DISARMING GERMANY
Stw,—I have read with much interest the letters which have appeared in your correspondence column on the subject of Disarming Germany, but so far, however, an obvious and most important source of war supply has been overlooked. It is earnestly hoped that the peace terms will be of such a character that it will be impossible for Germany to prepare for yet another onslaught. Her ordnance factories and aircraft industry may be put out of commission, and, as your correspondent Norman Sheldon suggests, attention should be directed to the curtailment of the manufacture of scientific instruments. I ven'ure to suggest that the abolition or the reduction of these activities will not put a stop to Ger- many re-arming in secret unless she is deprived of a motor industry for a considerable time.
It is now accepted that Hitler subsidised and developed his automobile factories for no other purpose than to provide facilities for large-scale production of munitions and war equipment of every description. The forced contributions for the " People's Car "—and few, if any, were delivered—was the only method available to him to extend the manu- facturing capabilities of his motor industry. Unless this source of pro- duction is uprooted, Germany will not totally be deprived of the means of preparing for yet another war. After the outbreak of the present conflict, it soon became evident that our state-controlled war factories were not equipped or organised to produce supplies adequate to meet the demands of total war. It is now common knowledge that we tapped an abundant source of supply when the nation's motor industry came into the orbit of war production. To list the products coming off the assembly lines in mass sequence would lead to the inclusion of almost every weapon and all the equipment needed for waging total war on land, on sea and in the air. Germany recognised the production poten- tialities of her motor industry for war purposes long before we made a similar discovery in respect of our own—hence her preparedness on that fateful Sunday in 1939.
I believe sufficient evidence has here been given to prove the folly of leaving such formidable machinery for production in the hands of an untrustworthy nation such as Germany. We leave her with a motor
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