CZECHOSLOVAKIA TO-DAY

Greymouth Evening Star, 19 March 1941, Page 9

CZECHOSLOVAKIA TO-DAY

THE NEW DISORDER. Neither political nor economic oppression in Czechoslovakia can quench the -confidence in ultimate liberty that still exists in Hitler’s “Protectorate.” Even if spectacular deeds cannot be looked for from the oppressed and captive people, their time will come, and they can be relied up’on, writes a Czech correspondent in the “Economist.” “Among the shaky buildings of Europe’s ‘New Order,’ they are a time-bomb, destined to explode at the appropriate moment and to bury its architects, its builders and its caretakers.”

German propaganda naturally makes people nervous, even if they refuse to believe its stories, and even if they listen, in considerable danger, to the 8.8. C. broadcasts. But news such as that 200 aircraft set London on fire and destroyed most of it on August 16, is bound to be depressing, specially as many Czechs have relatives in Britain. Many more, though, have relatives in Germany where 300,000 Czechs were taken for forced labour. In exchange, Prague has been honoured by the visit of 30,000 Nazis who are to take over and organise industry and commerce. Economically, the country has been squeezed like a lemon. Gold and foreign exchange were seized at the time of invasion. Foreign markets, which did not want German goods, were supplied with Czech goods, but the resulting foreign credits were seized. Approximately 60 per cent, of the livestock was transferred to the Reich, and the output of foodstuffs is very pool - . The standard of living is falling rapidly. Leather soles have been replaced by wooden ones; dress and suit materials are almost unobtainable; soap and cooking fats are difficult to find; silk stockings and cosmetics are rare; few cars are to be seen on the roads.

The harvest was a complete failure; it was of very poor quality and less than 45 per cent, of the normal size. Fruit and vegetables are scarce; what there are generally do not reach the towns, for transport conditions are very bad. Only half of the buses which were running in August do so now. Military and other needs involve an excessive use of rolling stock, but repairs to it have been substantially reduced. Another sign of the growing chaos is the failure of punitive measures to stop the rise in prices, which are mostly 70 to 80 per cent, in excess of the official quotations. Economic troubles might be borne more readily were not the whole atmosphere poisoned. The Czechs never forget that their country is not merely occupied, but occupied by their worst enemy, whom they despise profoundly, and whose whole outlook is opposed to their own. They feel they have a part to play in this war, and they play it. News which leaks through always contains some report of men who suffer on this ciuiet battlefield, far from the fighting front. MILITARY OBJECTIVES.

There is a widespread idea that the famous Skoda armament works in Pilsen, which were heavily bombed by the R.A.F. some months ago, are the only vulnerable point in Czechoslovakia. Actually, the Skoda works decentralised their plants a long time ago. One of their most important factories is some 20 miles away, where, underground tanks and other 'armoured vehicles are produced. There are, however, many other valuable military objectives in Czechoslovakia, many of them in the Sudeten area. In the western corner of Bohemia there is a very important power-station al Falkenau on the River Eger, which supplies the western part of Bohemia. There also are the newly built Ferrosilicon works, which produce other chemicals besides this necessary alloy for steel. The ki?y point in Bohemia, however, is Aussig, on the Elbe. In this town of about 40,000 inhabitants are the largest chemical factories in the country (Vereinigte Aussiger Chemische),' now co-operating with the “LG. arben,” where most of the chemicals needed for the war are produced, explosives included. The town has a big river harbour, which ranges next to the biggest German centres. The river is, however, rather narrow there and is crossed by a railway bridge, the destruction of which would hamper all the railway communications between Central Germany, the Protectorate, and the Balkans. Enormous stocks of chemicals, coal and cereals are waiting for transpoi t to Germany in the big warehouses and on the barges on the river. Blocking of the Elbe would create considerable chaos which could not easily be repaired; to hit some of the cranes would impair the efficiency of the harbour for a long time. Apart from this there are said to be large stores of vegetable and other fats for the big Schicht Werke in Strekoy, which provide the whole country with margarine, soap, etc. In Strekoy, which lies only two miles south of Aussig, the Schicht Werke and a large power-station are extremely vulnerable points. Important industries are also to be found in and about Prague, including factories for making aeroplanes and accessories and light tanks. Ten miles south is a great power station. At Pardubice there are oil refineries and petrol stores and at Kolin the biggest chemical works aftei Aussig.

ARMAMENT WORKS. In Moravia are two world-famous centres of industry: Moravska Ostrava, and Brno, the capital. In Moravska Ostrava, together with Witkovice, with which it is connected by a bridge over a small valley, there is a heavy industry of international reputation. Furnaces and stoves are to be seen for miles. A speciality is the production of armour-plate.

Large stocks of manganese ore, chemicals, and other materials were stored in these towns. The biggest cement factory in Czechoslovakia is in the vicinity, in Hruschau, where chemical factories are also producing sodium and other chemicals for Germany’s war effort. Power-stations, zinc rolling mills (in Oderfurt), cable factories (in Oderberg) are to be found in this area. In Brno are well-known armament factories, where the Bren gun was produced, and a few miles to the north, in Konigsfeld, great machine factories for the iron manufacturing industries.

Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, can be called a vulnerable point, not only because of its cable factory, but mainly because it is now one bf the principal ports on the Danube, where the barges from Rumania and Bul-

garia are unloaded, where oil, cereals and food stores are waiting for further transport by rail, where hundreds of barges and tankers are concentrated. This Danube harbour is much more important than Vienna, and not nearly so well defended as the Austrian capital. . .