Week 481 · Erlangen · Siemens · Franconian Food · Bayern Munich
Another trip to another company town — Erlangen, Germany, about 30 minutes from Nuremberg. Siemens, the German counterpart to GE, moved here in 1946 from Berlin as they wanted to avoid being under Soviet control. Siemens and a university — FAU (Friedrich-Alexander-Universität, not Florida Atlantic) — have most of the adult population.
As a result, it is a very nice small town with a lot of random interesting buildings. It rained most of the time that I was there — but the weather improved right as we left work and I got about 10,000 steps walking through town. It was pretty chilly, so the fun fair was lightly attended but at the university students were hanging out in the quad.
Siemens AG relocated its headquarters from Berlin to Erlangen and Munich in 1946, specifically to avoid being within the Soviet-controlled zone of occupied Germany. At the time, Berlin was encircled by Soviet-controlled territory, and German industry feared nationalisation. Erlangen became the centre for Siemens' medical and automation divisions, and today the company employs around 22,000 people in the city — in a city of only 115,000 residents, making it one of the highest employer-to-population ratios of any company town in Europe. The Friedrich-Alexander-Universität (FAU), founded in 1743, is one of Germany's largest universities with around 40,000 students and has a close research partnership with Siemens. Erlangen was also the birthplace of the first German television broadcast in 1934 — from the Siemens-owned Telefunken laboratory.
We had dinner one night with our hosts — one of whom is the same age as I am and in 1982, when he was growing up in East Germany, didn't do well on his high school tests and thus was assigned to be a coal miner. He did that, with a minimal effort as possible, until the wall fell. He then went to West Germany, met an American, went to college, and the rest is history. Over dinner, when we were discussing capitalism versus communism, he was the one making arguments that communism had merits.
In 1982, growing up in East Germany, he didn't do well on his high school tests and thus was assigned to be a coal miner. He did that — with a minimal effort as possible — until the wall fell.
He then went to West Germany, met an American, went to college, and the rest is history. Over dinner, when we were discussing capitalism versus communism — he was the one making arguments that communism had merits. It was a good dinner conversation.
It was a good trip for food — great schnitzel, the local brew, a traditional Franconian restaurant, and I was told to get "the beef" — it was a filet. We came through Munich the day before our meetings and changed trains and thought about heading to see Bayern Munich vs Manchester City in a Champions League clash — but it was a little pricey.
"He was assigned to be a coal miner in East Germany in 1982. By dinner in Erlangen in 2023, he was making the case that communism had merits."