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Military government weekly information bulletin
Number 49 (July 1946)
[Highlights of policy], pp. [4]-[29]
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Page 8
Signa. Corp. Destruction to industrial plants created virtually complete economic chaos in Germany following the surrender of the German Army The story of industrial production in the US Zone of Germany since the beginning of the occupation has been the story of a con- tinuing struggle characteristic of a deficit economy. Jn such an economy there will always be a question as to who gets what and how much - whether steel should be used in desperately-needed producers goods or consumer items, whether manpower should be increased at the expense of white collar workers, whether output of finished products should be sacrificed to the production of spare parts. It is questions such as these which must be answered each day, each month and each week. They can never be answered satis- factorily until enough coal, steel, manpower and transportation are channeled into the bloodstream of industry. What is the present position of industrial output in the U. S. Zone and how has the picture changed in the last year? Industrial production in the US Zone has shown a steady rise from ten percent of capacity in the winter to twenty-six percent during May. A number of favorable factors currently evident point to a continuation of this rising trend for some time to come. But, in its broader aspects, the economic picture is still basically discouraging. Overall output is wholly inadequate either to supply essential requirements in the in- dustrial field or a minimum of consumer goods, to provide work for all seeking employment, or to provide an over-all zonal industrial income sufficient to assure the reduced standard of living provided for in the Potsdam Agreement and in the Plan for 8
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