Page "Basil Zaharoff" Paragraph 28

The opening of Russian Tsarist archives after World War I led to some insights into the tactics of the arms industry.

One 1907 letter, in particular, was written from the Paul von Gontard factory ( a secretly controlled Vickers company in Germany ) to a Vickers associate in Paris recommending that press releases go out to the French press with suggestions that the French improve their military to meet the threats of military buildup in Germany.

These French newspaper articles were read into the record of the Reichstag and were followed by a vote to increase military spending, all of which worked to the advantage of Zaharoff.