SLOW RECOVERY

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22405, 12 August 1947, Page 5

SLOW RECOVERY

GERMAN INDUSTRIES POTENTIAL STILL LARGE RELEASE OF PRISONERS BERLIN, Aug. 10. The United States has released all German prisoners of war and has completed the destruction of top priority military defence works in the American zone of Germany, says the United States commander-in-chief, Lieutenant General L. Clay, in his half-yearly review of demilitarisation. General Clay also said that all German prisoners of war held by the United Stales force in Germany, the United States or Italy had been released. He added that several hundred thousand prisoners turned over to France and Britain were now considered to be French or British prisoners subject to release by France or Britain. General Clay said the authorities were either destroying German war materials or converting them to peacetime use. For example, explosives were transformed into farm fertilisers.

The authorities had demilitarised 36 of the 128 listed war plants. The revival of Germany’s peace-time industry had been so limited that prospects for the months immediately ahead did not warrant great optimism.

Despite war damage and the fact that German industry had been living off capital for many years, Germany’s industrial capacity was still greater than in 1936, though reparations and removals would affect this situation.

No vigorous industrial expansion could be" expected until considerable progress had been made in solving the food and coal transport problems. The labour shortage was the worst since the war.