The company was founded in 1889 in Düsseldorf, on the banks of the Rhine, to produce ammunition for the German government and solid steel parts. It manufactures seamless steel tubes for the civilian sector, used in gas and steam networks. It also creates complex pieces for railways such as axles and ultra-resistant wheels.
But it is in the military field that the company will thrive. In 1896, it invents the world’s first rapid-fire cannon. This cannon is revolutionary because its recoil mechanism stabilizes the weapon after each shot without losing aim. A type of weapon whose success leads Rheinmetall to make it its main subsidiary. In 1901, the company buys out a bankrupt firearms factory in Sömmerda and thus expands its product range.
The first golden age comes during World War I. After the defeat of the German Empire in 1918, its production collapses and the Treaty of Versailles prohibits Germany from producing military equipment. The company then turns to civilian production.
Until 1921. The communist threat looms over Europe, the allies authorize Germans to produce small quantities of weapons. Adolf Hitler takes control of Germany in 1933. He goes to war against the Allies, marking the beginning of World War II. The industrialist becomes a pillar of the Third Reich. At the end of the conflict in 1945, almost all of its factories are destroyed by Allied bombings. The company has to start from scratch and turns back to the civilian sector to avoid bankruptcy.
The rest is to be discovered in the video.
