ABSTRACT
Before the Second World War the economy of Western Europe remained very largely dependent on coal as its source of primary energy, with very little of the diversification into oil and gas that had already occurred in the U.S.A. (see Chapter 2). Between 1939 and 1945, however, the European coal industry was badly hit by wartime dislocation and destruction and much of the productive capacity in countries such as West Germany, Belgium and France was put out of action because of difficulties both in the mining areas themselves and in associated transport facilities. Even in places which were not directly affected by land fighting or intense bombing – most significantly, Britain’s coal-mining areas – the coalmining industries were, nevertheless, affected by the running-down of facilities, the lack of capital investment and difficulties in obtaining labour. Thus, in 1946 coal output in Western Europe totalled only 340 million tons (with Britain contributing nearly 60 per cent) and the prospects for a rapid growth of production were anything but bright. Most Western European countries were thus brought face to face with a probable serious deficiency in the total energy supply required for their postwar reconstruction and development.
