Treuhandanstalt

The Treuhandanstalt ("Trust agency"), colloquially referred to as Treuhand, was an agency established by the government of the German Democratic Republic to privatize East German enterprises, Volkseigene Betriebe (VEBs), prior to the unification of Germany. Created by the Volkskammer on June 17, 1990, it oversaw the restructuring and selling of about 8500 state-owned companies with over four million employees. At that time it was the world's largest industrial enterprise, controlling everything from steel works to the Babelsberg Studios.