Opelwerk Brandenburg

The Opel Brandenburg plant was built on the initiative of the National Socialist government of the Adam Opel AG in 1935 to ensure the equipment of the Wehrmacht with trucks of the type Opel "Blitz". In Brandenburg an der Havel over 130,000 trucks and chassis were from November 1935 to the destruction of the factory in August 1944 made ​​.

History

Beginning of 1935 was the Opel press department the following message out: " In close Fühlungsnahme with influential circles of the Reich Government, the Adam Opel AG has decided to build in Brandenburg an der Havel, a new factory, because the full production capacity is exploited in Rüsselsheim. The completion of the buildings is scheduled for October 1, 1935, to provide time for the 1936er program in Rüsselsheim place. "

The provided area of 850,000 m² (340 Prussian acres) on the south bank of the Brandenburg Silokanals (today's (2011) industrial area " Silokanal -East" ) was not fully used, but on large areas could continue to be farmed.

To this end, more in the press release: " As far as this area is not used by the factory building in claim or already provided for further expansion, the Adam Opel AG has placed at your disposal for the promotion of agricultural production battle the previous owners until further notice free of charge. "

On April 7, 1935, the groundbreaking ceremony took place on 10 August and was already topping. On November 18th 1935 the first truck rolled off the assembly line - just 190 days after construction begins. The production was located in a single 24,200 m² two-storey hall of 178 meters in length. On the ground floor the body shop and the paint shop were housed. The assembly of chassis, engines and axles was upstairs. All 1200 Machine Tools had a single drive ( no transmissions ). A total of 27 conveyor belts along five kilometers in length were installed. A dedicated power plant with a 4000 kW steam turbine supplied power from 140 hundredweight of coal per hour.

The total cost for the construction of the plant amounted to 14 million Reichsmark (equivalent to approximately 57.94 million euros today ). The Headline Goal was to create 150 "Blitz" trucks daily. The total capacity of 25,000 trucks annually originally was in 1939 significantly exceeded with 27 936 units. Plant manager until October 1938 Hanns Grewenig, after Gerd Stieler of Heydekampf, the July 1, 1942, the later Volkswagen boss Heinrich Nordhoff followed.

During Allied air attack on 6 August 1944, the half -timbered buildings and 20 percent of the machines were destroyed. When the war ended a resumption of production would have been possible. The plants, however, were dismantled by order of the victorious powers and spent together with the Rüsselsheim production facilities of the Opel Kadett as reparations to the Soviet Union. There, however, was the production of "Blitz" trucks, as opposed to Kadett production, not resumed.

( in the language of National Socialism " following / followers " called )

Production figures

In Opel 's Brandenburg plant 82 356 truck with 3 tons payload type flash "S" ( Standard) were produced between April 1937 and August 1944. Additionally, 14,122 pieces with a long wheelbase and 8336 versions with low-frame for special bodies (eg buses). Starting in July 1940 were 24 981 truck type flash "A" ( all-wheel drive ) to so that together with the approximately 4,000 half-track versions of the Blitz " S" ( Sd.Kfz 3a/Lkw track 2 t - " mule " ) over 130,000 trucks to air raid on the plant in August were built in 1944. The average off-road unit car with all-wheel drive ( Radio Cars -. Motor 15), developed in 1937 Horch ( Auto Union ) in Zwickau, was produced from 1940 to 1943 under license by Opel in Brandenburg only as a bare chassis. The car with the engine and all-wheel drive of the Blitz " A" had a payload of 600 kg at 2.7 tonnes unladen weight.