page_title: ArcelorMittal Bremen
section_title: Norddeutsche Hütte (1911-1945)
hierarchical_section_title: ArcelorMittal Bremen / History / Norddeutsche Hütte (1911-1945)
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Einweihung der Norddeutschen Hütte in Bremen 1911. Aufsichtsratsvorsitzender Philipp Heineken, Bürgermeister Carl Georg Barkhausen, Direktor Tutein (v.r.)
context_page_description: ArcelorMittal Bremen is a steelworks on the banks of the River Weser in Bremen, Germany.
  An ironworks was established on the site in 1911 as Norddeutsche Hütte - much of the works was destroyed or dismantled during and immediately after the end of the Second World War. In 1957 steel group Klöckner established a new steel works on the same site, Klöckner Hütte Bremen. After growth during the 1960s and 1970s the business began to experience financial problems, and in the early 1990s Klöckner became effectively bankrupt. In 1994 the steelworks at Bremen was acquired by Sidmar, renamed Stahlwerke Bremen; it later became part of Usinor, Arcelor, and ArcelorMittal through mergers of the parent holding company.
context_section_description: In 1906 a consortium led by shipping firm Norddeutscher Lloyd was formed, and in 1908 established the Norddeutsche Hütte Aktiengesellschaft with a capital of 6 million Marks, and with Heinrich Wiegand as chairman. In the same period the port of Bremen was developed, with the construction of the central harbour (1907–10). Deliveries of iron ore by sea began in 1910, and in on 2 April 1911 the first of two blast furnaces built became operational. Other initially built facilities included 80 coke ovens with associated ammonia and tar plants. By 1912 a (slag) cement plant, benzene plant, third blast furnace, and a further 40 coke ovens had been installed; additionally coke gas was supplied to the Bremen region. Initial plans to add steel plant, foundry and rolling mills were not completed – the plant's main product pig iron was shipped to the Ruhr region.
  In 1922 the Stumm group (Saar) became a major shareholder; after 1927 Krupp became the major shareholder. Much of the workforce was also from outside Bremen, both from Westphalia and from Poland. During the Great Depression two blast furnaces and the cement plant were idled, and 850 workers laid off, with the workforce reduced to a low of around 200 in 1933. Blast furnaces were restarted in 1935 and 1937/8. As part of economic policy toward self-sufficiency under Nazi Germany a steel production plant was added, and ferrovanadium production began. Forced labour was introduced, with Otto Hofmann installed as a technical director at the plant. During the Second World War the workforce reached 1500, of which half were forced labourers.
  Bombing practically ended production at the plant by 1945. As part of reparations after the war, the vanadium plant was shipped to France. The blast furnaces were demolished in 1949, whilst the coking plant was retained, due to its necessity in supplying Bremen with gas. The cement plant was also retained for rebuilding work, supplied with bricks from destroyed buildings.
  In 1954 Klöckner took over the Norddeutsche Hütte.
caption: Norddeutsche Hütte c. 1911
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