Great Depression, "Third Reich" and Second World War @museum.de

The early post-war years and the beginning of the Weimar Republic were hard times – in Thale as elsewhere. Short-time working or even unemployment was the order of the day.

During the hyperinflation crisis in late 1923, the cost of living skyrocketed, with a pound of pork ultimately costing 44 million marks! Hastily issued emergency money replaced the now worthless notes with their astronomical face values. If you take a look in the display case centre right, you’ll see a 10 thousand million mark note.

The next blow to industry was Great Depression in the late 1920s. In 1921, the factory still had a 4,700 strong workforce; by 1932, that number had almost halved: only 2,600 employees remained.

The tide turned with Hitler's rise to power and the resulting armaments orders. By 1934, the ironworks was once again producing steel helmets: about 5,000 a week, virtually as a monopoly for the whole of Germany. At a stroke, 900 unemployed steelworkers were back at work.

The enamel household utensils in the display case are also from this period: the flame-red pots, the ashtray and soap dish were made in the 1930s, while the speckled, dark brown utensils date to the 1940s.

But shell casings, body panels for the Wehrmacht’s vehicle fleet, fuel tanks, fire brigade helmets and air raid protection equipment were also supplied by Thale in the 1930s and ‘40s. During the Second World War, many women worked at the factory, along with 840 prisoners of war and forced labourers.