Contenu du sommaire : Entreprises, entrepreneur et travailleurs pendant la Grande Guerre

The leaders of major French companies in the war economy. A synthesis test
Management of the leading French industrial firms is confronted in 1914 with the call-up of several of their title-holders, which it took in stride, thanks to many adjustments. Transfers between administration and industry are no more frequent than the usual practice, but the period is marked by numerous opportunities for managers to cooperate with the State. The economic elites are not transformed, but they are encouraged to organize themselves more collectively.

Textile companies and entrepreneurs in the face of war. France, 1914-1920
Overlooked in studies on industrial mobilization in the First World War, the wool and cotton industries played a role almost as important as that of the ammunitions factories. Whether it was in clothing production or in arms production, manufacturers had to face human and material challenges. This study examines the policy adopted by these two industries, their organizational capacity, their mobilization of capital, as well as their reaction to wartime problems and the demands of the Government.

Caught between loyalty, accommodation and resistance, the Alsatian industrialists tested in the wartime economy.
–Alsatian manufacturers had to deal with the key issue of loyalty as early as August 1914. Some moved to France or Switzerland, while those who remained underwent the rigours of the German war economy, which were aggravated in Alsace for strategical and political reasons. To safeguard the survival of their businesses, they adopted strategical accommodations that evolved in individual and collective resistance. They became aware that a French victory would be less risky than the victory of Germany.

The sequestration of firms in Haute-Alsace during the First World War: what were the objectives?
Obviously, Alsace was not a “German territory” like any other. As early as the opening of hostilities, an order allowed firms considered to be too pro-French to be placed under forced administration. What were the objectives of these sequestrations? Was it to operate the sequestered firms as a father figure in order to benefit the wartime economy or was it to act as predator with no other goal than to seize its assets? In reality, far from enforcing a doctrine, the Germans had to adapt to the circumstances.

Alsatian companies in the hour of the Armistice: what consequences for what occasions?
The Alsatian Region was the only part of Germany to confront some of the fiercest fighting during the First World War. Businesses in the region found themselves in a variety of situations, affected by the proximity of the war and by the diversity of these industries. The situation became more complex after 1918, when economic life returned with the transfer of a German economy to a French economy.

Lorraine as resource and production centre for Ruhr industry
After the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71 and the annexation of Lorraine to Germany, trade relations emerged between the iron-ore deposits in Lorraine and the heavy industry of the Ruhr. The article examines these connections, with a closer look at the Gutehoffnungshütte. When the First World War began, the importance of Lorraine as an ore deposit increased. At the same time, the Lorraine ore mining industry faced multiple challenges due to the decline in the work force and the impact of military operations.

Employees without work, businesses without resources, how to survive in Lille under the German occupation (1914-1918)? 
How did the population of Lille, isolated from the rest of the territory and confronted with the presence and the requirements of occupation troops during almost the entire war, succeed in surviving? The amount of the savings accumulated before the war allowed the richest inhabitants who stayed in place to survive; for the rest, the municipality and the local town councillors provided solidarity and assistance, which provided nevertheless only a partial answer, to be accompanied by an increase in inegalities.

On the labor front. War effort and manpower management in the Berliet plant (1914-1920)
The history of Berliet, a pioneer of the French automobile industry, is re-examined as a working community in the Great War, inspired by Fordian and Taylorian principles. Rather than seeing it as a system enforced by the boss, on a model exclusively American, this article exhorts the role of the engineers in their efforts to build a work ethic, by training, sports and new organization, into the development of the Homo Faber automobile, in a new industrial city, near Lyon, partly inspired by the architect Tony Garnier.

The management of the workforce during the First World War, the practice of an average French firm in the Stephan region
The First World War was characterized by the implementation of a state-directed economy through industrial mobilization. Workforce issues were some of the major changes affecting corporations. This examination of the archives of the Chavanne-Brun company, near Saint-Étienne, provides an in-depth study of labour management on the home front. Organizational and rationalization efforts allowed production to adapt to wartime needs. New bureaucratic procedures altered the methods of recruiting workers. Finally, the social policy of the company was amplified so as to attract and better control a new and different personnel.

The extraordinary contribution on war profits, a source for stemming inflation
The contribution on war profits, implemented by a law dated July 1, 1916, aimed to tax the additional profits made during the First World War as a result of military orders. It was the first tax to respond to the wording of the declaration form filed by the taxpayer himself. Its little use as an historical source can be explained by different factors which complicate its analysis, especially the impact of inflation.

The perception of the former enemy in Lorraine after the two World Wars
During the two World Wars, Lorraine was annexed, occupied and especially victim of exactions from the German occupant. After the victory on 1918 and the unconditional surrender of Germany on 8 May 1945, the populations of Lorraine remained in contact with the former enemy, their immediate neighbor. This article analyzes their reactions and the evolution of their attitude in the years following the end of the conflicts.