Opting for Oil: The Political Economy of Technological Change in the West German Chemical Industry, 1945–1961 by Raymond G. Stokes

Abstract

TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE Book Reviews 1057 administrators of the branch, especially the genial Brigadier O’Brien, who smoothed his path, but Kelly did the work. And he was more than a physicist. It is perhaps worth noting that in mid-1941 Kelly had accepted an offer, nullified by the war, to teach at St. John’s College in Annapolis, celebrated for its focus on “great books” and the humanities. This book is testimony to his success. That might not be sufficient reason for anyone to read it a half-century later—except for the rarity with which success in administration can be claimed, not to mention documented. Perhaps the circumstances of the time and place vitiate its usefulness to the present. Perhaps not. Robert P. Multhauf Dr. Multhauf is retired from the National Museum ofAmerican History, Smithson­ ian Institution, and lives in San Rafael, California. Optingfor Oil: The Political Economy of Technological Change in the West German Chemical Industry, 1945—1961. By Raymond G. Stokes. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1994. Pp. xi + 259; illustrations, notes, index. $49.95. The German chemical industry has often been portrayed as an economic miracle, either in its own right or within the framework of 19th- and early-20th-century industrial developments and reconstruc­ tion after two world wars. The achievements ofthe industry include the application of formal scientific knowledge to the creation of synthetic dyestuffs during the period 1868-1900, the introduction of highpressure ammonia synthesis in the decade after 1909, and the subse­ quent extension of high-pressure synthesis to the manufacture of syn­ thetic oil and rubber. All these were based on the exploitationofreadily available German coal resources and created a strong scientific and technological tradition that emphasized self-sufficiency in raw materi­ als. This was especially critical during the National Socialist era. While the history of the German chemical industry until the imme­ diate aftermath of World War II has been well-documented, until now little has been written about the origins of the present-day oilbased industry in western Germany. In Opting for Oil, Raymond Stokes provides an account of the conditions that brought about the change from coal to oil. The industry’s dependence on coal began to decline after the collapse of Nazi Germany and the breakup of the I. G. Farben corporation (successor to the 19th-century dye-making companies, including BASF, Bayer, and Hoechst). However, as Stokes demonstrates, until the late 1950s, the move away from coal did not seem to be inevitable. The reasons for this included foreignexchange restrictions, tariffs on petroleum, and the retention of in­ dustrial leaders who “had come of age in a period in which the pre­ vailing mode of thinking was in terms of maximizing domestic self 1058 Book Reviews TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE sufficiency” (p. 229). The deliberately slow rate of changeover from coal-based to oil-based chemicals was, therefore, determined to a large extent also by concern over the risks of becoming dependent on imported raw materials. When the move toward oil did begin, it was influenced as much by external political and economic influences, such as the Cold War and the Korean War, as by the new direction of the international organic chemical industry. Prewar, wartime, and postwar successes in traditional coal-based processes, notably Fischer-Tropsch gasification of coal, Walter Reppe’s acetylene chemistry, and Karl Ziegler’s catalysts (which per­ mitted low-pressure production of high-density polyethylene), ac­ counted for some of the ongoing commitment to coal. These pro­ cesses were also admired outside Germany and influenced trends in the sharing and transfer of coal- and oil-based technologies as Ger­ many entered into a new world order increasingly dominated by a U.S. foreign policy that favored inexpensive petroleum. This encour­ aged breakthroughs in petrochemical research, and the eventual real­ ization in Germany that strategies relevant before 1945 were no longer appropriate. Stokes delineates the different approaches adopted by the major players through case studies that show how BASF and Bayer became involved in collaboration with outsiders (Shell and British Petroleum, respectively), while Hoechst decided to enter the petrochemical arena without embarking on joint ventures. The Hüls factory, which specialized in...