English Translation

- 2 - the textile, clothing, glass, ceramics, leather, wood processing, construction, brick, printing and paper industries, as well as breweries and malteries, for example, could not be supplied at all; nevertheless, the quantities available are so small that the most important productions are affected. Among other things, the chemical and cement industries have experienced severe cuts, so that cement production will fall by about fifty percent. The iron and metal processing industry also had to be cut by about thirty percent in the supply of sudetenGerman lignite. It is therefore difficult to avoid a break in the production of the armaments and subcontracting industries, and even a small reduction in the iron-producing industry could not be avoided. As soon as the effects are overlooked in detail, the Chairman of the Arms Commission will not be able to answer your questions about which arms programmes are to be restricted or postponed on the basis of this situation. I have always been particularly anxious to make the Bohemian and Moravian industries fully available to German armaments and war production. I have therefore supported the relocation of production to the limit of capacity utilization. As this space has so far been spared significant effects of the enemy air force, it is possible to fully exploit its production capacity. These favourable assumptions against almost all other industrial areas of the Great German Empire justify and, in my opinion, require such a coal supply - also taking into account the low overall coal situation - CA8