«Fortan direkt» – Die Traun’schen Gummiwerke und der afrikanische Kautschuk

Abstract At the turn of the century, the German rubber industry mostly obtained its rubber from specialised raw material traders. Using the example of the Traun Rubber Works in Hamburg, it can now be shown that some companies also organised their rubber supply themselves. The article examines how they did it and what problems they had to contend with. It becomes clear that the rubber industry was more directly involved in colonial resource extraction than previously thought.