Natural rubber
Wańkowicz begins this chapter by recalling his first sight of an automobile, which took place in Kraków, in the early 20th century. Natural rubber has been in rising demand since early days of the automobile industry, and in plantations across the world, in Brazil, the Congo or Liberia, locals were being slaughtered by Westerners searching for rubber trees. In 1938, the world used one million tons of natural rubbers, for the estimated 40 million vehicles, 80% of which were owned by Americans. Poland, with a fledgling automobile industry, also needed natural rubber, the purchase of which was difficult and expensive. The only solution was synthetic rubber (pages 154 - 156).