to speak of any independent development of German econ-
omic and political life in the Western zones. Financial aid
from the United States is becoming such a burden, and is
leading to such grave economic consequences, that the Ger-
man people will have to pay for it for a long time to come.
American aid of this kind is becoming a dangerous ob-
stacle to the restoration of Germany's economic and political
independence.
Other Powers want to use Germany in their own in-
terest, by promising her financial assistance, and ;so on.
There even exist plans to use the western part of
Germany as a base for the exertion of political pressure
inside and outside Germany in furtherance of the interests
of certain foreign reactionary circles and, in the future, as
a strategic base against European democratic states. These
calculations are built on sand.
It would be one thing if Germany were forbidden to
restore her war industry but were enabled to develop her
peace industry and to export part of her industrial output
to other countries1. She would then be able to procure the
import commodities she needs and to repay credits with-
out falling into bondage and putting herself in a position
of dangerous economic dependence on this or that strong
Power. There would then be no talk about the taxpayer,
since the taxpayer's interests would be safeguarded by the
punctual repayment of credits by Germany.
But what we have at present is quite different. At pres-
ent, even the elementary conditions for the restoration of
German industry are not being provided. As a result, the
daily increasing foreign indebtedness of the western part
of Germany is placing Germany in a position of complete
dependence on other countries, especially on the U.S.A.,
where no little power is wielded by those who are not at
all -concerned about the German people, but who would
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