For almost a hundred years, the economic history of the Vogtland small town of Schöneck was shaped by the cigar industry. During times of economic crisis, the local political elite motivated external entrepreneurs to invest, which led to the establishment of branch plants that created the conditions for the town's economic survival. On the threshold of the 20th century, an industrial monoculture developed that permeated all areas of life for the people of Schöneck. However, the city's "cigar" brought little prosperity, as the tobacco processing industry only produced where wage levels were not undercut. The book traces the history of the Schöneck cigar industry from the political efforts to establish it to its end in the context of the planned economy's "reprofiling" during the GDR era.