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Military government weekly information bulletin
No. 23 (January 1946)
Highlights of policy, pp. 4-9
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Page 4
Militarp Government financial experts think thef are. and are f akin-a qt.ftc fn demilitarize them for a peacetime econ- oma. : .' rAre )3anks a §fhreaf to Ofur j'eace Ask anyone what a country needs to prepare for a war. Most probably you will get a description of huge airplane fac- tories, armament plants, railroads and many other industrial enterprises. Few people would mention the quiet, peaceful, little bank that operates on main street, as one of the important necessities of war preparation. It is perhaps somewhat difficult to see a threat to peace in a bank. There are no great hydraulic presses, no rows of gleaming lathes, no huge vats and coils. The clicking of adding ma- chines and the murmuring of clerks is a peaceful sound. Yet, this citadel of peace and quiet is even more dangerous to world peace than the factories themselves. It is the corner stone on which the Ger- man war industry was built and operat- ed. Today in Germany it is as important to demilitarize the banking structure of the country, as it is to destroy her war- producing factories. A destroyed factory can be rebuilt... if money can be found. To prevent this money from being found, Military Government iv the U. S. Zone, has taken two steps toward demilitarizing the financial struct- ure of Germany. The first step, now completed, was an overall denazification of all banking agencies; the second step, still in process, is complete decentrali- zation of the banking system. .-The- first step, removing all dangerous individuals' from banking positions, was successful, despite the early predictions that banking facilities would be hamper- ed. The continued operation of thebank- ing facilities during the denazification was due to the energy with which the MG finance officers sought replacements, and the sound judgment they used in making their selections. As a result the banks are enjoying an increasing public confidence, under a new and clean man- agement. The second step, breaking the highly organized, machine-like, banking system down into small functional units, is one of the most important steps yet taken to prevent Germany from again becom- ing a warrior nation. This huge banking monopoly was the instigator as well as the supporter of the huge economicblud- geon which enabled Germany to smash Europe to her knees. BANKS BUILD INDUSTRY In Germany, more than in any other country, the money for industry has been obtained from banks. Germany does not have the traditions of private invest- ment, such as those of the United" States and Great Britain. Because Germany's industrialization came relatively late, competition from other industrialpowers left too little time to develop a class of private investors, or to build up capital reserves out of profits. To get capital in a hurry, industry turned to the banks. The banks willingly committed them- selves heavily in industrial shares. This f C7pqht" ht loticy aut Ig
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