DESOLATE PORT

Wairarapa Times-Age, 28 May 1940, Page 9

DESOLATE PORT

THE WAR HITS HAMBURG. DEEP ECONOMIC DEPRESSION. Nazi claims that Germany dominates the North Sea and that the Reich is little affected by the British and French blockade are not being well received in Hamburg and Bremen, reports the Copenhagen correspondent of the- London "Daily Telegraph.” These two cities, hitherto among the greatest overseas export centres in the world, are now in a state of deepest economic depression. They, are now presenting a major problem to FieldMarshal Goering, the new war-time economic leader.

Huge wharves and warehouses are standing idle, and such ships of the German North Sea merchant fleet as have not been bottled up in neutral harbours or fallen victims to the Allied navies are now laid up in the deserted docks. ■

The "Frankfurter Zeitung” devotes a 2,000-word article to this acute problem under the headline "Adjustment Problems for Hamburg.” The article attempts to show that, while the position of Hamburg is bad. it is not so bad as during the period 1914-1918. In point of fact, however, both Hamburg and Bremen have been extended and built up a great deal since the last war, and the new crisis has therefore been of even greater extent than the last.

According to the German paper there are three chief methods by which Hamburg can save herself from complete ruin. They are: — (1) To develop her industry, as distinct from her shipping interests; (2) to transfer as much of her idle tonnage as possible to the Baltic by means of the Kiel Canal; (3) to switch over such of her vessels as can be so employed to the transit trade between Scandinavia and the south and southeastern European countries. The Baltic trade, however, is not so extensive as to be able to absorb a very considerable quantity of suitable tonnage, even if Hamburg possessed it. As regards the transit trade the "Frankfurter Zeitung” remarks: "In view of the general shortage of commodities in all countries we are compelled to look for and make use of every commercial chance.” The freedom with which this type of exhortation is interpreted in Nazi commercial circles is shown by the fact that more than one Danish firm has received letters from Hamburg merchants requesting that German goods consigned to Iceland and other destinations might be unpacked in Denmark and recased in the guise of Danish goods. The danger of trade in German vessels with the northern countries is shown by the loss of the Hamburg steamer Frankenwald, 5,062 tons, near Steinsund, Norway. The vessel, which belonged to the Hamburg-Amerika Line, struck a rock at six p.m. on January 6 and sank. The crew of 48 were rescued by a Norwegian torpedo boat.

This type of incident is caused by orders issued to German vessels carrying iron-ore from Narvik, and to other ships in the Scandinavian trade, to hug the Norwegian coast so as to escape British naval patrols. The sunken vessels carried out the orders too literally.