BRITISH ZONE

Grey River Argus, 24 February 1947, Page 8

BRITISH ZONE

GERMAN PROBLEM

Need for More Food

LONDON, Feb. 7.

In a House of Commons statement

Mr Hynd, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, dealing with denazification, said he was surprised to find

that eighteen months after the end of the war we were told we had to stop denazifying, that we had to leave big landowners and big agriculturists untouched. Under the Nazi regime, it was precisely those people who were most loyal to the regime who found themselves in the most select position. But the main point of members’ criticism was in regard to centralising British headquarters in Berlin. We were party to an agreement between the four Allies of quadripartite administration in Germany. For that a Central

Government was established in Berlin as the most convenient and more appropriate centre. We must, of course, maintain top-ranking officers responsible for discussing high policy with other parties in Berlin. What was suggested was, in fact, as he (Hynd) interpreted it, the establishment of yet another bureauracy, or another Poona if they liked, in the British zone. There was really no need for it. The administration in Germany provided foi’ the closest possible supervision of administration and policy in the zone under four civilian Regional Commissioners giv-

en full powers to carry out the policy as directed from the centre, and to administer policy over a wide range of subjects entirely on their own responsibility so long as it was in accord with the general polciy. Mr Hynd continued: “I am not suggesting that the situation in the zone at present is a comforting one in that we have achieved all we might have achieved. But I beg the House to remember that we are not the government of Germany, but in controlling the British zone of Germany we had to observe certain fundamental understandings and agreements reached with our Allies, and these do impose limitations upon many things we would like to do and upon many things that probably have had to be left undone. But there have been considerable developments. We are told we are not going on suf-

ficiently with denazification, that we are leaving big Nazis in control. But the discussion has led to some kind of balanced picture.” Mr Hynd said the public did know there was a calamitous housing situation and desperate physical need for food, clothes and shelter of all kinds, that there have been tremendous achievement 3 by a comparatively small number of British personnel in many fields. He had carefully studied the solutions put forward, and they could be summed up under four general headings —first, scrap Potsdam; secondly, stop coal, experts; thirdly, stop denazification; and fourthly, send more food. The latter of course, was the key criticism that ignored entirely the desperate efforts he and his administration and the Government had been making in the last eighteen months to get even the small quantity of food it had been possible to get into Germany.

Dealing with the calory situation, Mr. Hynd said that were the ration had fallen over a particular period it had so far as possible been made up over a subsequent period. “I would like to clear up one misunderstanding—that 1550 calories is not the standard ration for an average person in Germany, but is the basic ration for what is known as a normal consumer, or non-working adult. They represent some 36 per cent, of the British zone. The balance are categorised, and their rations range from 2500 to 3966 calories, which, in the opinion of the Tripartite Nutrition Committee, is sufficient for an underground miner. The second great menace was health. There were exceptionally bad conditions in Germany for maintaining anything like reasonable health standards; housing conditions, shortage of medicines, food and clothing, and the influx of refugees, many already ill.

Despite colossal difficulties and the shortage of coal, which had led to the shortage of housing materials, they were getting on with housing, too. They were repairing in the Ruhr at the rate of 4000 monthly. The shortages were due not to mismanagement, corruption or inefficiency on the part of members of the Control Commission, but to a shortage of raw materials. If we were to maintain the situation we must increase production very rapidly. There would be no solution until coal and raw materials were available, and the financial equilibrium restored. ' The wider task of the Government was torestore democratic control and lot the Germans manage their own affairs. Denazification was well in hand. Mr Hynd said that under bi-zonal arrangement the Control Commission had achieved two things —first, greater assurance of every aid in maintaining food supplies and raw materials; secondly, the possibility of more rapid diversion of responsibility to the Germans themselves. The development of German production for the purposes of trade was going on at a considerable pace, and links with the outside world were being restored, through bizonal agencies. Business correspondence had ben restored during the past few weeks, although not trading or financial correspondence. Mr. Hynd said we hoped to encourage visitors from abroad, not only from the United Kingdom and the U.S.A., but others, too. The Government was encouraging direct contact with the Dutch and other countries in the business field. The planning and provision of raw materials to get German industry into production was also being undertaken. Exports during the next few years would pay for imports into the western zone.