Oldendorff Centenary Book - Flipbook - Page 154
Egon Oldendorff moved the
company head office to Lübeck in
1925, initially operating there under
the name of Nordische Dampfer
Reederei GmbH. The liner service
linking Lübeck with Stockholm
had developed successfully from
modest beginnings and provided
remunerative employment for
PLANET and KOMET. It made sense
to have the management of a
Lübeck‑based liner service in that
city, and there was no absolute
need to maintain a Hamburg
presence. The other reason
could have been that in Hamburg,
Lilienfeld & Oldendorff were one of
very many shipowning companies
which made it difficult at times
to obtain credit facilities. The
latter were not easy to get by, and
expensive at that. Established in
1921, Lilienfeld & Oldendorff could
not claim war losses, and banks
would preferably finance ships
under reconstruction schemes for
owners whose fleets had suffered
during or after the war.
Most European nations were
virtually bankrupt and resorted to
printing paper money, regardless
of consequences. By the year
1922 the German mark had lost
three‑quarters of its 1919 value, and
the decline accelerated dramatically.
The Berlin money press could no
longer cope with the demand for
notes, and a local telephone call in
that city cost the staggering amount
of 500,000 marks. Galloping inflation
from mid‑1922 until the 17 November
1923 became an insurmountable
obstacle to raising credits and loans.
This continued for a short period of
time following the introduction of
the so‑called Renten‑Mark when the
appetite for credits became almost
insatiable. Lübeck was the home
of only a handful of shipowning
companies, competition was less
fierce and the whole business
environment appeared a little
more relaxed. Coinciding with the
company’s move to Lübeck the
economy began to recover, slowly
but surely.
Nordische Dampfer Reederei
bought a 1,200 tdw steamer
from Swedish owners. The ship
Loading coal in British ports
would normally be accomplished
in a matter of hours.
Grab handling of pit props
150
