Leuna
Encyclopedia
Leuna is a town in the Saalekreis
, Saxony-Anhalt
, eastern Germany
, south of Merseburg
and Halle
. It is known for the Leunawerke (Leuna works), at 13 km2 one of the biggest chemical industrial complexes in Germany, where a very wide range of chemicals and plastics is produced. In 1960, the town's population was nearly 10,000, but high unemployment rates and poor living conditions, including pollution
from nearby industries, has caused significant outward migration. Before the 31 December 2009 incorporation of neighbouring municipalities, its population had sunk to 6670.
, and produced ammonia
, at first for use in the manufacture of explosives and, after 1919, fertilizers. The site was chosen for its proximity to lignite
(brown coal) mines; the chemical plants at the site were mainly based on syngas
(hydrogen
and carbon monoxide
). In 1920, the Leuna plant was commissioned for the commercial hydrogenation of lignite, and production began on April 1, 1927. The site (property of IG Farben
after 1926) was rapidly expanded in the 1920s and 1930s, with plants producing methanol
, synthetic petrol derived from the hydrogenation of lignite, amines and detergents.
Leuna works was headed by Heinrich Bütefisch
and was Nazi Germany
's second largest synthetic oil plant
and second biggest chemical operation. Leuna was the first plant to test the Bergius process
that synthesized oil products from lignite (brown coal tar
in 1944). Leuna covered three square miles of land with 250 buildings, including decoy buildings outside the main plant, and employed 35,000 workers (including 10,000 prisoners and slave laborers). The 14th Flak Division responsible for protecting Leuna had 28,000 troops, 18,000 RAD personnel, 6,000 male and 3,050 female auxiliaries, 900 Hungarian and Italian 'volunteers', 3,600 Russian Hiwis, and 3,000 others, thus making up a total of 62,550 persons. More than 19,000 of Leuna's workers were members of the air raid protection organization which operated over 600 radar-directed guns
(the fire-fighting force consisted of 5,000 men and women). A total of 6,552 bomber sorties over 20 Eighth Air Force
and 2 RAF attacks dropped 18,328 tons of bombs on Leuna. As the most heavily defended industrial target in Europe, Leuna would become so dark from flak, German smoke pots, and exploding oil tanks that "we had no idea how close our bombs came to the target." (Tom Landry
, B-17 co-pilot and later Dallas Cowboy coach). On clear days, only 29% of the bombs aimed at Leuna landed inside the plant gates; on radar raids the number dropped to 5.1%. During the first raid of the Oil Plan, 126 Leuna workers were killed. However, after defenses were increased, only 175 additional workers were killed in 21 subsequent raids. Leuna bombing from May 12, 1944-April 5, 1945 cost the Eighth Air Force 1,280 airmen. In three separate attacks by the Eighth, 119 planes were lost and not one bomb fell on the Leuna works. The Eighth Air Force dropped 12,953 tons of explosives on Merseberg.
Ray Bowden Merseburg: Blood, Flak & Oil. A study of the USAAF daylight air raids against Leuna with detailed analysis sourced from official records and veterans' accounts. See www.usaaf-noseart.co.uk for fuller details.
as war reparations
, the Leuna site was gradually rebuilt and further expanded, as the "VEB
Leuna-Werke Walter Ulbricht
". In the 1950s an oil refinery was built, which processed Russian crude oil. This offered the opportunity to produce a whole range of oil-based chemicals and plastics.
(which built a completely new oil refinery in Leuna), BASF
, Linde AG
, and Belgian DOMO Group
. Common utilities for the companies are provided by InfraLeuna.
QUINN Chemicals invested in a plant to manufacture methylmethacrylate (MMA) but construction has been put on ice as of January 2009 due to 'heavy cost overruns' and 'deteriorating market conditions'.
Saalekreis
Saalekreis is a district in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. The district seat is Merseburg. It is bounded by the districts Kyffhäuserkreis , Mansfeld-Südharz, Salzlandkreis, Anhalt-Bitterfeld, Nordsachsen, Leipzig and Burgenlandkreis. The district-free city of Halle is completely surrounded by the...
, Saxony-Anhalt
Saxony-Anhalt
Saxony-Anhalt is a landlocked state of Germany. Its capital is Magdeburg and it is surrounded by the German states of Lower Saxony, Brandenburg, Saxony, and Thuringia.Saxony-Anhalt covers an area of...
, eastern Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, south of Merseburg
Merseburg
Merseburg is a town in the south of the German state of Saxony-Anhalt on the river Saale, approx. 14 km south of Halle . It is the capital of the Saalekreis district. It had a diocese founded by Archbishop Adalbert of Magdeburg....
and Halle
Halle, Saxony-Anhalt
Halle is the largest city in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is also called Halle an der Saale in order to distinguish it from the town of Halle in North Rhine-Westphalia...
. It is known for the Leunawerke (Leuna works), at 13 km2 one of the biggest chemical industrial complexes in Germany, where a very wide range of chemicals and plastics is produced. In 1960, the town's population was nearly 10,000, but high unemployment rates and poor living conditions, including pollution
Pollution
Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into a natural environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms. Pollution can take the form of chemical substances or energy, such as noise, heat or light...
from nearby industries, has caused significant outward migration. Before the 31 December 2009 incorporation of neighbouring municipalities, its population had sunk to 6670.
Origins
The first chemical plant in Leuna was built in 1916 by BASFBASF
BASF SE is the largest chemical company in the world and is headquartered in Germany. BASF originally stood for Badische Anilin- und Soda-Fabrik . Today, the four letters are a registered trademark and the company is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, London Stock Exchange, and Zurich Stock...
, and produced ammonia
Ammonia
Ammonia is a compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula . It is a colourless gas with a characteristic pungent odour. Ammonia contributes significantly to the nutritional needs of terrestrial organisms by serving as a precursor to food and fertilizers. Ammonia, either directly or...
, at first for use in the manufacture of explosives and, after 1919, fertilizers. The site was chosen for its proximity to lignite
Lignite
Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, or Rosebud coal by Northern Pacific Railroad,is a soft brown fuel with characteristics that put it somewhere between coal and peat...
(brown coal) mines; the chemical plants at the site were mainly based on syngas
Syngas
Syngas is the name given to a gas mixture that contains varying amounts of carbon monoxide and hydrogen. Examples of production methods include steam reforming of natural gas or liquid hydrocarbons to produce hydrogen, the gasification of coal, biomass, and in some types of waste-to-energy...
(hydrogen
Hydrogen
Hydrogen is the chemical element with atomic number 1. It is represented by the symbol H. With an average atomic weight of , hydrogen is the lightest and most abundant chemical element, constituting roughly 75% of the Universe's chemical elemental mass. Stars in the main sequence are mainly...
and carbon monoxide
Carbon monoxide
Carbon monoxide , also called carbonous oxide, is a colorless, odorless, and tasteless gas that is slightly lighter than air. It is highly toxic to humans and animals in higher quantities, although it is also produced in normal animal metabolism in low quantities, and is thought to have some normal...
). In 1920, the Leuna plant was commissioned for the commercial hydrogenation of lignite, and production began on April 1, 1927. The site (property of IG Farben
IG Farben
I.G. Farbenindustrie AG was a German chemical industry conglomerate. Its name is taken from Interessen-Gemeinschaft Farbenindustrie AG . The company was formed in 1925 from a number of major companies that had been working together closely since World War I...
after 1926) was rapidly expanded in the 1920s and 1930s, with plants producing methanol
Methanol
Methanol, also known as methyl alcohol, wood alcohol, wood naphtha or wood spirits, is a chemical with the formula CH3OH . It is the simplest alcohol, and is a light, volatile, colorless, flammable liquid with a distinctive odor very similar to, but slightly sweeter than, ethanol...
, synthetic petrol derived from the hydrogenation of lignite, amines and detergents.
World War II
The IG FarbenIG Farben
I.G. Farbenindustrie AG was a German chemical industry conglomerate. Its name is taken from Interessen-Gemeinschaft Farbenindustrie AG . The company was formed in 1925 from a number of major companies that had been working together closely since World War I...
Leuna works was headed by Heinrich Bütefisch
IG Farben Trial
The United States of America vs. Carl Krauch, et al., also known as the IG Farben Trial, was the sixth of the twelve trials for war crimes the U.S. authorities held in their occupation zone in Germany after the end of World War II....
and was Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
's second largest synthetic oil plant
Oil Campaign of World War II
The Allied Oil Campaign of World War II was directed at facilities supplying Nazi Germany with petroleum, oil, and lubrication products...
and second biggest chemical operation. Leuna was the first plant to test the Bergius process
Bergius process
The Bergius Process is a method of production of liquid hydrocarbons for use as synthetic fuel by hydrogenation of high-volatile bituminous coal at high temperature and pressure...
that synthesized oil products from lignite (brown coal tar
Coal tar
Coal tar is a brown or black liquid of extremely high viscosity, which smells of naphthalene and aromatic hydrocarbons. Coal tar is among the by-products when coal iscarbonized to make coke or gasified to make coal gas...
in 1944). Leuna covered three square miles of land with 250 buildings, including decoy buildings outside the main plant, and employed 35,000 workers (including 10,000 prisoners and slave laborers). The 14th Flak Division responsible for protecting Leuna had 28,000 troops, 18,000 RAD personnel, 6,000 male and 3,050 female auxiliaries, 900 Hungarian and Italian 'volunteers', 3,600 Russian Hiwis, and 3,000 others, thus making up a total of 62,550 persons. More than 19,000 of Leuna's workers were members of the air raid protection organization which operated over 600 radar-directed guns
88 mm gun
The 88 mm gun was a German anti-aircraft and anti-tank artillery gun from World War II. It was widely used by Germany throughout the war, and was one of the most recognizable German weapons of the war...
(the fire-fighting force consisted of 5,000 men and women). A total of 6,552 bomber sorties over 20 Eighth Air Force
Eighth Air Force
The Eighth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command . It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana....
and 2 RAF attacks dropped 18,328 tons of bombs on Leuna. As the most heavily defended industrial target in Europe, Leuna would become so dark from flak, German smoke pots, and exploding oil tanks that "we had no idea how close our bombs came to the target." (Tom Landry
Tom Landry
Thomas Wade "Tom" Landry was an American football player and coach. He is ranked as one of the greatest and most innovative coaches in National Football League history, creating many new formations and methods...
, B-17 co-pilot and later Dallas Cowboy coach). On clear days, only 29% of the bombs aimed at Leuna landed inside the plant gates; on radar raids the number dropped to 5.1%. During the first raid of the Oil Plan, 126 Leuna workers were killed. However, after defenses were increased, only 175 additional workers were killed in 21 subsequent raids. Leuna bombing from May 12, 1944-April 5, 1945 cost the Eighth Air Force 1,280 airmen. In three separate attacks by the Eighth, 119 planes were lost and not one bomb fell on the Leuna works. The Eighth Air Force dropped 12,953 tons of explosives on Merseberg.
Ray Bowden Merseburg: Blood, Flak & Oil. A study of the USAAF daylight air raids against Leuna with detailed analysis sourced from official records and veterans' accounts. See www.usaaf-noseart.co.uk for fuller details.
Post-war
After partial destruction in World War II and shipment of several plants to the Soviet UnionSoviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
as war reparations
War reparations
War reparations are payments intended to cover damage or injury during a war. Generally, the term war reparations refers to money or goods changing hands, rather than such property transfers as the annexation of land.- History :...
, the Leuna site was gradually rebuilt and further expanded, as the "VEB
Volkseigener Betrieb
The Volkseigener Betrieb was the legal form of industrial enterprise in East Germany...
Leuna-Werke Walter Ulbricht
Walter Ulbricht
Walter Ulbricht was a German communist politician. As First Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party from 1950 to 1971 , he played a leading role in the creation of the Weimar-era Communist Party of Germany and later in the early development and...
". In the 1950s an oil refinery was built, which processed Russian crude oil. This offered the opportunity to produce a whole range of oil-based chemicals and plastics.
Since Reunification
After German reunification in 1990, the Leuna works were divided into several smaller companies that were sold to a.o. Total S.A.Total S.A.
Total S.A. is a French multinational oil company and one of the six "Supermajor" oil companies in the world.Its businesses cover the entire oil and gas chain, from crude oil and natural gas exploration and production to power generation, transportation, refining, petroleum product marketing, and...
(which built a completely new oil refinery in Leuna), BASF
BASF
BASF SE is the largest chemical company in the world and is headquartered in Germany. BASF originally stood for Badische Anilin- und Soda-Fabrik . Today, the four letters are a registered trademark and the company is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, London Stock Exchange, and Zurich Stock...
, Linde AG
The Linde Group
The Linde Group, registered as Linde AG is an international industrial gases and engineering company founded in Germany in 1879. Linde shares are traded on all the German stock exchanges and also in Zürich, and the Linde share price is included in the DAX 30 index...
, and Belgian DOMO Group
DOMO Group
DOMO Group is a Belgian textile manufacturing group, as an integated company it produces chemicals and carpets. The company head office is located in Zwijnaarde near Ghent. In 2006 the company had a turnover of 993 million euro and employed 2007 people...
. Common utilities for the companies are provided by InfraLeuna.
QUINN Chemicals invested in a plant to manufacture methylmethacrylate (MMA) but construction has been put on ice as of January 2009 due to 'heavy cost overruns' and 'deteriorating market conditions'.