The Nazi Woodpile in 1945

Abstract This paper, presented before the Wisconsin-Upper Michigan Section of the Society of American Foresters at Madison, Wisconsin, December 7, 1945, explodes the myth of German super-superiority in wood technology and manufacture, and gives a first-hand glimpse of the situation shortly after V-E day. Research continued during the war but integrated planning was weak, and industry, although not seriously crippled, suffered from obvions inefficiency in production methods. The overcutting of the forests ordered during the war may have to be continued for a decade or more in order to provide for reconstruction. Some difficulty in making the best use of Germany's forests is envisaged because the policies of the several allied nations occupying that country may not be properly correlated.