1-157-858 - Oxford Science Archive/Heritage Images

Krupp's works, Essen, Germany, 1896. In 1826, aged only 14, Alfred Krupp (1812-1887) took over the steel-making factory founded by his father Friedrich. He made a fortune supplying steel rails to the expanding German railway network and cannon to the army. At the time of the Franco-Prussian War, Krupp's company was known as the Arsenal of the Reich and by the time of Alfred's death the firm employed some 40,000 people. The business continued to expand, and in the First World War had a virtual monopoly of German armaments production. In World War II Krupp was a vital part of the Nazi war machine, using slave labour from occupied territories.