After the war the Germans needed to export, and one of the biggest markets was the U.K. itself! However, so that the British public could tell these fiendish foreign tools from the genuine article, the British government required that they were marked 'Made in Germany'!
However, the tools themselves, as now, were actually pretty good quality, and reasonably priced! So, before long the Brits were hunting them out. Nobody really knew the individual manufacturers back then, but it didn't really matter as the words 'Made in Germany' were a good indication of decent quality! The Germans stuck with it, and I dare say the same still applies to an extent in the U.S.A.
Here's a quick story on the subject. My Grandfather, a First World War veteran, was at his local tool store in the 1920's! His friend Stan, who owned the place, said 'we've got a German chap here, trying to sell tools!'
Well he must have been a brave bloke, but an appreciation of fine tools applies everywhere, and in the end Grandfather bought a pair of pliers, and his friend stocked them from then on!
I still have them, marked Mauke or Klauke if I recall, and remember my Grandfather telling the story! Stan's shop was the first to sell German tools in London, and still existed into the 1980's!
