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Investigators
Mr. O. Hoeffding/EWD (US)
Mr. J. Selwyn FO/GED
Major A.J. Stella FO/GED
Dr. C.H. Noton FO/GED
BIOS Target Numbers
28/5.01, C28/5.01/1
Interrogation of Albert Speer
Interrogation of Dr. Rolf Wagenführ
Second Report on Hollerith Record Machines in Germany
Part II
Report written by Dr. Lauersen
Second Report written by Dr. Lauersen
(a) Drawing up of Raw Material Balances
(b) Procedure applied to an order to MB (Maschinelles Berichtewesen)
Report by Dr. Schulz on "Connections between MB and the Feldwirtschaftsamt
Interrogation of Dr. Bahmeyer
Reports on MB by:
Caspar Schroeder (Schröder, AOB)
Hans Gert E. Toenjes
Dr. Hermann Strebel
Dr. Paul Bramstedt
Questionare and answers on M.B.
Note: A further report written by Dr. Lauersen, explaining in greater detail the functions of MB, is to be issued later as a supplement to the symposium
Notes on Reports
Fourth session of a series of interrogations carried out for the exploitation of Reichsminister Speer. This was done on May 1945, by Mr. O. Hoeffding of EWD (US)
Report based on an examination of the subject on August 4-5th 1945, by Mr. John Selwyn of Foreign Office, German Economic Department
Special Report made by the Mobile Field Interrogation Unit on April 25th 1945, in reply to a SHAEF Brief
Report written for Major Stella of Foreign Office, German Economic Department, at Hamburg on August 31st 1945
Second report for Foreign Office written between 14th and 21st August 1945
Report written for Major Stella, at the same time as above
Interrogation carried out by G-2, Economic Section, SHAEF, on May 4th 1945
Reports written at the request of the Foreign Office, in October 1945
Answers to questionaire submitted by Foreign Office, German Economic Department, in September 1945
Introduction
Since the cessation of hostilities in Europe, interrogations have been carried out from time to time, as personnell were captured, and as the need arose, on various aspects of German statistical reporting, and particularly on that department of the Reichsministerium für Rüstung und Kriegsproduktion (Armament and War Production) known as the Maschinelles Berichtewesen (Machine Reporting)
Recently an attempt has been made by specific questioning of some of the German personnel formerly engaged on this work, to obtain a complete picture of the function of the MB, and methods of collecting industrial statistics during the war.
The attached symposium is an accumulation of material on these subjects, which is offered without comment, merely in coherent form. (An apology must be made here, if the translations of these component reports at times appear somewhat literal; success in re-moulding sentences is not sure without entirely re-translating, which time does not permit. The remedy therefore has been to edit, where possible without changing the original sense)
Whilst it is being left to readers to draw their own conclusions from the material here presented, it may be of interest to have an outline summary of statistical reporting in Germany before the war and developements therein up to the formation of the Reichsministerium für Rüstung und Kriegsproduktion in 1942
Before the war, the main official statistical body was the Statistisches Reichsamt (SRA), with the Reichsgruppe Industrie as a source for industrial statistics, which were processed in a special department of the SRA called Industrielle Produktionsstatistik
With the war-time need for greater speed than the Statistisches Reichsamt was able to muster in the collection and processing of essential statistics, a Gruppe Zentralstatistik was formed in 1940, in the Wehrwirtschaft- und Rüstungsstab of OKW (Oberkommando der Wehrmacht, AOB), to further the interests of the Wehrmacht in carrying of statistical investigations via-a-vis all non Wehrmacht Departments
The Gruppe Zentralstatistik remained part of OKW until 1943, when it was incorporated (with its personnel and sphere of work) into the department Maschinelles Berichtewesen of Speer's Ministry (Rüstung u. Kriegsproduktion). The Maschinelles Berichtewesen had been formed in 1942/3 when the Wehrwirtschaft-und Rüstungsamt of OKW was split up, remaining in OKW, and the Rüstungsamt being given into the charge of Reichsminister Speer
At the same time the Lochkartenabteilung (punchedcard department) of the Heereswaffenamt (OKH), which had existed since 1938, was made into a separate department and transferred to Speer as the nucleus of MB. Since then its form has not altered substantially, there being a Head Office (Zentralamt) in Berlin, and a district office (Bezirksstelle) in each Rüstungsinspektion area.
Given below are a few details on some of the personalities whose reports are included in this collection:
Lauersen 1933-38 Referent of department Industrielle Produktionsstatistik of Statistisches Reichsamt
1938 Transferred to Gruppe Statistik of OKW, which in 1940 became Gruppe Zentralstatistik, and in 1943 Abteilung IV of MB Zentralstelle
Bramstedt Also belonged to the Statistisches Reichsamt
Schroeder Worked under Lauersen in Zentralstatistik OKW, and Abt. IV MB
Bickert A member of the Reichsgruppe Industrie
Baudisch Head of the department for Joint Planning of Industrial Requirements in the Planungsamt of the Speer Ministry
Wagenführ A member of the Institute of Economic Research and chief statistician of the Planungsamt
Strebel Employed since 1927 in the Reichsversicherungsamt (Reich Insurance Office), where he had established a Hollerith department. Being unfit for military service, he was placed in the Lochkartenabteilung of MB
Schulz Dr. of Agronomics, who had worked on agricultural statistics since 1928. Liaison officer of MB
Toejes In charge of section dealing with employers' returns and industrial reports in Lauersen's department of MB
Interrogation of Albert Speer, former Reichsminister of Armament and war production. Part 4th Session - 15:00 to 17:30 hrs - 29th May 1945 Speer entrusted Staatsrat Schmeer with carrying out a drastic simplification of this system ... Hollerith methods ...The Maschinelles Berichtewesen, under Col. Passow provided the nucleus .. From mid-1944 it became more and more difficult to obtain up-to-date- Reich figures, as some of the raided Gaue would be late with their returns ... Simplified reports (Eilmeldungen) based on ... Saur (HDL, AOB) whose personal referent Friese would spend .. Production figures coming from industry were also checked against Heereswaffenamt acceptance statistics supplied by Col. Juestrow ... Sollzahlen .. Programmzahlen ..Führerforderungen .. they were very high and far in excess of actual output and capabilities .. Hitler refused to cut them down officially. In connection with the figures in those reports for Japanese war production in 1943, Speer was questioned on the state of knowledge on Japan in Germany. He said that the Japanese were extremely incommunicative .... Speer knew that samples of new equipment had been gone to Japan by U-boat but knew little about the details of this traffic. Jet plane designs had been communicated and possibly samples despatched. ...Milch ... blockade runners in 1942/43 ... Japanese requirements were registered with the Abteilung Ausland of the Wirtschaftsministerium .... Backe was invited to these meetings .. Speer knew that a lot of periodical reporting was done by the Rüstungsinspektion to the Rüstungsamt .. Wichtigtuerei ... Wagenführ of the Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung .. Non-ferrous metals were handled very skilfully by Müller-Zimmermann, Reichsbeauftragter for metals .. the Rechenschaftsbericht 1944 which he had prepared in early 1945 when he realised that things were nearing the end ...
This report is based on an examination of Dr. Rolf Wagenführ carried out at Bad Nauheim on 4th and 5th August 1945 Subject: An Appraisal of the Official Statistics of the German War Economy .. Wagenführ is primarely an economist of considerable international repute rather than a statistician .. Dr. Wagenführ was head of the Statistical Section of the Planning Department in the Speer Ministry, from 1943 onwards. Previously he was deputy Director of the Reichsinstitut für Konjunkturforschung in Berlin, where he still continues to work .. It is important to beer in mind that, with rare exceptions, Wagenführ did not handle raw materials. Further, the use to which his figures were put by Kehrl (Hans Kehrl a very interesting person. Please notice his book: Krisenmanager im Dritten Reich, AOB) ... Wirtschaftsgruppen .. Industriebericht ... Beschäftigtenmeldung .. Maschinelles Berichtewesen .. Planungsamt .. Dahm's statistics covered .... total (German) war production 1944 50,000,000,000 RM ... Dr. Grottian .. The calculations of operational stocks of weapons published by the Planungsamt were completely misleading .. Raw material planning .. production pipe-line .. Durchlaufzeit .. Schlieker in Berlin and Schäfer in Hamburg .. Amtsgruppe Eisen u. Stahl which controlled the Reich Iron Ferderation .. Rüstungslieferungsamt ... The firm "top-control", maintained throughout, is a reflection of Kehrl's dictum that the basis of planning and control was the iron and steel allocation .. Kehrl's evidence, as man in charge, is probably more reliable ... He agrees that the planning department was concerned with cutting down allocations and seeing that there had been cross over-allocations in the past - an investigation in 1944 showed that industry held a years output of steel in stocks, or in the pipeline ... The most outstanding example of coordination within a department (Amtsgrupe Chemie) was powder and explosives. 4) ... Occupied Teritories Raw Materials .. Planungsstatistik .. Auftragsverlagerung .. Exports to occupied territory ... S-Betriebe ... Dr. Lauersen ... Finished Armaments There was a complete statistical blackout regarding both the amounts of finished armaments produced in occupied territories and raw material used in their production ... Arbeitseinsatz ... Kräftebilanz .. Beschäftigtenmeldung .. Planning of labour Allocations .. Rot-Zettel .. The main interest in Consumer Goods Industries lay in the replacement of skilled labour by unskilled ... Sauckel .. Man-Hours Statistics .. Kriegsauflagenprogramm in 1943 .. Dr. Grünig ... Rüstungsindex ..
Hollerith record Maschines in Germany Maschinelles Berichtewesen of the Speer Ministry
Use of Hollerith Machines in the Wehrmacht
Use of Hollerith Machines in the Occupation ...
This report brings to light the fact that Hollerith machines are being used to a greater extent than previous information indicated. Both the Wehrmacht and government agencies as well as business and industry availed themselves of this vital control medium, dow dispersed all over the Reich ..
..... 3 Lichtrausmaschinen?? (Lichtpauschmaschinen??< AOB) ("Ultrakop") MB's Reich personnel totalled 1,800-2,000 employees before the Himmler Aktion PW's believe that afterwards its strength decreased in proportion to the increased manpower levies made by the Wehrmacht in general ..
Location of H-Machines ..Wendisch-Rietz name was changes by the Nazis to Märkisch-Rietz ... shipped by rail to Neudietendorf near Erfurt ..
Use of Hollerith Machines in the Wehrmacht
A directive of Feldmarschall von Keitel issued in the summer of 1942 provided that the MB was to draw up plans and make suggestions for the use of H-machines in the Wehrmacht ...
Despite the directive the project encountered considerable oppositio. High-ranking military officials, indisposed toward having their military records marred by "new-fangled" ideas, discoraged the idea ....
A report by US gen. Brehon Somervell on the role of IBM machines in the American Army caused considerable excitement in the Wehrmacht administrative circles. Passow favored mobile H-Machine units similar to those which the American Army had found efficient ..
Feldzeuginspektion (Fz In) .... German QM (Quartiermeister, AOB) general on a machine-records was started in March 1942. It was still in operation in April 1945.
Under the new system stock reports of all Heereszeugämter were reported monthly by this items ..
As of March 1945 the machine records of the Feldzeuginspektionen were still located in Berlin-Düppel, as were the H-machines used by Fz.In. ... D-11 ...
A card was made out for every German soldier who was in military hospital. The soldier's medical history was entered on the card. Each ailment had a keyed number .... The Hollerith key covered several hundred ailments ..
Statistics on Military Vehicles (Chef WKW) ... The project was discontinued in January 1945 ..
Statistical survey of Officer Candidates .. An MB staff maintained these records right in the Inspektion HQ (Hauptquartier, AOB) ... Potsdam-Bornstedt ...
Regierungsrat Masuhr ...
Bull tabulators
Index of personalities
Passow Obstlt. Head of Maschinelles Berichtewesen
Michel Georg
Barrenstein Reichsstellenleiter Abt. I MB ... Brother-in-law of Statsrat Schmeer ..
Hörber (Hoerber) Regierungsrat, Abt. II, MB...
Springer Dr. jur. Obstlt. Head of Abt. III ... Not H-expert
Lauersen Dr. Regierungsrat Abt. IV MB ..
Grotius Dr. Lauersen's assistent ..
Huebner (Hübner, AOB) Obstlt. Abt. V MB ..
Luedtke (Lüdtke, AOB) Hptm. Abt. VI MB ..
Herbst Werner Regierungsrat Head of Dept. VII MB ..
Thiel Herbert. (PW A) MB employee
Schabacker Gerhard Lt. Head of H-Dept. Fz In ..
Mueller (Müller, AOB) Genartz Dr. Prof. Head of ZAW not H-expert kind old man ..
Klatte Lt. H-section ZAW ..
Hosemann Stabsartz Dr. Excellent surgeon and teacher University Berlin Developed H-key for ZAW
Masuhr (Masur??, AOB) Regierungsrat Mathematician and statician ..
Henning Stabsintendant Head of Wehrkreisgebürnisstelle III .. Good finance officer but not H-expert ..
Bartels Dr. Stubaf. (SS Sturmbahnführer, AOB) Head of SS Machine records Very clever age appr. 45
Busch SS Sonderf Z (Sonderführer, AOB) H-expert Formerly H-dealer since 1932 ..
Heiber Hstuf (Hauptsturmführer, AOB) Head of SS finance office in Dachau Typical SS bad man. Man of low intelligence
Blaettel (Blättel, AOB) Herbert? Head of H-section at SS finace office in Dachau Competent H-expert Formerly H-dealer .. severely wounded in Russia. Luke-warm Nazi born in 1913 home town Frankfurt ..
Asmis H-dealer in München drew up contract for leasing of H-machines ..
Puetz (Pütz, AOB) Head of H-section at Algemeine Ortskrankenkasse Köln (Koeln) Dismissed from H-section by Nazis but rehired in 1937 ..
Quantius H-expert for Stadtwerke Köln (Koeln) Not party member
Goeb Formerly of H-section of Vorwerk, Wuppertal. Later Westdeutsche Waggon Fabrik AG. Koeln (Köln). Joined MB in Wendisch-Rietz in Nov. 44. Anti-Nazi Born 1905
Schenk Formerly H-section Vorwerk Wuppertal .. later ..
Grisse H-section Wildrich KG. Siegen Competent H-expert ..
Kaiser H-section Hüttenwerk Siegerland, Siegen Formerly with Vereinigte Stahlwerke (VDW) Düsseldorf Non Naz
Mauterner Alex H-expert. Valentin Mehler AG. Fulda Non Nazi age appr. 34
Kremer MB employee. In punching department of Reichsbankdirektion Köln Party member but luke-warm Nazi. Lives in Berlin and Wendisch-Rietz
Peppel Anton. Referent in planning department ... Born in 1906 ..
Use of H-machines in the Occupation
Trained personnel was unofficially protected from draft through the efforts of Hollerith and the Speer Ministry
Letter from Regierungsrat Dr. Lauersen to Capt. A.J. Stella ("T" Force) dated 31.8.1945
.... After the separation of the Wehrwirtschafts- und Rüstungsamtes (later designation of the Wehrwirtschaftsstab) ... Dipl. Kaufmann Bickert und Dr. Gierth ..
MB-Bezirkstelle VIII: Breslau Chief Reg. Baurat Schneider
MB-Bezirkstelle XX: Zoppot Chief Major Dr. Matthieu ...
MB-Bezirkstelle Posen Chief Major Dr. Ludwig .
By order of Reichsminister Speer all departments of the Reichsministerium Speer carried out a vigorous reduction of personnel in the first half of April 1945 ..
... he left Maerkisch-Rietz for Neudietendorf/Thueringia (Thüringen, AOB) beginning of April 1945
Advanced preparations had been made for the transfer of the Wehrmacht's mechanised pay-accountacy to the MB, ...
At the beginning of 1944, the MB developed a modern method of registration of persons (Menschenerfassung) and experiments with this method were conducted. ...(Personal-Einzel-Erfassung) ..
Towards the end of 1944 the method of individual registration was applied experimentally for the evaluation of an investigation, made by the Rüstungsamt, on toolmakers and jig-makers, employed in armament factories ..
Monthly return of Employees ...
"Section C" covered about 65 - 70,000 firms ..
The monthly results for section A and B were forwarded ... The results for "Section C" were usually available 4-5 weeks after the month under report ..
During the last month of the war it became increasingly difficult to obtain the returns punctually as numerous firms could not return their questionaires ..
Up to the end of 1944, the Industrial Reports (Industrie-Berichterstattung) were transmitted together with ...The person in charge of the Industrial Report System in the Reichsgruppe Industrie was Diplom-Kaufmann Bickert, chief of the statistical department ..
The Assessment of the "Labour Balance" ("Kräftebilanz") which, on the orders of OKW ... Reichsminister Speer ...In January and February 1945 detailed discussions were held with all the authorities concerned ..
.... The persons responsible for the statistics of weapons, equipment and munition in Dept. IV B were the permanent deputy of the undersigned:
Dr. Grotius, Bad Groemitz (Grömitz, AOB), Haus Kluever (Klüver, AOB)
L/Capl. Caspar Schroeder (Schröder, AOB), Berlin-Hallensee (Halensee??, AOB), Hektor Strasse 7
Pte. Zank, Berlin-Wilmersdorf, Aachener Strasse 43
By the end of 1944, the MB received instructions from the Reichsministerium Speer to carry out a comprehensive stock-taking covering the clothing, weapons and equipment in the stores of the Wehrmacht, Reichs Labour Service, German Red Cross and other ...
In the conclusions, it may be stated, within the limits of this report, it has been possible to outline the various activities of the MB only roughly. Further details could be provided by separate reports on the various functions ...
Maschinelles Berichtewesen; Interrogation of Dr. Lauersen by Major Stelle (Stella?, AOB)
Drawing up of Raw Materials - Balances
The authorities foremost interested in questions of raw material provision were:
Reichswirtschaftsministerium
Former Amt für Roh- und Werkstoffe
Beautragte für den Vierjahresplan\The Wehrmacht
The various Rohstoff-Bewirtschaftungsstellen
In the general discussions of these departments on questions of raw material supply it soon emerged that the various departments arrived in many istances at diverging figures ....
... The demands of the Wehrmacht branches were generally regarded as being excessive, and on many occasions it was necessary to modify the demands in longthly discussions, before the negotiations of the Wehrwirtschaftstab with the Wirtschaftsminiserium took place
It was always necessary to reduce the demand of the branches of the Wehrmacht, since the requirements ...
Interrogation of Oberstleutnant Dr. Schultz by Major Stella, at Hamburg, 15.9.45
Re: Connections between M.B. (MB, AOB) and FWi Amt (Feld-Wirtschaftsamt)
During the winter of 1942/43 MB was still entirely occupied with adapting itself to the new subordinate psosition ...
The FWiAmt (WWiStab) included the Zentralstatistik ..
.. The main task of liaison officer MB consisted of reporting to the FWiAmt ..
Interrogation of Dr. Bahnmayer Head of Maschinelles Berichtswesen, Bezirksstelle XIII, and Advisor to Central Office thereof. Ansbach, Pfarrgasse 19, Office Braunhausstrasse 9b
Personality: Dr. Bahnmayer is an expert of machine reporting. He has been in it for a number of years ..
Machine Reporting: It was originally introduced at OKH for purely military questions, comparable to our (British, AOB) forms 66-2 and 20. In March 1940 Dr. Bahnmayer advocated in Berlin ..
Division of Firms: The "A" firms were generally called Rüstungsbetriebe .."B" firms are the firms actually owned and operated by the Army .. "C" firms are Wehrwirtschaftsbetriebe in Betreuung Landeswirtschaftsamt .. "D" firms used to exist but have not now? for quite some time. ...
Industriebericht: Compared to the Beschäftigtenmeldung ..
Informant was quite definite that none of the Rüstungs-agencies received any part of the Industriebericht. The Gauwirtschaftskammer received the Auswortung only with regard to work hours ..
Fertigungsbericht: There were consequently three different forms of it ..
At the beginning of 1944 a new form for Fertigungsbericht was introduced ..
Munich (München, AOB): Bezirksstelle VII. Now in Aichach, Landwirtschaftschule (on the road from Augsburg, 20 km in the direction Ingolstadt) Head: Major Rahl. Medium efficient
Stuttgart: V. Now in Nuertingen (Nürtingen, AOB) in the factory Heller (between Stuttgart and Tübingen. Head Major von Bittenfeld Brains Referent Breckle
Strassbourg-Oberrhein: Now in Schenkenzell, in the school (in the Schwarzwald, near Freudenstadt, direction from Stuttgart to Oberndorf. Head Hauptman Simon Good man
Salzburg: B. St. XVII. In immediate vicinity of town. Head: Major Steffek. Does not know anything.
Kassel: B.St. IX. Now in Untersula near Kassel. Head: Ing. Feik.
Münster: B.St. VI. Now in Emsdetten (from Münster on road to Bremen, 24 km) Head: Ing. Jacobs one of the best men in country
Berlin Center. Now Märkisch-Rietz, near Königwusterhausen Scharmützelsee. Dr. Lauersen, brains of the central office.
Dresden: B.St. IV. Tetschen-Liebwert, Landwirtschaftliche Hochschule. Head: Hauptmann May. Good man.
Breslau: Not dispersed. Regierungsrat Schneider.
Posen: Now Frankenberg in Sachsen. Head: Hauptmann Bartsch.
Wiesbaden: Dispersed in immediate vicinity. Ing. Hartmann.
Hannover: Head: Hauptmann Speyermann. Brains: Major Meene??, but also not a very good man.
Hamburg: Major Kruse. Good man
Wehrkreisbeauftragte
Kohlemeldung
The numbers of Bedarfsgruppen
Wehrwirtschaftsoffiziere
Activities after 17.4.1945
Intake Feldzeug-Inspektion
Stocks Feldzeug-Inspektion and Nachschubämter ..
Consumption at the front ..
Total Stock
Survey of Stocks of the most important arms and implements (Schnellmeldung)
Index of the final armaments production ..
... so-calledFührer report (Führermeldung)
... Collaborators in the Labour Returns
Dr. Kurt Fieldler. Director of the special department Kriegswirtschaftlichekräftebilanz
Curriculum vitae of Dr. Paul Brahmstedt born 22.1.1884 at Harrberg (Kreis Euting Schleswig-Holstein) 1894-1903 ...
MB working paln position on 1.2.1945
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