Oldendorff Centenary Book - Flipbook - Page 163
happened that good fortune was
on her side. By the time she had
consumed her coal bunkers the
battleship SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN
appeared, and not only did she supply
bunkering coal, she also freed the
PLANET from the ice and escorted
her to Kiel where she waited in safety
for better weather conditions.
Black Friday on 29 October 1929,
the first major stock exchange
crash, played havoc not only with
the savings of American citizens.
Wall Street shares alone lost
$14 billion, and US national losses
totalled $30 billion, or close to
40%. World economy got out of
control. The worldwide economic
crisis of 1931/32 produced 27 million
jobless, 15 million thereof in Europe
and 12 million in the United States of
America, an indication, incidentally,
of the degree of concentration, at
that time, of economic activities on
those two continents. A full 43% of
the German population fit for work
had lost their jobs, and an even
higher percentage in Austria. Egon
Oldendorff could not escape the
general trend. Lack of cargo forced
him to suspend the Stockholm liner
service for good. The jobless count
in Germany rose from over four
million in early 1930 to just under
six million on 15 January 1932.
German ports gradually resembled
ship cemeteries. As of 1 April 1932,
a total of 460 German ships
aggregating 1,357 million GRT were
in layup, equalling about 34.8%
of the German merchant fleet.
Scandinavian and German shipping
suffered in addition through Sterling
devaluation, that being the lead
currency of the time for seafreights.
Egon Oldendorff was forced to lay up
his entire fleet, not just the smaller
units but also, during the winter, his
nine modern and, therefore, more
efficient steamers NORDMARK,
NORDFELS and GISELA OLDENDORFF.
PLANET
Ice-bound ss PLANET in the severe 1928/29 winter as seen
from battle cruiser SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN. Crew members
of the battle cruiser handling coal to replenish bunkers of
ice-bound steamer PLANET.
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