Resolving business and national interests in time of war. Fritz von Friedländer-Fuld and his German resources in Norway during the First World War

Abstract

Abstract This article documents the connection between Germany’s raw sulphur requirements and the way in which Norwegian pyrite deposits at Björkaasen in Northern Norway were managed by its owner in Berlin, von Friedländer-Fuld. During the early phase of the war Björkaasen was unprepared for production, but by greatly increasing its labour force it was possible to gear the mines up for exports during the course of the war. The British blockade prevented exports to Germany. Using the railway from Narvik it was possible to export pyrites to Sweden to cover the requirements of the Swedish sulphite cellulose industry. Swedish interests wanted to acquire Björkaasen, but without German partownership, while German majority ownership and corresponding German control of production were Friedländer-Fuld’s basic goals. After Friedländer-Fuld’s death in the summer of 1917 Björkaasen was sold in line with Swedish wishes. The Swedish buyers wanted to re-sell Björkaasen but were unable to do so in a wartime economy that was on the wane.