The first contemporary historical study of the Treuhandanstalt, its personnel, and its multifaceted yet contradictory mandate. The Treuhandanstalt was one of the most controversial organizations in German history. As the largest company in the world, it undertook an asset restructuring of unprecedented scale. Between the collapsing real socialism and the globalizing capitalism, its staff transitioned the state-owned enterprises of the GDR from a planned economy to a market economy. Sales to predominantly West German investors, industry closures, and mass layoffs characterized its crisis-ridden business practices, as did furious protests, political controversies, and public scandals. Beyond contemporary assessments as an inevitable success or neoliberal liquidation, Marcus Böick offers the first historical perspective on this contradiction.