Germans and Dismantling
Stn,—The interesting article of Mr. Bender in the Spectator of September 23rd sets out objectively the arguments of Germans in connection with the dismantling of the Fischer-Tropsch plants. It is unfortunate that many of the basic facts on which these arguments turn are, as given by the Germans, incorrect, so that an uncritical acceptance of them must inevitably impair judgement of the German case. There were six Fischer-Tropsch plants in West Germany, but of these four were very badly smashed by air attack and not repaired: their " dismantling," therefore, will consist mainly in the removal of rubble and corroded steel scrap. The other two were repaired and allowed tem- porarily to operate at a fraction of their capacity, to produce materials for substitute soaps, until such time as fats and oils became in less short supply. The contribution to the German chemical industry of these two plants has been negligible, although the industry now—a German's own admission—is working at almost its 1936 level. So much for the argu- ment that the plants are essential for economic reasons. The two plants which have been working employed only a very small number of men.
The argument that the plants are needed to make the coal industry profitable is weak: Ruhr coal output per man shift was some 30 per cent, greater than in U.K., and the closely integrated gas, steel and chemical industries of the Ruhr, together with briquetting facilities, enabled all grades of coal, including lowest-grade slacks, to he utilised. All these resources are available again.
The Fischer-Tropsch plants were never meant to produce high-grade motor or aviation fuel, but they did produce important quantities of diesel oil specially suitable for U-boats—and were operated during the war with that end in view. It is not true that the Nazis did not develop them after 1938: by the end of the war nine plants were in existence, including three of considerable capacity.
The one or two plants operating in the Russian Zone are supplying materials for synthetic soap to West Germany for conversion and return to the East Zone: it is a highly significant fact that neither for quality, nor for price reasons is there any sale in West Germany now that alterna- tive materials from more normal sources are again available. These coma
mercial factors help to explain why all the anti-dismantling propaganda comes from the coal interests, but, significantly enough, has not been supported by the main mass of the German chemical industry, who are primarily consumers of the products. As, however, the anti-dismantling campaign is considered by Germans to be politically desirable, one cannot expect any opposition to it, even from those who know the correct facts.—
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