“The present state of mind in France, the uncertainty concerning
the means which the French Government possesses, the
half-freedom in which it finds itself, all these do not give me
the necessary authority to furnish Gauleiter Sauckel with an
immediate reply. We can do nothing. We are not free to change
salaries; we are not free even to combat the black market; we
cannot take any political measure without everywhere coming up
against some German authority which has substituted itself in
our place.
“I cannot guarantee measures which I do not take myself. I am
persuaded that the Führer is unaware that the French Government
cannot act. There cannot be in one country two governments on
questions which do not concern directly the security of the
occupation forces.”