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{
    "localId": "486500218",
    "label": "Report, Central Intelligence Agency, Germany, Situation Report 20",
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    "contentType": "document",
    "title": "Report, Central Intelligence Agency, Germany, Situation Report 20",
    "citationUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/486500218",
    "collections": [
        "President's Secretary's Files (Truman Administration)",
        "Intelligence Files"
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    "productionDates": [
        {
            "day": 9,
            "logicalDate": "1949-12-09",
            "month": 12,
            "year": 1949
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{
    "seq": 37,
    "pageIndex": 0,
    "type": "photo",
    "url": "https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/presidential-libraries/truman/hst-psf/602196/875507/875507-02-037.tif",
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    "ocrText": "SECRET\nA-3\nSouth of the Main is the Odenwald and\n(3) The Middle Area.\nsouth of the Neckar the higher and more\nMidway between the two areas of diverse\nscenic Schwarzwald. The highlands continue\nhighlands is a broad area of low relief that\nsouthward to the Swiss border.\nslopes upwards to the Jura Uplands in the\n(2) The Central and Eastern Basins and\nsouth, continues to the Alpine Foreland, and\nUplands.\nfinally reaches the high elevations of the Alps.\nThe Eastern Uplands include the Sudeten\nThe northernmost section is essentially the\nMountains, the Ore Mountains (Erzgebirge),\nbasin of the upper Weser River and its tribu-\nand the Bohemian Forest, which together\ntaries. The landscape is varied and includes\nform a rim of highlands around the Bohemian\nforested mountains, mountain meadows, and\nBasin of Czechoslovakia. To the north, the\nbroad river valleys with prosperous farms.\nErzgebirge open into Saxon Uplands. The\nSeparated from the northern area by old\nvalleys of these mountains and uplands were\nvolcanic mountains is a depression that in-\nindustrialized at an early date because of lo-\ncludes the upper basins of the Main and\ncal ore deposits. Today Chemnitz is the heart\nNeckar rivers. Here the relief is varied and\nof the modern industrial activity.\nincludes ridges, broad valleys, and low escarp-\nBetween the Erzgebirge and Sudeten moun-\nments. Nürnberg, the most important city\ntains is the Elbe Gorge, which forms the gate-\nof the depression, is favorably located at a\nway from Germany to the Bohemian Basin.\nbreak in one of the escarpments that affords\nDresden controls the entrance to this gate-\nan easy route between the Main and Danube\nway. The Sudeten Mountains are heavily\nvalleys. Stuttgart, which ranks second to\nwooded and sparsely populated but along the\nNürnberg in importance, is also a center of\nnorthern foothills is an area of fertile soil,\nmodern industry. The depression, however,\nhigh crop yields, and denser population. The\nis primarily an area of small homesteads,\nBohemian Forest, the mountains along the\nfields, pastures, apple orchards, and pine for-\nwestern border of Czechoslovakia, is continued\nests.\nto the northwest as the Thuringian Forest.\nTo the south, the depression ends abruptly\nApart from their timber supply and attrac-\nat the Jura Uplands, a series of north-facing,\ntions for summer resorting, these forested\nlimestone escarpments that stand out like\nmountain areas are of little economic impor-\nwalls. The forested escarpments reach eleva-\ntance.\ntions of 1,200 feet in the north and many of\nNorth of the Thuringian Forest is the\nthem are the sites of ancient castles. The\nThuringian Basin which is drained by the\nJura Uplands dip gently to the south toward\nSaale River. It is an area of specialized in-\nthe Danube River. The soils of much of the\ndustries and crafts that had their origin in\nupland have been stripped of their forest\nthe Middle Ages. Salt deposits in the north\ncover, are of inferior quality, and support only\nand lignite in the west are the basis of the\na scattered population, except in the river\nmodern industry of the area. Although the\nvalleys.\nrougher lands in the basin are wooded, much\nBeyond the Danube River, the Alpine Fore-\nof the area is in pasture or under cultivation.\nland rises gradually to the base of the Ba-\nWithin the basin is an east-west string of\nvarian Alps. The northern part of the fore-\nsmall cities of cultural and industrial signifi-\nland is hilly and fertile. Elongated lakes are\ncance. Among these are Eisenach, Gotha, Er-\nfound in the central part of the upland, and\nfurt, and Weimar.\nextensive moors in the higher lands to the\nThe isolated block of the Harz Mountains\nsouth. The Iller, Lech, Isar, and Inn rivers,\nlies to the north of the Thuringian Basin and\nwhich rise in the Alps, flow through broad\nis completely surrounded by lowlands. The\nand, in many cases, swampy valleys. Munich,\nmain lines of communication in Central Ger-\nthe capital of Bavaria, is a transportation cen-\nmany circle the mountains. Only a few mi-\nter located at a point where East-West routes\nnor routes cut across this barrier.\ncross the Isar River.\nSECRET"
}