The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1943-05-06
creased.

creased
Instead of German private firms
which so far had acted in behalf of
the German Government-the chief
contract placer for Germany in France
has become the Nazi High Command.
These new orders are different from
previous contracts and cover mostly
the construction of Notifications, air
fields and roads. French Industrial
lists, who had been outstanding among
French collaborationists, have lost
their utility in the eyes of their Ger
man partners and have been quietly
eliminated
Vichy has again proved to be
most faithful executor of Nazi inten-
tions. simultaneously with DR.. Mi
chefs declarations, Pierre Laval, the
French Premier, announced his Gov
ernment's program to carry out
policy Of concentration" among the
French industrial plants. Moreover, in
| September, Jean Bichelonne, Nichy
Minister of Industrial Production,
bluntly declared that numerous fac
| tories would not only have to close
| down to release their workers for
/ labor service in Germany but that
! there will be a mass transfer Of large
French factories to Germany with
all their technical personnel their lab
oratories, their industrial equipment,
their directors, their engineers and
former to take part tin the Garman
war effort"
Since Vichy, on German instiga-
ton, has begun to concentrate" the
French industries, liquidation of
Frances industrial potential has al
ready been carried far. Vichy itself
announced that more than 10000
plants have been closed down. Most
of them, however, have been small
and medium enterprises The number
of French textile factories, for in
SIdIlCC' has utCl tdScu HUH IGsOOU W
5000. Of 112 machine tool factories in
the Paris suburbs, 100 are already
out of business. Their workers have
been sent to Germany, their machines
have been dismountcd and sent to
Garman factories.
Transfer of entire French factories
to Germany or to Eastern Europe is
now we'll under way. The Nazis, of
course, do not reveal which factories
have been transferred but German
spokesman boast that Hundreds OF
plants from Western Europe have
been shifted to the East" They have
been sent in particular to Upper Sile-
STA, where the Germans are building
up a new "Ruhr" which so far has
been beyond the range of Allied all
attacks.
1t appears as if several impor.
tant metal factories of Northern
France have been sent to the East
Fighting French sources, moreover
disclose that several factories from
what was formerly unoccupied France
have been transferred to German!
and to Alsace- Lorraine, which has be
come part Of the Greater Reich
Execution of Germany's master
plan for the transfer of French in
dustries, however, is disturbed no
only by Allied bombing and destruc
ton of industrial plants and of theil
machinery but by disintegration o.
the French transportation system
Day after day, small formations o.
British and American bombers arr
attacking French communication cen
tiers, destroying permanent rail in
stallatons and part of the rolling
stock.
Although this continuous air war
fare against the transportation sys
tenn in Western Europe has been un
able to disrupt definitely Germany
military communications, the air raid
have put a now, heavy strain on thu
already ovcrchargcd railway facili
ties.
Transporting of an entire factor!
over thousands of miles is a trcmcnd
Gus task for the railways and Allied
bombing attacks have at least upsc
he German timetable.
Allied air attacks cannot proven
the liquidation of French industrie
nor greatly hinder the transfer o
modern factories and machines to th
East. But they can make these opcr
ations much more costly and Difficult
for ths Germans.