The transformation of cattle feet to torpedo oil: a case study in nazi German wartime recycling

• Chad B. Denton ^[1]
  1. [1] Yonsei University

     Yonsei University

     Corea del Sur

     
• Localización: War in history, ISSN-e 1477-0385, ISSN 0968-3445, Vol. 31, Nº. 2, 2024, págs. 163-185
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • In January 1940, the Wehrmacht had only a two-month supply of torpedo oil, an irreplaceable lubricant derived solely from the feet and shinbones of slaughtered cattle. The Wehrmacht resolved this shortage by appointing the man responsible for its supply during the First World War: Alfons Knetsch. This case study shows not only the importance of knowledge transfer from one war to the other but also how competing industrial interests shaped Nazi recycling policy and how an efficient, vigorously managed recycling organization could buy time for the research and development of substitutes, overcoming seemingly impossible raw material bottlenecks.