BREAK-UP BEGUN

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 21850, 22 October 1945, Page 3

BREAK-UP BEGUN

FARBEN INDUSTRIES

U.S. ARMY SEIZURES WORLD RAMIFICATIONS (10 a.m.) WASHINGTON. Oct. 21. The War Department has released a report from General Eisenhower stating that in the first move to destroy forever the I. G. Farben’s stranglehold on German industry, the United States Army had seized 45 plants, 25 sales offices and four miscellaneous installations owned by the company, discharged 896 Nazi employees, and imprisoned some key directors. General Eisenhower described the company, whose assets are estimated at about 2.400.000,009 dollars, as Germany’s largest corporat : "n and the world’s largest chemical corporation, which employed over 400.000 during the war, with some financial control in 613 companies. In addition, it participated in over 2000 international cartels.

It was Germany's greatest war producer end made acquisitions by conquest, following oloscW the Reich's army from 1933 onward. Checking Milllari.silc Activities

The report disclosed that the United States zone had 9.75 per cant of the Farben plants in Germany, the British 11.5 per cent, the French 20.2 per cent, and the Russian 53.5 per cenh The report, said the arrested officials would be held pending a furthe 1 * check of Nazi militaristic activities and determination whether they would be tried as war criminals. The report traced the Farben’s growth, noting many agreements between German and American firms. He added that a complete description of Farben’s activities would include the explosives field whereby Farben by agreement with Imperial Chemical Industries and the Du Pont Corporation divided world markets for industrial explosives. The report also mentioned marketing agreements with Swiss. Italian and Japanese companies, and ■added that it had been decided to seek l°"islafive action by the Allied Control CcuncT cr'lav'irz cartels end,simplifying their dissolution.