NAZI SEARCH FOR SUPPLIES

Greymouth Evening Star, 12 February 1940, Page 9

NAZI SEARCH FOR SUPPLIES

——Ob——— — SOUTH-EAST EUROPE’S STORE. While the stranglehold of the Allied Blockade is tightening on Germany, the eyes of the Nazis turn anxiously to the East for supplies vital to their economic machine and the prosecutiqii of the war. Doubts have already arisen in the German mind as to the possibility of obtaining sufficient foodstuffs and raw materials from Russia, which obviously cannot satisfy the demands of the Reich, writes Robert Lucas, in the “Sydney Morning Hexaid.”

What of South-eastern Europe? There, in'deed, on both sides of the .Danube, stretch fertile lands whose economies are complementary to that. | of Germany. In the wide plains o).| Hungary and Roumania the wheat alia j maize are grown and cattle bred which] Germany’s industrial population must] have if it is to escape starvation. ’ North of Bucharest, from Roumania’s rich soil, springs the oil whicu the Reich needs to keep its war machine going; there are timbex* and tobacco, copper, lead, and bauxite in Yugoslavia and Bulgaria. Certainly in Janubia, whose population is still 75 ,er ceil-.. a Germany In--ent on work, aiming at con,i,ruction .ix-^ead. of conquest, might nave found a natural field fox’ her skill and organising power, a huge resevoix of open or hidden wealth. But can Germany at war hope to find in the Danubian countries compensation for the losses which the blockade inflicts on her vital imports from overseas? . The answer to this question does not depend entirely on estimates of the present and potential productive capacity of the Danubian countries. Theoretically South-eastern Europe should be able to supply Germany with all cereals she needs. Until recently, for example, Germany imported over 1.2 million tons of wheat a year, while the total annual exports of Hungary Roumania, Yugoslavia, and Bulgaria together amount to about 1.8 million tons. Germany had to import 2.5 million tons of maize, but the annual exports of the four Danubian countries amount together to 1.5 million tons only. If Germany were able to buy Roumania’s total oil exports of 5,500,000 tons a year, she might satisfy hei peace-time requirements, but, with an estimated annual war consumption oi ovex’ 20,000,000 tons, she has a .grave problem to face. So fax* as iron ore and metals art concerned, Germany ' would be in a hopeless position if she were able to rely only on supplies from South-east-ern Europe. It is true that the,potential resources of the backward, Danubian countries are much greater, and frantic attempts are being made to develop them. There is fresh boring for oil in Hungary, coppex* and oil have been discovered in Bulgaria, and the exploitation of iron mines in the latter country is being speeded up. But the results so far have been negligible and must necessarily remain so for years to come. But an analysis of the potential ability of South-eastern Europe to satisfy Germany’s requirements would be misleading if it did not take into account the actual difficulties which the Reiclx has to face in increasixjg imports from these countries. In fact, despite Germany’s desperate efforts to enlarge her imports, particularly of oil and grain, she has difficulties in mainttaining the pre-war level of hex* trade with South-eastern Europe. The reasons are various.

ACTUAL DIFFICULTIES There is, first of all, the feai' of the Danubian countries' that, by selling their economic Independence to ; Germany, they may lose their political j freedom. This consideration was al-i ready strong before the outbreak of j the war, and it has become still more] vital since South-eastern Europe seesin strict neutrality the only means of weathering the storm which is sweep- i ing over the continent. They find great encouragement in this attitude in the successful attempts of Italy to strengthen her position in the Balkans, which she is trying to fortify by intensifying her economic boifds with these countries.

There is some significance in the new trade agreements w’hich Bulgaria has recently concluded with Germany

and Italy (a third has been concluded with Switzerland). While the agreement with Germany provides for the Italy maintenance of the exchange of goods on the previous level, the ai’rangenxents with Italy include an increase of certain exports to that country. such as wheat, sunflower seed, aSd so on. The practical interest which the Allied Powers are showing in an increase of their trade with South-eastern Europe clearly works in the same direction.

A still greater difficulty, of course, is presented by Germany’s own financial troubles. - In consequence of hex* disastrous shortage of gold and foreign exchange, she built up a complicated bartei’ system in the last few years, which has been to a great extent wrecked by the outbreak of the war. The commodities which the Balkan countries need most —textiles and machinery— ai’e those of which Germany suffers the most acute shortage in wartime. And, aftex- all, the Nazis caii hardly compel the German people to go naked in order to supply the Roumanians and Bulgarians with clothing. Already in many cases the Reich has been unable to fulfil its obligations foi’ the supply of goods to the Balkans, of which the interruption of the coal exports to Greece is only an example. The very realistic Governments of the Danubian basin are also not incliined to allow the German clearing debt to grow indefinitely.. Yugoslavia, for example, which has a credit of Rm. 11 millions in her favour, insists now on immediate payment in cash oxgoods for all exports. Of the difficulties of these negotiations, the recent Government crisis in Roumania was a cleai’ indication; for the resignation of M. Bojoiu, the formei’ Ministei’ of Industry and Commerce, which precipitated the downfall of his Cabinet, was closely connected with the trade talks with the German delegation under Dr. Clodius.

Furthermore, the feeling of Insecurity caused by the war and the conquests of the Soviet has warned the Danubian Government to look more cautiously than evex* to their own safety and not to take any risks iu the economic sphere. So ' Yugoslavia has decided not to allow the export of any foodstuffs, the stocks of which are not’ in excess or tlxe reserves regarded as necessary foi’ the safety of her won population. In consequence, the export of maize and haricot beans, the haxwest of which has been un : satisfactory, has been forbidden. Tlxe Roumanian (jovernment has fox’ the time being, prohibited the export- of all live stock. LACK OF TRANSPORT These difficulties, for Germany are increased tremendously by the lack of suitable nieans of transport. The shipping of goods via the Black Sea and the Mediterranean to Hamburg—which was essential foi’ the transport of Roumanian oil and grain to Germany —has been stopped by the blockade, and all this traffic has now to be diverted through other channel,;. Longdistance transport by road is, of course, out of the question, and that by raif meets with considerable difficulties. The rolling stock that exists is desperately inadequate. The important railway connection between Cernauti,' *n Northern Roumania, via . Gydnia, or Cracow-Lwow-Beuthen, and Germany, which carried most of the GermanRoumanian rail traffic, was interrupted by the occupation of the adjacent Polish area by Russia, though it has 1 since been resumed on a smaller scale. However, recent reports from Cernauti showed that all available storage room there was filled with huge quantities of timber, wheat, eggs, fruit, and tobacco destined to Germany, which could not be transported. j The most important means of com- ■ munication in South-eastern and Central Europe is still that ancient water--1 way, the Danube. But traffic here meets with serious obstacles. At the Iron Gate, where the bow of the Carpathian i Mountains reaches the river, the Dan- ' übe is narrowed to a defile,' the rapids and rocks of which cannot be passed by vessels with a tonnage of over 600 (in the case of tankers, 800 tons)< In i addition, navigation is considerably re- ' duced at low water. Still more serious,' ' however-, is the fact that the LowexDanube freezes over for about three mouths—it is frozen now—thereby making traffic almost impossible. The

Germans, forced to shift most of their goods traffic to the Danube, made fram-' tic efforts in a hopeless race against time to transport great quantities of vital material on this water beforenature began her own blockade. In> these efforts they met with a series, of grave disappointments. DANUBE BARGES The tonnage of the Danube merchant fleet is composed as follows: — .

In addition, there are 80 barges, of 1,000 tons each in Roumania, which, however, are too big to pass the Iron Gate. The tanker fleet comprises 244. tank-barges and 26 motoi’ tankers, a, considerable number of which fly the British ox- French flag and have been withdrawn. In view of the hopeless insufficiency of shipping tonnage at their disposal, the Germans are considering the transfer of a number of Rhine barges tt> the Danube, but, as they are too big to pass the Rhine-Danube Canal, they, would have to be transported over'and. Not only is the number of barges far too small, but the Danubian ports prove incapable of coping wittithe huge increase in traffic (partlcui-, arly that of Giurju, the only oil port on the Danube), and similar difficulties have arisen on the disembarka-. tion end, reducing the potential value of this waterway for Germany to ; am extent which must terrify Nazi econo-; mists.

Germany is certainly making tremendous efforts to find, in Southeastern.;; Europe, compensation for the loss of trade caused by the Allied' blockade. ;;' She may- hope to succeed in mitigating.: 3 its effects to a small degree, but,, in ; ,< view of the difficulties described, can- Y; not escape them. After- all, it shoujd be remembered that during a certain* period of the Great War the Central Powers held not only the whole. of . present Hungary, Yugoslavia, Rouman-', r -. ia, Bugaria, and Turkey, but also addition to Czecho-Slavakia and'P.O- ” ' land) a- vast part of the Russian Ukraine—and could not -prevent their -economic collapse.- •

Barges. Total tonnage, German . 596 392,789 Yugoslav . 404 255,814 Hungarian . 219 125,098 French . 55 35,250 Dutch 30 19,500