Volkseigener Betrieb (VEB;German for "Publicly Owned Enterprise") was the mainlegal form forstate-owned enterprises in theplanned economy of theGerman Democratic Republic (East Germany). VEBs constituted the majority of theeconomy of East Germany, including most industrial andservice enterprises, and employed 79.9% of the East German workforce by 1989.
VEBs were organised by theState Planning Commission of theCouncil of Ministers, first intovertically integrated units called Associations of Publicly Owned EnterprisesVereinigung Volkseigener Betriebe (VVBs) until these were reformed intoKombinat by the 1980s. Production andinvestment were set by the State Planning Commission and ministry industries under the control of theSocialist Unity Party of Germany. VEBs struggled to compete in themarket economy duringGerman reunification due to outdated andlabour intensive practices, which made many of them unprofitable and heavily indebt. Around 8,000 VEBs were transferred to theTreuhandanstalt forprivatisation and most wereliquidated from 1990 to 1994.
VEBs first appeared duringmass nationalisation in theSoviet occupation zone between 1945 and the early 1960s, and the handing back in 1954 of some 33 enterprises previously taken by theSoviet Union asreparations.[citation needed]
Each VEB was led by a plant or works manager (German:Werksleiter,Werksdirektor orBetriebsdirektor), assisted by the first secretary of theSocialist Unity Party of Germany factory organisation (Betriebsparteiorganisation) and the chairman of the factory trade union (Betriebsgewerkschaftsleitung). Subordinate to them were roles such as "Chief Accountant" and "Technical Director".
VEBs often had company sports teams, and played an important role in the promotion of sports.
An honorary name was frequently added to the firm's actual name, for example,VEB Kombinat Chemische Werke "Walter Ulbricht"Leuna. This was asocialist emulation incentive towards fulfillment and overfulfillment of production quotas. Many Germans, as a form of mild protest against the nationalization of private businesses, nicknamed the VEBsVatis ehemaliger Betrieb, which translates to "Daddy's former business".[1]
