Foreign News: WEST GERMANY INVADES THE MIDEAST

An Army of Salesmen Go Wnere Conquerors Failed

THE historic Berlin-to-Baghdad ambitions of the Germans got nowhere politically under the whip of Kaiser or Fuhrer, but before the peaceful push of West Germany's prosperous economy, they are succeeding surprisingly well. Armed now with sample case and blueprints instead of howitzer and battle plans, West Germany's businessmen are aggressively pushing ahead with a more realistic version of the old "Drive to the East." In Beirut last week the beaming manager of the local Volkswagen agency had only one complaint: he could not get cars shipped in from Germany fast enough to meet Lebanese demand. In northeast Iran 250 West German engineers and technicians roamed the hills busily drawing up plans for factories, power plants and municipal water systems.

Even a decade ago, so successful a Drang nach Osten seemed hardly possible, for twice in 30 years calamitous wars wiped out Germany's stake in the lands curving about the eastern end of the Mediterranean. Yet in ten years, West German exports to Greece, Turkey and the Middle East have jumped from less than $10 million a year to $500 million.

In overall sales, West Germany's peaceful invasion force —some 500 German businessmen operate out of Cairo alone —has yet to catch up with Britain and the U.S. But in three lucrative markets—Iran, Syria and Greece—West Germany outsells any other nation. In Egypt and Israel the West Germans are now No. 2 in sales.

"They Like It." West Germany's success story owes most to the skill of its technicians and the acumen of its businessmen. But the German tradition of high quality has also gained from the shoddiness of some postwar U.S. products and from the fact that Russia's achievements in rocketry have created doubts about U.S. technological preeminence. German traders have also won an enviable reputation for fast delivery. Last summer when Saudi Arabia's King Saud decided he needed a three-truck caravan (sleeper with bath, dining car with throne, and a supply van), British and French firms told him he would have to wait six months. West Germany's Daimler-Benz, teaming up with a specialty body firm, did the job in seven weeks.

After delivery, most German firms guarantee prompt, expert maintenance—wherever possible by local workmen trained by Germans. Says an official of Munich's Siemens & Halske electric company: "Nationalistic Middle East governments like it when they find that in dealing with Siemens they are dealing with a nearly all-Arab group."

"A Good War Record." West Germans also enjoy two other competitive advantages. One is the aggressive trade policies of their own government. To help foster West German exports, the Federal Republic sponsors an insurance organization called Hermes, which offers exporters a guarantee against default by their customers. Thanks to Hermes (which has so far committed $600 million to underwriting Mideastern deals alone), West German businessmen can often offer credit to customers whom other Western businessmen must pass up as bad risks. Sometimes the Bonn government steps in directly to help. West Germany is about to give the Greek government $150 million in loans and credits, in a deal which commits Greece to spend two-thirds of it on German capital goods.