Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

This article comes from the official account of Wechat: Earth knowledge Bureau (ID:diqiuzhishiju), text: Yue Xiang, proofread manuscript: Chao Qian / Editor: chestnut Fish Health

At the turn of the last century, the British Empire was witnessing a "technology explosion" across the strait: in almost a generation of the world, German industry completed the transformation from "copycat" to "shanzhai", and Made in Germany changed from a byword for "parallel imports" to a guarantee of quality.

The title "made in Germany" was originally a disparaging term given by the British.

(sweep out these German goods, photo: wiki) ▼

In 1871, the new German Empire still lagged behind Britain in all respects. There are a large number of unmechanized handicraft workshops in Germany, which are far less efficient and efficient than their British counterparts, and many Germans eager to get rich have to use their brains on "plagiarizing technology" and "shoddy". So much so that "made in Germany" became an insulting mark in the British Trademark Act of 1887.

At first, Britain was to resist German-made imitations, such as knives

Who would have thought that German knives are now famous?

Warm Tip: we have a World Geography discussion group. Researchers and enthusiasts of World Geography should not miss the way of adding groups at the end of the article.

The counterattack of steel in Germany in the early 1870s, the output of steel was only half that of Britain, the output of iron was only 1/4 of that of Britain, and the cost of production was also higher than that of Britain.

At that time, the Bessemer process, invented by the British, was widely used in the steelmaking industry across Europe, but both this process and the Siemens-Martin process could only be used for phosphorus-free iron ore, which forced German steelmakers to import iron ore at high prices.

Bessemer process, a blast furnace steelmaking process in which oxygen can be blown from the top or bottom.

However, the emergence of the Thomas steelmaking process changed the face of the industry, which managed to neutralize the phosphorus in the ore, turning the ores from Germany and Lorraine into usable materials. At the same time, it can also separate the slag (also known as "Thomas powder") as a by-product and as fertilizer. By 1895, this new method had reduced the total cost of crude steel production in Germany by 80% or even 90%.

At the same time, the Germans are also committed to improving the degree of rationalization of production, such as the utilization of heat or exhaust gas from the blast furnace, further reducing production costs.

Thomas steelmaking process is an improved version of Bessemer steelmaking process.

At first, it was not taken seriously in Britain, but it blossomed inside the wall and fragrant ▼ outside.

In addition to technological innovation, German enterprises are also constantly creating new forms of organization, the main direction of which is to pursue economies of scale. New factories tend to be three to four times larger than those in the UK, and the rapid expansion has forced all German companies to modernize their transport and handling processes, further reducing production costs.

The whole supply chain can't be held back by any link.

After 1890, the status of Britain and Germany in the steel industry was reversed. From 1867 to 1913, German pig iron production increased from 1 million tons to 19.3 million tons, an almost 20-fold increase, and its price fell by 90%.

Over the same period, German steel production has increased by about 25 times, and its production efficiency has far exceeded that of Britain: the per capita annual steel output of German steelworkers reached 77 tons in 1913, while that of the British reached only 48 tons in 1920.

The birth of a big mechanical country in addition to the supply side, German consumer machinery on the demand side provides new opportunities for industrial upgrading.

Since the Industrial Revolution, there are not many complex machines that have entered the daily lives of ordinary people on a large scale. At the end of the 19th century, Germany began to produce a large number of such consumer machinery, such as bicycles, sewing machines and typewriters, which led to continuous innovation in the whole field of metalworking and machinery manufacturing: replacing iron with steel and improving lubricants. invented seamless steel tubes and ball bearings.

The rapid development of manufacturing industry has injected vitality into Germany.

As a German engineer, I hold the belief of every bead in the car circle.

Consumer-oriented machines such as sewing machines and bicycles also need high-precision, removable and replaceable parts for accurate mass production.

Such requirements promoted the development of metalworking machines: drilling machines, planing machines and lathes were improved, and at the end of the 19th century, multi-axis machines capable of machining multiple workpieces at the same time emerged, resulting in a four-to five-fold increase in productivity.

With the more mature control of machining accuracy, all kinds of industrial parts gradually formed a unified standard, until the German Industrial Standards Committee (NADI) was established in 1917, and its standard was "German Institute of Standardization Standard", abbreviated as DIN-Norm, and later simplified to DIN). "standardization" has significantly improved the quality of German industrial products and the versatility between parts.

The German Industrial Standards Committee is a member body of ISO.

At present, there are about 30, 000 DIN standards, covering almost every technical area

(figure: wiki) ▼

After the bicycle market in Germany is becoming more and more saturated, a new generation of consumer durables is being born. In the 1880s, Daimler, Maybach and Benz developed four-stroke and two-stroke engines, and Robert Bosch invented spark plugs. The automobile industry at the beginning of the 20th century has become the next sunrise industry.

Even if you can't have Maybach, every successful man should own a Mercedes-Benz.

The shipbuilding industry has also created a large demand for steel. Before 1871, both the German navy and civil shipping companies relied on British shipyards.

In less than 20 years, however, Germany has made all-round progress from wooden boats to iron (steel) ships and power systems, and its shipbuilding technology is comparable to that of Britain and is more cost-effective. Since 1900, German new ships have generally adopted the technology of replacing coal with oil and diesel engines, and turbine drives have been used since 1910, which are the changes of the times.

Ocean-going diesel-electric submarines built by Nazi Germany during World War II

(Umur505, IXC submarine: wiki) ▼

Emerging industries such as electrical and chemical industries have really laid the foundation for German manufacturing to lead the world. The obstacle encountered in the early stage of the development of the electrical industry is: how to meet the direct needs of the end consumers dispersed to the atomic state while centralizing the production of electricity to reduce costs?

After the advent of large generators and transformers respectively, AEG Company of Germany first solved this problem by means of high-voltage long-distance transmission in 1891. After entering the 20th century, Germany has far exceeded other European countries in the organization of power generation and distribution.

The International Electrotechnical Exhibition in 1891 showed for the first time

Long-distance transmission of high-power three-phase current

(entrance to the exhibition venue: wiki) ▼

The current from the Laufen power station 175 kilometers away

Lit up the 1000 light bulbs at the entrance and drove an artificial electric waterfall.

(artificial electric waterfall: wiki) ▼

In addition to AEG, Siemens & Halske and its subsidiary Siemens-Siemens-Schuckert-Werke also grew into a world-famous company at this time.

Germany's leading position in the chemical industry is even more prominent. Originally, coal tar was only a by-product of metallurgy (coal tar was produced during coking, and coke was an important fuel and reducing agent for blast furnace ironmaking), but the Germans were the first to produce tar dyes in large quantities in the late 1860s, and three companies, Bayer, Hoechst AG and BASF, were set up one after another.

In 1857, William Henry Perkin discovered that aniline could be used to make concentrated dyes.

It opens the history of commercial production of synthetic dyes from coal tar.

(figure: wiki) ▼

At first, they were also "copycat" processes from other countries, but since 1880, 50% of the world's synthetic dyes were made in Germany, and by 1900 that proportion had risen to 90%. Later Cassella, Kalle and Agfa also joined the competition.

As advances in microbiology and immunology have spawned the modern pharmaceutical industry, the six German chemical companies have begun to produce drugs, along with other companies specializing in drug production, such as Merck and Schering.

In the 19th century, Merck was probably the highest-selling pharmaceutical company in Germany.

(Merck's main laboratory: wiki, 1936) ▼

Between 1870 and 1913, industrial production roughly doubled in Britain and sixfold in Germany. Even in terms of the increase in per capita national income, Germany leads the UK with an annual growth rate of 1%, 0.7% and 0.8%.

The reason for the counterattack is that German industry can achieve such a "counterattack". In short, there are three reasons: state intervention, the combination of science and technology and the need for national defense. However, these three reasons are intertwined and promote each other.

Prussia's militaristic tradition gives its government the will and ability to intervene in economic development. The government supports these emerging enterprises in terms of finance and financing to accelerate the formation of their economies of scale. In 1910, 14 of the 24 supervisory board members of RWE came from the public sector.

RWE Group was established in 1898 with the support of the government.

It became one of the largest power suppliers in Germany in 1914.

(1900 RWE stock, worth 1000 marks, picture: wiki) ▼

First of all, the motivation of state intervention comes from the needs of national defense. Long before World War I, the German military was an important sponsor of Germany's budding automobile industry; the importance of German military orders to the German shipbuilding industry and the entire metal processing industry is obvious to all; the electric Konzhenne AEG mentioned above was also the second largest military industrial enterprise in Germany after Krupp during the first World War.

During World War I, the German aircraft were made by AEG.

(AEG G.IV bomber Picture: wiki) ▼

During World War II, AEG made a lot of money from the "free labor" of the concentration camps.

(picture of commemorative badge of forced labor in Poland: wiki) ▼

The combination of science and technology is the foundation of German industrial development, and the educational reform in the era of Friedrich Wilhelm III, which laid the foundation for this, also had the motivation of national defense.

Shane Horst's military reform requires the popularization of public education, because a new army based on "universal military service" needs members who have been awakened by nationalist sentiments by teachers. However, these young people with good secondary education were also favored employees of high-tech enterprises (electrical and chemical) at that time.

After the military reform, the meritocracy in the army has become a hero according to ability.

The overall quality of the army has been greatly improved.

(military restructuring Commission 1807 Photo: wiki) ▼

The main goal of liberal arts education prevailing in Europe in the early 19th century was to cultivate social elites and leaders in the secular era, with science education in a subordinate position. After the establishment of the University of Berlin in 1810, scientific research had a certain consciousness. The state gives financial support to this, but at the same time adheres to the principle of "scientific freedom" not to command blindly, which creates an ideal environment for the development of basic science in German space.

Since the founding of Humboldt University in Berlin, there have been 29 Nobel Prize winners.

Einstein, Schrodinger and von Neumann all taught here.

(photo: wiki, main Building of Humboldt University, Berlin, 1900) ▼

However, teachers and students at the University of Berlin still despise applied knowledge, look down on those who study for a living, and laugh at them for doing "bread science".

In the second half of the 19th century, this atmosphere first changed in German colleges and universities, learning and studying practical skills in engineering technology were no longer inferior, and they moved scientific and technological research and development from universities to enterprises after employment.

Siemens, R Bosch, Zeiss, Abbe, short and others mentioned earlier are already talents with multiple roles of scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs.

Feng Siemens studied in the United Artillery Engineering School for three years.

Received a comprehensive education in the fields of mathematics, physics and chemistry

(joint Artillery Engineering School, one of the predecessor of the Technical University of Berlin, Photo: wiki) ▼

In addition to the invention and creation in his own scientific research field, Feng Siemens

Its company has also created many historical firsts.

(first Transatlantic Telegraph Line 1874 Photo: wiki) ▼

(first electric locomotive 1879 Photo: wiki) ▼

In the 20th century, the integration of state intervention, scientific and technological integration and the need for national defense became closer and closer. The synthetic ammonia process developed by Haber and Carl Bosch before World War I made it possible to use nitrogen in the air to produce nitrogen fertilizer, but it was also a key raw material for the production of explosives, which was also a key factor in Germany's determination to participate in the war.

Synthetic ammonia technology not only solves the problem of feeding most of the world's population, but also

It also provides ammunition for the war machine that kills people.

(Haber-Bosch process ammonia reactor 1913 Picture: wiki) ▼

The same typical example is the establishment of the company in 1916. It integrates the six major chemical companies mentioned above and becomes an unprecedented chemical giant serving the war.

The company not only runs a private concentration camp of its own.

In addition to squeezing labor, it also produces poisonous gas.

(Auschwitz III Monowitz concentration camp photo: wiki) ▼

(picture of IG Farben BUNA factory in Auschwitz: wiki) ▼

However, some of the factors that led to the successful catch-up of German industry also laid the groundwork for Germany to go astray. They created a malformed but unprofitable military sector, a labour force that could not provide sufficient spending power, and extremely tense domestic politics, constantly squeezing the choice of the German government in the early 20th century.

Reference:

1.Thomas Nipperdey, Deutsche Geschichte 1866-1918. Bd. 1: Arbeitswelt und B ü rgergeist, M ü nchen: Verlag C. H. Beck. [part of the text is compiled from the book]

2. Https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fahrrad

3. Https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rationalisierung_(%C3%96konomie)

4. Https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technische_Universit%C3%A4t_Berlin

5. Li Gongzhen: a Historical Survey of Gottingen University, World History, No. 3, 2004.

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