Sömmerda
Encyclopedia
Sömmerda is a town near Erfurt
in Thuringia
, Germany
, on the Unstrut
river. It is the capital of the district of Sömmerda
.
. One such burial of an individual, dubbed the "king of Leubingen" was buried in a 66 feet (20.1 m) stone cairn set within a ring-shaped ditch.
Sömmerda was first mentioned in official documents in 876 CE. It probably became a town in about 1350 but there are no existing records of the event. One town gate, dating from 1395, and six towers from the old town walls are still standing.
During the Thirty Years' War
(1618–1648) Sömmerda was at the heart of military activity, and soldiers from both sides ransacked the town, halving the population.
In 1840, Johann Nikolaus von Dreyse
invented the needle gun
and a firearms factory was founded in the town. In 1919 the Rheinmetall
company took over the factory, later called Rheinmetall-Borsig, at first to produce automotive parts. Initially it concentrated with only little success on carburettors, then in 1925 an ambitious new manager, the engineer Fritz Faudi, took over and a new type of cardan joint was developed, which became extremely popular. The Rheinmetall-Faudi system was a well-known name, and the Sömmerda works were the largest producer in Germany.
In April 1921 the factory returned to arms production, going against the post-war regulations which banned it from producing fuses. From October 1922 the factory produced the total quantity of fuses allowed in Germany
by the Allies and also began producing the new MG30
machine gun under the direction of Louis Schmeisser
.
In September 1944 Rheinmetall-Borsig became an external camp for Buchenwald concentration camp. As many as 1,294 female prisoners were made to do forced labour there, most of them aged between 16 and 60, many Jews from Hungary
. As well as continuing to produce cardan shafts, the women also helped make parts for armoured vehicles used in the war, as well as manufacturing arms; two new workshops were built for this in 1944 and 1945. The SS evacuated the camp in early April 1945, sending its prisoners and SS overseers on a death march, which ended near Pilsen, Czechoslovakia.
Today a special cemetery
in Sömmerda contains graves and a memorial to the camp inmates, forced labourers and war prisoners.
On April 11, 1945, Americans
arriving in Sömmerda found the Rheinmetall plant still untouched by bombs, but abandoned by its managers. Days later Thuringia
was occupied by the Russia
ns, who recommenced production by the next month, employing between 1,000 and 1,500 workers. Production went back to automotive parts until the 1950s when office machinery began to be produced. Later Rheinmetall-Borsig became today's Rheinmetall
DeTec AG.
Following the Second World War, the Sömmerda factory then found itself in the newly formed East Germany, with development and production now continuing as a state-run enterprise, but using the pre-war Rheinmetall name and logo. In 1957, a group of young electronics engineers under the collective direction of Heinz Skolaude brought Volkseigener Betrieb
Büromaschinenwerk Sömmerda into being and into the age of electronics
. In 1960 the name was changed to "Supermetall" and then in 1962 to the "Soemtron" name, when they exhibited at the Leipzig trade Fair of that year an electronic Fakturierautomaten (Automatic Invoicing machine) - the model EFA 380. 1963 saw the next model the EFA 381 with magnetic core memory.
with: Böblingen
, Germany, since 1988 Kėdainiai
, Lithuania
, since 1989
Erfurt
Erfurt is the capital city of Thuringia and the main city nearest to the geographical centre of Germany, located 100 km SW of Leipzig, 150 km N of Nuremberg and 180 km SE of Hannover. Erfurt Airport can be reached by plane via Munich. It lies in the southern part of the Thuringian...
in Thuringia
Thuringia
The Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....
, 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...
, on the Unstrut
Unstrut
The Unstrut is a river in Germany and a left tributary of the Saale. It originates in northern Thuringia near Dingelstädt and its catchment area is the whole of the Thuringian Basin...
river. It is the capital of the district of Sömmerda
Sömmerda (district)
Sömmerda is a Kreis in the north of Thuringia, Germany. Neighboring districts are the districts Kyffhäuserkreis, the Burgenlandkreis in Saxony-Anhalt, the district Weimarer Land and the district-free city Erfurt, and the districts Gotha and Unstrut-Hainich.-History:The district Sömmerda was...
.
History
Archeological digs in the area that is now Sömmerda, formerly Leubingen, have uncovered prominently buried human remains dating to around 2000 BCE20th century BC
The 20th century BC is a century which lasted from the year 2000 BC to 1901 BC.-Events:* 2000 BC: Arrival of the ancestors of the Latins in Italy.* 2000 BC: Town of Mantua was presumably founded.* 2000 BC: Stonehenge is believed to have been completed....
. One such burial of an individual, dubbed the "king of Leubingen" was buried in a 66 feet (20.1 m) stone cairn set within a ring-shaped ditch.
Sömmerda was first mentioned in official documents in 876 CE. It probably became a town in about 1350 but there are no existing records of the event. One town gate, dating from 1395, and six towers from the old town walls are still standing.
During the Thirty Years' War
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
(1618–1648) Sömmerda was at the heart of military activity, and soldiers from both sides ransacked the town, halving the population.
In 1840, Johann Nikolaus von Dreyse
Johann Nikolaus von Dreyse
Johann Nicolaus von Dreyse was a German firearms inventor and manufacturer. He is most famous for submitting the "Dreyse needle gun" in 1836 to the Prussian army, which was adopted for for service in December 1840 as the Leichte Perscussions-Gewehr M 1841—a name deliberately chosen to...
invented the needle gun
Needle gun
The Dreyse needle-gun was a military breechloading rifle, famous as the main infantry weapon of the Prussians, who adopted it for service in 1848 as the Dreyse Zündnadelgewehr, or Prussian Model 1848...
and a firearms factory was founded in the town. In 1919 the Rheinmetall
Rheinmetall
Rheinmetall AG is a German automotive and defence company with factories in Düsseldorf, Kassel and Unterlüß. The company has a long tradition of making guns and artillery pieces...
company took over the factory, later called Rheinmetall-Borsig, at first to produce automotive parts. Initially it concentrated with only little success on carburettors, then in 1925 an ambitious new manager, the engineer Fritz Faudi, took over and a new type of cardan joint was developed, which became extremely popular. The Rheinmetall-Faudi system was a well-known name, and the Sömmerda works were the largest producer in Germany.
In April 1921 the factory returned to arms production, going against the post-war regulations which banned it from producing fuses. From October 1922 the factory produced the total quantity of fuses allowed in 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...
by the Allies and also began producing the new MG30
MG30
The Maschinengewehr 30, or MG 30 was a German-designed machine gun that saw some service with various armed forces in the 1930s. It was also modified to become the standard German aircraft gun as the MG 15 and MG 17...
machine gun under the direction of Louis Schmeisser
Louis Schmeisser
Louis Schmeisser was one of the best-known weapon technical designers of Europe. He is associated with the development and production of the Bergmann machine guns used during the first World War. Additionally, he designed the Dreyse 1907 Pistol which saw use in both World Wars.Schmeisser was born...
.
In September 1944 Rheinmetall-Borsig became an external camp for Buchenwald concentration camp. As many as 1,294 female prisoners were made to do forced labour there, most of them aged between 16 and 60, many Jews from Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
. As well as continuing to produce cardan shafts, the women also helped make parts for armoured vehicles used in the war, as well as manufacturing arms; two new workshops were built for this in 1944 and 1945. The SS evacuated the camp in early April 1945, sending its prisoners and SS overseers on a death march, which ended near Pilsen, Czechoslovakia.
Today a special cemetery
Cemetery
A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...
in Sömmerda contains graves and a memorial to the camp inmates, forced labourers and war prisoners.
On April 11, 1945, Americans
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
arriving in Sömmerda found the Rheinmetall plant still untouched by bombs, but abandoned by its managers. Days later Thuringia
Thuringia
The Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....
was occupied by the Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
ns, who recommenced production by the next month, employing between 1,000 and 1,500 workers. Production went back to automotive parts until the 1950s when office machinery began to be produced. Later Rheinmetall-Borsig became today's Rheinmetall
Rheinmetall
Rheinmetall AG is a German automotive and defence company with factories in Düsseldorf, Kassel and Unterlüß. The company has a long tradition of making guns and artillery pieces...
DeTec AG.
Following the Second World War, the Sömmerda factory then found itself in the newly formed East Germany, with development and production now continuing as a state-run enterprise, but using the pre-war Rheinmetall name and logo. In 1957, a group of young electronics engineers under the collective direction of Heinz Skolaude brought Volkseigener Betrieb
Volkseigener Betrieb
The Volkseigener Betrieb was the legal form of industrial enterprise in East Germany...
Büromaschinenwerk Sömmerda into being and into the age of electronics
Electronics
Electronics is the branch of science, engineering and technology that deals with electrical circuits involving active electrical components such as vacuum tubes, transistors, diodes and integrated circuits, and associated passive interconnection technologies...
. In 1960 the name was changed to "Supermetall" and then in 1962 to the "Soemtron" name, when they exhibited at the Leipzig trade Fair of that year an electronic Fakturierautomaten (Automatic Invoicing machine) - the model EFA 380. 1963 saw the next model the EFA 381 with magnetic core memory.
Population development
1839 to 1960
|
1981 to 1998
|
1999 to 2005
|
|---|
- Source of figures from 1994: Thüringer Landesamt für Statistik
Coat of arms
The town coat of arms is a shield with the field divided horizontally; the upper field has a black eagle with a red tongue, looking to the right. The lower field is red with a silver six-spoked wheel.International relations
Sömmerda is twinnedTown twinning
Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...
with: Böblingen
Böblingen
Böblingen is a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, seat of Böblingen District. Physically Sindelfingen and Böblingen are continuous.-History:Böblingen was founded by Count Wilhelm von Tübingen-Böblingen in 1253. Württemberg acquired the town in 1357, and on 12 May 1525 one of the bloodiest battles...
, Germany, since 1988 Kėdainiai
Kedainiai
Kėdainiai is one of the oldest cities in Lithuania. It is located on the Nevėžis River. First mentioned in the 1372 Livonian Chronicle of Hermann de Wartberge, its population as of 2008 was 30,214. Its old town dates to the 17th century....
, Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
, since 1989
External links
- soemtron.org — Technical data for the Soemtron 22x series of electronic desktop calculators manufactured by VEB Robotron Büromaschinenwerk Sömmerda.