Leuna works: Difference between revisions

 

==World War II==

As one of the largest [[Brabag|synthetic oil plant]]s and second most extensive chemical operation in [[Nazi Germany]], the [[IG Farben]] Leuna works headed by [[Heinrich Bütefisch]]<ref name=Speer>{{cite book |last=Speer |first=Albert |authorlink=Albert Speer |year=1970 |others=Translated by Richard and Clara Winston |title=[[Inside the Third Reich]] |publisher=Macmillan |location=New York and Toronto |isbn=978-0-684-82949-4 |page=415 |lccn=70119132}}</ref> was a prime target for the [[Oil Campaign of World War II|Allied bombing offensive against German oil production]]. Leuna had been the first plant to test the [[Bergius process]] that synthesized oil products from lignite, but switched to brown [[coal tar]] in 1944 due to air raid damages.<ref>http://www.fischer-tropsch.org/Bureau_of_Mines/info_circ/ic_7375/ic_7375.htm</ref> Leuna covered {{convert|3|sqmi|km2}} of land with 250 buildings, including decoy buildings outside the main plant, and employed 35,000 workers, including 10,000 prisoners and [[Forced labour under German rule during World War II|forced labourers]].{{citation needed|date=January 2017}} The 14th Flak Division responsible for protecting Leuna had 28,000 troops, 18,000 RAD personnel, 6,000 male and 3,050 female auxiliaries, 900 Hungarian and Italian 'volunteers', 3,600 Russian [[Hiwi (volunteer)|Hiwis]], and 3,000 others, thus making up a total of 62,550 persons.<ref>https://books.google.com/books?id=rVVeO4B985wC&pg=PA321</ref> More than 19,000 of Leuna's workers were members of the air raid protection organization which operated over 600 [[88 mm gun|radar-directed guns]], while the fire-fighting force consisted of 5,000 men and women.{{citation needed|date=January 2017}}