Five chapters from Morgenthau’s book, Germany is our Problem, here published with an introductory note by Ellopos. Emphasis, in bold or italic letters, by Ellopos. Complete book in print.
THE END OF GERMAN HEAVY INDUSTRY will do more than relieve
the world of an intolerable fear of renewed aggression. It will relieve all
Europe of the iron bonds which were made in Germany to confine the industries
of the rest of the Continent within small, unnatural limits. Once set free from
German chains, European industry in general will soon far more than replace the
production taken from the Reich. The net result will be more steel, chemicals,
electrical equipment, more jobs and fatter payrolls, in short, a rising
standard of living for all the people in Europe, not just sixty million
Germans.
The notion that German heavy industry is indispensable to
the well-being of Europe is a myth sedulously nurtured by German propaganda
over many years. Among those who are trying to keep it alive today are the
men who did business with the German cartels in the past, to the profit of
themselves and the ruin or near ruin of their own countries. But examined in
the light of prewar facts and postwar probabilities, the theory breaks down at
every point. In its place are the realities, which prove:
1. That Germany filled a relatively small proportion of
Europe's needs.
2. That these needs could readily be supplied by other
nations.
3. That if efficiency and common sense had been the only
factors, other nations would have been supplying them long since. They were
hampered by ruthless German trade practices.
