Ohlendorf,[99] Lt. Gen. (Artillery) Von Leeb,[100] and Professor
Krauch.[101]]
[Signed] STAATSRAT SCHIEBER
TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT NOKW-287
PROSECUTION EXHIBIT 49
LETTER FROM MILCH TO SAUCKEL, 8 APRIL 1943, CONCERNING
THE PROTECTION OF INDUSTRY
Copy
The Reich Air Minister and Supreme Commander of the Air Force
St/GL
Secret
File note: 16m 10 No. 220/43 secret (GL/A-W Wi 3 II)
Berlin W 8, 8 April 1943
7 Leipziger Street
Tel. 12 0047, Ext. 5530
To the Plenipotentiary for the Four Year Plan
Plenipotentiary General for Labor Allocation
Berlin SW 11
96 Saarland Street
Subject: Protection of Industry.
The continuously increasing drafting of German workers from the
production as well as from the security teams (plant protection and
plant fireguards) make it necessary to assign more and more foreign
labor to the factories of the armament industry. This assignment of
foreign labor faces the plants of the armament industry with special
tasks of security, which cannot be guaranteed with the forces at present
at the disposal of the industry. According to what I have found out the
statistics of 31 December 1942 have already shown an unfulfilled demand
of 15 percent in plant protection personnel. Moreover, the extension of
the air force industry brings about a further increase in the
requirements for plant protection personnel, an increase which up to now
has not been covered by the labor offices.
An investigation I made in a number of plants of the air force industry
a short while ago has shown that even after the introduction of the
compulsory labor law most of the labor offices could not make the
necessary forces available for protection and fireguard tasks, while
other labor agencies could not entirely satisfy the needs. The labor
office of Halberstadt has even refused to deal with this requirement
because these men were required for organizations without productive
value.
In the field of the air force industry I already ordered, at the
beginning of the war, the 84-hour week for these sectors. So that no
further increase can be made with these working hours, for otherwise,
there would be an increase of illness which would bring about a further
unwarranted weakening in the numbers of the personnel. Even the decree
for the securing of the necessary forces of protectory guards, issued by
you on 29 December 1942, (File note: Va 5550.917) has not yet shown any
results up to now in the field of the armament industry.
Therefore, you are urgently requested to direct the labor offices to
place at the disposal of the armament plants, upon their request as
quickly as possible the competent forces for plant protection and
fireguards, because otherwise normal security in the plants does not
seem to be guaranteed any longer.
In the field of air force industry, this would involve approximately
2,500 to 3,000 men.
We ask you to kindly inform us about the steps taken.
Copy, for information, to:
OKW W Stb [Economic Staff of the Armed Forces]
BY ORDER:
MILCH [Typewritten]
PARTIAL TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT R-124
PROSECUTION EXHIBIT 48-A
SPEER’S MINUTES OF A CONFERENCE WITH HITLER ON 8 JULY 1943
Top Secret State Matter
Berlin, 10 July 1943
_CONFERENCE WITH THE FUEHRER, 8 JULY 1943_
* * * * *
17. The Fuehrer laid down in the coal discussion that 70,000 Russian
prisoners of war fit for mining work should be sent each month to the
mines. He also pointed out that an approximate minimum of
150,000-200,000 fit Russian prisoners of war must be earmarked for the
mines in order to obtain the required number of men suitable for this
work.
If the Russian prisoners of war cannot be released by the army, the male
population in the partisan infested areas should without distinction be
proclaimed prisoners of war and sent off to the mines.
At the same time the Fuehrer ordered that prisoners of war not fit for
the mines should immediately be placed in the iron industry, in
manufacturing and supply industries, and in the armament industry.
The Fuehrer further ordered that he should receive a monthly report
giving (_a_) the total number of Russian prisoners of war, and (_b_) the
number of Russian prisoners of war fit for mining, made available for
the mines and a report addressed to Field Marshal Keitel as to why the
remainder could not be used.
The joint report of Sauckel and Pleiger is also to be sent to me.
[Signed] SPEER
PARTIAL TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT R-124
PROSECUTION EXHIBIT 48-A
EXTRACT FROM THE REPORT BY SAUR OF THE CONFERENCE
WITH THE FUEHRER, 5 MARCH 1944
Top Secret State Matter
Berlin, 6 March 1944
_POINTS FROM THE CONFERENCE (SAUR) WITH THE
FUEHRER ON 5 MARCH 1944_
_Jointly with Field Marshal Milch, Lt. Gen. of the Air Force_
_Bodenschatz, Colonel von Below_
* * * * *
18. Told the Fuehrer of the Reich Marshal’s wish for the future
utilization of the productive capacity of prisoners of war by giving the
direction of the Stalag to the SS, with the exception of the British and
Americans. The Fuehrer considers the proposal a good one and has asked
Colonel von Below to arrange matters accordingly.
* * * * *
(Prepared by Saur)
(Seen by Speer)
EXCERPTS FROM THE TESTIMONY GIVEN BY DEFENSE WITNESS
ALBERT SPEER[102] BEFORE COMMISSION ON 19 FEBRUARY 1947
* * * * *
_EXAMINATION_
* * * * *
JUDGE MUSMANNO: Herr Speer, I would like to understand the machinery by
which labor was brought into Germany beginning with the request by any
particular department for any particular number of workers. Let us
suppose that someone appeared before the Central Planning Board and
said, “I will need fifty thousand men for a factory that I am about to
construct.” Now please tell us just what happened. Would you issue an
order to somebody? Would he then in turn order someone else and how did
these workers finally then arrive in Germany?
WITNESS SPEER: If somebody on the Central Planning Board requested
labor, the Central Planning Board did not issue an order that these
workers must be supplied, but the Central Planning Board agreed that
those workers can be supplied. An order by the Central Planning Board,
Sauckel would not have accepted. That is a definite fact.
It is quite clear that the requests for labor did not occur in these
long intervals between the meetings of the Central Planning Board, but
this had to happen in much shorter intervals and in a constant
collaboration with the people concerned, for the enemy air raids and
changes in programs which became necessary because of the military
situation made these changes very often necessary. Therefore, for the
whole of our armament industry and also for certain branches of
production outside armament that were in my ministry, we decided on
so-called framework contingents, and priority lists were drawn up. I do
not know whether you are interested in that part.
Q. Well, not particularly. I want very succinctly a statement as to the
steps which ensue after the declaration of someone before the Central
Planning Board that he needed a certain number of workers. Who was
informed of this request? Who authorized the call for the workers? Who
submitted the demand? Who then at the other end gathered the workers?
Not in detail—I just want the steps in movement from the Central
Planning Board until the men actually arrived.
A. The Central Planning Board did not deal with that matter anymore
afterwards. Let us say the request of labor, say, of the coal mining
industry——
Q. Yes.
A. ——was reported to Sauckel by the coal mining industry itself.
Therefore, one could call a meeting of the Central Planning Board as a
statement for Sauckel that such labor is very important for the coal
mining industry, and that as far as possible he has to supply them. That
is necessary within the framework of economic planning, but beyond that
the Central Planning Board did not pursue the matter any further or was
not even in a position to do so.
Q. Well, did you know there at the fountainhead of labor—because if you
made the request originally, that is what started the machinery in
motion—did you not know that bringing in workers forcibly from occupied
territories to work in the war operation constituted a violation of
international convention? Weren’t you aware of that right at the very
source?
A. What I say now is not meant to be an excuse. I really did not know
it. Up to the beginning of my trial here, the regulations of
international law were unknown to me, and nobody ever drew my attention
to the fact that such regulations exist; but I want to say once more, I
don’t say this in order to excuse myself, here, but it is a fact that it
was like this.
Q. Well, you were certainly quite aware from the decision of the
International Military Tribunal just how illegal and improper that was.
A. I took note of it there, and, after all, I received my punishment for
it now.
Q. Well, could you not have followed the same line of reasoning adopted
by the Tribunal, which, after all, was based upon international
convention? You were a man of education, a man of great cultural
attainments and of great technical ability, and it was because of these
attributes that you were chosen by Hitler to become the Minister of
Armaments. Could you not have reasoned that out by yourself? Wasn’t it
very clear and obvious?
A. I believe that the general knowledge of the principles of
international law can only be brought to the knowledge of a wider circle
of legal laymen if after a war legal offenses committed during the war
will be revealed by a public trial, and thereby a more general knowledge
of offenses against international law becomes known. You know that I was
an architect and that such knowledge as I had in the field of law I
merely received from newspapers, and I knew, for instance, all about
various legal commitments of architects which are fairly extensive as
far as construction of buildings goes.
I would say that a great mistake has been committed here by omitting
after the First World War to establish international legal conditions by
trials, and at the same time to adjust it to the developments of
technical warfare instead of which, after the First World War, the whole
question of the deportation of labor, for instance, was decided by the
highest German courts, and as far as I know, the decision of that court
was not particularly lucid. This is how the basis of ignorance is laid
in the field of international law, and I believe that many a mistake and
many a violation in this war could have been avoided or at least
mitigated if a general knowledge of international law had been
prevalent.
Q. Would you say that had there been, following the First World War,
trials such as those we are now conducting, that you then would have
been aware of the illegality of the practices in which you were engaged;
or rather, you would have been aware of the illegality of such practices
and you then would not have participated in them?
A. I am of the opinion that trials against the responsible men for the
First World War after its conclusion would have enlightened the public
and myself on the tenets of international law. I do not wish to go as
far as to say that I would not have committed these breaches of law, for
it is very difficult to excuse one’s self after the event by saying one
committed the act only through ignorance of international law.
Nevertheless, I should say that the observance of international law
would have been possible without losing much momentum in my armament
drive. Of course only that part of international law is meant here which
deals with the recruiting of labor, whereas the other factor, the
so-called legal looting of occupied territories as it is called, there
is no doubt that that would have been necessary for an increased output
of armaments. Violations of international law as far as the assignment
of labor was concerned were in my opinion not only unnecessary, but
unreasonable. We would have achieved more if we had observed
international law. This is a very complicated topic; I do not know
whether you are interested why this should be so.
Q. Well, I merely want you to enlighten me, if you care to, on this
specific angle. You are considered a specialist. Now, had there been an
international trial following the First World War, and the decision in
that trial had been very clear and specific—as was the decision in this
trial—you would have then known the limitations very specifically on
the conduct of war; and having then known that you couldn’t do certain
things, would you then have refused to participate as you did in this
World War as a specialist? Having been put on notice that you cannot
take labor from other countries forcibly and throw them into the
armament industries—knowing all that, would you then have refused to
give your services to Hitler in the prosecution of this war?
A. As to the first part of the question I wish to say if a trial and a
clear decision had been handed down after the First World War, then
certainly somebody would have put the international laws and regulations
on my desk; that is to say, he would have informed me of it. The second
question—it is not possible to give a simple answer to the second part
of the question for when I started my office in 1942 the war in all its
aspects had already departed from all existing international
regulations. Please don’t misunderstand me if I point out here that
economic warfare was waged by the British and Americans with extreme
concentration on bombing warfare, which was not a matter of national
reprisal because it hit industries in occupied territories. On the other
hand the war with Russia had gone beyond the normal limits, if I can
call it that. It is difficult for me to say who was the guilty party.
Q. I do not refer to the time after the war had reached such a state
that there were no restrictions. I am speaking of the period before the
war started. I would like to know whether a man of your education could
have been enlisted in a practice which you knew and would then have
known was entirely illegal and contrary to international law as well as
the precepts and dictates of humanity.
A. I would not have participated if I had known the whole documentary
material which became known in our first big trial. If I had known that
Hitler since 1938 had prepared for war and had tied the fate of his
people to his own to such an extent that his end was the end of his own
nation——
Q. I didn’t intend to enter into such a long discussion on this. All I
had in mind was that if those in your classification, as specialists,
would have observed international law, and would have known clearly what
international law was—the restrictions, the limitations and so on—and
if we assumed that these specialists were men of character, then, even
though Germany had at the helm a navigator who had become mad, he could
not have run the ship on to the rocks for the simple reason that you and
the other specialists who assisted in the present shipwreck, would have
refused to ship on a venture which was so obviously bound for the rocks,
internationally speaking. Is that true or not?
A. That is so without a doubt.
Q. And would you go so far as to say that had there been an
international trial of the proportions of the one we have just had, and
these which are now following, after the First World War, and the
knowledge resulting from decisions handed down would have become
well-known because of the punishments which would have been inflicted,
would you say that that might have served as a bar against a Second
World War?
A. I do not wish to say that it could have stopped and Hitler——
Q. If Hitler had not had specialists, Hitler could not have wrecked the
world himself. Hitler had to have a Speer and had to have the others who
were condemned in the first International Military Tribunal. He could
not have done it alone.
A. That’s quite clear, but these specialists were taken into their part
of the war without realizing what the connections were and an
international trial is not a wholly certain method to prevent a new war;
but I think it’s a very essential contribution toward that aim. I am
unable to answer your question by saying that Hitler would have been
unable to find collaborators if, after the First World War, these trials
had been held, but I do wish to say it would have been much more
difficult for him, also because our specialists were not very intimately
connected with the Party circles.
Q. Well, I think that’s a point I wanted to find out; that, if the
specialists had refused to collaborate, knowing that the contribution of
their service meant a completely illegal undertaking, then Hitler could
not have conducted a war by himself and therefore there could not have
been a war?
A. In technical warfare the specialists are decisive factors for the
conduct of war, but the specialists are not to be regarded as being the
parties principally responsible. They do not have the necessary
knowledge of the background, the political background—essential in view
of Hitler’s untruthfulness—to see where he is taking the ship.
Q. The ship could go nowhere without you specialists. That’s all.
A. I thank you.
JUDGE MUSMANNO: Do you have any questions, Dr. Bergold?
_DIRECT EXAMINATION_
DR. BERGOLD: Yes, sir, I have. Witness, his Honor has asked you how it
would be if a factory, for instance, would need and would request 50,000
workers, which way and in which channel would take this request up to
the point in foreign territories where 50,000 foreigners would have been
gathered and taken to Germany for that purpose. Isn’t it correct that
such a proposal of bringing 50,000 workers to this factory did not mean
that 50,000 foreign workers would be brought but meant only that 50,000
workers altogether were brought? That meant German workers as well as
foreign workers which were actually already in Germany and employed
there and also new recruits? That included all that, did it not?
SPEER: I was deflected from my answer in that particular case and I did
not really give an answer to the question. If 50,000 workers were
requested for a certain branch in our industry the request gave a figure
which did not show how many of them were Germans and how many of them
were foreign workers. The bigger part of the workers which were supplied
came from what was called fluctuation. Fluctuation meant the transfer of
workers from one plant to another. It’s quite clear that production is
in a constant development. One always follows the other and in some
cases one orders particular workers and then it loses that importance
for military reasons. The plan is that some workers available are
constantly released and sent on to different plants or industries. A
second source was the newly mobilized German workers, I mean the women
workers, and a third source was the sending of foreign workers already
in Germany, and a fourth source the prisoners of war who were also sent
on from one branch to the next, and the fifth source consisted of some
that came in from foreign countries. How these various workers from
these various sources were distributed among branches, neither my
offices nor the factories who had requested workers could find out. That
was a matter which had to be decided by the labor exchanges because it
took an enormous amount of work to find the proper workers for the
proper branches. * * *
Q. Thank you. Witness, do you know that when the French Government,
which at that time existed in Paris, had issued an order for the calling
up of labor did that mean compulsory labor?
A. These details became known to me during the trial. My tasks were
enormous and at that time I did not bother much about details. I cannot
say anything about this from my knowledge.
Q. Witness, you must know this; at the time when you had discussions
with Mr. Bichelonne, French Minister, I should think that the existence
of compulsory labor service in France should have been discussed at that
time.
A. Perhaps I misunderstood you. I said quite clearly last time that I
knew about the fact that in occupied territories workers were taken to
Germany against their free will. The various districts, etc., are not
known to me.
Q. No. I mean if such a decree had been issued at all. That’s what I am
speaking of.
A. I had to assume that but I wasn’t actually informed about it.
Q. Did you consider the French Government, which at that time was in
Paris, France—did you consider it a regular government?
A. This is the same sort of question which his Honor put to me too. I
had no basis to find out whether the French Government was legal or not,
because these are problems of international law which are beyond me as a
layman.
Q. Witness, do you not know that the Government of Pétain had been
recognized and was recognized by the American Government, and that the
American Government had an ambassador, if I recall correctly—and I am
not sure I can pronounce his name—at that time, Mr. Leahy, Admiral
Leahy?
A. I know that, but I must say frankly that I did not spend my time
thinking about whether the French Government was legal or not.
Q. Thank you. I have no further questions.
JUDGE MUSMANNO: Herr Speer, what I was endeavoring to elucidate, or have
you elucidate for us, was not whether you knew if a government was legal
or not, if it was recognized internationally or not. I wanted to draw
your attention to something quite more fundamental, and that was the
employment against its will of population in a war activity, all of
which was prohibited by international law. And if you and all the
specialists in the Hitler regime knew of the limitation and were
thoroughly aware, and the knowledge was so widespread that you couldn’t
help but know that it was illegal and that you would be punished if you
did it, that is, to bring in workers from another country and put them
into war operations—if that were a matter of such general knowledge
that every college man and every person that was well read would know of
it, would Hitler not have had difficulty in obtaining such a crew to run
a ship, regardless of what he may have had in mind as to the illegal
port which he hoped to attain by that voyage?
SPEER: I can only speak about the time in which I worked, that is to
say, from 1942 onwards. In that time, I am sure that if these legal
matters had been made quite clear a large number of technicians or
industrial leaders would not have collaborated to the extent they did if
they had realized the illegality and the possible punishment.
I would like to stress this particularly for the period from 1943
onwards. From that time onwards, many intelligent people realized that
the war had been lost, and from that time onwards it would have made a
great impression if in former trials heavy punishment was meted out. Not
everybody would have been impressed; certain people would have followed
the old line, but the majority of so-called specialists, certainly—
Q.—would have recognized the illegality of what they were asked to do.
I understand you to say that the majority of the specialists would have
recognized the illegality of what they were asked to do and would have
refused. That is what I understand you to say.
A. Yes, that is what I wanted to say.
JUDGE MUSMANNO: Very well. Thank you very much.
* * * * *
PARTIAL TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT R-124
DEFENSE EXHIBIT 5
EXTRACT FROM THE STENOGRAPHIC REPORT OF THE ELEVENTH
CONFERENCE OF THE CENTRAL PLANNING BOARD,
22 JULY 1942
_REPORT OF THE 11TH CONFERENCE OF THE CENTRAL_
_PLANNING BOARD ON 22 JULY 1942_[103]
[page 2 of original]
_Safeguarding of Food Supplies_
A net increase of one million foreign workers is anticipated. This
figure has not been reached during the past months. Even if more than
one million workers are brought here during the months to come, the
limit of one million will actually never be exceeded due to continued
losses. Food for this number of workers is guaranteed.
PARTIAL TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT R-124
DEFENSE EXHIBIT 6[104]
EXTRACT FROM THE STENOGRAPHIC MINUTES OF THE
TWENTY-SECOND CONFERENCE OF THE CENTRAL
PLANNING BOARD, 2 NOVEMBER 1942
_STENOGRAPHIC MINUTES OF THE 22D CONFERENCE_
_OF THE CENTRAL PLANNING BOARD CONCERNING_
_ASSIGNMENT OF LABOR, MONDAY, 2 NOVEMBER_
_1942, 12:00 O’CLOCK IN THE REICH MINISTRY_
_FOR AVIATION_
* * * * *
MILCH: In my opinion agriculture has to be provided with its labor. If,
theoretically, agriculture could have been given 100,000 more men, there
would be 100,000 fairly well-fed men, while those we get now,
particularly the prisoners of war, are not exactly fit for work. If
agriculture will get them in time, they will again be able to feed these
people up again. However, it will not be very happy about it. * * *
* * * * *
PARTIAL TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT R-124
DEFENSE EXHIBIT 7
EXTRACT FROM THE STENOGRAPHIC MINUTES OF THE
THIRTY-SECOND CONFERENCE OF THE CENTRAL
PLANNING BOARD, 12 FEBRUARY 1943
_STENOGRAPHIC MINUTES OF THE 32D CONFERENCE_
_OF THE CENTRAL PLANNING BOARD—THE FOUR_
_YEAR PLAN ON 12 FEBRUARY 1943_
* * * * *
MILCH: Everybody sticks to his old methods until he is literally beaten
away from them. However, one must not only beat, one must give advice,
too. They must be good experts who will tell people: You will do that
this way or that; it is not necessary that you use just this sum. Who
does such a thing will never give in and say, I can do with less. Mining
has been partly beaten[105] into iron by saying we cannot give you
anything but iron on account of the shortage of lumber.
* * * * *
PARTIAL TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT R-124
DEFENSE EXHIBIT 8[106]
EXTRACT FROM THE STENOGRAPHIC MINUTES OF THE
THIRTY-THIRD CONFERENCE OF THE CENTRAL
PLANNING BOARD, 16 FEBRUARY 1943
_STENOGRAPHIC MINUTES OF THE 33D CONFERENCE_[107]
_OF THE CENTRAL PLANNING BOARD_
Subject: Assignment of Labor, 16 February 1943, 16 o’clock, in the Reich
Ministry for Armament and Munitions, Berlin.
* * * * *
SPEER: We are in complete agreement. You will not receive any list from
us for this action but the whole armament industry including the
anticipated deliveries will be devoted to this action. The
administrations too must be served at the same time. But the authorities
including army, air and navy shall not get a single person from the
action. This must be adhered to. You know what the Reich Minister Dr.
Lammers said: That he must therefore have some new women typists at the
Reich Chancellory at once. That makes no sense.
MILCH: Where France is concerned, there exists in France an industry
which makes aircraft motors and parts, all complete. We have transferred
there all the things which can be made there without endangering secrecy
in any way. These are training aircraft, transport aircraft, etc.
However, since we want to make the most of the production in other ways,
we have moved away part of it to a large extent. As a whole these things
must be kept secret from the French but in every part subject to secrecy
there are only a few parts which are real secret. The bulk consists of
other parts. These have also gone there to a great extent just as we
engaged aircraft builders in France to a great extent. We now currently
have work waiting in France for several thousand aircraft builders. At
the moment the industry working for us there needs, according to its
claims, some 20,000 men, who are asked of us, in order to be able to
keep to the program. The production is still far behind that which was
agreed upon with you in the program. Whereas we in Germany fully carry
out our program, only 30 percent of it is carried out in France. In fact
it has only begun to function in the last weeks and months after we have
been more active there. In principle, we have excluded the State from
this whole cooperation with industry and set the German firms to work
with the French firms.
Sponsor firms have been appointed so as to make the affair operate. This
system is not yet fully completed but has been favorably initiated
everywhere and indeed brings quite other returns to some extent. The
reproach is always made to us that nearly all Europe is at our disposal.
The production we draw from France, with the exception of motor cars, is
minute as regards the army. The whole French production potential is not
yet fully exploited by us or only to a quite small proportion. If it
were necessary for us to produce in France, because in Germany the
capacity, space machine tools, etc., which are not convenient for
removal are lacking, if the accommodation of the people were not so
difficult, etc., we would in fact be reduced to the point of taking
everything to Germany and have the work done here. But this would entail
too great a decrease in the production in our own country, not to
mention the reluctance of the people.
We came to an agreement yesterday. I am very thankful that this matter
is now, thanks to yourself, Gauleiter Sauckel, together with Gen. v. d.
Heyde and Col. Brueckner, to be settled on the spot. It is difficult to
induce Frenchmen to come over here. An official agency alone cannot
either appreciate or realize this, only a sponsoring firm can realize
it. I therefore suggest that sponsor firms be called upon to cooperate,
precisely because in France the sub-contract system is very widespread.
Behind the factory which actually organizes the thing, there are other
factories which belong to the semi-finished goods and preparatory
industry. This industry, however, can be supervised by our sponsor
industries. We should have to assign to our people the task of
investigating the individual firms and find out which people are working
for our program. All others we annex ourselves. When we have got hold of
them and annex them in German industry, that is, only those people who
are really necessary to us, it will be possible to utilize them in the
right way.
The proportion of specialist workers there is higher than in this
country. We have indeed drained a certain number of them into our
factories last year because they were the easiest to get. The Frenchmen
must work with more specialists than we. We must work with more
specialists than the Russian, and the Russian must have still more
specialists than the American. In America they can place any simpleton
before any machine, he will put it right in a flash. Only the
installation requires a specialist. The man need only have arms; a head
is a superfluous luxury.
In France the system is quite different. The Frenchman has adapted
himself to it and has always indeed had unemployment. A labor
organization as we conceive it does not exist. With the same number of
Frenchmen and all other installations, facilities, etc., being the same,
one will only obtain, as compared with German personnel, half at the
most or only one-third of the production, even if the personnel have all
good will and zeal. It is a matter of system. This system we cannot
simply alter, neither can the sponsor firms, but we must try in this way
to obtain from them to a certain extent the additional resources which
we need for our industry and armament. By proceeding thus, we can put
things right. I believe the sponsor firms have an obvious interest in
this. If industry has too many specialist workers there working for us,
let us draw upon them ourselves, because we are suffering a great
shortage of them. This resource should be left to our firms after this
extensive drain on specialist workers has been suffered. We want to
raise our armament.
Now to another point. I have today ordered in my jurisdiction that an
extensive action should take place; today, when we are counting upon
obtaining a great number of women in virtue of the obligatory service
whose age limit we hope to see extended to 55. The British have extended
obligatory service to the age of 65. The additional 10 years are a
trifle exaggerated. Women are not able to go to the machines immediately
and perform heavy work. The few days that are necessary for them to
instruct the personnel are immaterial. We can still spare that much time
if it were not that it would convey to the population an impression to
the following effect: Now that we have reported for work, it is months
before we are called up. I have ordered, within my jurisdiction, that
the women should as much as possible be employed in offices where men
are now to be found, for instance in the wage offices, etc. In these,
women and elderly men can be easily trained, as they will be able to do
without further difficulty. In this way, men in the commercial offices,
etc., should be released for the accountancy offices and similar
offices. This involves, in the case of industry, over 20,000 individuals
and there are other branches besides.
It amounts to quite a considerable number consisting solely of people
who, in view of the war economy, are unfortunately necessary now. These
men must now be placed at our machines insofar as they are not drafted,
that is to say, are not soldiers. These people are more likely to be
able to render better service at the machines or in the factories than
the women now assigned, insofar as women are disposed to go to the
machines. Of course, there will be women who have done such work before
and who are now willing to turn to this work but who have not reported
for work so far because they have not found it necessary to work for a
living on account of the dole.
Where the assignment of women is concerned, I should suggest that, in
the process of the action, only those women be assigned for whom work at
the machine is not involved if a man is thereby released.
TIMM: The danger lies in this that the draftees were partly to be
released without replacement having actually been forthcoming.
FIELD MARSHAL MILCH: That is quite another matter. When female
auxiliaries of the Signal Corps are assigned, it is not additionally but
only in the proportion that soldiers are released thereby. There are
indeed several 100,000 men in the signal corps of the army and air
force. In our department, 250 to 300,000 have been such. Whether there
are so many now, I do not know. They are all young men fit for combat. I
have always campaigned against this and said: one ought to assign women
preferably so as to release soldiers. If that is done now, it will
really release a large number, it does not matter whether for the
workshop or for the front. Of course, there is a front somewhere in the
East too. This front will be maintained for a certain time. The only
useful thing the Russian will inherit from the territories evacuated by
us will be the people. It might be better in principle to withdraw the
population in time as far as 100 km. behind the front. The whole
civilian population will move back to 100 km. behind the front. Nobody
will now be assigned to trench [digging] work.
TIMM: We tried to withdraw the population of Kharkov. 90 to 120,000
people were required by the fortress commandant of Kharkov for trench
work alone so that in some cases we had to organize whole convoys.
WEGER: Actual demolitions were even carried out.
FIELD MARSHAL MILCH: But that is done by the engineer corps. There is
definitely no more hope that more prisoners of war will come from the
East.
SAUCKEL: The prisoners taken are used there.
FIELD MARSHAL MILCH: We have made the request that there should be a
certain percentage of Russians with us in the antiaircraft artillery.
50,000 altogether are expected. 30,000 are already there as gunners. It
is a funny thing that Russians must operate the guns. The other 20,000
are still missing. I received a letter from the High Command of the Army
yesterday saying: We can no longer turn over a single one, we have too
few ourselves. So this thing will not turn out so successfully for us.
SPEER: It would be advisable to make the draft of women somewhat clearer
in the press.
FIELD MARSHAL MILCH: That would primarily have to be placed in the
foreground. In this respect the question is whether I will receive the
accounts from our industry in time. The matter is bound to be settled
some time. There will be no deception. People who want to deceive also
deceive now, whether they have this personnel or not, whether their
accounts are up to date or not. The other people are honest. The mass
has not engaged in deception. Whether we are a little backward in
checking prices will not be very important. The most important thing is
to work. We know what is produced abroad, having now received the
figures. The Russian actually makes 2,000 aircraft a month in the way of
front-line aircraft. This figure is far higher than ours. This must not
be forgotten. We must get to the assembly line and produce quite other
figures.
* * * * *
PARTIAL TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT R-124
DEFENSE EXHIBIT 9
EXTRACT FROM STENOGRAPHIC MINUTES OF THE THIRTY-NINTH
CONFERENCE OF THE CENTRAL PLANNING BOARD,
23 APRIL 1943
_STENOGRAPHIC MINUTES OF THE 39TH CONFERENCE_
_OF THE CENTRAL PLANNING BOARD_
Subject: Food Situation and Armament Industry.
_Held on Friday 23 April 1943, 9:30 A.M. in the Festival Barrack_
_near the Zoo, Jebenstrasse_
* * * * *
MILCH: I am convinced that there are more Russian prisoners of war. At
that time 4,000,000 were captured. A large part of them died, however
the number of those who are still living is higher than we are told now.
We reckon here with hundred thousand Russian prisoners of war in the
agriculture. Altogether, we have 300,000 of them in the Reich. During
the First World War I had 200 Italian prisoners of war with me. These
prisoners were to be turned over, however, we kept ours by reporting
them dead in order to keep them. And these people also wanted to stay in
spite of the fact that we told them that they would be reported dead
even to their families. We dragged these prisoners around with us till
the end of the war.
KEHRL: If the food supplies of the labor brought in from abroad are
taken from the German rations then, while we think that we are very rich
for having these people, the German rations are in reality reduced, and
the decrease in the working capacity of our own workers does more harm
than the good done by the new people.
SPEER: But from the figures of this incoming labor we have to deduct
those who leave the country because of expired foreign agreements, and
the others which we lose because of cases of death or illness. On the
whole the increase of labor in our total war economy is not at all so
very important. (Interpolation: the more labor we fetch from the East,
the more this total figure will increase.)
BACKE: But there is a limit, too, in the number of men we can absorb. At
that time we were told that one million was to be taken into the
country, from the East. Now we have already got several millions.
MILCH: You cannot count that way. Before all these measures in the
second year of the war, the air force had 1.8 million men and today it
has less than two million. The whole air armament which is a
considerable part of the total war armament, in the course of the war or
in the last 2½ years of the war has not even increased by 10 percent. In
reality the total increase in this field amounts to about 125,000 to
150,000 men. We are always looking for those people. That is our main
problem.
* * * * *
PARTIAL TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT R-124
DEFENSE EXHIBIT 31
EXTRACTS FROM THE STENOGRAPHIC MINUTES OF THE
FIFTY-FOURTH CONFERENCE OF THE CENTRAL PLANNING
BOARD, 1 MARCH 1944
_STENOGRAPHIC MINUTES OF THE 54TH CONFERENCE[108]
OF THE CENTRAL PLANNING BOARD_
Re: Labor Allocation on Wednesday, 1 March 1944, 1000 hours, at the
Reich Air Ministry.
SAUCKEL: * * * I have a Gau armament supervisor in Thuringia and I have
just been inspecting the plants in Thuringia. At the railroad car
factory in Gotha I have set things going so that within a few days it
will be turning out 20 percent of its production again. Everything has
been done. But one thing you must bear in mind: Labor allocation as an
institution must be independent and must remain so. Furthermore I must
ask you not to support constantly the opinion of the armament
inspectors: Sauckel must be put under the control of the Ministry then
everything will be better. Gentlemen, please see to it that that does
not happen this year. As a National Socialist of long standing I am
determined to cooperate unreservedly with you, the Minister for Armament
and Production, indeed with all those gentlemen, but, in consideration
of the difficulty in this sphere of work I must be given the amount of
freedom to make decisions of my own which was guaranteed me by the
Fuehrer’s decrees and those of the Reich Marshal. I would never have
taken on the task without these decrees, because I know it cannot be
accomplished without them. I beg you therefore, to create such an
atmosphere as is necessary among the lower ranks too so that the Gau
labor offices in the first place may be recognized as organizations
which are entrusted to me and put at my disposal for keeping the labor
commitment in order on the lower levels. * * *
* * * * *
SAUCKEL: I would like to insist on the fact that, in the future also,
the S-plants be checked; for the S-plants form a suction pump, and,
since it is known all over Italy and France, that whoever works in the
S-plants is protected from any interference on my part is proved by the
following fact. During the first three months I wanted to take out of
Italy 1 million people before 30 May. In these two months hardly 7,000
men have come. That is just the difficulty. The bulk goes to the
S-plants, and only the dregs are left for employment in Germany. I would
like to achieve yet, that for the important plants in Italy, at least
the number of S-plants be restricted, that is that the number of
S-plants be not increased.
SCHIEBER: In Italy for every protected plant there is an agreement made.
Over, beyond the situation on 15 February or 10 February, S-plants are
established only with the approval of the services under me. We have
them registered, and only when we aim at an agreement are they declared
protected plants.
SAUCKEL: Now the question arises: If in such a protected plant there are
more hands than are needed according to German standards, could they be
handed over?
SCHIEBER: They are to be combed through but the people combed through
are to be put only in other protected plants. Down there in Italy in
your services there is a demand for 7,000 hands and more. The gentlemen
are right to laugh at us saying: What does that mean, you want people,
but at the same time our great task must be the transfer of people! I
spoke with Leyers on Sunday and told him that I wished to have a
conversation with the Gauleiter about this matter: If the labor offices
state that there is still a certain surplus of hands employed, a
commissioner appointed by General Leyers must then visit the respective
plant together with a commissioner of Gauleiter Sauckel’s; they must
examine the situation, and these two gentlemen must then come to an
agreement, as to the people they remove from plants. * * * Besides these
promises concerning nutrition have not been kept to the extent we
wished. The extra food, as we had planned it has not yet appeared at all
so that there is no incentive felt; apart from this certain inner
evolutions are influencing industry at present in Italy, with the result
that especially the leading workmen who are so valuable for us partly
fail to come to the factory any more. They wait patiently until, during
the next three or four weeks, the elections and convocations in the
factories concerning socialization and the introduction of commissars,
etc., are over. * * *
SAUCKEL: In Italy, it seems, things are going on smoothly in general,
but not yet in France.
MILCH: When workmen are transferred how are their families ensured?
SAUCKEL: Automatically.
SCHIEBER: That is quite easy. If it is possible in any way, we shall
have the whole personnel transferred to another factory. * * *
* * * * *
SAUCKEL: Years ago we made an investigation like this in France and saw
that in German armament production, corresponding to districts A and B,
some 600,000 workers were occupied out of the total of some 2½ to 3
million metal workers we had anticipated. Therefore there must still be
some more metal workers hidden in France, people who were formerly in
metal trades.
MILCH: So 75 percent are still free, and 25 percent are tied up in the
S-industries.
SAUCKEL: We have to deduct the prisoners of war who are now in Germany.
But there are hundreds of thousands of skilled workers who, according to
the agreements made, have returned to France and Belgium month after
month.
* * * * *
SAUCKEL: In reply to that I must ask you the following: What do you want
to do now in Germany? In Germany you now have plane construction, the
manufacture of highly expensive apparatus, complicated engine
construction, you have here in general the most complicated manufactures
in the world. If I brought the scum of French manpower to Germany for
you what would you get as regards production? We of the Labor Allocation
were always of the opinion in the French industries we must under all
circumstances maintain a certain level of the trained workers and a
certain degree of production. And we wanted to compel these French
industries to lower their level of a hundred percent skilled personnel
for the benefit of the German industries which have been bled of their
skilled hands.
As Plenipotentiary General for the Allocation of Labor I considered my
task to be not the transfer to Germany of the scum of Europe, but the
bringing of efficient manpower. But a part of your gentlemen in France,
and in your Ministry too, had no understanding for this. That I must say
quite plainly. It would be mere child’s play for me to bring you the
refuse of Europe if you would be satisfied with it. I would simply grab
all the whores and gigolos in Paris and put them at your disposal, then
I would not have to touch your armament industries. But if I have to
provide you with real workers who will prove efficient in Germany, then
in France—and that was just my program—we must do the same as we did
in every German plant and in every German enterprise: when a German
company is split in two, some of the good workers and some of the bad
ones had to be given up and not just the bad workers. And French
armaments never were harmed thereby. It is a fact, is it not, that a
French worker of quality produces the double amount if he is put in a
German factory under German discipline, with German supervision and
German welfare?
If we agree to re-examine all S-plants—and that is all I ask—and if we
take out all superfluous expert workers and assistant workers, then we
put them at the disposal of the other French enterprises which need
them, to the extent that they need them, and when they are satisfied, I
have to request that if I am to carry out my program, then from these
plants too, workers must be transferred to Germany. If that is not
approved of and it is insisted that the severe formula be observed:
S-plants are out of question for labor commitments to Germany, then,
according to my experience, this program of January 4 can hardly be
achieved. Then you are responsible for the decision of what was better
at the end of this year, to have these people in France or in Germany.
That is the responsibility you have to bear and which I shift from my
shoulders. I was told: Why did you not take the Russian workers away in
time, now they are in the Russian regiments. Exactly the same would
happen here. My opinion is that the introducing of S-plants was
altogether a great mistake which is damaging to the general interests of
Germany. The French government jumped to that with the greatest
cleverness. * * * That is the way we did it the first year, and up to
700,000 Frenchmen came to the Reich according to the program. These were
all decent French workers. From the fall of this year on this came to an
end. No more skilled French workers came, nor any others either. It was
the entire collapse of the labor allocation built up on the slogan: From
now on no worker needs to go from France to Germany.
* * * * *
KEHRL: The consideration which originated at that time with Minister
Speer and which led to the arrangement with Bichelonne was the
following: If I cannot transfer the people by force from France to
Germany to the extent necessary, which is shown, by developments now,
and if at the same time I run the danger of having the people leave the
plants in which they are now working for fear of being taken by force,
then it is a lesser evil for me to try and put these people to work in
France and Belgium, in which case I do not have to use German force to
get them across the frontier. Then at least I am sure that the people
are not running away from the plants in the first place and secondly
that additional employment will be brought there.
He sent an invitation to Minister Bichelonne. The conferences took place
between the 16th and 18th September. The question was put to Bichelonne
to what extent the shifting of industries would be possible, and what
additional productions he could place, etc. This caused a change in the
policy of production. So far Minister Speer had chiefly shifted to
France all the urgent armament productions in those fields in which the
German capacity was insufficient. Now he said: I will not only shift
this to France, but I will also shift really important war production,
which is carried out at present in Germany with German labor, so that I
can release German labor in Germany and have this production carried out
in France, Belgium, and Holland. There is sufficient capacity in this
field in France and labor is also available in sufficient numbers.
Therefore a large part of the work can be accomplished there and I can
release the people in Germany. Thereby I am serving two ends: in the
first place I am setting free German labor and secondly I am utilizing
the French workers who are not working at all now because industry is at
standstill. And there is still a third factor, that Frenchmen will be
ready of their own accord to carry out such production as serves the
welfare of the civilian population, because with such work they are no
longer in danger of air raids and they are not working directly for the
war. So that they will not be considered as traitors to their country,
but are working for the advantage of their own country.
This development has been encouraged in the meantime. The time is still
too short to make any definite statement as to the results. In some
fields the results are already quite exceptional. In some instances we
have transferred up to 50 percent and more of the total German
requirements to the West and the manufacturing is done there. The
transfer figures are rising rapidly from month to month. The coal and
power questions are of course great obstacles. We hope, however, to
overcome them in the course of this year, because by the middle of the
year we shall have increased 25 percent of the power supply in France by
water power, the necessary constructions for which will be finished by
them, and by the end of 1944 hydroelectric stations will be ready and
they will be equal to 50 percent of the present French power production.
The idea in fact is this: to carry out there the work which up to now
has been done here and to release thereby German labor. There is yet
another reason for this. It has been pointed out by you time after time,
Gauleiter, that in these sections of industry, it is not easy to change
the workers. According to the Field Marshal’s description of the
situation, there is especially a lack of managers and supervising
personnel in the works and only German workmen can be considered for
such, and every worker, even if technically he is not so suitable, will
serve for purposes of management supervision and will lend some backbone
to the plant.
As regards the question of the S-plants, Minister Speer put the
following question to Minister Bichelonne: Are you in a position to
provide the labor for such an extensive shifting program, which involves
a certain risk? To which Bichelonne, from his standpoint quite rightly
replied: If the people are not running away into the woods for fear of
being deported to Germany I shall get them to work in French plants.
From this discussion there resulted the idea of protected plants which,
as you said, were supposed to represent a protection against Sauckel.
Whoever is there is working for Germany and may not be deported to
Germany. You said that these plants worked like a suction pump. That is
just what they were meant to do. Labor was to be drawn in with a suction
process so that the plants were full to capacity and could work for us.
The existence of the S-plants cannot and may not be undermined. It is
backed by the German promise which was given in all solemnity and which
was supported by the signature of my Minister.
* * * * *
SAUCKEL: May I again draw attention to the matter of volunteers and to
the entire process of the allocation of French labor. There was never
any program carried out in France on a voluntary basis, but the programs
have been carried out for the Todt Organization the building of
fortresses in France, on the one hand, and for the assignment in France
to the plants working for Germany and also to the plants working for
transferred industries according to concrete agreements which I made
with the French government, on the other hand. The French government
fulfilled these conditions last year. It appointed people for the
western fortifications and for the Atlantic fortifications, it appointed
people for the plants and it appointed people for Germany. In the fall
of last year, towards the end of summer, Laval declared for the first
time that he was not going to send any more people to Germany and from
then on only very few Frenchmen arrived in Germany.
* * * * *
TIMM: Will it not happen that the offices making the demands say one
day: But we know that in the French plants there is an excess of skilled
workers which cannot be justified?
MILCH: That should be discussed again later with Speer himself. First
Speer must have a survey of what has happened as the result of all his
agreements.
* * * * *
-----
[90] Tr. pp. 161-162.
[91] Defendant in case of Government of France _vs._ Hermann Roechling.
See Vol. XIV.
[92] DR. BERGOLD, Milch’s defense counsel, objected as follows (_Tr. p.
134_): “May it please the Tribunal, I would like to make a final
objection against the introduction of the exhibit just submitted by
prosecution, namely 41-A, for the following reason: this is an
interrogation of Sauckel, who, in conformance with the sentence passed
upon him, was executed. I am of the opinion that such an interrogation
cannot be used as evidence here, for, since Sauckel was executed, I have
no possibility whatsoever to ask him to appear here before the Tribunal
as a witness and to cross-examine him concerning his statements. In this
statement there are certain things which are not correct, and, due to
the fact that the person who made them is dead, they cannot be
corrected. The International Military Tribunal frequently ruled that
statements made by witnesses and affidavits can only be introduced when
it is possible for the defense counsel to bear these persons as
witnesses, and to ask prosecution to produce these people for
cross-examination. This is absolutely impossible in the case of Sauckel,
and I should like to ask the Tribunal to issue a ruling on whether or
not these statements can be used as evidence here.
The Court ruled as follows (_Tr. p. 194_):
PRESIDING JUDGE TOMS: The Court has determined that under the Charter
and the Ordinance this exhibit is admissible. Its weight, however, in
view of the peculiar circumstances attending it, is, of course, still
for the Tribunal to determine. This ruling is made after conference with
the judges of Tribunal I, who had a similar problem presented, and who
made the same ruling as this Tribunal now makes.
MR. DENNEY: If your Honors please, that question will come up again,
because we have interrogations and affidavits from other defendants in
the first trial, who have since either been executed or have taken their
own lives.
PRESIDING JUDGE TOMS: The Tribunal feels that the very broad scope of
the section of the Charter and the Ordinance dealing with the admission
of evidence justifies the admission of this exhibit.
[93] Defense introduced this paragraph as Defense Exhibit 5. See pp.
509-10.
[94] Another portion of the minutes of this meeting was introduced by
the defense as Defense Exhibit 8. See pp. 511-15.
[95] Defendant before International Military Tribunal. See Trial of the
Major War Criminals, vols. I-XLII, Nuremberg, 1947.
[96] Another portion of the minutes of this meeting was introduced by
the defense as Defense Exhibit 31. See pp. 517 to 523.
[97] Defendants in case of United States _vs._ Ernst von Weizsaecker, et
al. See Vols. XII, XIII, XIV.
[98] Same as note above.
[99] Defendant in case of United States _vs._ Otto Ohlendorf, et al. See
Vol. IV.
[100] Defendant in case of United States _vs._ Wilhelm von Leeb, et al.
See Vols. X, XI.
[101] Defendant in case of United States _vs._ Carl Krauch, et al. See
Vols. VII, VIII.
[102] Complete testimony is recorded in mimeographed transcript, 17 Feb.
and 4 Mar. 47, pp. 1136-1186, 1445-1457.
[103] Prosecution introduced other portions of this report as
Prosecution Exhibit 48-A. See pp. 457-59.
[104] Prosecution also introduced this document.
[105] Defense counsel, Dr. Bergold, explained (_Tr. p. 523_):
“This document shows that the defendant liked to use strong
language. It refers merely to the allocation. He speaks of
‘beating’, yet he does not mean this literally but figuratively.
The high Tribunal will remember at one time he spoke of whips
being used to force certain people to use suggested methods.
That is not what he meant.”
[106] Dr. Bergold stated (_Tr. p. 530_): “This document is submitted to
show that Field Marshal Milch was very much endeavouring to leave the
French workers in France with their own firms and only to transfer
orders over there. The International Military Tribunal has accounted as
exonerating circumstances in the case of Speer that he established in
France the protected plant system (Speer Betriebe); so far as Milch is
concerned, we wish to point out that he did the very same thing for the
airplane industry and that he tried to act in a reasonable way. I also
wish to say that the man always had in mind reasonable economic
propositions. Finally the document proves that individual remarks made
were of no consequence whatsoever, that they were only verbal flourish
which did not lead to any results. For instance, in the case of
antiaircraft batteries, the conference passes that point over, which is
shown by the last words of Speer and Milch. It is simply a marginal
remark. I will also prove that he did not say that on this occasion and
that the minutes were changed, because he had difficulties with Goering.
I shall show that this passage, criticizing Goering, was taken out of
the report because at that time serious difficulties arose between him
and Goering.”
[107] Another portion of the minutes of this meeting was introduced by
the prosecution as Prosecution Exhibit 48-A. See pp. 467-71.
[108] Another portion of the minutes of this meeting was introduced by
the prosecution as Exhibit 48-A, See pp. 484 to 498.
3. THE JAEGERSTAB[109]
_EXCERPT FROM STATEMENT OF THE PROSECUTION
REGARDING MILCH’S ACTIVITY IN THE
JAEGERSTAB, 13 JANUARY 1947_[110]
MR. KING: If your Honors please, the prosecution begins now the
presentation of that phase of its case dealing with the defendant
Milch’s participation in the Jaegerstab. I might add that that has to do
with the slave labor phase of the Milch case.
First, I wish to say a few words about the background of the Jaegerstab.
The Jaegerstab was formed on 1 March 1944 by decree of Albert Speer
issued pursuant to an order of Adolf Hitler. Our evidence will show,
however, that it was the defendant Milch who conceived and instigated
the formation of the Jaegerstab.
The purpose of the Jaegerstab was increased production of fighter
aircraft. Fighter plane production had suffered severe set-backs due to
British and American air attacks. Defendant Milch and his Luftwaffe had
also suffered in the battle for new raw materials.
Fighter aircraft were Germany’s principal defense against bombing raids.
Early in 1944 the defendant Milch had concluded that without adequate
fighter protection the entire German armament industry would soon be
destroyed. After repeated urgings, Milch was finally successful in his
efforts to create a special commission of top officials from various
ministries to undertake a special effort in the field of fighter
production.
The Jaegerstab, therefore, was actually a concentration of experts drawn
from various ministries. Our evidence will show that the defendant Milch
and Speer were designated as the joint chiefs of the Jaegerstab with
Karl Adolf Saur acting as Chief of Staff.
The methods adopted by the Jaegerstab in the execution of its tasks were
(1) transfer of German aircraft industry underground, (2) the
decentralization of German aircraft industry, (3) quick repair of
bombed-out plants.
Our proof will show that the labor for this program, which was the
decisive consideration in the discussions of the Jaegerstab, was
obtained from three sources: (1) Sauckel Ministry, (2) concentration
camps, (3) direct recruitment from occupied countries.
Evidence
_Prosecution Documents_
Doc. No. Pros. Ex. No. Description of Document Page
NOKW-017 54 Extracts from the minutes of 527
the conference with air force
engineers and chief
quartermasters under
chairmanship of Milch, 25
March 1944.
NOKW-261 70 Chart of the organization of 535
the Jaegerstab drawn by Saur
with letter of transmittal to
prosecution staff, 14
November 1946.
1584-III-PS 71 Correspondence between Himmler 537
and Goering, 9 March 1944,
concerning the use of
concentration camp prisoners
in the aircraft industry.
R-124 48-E Extracts from the minutes of 539
discussions between Saur and
the Fuehrer, 6 and 7 April
1944.
NOKW-247 61 Appointment of Field Marshal 540
Milch as Goering’s
plenipotentiary for the
intensification of air force
armament.
F-824 57 Order of Field Marshal von 542
Kluge regarding compulsory
recruitment of labor in the
West, 25 July 1944.
NOKW-337 75 Extracts from transcript of 544
stenographic minutes of the
Jaegerstab Conference of 6
March 1944.
NOKW-338 75 Extracts from transcript of 545
stenographic minutes of the
Jaegerstab Conference on
Friday, 17 March 1944.
NOKW-346 75 Extracts from transcript of 546
stenographic minutes of the
Jaegerstab Conference under
chairmanship of Field Marshal
Milch on Monday, 20 March
1944.
NOKW-388 75 Extracts from transcript of 547
stenographic minutes of the
Jaegerstab Conference of 28
March 1944.
NOKW-334 75 Extract from transcript of 550
stenographic minutes of the
Jaegerstab Conference of 25
April 1944.
NOKW-362 75 Extracts from transcript of 552
stenographic minutes of
Jaegerstab Conference on the
occasion of the 5th trip of
the “Hubertus Undertaking”, 2
and 3 May 1944.
NOKW-390 75 Extract from transcript of 553
stenographic minutes of the
Jaegerstab Conference of 4
May 1944.
NOKW-442 75 Extract from transcript of 554
stenographic minutes of the
Jaegerstab Conference on 5
May 1944.
NOKW-361 75 Extract from transcript of 554
stenographic minutes of the
Jaegerstab Conference during
the 6th journey of the
“Hubertus Undertaking” from
8-10 May 1944.
NOKW-336 75 Extracts from transcript of 555
stenographic minutes of the
Jaegerstab Conference on 26
May 1944.
NOKW-359 75 Extracts from transcript of 557
stenographic minutes of the
Jaegerstab Conference on 27
June 1944.
NOKW-320 73 Extract from interrogation of 558
Karl Otto Saur on 13 November
1946, concerning the use of
concentration camp prisoners
in Jaegerstab construction.
NOKW-266 76 Affidavit of Fritz Schmelter, 559
19 November 1946, concerning
the organization of the
Jaegerstab.
_Defense Documents_
Doc. No. Pros. Ex. No. Description of Document Page
Speer Ex. 34 17 Order of Hitler, 21 April 1944, 560
delegating to Dorsch
authority for Jaegerstab
constructions.
NOKW-337 12 Excerpts from the stenographic 561
minutes of the Jaegerstab
Conference on 6 March 1944 in
the Reich Air Ministry.
NOKW-338 13 Excerpts from the stenographic 562
minutes of the Jaegerstab
Conference presided over by
Field Marshal Milch on
Friday, 17 March 1944, 1100
hours, in the Reich Air
Ministry.
NOKW-365 15 Extract from the stenographic 563
minutes of the Jaegerstab
Conference, 12 April 1944.
NOKW-334 16 Extracts from stenographic 564
minutes of the Jaegerstab
Conference, 25 April 1944.
NOKW-442 21 Extract from the stenographic 565
minutes of the Jaegerstab
Conference, 5 May 1944.
NOKW-336 23 Excerpts from the stenographic 566
minutes of the Jaegerstab
Conference on Friday, 26 May
1944, at 10:00 o’clock.
_Testimony_
Extracts of testimony of defense witness Fritz Schmelter 567
Extracts of testimony of defense witness Xaver Dorsch 583
PARTIAL TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT NOKW-017
PROSECUTION EXHIBIT 54
EXTRACTS FROM THE MINUTES OF THE CONFERENCE WITH AIR
FORCE ENGINEERS AND CHIEF QUARTERMASTERS UNDER
CHAIRMANSHIP OF MILCH, 25 MARCH 1944
[Handwritten note] To my files
Mi.
_Secret_
_MINUTES OF THE CONFERENCE WITH AIR FORCE ENGINEERS
AND CHIEF QUARTERMASTERS UNDER
THE CHAIRMANSHIP OF FIELD MARSHAL
MILCH ON SATURDAY, 25 MARCH 1944,
AT 10 O’CLOCK_
Dr. Koppert/Lm.
25 March 1944
FIELD MARSHAL MILCH: Gentlemen! I welcome you. I have called you
together here in order to discuss with you questions of importance for
our German defense.
Beginning with the year 1942, the Luftwaffe put special emphasis upon a
considerable increase in the number of fighter planes produced each
month which at that time amounted to 200 to 220. It was possible, by
July of last year, to exceed the figure of one thousand as the norm, in
accordance with our program. Then the heavy raids, especially against
our armament industry, began first against the preliminary industry
[Vorindustrie] in the Ruhr, then against our fighter and airplane
industry itself. The enemy enumerated 65 completely destroyed fighter
factories and factories producing parts for fighters in his lists.
Beginning in the middle of 1942 we undertook extensive evacuations, and
did so to small localities above ground, smaller places, and the like.
In so doing, about 4½ million square meters of factory space, productive
space, were evacuated. That was the maximum that could be accomplished
with the means at our disposal. We were lacking in transport space, we
were lacking in machine tools, and primarily we were lacking in skilled
workers and managerial forces, more of whom are of course needed in a
dispersed system of manufacture than in a centralized system. The
extraordinary drafting into the Wehrmacht and just at the end also the
SE 3-drive deprived the Luftwaffe armament industry of its key
personnel. We have in our employ today approximately 60 percent
foreigners and 40 percent Germans, whereby one has to take into
consideration that the women work in the factories only half a day.
Therefore, the ratio of Germans to foreigners becomes considerably more
unfavorable. The ratio is gradually approaching 90 percent foreign with
10 percent German supervising them. The rest of the Germans are
concentrated in development factories and the like.
The enemy has now adopted a definite plan—as you as soldiers know
yourselves and learn constantly from foreign news—of destroying
aircraft production first, and mainly the production of fighter planes
and night fighters, in order to be able to deal with Germany as he
pleases. The enemy believes that this stage has almost been reached now.
There is, however, still some confusion in his news reports. One day he
expresses his amazement that the German fighter planes did not appear.
Then again the newspapers receive a secret directive: “Unpleasant
surprises do occur, so do not emphasize so strongly that the enemy has
already disappeared from the air.” On the whole, however, the enemy
hopes that it has come to the point where Germany’s backbone has been
broken or that at least that stage has almost been reached where the
enemy has been granted the possibility of dealing with Germany as he
pleases.
Another plan our Western enemies have concerns the questions surrounding
the concept of the invasion. The invasion and its success would of
course also be favorably influenced by a destruction of German anti-air
raid defenses.
We of the Luftwaffe armaments have been asking for over a year already
that a strong home defense in the air be set up. We have made efforts to
establish the prerequisites necessary for this, namely, the providing of
sufficient planes to serve as day and night fighters. * * * Being fully
aware that the strength of the Luftwaffe alone is insufficient both as
regards quotas and with respect to the workers, etc., in order to bring
about an extensive change in the field of air armaments, we applied to
Minister Speer and his colleagues to undertake a common special effort
in this field. The establishment of a Ruhr staff served as an example
for us; it was established at the time when the industry in the Ruhr
area seemed to be entirely put out of commission by the continuous
raids. At that time the Ruhr staff was set up and the necessary quotas,
buildings, etc., were put at its disposal. Thereby the entire situation
was changed. Minister Speer and his colleagues, fully aware that without
air armaments and without air defense the rest of the armament industry
would very soon be destroyed and become useless, agreed to this plan
enthusiastically and with initiative. Thus it came about that a definite
proposal was made to the Reich Marshal and the Fuehrer: the Jaegerstab
was created. The order of the Fuehrer provides clearly that the fighter
plane program which the Jaegerstab is starting has priority over all
other fields of armament, which means, to be sure, that other important
armaments are not to be infringed upon by it. * * *
* * * * *
The Jaegerstab is made up as follows: the direction is in the hands of
Reich Minister Speer and myself. Deputy for both of us, and at the same
time our chief of staff, is Hauptdienstleiter Dipl. Ing. Saur, who is
sitting on my left. Saur is the man who carried out the large-scale
armament program for the army and the navy in the Speer Ministry in
recent years in an exemplary manner. Saur again and again during the
past year and a half succeeded in raising the production figures in all
important fields and sometimes even in multiplying them.
Further, I name only the leaders of the Jaegerstab. We have put the
question of over-all planning in the hands of Dr. Wegener. Construction
matters will be directed by Dipl. Ing. Schlempp. The evacuation
underground will be in the hands of SS Gruppenfuehrer Kammler. The
supply, one of the most essential factors, and everything in the way of
semi-manufactured material that comes to our factories for completion,
will be taken care of by Director Schaaf, deputy to Staatsrat Dr.
Schieber, the chief of the armament supply office
[Ruestungslieferungsamt] in Speer’s Ministry. Dr. Schmelter will take
care of labor commitment. Sites suitable for dispersal, confiscations,
etc., will be in the hands of Ministerialrat Speh of the armaments
supply office. Gruppenfuehrer Nagel of the Organization Speer will be in
charge of transportation. The supply of power will be in the hands of
General Director Fischer. Engineer Lange will be in charge of machinery,
Mr. Nobel of repairs. Reich railroad questions will be in the hands of
the President of the Reich railroad, Pueckler. Post Office: Oberpostrat
Dr. Zerbel. Health matters: Dr. Poschmann. Social welfare: Dr.
Birkenholz. Special problems for Me 262 and steel power units: Captain
Dr. Krome. Raw materials and quota system: Dr. Stoffregen. Questions of
technical simplification, etc.: Oberstabsing. Klinker. Office manager:
Petri.
* * * On the spot the individual gentlemen are then told, supported by
the combined authority of the state, the Wehrmacht, and the Party, that
is, Saur and me—Speer is unfortunately still on sick leave, otherwise
he would also be present—what it is all about. That takes ten minutes.
After ten minutes the individual members of the Jaegerstab disappear and
get together with the men from the factory who are competent for their
sphere of activity. Thus, all pertinent questions are dealt with in the
conferences about the commitment of labor, and all competent men, who
have anything to do with the commitment of labor meet, especially the
president of the competent Provincial Labor Office. Thus it is
determined on the spot, in the individual spheres, what the factory
lacks. If the circumstances require it, it is immediately demonstrated
to the factory that their requests are nonsense. Unreasonable demands
and excessive claims are revised. Well-founded demands are immediately
filled. While the discussions are still going on, telegrams are sent to
the different offices, and the people are already set to work. In
general, the people arrive in 24 hours. Unfortunately there are
exceptions, for which the Wehrmacht sector is responsible. The Wehrmacht
does not work as smoothly and beautifully as civilian offices. It is an
error to believe that civilian offices are more bureaucratic than
military offices. On the basis of my continuous and extensive experience
I can assure you exactly the opposite is true.
* * * * *
* * * Our entire German ball-bearing industry, and that outside Germany,
was eliminated one hundred percent by the enemy in a, I must say,
brilliant attacking operation: Erfurt, Schweinfurt, Frankfurt on the
Main, Stuttgart, Italy. We were faced with the question whether without
ball bearings we could produce new planes at all, new tanks, or whether
we had to capitulate as an armament industry. For ball bearings are an
indispensable factor in modern armament industry. One finds and needs
them everywhere, even in places where one does not think of them at
first. Now it became apparent, thank God, that the branches of the
Wehrmacht had hoarded ball bearings and roller bearings in such large
masses that we got along for three months with the hoarded material
alone. In this case it was lucky that we still had so much, that so many
ball bearings had been hoarded. I have to admit that. But that is not
the normal way. It is certain that in the whole period up to now too
many spare parts have been requested just in order to gather such
hoards. And this in spite of the fact that not everything has been
attained by far, but only very large stocks. I should like to say that
with the material you have, 20 to 30,000 planes could be newly built or
newly equipped without further ado. That is how much material you have!
And this does not concern large parts; for in that field I was always
strict—it concerns rather all the accessories and apparatus. In
considering these figures one has to know that about 52 percent of the
total man-hours are spent in equipping a plane and only 48 percent in
building the aircraft frame and the engine. Only then does one realize
fully the importance for us of all that small junk that is lying around
all over. It is not necessary that the troops always take along all
their spare parts. * * *
Gentlemen, in this connection I may call your attention to another
important point. If I visit an office and find out that something is
being hidden there, then I ask for the death penalty for such a crime
today! That is fraud! That is sabotage of the German armament industry!
* * * * *
Then there is still the human factor. We often had considerable
difficulty with the human factor. The fluctuation there is very
considerable. The quota of the Luftwaffe in the distribution of manpower
is constantly lowered. The foreigners run away. They do not keep to any
contract. There are difficulties with Frenchmen, Italians, Dutch. The
prisoners of war are partly unruly and fresh. These people are also
supposed to be carrying on sabotage. These elements cannot be made more
efficient _by small means. They are just not handled strictly enough._
If a decent foreman would sock one of those unruly guys because the
fellow won’t work, then the situation would soon change. _International
law cannot be observed here._ I have asserted myself very strongly, and
with the help of Saur I have very strongly represented the point of view
that the prisoners, with the exception of the English and the Americans,
_should be taken away from the military authorities_. Soldiers are not
in a position, as experience has shown, to cope with these fellows who
know all the answers. I shall take very strict measures here and shall
put such a prisoner of war before my court martial. If he has committed
sabotage or refused to work, I will have him hanged, right in his own
factory. I am convinced that that will not be without effect.
Anyhow, the strangest things occur in the treatment of the workers. It
is said that the people collapse, and then one has to find out that they
have a furlough of three or four days every eight weeks. That is dirty
business of the first order and treason to the country! Then perhaps a
construction battalion arrives and is supposed to be put to work. The
commanding officer, perhaps some overfed grade-school teacher, declares
that the men must drill and must take part in sports! Damn it, the
fellows are there to work so that the maximum amount of work will
result. One has to act very strictly here. A construction battalion was
ordered to Regensburg. The commanding officer was one of those scholars
who said he could not billet the men in peacetime conditions and,
therefore, he refused to start work. Such a guy should be convicted by a
court martial and hanged. I would be grateful if the gentlemen would
proceed in that manner. As with me in industry, so every stupidity is
possible everywhere else also. As chief, one has to take up these
matters. I know what kind of obstacles become apparent. There is
bureaucracy. It is not easy to go against bureaucracy. But we have to
cut through that also, and if you, Gentlemen, proceed with the right
attitude here, then we are already assured of success.
* * * * *
* * * In saying this I do not even consider the fact that the workshops
have first-class personnel, whereas we in the Luftwaffe armament
industry have Russians, French prisoners of war, Dutch, and members of
32 other nations. Obtaining interpreters alone presents a big difficulty
there. * * *
A further question concerns the efforts for housing the machines. That
is very important, and I would be very grateful if you would think this
matter over also. In this manner you would not only facilitate the
question of spare parts but also the scarce supply of materials. Each
fighter plane contains about one ton of aluminum. Every small bomber
contains four tons of aluminum; and a larger bomber, seven to eight
tons. The captured bombers contain eleven to twelve tons of aluminum.
There are in any case tremendous amounts of material involved here. Let
us take twelve tons as normal for an American heavy bomber, or let us
say only ten tons, and let us assume that we actually shoot down 500
such American bombers a month and that we can salvage them over our own
territory; that alone means 5,000 tons of aluminum, 5,000 tons: that is
25 percent of the aluminum quota at the disposal of the Luftwaffe. You
can see how important these questions are, too. We can certainly count
on more Americans being shot down in the future because we will have
more fighter planes.
* * * * *
I further ask for support by the Luftwaffe physicians. With all the
rabble that we have among the foreign workers there is of course a lot
of shirking. At the moment the Russians—that is, the Russian prisoners
of war—are feigning a lot of fatigue and illness. The incidence of
sickness of one-and-a-half to two percent which we have had up to now
has at least doubled and in some factories it has been increased to
eight, nine, and ten percent. That is, of course, done by previous
agreement. There the official physicians must undertake an examination
and if the physicians, who have to be very strict, find out that it is
not true, then we return the fellows to work by means of the whip. Then
the whip serves as cure.
A further request which is very important from the point of view of
leadership! Sometimes we do not know in case of an alert what orders we
want to give for our factories. If a factory knows that it is about to
be attacked, and it has a few trench shelters but does not have a
bomb-proof shelter or the like, then the people simply run away from the
factory, automatically at each raid, after the first one, and they
usually cannot be caught the next day, either. That applies particularly
to the foreigners. We have, therefore, now issued the following order,
and have equipped the superiors accordingly with weapons and pistols: as
soon as a factory which has already been attacked a few times can count
on the raids being aimed at that particular factory again, then the
personnel leave the factory; but in closed groups by shops, under the
leadership of the man in charge of the shop, and, to the extent that
they are German personnel, they leave singing military songs. The people
are led away from the factory to a distance of 1,000 or 1,500 meters.
There they have to lie down in slit trenches and watch their factory
from there, so that they can immediately rush to it after the raid in
order to help and to save what can be saved. That is the only correct
way to do it. * * *
* * * * *
Gentlemen, you come from the fronts, and some of you were perhaps
surprised to see how Berlin looks. I recommend to you, if you still have
time today, to drive around in a bus and see Berlin. The center still
looks quite nice. But have a look at other districts of Berlin too, or
look at Frankfurt or Duesseldorf or whatever all of these places are
called, in their present condition; then you will admit to me that the
population will not be able to endure this condition permanently; not
that there is any danger of a revolution or any such thing as we know it
from 1918. But at a certain point a human being just cannot endure any
more. It is quite surprising how the population has endured this thing
so far or how it always gets on its feet again, when it is led in the
proper way by true leaders (Fuehrer) who, thank God, are present among
the people through the Party and the rest of the leadership. But you
must not forget, Gentlemen, the war of nerves has reached a point which
causes us in the leadership group worry. The people cannot endure that
forever.
One does not have to see only how the people are working—I have told
you that—but also how they live, where they are living today, how they
are sleeping today. There are hundreds of thousands of Berliners who
have not known any heating for months, who have not been able to take a
bath for months, who have not been able to shave with warm water for
months, and the like. They are happy if they can still put their warm
coffee [Plirsch] in their stomachs in the morning and at noon their
soup. And with that they work seventy-two hours. It is a damned
difficult affair. Whoever does not understand that and whoever does not
say on this occasion: From now on our work will be done quite
differently than was the case so far, is a miserable wretch in my
opinion. And everyone of us and everyone you appoint has to be trained
to accomplish in this sphere what the others have been accomplishing for
a long time. We have to do that, we have to increase our production so
that we can push the enemy back in the next few weeks and months in the
same way as he has advanced to Berlin and farther, step by step.
* * * * *
Please go wherever you are going and knock everybody down who blocks
your way! We cover up everything here. We do not ask whether he is
allowed to or whether he is not allowed to. For us, there is nothing but
this one task. We are fanatics in this sphere. We do not even consider
letting anything at all distract us from that task. No order exists
which could prevent me from fulfilling this task. Nor shall I ever be
given such an order. Now, do not let anything deter you, and get your
people to the point that no one deters them. If there is a little
hindrance from below, this is not due to ill will but to stupidity.
Gentlemen! In the fifth year of war stupidity is a crime!
* * * * *
Gentlemen, I know, not every subordinate can say: For me, the law no
longer exists, but he has to have someone who covers up for him, not out
of cowardice; but if you act according to the spirit of the old field
service regulation, “Abstaining from doing something hurts us more than
erring in the choice of the means,” and if, moreover, you keep in touch
and immediately clarify difficult points so that something can be done,
then we are willing to accept the responsibility, whether this is the
law or not. I see only two possibilities for me and for Germany: Either
we succeed and thereby save Germany, or we continue these slipshod
methods and then get the fate that we deserve. I prefer to fall while I
am doing something that is against the rules but that is right and
sensible and be called to account for it and, if you like, hanged,
rather than be hanged because Papa Stalin is here in Berlin, or the
Englishman. I have no desire for that. I would rather die in a different
way. But I think we can accomplish this task, too. We are in the fifth
year of war. I repeat: The decision will come within the next six weeks!
Heil Hitler!
(End: 12:20 hours)
TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT NOKW-261
PROSECUTION EXHIBIT 70
CHART OF THE ORGANIZATION OF THE JAEGERSTAB DRAWN
BY SAUR WITH LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL TO PROSECUTION
STAFF, 14 NOVEMBER 1946
Nuernberg, 14 November 1946
K. O. Saur
TO: Mr. King, via Prison Office.
In accordance with your request enclosed please find the organization
chart of the Jaegerstab which was founded by decree of Reich Minister
Speer on 1 March 1944. The chart was drawn up from memory.
The working methods of the Jaegerstab are disclosed in their essence by
the following paragraph from the Armament Staff Charter issued by Reich
Minister Speer on 1 August 1944.
“Also in the future in order to prevent the Armament Staff from
developing gradually into an extensive agency, the regulation
concerning the purely personal membership will be maintained, as
was the case for the Jaegerstab. The technical work will be
done, therefore, in the office and agencies to which the
personal members belong, under the responsibility of the
competent office chiefs or agency directors.”
The ministries and their offices or agencies responsible for the
different tasks are mentioned individually in the organization chart.
For reasons of clarity, the Jaegerstab, as liaison office, has been
framed in red; the technological office, which then was under my own
responsibility has been framed in blue. [See legend on chart.]
[Signed] SAUR
[Illustration: Chart: Responsible Groups and/or Main Departments.]
TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT 1584-III-PS
PROSECUTION EXHIBIT 71
CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN HIMMLER AND GOERING, 9 MARCH
1944, CONCERNING THE USE OF CONCENTRATION CAMP
PRISONERS IN THE AIRCRAFT INDUSTRY
1879/44 Secret 9 March 1944
Field-command office
Subject: Employment of prisoners in the aviation industry.
Reference: Teletype of 14 February 1944.
5 copies, 5th copy
Top Secret State Matter
Most honored Reich Marshal,
Following my teletype letter of 18 February 1944, I herewith transmit a
survey on the employment of prisoners in the aviation industry.[111]
This survey indicates that at the present time about _36,000 prisoners_
are employed for the purposes of the air force. An increase to a total
of _90,000 prisoners_ is contemplated.
The production is being discussed, established, and executed between the
Reich Ministry of Aviation and the Chief of my Economic Administrative
Main Office, SS Obergruppenfuehrer and General of the Waffen SS
Pohl.[112]
We shall render assistance with all forces at our disposal.
The task of my Economic Administrative Main Office, however, is not
solely fulfilled with the delivery of the prisoners to the aviation
industry, as SS Obergruppenfuehrer Pohl and his assistants take care of
the required working speed through constant control and supervision of
the work-groups [Kommandos] and therefore have some influence on the
results of production. In this respect I may suggest consideration of
the fact that in enlarging our responsibility through a speeding up of
the total work better results can definitely be expected.
We also have for some time adjusted our own stone quarries to production
for the air force. For instance, in Flossenbuerg near Weiden the
prisoners employed previously in the quarry are working now in the
fighter plane program for the Messerschmitt corporation, Regensburg,
which saw in the availability of our stonemason shops and labor forces
after the attack on Regensburg at that time a favorable opportunity for
the immediate partial transfer of their production. Altogether 4,000
prisoners will work there after the expansion. We produce now with 2,000
men 900 sets of engine cowlings and radiator covers as well as 120,000
single parts of various kinds for the fighter Me 109.
In Oranienburg we are now employing 6,000 prisoners at the Heinkel works
for construction of the He 177. With these we are supplying 60 percent
of the total crew of the plant.
The prisoners are working without fault. Up till now 200 suggestions
regarding the improvement of work have been handed in at Heinkel from
the ranks of the prisoners, which were used and were rewarded with
premiums. We are increasing this employment to 8,000 prisoners.
We also have employed female prisoners in the aviation industry. For
instance at the mechanical workshops in Neubrandenburg 2,500 women are
working now in the manufacture of devices for dropping bombs and rudder
control. The plant has adjusted the total aerial production to employ
prisoners. In the month of January 30,000 devices as well as 500 rudder
controls and altitude regulators have been manufactured. We are
increasing employment to 4,000 women. The performance of the women is
excellent.
In our own plant in Butschowitz near Bruenn (Brno) we produce also for
the air force, there however with civilian workers. This plant supplies
14,000 wooden-built rear control apparatus for Me 109 to the
Messerschmitt Corporation, Augsburg.
The movement of manufacturing plants of the aviation industry to
subterranean locations requires _further_ employment of about 100,000
prisoners. The plans for this employment on the basis of your letter of
14 February 1944 are already under way.
I shall keep you, most honored Reich Marshal, currently informed on this
subject.
Heil Hitler!
[Initialed] H.H.
[HEINRICH HIMMLER]
TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT R-124
PROSECUTION EXHIBIT 48-E
EXTRACTS FROM THE MINUTES OF DISCUSSIONS BETWEEN SAUR
AND THE FUEHRER, 6 AND 7 APRIL 1944
Top Secret State Matter
The Chief of the Technical Office
TA Ch S/Kr
Berlin, 9 April 1944
_MINUTES OF DISCUSSIONS WITH THE FUEHRER
ON 6 AND 7 APRIL 1944_
* * * * *
16. Reports made to the Fuehrer by myself [Saur] and Field Marshal
Milch, based on tables and drawings, as to the achievements of the
Jaegerstab stressing the satisfactory cooperation of the new
organization with all offices and plants. Reported in detail that plans
have been made for the best part of transfers, and that, as a first
installment, the decentralization above ground will be completed by
August, and, as the second installment, that the most vulnerable plants
will be underground by the end of the year.
17. Field Marshal Milch reported on the result of a construction staff
meeting of the Central Planning Board according to which the most
important building projects only could materialize due to a great
tension in general conditions. In spite of this, the Fuehrer demands
that the two huge buildings of 600,000 square meters each should be
erected with all speed. He agrees that one of these buildings is not to
be made from concrete but—according to our suggestion—will be set up
as an extension of, and close to, the Middle Plant [Mittelwerk] as a
so-called “Middle-Building” [Mittelbau], and that this plant will be
placed under the direction of the Junkers Works. Plans have to be made
without delay to secure production in bottleneck items of the Junkers
Works, production of Me 262 at 1,000 per month, and fighters at 2,000
per month.
Suggested to the Fuehrer that, due to lack of builders and equipment,
the second big building project should not be set up in German territory
but in close vicinity to the border on suitable soil (preferably on
gravel base and with transport facilities) on French, Belgian, or Dutch
territory. The Fuehrer agrees to this suggestion if the works could be
set up behind a fortified zone. For the suggestion of setting this plant
up in French territory speaks mainly the fact that it would be much
easier to procure the necessary workers. Nevertheless, the Fuehrer asks
that an attempt be made to set up the second works in a safer area,
namely in the Protectorate. If it should prove impossible there, too, to
get hold of the necessary workers, the Fuehrer himself will contact the
Reich Leader SS and will give an order that the required 100,000 men are
to be made available by bringing in Jews from Hungary. Stressing the
fact that the building organization of the Industry Association Silesia
[Industriegemeinschaft Schlesien] was a failure, the Fuehrer demands
that these works must be built by the O.T. [Organization Todt]
exclusively and that the workers should be made available by the Reich
Leader SS. He wants to hold a meeting shortly in order to discuss
details with all the men concerned.
* * * * *
The Fuehrer agrees that these items may be used as a basis for future
conferences.
[signed] SAUR
[typed] (SAUR)
TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT NOKW-247
PROSECUTION EXHIBIT 61
APPOINTMENT OF FIELD MARSHAL MILCH AS GOERING’S
PLENIPOTENTIARY FOR THE INTENSIFICATION OF
AIR FORCE ARMAMENT
_Copy_
The Reich Marshal of Greater Germany
Chairman of the Reich Defense Council
Berlin, June [sic]
_AUTHORIZATION_
The war situation calls for the utmost intensification of the armament
capacity of the German Air Force within the shortest time. The goal of
the measures to be taken has to be the fourfold increase of the present
production in all branches of air force armament. I commission the State
Secretary of the Ministry of Aviation, Field Marshal Milch, with the
speediest execution of this intensification of armament ordered by the
Fuehrer. To secure the attainment of the end at which we aim I confer
herewith the most extensive power of authority on Field Marshal Milch
within the sphere defined as follows:
1. Shutting-down and seizure of factories, decisions about
expropriations and forced leases, seizure and expropriation of
construction material in agreement with the Plenipotentiary General for
Construction, erection of auxiliary buildings exempted from restricting
provisions of the building police, of the office for the supervision of
industry, of air-raid protection, social institutions, etc., as far as
these provisions are incompatible with the fast completion of the
building projects.
2. Confiscation, expropriation, and renting of machinery of all kinds
and its distribution to the armament factories of the Luftwaffe. Forced
transfer of workers who are unemployed or employed in industry of any
kind whatsoever, this not only for the erection of the buildings but
also for allocation to Luftwaffe armament factories.
3. Confiscation of raw materials absolutely essential for the Luftwaffe
program; only superfluous raw materials may then be distributed in the
manner as now. This refers especially to light metals and gasoline.
4. Removal and transfer of key personnel of the entire armament industry
irrespective of existing contracts under private law; cancellations of
or changes in existing powers of authorization, and issue of new powers;
creation of industrial associations, patent associations, merger of
companies; creation of new companies, and separation of uneconomically
working firms and their coordination or subordination to better managed
firms.
5. Deviation from existing regulations about the financing of the war
and premiums in cases where the utmost intensification of output cannot
be achieved otherwise. In this connection due consideration has to be
given to the economical situation and to the financial capacity of the
firms involved.
6. All decisions of and all measures taken by my plenipotentiary on the
basis of this authorization have to be regarded as if they were ordered
by me. These decrees and measures have priority in respect to all other
official directions and decrees as far as these are not compatible with
the speediest execution of the intensification of the production
capacity.
TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT F-824
PROSECUTION EXHIBIT 57
ORDER OF FIELD MARSHAL VON KLUGE REGARDING
COMPULSORY RECRUITMENT OF LABOR IN THE WEST,
25 JULY 1944
Secret [Stamp]
2_a_ [Handwritten]
Headquarters, 25 July 1944
546 [Handwritten]
Commander in Chief West Section
IaT No. 1731/44 secret
Reference: 1. OKW/WFST/Qu. (Adm.1) Qu.2 (West) No. 05201/44 secret of 8
July 1944 (_distributed only to Commander in Chief West and
the Military Commanders._)
2. OKW/WFST/Qu. (Adm.1) Qu.2 (West) No. 05431/44 secret of 19
July 1944.
(File Notes)
Subject: Procurement of Labor in the West.
With Ref. to 2, Chief OKW has ordered:
“The communication of Field Marshal Von Kluge of 8 July, addressed to
the Reich Minister for Armament and War Production, crossed with my
order of the same day.” (OKW/WFST/Qu. (Adm. 1) Qu. 2 (West) No. 05201/44
secret).
From this it is evident that, by order of the Fuehrer, under suspension
of orders to the contrary, the wishes of the Plenipotentiary for Labor
[Sauckel] and of Reich Minister Speer must, in principle, be carried
out. Further, to my teletype, the following additional general
directions apply in future, as a result of the conference of ministers
in the Reich Chancellery on 11 July, about which the Commander in Chief
West will have been informed by the military commander:
Rejecting justified misgivings with regard to peace and security in the
interior of the country, seizures must be carried out wherever the
opportunities referred to in my above-mentioned teletype offer
themselves. As the only limitation, the Fuehrer has ordered that no
forcible means shall be employed against the population in the actual
combat area as long as it [the population] shows itself prepared to
assist the German Armed Forces. However, recruiting of volunteers from
among refugees from the combat zone is to be carried out vigorously.
Moreover, every means is justified to seize as much labor as possible
otherwise, apart from [using] the powers granted to the armed forces.
In order to render as effective as possible the measures which have been
introduced, the troops are furthermore to be instructed in general as to
the necessity of the organization for conscription of labor in order to
put an end to the open and covert resistance which has arisen in many
instances. The field commandants and the offices of the military
administration must give wide support to the representatives of the
Plenipotentiary for Labor Allocation and refrain from encroaching on
their sphere of activity.
I now direct that the necessary orders in this sense be given and that I
be constantly informed about the measures taken and their execution.
_Indorsement of Commander in Chief West_:
In accordance with this, Commander in Chief West has reported the
following to the Chief of the OKW on 23 July 1944:
1. I have authorized the execution of the Sauekel-Laval agreement
of 12 May in spite of misgivings because of interior security.
2. I will issue more detailed directives for the execution of the
measures in the combat zone in accordance with OKW/WFST/Qu.
(Adm.1)/2 (West) No. 05201/44 secret of 8 July 1944.
The Commander in Chief West
[Typewritten] VON KLUGE
Field Marshal
Additional orders will follow.
For the Commander in Chief West
The Chief of Staff
BY ORDER
(illegible signature)
Colonel, GSC
Distribution:
High Command Army Group B
High Command Army Group G
Armored Group Command West
_Mil. Cmdr. in France_
Armed Forces Commander in Belgium and northern France
For Information:
Commander in Chief West/Ic [Intelligence]
IaT (Draft)
PARTIAL TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT NOKW-337[113]
PROSECUTION EXHIBIT 75
EXTRACTS FROM TRANSCRIPT OF STENOGRAPHIC MINUTES OF
THE JAEGERSTAB CONFERENCE OF 6 MARCH 1944
SS MAJOR: [unidentified] I have already discussed with Lt. Col. Diesing
our requirements according to our construction plan in the immediate
program. From tomorrow 5,000 prisoners will be in readiness to carry out
this measure. For that we need 750 guard personnel.
* * * * *
FIELD MARSHAL MILCH: We must distribute our German people as key
personnel. That is, out of three construction companies we can probably
make ten complete ones by introducing 70 percent foreigners.
SS MAJOR: They must be skilled workers. In handling the prisoners, it
appears best that we should give 5 to 10 of them to one man who knows
his job.
SAUR: The construction companies will be dissolved to provide key
personnel for teams 10 times or even 100 times their size. That is a
question which must be clarified by 10 a.m. tomorrow between the
Plenipotentiary General for Construction and the air force construction
units on one side and Kammler’s construction staff on the other. That
will be clarified by tomorrow and he then must say what he needs. The
Todt Organization must take part in the discussion, but I cannot consent
to the inclusion of the Todt Organization in the matter as a third
leading organization, as we would get confused. The Todt Organization
must bleed with the rest. It is the same as your construction companies.
It is the donor but he is the organizer and usufructuary. He is by all
means the usufructuary. For besides being organizer, he is the
usufructuary for the construction sites of the Plenipotentiary General
for Construction.
SS MAJOR: Therefore it is important that these construction companies
should be under military leadership!
FIELD MARSHAL MILCH: * * * We further appealed to the Fuehrer that we
should get the 64 miners who are in Berchtesgaden, as the work there
will probably soon be finished. He made the suggestion that we, like the
SS, should also train miners in the greater degree and mentioned the
figure of 10,000 who would have to be trained one after another because
they could not all be trained at once.
SAUR: The SS should be told that the training of miners should rest
entirely with them because the SS runs the best mining school.
FIELD MARSHAL MILCH: We must also ask the SS to get more miners from
Italy and Slovakia.
SAUR: * * * We must bring more order into the PW base camps [Stalags].
We have made a proposal that the PW base camps should be transferred to
the SS. The Italians and eastern peoples should be treated more roughly.
* * * * *
PARTIAL TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT NOKW-338[114]
PROSECUTION EXHIBIT 75
EXTRACTS FROM TRANSCRIPT OF STENOGRAPHIC MINUTES OF
THE JAEGERSTAB CONFERENCE ON FRIDAY, 17 MARCH 1944
* * * * *
STOBBE-DETHLEFFSEN: * * * We already count on 100,000 men for the tasks
of the Jaegerstab. To transfer them would mean breaking into the rest of
the armament economy to an unheard-of degree.
(SAUR: 100,000 without Kammler!)
Including the labor we give Kammler but not including the concentration
camp people.
SAUR: Right from the beginning we realized that 200,000 men would be
transferred.
STOBBE-DETHLEFFSEN: I have just spoken to Prinzel about it. It is
absolutely necessary that the few German key personnel at our disposal
should be taken with the concentration camp inmates or with the other
subjugated people in such a proportion as will guarantee the best use of
this valuable German strength * * *.
* * * * *
STOBBE-DETHLEFFSEN: I am always getting demands for German labor. For
example: Here are 5,000 concentration camp inmates, give me 1,000 German
workers. I do not fulfill these requests in this proportion; otherwise
my German labor would soon come to an end. We have filled only a
fraction of the positions. I distribute German workers only in the ratio
of 1:10.
* * * * *
MILCH: The air force stresses the importance of getting the whole cave
for the purposes of manufacture. * * *
PORSCHE: * * * I shall talk to Weiss again about our getting more
concentration camp people for finishing off the work.
(DIESING: We probably shall not get them.)
I’ll get them from the Reich Leader. I already have 3,500. Two of
Obergruppenfuehrer Pohl’s men are going to France to prepare everything
locally with regard to housing and feeding.
* * * * *
NOBEL: Can one be responsible for foreigners working as airfield control
personnel? The repair works say: yes!
(MILCH: Not as pilots!)
I do not think that is intended. The repair works said yesterday that it
would be a help to them if foreigners could be used as airfield control
personnel. * * *
* * * * *
PARTIAL TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT NOKW-346
PROSECUTION EXHIBIT 75
EXTRACTS FROM TRANSCRIPT OF STENOGRAPHIC MINUTES OF
THE JAEGERSTAB CONFERENCE UNDER CHAIRMANSHIP OF
FIELD MARSHAL MILCH ON MONDAY, 20 MARCH 1944
* * * * *
SAUR: * * * As far as Hungary is concerned, I should be grateful if the
Field Marshal would call up Mr. Sauckel and tell him that the whole
group mobilized in Hungary should be primarily at the disposal of the
Jaegerstab. Large construction [of entrenchments] columns [Schanz
Kolonnen] must be formed. The people have to be treated like prisoners.
Otherwise it won’t work.
* * * * *
SAUR: Where are the 54,000 Czechs?
MAHNKE: Of the 58,000 Czechs, 17,000 have been earmarked for
Czechoslovakia. 31,000 are intended for the Reich, and after that 26,000
have been divided among the special commissions [Sonderausschusse].
31,000 were for power units.
* * * * *
PARTIAL TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT NOKW-388
PROSECUTION EXHIBIT 75
EXTRACTS FROM TRANSCRIPT OF STENOGRAPHIC MINUTES OF
THE JAEGERSTAB CONFERENCE OF 28 MARCH 1944
* * * * *
NOBEL: The labor situation in the repair sector is very unsatisfactory.
Of the 2,000 people promised me before from the Action Sauckel, not one
has yet arrived. There is no point in saying that people should apply to
the armament department [Ruestungskommando]. The armament departments
and inspectorates [Ruestungskommandos and Inspektionen] have not got
anybody. If these men are not roped in by higher authority, the repair
workshops cannot get any labor. My people are not in a position to stop
production because we have not received any men since 11 March.
MEMBER OF THE JAEGERSTAB: I brought this matter up yesterday with
Ministerialdirigent Dr. Timm of the office of the Plenipotentiary
General for Labor Allocation, and told him that we handed in our request
on 17 March, but had not yet received any laborers. He could not tell me
anything but will let us know today. I will ask Schmelter, who is coming
to this meeting later, to follow up the matter.
MILCH: Tell Schmelter, that if I can help in any way by calling Sauckel,
etc., he should let me know.
* * * * *
SCHMELTER: I have received such high demands, for instance today over
3,000, tomorrow over 5,000, and the day after, again over 4,000, that it
cannot possibly be that the labor is really needed, or else the firms do
not understand the program. What has been received from you, Mr. Lange,
has been passed on. It is also to be expected that these laborers will
come within the next 10-14 days. I have arranged with Sauckel that I
shall give out red tickets for the most urgent demands, first of all a
consignment of 10,000. That will do to begin with. These red tickets
will have priority, even over other red tickets. Of course, that will
cause difficulties over skilled workers. When we have a picture of the
number of skilled workers we need, we must decide from which branch of
manufacture we can remove them, for Sauckel does not have so many
skilled workers. Those who have already arrived are, for the most part,
from the East. That is still the most prolific source. Very few come
from the West and they are slowly starting to come from Italy. There are
comparatively few skilled workers among them. So we must decide what
factories are to be closed or restricted and where we shall take away
the skilled workers. I can only let you have details in a few days when
I have a complete picture of requirements.
NOBEL: If I must speed up repair work in a limited time, I need the
labor at once. Since 16 March not one of the 2,000 people that Sauckel
was going to send has arrived. That is already two weeks ago. They tell
me that if they have to deliver 50 machines they must have 60 people
today or tomorrow. But that won’t work because I have not got the
people. I have always said—you will not get skilled workers. They
answer—then give us others. If we do not fulfill these demands, their
confidence in the Jaegerstab will be undermined. This morning I shall
get material from Hansen & Company in Muenster. The labor office there
is not yet clear about the set-up of the Jaegerstab and the priority of
the fighter program. It is the result of the bureaucracy of the
authorities. My men have to argue with the authorities and thereby lose
valuable time.
SCHMELTER: It is now customary, if one fails to produce something to put
the blame on the labor office. I remind you of the Messerschmitt affair.
(MILCH: That is not so in all cases.)
Assuredly! The gentlemen were with me on Saturday. They had got back 50
tool makers from the army into the bargain, which they had had in the
meantime, and said nothing about. First, they could not employ them,
secondly, they did not need them, and thirdly, they got them elsewhere.
Furthermore Sauckel puts the people at the disposal of the repair
department. It was immediately reported that the labor offices worked
too slowly.
MILCH: You will make things easier for yourselves if you build up
gradually a small reserve of a few hundred people, at first 500 which
you can later raise to 2,000 so that you can cover immediately any need
that arises. Then our work will gain the respect of others. At the
moment it is like this—either we must transfer people and leave a gap
where it is less vital, or wait until the people are brought in by
Sauckel. When one sees the figures that Sauckel has produced and
ascertains what the armament industry has received, the comparison is
ridiculous.
SCHMELTER: A letter is on the way from the minister to Mr. Sauckel.
During the first three months Sauckel has brought in between 300,000 and
400,000 people, but not even a miserable 66,000 red tickets could be
honored.
MILCH: I personally cannot get over it! Take the help away from the
housewives! In the past year 800,000 domestic servants have been
negotiated and we are fighting for 2,000 men!
SCHMELTER: In one year the demand for female domestic servants in
Germany has risen by 200,000, the demands of the armament industry
during the same period by 600. I have arranged that transports that come
from abroad are directed straight to the points of greatest need.
MILCH: Every week 2,000 people come from the East.
(SCHMELTER: Most of them go into agriculture.)
The Jaegerstab has priority over agriculture. Can you not intercept
them?
SCHMELTER: I have arranged that. The 2,000 are disposed of; some of them
are already at work. But it does not always happen that the reports of
the firms are 100 percent correct. We have often checked that up. It
often happens that firms take the people and put them into another
branch of production but still shout for people for the high priority
processes.
(NOBEL: That is not the case in my repair industry!)
FRYDAG: Yesterday, I was in Wiener-Neustadt. The works have a
considerable assignment and a hefty increase. Merely in order to get out
of the room unscathed I gave them 200 men from the airframes industry.
SCHMELTER: In Wiener Neustadt there was a demand for 1,000 or 1,500. A
thousand were supposed to come from Air Fleet 2 in Italy. An engineer
official, Weidinger, was going to produce them. On Sunday I received a
phone call to the effect that the engineer official could not produce
them.
FRYDAG: That is quite right. But you must put yourself in the firm’s
place. The firm must have these people.
SCHMELTER: Then I must see to it that I take them from somewhere else.
MILCH: You know our position. We are convinced that you do everything
you can. But we must now commit a robbery. We can no longer operate
along legal lines.
(SCHMELTER: That is the only possibility.)
There will be abuse but we must accept that.
SCHMELTER: I shall go tomorrow to Mr. Sauckel and tell him that he must
give the fighter industry the next transport of workers from the East.
The proposal that the fighter industry should not give back the laborers
it received who originally worked in agriculture has been turned down by
Sauckel. I am commissioned to inform you of this.
MILCH: That is out of the question. Nothing shall go out of the fighter
industry!
SCHMELTER: I am commissioned to say that he must have this labor back
again.
MILCH: Later, not now! One more thing. We must protect all the factories
working for the fighter program. We must say to them: You must not give
up people for anything whatsoever except on command of the Jaegerstab.
None can touch you, not even the local labor offices and the ministerial
authorities; requests for personnel must all be directed to the
Jaegerstab. We must put that out clearly as an order.
(PETRI: That is already in previous minutes.)
SCHMELTER: May I request that this order should be extended to the
management and repair personnel of the electricity and gas works.
MILCH: I can only do it for the Jaegerstab. I am not doing it for the
bomber and other branches either as we have only that special authority.