Alfred Krupp

He died in 1826 when Alfred Krupp was 14 years old and left to his son the secret of making high-quality cast steel[citation needed], together with a small workshop in which production had come almost to a standstill.

[citation needed] The creation of the German Customs Union facilitated freight transport in Germany.

Alfred Krupp won new customers, extended his firm's purchases of raw materials, and secured funds to finance the expansion of his works.

Alfred enlarged the factory and fulfilled his long-cherished scheme to construct a breech-loading cannon of cast steel.

He strongly believed in the superiority of breech-loaders, on account of improved accuracy and speed, but this view did not win general acceptance among military officers, who remained loyal to tried-and-true muzzle-loaded bronze cannon.

After he became regent in 1859, Prussia bought its first 312 steel cannon from Krupp, which became the main arms manufacturer for the Prussian military.

The success of German artillery spurred the first international arms race, against Schneider-Creusot in France and Armstrong in England.

In the Panic of 1873, Alfred continued to expand, including the purchase of Spanish mines and Dutch shipping, making Krupp the biggest and richest company in Europe but nearly bankrupting it.

In return, Krupp provided social services that were unusually liberal for the era, including "colonies" with parks, schools and recreation grounds - while the widows' and orphans' and other benefit schemes insured the men and their families in case of illness or death.

"[3][4] Krupp proclaimed he wished to have "a man come and start a counter-revolution" against Jews, socialists and liberals.

According to historian William Manchester, his great grandson, Krupp would interpret these outbursts as a prophecy fulfilled by the coming of Hitler.

His wife Bertha (not to be confused with their granddaughter), was unwilling to remain in polluted Essen in Villa Hügel, the mansion which Krupp designed.

He was a tireless worker who never rested on his laurels, and an extreme hypochondriac who suffered from depression and did not leave his bed for weeks and months.

[5][6] He envisioned the employer as a patriarch, demanding from his workers not only respect, but also obedience and providing them with a secure existence for this.