SUDETENLAND

Grey River Argus, 6 December 1938, Page 5

SUDETENLAND

For the second time this year Germany is taking stock of the value of newly-acquired territories, says the Berlin correspondent of the “Sunday Times.” The value of the new Sude ten territories in industry, ■ manpower and raw. materials is being estimated in the Press and periodicals in a much more conservative vein than in the case of Austria several months ago. This was probably done to avoid a. repetition " of the disappointment which was quite evident in Germany a few weeks after the Anschluss, when the population was called upon to “make greater sacrifices than ever tor the sake of Pan-Germany.” / Recently, Germany was overwhelmed with relief nnd joy at the thought that war had been averted. All week long the radio echoed with the cheering of Sudeten Germans “being liberated by the Fuehrer” and the people were eagerly congratui.ing each other. To-day, as the housewives started their week-end shopping in the numerous picturesque open-air markets, no trace of this enthusiasm was left. Eggs and butter were scarce, the bread was of the same. yellowishwhite colour as it had been for weeks, and the population was asking, “What was the use of getting Sudentenland if it does not improve our food sit.ua* tion?” . Nazis were eagerly talking to then friends in the market-halls warning them that' this “crassly materialistic viewpoint is not worthy of the new Nazi Pan-Germany” and that as soon as matters are fully settled, the popu-

lation will get the “white rolls” which Goering promised in his Nuremberg speech for October 1. German economists declare that the newly-acquired territories fail to sup* ply much of the mineral ores which Germany needs, such as iron or copper. Most deposits are similar to those which Germany herself has. The newly-acquired industries, with the exception of the famous Bohemian textile plants, may also compete with those in Germany. The most important mineral, product Germany acquired in Sudetenland i s soft coal. The deposits in the Breux Dux region approximate aboyt one-fourth of all similar deposits in Europe. It will enable Germany to speed up her production of synthetic benzine and artificial fertilisers. Bohemian glass and porcelain have been world famous for centuries. The porcelain industry of Karlsbad will now be able to purchase the raw materials it needed in Germany itself and thus make better use of the big Bohemian deposits of “porcelain earth” near Teplitz-Schoneau, Karlsbad, and Kosten. Four-fifths of Czechoslovak kia’s porcelain factories are now in German hands, and the Germans hope ( they will be able to use them t* increase Germany’s exports. Sudentenland was also a great exporter of linen s and beers . Its Pilsen beer was world-famous. Pilsen re-' mains on Czech territory, but the Saaz district, where a great part of tne hops used in Pilsen were grown, has been turned over to Germany. Pilsen itself is in a precarious position, because the international committee which mapped out the new borderline gave the territories encircling it from the north, west, and south to Germany. Pilsen lies in the new German land like the nut in a nutcracker. The districts in which for centuries Czech, Bohemian, and German farmers'have been raising flax have been allotted to Germany and will enable' her to increase her production of linen, which despite all Government efforts has been infinitely smaller than Germany’s own. requirements.