The outbreak of World War I all but crushed the market for luxury watches. Nonetheless, the production of high-precision marine chronometers helped "A. Lange & Söhne" to survive these dire times. In 1919, Emil Lange entrusted the management of the company to his sons who soon began to work towards restoring its former stature. Although the post-war euphoria was quickly quenched by the global economic crisis, the unique reputation of Lange pocket watches and the company's many special products in the field of precision timekeeping helped Lange generate revenues even as other respected manufactures in Germany and elsewhere had to close down. Shortly before World War II began, Walter Lange also followed in the footsteps of his forebears and commenced training as a watchmaker. Sadly, though, on 8 May 1945, the last day of the war, he had to witness how Russian bombers hit Lange's main production workshops and almost totally destroyed them. Three years later, in April 1948, the company was expropriated by the communist regime. This eradicated the proud name that for 100 years had adorned the dials of some of the most coveted watches in the world. "A. Lange & Söhne" became a legend.