English Translation

fis go Muutcpbrki Copy Der Reichswirtschaftsminister Berlin, 26 May 1939. v Dev. 1/637/39 g Geheim Schnellbrief Geheim Betr.: Vergaben von Wehrmachtsauftragen an Unternehmen des Protectorats Böhmen und Mähren. An der Oberkommando der Wehrmight, Berlin W. 35, Tirpitzufer. The remission of orders from the Wehrmacht to contractors of the Protectorate has recently assumed a very large extent that I am moved to raise the strongest concerns about the position of foreign exchange management and export concerns against further orders. The reconstruction of the Protectorate's export by means of appropriate support measures on the one hand and by providing the production capacity of each exporting company for each export possibility on the other hand is urgently necessary to ensure the import requirements of the protectorate. Under no circumstances does the well-known foreign exchange and raw material situation of the Reich allow the Protectorate to grant foreign exchange subsidies from the Reichsbank. I have already pointed out in a special letter to the Prime Minister Generalfeldmarschall Göring that the necessary foreign exchange cuts from special funds will have the greatest impact on the supply and employment situation of the Reich in almost all areas of raw materials. These extremely adverse effects will be even greater if the Reich is forced to pay for foreign exchange or commodity subsidies due to too heavy a burden on protectorate enterprises with rich orders.