Norddeutscher Lloyd#Fleet

File:Norddeutscher Lloyd - Bremen - Prospekt - 1857.jpg

The company was founded by the Bremen merchants Hermann Henrich Meier and Eduard Crüsemann on 20 February 1857, after the dissolution of the New York based Ocean Steam Navigation Company, a joint German-American enterprise.{{cite news |url = https://www.nytimes.com/1898/11/19/archives/herr-hh-meier-dead-north-german-lloyd-steamship-cos-founder-passes.html |format = pdf |title = Herr H.H. Meier Dead.; North German Lloyd Steamship Co.'s Founder Passes Away at Bremen. |newspaper = New York Times |date = 19 November 1898 |access-date = 2010-01-23 |page = 1}}Edwin Drechsel, Norddeutscher Lloyd, Bremen, 1857–1970: History, Fleet, Ship Mails, volume 1 Vancouver, British Columbia: Cordillera, 1994, {{ISBN|978-1-895590-14-2}}, p. 7.[http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/de~ndl.html NDL's history and house flag]Georg Bessell, Norddeutscher Lloyd, 1857–1957: Geschichte einer bremischen Reederei, Bremen: Schünemann, [1957], {{OCLC|3187889}}, pp. 18–20 {{in lang|de}}Rolf Böttcher: Ankunft des Raddampfers „Washington“ in Bremerhaven 1847. Bremerhaven 1997 The new shipping company had no direct association with the British maritime classification society Lloyd's Register, but by the mid-19th century, "Lloyd" was commonly used to refer to NDLBessell, p. 24. (an earlier user of the term in the same context was the Trieste-based Österreichischer Lloyd, originally intended to be modelled on Lloyd's of London).

H. H. Meier became NDL's first chairman of the supervisory board, and Crüsemann became the first director of the company (German Aktiengesellschaft – AG). Crüsemann was in charge of both cargo services and passenger transport, which was growing significantly as a result of emigration. The company was also active in other areas, including tugboats, bathing, insurance, and ship repair (the last of which it still provide). The first office of the company was located at 13 Martinistraße in Bremen.

The company started with establishing a route to England prior to starting a transatlantic service. In 1857, the first ship, Adler, began regular passenger service between the Weser region (where Bremen is located) and England. On 28 October 1857, it made its maiden voyage from Nordenham to London.[http://www.norwayheritage.com/p_shiplist.asp?co=ndlaa Norway-Heritage]

Just one year later, regular, scheduled services were started between the new port in Bremerhaven and New York using two {{GRT|2674}} steamships, {{SS|Bremen|1858|2}} and {{SS|New York|1858|2}}. International economic crises made the first years of NDL extremely difficult, and the company took losses until 1859. In the following years, passenger connections to Baltimore and New Orleans were added to the schedule, and the company first rented (and then purchased in 1869) facilities on the waterfront in Hoboken, New Jersey.Bessell, pp. 35, 36.

In 1867–1868, NDL began a partnership with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, which initiated the Baltimore Line; until 1978, it had its own ships. In 1869, Crüsemann died at the age of 43 years. From 1877 to 1892, the director of NDL was Johann Georg Lohmann. He established a new policy for the company, emphasizing building fast liners. Eventually H. H. Meier and Lohmann fell out over the direction of the company. In 1892, a {{GRT|5481|link=off}} twin-screw steamship (the company's first) was christened H.H. Meier after the founder;{{cite news |url = https://www.nytimes.com/1897/03/09/archives/german-steamer-on-fire-the-hh-meier-forced-to-put-back-by-the.html |format = pdf | title = German steamer on fire. |work = The New York Times |date = 9 March 1897 |access-date = 2010-01-23 |page = 1}} this helped to heal the breach between them.Bessell, p. 70.

File:Norddeutscher-Lloyd-Bremerhaven.jpg in 1870]]

During the Gründerzeit at the beginning of the German Empire, NDL expanded greatly. Thirteen new ships of the "Strassburg class" were ordered. A route to the West Indies, offered from 1871 to 1874, proved unprofitable, but it was replaced by a permanent route to the east coast of South America. On the transatlantic route, the HAPAG, the Holland-America Line, and the Red Star Line were by then all fierce rivals. Beginning in 1881 with {{SS|Elbe|1881|2}}, eleven fast steamships of from 4500 to {{GRT|6900|link=off}} of the so-called "{{sclass2|Rivers|ocean liner|0}}" (all named for German rivers), were introduced to serve the North Atlantic route.[http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/lines/nglloyd.html The Ships List] {{webarchive |url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100609195409/http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/lines/nglloyd.html |date=2010-06-09}}

In 1885, NDL won an agreement to provide postal service between the German Empire, Australia, and the Far East.Bessell, pp. 50, 53. The associated subsidy underwrote further expansion, beginning with the first large-scale order placed with a German shipyard for three mail steamships for the major routes and three smaller steamships for branch service from AG Vulcan Stettin. It was a requirement of the agreement that the ships be constructed in Germany.

By 1890, with 66 ships totaling {{GRT|251602|link=off}}, NDL was the second largest shipping company in the world, after [P&O]], with 48 ships totaling {{GRT|251603|link=off}}, and dominated shipping to Germany with 31.6% of the traffic. NDL was also carrying more transatlantic passengers to New York than any other company, due to its dominance in steerage, which consisted mostly of immigrants. In cabin class, it carried only slightly more passengers than Cunard and White Star Line. New York accounted for 42% of NDL's passenger traffic, and 15% to other US ports, but only 16.2% eastbound from New York. Its westbound South Atlantic service represented 17.3% of its passengers; eastbound from South America represented only 1.7%.{{Citation needed|date=January 2025}}

In 1887, the NDL withdrew from the route to England in favor of Argo Reederei, but continued to provide tug services through participation, beginning in 1899, in the Schleppschifffahrtsgesellschaft Unterweser (Unterweser Tug Association, now Unterweser Reederei).Bessell, p. 80.

H. H. Meyer stepped down from the board in 1888. He was succeeded by Friedrich Reck. Johann Georg Lohmann became director of the company. Following his death in 1892, Reck stepped down and Georg Plate became the chairman. The lawyer Heinrich Wiegand became Director; from 1899 onwards, his title was Director General. He held this position until 1909, and presided over significant expansion.

File:Kaiser wilhelm der grosse 01.jpg|{{SS|Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse||2}}

File:The SS Kronprinz Wilhelm of NDL in an unknown location.jpg|{{SS|Kronprinz Wilhelm||2}}

File:Kaiser wilhelm 2.jpg|{{SS|Kaiser Wilhelm II||2}}

File:The SS Kronprinzessin Cecilie at sea in circa 1910.jpg|{{SS|Kronprinzessin Cecilie||2}}

In 1897, with the completion of {{SS|Kaiser Wilhelm der Große||2}}, the NDL finally had a major ship for the North Atlantic route. It was the largest and fastest ship in the world at the time, and the company benefited from the reputation gained by the ship winning the Blue Riband for the fastest Atlantic crossing with an average speed of 22.3 knots. Between 1897 and 1907, the company followed with three more ships of the same {{sclass2|Kaiser|ocean liner|0}}, with tonnage ranging from {{GRT|14000}} to {{GRT|19000}}: {{SS|Kronprinz Wilhelm||2}}, {{SS|Kaiser Wilhelm II||2}} and {{SS|Kronprinzessin Cecilie|1906|2}}. With these ships the company offered a regular service across the Atlantic to its docks at Hoboken, New Jersey, across the Hudson River from New York. On 30 June 1900, over 300 dock workers and others were killed in a fire at the Hoboken docks.

File:Hoboken 1909.jpg

During the first decade of the 20th century, NDL and HAPAG competed in the transatlantic routes with several record-breaking ships and vied with the British Cunard and White Star Line as the largest shipping companies in the world. In 1902 and 1904, two NDL ships again won the Blue Riband: Kronprinz Wilhelm with an average speed of {{convert|23.09|kn|km/h|abbr=on}} for the westbound passage from Cherbourg to New York, and Kaiser Wilhelm II at {{convert|23.58|kn|mph km/h|abbr=on}} on the eastbound passage. In 1907, {{RMS|Lusitania||2}}, and then in 1909, {{RMS|Mauretania|1906|2}}, both of Cunard Line, won the Blue Riband back for the British. The Mauretania then retained it until 1929.

Between 1894 and 1908, NDL ordered many other freight and passenger ships from several German shipyards. These included the {{sclass|Barbarossa|ocean liner|0}} (larger than {{GRT|10000|link=off}}, for Australia, the Far East, and the North Atlantic) and the Generals class (about {{GRT|8500}}, for the Far East and Australia).

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File:Kaiser-hun-speech.jpg speaking at the departure of Friedrich Der Grosse with German troops to put down the Boxer Rebellion in China]]File:ID4063 USS Prinz Friedrich Wilhelm.jpg

Beginning in 1899, NDL expanded into the Pacific, acquiring the entire fleets of two small British lines, the Scottish Oriental Steamship Company and the Holt East Indian Ocean Steamship Company. There, it set up between 14 and 16 passenger and freight routes in conjunction with the postal service.Bessell, p. 78. In 1900, fourteen of NDL's passenger ships were requisitioned as troop transports due to the Boxer Rebellion in China. On 27 July, Kaiser Wilhelm II delivered his infamous Hun speech, in which he compared the military of the German Empire to the Huns, at the departure ceremony for {{SS|Friedrich Der Grosse||2}}.{{cite news |title = Historic ships to ply again |newspaper = Los Angeles Times |date = 1922-08-21 | page = II8}}{{cite book |last = Massie |first = Robert K |author-link= Robert K. Massie |year = 1992 |title= Dreadnought |publisher=Jonathan Cape |place=London |isbn=0-224-03260-7 |title-link= Dreadnought (book)}} In German, these ships were collectively named "Hunnendampfer" (Huns' steamers).{{Citation needed|date=January 2025}}

At the beginning of the 20th century, the U.S. banking magnate J. P. Morgan began to acquire a number of shipping companies, including White Star Line, Leyland Line, and Red Star Line, to build the trust International Mercantile Marine Company in order to monopolize transatlantic shipping. He succeeded in signing both HAPAG and NDL to a profit-sharing agreement, but was unable to acquire the British Cunard Line, or the French Compagnie Générale Transatlantique (CGT).Lamar Cecil, Albert Ballin: Business and Politics in Imperial Germany, 1888–1918, Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University, 1967, {{OCLC| 900428}}, pp. 52–53, 56–57. HAPAG and NDL gave Morgan the largest U.S. rail company, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and so Morgan offered to divide the market. The Holland-America Line and the Red Star Line together divided a contract for the passengers of the four companies. Damaging competition was prevented between them. In 1912, the agreement with Morgan was terminated.Krass, Peter (May 2001). "He Did It!(creation of U.S. Steel by J.P. Morgan)". Across the Board (Professional Collection).

In 1907, the Norddeutscher Lloyd's 50th anniversary, the company had 93 large ships, 51 small ships, two sail training ships and other river steamers. It had around 15,000 employees. Because of the high investment costs and an international economic crisis, the company celebrated at this time but also realized that it had considerable financial difficulties.{{cite book |title = Atlantic Reporter |volume = 81 |place = Harvard |publisher = West Publishing Company |year = 1912 |page= 764}}

File:Lloydgebäude by Otto Bollhagen - Bremen - 1911.jpg

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Despite the financial difficulties, between 1907 and 1910, the company built a new headquarters on Papenburgstrasse in Bremen. The building was designed by architect Johann Poppe, who was also the lead interior designer for the company's liners. The building, the largest in the city at the time, was in eclectic Renaissance Revival style with a tower. It was sold in 1942 to Deutsche Schiff- und Maschinenbau and, when that company was broken up into its constituent parts after World War II, passed to AG Weser. The building had been severely damaged by bombing and was demolished and a Horten department store built on the site in 1969. The adjacent new shopping mall bears the name Lloyd Passage.[http://www.lloydpassage-bremen.de/ Lloyd Passage, Bremen]

The lucrative North Atlantic route was extremely competitive in this period, with new, attractive ships from other large shipping companies including {{RMS|Lusitania||2}}, {{RMS|Mauretania||2}}, and {{RMS|Aquitania||2}} of the Cunard Line, and White Star Line's {{RMS|Olympic||2}}, {{RMS|Titanic||2}}, and {{HMHS|Britannic||2}}. The HAPAG introduced three new ships of the Imperator class: {{SS|Imperator||2}}, {{SS|Vaterland|1913|2}}, and {{SS|Bismarck||2}}, each with a size of around 50,000 GRT. The NDL responded with smaller but prestigious ships such as {{SS|Prinz Friedrich Wilhelm||2}} and {{SS|George Washington||2}}, and transferred Berlin from Mediterranean service to the New York run. Finally in 1914, the company ordered two {{GRT|33000|link=off}} liners of the {{sclass|Columbus|liner|0}}. However, World War I prevented their completion.{{cite news |url = https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1908/11/11/105014544.pdf |title = Great liner is launched |newspaper = The New York Times |date = 11 November 1908 |access-date = 2008-08-01 |page = 4}}

In this era of "open borders" to transatlantic travel, the largest group making the transatlantic crossing were immigrants from Europe to the United States, and NDL carried more of them than any other company.Keeling, Drew (2014), business-of-migration.com [http://www.business-of-migration.com/data/migration-flow-statistics/north-atlantic-1815-1914/ "North Atlantic migration flows"] During 1900–1914, the three NDL ships carried the most transatlantic migrants, {{SS|Rhein|1899|2}}, {{SS|Main|1900|2}} and {{SS|Neckar|1901|2}}, each brought over 100 thousand steerage passengers to New York, Baltimore and Philadelphia.Keeling, Drew (2014), [http://www.business-of-migration.com/data/voyage-database/ "Voyage Database"] The economic downturn following the Panic of 1907 led to a sharp fall-off of migrant traffic to America, only partially offset by increased steerage flows back to Europe. This was the main contributing factor to "one of the blackest years in the Company's history."NRP Bonsor, North Atlantic Seaway, p. 532, Mark Wyman, Round-Trip to America (1993), p. 74

In 1914, NDL employed approximately 22,000 people. Its success thus directly influenced the rapid growth of the city of Bremerhaven, which had only been founded in 1827.

Director General Dr. Wiegand died in 1909, and was succeeded by Director Phillip Heineken, who served until 1920.{{cite news |url = https://www.nytimes.com/1918/07/26/archives/sees-big-sea-trade-aim-national-demand-here-for-great-merchant.html |format = pdf |title = Sees Big Sea Trade Aim.; National Demand Here for Great Merchant Fleet, Says Heineken. |newspaper = The New York Times |date = 26 July 1918 |access-date = 2010-01-22 |page = 1}}{{cite news |url= http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article115255129 |title= The Great "N.D.L." |newspaper= Evening News |issue=13,439 |place=Sydney, NSW |date=6 July 1910 |access-date=18 April 2018 |page=7 |via=Trove}}

This is a list of routes served by NDL in 1907.[https://www.ggarchives.com/OceanTravel/Brochures/NDL-1898-History.html History of the North German Lloyd Steamship Company of Bremen (1898)]

Europe – America

• Bremerhaven – New York
• Bremerhaven – Baltimore
• Bremerhaven – Savannah
• Bremerhaven – Galveston
• Bremerhaven – Cuba
• Bremerhaven – La Plata ports
• Bremerhaven – Brazil
• Genoa – New York

Mediterranean

• Marseilles – Alexandria

Europe – Asia/Australia

• Bremerhaven – East Asia
• Bremerhaven – Australia

Asia / Australia (including coastal routes)

• Hong Kong – Japan – New Guinea
• Hong Kong – Bangkok
• Hong Kong – Bangkok (via Singapore)
• Hong Kong Straits
• Hong Kong – South Philippines
• Penang – Deli
• Deli – Singapore
• Singapore – Bangkok
• Singapore – South Philippines
• Singapore – Moluccas (on Borneo)
• Singapore – Moluccas (on Celebes)
• Shanghai – Hankow
• Australia – Japan – Manila – Hong Kong

German coast

• Daytrip service on the Baltic coast
• Tug service Bremen – Hamburg and Bremen – Bremerhaven
• Passenger shipping Bremen – Bremerhaven

The beginning of World War I was a logistical challenge for NDL as a shipping company because a large part of the fleet was at sea around the world. However, most ships were able to reach neutral ports. The logistical operations of NDL in Bremerhaven were placed almost exclusively at the service of the German Navy.{{cite book |last=Jackson |first=Kenneth T |year=1995 |title=The Encyclopedia of New York City |url= https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780300055368 |url-access=registration |publisher=New–York Historical Society; Yale University Press |page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780300055368/page/854 854]|isbn=978-0300055368}} NDL owned a majority interest in the Deutsche Ozean-Reederei ("German Ocean Shipping Service"), which used U-boats for trade and made some successful Atlantic crossings.

File:Bundesarchiv Bild 102-00383, Dampfer "Columbus".jpg

File:TS Bremen.jpg

At the start of the war, the NDL's fleet totaled more than {{GRT|900000|link=off}}. Under the Treaty of Versailles at the end of the war, all ships over {{GRT|1600|link=off}} and half of all units from 100 GRT to {{GRT|1600|link=off}} were confiscated.[http://www.hapag-lloyd.com/en/about_us/history_between_1886_1918.html Hapag-Lloyd: The Ballin Era] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091026161456/http://www.hapag-lloyd.com/en/about_us/history_between_1886_1918.html |date=2009-10-26}} In 1917, the United States had already confiscated the facilities in Hoboken and the NDL ships at the dock there. The prewar NDL fleet no longer existed. The company was left with some small ships totalling {{GRT|57000|link=off}}. With these, the company resumed passenger service, tug service, and freight service in 1919. The 'flagship' was the 781-ton Grüß Gott.Bessell, p. 135. From 1920 to 1939, NDL participated in the Seedienst Ostpreußen passenger and goods service to East Prussia.

In 1920, an air transport subsidiary was founded and soon merged with Sablatnig Flugzeugbau GmbH to form Lloyd Luftverkehr Sablatnig. In 1923, it combined with HAPAG's air transport subsidiary to form Deutscher Aero Lloyd, which merged with Junkers Luftverkehr AG on 6 January 1926 to become Deutsche Luft Hansa A.G., the predecessor of Lufthansa.

In August 1920, the NDL made an agency agreement with the U.S. Mail Steamship Co. (beginning in 1921, United States Lines). This made it possible to resume transatlantic service from Bremerhaven to New York with the former Rhein, now sailing under the US flag as the Susquehanna.Bessell, pp. 141, 143. The unfinished Columbus had been awarded to Great Britain after the war and was purchased in 1920 by White Star Line, which had lost a significant amount of its ships in the war and wished to be compensated for the pre-war loss of the Titanic. Work at Danzig proceeded very slowly. Finally in autumn 1921, the so-called Columbus Agreement was reached, under which the German government and NDL undertook to facilitate rapid completion of the Columbus in exchange for the British government returning ownership to the NDL of six smaller ships which had spent the war years in South America: the mail ships Seydlitz and Yorck, the Gotha, and the cargo ships Göttingen, {{SS|Westfalen|1905|2}} and Holstein.Bessell, p. 141. The company also began to build new freighters and passenger ships and to buy back other ships.[http://classicliners.nicholaswwilson.com/ships/columbus.htm The Classic Liners of Long Ago: Columbus] {{webarchive |url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080403080803/http://classicliners.nicholaswwilson.com/ships/columbus.htm |date=2008-04-03}} In late 1921, services to South America was resumed with the Seydlitz, and in early 1922, the East Asian service resumed with the Westfalen. On 12 February 1922, service to New York with their own ships resumed with Seydlitz.Bessell, p. 143. The other ship of the Columbus-class, the {{GRT|32354|link=off}} former Hindenburg, was completed in 1924 and named Columbus. It was placed in scheduled transatlantic passenger service.

A brief post-war boom was followed by severe inflation in Germany, but despite this, NDL continued to expand its fleet. Twelve new ships of between 8,700 GRT and {{GRT|11400|link=off}} were placed in service for South and Central America and the Far East, and then, in addition to the Columbus, three new ships of between 13,000 GRT and {{GRT|15000|link=off}} were assigned to the North Atlantic (the München, Stuttgart and Berlin). In 1927 the former {{USS|Zeppelin|1914|2}} was purchased back from Great Britain and placed in service as the Dresden.[http://freepages.military.rootsweb.com/~cacunithistories/uss_zeppelin.html USS Zeppelin]

In 1920, Carl Stimming became director general of NDL, while his predecessor Heineken became chairman of the board. Between 1925 and 1928, the company acquired three German shipping companies: HABAL, the Roland Line, and Argo.{{Cite web |url=http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/lines/roland.htm |work=TheShipsList |title=Roland Line |access-date=2010-01-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604161859/http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/lines/roland.htm |archive-date=2011-06-04 |url-status=dead}}Bessell, p. 151. The acquisition of the Roland Line brought Ernst Glässel onto the board of directors, where he was to have increasing influence. In 1926, the company were once more able to pay a dividend. American credit financed continuing expansion and orders for new ships.

In 1929 and 1930, the company put its two largest ships into service, {{SS|Bremen|1928|2}} ({{GRT|51656|link=off}}) and {{SS|Europa|1928|2}} ({{GRT|49746|link=off}}). With an average speed of about {{convert|27.9|kn|km/h}}, both were to win the Blue Riband for the fastest Atlantic crossings. In 1929, the Columbus was completely refitted.

From 1928 to 1939, the volume of passengers traveling between the U.S. and Europe declined sharply. In 1928, the NDL transported about 8% of a passenger volume of 1,168,414 passengers; in 1932, 16.2% of the 751,592 passengers transported; in 1938, around 11% of 685,655 passengers. In addition, there was significant new competition from new Italian, French and British superliners: the Italian {{SS|Rex||2}} ({{GRT|51062|link=off}}) and {{SS|Conte di Savoia||2}} ({{GRT|48502|link=off}}), the French {{SS|Normandie||2}} ({{GRT|79280|link=off}}), and the British {{RMS|Queen Mary||2}} ({{GRT|80744|link=off}}).{{cite book |last = Gibbs |first = Charles Robert Vernon |title = Passenger Liners of the Western Ocean: A Record of Atlantic Steam and Motor Passenger Vessels from 1838 to the Present Day |publisher = John De Graff |year = 1957}}

File:SS General von Steuben.jpg

File:Gneisenau 2 NDL.jpg

The 1929 economic crisis, which began in the U.S., affected German shipping companies. The NDL and the HAPAG therefore entered into a cooperation agreement in 1930, and beginning in 1935, instituted joint operations in the North Atlantic.Bessell, pp. 162, 171–73. The first signs of a merger were visible. By 1932, the NDL was in an economic crisis, with about 5,000 employees laid off, salary cuts, and red ink. Glässel was dismissed. The government placed both NDL and HAPAG in trusteeship under Siegfried von Roedern. Following the death of Stimming, Heinrich F. Albert briefly became head of NDL, followed after some eighteen months by the National Socialist Rudolph Firle.Bessell, pp. 165, 174.Hartmut Rübner: Konzentration und Krise der deutschen Schiffahrt. Maritime Wirtschaft und Politik im Kaiserreich, in der Weimarer Republik und im Nationalsozialismus. Bremen 2005, {{ISBN|3-89757-238-9}} Bremen State Councillor Karl Lindemann was chairman of the board from 1933 to 1945.Reinhold Thiel, Die Geschichte des Norddeutschen Lloyd 1857–1970, volume 4 1920–1945 Bremen: Hauschild, 2006, {{ISBN|978-3-89757-230-0}}, p. 123 {{in lang|de}} A program of economic recovery by divestments and restructuring was initiated. HBAL and the Roland Line became independent companies once more, and other companies took over services to Africa and the Mediterranean. The Nazi regime ordered both NDL and HAPAG to relinquish ships to other companies which were to operate in their regions without competition from other German companies, in particular to Hamburg Süd, the Deutsche Afrika-Linien, and the Deutsche Levante Linie.Bessell, pp. 170–71.

In 1935, the Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, and Potsdam, each with about {{GRT|18000|link=off}}, were placed in service for the Far East. The modernization of the fleet continued and the company made modest profits in 1937.

In 1939, {{SS|Erlangen|1929|2}} slipped out of Lyttelton Harbour (New Zealand) on 28 August, on the eve of World War II, ostensibly for Port Kembla, New South Wales, where it was to have filled her coal bunkers for the homeward passage to Europe. It then headed for the subantarctic Auckland Islands, successfully evading the cruiser {{HMNZS|Leander}}, and re-stocked with food and wood. The freighter then made a desperate and successful escape, using jury-rigged sails, to Valparaíso, Chile, in South America. Erlangen then made her way into the South Atlantic where, on 24 July 1941, it was intercepted off Montevideo by {{HMS|Newcastle|C76|6}} and scuttled by her crew.Andrew Geer{{who|date=July 2013}} adapted the Erlangen{{'}}s story as a novel, which in turn was adapted as the 1955 film The Sea Chase.

In 1939, NDL had 70 ships in service totaling {{GRT|562371|link=off}}, including the sail training ship Kommodore Johnsen (now the Russian STS Sedov), 3 daytrip ships, 19 tugs, and 125 small ships. It employed 12,255 people (8,811 on its ships. Nine more freighters were completed after the outbreak of World War II. This entire fleet was either lost during the war or awarded to the Allies as war reparations. The Columbus was sunk in 1939; the Bremen burned in 1941; the Steuben was sunk in the Baltic Sea in 1945 with the loss of some 4,000 lives; the Europa was claimed by France in 1947, and was renamed the Liberté.

The German government was the primary stockholder in the company, but in 1941-1942, NDL was once more privatized and a cigarette manufacturer Philipp Reemtsma became its primary stockholder.Erik, Lindner: Die Reemtsmas. Geschichte einer deutschen Unternehmerfamilie, Hoffmann und Campe, Hamburg 2007, {{ISBN|3-455-09563-1}} Dr. Johannes Kulenkampff, a board member since 1932, and Richard Bertram, a board member since 1937, became chairman in 1942.

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File:Two cargo ships of the North German Lloyd in the Chilean port of Antofagasta - 1963.png – 1963]]

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At the end of World War II, the company's headquarters (which had been sold in 1942Bessell, p. 182.) had been severely damaged by bombing and all its large ships had either been destroyed or seized. It was left with only the freighter Bogotá, which was in Japan. Relicensed by the American military administration on November 29, 1945 as a "coastal shipping and stevedoring company," it started again, as after World War I, practically from zero, offering tugboat and daytripper services. Kulenkampff and Bertram constituted the Board and there were at first only 350 employees. In 1948, the first Hapag-Lloyd travel agency opened. Business initially consisted of emigration and a limited amount of tourism. Beginning in 1949, German shipping companies were permitted to order and to build ships of up to {{GRT|7200|link=off}}. In 1950, NDL placed its first post-war orders at the Bremer Vulkan shipyard for the Rheinstein-class ships ({{GRT|2791|link=off}}, 13 knots).{{cite book |last1 = Behling |first1 = Helmut |last2 = Thiel |first2 = Reinhold |title = Bremer Vulkan: Ende einer Ära |place = Bremen |publisher = Hauschild |year = 1997 |isbn = 978-3-931785-68-0 |oclc = 40363156 |language = de}}

After the limitations on German shipping imposed by the Allies were lifted in 1951,Bessell, p. 183."Year by Year 1951" – History Channel International NDL commenced building a new fleet. First, it purchased older freighters (for example the Nabob, a former American auxiliary aircraft carrier) and had new freighters built between 4,000 and {{GRT|9000|link=off}} and 5,000 and 13,000 DWT, all with names ending in -stein. The company had routes to Canada, New Orleans, the Canary Islands, and, beginning in 1953, the Far East.

In 1955, NDL resumed passenger service on the North Atlantic routes using a rebuilt 1924 Swedish ship, the {{GRT|17993|link=off}} {{MS|Gripsholm|1925|2}}.Bessell, p. 185. Renamed Berlin, it was the sixth German ship of that name, the fourth at NDL. In 1959, the company added the {{GRT|32336|link=off}} {{SS|Bremen|1957|2}} (formerly Pasteur) and, in 1965, the {{GRT|21514|link=off}} Europa (formerly Kungsholm), Gripsholm{{'}}s sister ship bought from the Swedish American Line. These ships were first placed in scheduled service to America but were soon transferred to cruising. In 1967, the {{GRT|10481|link=off}} express freighter Friesenstein (21.5 knots) inaugurated the Friesenstein class and replaced Nabob and Schwabenstein. Passenger service was running at an increasing deficit, and the rapidly growing container traffic required cost-intensive retooling in the freight business. In 1968, NDL inaugurated a container service to the USA with the {{GRT|13384|link=off}} Weser-Express; two more container ships were added soon afterward.

Around 1960, NDL had 47 ships, a number that remained almost unchanged until 1970. In 1968, its fleet totaled {{GRT|343355|link=off}} (in 1970, {{GRT|391313|link=off}}), and it was the 16th largest shipping company worldwide. HAPAG, with {{GRT|410786|link=off}}, was the 9th largest."List of Ship owners," Fischer Weltalmanach 1971. In 1970, NDL had a turnover of 515 million DM and a share capital of 54 million DM, and employed 6,200 people (3,500 of them at sea).{{cite book |last = Gardiner |first = Robert |title = The golden age of shipping: the classic merchant ship, 1900–1960 |place = University of Michigan |publisher = Conway Maritime Press |year = 1994 |isbn = 0-85177-567-5 |pages = 20}}

In 1967, Claus Wätjen and Dr. Horst Willner, and in 1969, Karl-Heinz Sager, joined the Board. Kulenkampff served on the Board until 1968, and Bertram until 1970. Since the NDL was already carrying out three quarters of its freight business in association with HAPAG, a merger of the two largest German shipping companies was entirely logical.{{Cite web |url= http://www.hapag-lloyd.com/en/about_us/history_between_1946_1970.html |title=Hapag-Lloyd: Rebuilding and Merger |access-date=2010-02-07 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20091028030133/http://www.hapag-lloyd.com/en/about_us/history_between_1946_1970.html |archive-date=2009-10-28 |url-status=dead}}

On September 1, 1970, NDL merged with HAPAG to form Hapag-Lloyd AG, based in Hamburg with a secondary headquarter in Bremen.Drechsel, p. xii.

On 20 February 2007, a small group of dedicated, former member of NDL organized a meeting at the Bremer Ratskellerfor for the 150th anniversary of the foundation of the company. This event was very popular, so it was decided that the meeting would be an annual event. They take place annually on the twentieth of February in Bremen in the former Lloyd's building – today Courtyard Marriott hotel.

File:Norddeutscher Lloyd, Bremen, Logo, 1913.jpg]]

• The new company has Lloyd as part of its name.
• The Lloyd Werft in Bremerhaven, with its headquarters in the former laundry facility, continues the memory of the NDL.
• The former company headquarters on Papenstraße was demolished and replaced by a department store in 1969, but the Große Hundestraße on one side of the site was the first street in Bremen to be privatized, and has been roofed with glass to become a pedestrian mall. It is called Lloyd Passage.
• The Lloyd baggage department building or Lloyd station on Gustav Deetjen Allee at the main station in Bremen, built in 1913 to Rudolph Jacobs' design, became Hapag-Lloyd's secondary headquarters. The NDL's company emblem adorns the main entrance.Gerhard Greß: Verkehrsknoten Bremen. EK-Verlag, Freiburg (2006) {{ISBN|3-88255-252-2}} Almost all company buildings are now in Hamburg and Hanover."[http://www.tui-group.com/en/konzern/meta/kontakt/ Contact TUI Group]." TUI AG. Retrieved on 29 May 2009.
• The Lloyd Dynamowerke (LDW) in Bremen{{Cite web |url= http://www.peterkurze.de/museum/html/werks-chronik.html |title=Werkschronik zu Borgward |access-date=2010-01-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071021053332/http://www.peterkurze.de/museum/html/werks-chronik.html |archive-date=2007-10-21 |url-status=dead}}
• Buildings in Bremen and Bremerhaven still bear the marks of former use by the NDL.Hans Hermann Meyer: Die Bremer Altstadt – Wanderungen in die Vergangenheit. Veröffentlichung des Bremer Landesmuseums für Kunst und Kulturgeschichte Focke-Museum (Nr. 107), Edition Temmen, Bremen 2003, {{ISBN|3-86108-686-7}}
• The Bremer Bank, now absorbed by Commerzbank, was founded by Meier to provide financing.

File:Hermann Henrich Meier - Bellstedt - 1890.jpg

File:Eduard Crüsemann - Wilhelm Amberg - 1860.jpg

File:Johann G. Lohmann (1830-1892).jpg

File:Dietrich Hogemann 3409602634 168aefc8d9 o.jpg

• Hermann Henrich Meier, founder and 1857–1888 first Supervisory Board Chairman of the NDLWilhelm von Bippen: [http://de.wikisource.org/wiki/ADB:Meier,_Hermann_Henrich Meier, Hermann Henrich]. In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie. Volume 52, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig (1906), P. 291–294.
• Eduard Crüsemann; 1857–1869 founder and first director of NDL[http://www.hapag-lloyd.com/en/about_us/history_between_1847_1885.html Hapag-Lloyd: The Early Years] {{webarchive |url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090507191903/http://www.hapag-lloyd.com/en/about_us/history_between_1847_1885.html |date=2009-05-07}}
• August Hermann Friedrich Neynaber alias HFA or HAF called Hermann Neynaber; (1822–1899) captain of many liners from 1866 to 1881 (Bremen, Deutschland, Donau, Mosel, Kronprinz Friedrich Wilhelm, Rhein){{cite book |title= Nautical magazine and journal of the naval reserve, Volume 53 |year= 1884 |publisher= Brown, Son and Ferguson |location= New York Public Library |page= 58 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=wggAAAAAMAAJ&q=Hermann+Neynaber&pg=PA58 |access-date= 2010-02-06}}
• Johann Georg Lohmann, 1877–1892 Director of NDLPaul Neubaur: Der Norddeutsche Lloyd. 50 Jahre der Entwicklung 1857–1907. Band I, Fr. Wilh. Grunow, Leipzig 1907. Page 44
• Hermann Friedrich Bremermann; 1868–1892 Director of the NDL
• Willy Christoffers; Captain from 1886 to 1900
• Georg Plate, from 1887 to the Supervisory Board of the NDL, 1892–1911 Chairman of the NDL
• Dr. Heinrich Wiegand; 1892–1899 Director and 1899–1909 Director-General of NDL{{cite news |url = https://www.nytimes.com/1909/03/30/archives/heinrich-wiegand-dead-general-director-of-north-german-lloyd-dies.html |format = pdf |title = Heinrich Wiegand dead. |newspaper = The New York Times |date = 30 March 1909 |access-date = 2010-02-02 |page = 1}}
• Charles Polack, Captain in 1913 of the {{SS|Kronprinzessin Cecilie||2}}{{cite news |url = https://www.nytimes.com/1914/03/15/archives/dinner-to-honor-noted-sea-captain-friends-of-capt-polack-to-welcome.html |format = pdf |title = Dinner to honor noted sea captain |date= 15 March 1909 |access-date = 2010-02-02 |page = 1 |newspaper = The New York Times}}
• Dr. Philipp Heineken, Director-General in 1909–1920, 1920–1933 Chairman of the Supervisory Board of NDL{{cite news |url = https://www.nytimes.com/1915/02/16/archives/says-england-cant-starve-germany-philipp-heineken-north-german.html |format = pdf |title = Says England can't starve Germany |newspaper = The New York Times |date = 16 February 1915 |access-date = 2010-02-04 |page = 1}}
• Carl Joachim Stimming, Director General, 1921–31"Carl Joachim Stimming Baruthiae-Erlangen", Deutsche Corps-Zeitung 48 (1931–1932) pp. 291–93
• Arnold Petzet; from 1906 to 1927 on NDL's board, responsible for transport within Germany, establishment of the cruise sectorSchwarzwälder, Herbert: Das Große Bremen-Lexikon. Edition Temmen, Bremen 2003, {{ISBN|3-86108-693-X}}.
• Ernst Glässel; 1926 member of the Lloyd Executive Board, 1931–1932 Chairman of the BoardKarl Heinz Schwebel: "Haus Seefahrt" Bremen: seine Kaufleute und Kapitäne. Krohn, Bremen 1947, P. 76.
• Dietrich Hogemann, commodore who retired in 1913{{cite news |title=Capt. Hogemann Makes His Last Voyage After 44 Years Spent at Sea. |url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1913/05/07/100617873.pdf |quote= After the North German Lloyd liner Kronprinzessin Cecilie, arriving from Bremen yesterday, had been made fast to her pier in Hoboken Capt. Dietrich Hogemann, Commodore of the fleet, announced that it was his last voyage, and that Capt. Charles Polack of the George Washington would succeed him. |work=New York Times |date=May 7, 1913 |access-date=2009-08-06}}
• Paul König, 1911 captain, 1916 captain of the U-boat, 1920–1932 Head of the marine department of the NDLHartmut Schwerdfeger & Erik Herlyn: Die Handels-U-Boote Deutschland und Bremen. Kurze-Schönholtz & Ziesener Verlag, Bremen 1997, {{ISBN|3-931148-99-8}}
• Nikolaus Johnsen, captain in 1924 of Columbus, and in 1930 Europa (III), and commodore of the fleet[http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bundesarchiv_Bild_102-00199A,_Nikolaus_Johnsen.jpg Picture from Commons (used on German Wikipedia in the article Columbus (1924) and Europa (1928))]
• Leopold Ziegenbein, captain and commodore of Bremen (IV)Deutsche Post AG: Geschichten um das Blaue Band: Rekorde, Legenden, Katastrophen
• Oskar Scharf, captain on the Europa (III)[http://www.luxurylinerrow.com/ndl.html Luxury Liner Row: Norddeutscher Lloyd]{{cite book |title= Deemed Suspect: A Wartime Blunder |last= Koch |first= Eric |year= 1985 |publisher= Formac Publishing Company |isbn= 0-88780-138-2 |page= 58 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=MCGblmhyKPYC&q=Oskar+Scharf&pg=PA58 |access-date= 2010-02-06}}
• Adolf Ahrens, captain and commodore of Columbus and Bremen (IV)Herbert Schwarzwälder: Das Große Bremen-Lexikon. {{Ill|Edition Temmen|de}}, 2003, {{ISBN|3-86108-693-X}}
• Dr. Heinrich F. Albert, 1932–1933 Director General of the NDL[http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bundesarchiv_Bild_102-13486,_Heinrich_F._Albert.jpg Picture from Commons (the description itself tells about NDL)]{{cite book |title= Gesellschaft und Diplomatie im transatlantischen Kontext: Festschrift für Reinhard R. Doerries zum 65. Geburtstag |last1=Wala |first1=Michael |last2=Doerries |first2=Reinhard R |year=1999 |publisher=Franz Steiner Verlag |isbn= 3-515-07529-1 |page=151 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=foUJ_WotOYwC&q=Heinrich+Albert+lloyd&pg=PA151 |access-date= 2010-02-06}}
• Friedrich Johann Gottfried Hubert Paffrath, 1929-1941 Superintendent
• Karl Lindemann (ex State Council), 1933–1945 Chairman of the Supervisory Board of NDLReinhold Thiel: Die Geschichte des Norddeutschen Lloyd 1857–1970, Volume 5, 1945–1970. Bremen, 2006. p. 123
• Dr. Rudolph Firle, 1933–1944. Director General of the NDL
• Dr. Johnannes Kulenkampff; from 1932 Board Member, from 1942 Executive Board member
• Richard Bertram; from 1937 Board Member, from 1942 Executive Board member
• Paul Hampel, director of ship maintenance of the NDL of about 1950 to 1970
• Heinrich Lorenz, captain of the Berlin (IV)Harald Focke: Im Liniendienst auf dem Atlantik. Neue Erinnerungen an die Passagierschiffe BERLIN, BREMEN und EUROPA des Norddeutschen Lloyd. Hauschild Verlag, Bremen, 2006. {{ISBN|978-3-89757-339-0}}
• Günter Rössing, captain of the Bremen (V)Focke, Harald: Bremens letzte Liner. Die großen Passagierschiffe des Norddeutschen Lloyd nach 1945. Hauschild Verlag, Bremen 2002, {{ISBN|3-89757-148-X}}

{{Incomplete list|date=December 2008}}

This is a list of all ships in service of the NDL. Some of the ships were owned previously by other companies.

{{reflist|2}}

• Bessell, Georg: Norddeutscher Lloyd, 1857–1957: Geschichte einer bremischen Reederei. Bremen: Schünemann, 1957, {{OCLC|3187889}}
• Buchholz, Jörn/Focke, Harald: Auf Lloyd-Frachtern. Erinnerungen 1957 bis 1964. Hauschild, Bremen, 2007, {{ISBN|978-3-89757-374-1}}
• Focke, Harald: Bremens letzte Liner. Die großen Passagierschiffe des Norddeutschen Lloyd nach 1945. Hauschild, Bremen, 2002, {{ISBN|3-89757-148-X}}
• Focke, Harald: Mit dem Lloyd nach New York. Erinnerungen an die Passagierschiffe BERLIN, BREMEN und EUROPA. Hauschild, Bremen, 2004, {{ISBN|3-89757-251-6}}
• Focke, Harald: Im Liniendienst auf dem Atlantik. Neue Erinnerungen an die Passagierschiffe BERLIN, BREMEN und EUROPA des Norddeutschen Lloyd. Hauschild, Bremen, 2006, {{ISBN|978-3-89757-339-0}}
• Kludas, Arnold: Die Seeschiffe des Norddeutschen Lloyd: 1857–1970 (2 vols). Koehlers Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, Herford, 1991 / 1992
• Reinke-Kunze, Christiane: Die Geschichte der Reichs-Post-Dampfer-Verbindung zwischen den Kontinenten 1886-11914, Herford 1994, {{ISBN|3-7822-0618-5}}.
• Wiborg, Susanne, und Klaus Wiborg: 1847–1997, Mein Feld ist die Welt – 150 Jahre Hapag-Lloyd, Hapag-Lloyd AG, Hamburg 1997.
• Rübner, Hartmut: Konzentration und Krise der deutschen Schiffahrt. Maritime Wirtschaft im Kaiserreich, in der Weimarer Republik und im Nationalsozialismus. Hauschild, Bremen 2005
• Thiel, Reinhold: Die Geschichte des Norddeutschen Lloyd: 1857–1970 (5 vols). Hauschild, Bremen 2001
• Witthöft, Hans Jürgen: Norddeutscher Lloyd. Koehlers Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, Herford, 1973, {{ISBN|3-7822-0088-8}}
• Dirk J. Peters (Hrsg.): Der Norddeutsche Lloyd – Von Bremen in die Welt – „Global Player“ der Schifffahrtsgeschichte. Hauschild, Bremen, 2007, {{ISBN|978-3-89757-360-4}}

{{Commons category}}

• [http://www.schiffe-maxim.de/NDL.htm Fleet information] {{in lang|de}}
• [http://www.norwayheritage.com/gallery/gallery.asp?categoryid=33 Gallery of NDL's fleets at Norway-Heritage]
• [https://www.ggarchives.com/OceanTravel/Passengers/NorthGermanLloyd/index.html Norddeutscher Lloyd Bremen Passenger Lists 1881-1938] GG Archives
• [http://www.simplonpc.co.uk/NDL.html Postcards of NDL]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20180806120950/http://steamshipdresden1888.com/ SS Dresden]
• [http://www.lastoceanliners.com/cgi/lolline.pl?NGL The Last Ocean Liners – North German Lloyd] – trade routes and ships of North German Lloyd in the 1950s and 60s
• {{PM20|FID=co/045224|TEXT=Documents and clippings about|NAME=}}
• [https://www.ggarchives.com/OceanTravel/SteamshipLines/NorthGermanLloyd.html North German Lloyd History and Ephemera] GG Archives [https://www.ggarchives.com/OceanTravel/SteamshipLines/NorthGermanLloyd01.html 1881-1927] [https://www.ggarchives.com/OceanTravel/SteamshipLines/NorthGermanLloyd02.html 1928-1935] [https://www.ggarchives.com/OceanTravel/SteamshipLines/NorthGermanLloyd03.html 1936-1995]
• [https://www.ggarchives.com/OceanTravel/ImmigrantShips/Hohenzollern.html GG Archives: SS Hohenzollern Brief History and Steerage Passenger List]
• [https://www.ggarchives.com/OceanTravel/ImmigrantShips/Neckar.html GG Archives: SS Neckar (1901) Brief History, Sailing Schedules, Menus, Photographs.]
• [https://www.ggarchives.com/OceanTravel/ImmigrantShips/Werra.html GG Archives: SS Werra Archival Collection Includes Passenger Lists, Brochures, Passage Contracts, Menus, etc.]

{{Norddeutscher Lloyd ships}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Shipping companies of Germany

Category:Transatlantic shipping companies

Category:Companies based in Hamburg

Category:Defunct companies of Germany

Category:Transport in Bremen (state)

Category:Transport companies established in 1857

Category:Transport companies disestablished in 1970

Category:1857 establishments in the German Confederation

Category:19th-century establishments in Bremen

Category:1970 disestablishments in West Germany

Category:History of Bremen (city)