DEFENCE OF CONTROL IN GERMANY

Rotorua Morning Post, Issue 5327, 13 February 1947, Page 7

DEFENCE OF CONTROL IN GERMANY

"NOT ANOTHER "POONA" « • MR. J. B. HYND SUMMARISES WHAT HAS BEEN DONE. { Following is the substance of the House of Commons statement by Mr. J . B. Hynd, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, last week. Mr. Hynd, in dealing with denazification, said he was surprised to find that 18 months after the end of the war, we were told we had to stop denazifying, that we had to leave hig landowners and 'big a/griculturalists untouched. Under the Nazi regime it? was precisely those people who were raost loyal to the regime who found themselves in the most select positions. But the main point of members' criticism was in regard to centralising British headquarters in Berlin. We were party to an agreement between the four allies of quadripartite administration in Germany. For that a central government was established in Berlin as the most convenient and more appropriate centre. We must, of course, maintain topranking officers responsible for discussing high policy with other parties in Berlin. What was sugg-ested' was, in fact, as he interpreted it, the establishment of yet another bureaucracy, or another Poona if they liiked, in the British zone. There was really no need for it. v.

Full Regional Responsibility. The administration in Germany provided for the closest possible supervision of administration and policy in the zone under four civilian regional commissioners given full powers to carry out the policy as direeted from the centre, and to administer policy over a wide -ange of subjects entirely on their own responsibility, as long as it was in accord with the general policy. Mr. Hynd continued: "I am not suggesting that the situation in the zone at present is a comforting one, in that we have achieved all we might have achieved. I begv the House to remember that we are not the government of Germany, but in controlling the British zone of Germany, we had to observe fundamental undei-standings and agreements reached with our allies, and these do impose limitations upon many things we would like to do and upon many things that probably have had to be left undone. There have been considerable developments. We are told we are not going* on sufficientjy with denazification, that we are leaving big Nazis in control. But the discussion has led to some kind of balanced picture." Mr. Hynd said the public did know there was a calamitous housing situation and desperate need for food, clothes and shelter of all kinds, that there have been tremendous achievements by a comparatively small number of British personnel in many fields. 4 Summary of Suggested Solutions. He has studied the solutions put for ward, and they could he summed up under foiur general headiing(s — first, scrap Potsdam; secondly, stop coal experts; thirdly, stop denazification; and fourthly, send more food. The last, of course, was the key criticism that j ignored entirely the desperate efforts he and his administration and the Government had been making in the last 18 months to get even the small quantity of food it had t^pen possible to get into Germany.

Dealing with the calory situation, Mr. Hynd said that where the ration had fallen over a particular period, it had so far as possible been made up over a subsequent period. "I would like to clear up one misunderstanding — that 1500 calories is not the standard ration for an average person in Germany, but is'the basic r-ation for what is known as a normal consumer, or non-working adult. They represent some 36 per cent. of the British zone. The balance are categorised, and their rations range from 2500 to 3660 calories, which, in the opinion of the Tripartite Nutrition Committee, is sufficient for an underground miner. "The second great menace was health. There were exceptionally bad conditions in Germany for maintaining anything like reasonable health standards; housing conditions, shortage of medicines, food and elothing, and the influx of refugees, many already iH.

Housing Progress. In spite of colossal difficulties and the shortage of coal, which had led to the shortage of housing materials, they were getting on with housing, to.o. They were repairing in the Ruhr at the rate of 4000 monthly. The shortages were due ».ot to mismanagement, corruption or inefficiency on the part of members of the Control Commission, but to a shortage of raw materials. If we were to maintain the situation we must increase production very rapidly. There Yould be no solution until coal and raw materials were available, and the financial equili--brium restored. The wider task of the Government was to restcre democratic control and let the Germans manage their own affairs. Denaizfication was well in hand. Mr. Hynd said that under bizonal arrangement the Control Commission had achieved two things — first, greater assurance of every aid in maintaining food supplies and raw materiqls; secondly, the possibility of more rapid diversion of responsibility to the Germans themselves. The development of German production for the purposes of trade was going on at a considerable pace and links with the outside world were being restored through hi-zonal agencies. Business c^rrespondence had been restored during the last few weeks, although not trading or financial correspondence. Encouraging Visitors. . Mr. Hynd said we hoped to encourage visitors from abroad, not only from the United Kingdom and the United States, but others, too. The Government was encouraging direct contact with the Dutch and other countries in the business field. The planning and provision of raw materials to get German industry into pro-

duction was also being undertaken. Exports during the next few years would pay for imports into the western zone. The recent severe weather had held up plans very considerably, and the task had been hampered and new problems presented but every thaw was heing used.to rush fprward coal stocks to localities which needed them and everything was being done to. meet the situation — a test not only for the British Control Commission but for the German authorities. "So much, depends on the British and American taxpayer, and the future of Europe may depend on the maintenance of that ad'mirable spirit of detex-mination shown by our administration over the last 18 months," said Mr. Hynd.