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The Carl Zeiss, Jena logo after 1909
German President Theodor Heuss, 1954
 enlarge | | The Division and Reunification of Carl Zeiss
Company History – A Mirror of Political History
The former capitol, Berlin, suffered most from the division of Germany. It was not only a wound that could not heal, but also a daily reminder of the unnaturalness of the separation. What Berlin was among cities, Carl Zeiss was among companies. Two companies emerged from the ashes of the one, world-famous enterprise; two businesses that bitterly fought each other on the world market and in the courtroom during the Cold War. In 1954, German President Heuss declared that “there are very few establishments known to the world that so clearly represent Germany’s destiny, as does this Zeiss plant.”
Many phases mark the relationship between the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic (DDR). Accordingly, the relationships between the two Zeiss enterprises in the east and west developed similarly: from  cooperation to confrontation to coexistence and finally to reunification.
The story began when the 3rd American Army conquered Thuringia in eastern Germany. Scientists and engineers followed the troops. They were tasked with turning German know-how into something useful for the United States and Great Britain. With war still raging in the Pacific, the allies anticipated heavy allied casualties during the invasion of Japan. |  | About the book
The author
Introduction
Cooperation
Confrontation
Coexistence
Reunification
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Crates with confiscated devices and drawings in front of the Volkshaus in Jena, June 1945
enlarge | | For their aerial reconnaissance missions, the Americans desperately needed the high-quality optical instruments from the Zeiss Works in Jena. 125 leading managers, scientists and engineers (84 from Zeiss and 41 from Zeiss partner Glaswerk Schott & Genossen) were sent from the university and industrial city in Thuringia to Heidenheim in the American occupied zone.
The city in eastern Wuerttemberg was overfilled with refugees and instead of the promised housing, the Zeiss staff was given only a room to sub-let. The forced inactivity was even worse. On August 6, 1945, the city of Hiroshima witnessed the destructive power of the atomic bomb. Three days later, on Aug. 9, the destruction of Nagasaki forced Japan to surrender. The Americans no longer needed the German optical experts. | | |
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Oberkochen 1946
enlarge | | Microscopes, loupes (magnifiers), eyeglass lenses and objective lenses were, however, of vital importance to the civilian and medical sectors. The Zeiss staff had to wait almost a year for permission to being production. They built their new facilities in neighboring Oberkochen on the grounds of an empty weapons factory that had been constructed during the war. The new company was officially founded on October 4, 1946. It was on this day that a lawyer and three additional employees signed the articles of incorporation and bylaws in front of a notary in Heidenheim. The new “Opton Optische Werke Oberkochen” was now in business. Capital stock for the new company was one million Reichsmark. The Carl Zeiss Foundation Jena assumed 950,000. Without the approval of Carl Zeiss Jena, it would not have been impossible to found the enterprise. | | |