Abstract

A treaty signed in Moscow on December 18, 1959 resulted in the construction of a crude oil pipeline from the Soviet Union, through Poland, to Schwedt on the Oder River in the GDR. On November 11, 1960, the cornerstone was laid for a crude oil combine [Kombinat] in Schwedt. The 5,000-km long “Friendship” pipeline was dedicated on December 18, 1963, and the nationally-owned petroleum processing plant in Schwedt [Volkseigener Betrieb or VEB] became operational on April 1, 1964. In 1970, it was transformed into the Schwedt Petrochemical Combine (PCK). The PCK played a central role in the GDR’s energy economy: approximately four-fifths of oil imports from the Soviet Union flowed through the “Friendship” pipeline toward Schwedt. Moreover, the Schwedt combine accounted for three-fourths of the GDR’s total oil refining capacity. Refining petroleum products was the main source of valuta in the planned economy.

Construction of the Oil Refinery in Schwedt (1962)

  • Horst E. Schulze

Source

Source: Construction of the Schwedt oil combine [Kombinat]. Septmeber 17, 1962. Photo: Horst E. Schulze.
bpk-Bildagentur, image number 30016472. For rights inquiries, please contact Art Resource at requests@artres.com (North America) or bpk-Bildagentur at kontakt@bpk-bildagentur.de (for all other countries).

© bpk / Horst E. Schulze

Construction of the Oil Refinery in Schwedt (1962), published in: German History in Documents and Images, <https://germanhistorydocs.org/en/two-germanies-1961-1989/ghdi:image-2419> [March 29, 2024].