy. To understand how the economic plan proposed by the company, financing instruments, particularly the regulatory role of each responsible actors are assigned more precisely.
Not least of this working group a critical and theory-driven research are obliged to want to come to militant syntheses. Here, the business and economic history completely untapped potential. As companies represent a socially relevant place to be from the representatives of business history research also reinforced corrective in supposedly "remote" areas of research "Mixed" are. As a last
medium term-oriented focus of such a working group would need the cooperation and access to established and new multipliers mentioned. This is the one to the dialogue with East German entrepreneurs themselves, as has the working group SMEs given as a model. Second, it should at least be considered whether the current restructuring of the memorial landscape in the new (and old) federal states would not also as a socio-politically relevant topic for the business and economic history. For concepts such as "integrated learning environment" that the focus of learning is required before the commemoration and remembrance, the socio-economic research from past history is important. An example of such a synthesis, the memorial is "Topf & Sons", which was approved last year in Erfurt.
A working group that understands the history of East German companies and transformation history and would draw up conceptual, with a participation in society for the company's history as an ideal forum. To explore the viability and prospects of such a working group to discuss and to establish whether and how sustainability is a working group on corporate history-OST "and in the medium term would be will initially take place a conference or workshop.
target participants Workshop / Panel:
scientists from the business and economic history
scientists from the environmental and technological history
representatives of industry and trade
interested public
audience Speakers:
scientists and graduate students, their results and the associated new approaches for discussion as well as entrepreneurs and industry officials, the convey their experiences from practice.
Desired partner
Society for Business History as an academic, institutional and "short term" financed by partners (see financing)
Saxon Business Archives Leipzig eV - is currently a partner and organizational application in the network - already agreed verbally to participate
IHK Leipzig / Halle Dessau / Etc. - Financial contributions, advertising on the network
Battery Association - application on the network
Time History Forum Leipzig - application on the network, content review
Saxon Memorial Foundation - Application on the network, content review
Foundation Ettersberg - application on the network, content review
organization Working Group / Workshop: Professor Dr. Thomas
Welskopp (University of Bielefeld)
Ulrike Schulz (University of Bielefeld)
Sylvia Woelfel (TU Dresden)
Veit Damm (University of the Saarland, Saarbrücken)
Swen Steinberg (TU Dresden)
finance working group / conferences:
short: Society for Business History (GUG)
medium term: GUG, funding requests Foundation past , present and future; Foundation Study of the SED dictatorship etc.
long-term: GUG in cooperation with companies, chambers of commerce and the above foundations and possibly Memorial Foundation (see Partners)
program proposals Panel / Workshop
East German corporate history as a transformation story
Sylvia Woelfel: Between environmental responsibility and economic coercion: From VEB dkk Scharfstein for FORON Hausgeräte GmbH (current PhD project) - promised
Swen Steinberg loss as an indicator of the strength of culture? Identification processes in the rural industry in Saxony the example of the paper company Kübler & Niethammer Kriebstein (1856-1956) (current PhD project) - promised
Sönke Friedreich: build cars in socialism. Work and organizational culture in the Zwickau Automobile Industry in 1945 (completed postdoctoral project) - to be confirmed
Ulrike Schulz: The story of "Samson", 1935-1993 (current PhD project) - promised
German-German economic relations
Peter Fässler: Overview of research - will be confirmed
Kim C. Priemel: Transformation of Flick's holdings in East Germany - agreed
organization and financing
Veit dam: Overview of research - undertaken
possibilities of a connection to the East German memorials
Peter Wurschi / Ulrike Schulz: General issues and prospects of cooperation - promised
is currently not yet clear how many graduate students and scientists in the projected Magistranden issues to work or have worked. With the establishment of the working group this search will begin immediately. Overall we assume, can be found that sufficient research projects and integrate.
Entrepreneurs who are eligible to be searched after possible collaborations - but a reliable statement of cooperation is to be expected only if an appropriate institutional affiliation can also be assured. Again, the GUG AK SMEs as a model.
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