John D. Rockefeller: A historical documentary in German about Standard Oil, economic power, and the limits of a court ruling. In 1911, his company had to be divided. But Rockefeller remained a shareholder in the successor companies. How did he build this empire?

This comprehensive biography recounts the risky Cleveland refinery auction, controversial freight agreements, the resistance of independent entrepreneurs, and Ida Tarbell's research. It follows Rockefeller through the financial crisis of 1893 to the dissolution of Standard Oil, his foundations, and the conflicts surrounding the family legacy. At Ludlow, we explicitly distinguish between John D. Rockefeller Sr. and his son.

A story about the oil industry, competition, ownership, and responsibility—told using historical sources, archival images, and illustrated scenes.

CHAPTERS
00:00 The Judgment and the Highest Bid
10:10 From Trading Company to Refinery
20:21 The Contract That Stirs Up the Oil Region
30:40 The Struggle for Market Access
39:45 A Trust Before Its Judges
46:58 Ore, Ships, and a Financial Crisis
55:56 Ida Tarbell Opens the Files
1:04:06 The Company Is Divided, Ownership Remains
1:11:21 From Donations to Institutions
1:20:44 Ludlow and the Legacy

SOURCES (SELECTION)
John D. Rockefeller: Random Reminiscences of Men and Events (1909)
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/17090
Ida M. Tarbell: The History of the Standard Oil Company (1904)
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/60692
Supreme Court: Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey v. United States, 221 U.S. 1 (1911)

https://supreme.justia.com/cases/fede...
Rockefeller Archive Center: John D. Rockefeller Sr.

https://rockarch.org/resources/about-...
John D. Rockefeller Jr.: The Colorado Industrial Plan (1916)

https://digitalcommons.rockefeller.ed...
National Park Service: Ludlow

https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/war-...

IMAGES AND REPRESENTATION

32 public domain historical illustrations from Ida Tarbell's 1904 work, digitized by Project Gutenberg. This includes 40 AI-generated historical illustrations and 18 original diagrams. The generated scenes depict situations; they are not original photographs or exact reconstructions of individual rooms or conversations. The narration is synthetically produced. Archival images are accompanied by brief source information. German subtitles are available separately.

Life's Work Archive – Biographies in Historical Context.