Zeiss Optical Works

Zeiss Optical Works

 

(Carl Zeiss), the center of instrument manufacturing in the German Democratic Republic, a major enterprise for precision mechanics and optics. It is located in Jena. Instruments and instrument systems are produced there for scientific investigations and production needs, in particular for inspection and analysis in chemistry, metallurgy, agriculture, medicine, and astronomy. Most of the output is exported, a considerable part going to the Soviet Union. The factory grew up from the workshop founded in 1846 by the German master machinist Carl Zeiss. In 1920 the workers in the Zeiss factory joined workers in many other enterprises in Germany in support of the slogan: “Hands off Soviet Russia.” After World War II the Zeiss Optical Works was nationalized. Between 1949 and 1972 the output of the enterprise increased by over ten times. In 1972, 20, 000 people were working there. It has been awarded the Order of the Banner of Labor (1956).

F. MIULLER