TOP SECRET
Berlin, W. 8, Behrenstrasse 63, 1 June 1939.
THE CHIEF PLENIPOTENTIARY FOR THE ECONOMY.
GBW 8/2669/39 g.Rs.
Replies to be addressed to Leadership Staff GBW attention of Ministerial Director Sarnow or his deputy in the office.
TO:
a. Under-Secretary Reinhardt, Reich Finance Ministry,
b. Under-Secretary Dr. Landfried, Reich Ministry of Economics,
c. Chief of Military Economic Staff, Major General Thomas,
d. Under-Secretary Dr. Neumann, Prussian Ministry of State,
e. Reichsbank Director Puhl, Directorate of the Reichsbank,
/. General Plenipotentiary for the Reich Administration in the Reich Ministry of the Interior, attention of Under-Secretary Dr. Stuckart, or his deputy in the office.
g. Ministerialdirigent Dr. Michel, Reich Ministry of Economics, Berlin,
h. Councillor in the Ministry, Mr. Sussdorf, here.
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Attached please find minutes of a conference of 30 May 1939 concerning war financing. As soon as the new proposals of the Reich Ministry of Finance have been handed to me I shall take the opportunity of again referring to the matter.
Represented by signed Dr. Posse.
Certified:
[Seal of Reich [signature illegible]
Ministry of Economics]
Justizsekretaer.
To be shown to the Minister for his information.
[initial] 5/6
* * * Then a report was made of the contents of the "Notes
on the Question of Internal Financing of War", of 9 May of this year (appendix to GBW 8/2179/39 top secret), in which the figures given to me by the Reichs Minister of Finance are also discussed. It was pointed out that the General Plenipotentiary for the Economy is primarily interested to introduce into the legislation for war finance, the idea of financing war expenditures
by anticipating future revenues, to be expected after the war. * * *
Undersecretary Newman, first, submitted for discussion the question whether the production would be able to meet, to the assumed extent, the demands of the army, especially if the demands of the army, as stated in the above report, would increase to approximately 14 billions in the first three months of war. He stated that, if the production potential of the present Reich territory is taken as a basis, he doubts the possibility of such a production increase. * * *
The demands of the army would probably be higher in the first three months of war than during the further course of the war.
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TOP SECRET
Enclosure to GBW 8/2669/ g. Rs.
List of Persons Present at the meeting of 30th May 1939 concerning war financing
Dr. Landfried, Under-Secretary, Reich Ministry of Economics.
Dr. Holtz, Councillor in the Ministry, GBW.
Reinhardt, Under-Secretary, Reich Finance Ministry.
Dr. Neumann, Under-Secretary, Four Year Plan.
Dr. Kadgien, Regierungsrat, Four Year Plan.
Krezschmann, Reichsbank Director, Reichsbank.
Tischbein, Ministerial Director, Supreme Command of Armed Forces.
Dr. Danckwerts, Ministerialdirigent, Reich Ministry of the Interior.
Jacobi, Oberregierungsrat, Reich Ministry of the Interior.
Sussdorf, Councillor in the Ministry, GBW.
Dr. Michel, Ministerialdirigent, Reich Ministry of Economics.
Thomas, Major General, Supreme Command of Armed Forces.
First, as concerns the scope of the total production, it is clear that the economic power of the protectorate and of other territories, possibly to be acquired, must of course be completely exhausted for the purposes of the conduct of the war. It is, however, just as clear that these territories cannot obtain any compensation from the economy of Greater Germany for the products which they will have to give us during the war, because their power must be used fully for the war and for supplying the civilian home population. It is therefore superfluous to add any amount for such compensation to the debt of the domestic German war financing. The question as to what labor forces, new products and other commodities in the Protectorate and in the territories to be acquired, can be utilized for us, and the question how these commodities can be obtained and, in a proper case, are to be paid by us, thus can be excluded from this investigation. Insofar as it should happen that, for political reasons, deliveries without any expectancy of compensation cannot be demanded of the "occupied" territories, to that extent one will be able to pay with debt certificates of the Reich and an answer to the question of settling those certificates must be found after the termination of the war........It goes without saying that the question of cov-
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ering the minimum requirements of the civilian population during the war in the countries coming into our scope of Government, will remain a domestic task of such countries.
[Page 14]
During the war the army can reckon, out of the economy of Greater Germany, substantially only with deliveries to the extent of that portion of production which in peacetime is attributed to the public expenditures—minus the minimum requirements of the civilian government agencies. In order to cover additional requirements of the Army the economic, power of the Protectorate and of the territories to be acquired during the campaign, must be used.