The Krupp family was a German dynasty of industrialists. The Krupps started the first major steelworks in Germany in 1811, and their enterprise expanded rapidly to become one of the world's largest companies and Germany's leading supplier of armaments.

The astounding rise of the Krupp family is very much part of the rapid industrial growth of Germany with its highly concentrated, efficient cartels. As a major weapons manufacturer since the 1860s, the firm was a symbol of the deadly collaboration between the giant industrial complex and the military in Germany and elsewhere, so characteristic of modern warfare.

Early Krupps

The recorded history of the Krupps starts in 1587 with the entry of one Arndt Krupp (Krupe) in the guild archives of Essen. A prominent burgher, he ran a flourishing business in the wine and grocery trade, real estate, and moneylending and married his children into Essen's wealthiest families. The marriage...