Data: Giovedì 12 Febbraio 2026, ore 15:30
Luogo: Aula Seminari Bruguier Pacini, DEM
Relatore: Sophia Rishyna (University of Mannheim)
Titolo: No Longer a Secret. Geheime Reichssachen as part of Nazi German Patents
Abstract:
This paper investigates and discusses the role that innovation plays in warfare based on a newly compiled patent database of over 1,700 previously secret Nazi German patents. Unlike the annually published patent lists by the Reich patent office, the secret patents were inaccessible to the public and collected in a hand-written manuscript. §8 of the patent law of 1936 stipulated that the inventor of a device or process deemed necessary for ‘national defense purposes’ be appropriately remunerated by the responsible Reich Minister. The overwhelming majority of patent applicants were military institutions rather than private investors. Firms, especially the I.G. Farben, Siemens, and Telefunken, also applied for patents that were considered to be of importance for national defense reasons. Most of these patents were in the industries of Chemistry, Electricity, Instruments, and Engines and Pumps. Only 0.35 per cent of secret patents mention their use for war-related purposes directly in the patent’s description.
Organizzatore del seminario: Francesca Dal Degan
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