Deportation - Dismantling - Expropriation Jenaer Glaswerk Under Soviet Command (1945 To 1948)

50 years ago, in October 1946, the Soviet occupation forces issued two orders which had far-reaching consequences for Jenaer Glaswerk. The first entailed the conscription of 14 glass specialists to be sent to work in the Soviet Union for 5 years, and the second called for the parent works in Jena to be dismantled. After the Americans had deported 41 members of the professional and managerial staff in June 1945, events in October 1946 ushered in probably the bitterest chapter inthe history of the company. The expropriation, without compensation, of the works in 1948 and their conversion to a state-owned factory was the absolute low point. The events of this period resulted in a split of two companies for more than forty years.