The original factory building in Wuppertal Germany
This was the original factory of the Henkels Werke and the building and surrounding grounds were bought by the brothers Erich and Wilhelm Reitz. The notary act was initiated in October 1938 and was finally signed on January 26 1940. They did not hesitate to put their new name sign above the entrance gate. This factory building was located at the Langerfelderstrasse 129 in Barmen-Wuppertal, Germany and it still exists today.
The main building with double entrance gate.
The inner square after you entered the double entrance gate. On the right is the main production facility. In the back you see another gate going to more factory buildings. In the centre of the picture we see the entrance gate to the other buildings.
The inner square remained almost unchanged. On the bas-relief the “& W.” was erased by Erich Reitz when he ran the company alone in 1945.
The entrance gate with the E&W Reitz logo on top
The centre piece of this entrance gate displays a nice bas-relief dated 1921, to which the brothers added their E&W Reitz logo.
The main entrance gate in 2017, the logo has vanished
The factory building in downtown Antwerp
The building in the Van de Wervestraat 63 in Antwerp was one of the depots of the E.Reitz uniformwerke. The picture you see on the right was taken in 2023. The roof of the right building was recently changed. The picture below dates from 1942 when the E.Reitz company used the facility for storage of the big rolls of raw cloth. They were transported to the factory in Merksem to be processed into uniforms. Later during the war, these buildings were also used to pack toys and gifts that were gathered by the employees. These toys were given to the German children in the bombed out cities in Germany.
Van de Wervestraat 63 Antwerp then ( 1942 ) and now ( 2021 )
The clothing depot at the docks in Merksem
The main factory of the E.Reitz Uniformwerke was located at the Albert Canal in Merksem, right across the acces from the Albert Canal to the Lobroekdok. But due to the vast majority of clothes produced, they soon needed more storage facilities. One of the first clothing depots was acquiredat the dockyard in Merksem, Oostkaai nr 23. This depot building was located at the small Merksem Dock which was connevcted to the Albert Canal and was only 1.6 km down the canal from the main company building. It could be reached by train, truck or boat.
The building at Oostkaai 23 Merksem with two large hangars on the left and behind the main building in 1943
The same main building with the two hangars on the left in 2017
The E.Reitz factory building in Gent
When the E.Reitz company was expanding, it became one of the main players in the Belgian textile industry during WWII. Since it had a very big impact on the market, it was able to absorb several of its’ competitors. They often had no choice: coöperate or merge with the E.Reitz company or undergo a hostile take-over.
In the former Gandcia factory building in Gent, the E.Reitz company installed one of his works to cover the production in East-Flanders. This factory building was located at the Scheldestraat in Gent. Unfortunately the original building does no longer exist.
Note the “E.Reitz Uniformwerke” painted on the white band right under the roof of the building.
