Treuhandanstalt

The Treuhandanstalt ("Trust agency"), colloquially referred to as Treuhand, was an agency established by the government of the German Democratic Republic to privatize East German enterprises, Volkseigene Betriebe (VEBs), prior to the German reunification. Created by the Volkskammer on June 17, 1990, it oversaw the restructuring and selling of about 8500 state-owned companies with over four million employees. At that time it was the world's largest industrial enterprise, controlling everything from steel works to the Babelsberg Studios.

The Treuhand was responsible for more than just the 8500 state-owned enterprises. It also took over around 2.4 million hectares of agricultural land and forests; the property of the former Stasi; large parts of the property of the former National People's Army, large-scale public housing property, as well as the property of the state pharmacy network.

On the day of the German reunification, 3 October 1990, it also took over the property of the political parties and the mass organisations of the German Democratic Republic.

Its operations drew criticism from some quarters for unnecessarily closing allegedly profitable businesses, misuse and waste of funds and layoffs that were claimed to be unnecessary. It also drew substantial protests from the workforces affected, as 2.5 million employees in state-owned enterprises (out of 4m in total) were laid off in the early 1990s. Supporters argued that not placing the former state-owned enterprises into private hands would have caused the loss of many more jobs and slowed down economic recovery.

On 1 April 1991 the chairman of the Treuhand, Detlev Karsten Rohwedder, was shot dead by an unknown assassin (possibly the Red Army Faction). He was succeeded by Birgit Breuel.

...
Wikipedia