English Translation

Dr. ALBREcht MIESBACH Zlin, 16 September 1944. Wehrwirtschaftsführer Member of the Board of Bata A. G. 219.9.4 Minister Dr. W. B e rt s c h Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the BataA.G. Prague II Carl Maria von Webergasse 21 Dear Minister 1 I will travel to Slovakia next Monday together with Mr Neumann, after this trip has become urgently necessary in the interest of our Solovak interests. I would also like to take a look at the conditions of Slovakia from my own perspective. Mr. Neumann came back from Slovakia this morning and he told me the following: 1/ The fact that the director of the Bata plants in Šimonovany, L uptak has passed to the partisans or sympathized with these people is absolutely wrong. When the armed guerrillas in Šimonovany demanded the extradition of the ma terial there, especially the leather, Mr. Luptak refused to do so. The guerrillas then wanted to arrange for the responsible camp administrators to release the material, which they refused without the written instruction of Mr. Luptak. The guerrillas then forced the release of the material, which is supposed to represent l9 wagons in the value of 25 million k. Mr. Luptak and his family then flown from Šimonovany and kept themselves hidden for 8 days. He then returned to the factory, where he took over the management again with the consent of the German military. Mr. Luptak's father died from the excitement of these attacks. Mr. Luptak is Slovak. As a Lutheran Šlovake, the Catholic Slovaks are deliberately causing him difficulties today. Mr Luptak is known in Zlin that he always strives to