CHAPTER ONE
The Situation Within Nazi Germany
Thanks to the American media and what passes for history, most
Americans have no idea of wartime conditions within Germany. The
topics most germane to this discussion are the means of wartime
industrial production and transportation within Germany.
After the Battle of Britain, Germany's air domination over Europe
began to decline, sliding down a slippery slope which ultimately
resulted in one major reason for its defeat. German means of
industrial, arms, and energy production became increasing
venerable to attack by Allied bombers. The munitions plants
needed to produce the arms to maintain the war effort, such as
tanks, airplanes and cannons were all targets of Allied air
bombardment. Likewise, high priority targets included oil
production and refining facilities which produced the fuel and
lubricants needed to make the war effort possible.
One way Germany responded to air attacks was by moving munitions
facilities and high-value industrial plants underground (1).
Some of these facilities were vast, encompassing miles of
underground tunnels. They housed both the industrial means of
war production and the workers themselves. The facilities at
Nordhausen in Thuringia are well known as the site of production
for the V-l and V-2, but there were others. The newly discovered
underground complexes of the Jonas Valley south of Nordhausen in
Thuringia constitute another vast complex (2)(3). This facility
was to serve as a center of government and most probably a
research center for advanced weaponry. This is also true for the
many underground complexes in what is now Poland. Notable among
these is a facility called "Der Riese" (The Giant). Der Riese
served as a uranium mine, uranium processing facility, and
research and development facility for secret weapons (4).
Underground facilities for weapons production were found
throughout Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia and Poland.
Underground production facilities were also set up to refine
synthetic petroleum products from coal and to generate
electricity.
In addition to underground facilities, camouflage was used to
hide numerous smaller facilities. These many camouflaged and
underground plants formed a web of sub-assembly producers. Each
sub-assembly facility sent their product to a larger or a more
centrally located facility for further work. From there it might
be transported again for final assembly. As an example, type XXI
U-boats were modular, being produced in pipe-like sections
throughout Germany. They were transported by rail to sites near
the North Sea and only finally assembled at water's edge.
Likewise, some types of aircraft were only finally assembled near
the runway.
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