Getting upset.

I got very upset this morning, on the way to Tesco's.

Silly old man.

I saw a company van with "ThyssenKrupp" on it's side.

I upset myself for two reasons.

First of all, Baron Thyssen ran a massive Iron and Steel Cartel which operated in Germany from the 19th century to the present day. Thyssen himself was an early and major financial backer of Hitler and the Nazis. He was also active in mobilising business people like himself behind the Nazi movement.

The Krupp family were even more powerful combining Iron and Steel businesses with interests in Coal mines. Indeed, as head of the Ruhr Coal Combine, Krupp was an enthusiastic fundraiser and supporter of Hitler and the Nazi's, uniting the mine owners against the Trades Unions on the Nazi's behalf.

By the end of the 1930's Thyssen had fallen out with Hitler and fled to France where he wrote a confessional book setting out how he had helped put Hitler into power.

However, Krupp went from strength to strength - as well as arming the German Army and profiting from the war, Krupp industries was intimately involved in the camps and a very enthusiastic consumer of labour forced to work in his mines and factories, kidnapped from across occupied Europe.

At the end of the war both the Thyssen and Krupp families were under pressure and in great fear of losing their investments. The Soviet Union wanted Germany reduced to an agricultural nation.

However, the Cold War meant that the families were saved, their investments protected in giant trusts and the two cartels joined together.

Indeed, the beginning of the European Union was an Iron, Coal and Steel agreement between the industries of France and Germany.

All attempts to break up the trusts and disperse their assets failed and with the help of American Marshall Aid, the combines were able to reinvest in modern machinery.

The second reason I upset myself is that this week Tata Steel and ThyssenKrupp started negotiations towards a merger. Tata Steel is the current owner of what is left of British Steel. It wasn't long ago that the members of the British Steel pension fund were foolish enough to vote to reduce the pension benefits they will receive, in return for Tata promising to safeguard British jobs.

Of course, as a new entity a merged Tata/ThyssenKrupp combine would be starting off as a new enterprise and will probably make the job cuts that Tata had been planning to make in the first place.

The B*stards always win out in the end, if we let them.

Neil Harris
(a don't stop till you drop production)
Home: helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com
Contact me: neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com