Montana labor news., 1945-06-28
NAZI INDUSTRIALISTS
PLOT TO ESCAPE
WAR UNSCATHED
BY HERBERT A. KLEIN

SUPREME ALLIED HEADQUARTERS
delayed - (FlP) - While the German
military leaders get themselves in the
spotlight, trying to cast blame for Their
nations war policy and deeds of horror
upon the top Nazis, another powerful
group has kept safely in the background
as it maneuvers for a comeback.
In 1918 it was the Kaiser who fled
while the generals stayed. This time
the danger is that after the top Nazis
are gone, by suicide, mutual murder or
execution, and even after some of the
generals and the admirals are removed,
the directors and managers of the super
corporations may stay on at their old
stands.
Every man, woman and child in the
United Nations has an interest in seeing
that this bloody conflict does not end
with the men whose dirty work the Nazis
did pulling comeback for another try
The picture is not complete, and many
things may change it, especially an
aroused public opinion in the victor ma
tions, But here are few facts have
picked up from my observations in Ger
many and from conversations with other
correspondents:
l. Top men of German industry, no.
tably those tied up with big industry
across the channel and overseas by
means of cartel agreements, co-owner-
ship ana inter locking directorates-
these men expect that in the areas oc-
cupied by Americans and British they
soon will be able TO resume production
and profit making, more or less as usual
This applies especially to the powerful
chemical trust, I. G. Farben Industrie.
2. Most of these economic lords Of
Germany today are living in comfort
well-housed, well-fed, well-served. They
are not too much worried about what
die Amerikaner" will do, although most
of them were admittedly Nazi party
members and all of them were among
those who benefited most from Nazi
policies and guided the Nazis in those
policies.
3. AS evidence of their good will to-
wards their recent enemies, they are all
set to tur mover substantial accumulated
dividends from German war industry to
American and British stockholders. For
instance the lucky holders of 1. G. Far
ben stock can figure on receiving more
than 400 accumulated dividends-very
tempting-if the l. c. Farben directors
can wangle permission to transfer funds
they assertedly have long had ready for
this purpose. This is thinly disguised
attempt to bribe.
T. Spearheading the drive for restora-
ton of German production and profits
will be the heads of many big corpora
tions whose plants have been damaged
little or not at all, in spite Of the air
assault on Germany There are many
Of them. Despite thorough devastation
of many towns, probably two thirds of
the plants of the biggest corporations-
chemical trust, automobile coal, etc
are in shape to operate, with little fix
ing here and there.
British flyers, bombing mostly at
night, generally dumped their bomb
loads in the centers of towns-and in
most German cities, the factories are
around the outskirts. American pre-
cision daylight bombing had as its
principal target not complete destruction
of all factories, but carefully selected
critical or bottleneck plants. Destruc-
ton of one such target might shut down
score of other plants that had been
untouched by bombs
Moreover, during years of air attacks,
the general staff of German industry
developed the art of quick repairing. I
visited plants in Schweinfurt which had
been precision bombed many times but
each time repair crews had patched