7 JUNE 1946, Page 12

" IN THE BRITISH ZONE "

SIR,—Mr. Norman Paterson's article in your issue of May 31st seems to ignore an essential factor. There is an Allied, not only a British, policy towards Germany, economic and political. It is defined in the Potsdam Agreement. The destructive clauses of this are being fulfilled ; the con- structive ones are largely in abeyance ; but not through the fault.of the British. The only gainers. from this state of affairs appear to be the Russians ; for it is only on the foundation of economic chaos in the Western zones that the Russian-sponsored S.E.P. is likely to gain a foothold there. It may not have escaped Mr. Paterson's notice that the Americani have started to react Violently against the non-fulfilment of the Potsdam Agreement, and that the British authorities are obviously in sympathy with them. To secure the necessary economic foundations of any healthy political life it will be necessary first either to fulfil the positive clauses of Potsdam or to scrap the agreement and build on a new policy. The latter would, of course, be a very grave step from the international point of view: In view of world shortages, not only of food, any economic reconstruction of Germany is bound to be slow going. And until it is under way, the average German is highly unlikely to be interested in propaganda either for a Socialist Britain or for U.N.O. Let us by all means face the ugly situation in the British zone of Germany. But do not let us indulge in the foolish simplification of blaming its ugliness on half- hearted or non-existent interest by " authorities."—Yours, &c., Bumorr.