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GRUESOME HARVEST
000,000, representing half of the assets of the country's largest
ball bearing plant. Other early shipments included the Gen-
dorf unit of the Anorgana Chemical works, valued at $10,-
000,000 and the vast Daimler-Benz underground aircraft en-
gine plant near Oberingheim.
By May, according to Reparations Commissioner Edwin
W. Pauley, the U. S. zone had earmarked 144 plants for re-
moval to Russia, of which 35 or 40 were actually shipped, be-
fore we suddenly halted further shipments on the ground that
we must do so to protect the economic interests of our zone
until inter-zonal economic unity had been achieved, in har-
mony with Potsdam. Shortly before this, however, the west-
ern powers had failed to get the Russians to agree on how
much inspection a four power commission would be allowed
to do in all four zones, including the Russian. The idea had
originated in the Paris conference of Foreign Ministers to
allay interzonal suspicions and to give each occupying power
a clearcut picture of disarmament in other zones. Britain had
hinted that she wanted to check rumors that munitions were
being turned out in the Russian zone; Russia had retorted with
the direct accusation that Britain had not disbanded large units
of the captured German army and wanted to investigate.
Whatever the reasons, we stopped further shipments of
reparations from our zone. And then the storm broke loose.
Russia apparently reversed her whole attitude toward Ger-
many. In June at Paris Molotov declared it ridiculous to try
to destroy Germany, called for a strong, centralized and eco-
nomically balanced Reich with the Ruhr and Saar attached,
specifically asked for higher steel and coal production levels
than those Russia had previously agreed upon, saying, "The
Reich must be permitted more steel, greater industry and for-
eign trade," and added, "The Soviet Government insists that
reparations from Germany to the amount of ten billion dol-
lars be exacted without fail." His object was clear: Russia
now wanted a Germany able and required to pay large repa-
rations so heavy that socialization would become mandatory,
with anschluss with the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics
to follow.
Meanwhile, Russia was stripping her zone to the bone, im-
plying that it was necessary to do so to guarantee a continued