Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken Deutsche Waffen - und Munitionsfabriken Aktien - Gesellschaft ( German Weapons and Munitions public limited company ) , known as DWM , was an arms company in Imperial Germany created in 1896 when " Ludwig Loewe & Company " united its weapons and ammunition production facilities within one company . In 1896 Loewe founded Deutsche Waffen - und Munitionsfabriken with a munitions plant in Karlsruhe ( Baden ) , formerly Deutsche Metallpatronenfabrik Lorenz , and the weapons plant in Berlin . Shares that Loewe had in other gun - and ammunition plants were transferred to DWM . This included Waffenfabrik Mauser , Fabrique Nationale d ' Armes de Guerre ( FN ) in Belgium and Waffen - und Munitionsfabrik A . G . in Budapest . The DWM was orchestrated by Isidor Loewe ( 1848 – 1910 ) , as his brother Ludwig had died in 1886 . The Loewe family was of Jewish descent . Karl Maybach ( who was part of the Maybach company ) was employed by the Loewe company in 1901 . Firearms . DWM introduced the Pistol Parabellum ( ' Luger Pistol ' ) in the late 1890s . It was worked on by Georg Luger and Hugo Borchardt . DWM manufactured the Maschinengewehr 01 and Maschinengewehr 08 , licenced version / clone of the Maxim machine gun . The MG08 would be the main German machine gun of the First World War , alongside the somewhat different , air cooled Parabellum MG 14 / 17 for aviation use . Along with being one of the main arms suppliers of Imperial Germany , the company was at the forefront of small arms technology . They also supplied the world ( mostly Latin America ) with the Mauser rifle system , becoming one of the world ' s largest arms manufacturers . Due the fact that the Mauser rifle was one of Germany ' s main exports before the First World War , DWM proved to be an important part of the pre - war German economy . Many of their weapons were still used by German troops up through the Second World War . DWM had its own system of cartridge codes , and the " DWM " three digit - code still is important in differentiating vintage ammunitions . Furthermore , the DWM cases got no caliber names , so one did not get misleading caliber designations in reformed cartridges . Takeovers and name changes . DWM was taken over by the Quandt Group in 1929 . At this point the involvement of the Loewe company came to an end . The original " Ludwig Loewe & Company " merged with the ' Gesellschaft für Elektrische Unternehmungen ' in 1929 . DWM underwent a number of name changes following World War I and the subsequent disarmament phase . DWM was no longer allowed to produce military equipment after World War I ( although they continued on a smaller and somewhat secret scale ) and the first name change was to BKIW ( Berlin - Karlsruher Industriewerke or ' Berkawerke ' ) in 1922 . After the national - socialist takeover of power in Germany , the company added ' vormals Deutsche - Waffen und Munitionsfabriken ' ( former DWM ) to the company name in 1933 . In 1936 DWM reverted to its old name . From 1940 to 1945 , the Quandt family factories - AFA and Deutsche Waffen - und Munitionsfabriken - were staffed with more than 50 , 000 forced civilian laborers , prisoners of war and concentration camp workers , according to Scholtyseck ' s 1 , 183 - page study . A recent film , " The Silence of the Quandts " , took a critical look at their wartime activities . After denazification hearings in 1948 , no repercussions followed . Deutsche Waggon - und Maschinenfabriken . In the 1950s the Berlin branch of the company started using the name ' Deutsche Waggon - und Maschinenfabriken GmbH ' , but still using the original DWM logo . The new name reflected the fact that the Berlin branch had switched to the renovation and building of railroad and public transport equipment following the war . The Berlin branch eventually became Waggon Union , a manufacturer of rail vehicle s and bus bodies . Industriewerke Karlsruhe . The Karlsruhe branch changed its name into ' IWK ' or ' Industriewerke Karlsruhe ' and following a merger with an Augsburg base company ' IWKA ' or ' Industriewerke Karlsruhe Augsburg ' in 1970 . In 2007 the Karlsruhe - Augsburg company moved its seat to Augsburg and reverted to the name ' KUKA ' , the original name of the Augsburg company , short for ' Keller und Knappich Augsburg ' . Anheuser - Busch . Following the takeover by the Quandt Group in 1929 the manager of DWM , Baron Paul von Gontard , was asked to step down . Paul von Gontard had married Clara Busch , daughter of American brewer of German origin Adolphus Busch in 1895 and joined his wife in the USA , becoming involved in the Anheuser - Busch company .