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Zeiss-Opton logo after 1950 | | When the Soviet occupying force disassembled the main factory at the end of October 1946, the management in Jena declared that from now on “Opton would be responsible for all important decisions for the entire Zeiss works.” With the approval of Zeiss Jena, the factory in Oberkochen changed its name to Zeiss-Opton. According to an agreement between the two management boards, Oberkochen was to be the center for research and development, and also to accept and employ refugees from Jena. |  |  About the book
The author
Introduction
Cooperation
Confrontation
Coexistence
Reunification
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DDR President Wilhelm Pieck at the Zeiss works; right top executive Dr. Hugo Schrade, 1949
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Ernst Abbe, 1888
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| | Against heavy resistance from the Board of Management and employees, the communist ideologues enforced the nationalization of the Zeiss Works and the Glass Works in Jena. As a result, the company lost its unique character as a foundation. Physicist and philanthropist Ernst Abbe founded the Carl-Zeiss Foundation in 1889. He succeeded in transferring all property rights from the two companies to the foundation. Similar to a country’s constitution, the Foundations bylaws governed the rights and responsibilities of all employees. From that time on, Abbe was honored as a saint by many Zeiss employees.
The Chairman of the Works Committee in Oberkochen was convinced that Ernst Abbe's legacy would survive the nationalization in Jena. “If they take away his home in Jena, then we’ll give him a new one here.” | |
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Carl Zeiss logo from 1953 | | The company in Oberkochen now saw itself as the guardian of the tradition. To prevent the Foundation from going under and to protect its character, the company, with help from the Wuerttemberg-Baden Ministry of Culture, transferred its domicile from Jena to Oberkochen. The company in Oberkochen now went by the name "Carl Zeiss” (without the additional “Opton”).
As before, employees in the east and west still considered themselves as one, and they, as well as the management, continued to work together. The "western orientation“ at the state-owned enterprise in Jena was a thorn in the side to officials. Spies and saboteurs infiltrated Carl Zeiss. On March 21, 1953, the state security service (Stasi) arrested 15 employees in Jena and an additional four in East Berlin. From this point on, it was clear that cooperating with the “enemy” in Oberkochen would be treated as a crime. Zeiss employees were sentenced up to eight years for misconduct. One employee lost his life (still today under unknown circumstances). One died during his detainment. | | |