ABSTRACT
The downswing of the trade cycle that began in 1873 proved to be the longest and deepest of the century, bringing in its train a large number of bankruptcies. In Barmen alone during 1876 there were 149 failures, though only two involving large firms. The severity of the depression varied from area to area and industry to industry. In the left-bank silk industry, where the crisis had begun in 1872, it seems to have been less severe than in most places. Business fluctuated throughout the period from relatively good to poor, but although the weavers’ wages fell and they had fewer orders to fill, there seems to have been no real unemployment. It should be evident from the above that the crisis had differential effects upon individuals. Coal miners in Essen suffered severe declines in their real incomes while Krupp workers living nearby continued to draw high wages.
