Evening star., 1941-03-05

name cannot be made public. But
he is a man of integrity and rare
ability. He is of Russian birth and
is what may be called an expert on
Russian policy as we'll as German
economic affairs He writes to a
Latin-American diplomat here:
"The conditions of life in Berlin
are most unfavorable in every re-
spect. The food situation is ex-
tremely bad. Practically all foods
are rationed as we'll as clothing
and most other articles. Even with
permits to buy, the articles are not
always forthcoming and are at best
of poor quality. You may perhaps
be of the opinion that the difficult
ties there exist only in the magma
ton of British propagandistS. Un-
fortunately, conditions there are
worse than is generally known
abroad. 1t is true that during the
autumn it was possible to obtain
vegetables and fruit, which were
imported from Holland and other
coupled countries. Such supplies,
Ct course, soon ran short.
Few Vegetables Available.
"The only vegetables now obtain
Ole in Germany are cabbages and
arrots, often impregnated with
chemicals to preserve them. The
occupied countries cannot be ex-
pected to produce any more food
stuffs. Most of them normally i'm
port food. In such countries as Hol-
land and Belgium, the situation is
extremely serious, as agriculture Is
to a great extent disorganized. The
same applies to Norway. Denmark,
although comparatively well off in
this respect, has no real exportable
surplus, as her agriculture depends
on imported feeds and fertilizers.
Supplies from Soviet Russia are
purely fictitious, as they have far
less than that of many countries and
not enough for themselves. Their
total export trade before the war
was less than that of Denmark, to
say nothing of countries like Bel
gium and Holland. Although they
will contract to deliver anything at
any time, the goods are either not
Forthcoming, or it is impossible to
transport them. For instance, al
though they are supposed to be
supplying the Germans with oil, they
have now contracted to buy oil
themselves from the Rumanians
such a state of affairs is begin
ming to tell, even after only IA
months of war. From the new year
the ration of meat is being halved
and stands at 600 grams per person
per week. 1t is the same with every
thing else, although bread can still
be had in considerable quantities.
Typical of conditions is the fact that
the sale of dog meat has been au-
thurized. In the opinion of experts,
who have first-hand information
and have visited the occupied coun-
tries as well as Germany, supplies
might be sufficient, although in re-
duced quantity, till spring. But
after that, a general European
famine seems unavoidable in 1912.
GAS regards industry and trans
port, conditions are little better.
The German railroad system is over
burdened and the replacement OF
rolling stock and other materials is
out of the question. 1t is impos-
sible to obtain even the most in
significant manufactured goods,
such as pipes or water taps, within
a period of less than two years. OF
course, this does not so much show
the lack of supplies as the fact that
everything is sacrificed to war pro-
duction.
Soviet Influence Important.
cit was, of course, not so much
for those reasons that we were so
anxious to leave Germany. What
we were afraid of were the activities
of the Soviet Embassy in Berlin.
Their influence there is very great
and the Germans will go to any
lengths to please these gentlemen.
In spite of supposed German anti
Communism, nothing is left undone
to keep on the right side of Moscow.
The reception of Comrade Molotov
in Berlin was proof of this.
"It IS difficult to understand what
lies behind the German-Soviet po-
litical flirtations. The Soviet armed
forces, as I myself had occasion to
observe at first hand, are more in
the nature of an armed mob than
an organized military force. This
opinion is shared by the Germans
and also by some of the Soviets
themselves. The supplies they are
able to deliver are but small in guam
tity, but perhaps in Germanys pres
ent condition they are invaluable
and indispensable. The broad out
lines of Soviet policy are clear and
have not changed. They bank on
the exhaustion of all combatants or
at least of Germany, and hope to be
the first to march into Berlin, thus
irnitinp q general revolutionary con-