1949. West Germany's Booming Industry Alarms Britain and France

The Reinvigorated Ruhr

The Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex in Essen, February 1949. Photo by Carl August Stachelscheid (source)

Bill Downs

CBS Berlin

January 28, 1949

It is becoming increasingly clear that the economic future of Western Europe will depend in a large part upon what happens in some 1,300 dirty, sooty square miles of Western Germany.

The Ruhr is gradually becoming the focal point of the Western European recovery under the Marshall Plan. The quantity of coal, steel, and power produced in this valley—only forty-five miles long and thirty miles wide—will largely determine the amount of taxes the American taxpayer will have to contribute to the revival of Western Europe.

If the peace of the world depends upon a reconstructed Western Europe, then the Ruhr and its German workers have a tremendous part to play in the achievement of this goal.

I have just returned from a week of traveling in the Ruhr industrial complex, talking with industrialists, workers, political leaders, and occupation authorities. It is not the most pleasant place in the world. The mile after mile of mines, foundries, and furnaces; the run down and dirty laboring communities; the smoke and soot from the chimneys.

The district was badly bombed during the war, and places like Essen and Duisburg are still mostly huge piles of rubble.

But underneath the grime and the damage, there is a great vitality. The people have lost their defeated shuffle and now walk with vigor and spirit. Everyone can work who wants a job, and now that the reformed West Mark has achieved confidence and value, the Ruhr German is working hard.

The city of Düsseldorf, which the Ruhr control authority has made the unofficial capital of the district, is overflowing with life. The shops, where plaster is hardly dry, are jammed with everything from pot scrapers to fur coats. Jewelers are back in business with gems and gold and silver. In blockaded Berlin, for example, you find a large number of antique shops where desperate families trade the last of their valuables for marks. In the Ruhr there are few antique shops. Everything is new.

A wealthy merchant class is emerging in the revived Ruhr economy. These men could be compared with the carpetbaggers in our own civil war. You see them in the most expensive restaurants, driving the biggest automobiles, and wearing the finest clothing. They are the middlemen, sometimes dealing on the black market and sometimes not. If an industrialist needs scrap iron, these men know where to get it. If it is sheet steel, they can make a deal.

You have probably seen caricatures of the traditional German businessman with a round, protruding stomach and a fat, moon face. The corporation stomach is returning to Germany by way of the carpetbagger. You don't find it in the people who do the work.

Yes, the Pittsburgh of Western Europe is rapidly getting back on its feet, and this fact alone poses serious problems for the American, British, and French who must channel Ruhr production into the entire economy of Europe. The Germans have ideas of their own as to how this should be done.

At present it is estimated that the United States is pouring a billion dollars a year into Western Germany to keep her alive. The only way that Germany can repay this is to export on the foreign market. If that were all there is to the problem, it would be simple.

But the British and French have different viewpoints. Britain particularly is in the position of "export or die," and a British official told me frankly that "if someone is going to die, it will not be the United Kingdom."

The French have a similar viewpoint with another added factor. They say we must be careful not to make the mistakes of the last war. Revive the German economy and German nationalism will follow. Then you have a Teutonic threat of war on your hands.

The Americans insist that this position is illogical. Our aim is to revive the European economy. The Ruhr and Western Germany form a vital part of that economy. The life of a free economy, America says, is competition. And if German production is in competition with other countries, it can't be helped. American authorities point out that this revived German production will also be in competition with United States industry.

That is the argument between the three occupying powers. The Germans watch these tensions and act accordingly.

The Germans put up a tremendous howl, and still are sobbing, when the international control of the Ruhr was announced.

Right now the British have an embarrassing trial on their hands in the case of seven German workers who refused to dismantle a drop forge in Bochum, claiming that it was a plant necessary to the peacetime German economy. The British, I gathered, are a little sorry they brought the thing up.

This is the first instance of passive resistance against an occupation power in Germany. A similar thing occurred in 1923 when the entire Ruhr population refused to work for reparations. France and Belgium sent troops in, and for almost two years the Ruhr was under a state of siege until Germany was reduced to a state of bankruptcy and her resistance broken.

The Germans know, and we know, that the occupying powers cannot afford to let a similar situation develop now when we are trying so desperately to put Western Europe back on her feet. It places great power in the hands of the people who were supposed to be conquered in the last war.

Right now the Ruhr is governed by a "level of industry" regulation that sets steel production at 11.7 million tons of steel a year. It is expected that this level will be raised to 14 million tons. This will mean the first real postwar boom in the Ruhr. It will also mean greater exports into the European economy and fewer dollars needed in Germany.

At present there is a moratorium on foreign investments in Germany, but both British and American authorities have recommended that this ban be lifted.

Opening Germany to foreign investment will be of greatest importance to American financiers. As one German industrialist put it, America is the only nation in the world today that has money to export. This industrialist, who has connections in the United States, says American capital is extremely interested in investing in Germany.

"However," he explained, "No one is going to risk money in this country until the international political situation becomes more stable. There has to be the prospect of ten years of peace before the dollars will risk going to work here."

These are only part of the complex problems facing Western Powers as they seek the road to economic revival, stability, and peace.

The main questions being asked are:

Is Germany becoming the dominant economic factor in Europe, as the British fear?

Is Germany being so strengthened that she will become another threat to peace, as the French fear?

Only time will give the answers to these and other problems. Meanwhile the Ruhr and West Germany continues to pull itself out of the rubble of war. Make no mistake about it, the Germans are the hardest working people in Europe.

1956. A Letter from an Old D-Day Comrade

Twelve Years Since D-Day

LST 287, later transferred to the Philippine Navy and renamed the RPS Samar Oriental (LT-502)

Bill Downs accompanied Allied forces at Gold Beach during the Normandy invasion. One LST crewman, Fredrick Freeman Leister, wrote a brief letter to Downs twelve years later recalling the experience.

To: Bill Downs

From: Fred F. Leister

September 20, 1956

Mr. Bill Downs
C.B.S.
Washington, D.C.

Dear Mr. Downs, 

Each time that I have heard you broadcast for the past few years I have intended to drop you a line. You will probably be surprised to hear from me after so long a time. 

I am the ex-Chief Engineman aboard the L.S.T. 287 that we were both aboard in the Normandy invasion with Chief Engineer W.A. Wilson and Captain F.P. Eldredge. I often think about that morning when we were all in the main engine room making our wills of motorcycles and so forth to each other. I was certainly glad to hear that everything turned out O.K. with you. 

After the (?) I was transferred to the South Pacific and was a very lucky person myself. 

If you could find the time I would be very glad to get a line from you and I would like to give almost anything I own for a copy of your release to the news of the invasion that you were on with us aboard the L.S.T. 287. 

If I am ever around where you are broadcasting I will certainly look you up. 

Yours truly, 

Fred F. Leister 

San Diego, California

1943. The 'Second' Battle of Poltava

The Fight for Poltava

"Soviet soldiers preparing the rafts to cross the Dnieper (the sign reads 'To Kiev!')" Battle of the Dnieper, 1943 (source)

In 1951, Bill Downs recalled his reports on the Battle of the Dnieper as a prime example of Soviet censorship. He wrote:

"As for the suspicion and fear, the best example I have of that concerns the Battle of Poltava near the end of 1943. I went with my secretary to the Lenin Library to look up the First Battle of Poltava in 1709 when Peter the Great defeated Charles of Sweden. I managed to dig up the number of men involved, the number of horses employed, and the number of guns in that first battle that ended the era of Swedish conquest. I thought it would make an interesting angle to supplement the 1943 battle story. However, the censor stopped all the statistics on that 240 year old battle because, he explained, it is 'military information.' It was obvious that he suspected some sort of a code."

The broadcast below is one example of this. The parentheses indicate text censored by Soviet press officials for military security or propaganda reasons.

(For more, see the complete 1943 Moscow reports.)

Bill Downs

CBS Moscow

September 23, 1943

It was just a little over 234 years ago that the Russians achieved one of their historic victories. It was at Poltava where the Russians, fighting under Peter the Great, defeated the Swedish army under Charles XII.

Two countries and thirty-four years later—today—the Russians have won another big victory. They have again defeated an invader at Poltava. An Order of the Day from Marshal Josef Stalin announces the capture of this city.

Today's victory is a big one, but no one is claiming that it is as great a victory as that which vanquished the Swedish army in 1700. And it is interesting to note that some 42,000 Russians engaged some 27,000 Swedes in this ancient battle. (When the fighting was over only some 1,300 Russians were killed.)

The modern battle for Poltava has been going on for about a month since the Red Army advance west of Kharkov. The Germans in this sector concentrated large forces of tanks, mobile guns, and infantry to serve as a powerful armored guard to protect the German retreat from the Donbass. (This armored guard was originally designed as an armed fist which was supposed to counterattack and retake Kharkov. This plan failed to materialize.)

Today this armored fist is in full retreat to the Dnieper. The German base of Poltava was one of the most powerful in the Ukraine. It was taken with much greater casualties for both sides than either the Russians or the Swedes suffered two centuries ago.

It is a Russian victory that Peter the Great would have been proud of.

Tonight's Russian communiqué also announces more great advances. The Red Army, driving down the railroad leading southwestward into Kiev, has taken a station only some twenty-two miles from the city. This is the closest that the Russians have been to the capital of Ukraine since 1941.

Around the key city of Smolensk the Red Army has developed another threat to this bastion, this time from the south. A Soviet breakthrough has placed the Russians only some fifteen miles south of the city. Now the Germans have to face a pincer movement on their northern and southern flank defenses supporting Smolensk.

Another Red Army gain is announced westward of Bryansk. Here the Russians are on the march in the direction of Gomel and have taken a key railroad town some ninety miles to the west of the city.

1954. The New Egypt

Post-Revolutionary Egypt Looks to Become the "Keystone of the Muslim World"

Gamal Abdel Nasser and Muhammad Naguib in 1954 (source)

Bill Downs

CBS internal memo

May 14, 1954

This report on the Egyptian situation is not as complete as I would have liked to have made it, but I spent most of my time heel-cooling the Revolutionary offices. Trying to get Nasser for an interview (and failing, although Frank Kearns may have gotten it later) took up most of my time.

The revolution, of course, transcends everything else in the nation's political life. The trouble is that the revolution is not really evident in Cairo. There are more troops about, but otherwise life goes on just about the way it did under Farouk. The big operators close to the king, the aristocracy who were engaged in the big deals (such as the kited cotton markets, etc.), are in the process of being tried. But there is no evidence that legitimate businessmen are being attacked.

The major revolutionary step thus far introduced by the Revolutionary Command Council is a significant one. It is now illegal in Egypt to own more than two hundred acres of land. This is a blow against the court favorites to whom Farouk dispensed land at will and indiscriminately. In other words, the sociological aspects of the revolution are moving carefully and slowly. Incidentally, the state compensates former landowners for their confiscated property, but it is often only token payment.

The RCC under Colonel Nasser seems to be recovering from its setback caused by the Naguib crisis. Apparently what happened was that Naguib, who originally was put into the job because of his war record, his anti-Farouk attitude, and the fact that he gave the dignity of age to the movement—he got to liking the job. He had little to do but kiss babies, yet he reacted to the personal prestige heaped upon him as a personal achievement. He demanded in an ultimatum last February 25 that the RCC give him more powers, notably over the army, and ordered that a parliament be reconstituted and the revolution—meaning the ouster of the king—be ended.

The young officers of the RCC took him at his word and kicked him out. However the public outcry was so insistent that they were forced to back down. (It's reported that at least for young officers in the RCC resigned and were only persuaded to remain serving when Nasser warned that if they quit they would be shot like deserter. No confirmation.)

So the RCC decided that if Naguib wanted to run his own show he could do so politically, but that he would not get control of the army. Consequently, Naguib was given the government. The first thing he did was order the reconstitution of the parliament, the establishment of old parties including the Wafd, and then he started releasing political prisoners from the jails. Meanwhile, all the old pro-monarchists came out of seclusion thinking the counterrevolution had said in. All the same old politicians reemerged.

All of this—plus I suspect some very smart propaganda work by the RCC—resulted in a wave of fear by the common people who had seen hope in the revolution. The pendulum swung the other way, and Naguib was out. Showing remarkable restraint considering their history, the RCC did not punish Naguib but kicked him upstairs to the presidency where his prestige, or what's left of it, is still useful—particularly among pro-Naguib army groups such as the cavalry who refused at first to go along with the new development. Most of the young officers who threatened a pro-Naguib revolt have been quietly removed from their commands, some to military missions overseas or to less sensitive areas of the country.

Meanwhile in April the RCC made a sensational announcement that they had uncovered a plot against the government set for May 1. About twenty-five persons were arrested, including military officers and some politicians. The word in Cairo when I left a week ago was that the RCC and Nasser were abandoning their kid glove policy and that these people will be tried, sentenced, and perhaps a half-dozen of them hung.

The Revolutionary Command Council is now engaged in broadening the base of their government. They are forming a national advisory council made up of civilian union leaders, bankers, economists, schoolteachers, etc. to study national problems and recommend courses of action. There are no predictions when the RCC will feel that the revolution is a success and can be turned by to the hands of the people—i.e. reconstitute a parliament. It may be a long time.

Counted as achievements of this revolution are such things as the ousting of Farouk, the land reform, the proclamation of a republic, the campaign against graft (wherein doormen at government offices expected baksheesh,) the Revolutionary tribunal or supreme court, the growing anticommunist campaign (there are signs that Nasser is planning to cash in on this issue vis-a-vis American politicos—the Communist Party is illegal in Egypt but is active). The order declaring the Moslem Brotherhood illegal has been ineffective since it is a pseudo-secret outfit anyway. The declaration that all political parties are dissolved has in effect forced all political organizations underground.

However, there is nothing on the surface yet that bespeaks of a "police state" (remember that these are surface observations made only in Cairo.) There is general disappointment in the results of the Farouk property auctions. They did not produce the money expected, and now there is some criticism that the more outstanding pieces and properties should have been put into special museums and used as tourist bait.

Economically, no one knows the exact situation of Egyptian industrial production, agricultural output, or financial security. As in so many countries around the Mediterranean, there is no such thing as a viable national economy; rather, state economics become national conspiracies designed to dodge taxes, seek favors, and make the maximum profit—although such might be a kind of usury against the state.

The RCC has recognized the importance of tourism to the nation, and there is an all-out effort to attract foreigners. One of the developments is a special branch of the more intelligent cops who form the "tourist police," as their armbands testify. It is also reported that the regulations against admitting anyone with an Israeli visa or stamp in his passport be withdrawn. The government is also proclaiming a smart tariff plan designed to entice foreign industry to Egypt.

One of the really outstanding impressions of the country is the changed condition of the military. Nasser has pledged himself to the "restoration of the honor of Egyptian arms." His revolutionary movement started among the young officers because of the graft, faulty logistics, and incompetence of the monarchy which left Egyptian soldiers to die in the Negev with bullet-less rifles in their hands. It's reported that the US turned down a request to rebuild the Egyptian armed forces because of our relationships not only with the British but also with Israel. Consequently, Egypt has hired German staff officers to teach tactics and training. There is a pseudo-secret commando force being trained by other German specialists (the report that Otto Skorzeny was in charge is apparently untrue). They also have imported German industrialists to set up their arms industry and reportedly are now turning out small arms ammunition.

But to see the Egyptian army now quartered in the former British barracks—to see their standard of uniform and personal appearance, their morale, and their drill—it's a revelation and will, if continued, be a major future factor to be reckoned with in the Middle East.

There is very little public concern or interest in Egypt regarding the dispute with Israel. The number one goal of the RCC is to get rid of the British in Suez and to establish a totally independent government. The second goal is economic stability. Sandwiched between these two policy problems are others that are being tackled such as the armed forces.

Ironically, the new Egypt may provide a diplomatic paradox for the US and the West. The establishment of a democratic republic will be welcomed ideologically by the free world, but at the same time the reemergence of Egypt as a powerful and key state in this part of the world will also create additional problems as this power makes itself felt. The targets are now Britain and Israel. Later, and no one conceals this ambition, Egypt hopes to be the keystone of the Moslem world in an alliance stretching from Morocco to possibly the Philippines.

There is general skepticism about the Moslem world over getting together to form an Islamic empire, however Egypt has the potential of becoming the head of the Moslem states of the Middle East. This potential has already concerned the Syrian and Iraqi leaders who don't like the Egyptian threat. One immediate result was the Iraqi acceptance of US arms aid. The gesture was not without significance regarding the struggle between the north and south for leadership of the Arab states. They realize their weakness, divided as they are, but thus far their jealousies and national ambitions have kept them separated—for which the Israelis thank Yahweh.