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The interests of the OT firms as an eoonomic group of theReich are taken care of by liaison with the yirtschaftsfiruppenBauindustrie (Economic Group: Construction Industry) and theReichsinnungsverband des Bauhandwerks (National Guild of BuildingCraftsmen;. This subject has been covered in IID. Since the zoneof operations has come to include Germany, however, the OT as anagency of the Ministry for Armament and War Production has takenover not only the construction facilitie s of the Wehrmacht, butalso all government agencies administrating construction in Germany,(see SPEER's decree of 16 October 1944, IB22). Consequently i tmust be assumed that the influence of the Construction Industry asan economic force has been reduced to a minimum where privatecommercial interests are involved.The Deutsche Arbeitsfront (German Labour Front), commonlyabbreviated DAF, has been treated as a political rather than asan economic organization in section c) Political Liaison, "below.93- Collaborationist AgenciesThere were basically two types of collaborationist organizationseconomically allied to OT. One type, such as was set up inPrance, was patterned after the German Building Industry. Thepurpose behind a collaborationist organization of this type wasto make it serve as a responsible and subservient agent throughwhich the German authorities could exploit French manpower,equipment and resources. For example, the Comite d*Organisationde Batiment et des Travaux Publicities (Committee far the Organisationof Construction and public Works) was nothing more than auniform price fixing and labour recruiianent agency for the EGW.OOBTP (as it was commonly abbreviated) had no direct channels toEGW headquarters in Paris, but was obliged to resort to its Germancounterpart the "flirtachaft3gruppe Bauindustrie as an intermediary.(This subject has likewise been touched upon in IID).c) Political Liaison94. German Agencies(i)DAF and NSDAPDie Deutsche Arbeitsfront, (DAF: German Labour Front) wasformally established toward the end of 1933 when it took over allpre-existing Labour Unions. In German official language it wasfounded by the Fuhrer in order to educate all "racial" Germanseconomically employed, in National Socialism, on the basis ofThe other type of foreign economic collaboration is exemplifiedby the working arrangement which existed between the OT and thevarious satellite Balkan governments. The DERUBAU (Deutsch-Ruaanische Bau-Gesellschaft) for example, was a German-RumanianBuilding Association entrusted with the development of roads andlaying of oil pipes. The OT's part in the arrangements consistedin beginning the program and allowing it to continue under Rumaniatechnical supervision, as soon as it was functioning smoothly.Bulgaria concluded an agreement, (June 1942), whereby the OT undera 5 year plan would complete 900 miles of asphalt roads between1942-i*£. A building program was inaugurated in Slovakia (1939) bythe Inspector General of German Roadways (Fritz TODT) whereby theOT would begin a network of roads, the completion of which wouldbe left to Slovakia.-101­