The history of SWIETELSKY dates back to one of the darkest chapters in human history. This historical legacy obliges us to take responsibility. That is why Swietelsky AG commissioned an independent commission of historians, in collaboration with the Documentation Centre of Austrian Resistance (DÖW), to comprehensively review its own corporate history from 1936 to 1945.

The independent historians prove that the company benefited from the power structures and Aryanisation that caused suffering among forced labourers. They found that Hellmuth Swietelsky was able to gain economic advantages during the Nazi era without being politically active in support of the regime or openly identifying with its ideology. 

The results of this research were published in 2025 in the form of a comprehensive book. Swietelsky AG is committed to a responsible culture of remembrance that focuses on transparency, integrity and ethical conduct. The past must neither be glossed over nor suppressed. All insights from history form the basis for a future characterised by humanity and respectful coexistence across cultural and linguistic boundaries.

Pawlowsky, Verena; Wendelin, Harald (eds.).: Unternehmergeist und Komplizenschaft. Hellmuth Swietelskys Baufirmen in der NS-Zeit. böhlau Verlag, 2025.

ISBN 978-3-205-22314-6

A branch in Munich with offices in Traunstein and Emmering is opened. New branches are constantly added in Austria. At the end of the 1960s, concrete construction leads the push into other sectors.

The 1980s are marked by the continuous expansion of the range of services, especially in building construction. The company also pushes ahead with mechanised track construction. As a result of the "opening up of the East" in 1989, subsidiaries are founded in Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Poland and Croatia.

DI Dr. Peter Krammer takes over as the new CEO of Swietelsky AG. With a strategy update and a sharpened positioning, SWIETELSKY enters a new era in 2024 with the slogan "Building ever better."