Military-Industrial Relations in Imperial Germany, 1870-1914

Abstract

This article examines both the structure of the German armament industry and military-industrial relations in imperial Germany. As in other European countries, before 1914 the structure of the armament industry was mixed: state arsenals and naval dockyards on the one hand and private enterprises on the other hand supplied the armed forces with rifles, guns, and naval vessels. The relationship between the military and private enterprises, of which the Essen firm of Krupp was the most important one, was never really smooth. Whereas armaments were of little importance from a macroeconomic point of view, armament firms such as Krupp did, however, benefit from both the production and, especially, the export of arms, which was supported by the government in order to keep up a modern arms industry and to increase its influence in foreign countries.