During
World War II, a
branch of Buna-Werke was built near
Auschwitz, which employed
forced labourers and inmates of
Monowitz concentration camp. The latter camp was built on the factory grounds. It never produced rubber during its wartime life, and both plants were bombed by the Americans to inhibit the supply of fuel to the
Wehrmacht. Both plants also used large numbers of
slave labourers for which several members of the
IG Farben company were prosecuted at
Nuremberg after the war. Under Soviet administration after World War II, Buna Werke Schkopau were
expropriated and – under the name
Chemische Werke Buna – became part of
Sowjetische Aktiengesellschaft (SAG) Kautschuk in order to cover
reparation demands of the
Soviet Union. They were transferred into a
publicly owned corporation (VEB Chemische Werke Buna) within
Kombinat Chemische Werke Buna. Its slogan
Plaste und Elaste aus Schkopau referred to its main products, namely the rigid plastics (
Plaste) and the elastic materials (synthetic rubbers,
Elaste). With about 18000 employees, Buna Werke were one of the five largest industrial combines of the
GDR. In order to provide sufficient accommodation for the workforce, new
town quarters were built in Halle (Saale) and
Merseburg. The
new town of
Halle-Neustadt was built specifically for the workers of the chemical plants in Schkopau and Leuna, and suburban railway lines provided transportation for commuters. Buna Werke Schkopau became the world's largest producer of
calcium carbide in 1958. Its outdated production plants caused severe
environmental pollution. After the
political changes in the GDR in 1989, Buna Werke were initially administered by
Treuhandanstalt (later
Bundesanstalt für vereinigungsbedingte Sonderaufgaben (BVS), a privatisation agency. In 1992, the works employed only 7200 people. In 1995,
Dow Chemical took over large parts of the facilities, but only few employees. The outdated production facilities were demolished and the land rehabilitated for use. Rehabilitation expenses of BVS were estimated to be 809 million
Deutsche Mark in 1999 alone. Since 2004, the chemical works in Schkopau belong to
Dow Olefinverbund GmbH, a subsidiary of
Dow Chemical Company, its production of plastics and basic chemicals is now
petroleum based and uses modern technologies. In 2021, synthetic rubber production plant was purchased by Polish chemical company Synthos. == Further information ==