740.00119 EW/10–1647
The Chief of the Reparations Section, Economic Division, Office of United States Military Government for Germany ( McJunkins ) and the Chief of the Reparations, Deliveries, and Restitution Division, Control Commission for Germany (British Element) ( Whitham ) to the Secretary General of the Inter-Allied Reparation Agency 24
Berlin
, October 14,
1947.
Sir: We have the honour to inform you that the United States and United Kingdom zone commanders have directed that the following information be communicated to you.
- 2.
- It has been the view of all four occupying powers of Germany as expressed at the Council of Foreign Ministers in Moscow that the level of industry fixed for Germany in March 1946 was too low. United States and United Kingdom Governments accepted this level on certain conditions, chief of which was that Germany would be treated as an economic unit; these conditions have not been fulfilled.
- 3.
- A revised level of industry has been planned for the United Kingdom and United States zones in Germany and jointly announced by the two zone commanders in August. In fixing this level, the requirements of countries entitled to receive reparations, the great majority of whom are represented at IARA, were fully considered. With this consideration in mind, we have endeavoured to the best of our ability to meet these requirements.
- 4.
- Since the publication of the revised level of industry plan for the UK/US zones of Germany, we have been engaged on the task of selecting the plants to be placed on the reparation list. The list is complete and is attached hereto.25 This list is still subject to amendment. [Page 1127] The adjustments if any will, however, be only of a local character and you can be assured that no major modification will be made, and that substitutions will be of an equivalent capacity and value. Such minor changes in the list will not affect the total value of plant on the reparation list and they will be notified to you as soon as possible as we are anxious that the work of allocating reparations should not be retarded through uncertainty as to the precise plant to be made available.
- 5.
- The list contains 682 plants of which 302 are war plants and 63 are plants which have been allocated as advance deliveries and are now being dismantled. Apart from those allocated as advance deliveries, the list does not include any plants which are under the prohibited industries in the 1946 plans since these industries are now being reviewed and a final statement will be made in due course. Similarly, industries temporarily permitted under the 1946 plan are subject to further consideration before we can determine what plants if any may be added to the list. We fully appreciate the desire of your member nations to have a complete and final picture.
- 6.
- There is a further point to which we would draw your attention. For reasons which you will readily appreciate, it may be necessary in the case of certain factories to delay dismantling to allow for the transfer of the workers and the work in progress to other factories which are being retained in Germany. There are a few cases where the needs of our occupational forces will delay the date upon which the plants can be made available. You will shortly be advised of the plants so affected. In making decisions in individual cases, you may rest assured that we will bear in mind the importance of making reparations available as expeditiously and as fully as possible. Indeed we do not think that the programme as a whole will be seriously affected by these considerations.
- 7.
- The United Kingdom zone commander has determined that the publication of this list of reparations inevitably brings to an end the British emergency delivery scheme. This scheme was introduced to help countries in urgent need of reparations at a time when a limited number of advance deliveries and general purpose equipment from war plants was the only form of capital equipment available as reparations. Equipment to the extent of 75 million RM (residual value) was to be made available under this scheme. It has not been possible to provide more than a proportion of the amount originally envisaged. Nevertheless, an opportunity has been given for countries to obtain some of their most urgent needs of machine tools, which, without the introduction of this special emergency scheme, would still remain unsatisfied.
- 8.
- With the publication of the accompanying list we hope that the [Page 1128] uncertainties which surround the question of reparations will be removed. It is our intention to value all plants on the list and proceed to allocate them according to approved procedure.
We have [etc.]
- O. R. McJunkins
- G. S. Whitham
- This letter was delivered to the Secretary General of the Inter-Allied Reparation Agency at Brussels on October 16, 1947. The source text was transmitted to the Department of State by the British Embassy on October 16.↩
- For the text of the list under reference, which was released to the press on October 16, see Plants and Part Plants Listed for Reparations from United States and United Kingdom Zones (of Germany): House Committee on Foreign Affairs, 80th Cong., 1st sess. (Washington, Government Printing Office, 1948).↩