The Rhenish-Westphalian Coal Syndicate (ger.: Rheinisch-Westfälisches Kohlen-Syndikat; abbreviated as RWKS) was a cartel established in 1893 in Essen bringing together the major coal producers in the Ruhr.[1]

The syndicate was set up as coal producers moved towards using shipping rather than railways to deliver their coal to Rotterdam. The cartel co-operated with the Dutch Coal Trade Union, to whom they gave the sole distribution rights for Westphalian coal. Daniël George van Beuningen of the Steenkolen Handels Vereniging was a leading figure in this relationship, greatly increasing the amount of coal imported to Rotterdam and resulting in the cost of using Rhine based barges dropping as their greater use also stimulated technical innovation.[2]

This arrangement led to Rotterdam becoming not just the leading coal transhipment port in the Netherlands but also evolving into the major bunker port in Europe. In 1913 this coal transhipment accounted for over two thirds of the total shipping on the Rhine.[1] By this time the Rhenish-Westphalian Coal Syndicate accounted for 93% of the coal output in the Ruhr and 54% of Germany as a whole.[3]

Emil Kirdorf, an early Nazi party member, was one of the main founders of the Rhenish-Westphalian Coal Syndicate. After the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, many members of the coal industry were arrested for their role in the Third Reich.[4] [5][6]

References

  1. 1 2 Reginald Loyen; Paul van de Laar, eds. (2003). "Port traffic in Rotterdam: the competitive edge of a Rhine-port (1880–1914)". Struggling for leadership : Antwerp-Rotterdam port competition 1870-2000. Contributions to Economics. Heidelberg: Physica-Verlag. ISBN 978-3790815245.
  2. ↑ Martin, James Stewart (2016). All honorable men : the story of the men on both sides of the Atlantic who successfully thwarted plans to dismantle the Nazi cartel system. Open Road Integrated Media, New York.
  3. ↑ Bogdanov, Alexander (1923). A Short Course of Economic Science. London: Communist Party of Great Britain. p. 356.
  4. ↑ "40 Industrialists in Ruhr Arrested – Hugo Stinnes Among German Coal Syndicate Leaders Seized by the British – Ties to Hitler Implied – Britons Say Group Assisted Nazis Financially – Trust Called Largest in Reich Many Financed Hitler Regime Mines Not Affected Aided Dubious Politicians Germans Forced to Cut Wood Schmeling Trial Due Monday". The New York Times. 1945-09-07. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  5. ↑ Turner, Henry Ashby (December 1968). "Emil Kirdorf and the Nazi Party". Central European History. 1 (4): 324–344. doi:10.1017/S0008938900014941. ISSN 1569-1616.
  6. ↑ "NT_war-criminals_Vol-VI" (PDF).

See also

F. H. Fentener van Vlissingen


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.