The Emergence of the West German Petrochemical Industry

1945年至1961年间，西德化工生产商在生产有机化学品时，从主要以煤为原料过渡到主要以石油为原料，从而在石化技术方面追随美国的领导地位，确保了他们的长期竞争力。斯托克斯博士正在研究这一重大变化，他将从政治、经济史和技术史中汲取的方法结合起来。这项研究将有助于探讨更广泛的问题，包括影响技术选择的政治、经济和社会因素；政治背景下的技术转移，以及国家在塑造技术发展中的作用。在这项资助下，Stokes博士正在完成研究，包括前往德国考察巴斯夫和拜耳公司以及科布伦茨联邦档案馆的档案。这项研究有望对西德石化工业的兴起进行详细的考察。了解德国工业如何从技术落后（与英国和美国同行相比）转变为世界领先，将有助于了解技术变革的过程和有效战略。它还将帮助我们理解西德在战后世界政治、经济和技术表现的基础。

Between 1945 and 1961, West German chemical producers made the transition from primarily coal-based to predominately petroleum- based feedstocks for manufacture of organic chemicals, thus following American leadership in petrochemical technology and ensuring their long-term competitiveness. Dr. Stokes is examining this significant change, combining approaches drawn from political and economic history with those from history of technology. This study will contribute to broader issues including the political, economic and social factors affecting technological choice; technological transfer in its political context, and the state's role in shaping technological development. Under this grant, Dr. Stokes is completing research including travel to Germany to examine the archives of the BASF and Bayer companies and Federal Archives in Koblenz. This research promises to produce a detailed examination of the emergence of the West German petrochemical industry. Understanding how this German industry transformed itself from technological backwardness (compared to its British and American counterparts) to world leadership will shed light on the process and effective strategies of technological change. It will also help us to understand the bases of West Germany's political, economic, and technological performance in the postwar world.