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The uranium mining region is made up of areas of extensive mining activity that shaped wide swathes of the western Erzgebirge. An important issue for the region is the decontamination and redevelopment of the remnants of the uranium-mining period from the second half of the 20th century up to the present day. The uranium mining that occurred in the Erzgebirge following the Second World War, prompted by the Cold War and the nuclear armament of the Soviet Union, is globally unparalleled. From 1950 onwards, mining activity in the area gradually became more of a planned operation under the central control of the Soviet-German uranium mining company SDAG Wismut. The mining areas around the towns of Johanngeorgenstadt, Schneeberg, Schlema, and Hartenstein were of particular importance. After 1945, SAG Wismut, the central administration for uranium mining in Saxony, was controlled by the Soviet authorities. From 1953, it operated as SDAG Wismut – with Germany holding only a minority stake in the company. The uranium mining undertaken by SDAG/SAG Wismut was larger in terms of both scope and impact than all previous mining activities in the Erzgebirge. Uranium mining was discontinued after the reunification of Germany in 1990.

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