Krupp

Krupp, family of German armaments makers. The firm was founded in Essen (1811) by Friedrich Krupp (1787–1826) with a small steel casting factory, and under his son, Alfred Krupp (1812–87), became the largest cast steel enterprise in the world, playing a key role in the Franco-Prussian War, World War I, and World War II. After World War II, Alfred Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach (1907–67), head of the firm from 1943, was imprisoned (1948–51) for war crimes. The company, now a public corporation, concentrates on heavy industrial equipment. In 1992, Krupp merged with Hoesch and in 1997 with Thyssen.