Statistics:

Interrogation of Dr. Rolf Wagenführ

Statistical Section of the Planungsamt,

Speer Armaments Ministry

BIOS 17

 

Reported By

Mr. John Selwyn Foreign Office E.A.B.3.

 

Target No. 28/5.01/1

Interrogation of Dr. Rolf Wagenführ by

Mr. John Selwyn at Bad Nauheim

August 4th and 5th 1945

 

Introduction

Dr. Rolf Wagenführ was head of the Statistical Section of the Planungsamt in the Speer Armaments Ministry, from 1943 onwards. Previously he was a leading member of the Reichs Insitut für Konjuncturforschung in Berlin where he still continues to work.

Dr. Wagenfür had already been interrogated by USSBS and as far as possible an attempt was made to cover new ground.

It is important to bear in mind that, with rare exceptions, Wagenführ did not handle raw statistic materials. Further, the use to which is figures were put by Kehrl (meant is Hans Kehrl, consider his interesting book Krisenmanager im Dritten Reich, of 1973!, AOB) was not strictly his province. As a result much of the following represents the opinion of a pertinacious and enquiring mind, rather than a statement based on actual handling of the subject of discussion. (Kehrl in contrast was heavily engaged in the provisions of raw materials, in Speer's Ministry, AOB)

Statistical Series

 

Keywords:    The statistics of the industrial Groups existed before 1933 as collected by the Trade Associations (Verbänden) .. ; The main defect of the Industriebericht statistics production caused by the introduction, in 1939, of an "organisational stop" which prevented firms changing their membership from one group to another. ; .... ; A second defect lay in the figures of production could not be related to specific articles ... ; An improved system of commodity numbering represented by the 'War commodity numbering system' (Kriegswarennummerung) was evolved by the Kraehe Committee ... ; Ausschüsse and Ringe ... ; The most important return was the Beschäftigungsmeldung which differed for the groups of factories .... ; Beschäftigungsmeldung .. ; Dahm's statistics covered in all about 300 items of war production (guns, tanks, U-boats, etc. ..; It had not been easy to obtain prices of finished armaments ... ; Dr. Grottian (Berlin) calculated .. ; The main reason for the unreliability of estimates of stock were ... ; Control over the disposition of reserves of iron was in the hands of the Amtsgruppe Eisen and Stahl  (Schliecker in Berlin and Schäfer in Hamburg) ... ; Führerprogramme .. ; The firm 'top-control' maintained throughout is a reflection of Kehrl's dictum that the basis of planning and control was iron and steel allocation, other production factors being taken care of as bottlenecks arose ... ; There is a large measure of differenence between Wagenführ and Kehrl on these points. Kehrl's evidence as the man in charge, is probably more reliable. He agrees that the Planungsamt ..; ... an investigation in 1944 showed that industry held a year's output of steel in stocks or in the pipeline .. ; Kräftebilanz .. ; Dr. Bramstedt .. ; ... the main defects of the Rot-Zettel were ... ; Man-Hours statistics .. ; Kriegsauflagenprogramm in 1943 ... ; Level of Consumption .. ; .. Schnellbericht .. 

 

 

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