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has been reached concerning the Synthese-Kautschuk-Ost G. m. b. H.
The outcome of these discussions is recorded in the draft of 20 June 1942.
One main question only remained unanswered in these discussions:
namely, to what extent and under what conditions shall we be entitled to make
use, within Greater Germany, of those manufacturing methods and know-how which
we came across in Soviet Russia. Our draft of the trustee contract of 17
December 1941 provided that all manufacturing methods found in Russia, as well
as improvements developed by the company, were to be handed over to us
exclusively and duty free for use within Greater Germany. At the meeting of 12
June 1942, Ministerialrat Reinbothe raised some objections against declaring
this surrender in the contract as duty free from the start, since the extent of
production reached by Farben on the basis of the trustee contract on one side,
and the value of the Soviet-Russian manufacturing methods on the other, would
still depend on so many unknown factors that it would be impossible, at the
present moment, to weigh them one against the other.
During the
discussions of experts that followed, the representatives of your Ministry
thought they were unable to give their full consent to the exclusive surrender
of Soviet-Russian manufacturing methods for our utilization within the
territory of the Greater German Reich as desired by us, requesting that we
state our reasons in a special memorandum why we considered it best that the
Reich renounce its claim to utilize these manufacturing methods and experiences
within Germany.
Our reasons are as follows:
As you know,
Farben, at considerable cost in labor and money, started to develop buna in
good time [rechtzeitlich] and, at its own risk, established large plants for
the manufacture of buna to such an extent that the amount of rubber required
for the war by the German Army and German economy can be met. In view of the
services rendered by Farben to the Reich, we do not think it fair that the
Reich should now enter into competition with Farben in Germany over the
utilization of manufacturing methods by using those methods found in Soviet
Russia, the more so since these methods can only be made workable for the Reich
through the intermediary of those experts whom Farben has put at the disposal
of the Reich for that purpose. We therefore beg that the following appendix,
according to our draft of 17 December 1941, be added to article 14, Paragraph
3, of the trustee contract: |
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“The Reich will renounce its
claims to any utilization of manufacturing methods, experience, inventions, and
improvements, according to articles 1 and 2, within the territories of the
Greater German Reich.” |
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