miRS-tonpon - Sturmpanzer.com

The project itself cannot be accepted at face value as a faitaccompli. There are indications that it fell through, in the firstplace because equipment was found to be too valuable to allow itsconcentration in such mass, for the exclusive use of a comparativelyminor branch of the Organization; in the second place, because presentconditions and the diversity of OT r s tasks virtually preclude anyrigid regimentation which, going beyond personnel administration,attempts to make itself felt in operational matters. Even if theproject had been actually realized in its entirety, it still shouldnot be assumed - as has been done - that the rest of the OT has beendissolved. Obviously, after having been put in charge of all civilianand military construction in Germany by highest authority, as discussedin the following paragraphs, the OT was not stripped of nine tenthsof its personnel on practically the same day.19. Amt Bau-OTZWhile the Reich was being divided into Einsatzgruppen, etc., inpreparation for the home-coming of the OT, higher policy in regard toits status as a governmental agency was likewise being revised, withthe result that at present the OT is found to be in control of allconstruction inside Germany,The first step was taken on 29th April 1944, when Amt Bau (Bureauof Construction) in the SHEER Ministry, was placed under the officialwho already was (and still is) head of OTZ, Ministerialdirektor DORSGH.Inasmuch as Amt Bau controlled the construction and building industriesin Germany, the step effectively put OTZ on an equal footing with AmtBau. The reason officially given was that it was HITLER'S specificdesire that it should be made possible for the OT to "perform its taskssmoothly and unfettered, also in the Reich". Its tasks prudently weredefined as "construction work for the war production industry"• Thestep was ratified by a decree of the Ftthrer, dated 24th August 1944,placing SPEER, in the capacity of Chief of the OT, in control of allofficial administrative construction agencies within Germany. Ineffect, the decree by implication placed the OT in control of Amt Bau'sadministrative organization. Before the intermediate steps leadingto this development are discussed, a brief outline of the history ofAmt Bau is given below.Amt Bau was created as part of the 3FEEK Ministry, when the latterwas reorganized in the autumn of 1943» The specific decreeestablishing the Bureau is dated 29th October 1943* The creation ofthe office put its chief, the GeneralbevollmSchtigter Bau(Plenipotentiary - General for Construction), - at that time ST03BE­DETHLEPFSEN - on an equal footing with the chiefs of the other Bmter(Bureaux) of the SIEER Ministry. STOBBE-DETHLEEFSEN, however, inaddition to being head of Amt Bau, also represented SH2ER in thelatter*s capacity of Generalbevollmttchtigter fttr die Regelung derBauwirtschaft im Raume des Vierjahresplan (Plenipotentiary-Ganeralfor the Regulation of the Construction Industry within ths Pour YearPlan). This dual function is reflected clearly, however, in thesubordinate echelons.Thus the Bau Bevollmachtigter im Bezirk der R&stungsinspektion(Construction Plenipotentiary for the District of the Armament.?Inspectorate) derived his authority from the Plenipotentiary General(STQBBE-DETHELFFSEN) and exercised full control over the priorityprogramme for construction and allotment of building supplies. TheBaubeauftragte im Gau (Construction Deputy in each Parly Gau), on theother hand, derived his authority from the Chief of Amt BAU (alsoS'OBBE-DETHLERPSEN). The Baubeauftragter, acted as liaison officialbetween the Gauleiter in the latter*s capacity of Reichsverteidigungsko-ianissar(Reich Defence Commissioner) and the Construction Plenipotentiary-20­