Schacht to Goering, warning him against a war economy. 2 April 1937
Schacht to Goering, warning him against a war economy. 2 April 1937
Source: W. Michalka (Hg.), Deutsche Geschichte 1933-1945, (Frankfurt, 1993), pp. 113-114.
… Enhancing the economy through armament policy and the Four Year Plan has caused German industrialist to give preference to the more lucrative and rissoles business in Germany over export of goods. Although all agencies within my jurisdiction have received strictest orders to give export production preference in allocating raw materials, there is an ever growing shortage of raw material for export… The armament industry and the Four Year Plan have absorbed so many skilled workers, that industry for export is experiencing a growing shortage of adequate labour. This is especially true for the industries, which have the highest possibilities for export. The size and urgency of military and recently of Four Year Plan orders have taxed the capacity of German industry to such an extent, that their ability to fulfil orders for export was strongly impaired. These development result in creating such a long waiting time for supply by the export industry, that buyers abroad prefer to deal with firms in Switzerland, Sweden, Belgium, the United States and Czechoslovakia. Often even agreed upon schedules for delivery are not held, and the reputation of German businessmen suffers extremely… Recently the situation has deteriorated due to orders issued by different offices at the Agency for Raw Materials and the army to give export production second priority. We can therefore predict that not only will we not accomplish the expected amount of export, but we will see a decline in the second half of 1937. I am afraid that the income from export and the import possibilities will decline for the time being, and as a result, the foreign currency at our disposal. I do not have to point out that this development will endanger the execution of the Four Year Plan and put the continuing armament program into question, especially if the coming harvest would make large imports necessary. Naturally, this would also influence our independence in Foreign policy.
