Business Decision Making in National Socialist Germany: Machine Tools, Business Machines, and Punch Cards at the Wanderer-Werke AG

This article analyzes the goals and strategies of a medium-size machine-building enterprise located in Chemnitz, the “Saxon Manchester,” during the Nazi period. The Wanderer-Werke AG produced a broad range of goods, from machine tools to business machines, during the years before World War II. It pursued an essentially conservative strategy, adhering to its established product line and not embarking on armament production until required to do so. This policy, however, did not prevent the firm from acting on strategic opportunities offered by Nazi occupation policy, as in 1940 when it sought to establish “cooperation” with the French punch-card producer Compagnie des Machines Bull. The article considers the extent to which enterprises like Wanderer—medium-sized companies with products of some value to the war effort—could pursue autonomous strategies within the framework of the National Socialist regime.