SEPEWE
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
SEPEWE was a Polish arms industry syndicate. Established as a joint venture of the Polish government and 19 private companies of the arms industry, it became one of the largest arms dealerships of the 1920s and 1930s. Between 1926 and 1939 SEPEWE exported Polish and foreign-made military equipment to over 30 states, with revenues of 320 to 350 million zlotys.
The company specialised in both surplus military equipment of World War I vintage and modern weapons produced by Polish factories. Equipment sold ranged from small arms to modern PZL.37 medium bombers.
The full name of the syndicate was "Eksport Przemysłu Obronnego SEPEWE sp. z o.o." - "Export of Arms Industry SEPEWE, Co. Ltd.". The SEPEWE name itself was initially an abbreviation meaning "Arms Industry Export Syndicate" (Polish: Syndykat Eksportu Przemysłu Wojennego), but the full name was rarely used.
History
Although after World War I and the Polish-Bolshevist War Poland inherited a sizeable arms industry, the Polish Army also had large stocks of military equipment. As domestic orders for new weaponry dwindled, Polish arms industry tried to find new clients abroad, mostly in Romania, Yugoslavia and Turkey. Simultaneously, the Polish Army also tried to sell surplus war materiel to those states, both as a means of obtaining funds for further modernisation of the armed forces, and as a means of strengthening Poland's political influence in Central Europe. Initially the private companies tried to compete on their own while the government's efforts were directed by head of Army Administration Office, Gen. Mieczysław Norwid-Neugebauer. The private companies tried to join forces by forming a Section of Military Industry (Polish: Sekcja Przemysłu Wojennego, SPW) lobbying group as part of the Metal Industry Exporters Union, but European markets of early 1920s were filled with surplus rifles, bullets and artillery pieces and the sales drive brought little effects.
The situation changed dramatically after the May Coup d'État of 1926. Already in late May Norwid-Neugebauer met with the industry's representatives to establish possible ways for the Army and the arms producers to cooperate. The new government of Kazimierz Bartel promised to lower the export tariffs, and Polish State Railways tariffs for arms transports, take over the promotion of Polish arms industry and provide the companies with cheap, state-sponsored credits.[citation needed]
Finally on 5 November 1926 the Ministry of Military Affairs signed an agreement with 19 mostly privately held arms industry companies to establish the SEPEWE company.[1] Although initially the company's shareholders were mostly privately held companies, the Sanacja focused on nationalisation of strategically important branches of the economy and already in 1928 most shares of the SEPEWE were in government hands, either directly or indirectly. In 1934 the company received a de facto monopoly for arms exports and in 1937 it was converted to a joint stock company, with most shares in direct government control.[1]
![[icon]](#/media/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small}