REARMING OF GERMANY

Chronicle (Levin), 21 January 1949, Page 5

REARMING OF GERMANY

(N.Z.P.Af-

-R&uter*

East And West Accuse One Another /

CQsvriaht j

J ■ Received Friday, 10.55 a.m. BERLIN, January 20. ■ ^n. -Per^n today both the Western "and Eastern control authorities accused one another of rearming Germany. The official Soviet newspaper Taegliche Rundschau claimed that the British, French and United States military authorities were remilitarising the Western zones, and the United States military authorities held that Russia was producing armaments in German factories in the Eastern zone. >.

The article in Taegliche Rundschau stated: "The Western Pow-, ers have positively renounced a Potsdam decision on the demilitarisation of Western Germany. Airports and naval bases are being kept in readiness, military organisations are not only being maintained but strengtheed, the police force is being increased and secret preparations are being made to assemble the remnants of the former German General Staff. "Not a single armament in'dustry has been liquidated," continued the article. "On the contrary, numerous armament factories damaged during the war have been restored. All this aims at the

creation of a Western German army of 500,000 men under the command of former Hitler generals to be incorporated in the Western bloc." The United States military authorities are certain that Russia is producing armaments in German factories contrary to the terms of the Potsdam Agreement, stated Lieut.-Colonel Campbell, deputy United States commissioner on the Three-Power Security Board. He said that confirmation of some reports to this effect had been received, but it had been jmpossible to cheek them all. "But where there's so much smoke, there must be fire," he added.