The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1946-01-25
Germans Hope TO Rebuild
Country Out Of Wreckage
Expect Quality Of Products to Restore Repu-
tation of Lost Beauty of Cities; Seek
Raw Materials for Industry.
By BAUKHAGE
Ne,ps Analyst and Commentator.

was our intention, after all, 1t solved
all problems and there was no neeo
to discuss the other questions.
The mayor by no means took 1or
granted that America was an end
less source of supplies, that we
would forever provide the food
which Germany herself never had
and never could produce. All he ex-
pected was to be tided over until
Germany could pay her own way
and buy the food for her people and
feed for her cattle. That brought this
keen-eyed little man right back to
his original theme.
"Our small industries must get
back on their feet so that we can
sell our goods in the world mar
ket and obtain exchange for food
imports. Remember" he said, the
Russians have taken over Ger
many's bread basket. A great seq
ment of the country has been cut
away. And a million and quarter
German food producers, who are
also food-consumers, have moved
back within the non-food producing
area of Germany. The Ruhr and
Saar areas never could possibly
feed themselves. Now more people
are crowded into them, as well as
into this area where most OF the
land is already under cultivation.
"These newcomers cannot raise
food but they can work in our fac
tories and produce products who
can buy the food from the rest OF
the world. To do that we must be
allowed to get the raw materials
and be permitted to trade in the
world markets. Otherwise, there will
be starvation, riots and chaos which
will spread all over Europe"
European Economy
Out of Killer
Later on I learned more about
that spreading" In Berlin sat
in the office of American food and
agriculture administration. Through
that office that morning had passed
a Czech, Belgian and a Hollander.
The Czech came in to beg per-
mits to bring sugar into Germany
which has none. The Czechs' best
beet fields have not been de-
stroyed. They can't ship the beet
sugar abroad but they could easily
push it across the Czech-German
border where the Germans are
starving for it. And the Germans
have great piles of unused salt.
The Hollander said: "The Ger
mans love my fish. They are starv-
ing. You are importing food for
them. My fish is rotting and there
are still enough parts for agricul-
tural machinery in Germany and
plenty can be turned out in small
factories which we must have if we
are to continue our farming"
The Belgian had the same story.
From time immemorial Belgian
cheap beef has gone to Luebec and
other west German cities to go into
German sausage. The Belgians
have plenty of scrawny cattle which
concocted into German sausage
would be received only too gladly
by the Germans.
"What shall I do with this cat
tie? They are no good for anything
else. And we could get plenty of
manufactured products in Ger
many to pay for them if you would
let only a few shops start manu-
featuring the things we need"
In the Russian zone number OF
factories are working, supplying the
Russians of course, but likewise
yielding return enough to keep the
Germans alive to make more things
the Russians need.
Witnessed striking evidence of
this will-to-survive on the part of
Nuremberg business men. For the
most part it represented the retail
er but it is typical of the town. I
walked through the nightmare of the
Altstadt (the old town. which is
within the ancient city wall and was
the famous sightseeing center as
well as the location of the main
police station and city hall where
the SIS troops held out to the last
man. The destruction is too horrible
to dwell upon. 1t is an exaggerated
Coventry. But all along the main
streets, now cleared of rubble, were
brand new, well painted signs bear
ing the name of the shop owners
who had once done business there
with visitors from all the world,
and plain to see was the notice of
a new address. It gave one a
strange feeling to see bright bits of
neat board stuck in a dump heap
"a neat dump heap. It made you
think of the restless hand in the
old tale, projecting from the grave.