During the Second World War, aluminum was
used as a prime ingredient in fire bombs, including napalm, which killed tens
of thousands of civilians in air raids over Germany and Japan. In fact, the
main ores for war metals are all found in Orissa — iron, chromite and manganese
for steel, bauxite, and uranium. Hitler was apparently well aware of Orissa’s
iron and bauxite deposits, one reason why Japanese bombs were dropped on
Orissa’s ports.
Hitler’s interest in Orissa’s
bauxite/aluminium and iron ore is outlined in an article inOriya in Samaj, May
3, 2005 by Ajit Mahapatra who met one of Hitler’s key metal experts,and the
widow of another.
Hitler, or one of his metallurgists is said
to have remarked that “he who controls Orissa’s iron, controls the world”
