Hi Ross,
I think it will be very difficult to obtain such a book...
I did recently a research on the mining history on a Belgian locality,
Sclaigneaux (Namur). As fas as I know, there was not much mining in Belgium
during the first war. The only mining in Flanders was coal mining,
unfortunately I don't have any information on that for the period
1914-1918...
If one knows that Belgium was the world-leader of the zinc industry before
1914 then it is easy to understand why Germany was so eager to destroy this
flourishing industry.
In fact, they did it in a very subtle way: they destroyed the competition
selectively so that only those companies remained that operated partially or
completely on German capital, the well-known Rhine-industry.
The stocks at Sclaigneaux were requisitioned for transport to Overpelt, and
the factories at Baelen looted because they had no bindings with German
companies.
The zinc- and lead factories of the S.A. Gustave Dumont at Sclaigneaux, only
recently modernised in 1910-1913, were completely dismantled by the Germans.
What couldn't be dismantled was shipped to Germany. The total production of
zinc in Belgium amounted to 204.000 tons in 1913. In 1917 it was down to a
mere 10.290 tons.
One thing was certain: the zinc industry entered a dark period in 1918 and
people wondered if it would ever be revived. Everything was destroyed! The
railroads that connected Belgium with the surrounding countries were no
longer there. Since the zinc industry in Belgium had come to an almost
complete stop, the allies had built large factories in Great Britain. The
Americans, English and even the French didn't fully appreciate the amount of
damage that Belgium had suffered while the Netherlands remained virtually
untouched by the turmoil of war.
And still, with courage and necessity, the workers rebuilt the factories and
rigged up the machines like a giant puzzle. The furnaces were rekindled and
Belgium restored its transportation grid.
De Nul, Richard
Churchilllaan 330
2900 Schoten
Belgium
Tel N°: +32 3 658.75.36
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
http://users.pandora.be/rdn
----- Original Message -----
From: "Ross Thomas" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, June 22, 2001 9:02 AM
Subject: German mining book / Great War
> Could any one help me in obtaining a copy of the book "Der Mineur In
Flandern"
> published in Oldenbury, Germany in 1918 which concerns German mining
operations
> in the Flanders during the Great War ?
>
> Regards,
>
> Ross Thomas
>
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