The Arms of Krupp

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The Arms of Krupp (1968) is William Manchester's history of the Krupp dynasty, which owned and ran a dominant armaments manufacturing company in Germany. The company was based in Essen. The book presents very readable descriptions of the behavior of the Krupp family and its firm from the Thirty Years' war to the Kaisers, the Weimar Republic, the Nazis, the American occupation, and finally the Bonn government. The book describes how under each regime (except possibly Weimar) the family and firm received favorable treatment. Bizarre facets of families members are presented in detail. The innovative social welfare programs for factory workers are starkly contrasted with the treatment of forced laborers (ostarbeiters, etc.)

The book was popular on release, but is out of print as of 2007. It received mixed reviews (see references) that criticized a simplistic anti-German tone and factual errors. A cited list of factual errors would aid in putting this unabashedly non-detached account in context.

Manchester's account conflicts with that of books that portray the family and its firm being as at the mercy of the Nazis. This portrayal can not explain political windfalls such as the Lex Krupp, a specialized law authorized by Hitler that returned the firm to family ownership in 1943.