If the pillaging seems more striking in the economic domain, this is only the consequence of the very marked industrial character of the Belgian economy. The sectors of agriculture and of transportation were not to escape the German hold, and I propose to discuss first the levies in kind on industry. The Belgian industry was the first to be attacked. As early as 13 December 1940 he could make known to the higher authorities a series of plans established for iron, coal, textiles, and copper. I submit Exhibit RF 162 in support of this statement.
Enterprises located in Denmark are also to be employed to an increasing extent as sub-contractors.
Hereby the regulations for the execution of the ordinance of the Reich Marshal, as well as the ordinances concerning the economy of raw materials in the occupied territories are to be strictly observed. All these arrangements soon enabled the Germans to control and to direct Belgium's whole production and distribution facilities towards the German war effort. Every sale or purchase of commodities was subject to their approval. To better conceal their real objective, the Germans gave these commodity control offices independence, and the status of a corporation. Thus, there were set up 11 commodity control offices which embraced the whole economy except coal, whose direction was left under the Belgian Office of Coal.