The Volkseigener Betrieb (German: people-owned enterprise; abbreviation: VEB) was the legal form of industrial enterprise in East Germany. They were publicly owned and were routinely combined with other organizational units called Kombinate.
An honorary name was frequently added to the firm's actual name, for example, VEB Kombinat Chemische Werke "Walter Ulbricht" Leuna, which had to be "fought" for in the context of the socialist competition for plan fulfillment and overfulfillment. The VEB Braunkohlenwerk in Röblingen was named for Gustav Sobottka, an East German politician.
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