The Pittsburgh Press (September 30, 1944)
Punitive plan demanded for Germany
Long-range program is also considered
Washington (UP) –
The State Department’s tentative plan for the treatment of Germany which the United States is likely to sponsor in Allied councils calls for punitive measures immediately after the war plus a long-range program for keeping German industry keyed to peacetime pursuits.
That is the broad outline of the State Department plan which have been in the process of formulation since the war started. President Roosevelt has now made plain that the policy for the control of Germany’s war-making power will be made “under the guidance of the Department of State.”
Confusion admitted
Mr. Roosevelt noted yesterday that there has been a lot of confusion between the long and short-range plans for Germany, and a high policy-making official emphasized there was a great difference between punishment of Germany and a long-range peace settlement.
The officials of all departments were said to be in general agreement on what to do with Germany immediately after she surrenders. Their short-range program is designed to drive home to the German people (1) that they have been decisively beaten on the field of battle and (2) that they must never again start another war.
Four major points
It includes four major points to be taken immediately after Germany collapses:
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Complete destruction of the German military machine. This will be taken care of by the unconditional surrender terms of the armistice.
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Eradication of all vestiges of Nazism – its institutions, laws, racial discrimination orders, leaders, and even its uniforms and symbols such as the Swastika.
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Elimination of strictly war industries such as those which manufacture large guns and can serve no civilian purpose.
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Prohibition of civilian as well as military aviation, and possibly the denial of any German to fly even a private plane for many years.
Program ‘harsh’
An official who has participated in most of the conferences on studies of Germany’s post-war treatment said there was virtually no opposition to the program’s general outline. It is considered “harsh” but no responsible government official has proposed that it should be other than that.
The long-range program for Germany, however, takes into account the fact that before the war she was the greatest industrial nation of Western Europe – a nation whose economy was closely intertwined with not only the rest of the continental nations but also with that of Great Britain.
Key industries involved
It will call for selective supervision or control of key industries which are needed to maintain German economy but which have also made it possible for Germany to wage war on a grand scale.
This program is closely related with the third point of the short-range program but involves industries that it is felt cannot be destroyed without disrupting the economy of a great part of Europe.
Details of the long-range plan have not been worked out. Many of them will depend upon what is left of German industry when the war ends.
But industries over which it is believed successful supervision or control could be maintained with a minimum of effort on the part of the Allies include the iron and steel industry, the aluminum and magnesium industries, the machine tool industry, the oil and chemical industries including manufacturers of hydrogen and nitrogen, and the railroad and electric power industries.
Control of the electric power industry in Germany offers the most intriguing possibilities, one official said. If control or strict supervision of the bulk of it could be maintained, it would be possible to control potential munitions makers by the flick of a switch.
It was emphasized that the details of the plans in the long-range program still remain to be worked out. Mr. Roosevelt urged the Foreign Economic Administration yesterday to accelerate the job.