As typewriters became increasingly popular in Germany in the early 20th century, the Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft (AEG) in Berlin commissioned Friedrich von Hefner-Alteneck, an electrical engineer, to develop such a device.

Hefner-Alteneck then designed the Mignon, an inexpensive pointer typewriter that was not only affordable for larger companies, but also for craftsmen and private individuals.

After Erfurt was handed over to the Soviet occupying forces on 3 June 1945, the remaining operating facilities were nationalized, producing typewriters as VEB Optima Büromaschinenwerke.

At the end of 1945, the board of directors of Bielefeld Schreibmaschinen, while looking for more suitable production facilities and more qualified workers, came across the former naval equipment warehouse of the Kriegsmarine in Roffhausen [de].

Under difficult conditions, the production of typebar-based typewriters began, and soon after, amid high demand during the beginning of the West German economic miracle (Wirtschaftswunder), the company reached profitability.

In 1949, the International Court of Justice in The Hague had to judge whether the West or East German companies had the right to trade under the "Olympia" name.

In 1957, Olympia-Werke took majority stake in the adding machine and cash register maker Brunsviga Maschinenwerke [de] in Braunschweig.

By the end of the 1960s, however, these machine—fitted with hundreds of transistors and diodes—were already too heavy and too expensive for the average consumer, who were taking a preference to the Japanese-built calculators that were hitting the market.

To gain market share, Olympia-Werke formed a joint venture with Matsushita (Panasonic) of Japan to manufacture Olympia calculators.

The slow but steady demise of traditional office equipment in favor of smaller minicomputers signaled the end of Olympia-Werke AG.

After a string of losses, AEG and Daimler-Benz decided in December 1991 to withdraw from the office equipment industry and to close the location with its workforce of around 3,600 employees.

[4] Under the motto "Olympia—the heart of the region must live on", a nationwide strike by Olympia employees to keep their jobs ensued, lasting for several months.

With campaigns in Wilhelmshaven, Frankfurt, and Stuttgart, the responsibility of the Daimler-Benz group was reminded and public pressure was built up to create alternative jobs in the Wilhelmshaven–Friesland region.

The concept received support from the Lower Saxony government, union representatives, parent company Daimler-Benz, the district of Friesland, the city of Schortens.

OSG Office Service GmbH found a new owner on 1 May 1993 in the form of Elcosa AG in Schaffhausen.

[10] Olympia's website at https://www.olympia-vertrieb.de/ appears to be operational and working, with numerous products advertised, as well as it receiving a few Plus X awards in 2019 for the company's customer service and its Secure AS 302 alarm system.