Rearmament Of Germany By Both Sides Alleged

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 22850, 21 January 1949, Page 5

Rearmament Of Germany By Both Sides Alleged

(11.15 a.m.) BERLIN, Jan. 20.. In Berlin today both the Western and Eastern control authorities accused one another of rearming Germany.

The official Soviet newspaper Taegliche Rundschau claimed that Britain, France and the United States military authorities were remilitarising the western zones and the United States military authorities held that Russia was producing armaments in German factories in the eastern zone.

An article in the Taeglichc Rundschau stated: “The western Powers have positively renounced the Potsdam decision on the demilitarisation of Western Germany. Airports and naval bases are being kept in readiness. Military organisations are not only being maintained but strengthened. The police force is being increased and secret preparations are being made to assemble the remnants of the former German General Staff..

“Not a single armament industry has been liquidated. On the contrary, numerous airplane plants and other factories badly damaged during the war have been restored. All this aims at the creation of a western German army of 500,000 men under the command of former Hitler generals to be incorporated in the western bloc.” “The United States military authorities are certain that Russia is producing armaments in German factories contrary to the terms of the Potsdam Agreement,” stated Lieutenant-Colonel Campbell, deputy-United States commissioner on the three-Power Security Board. He said that confirmation of some of the reports to this effect had been received, but it had been impossible to check them all. “But where there is so much smoke there must be some fire,” he added.