Reemtsma Cigarettenfabriken GmbH is one of the biggest tobacco and cigarette manufacturing companies in Europe and a subsidiary of Imperial Brands. The company's headquarters is in Hamburg, Germany. History Reemtsma was created in 1910 in Erfurt, Germany. In 1918, the production was automated. In the twenties, many German cigarette firms went bankrupt, and the market was increasingly dominated by a few large, highly automated manufacturers, such as what Reemtsma became. By 1920, Reemtsma had attracted the talents of tobacco expert David Schnur, who became a shareholder and oversaw blending and sourcing. In 1921, the trade mark "R6" was introduced in the market by Hans Domizlaff. In 1923, production was moved to Altona, now part of the city of Hamburg, where Reemtsma's main headquarters remain. In 1930, Reemtsma took over the Berlin-based Problem Cigarettes. In June 1932, Philipp Fürchtegott Reemtsma, head of the company, met with Adolf Hitler, Rudolf Hess, and Max Amann. Reemtsma's ads ran in the publications of other political factions, but had been banned from Nazi party publications. However, the Nazi publications lost money, and the party needed money for election campaigning. Hitler scolded Reemtsma for having Jewish partners and managers, but they agreed to an initial deal on half a million marks of advertising. During the Third Reich the company prospered despite the official anti-tobacco policy of the Nazis. Shortly after the Nazis took power in 1933, Philipp Reemtsma asked Hermann Göring, then the highest official in Prussia, to do something about a court case and SA attacks against the company. In early 1934, Göring called off the court case in exchange for three million marks; Reemtsma subsequently paid him a million a year, in addition to substantial donations to the party. By July 1934 the Night of the Long Knives had removed the threat of the SA. Reemtsma's Jewish partners, notably David Schnur, emigrated, along with many Jewish employees, with help from Reemtsma. In 1937, the company merged with "Haus Neuerburg" and reached a 65% market share. Between 1933 and 1939, the firm's profits increased tenfold to 114 million reichsmarks. In 1939, Philipp F. Reemtsma was promoted leader of the Fachuntergruppe Zigarettenindustrie part of the National Socialist economy and recognized by Göring as a Wehrwirtschaftsführer. Cigarettes were distributed free to soldiers, including minors, as part of their pay, and the market continued to grow rapidly. Forced labour was used by Reemtsma during the war, with prison