Free to Choose?

In response to:

Mr. Heilbroner’s review of Rose and Milton Friedman’s book, Free to Choose [NYR, April 17], so competently deals with their bad scholarship that I hesitate to offer my own objections. However, in their treatment of the revival of West Germany beginning in 1948 I am concerned, not just with their omissions of fact, but with their blatant untruths.

The Friedmans say the currency reform of 1948 in Germany was the work of Ludwig Erhard, who “introduced” the money reform. This is pure fiction. The currency reform was the work of the French, British, and American Military Governments, dominated by the latter. It was announced by Jack Bennett, Director of the Finance Division of US Military Government. My late husband, Edward Tenenbaum, his assistant in chargeof currency reform, sat at his side. Erhard was not present.

No German could have announced the new currency, since there was no independent or unified German government at this time, which the Friedmans ignored when they called Erhard German Minister of Economics. He had recently become director of the Bi-zonal (British and American) Economics Administration, but this was under Military Government.

The currency reform was in effect dictated to the German people by the Tri-zonal Military Government. German participation was welcomed, and the many plans they submitted were carefully studied. It was a group of German financial experts who wrote the laws of currency reform under Allied direction at Rothwesten. Although Erhard was closely identified with one of the prominent German plans, he was not a member of this