Von Heuerbaasen und Landhaien: Flensburger Heuerstellen um 1900

"For centuries, the hiring of seamen was a task traditionally dominated by private shipping masters, so-called Heuerbaase. The majority of these hiring agents were the keepers of inns or rooming houses who earned extra money with this lucrative sideline. Their business success was often attained at the cost of the employment-seeking seamen, who were entirely at the mercy of the Landhaie (land sharks), as the shipping masters were often called. In many cases, the system of private hiring agencies brought about grave social problems, which the seamen denounced more and more openly as the nineteenth century drew to a close. The article retraces the development of the hiring system around the turn of the century - 1900 - on the basis of the example of Flensburg. Insight is provided into circumstances that can be regarded as typical for port towns at that time and of that size in the North and Baltic Sea region. Individual shipping masters are introduced, and many of the difficulties facing both seamen and shipping companies of that time are illustrated with brief examples." (author's abstract

"Die christliche Seefahrt ist ein Männerberuf, daran wird sich nichts ändern!": der ungewöhnliche Lebenslauf der Annaliese Teetz

"The biography of the first German woman to receive a master's certificate can justifiably be referred to as unusual. Annaliese Teetz, nee Sparbier, a teacher's daughter born in Hamburg in 1910, discovered her love for seafaring while studying at university. She started out working in the fishing industry for several years, then finally managed to enter the world of commercial navigation. Despite extreme difficulties caused by the authorities, she succeeded in gaining admission to navigation school, where she obtained the mate's certificate for distant trade (A5) in 1943. She was employed in coastal shipping until the end of the war, her last position in that context being that of captain on the coastal motor vessel NORD 28. After World War II she served various small shipping companies as a nautical officer, accompanied by her husband, the ship's engineer Ernst Teetz. When Annaliese Teetz decided to train for the master's certificate for distant trade in 1954, she was once again confronted with major obstacles. She nevertheless achieved her aim and continued to work for various shipping companies until 1968. Yet her dream of serving as the captain of a large, internationally operating vessel was never fulfilled. The scepticism towards women in this profession was still too great. Following her period of active seafaring service, Teetz worked as an elementary school teacher until retirement. As a member of the seamen's section of the DAG (German Employee's Association) she continued to support the interests of seafaring, concentrating specifically on the improvement of opportunities for women in this field. The dedicated 'seawoman' died in 1992 at the age of 82. She had worked in the area of 'Christian navigation' for altogether 38 years and succeeded in asserting her self in what even today is a decidedly masculine domain, a feat which must have seemed impossible. This accomplishment was surely due in great part to her unwavering tenacity and willingness to serve. Not until the end of the 1950s did a number of other women manage to establish themselves professionally in the area of navigation, primarily as radio operators. And only very recently have German shipping companies begun to place women in captain's positions." (author's abstract

Krise und Konjunktur: die Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft von der Weltwirtschaftskrise bis zum Ende des Zweiten Weltkrieges

To be sure, the history of the Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft (FSG; Flensburg Shipbuilding Company) has already been variously published, particularly in the 1980s and ‘90s. Those studies, however, were limited primarily to the context of shipbuilding itself and the presentation of the vessels constructed by the FSG. Far less attention was paid to economic and, above all, social aspects and interrelationships. This article takes a different approach. It focuses chiefly on the economic fate of this prestigious Flensburg enterprise in the context of the social and political framework conditions of the era in question. For the FSG, and indeed for all German shipbuilding enterprises, the period between the world wars was characterized by major upheavals which were the consequences of inflation and world depression. In response, the company management was called upon to develop new strategies for survival, entrepreneurial courage, fantasy and the willingness to take risks, economic farsightedness and, not least of all, a fine instinct for the political situation. The contribution retraces the company history from 1923 to the early 1950s. Based on surviving correspondence, business reports and other sources, it provides lively insights into the company’s efforts to defend itself against the threat of bankruptcy and hostile acquisition, master the political, economic and social challenges arising during the period of the "Third Reich" and Second World War, and finally, after 1945, starting out again from scratch. Extensive sources and pictorial material were evaluated for the analysis hereby submitted. Moreover, it proved possible to supplement that material with statements by witnesses to the historical events, who openly answered the author’s questions within the framework of various interviews carried out over a period of two years