HUNGRY GERMANS

Grey River Argus, 22 May 1947, Page 5

HUNGRY GERMANS

TOLD TO TOIL HARDER

BY ALLIED COMMNDERS

(Rec. 8.10). LONDON, May 21. Geenral Sir Sholto Douglas and General Clay, the British and American Zone Commanders, issued to the German population under their control a statement in which they declared: —

“Get to work if you want food”. This was the main theme of their joint statement, which declared: — “It is quite useless, and childish, for the professed leaders of the German people to blame the Allies for the present privations of the Germans. Grumbling and apathy will not bring any better days for Germany. Only an acceptance of responsibilities and hard work and courage will ensure for the Germans their future wellbeing. Those who claim to lead the Germans’ should realise that their gestures such as the relinquishing of their functions, or their mass demonstrations in working hours, cannot have the slightest influence on imported food. On the contrary, everything impeding production, particularly that of coal, must retard recovery, and must lead to still further hardship in the coming winter”. British and United States flying squads are smashing German farmers’ attempts to hoard food while city dwellers exist on starvation rations, said a British official. Squads found

2000 cattle hidden on a farm in North Rhine-Westphalia. United States investigators found food hidden on farms in Batavia.