Trade and industry 1900 up to 1950

The Mecklenburg chamber of commerce was founded in 1902. Major shipbuilding switched to steel steamers and the Neptune shipyard was the largest industrial company in the state. Tourism developed extensively from the turn of the century.

The First World War restricted foreign trade. Merchant ships were seized, captured or sunk. Craft enterprises in the back country died out. The Fokker aircraft works in Schwerin prospered.

Post-war industry was concentrated in five large companies. Crafts became service providers. Trade, hotels and restaurants offered places to work. The Ernst Heinkel aircraft works were built in 1922 in Warnemünde. Unemployment of 14% in 1929 was concentrated in towns and cities. Small and medium-sized businesses closed down.

National Socialism promoted the aircraft industry all over the country. After the outbreak of war in 1939 prisoners, forced labourers and concentration camp detainees helped to overcome the shortage in personnel.

In autumn 1945 all arms factories were demolished and essential things were produced proactively. The food industry, energy and water companies started to recover slowly. Around 5,000 craft enterprises were established. The shipyard industry started again with personnel from the aircraft industry. Around 1947 the construction trade experienced a revival after clear-up work.

The textiles industry in Stettin remains one on Germany's main centres until 1914. Vulcan AG becomes the largest builder of steel ships.

Tourism turns Rügen and Usedom into 'Berlin's bathtub'. Swinemünde becomes the largest coastal resort in Germany, attracting over 40,000 guests in 1913.

The large ships' canal between Berlin and Stettin opens in 1914.

Merchant vessels are requisitioned or scuppered during the First World War. The Vulcan shipyard and the Oder shipyard in Stettin build warships. The textiles industry sews uniforms. Grenades are milled in Torgelow. The aircraft company LFG starts building navy reconnaissance planes in 1917.

Large corporations dominate the post-war economy. Trades, commerce and the hospitality sector provide services. The Great Depression affects the agricultural and industrial sectors. Of the four shipyards in Western Pomerania, only the one along the Oder survives. The Vulcan Shipyard closes in 1927.

A Nazi prestige project, the Strelasund Crossing is opened for rail traffic in 1936 and one year later for motor vehicles as well.

Hubs of aviation engineering emerge in Tutow, Stralsund and Anklam. The aviation company Heinkel builds factories in Pütnitz and Barth. Army and air force research research are built in Peenemünde, making it a technology centre for weaponised rockets. Forced labourers are employed in all of the factories.

The armaments factories are dismantled in autumn 1945. The food, energy and water industries recover slowly. Around 5,000 trades firms are established. The shipyards reopen for business, recruiting their workforce from the aircraft industry. The construction sector flourishes around 1947 once the clearing work is complete.