Adenauer Requests Full Report on German Scientists Working for Egypt

Dr. Konrad Adenauer, West German Chancellor, today requested a complete report on the activities of German scientists at work on Egyptian weapons programs. He sent his request to officials here from his vacation place at Cadenabia, Northern Italy. Tomorrow, an inter-Ministerial Committee, representing various Cabinet ministries, will meet on the matter.

Gunther von Hase, State Secretary of the Government Information Office, declared today that, according to information obtained by the Government, the German scientists in Egypt are not at work on atomic, bacteriological or chemical weapons. He said they were merely “assisting” in the production of ground rockets or jet propulsion instruments. At present, he declared, there was doubt whether any legal steps could be taken against those scientists, but he said that the subject would be looked into. However, he did not indicate what he meant by “legal” steps.

Der Spiegel, a Hamburg news-magazine, today revealed details about the Egyptian rocketry program which resulted in the public exhibit, in July 1962, of Egypt’s rockets. The weapons, stated the usually well-informed periodical, were developed by German and Austrian scientists brought to Egypt with the help of a Swiss agency known as Meco–the Mechanical Corporation–which is an enterprise headed by a 44-year-old Egyptian armament millionaire, named Hassan Sayed Kamil. He holds a Swiss passport and is one of the most important agents for Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, Der Spiegel said.

The news-magazine added that Meco had drawn employment contracts for about 250 German, Austrian and Swiss technicians. Among them are 11 members of the Stuttgart Research Institute for Jet Propulsion.