Polte ammunition factory

In the first half of the 20th century, the firm of Polte Armaturen- und Maschinenfabrik OHG in Magdeburg, Germany was an important manufacturer of large fittings and one of the largest ammunition producers in the world. The group was one of the most important employers in Magdeburg, a pioneer in the construction of sanitary and social facilities for employees and workers and internationally appreciated for the engineering quality of its products. After the Second World War, it was mainly known for the mass employment of forced laborers and concentration camp prisoners (from June 1943 until the end of the war, by which time some 50% of the workforce were of this category). The parts of the Polte-Werke that were not destroyed during the war or transported away by the Soviet occupying forces as reparations were later merged into the VEB Schwerarmaturenwerk "Erich Weinert" and the resulting VEB Magdeburger Armaturenwerke "Karl Marx".