Nazism & the Rebirth of the German Military-Industrial Complex

The German military-industrial complex went underground after the war, but it is back.

On January 18, MarketWatch columnist David Marsh wrote an article titled “German defense giant in the making.” Although he didn’t know it, the article was hugely prophetic. Since the end of World War II, building up large-scale defense companies has been taboo in Germany. But that taboo is now largely history, says Marsh.

Two of Germany’s top military manufacturers—Rheinmetall and MAN Group—have announced their intention to merge their military vehicle production. The resulting combine will produce a new national champion and leading supplier for wheeled military vehicles in Europe.

According to Marsh, the amalgamation, which has been in the works for a year, has been pushed by the political class. The German government is a big supporter of bulking up German military industry, and “has been providing behind-the-scenes assistance to make sure industry goes in the right direction,” reports Marsh. The new combine “meets the long-held German desire to build industrial companies with world scale in the defense field.”

Anyone who knows the history of Rheinmetall and man should be alarmed.

Rheinmetall has been at the forefront of German military manufacturing for over 100 years, so it isn’t too surprising that it again became a weapons builder after the World War ii loss. In fact, despite the Allies’ initial ban on arms production, Rheinmetall was back mass producing machine guns by 1956. By 1972, Rheinmetall had developed and begun selling the Leopard 2 battle tank.

Not much later, and after a series of corporate acquisitions, Rheinmetall became Europe’s leading military supplier of systems and equipment for ground forces, providing everything from artillery and munitions to communications, surveillance technology and guided missile systems. Rheinmetall subsidiaries, which also include significant automotive component manufacturers, are located throughout Europe, the Americas and China.

MAN Group’s 252-year history is even more impressive. MAN is one of Europe’s leading manufacturers of commercial vehicles, engines and mechanical engineering equipment. man builds trucks, buses, diesel engines and turbo -machinery; it also provides industrial services. During World War ii, and in conjunction with Rheinmetall, MAN produced the hugely successful Panther tank. Following the war, MAN took over notorious World War II light vehicle manufacturer Büssing. According to man’s website, the corporation holds “leading market positions in all its business areas,” employing 50,000 people worldwide. More