of the following nature. (I quote only from memory and cannot remember all the questions):

"Have you ever heard of atrocities which were perpetrated in concentration camps?"

"Have you ever had any knowledge of crimes committed by the SS?"

"Have you yourself committed atrocities?"

"Did you take a special SS oath?"

"Were you requested to leave the church?"

"Did you participate in the "Reich glass day", or have you any knowledge as to how it originated?"

"Did you participate in the persecution of the Jews?" etc.

I can only write about the questionnaire of the Allgemeine S.S. We junior ranks,-Unterscharfuehrer-did not want to have anything at all to do with the list. We believed that the Tribunal would reach the conclusion even without this questionnaire, that we small people had not made the horrible atrocity laws or committed the horrible atrocities. When the S.S. leaders realized our intention, a terrific working upon every individual began. The junior ranks were finally persuaded that if they did not sign, "We, the leaders, would be released, while you will have to stay here for years." They then arranged things in such a way that in each company every individual had to go to a senior S.S. leader to sign, mostly in the office. There everyone was worked on in such a way that he signed. The majority were not at all clear about the meaning of the questions, as I was able to ascertain from many conversations. If anyone was in doubt, he was persuaded and told that Nurnberg could never make inquiries owing to the large number of defendants. When I explained their stupidity to the junior ranks and told them that the senior ranks only wanted to use us to lie their way through, this led to heated discussions.

A former senior S.S. leader was always entrusted with the task of working on individuals within the companies; in my company it was a Hauptsturmfuehrer. He had me called in and placed the questionnaire before me for signature. I said "I will not sign". He said "Everyone must sign, otherwise the list will have no effect in Nurnberg". * * * I told him that I would sign no list, no matter what he might threaten me with. I did not want to sign, firstly because I had been thrown out as early as 1937 and secondly because I myself had after all told my friends that we did not have to sign, and that this was only to be done for the benefit of the senior S.S. leaders. There were rather

a lot of junior ranks in this company, so that they could not really get at me with the measures I had been threatened with if I refused to sign. I was then to be removed from the company and sent to the punishment camp. By chance a large scale round up (Razzia) by, the British camp authorities began, and many of these S.S. leaders were sent to the Punishment camp themselves. Soon after that I was discharged.

The German leaders in the camp did not themselves have the power to send me to the punishment camp, but there were many delicate methods of deceiving the British camp staff into sending prisoners whom they (the German leaders) wished to harm, to the Punishment camp, or into punishing them in other ways, without them (the camp staff) knowing that an injustice was being committed. Among such methods were, for example, hints via the German clerks, the German interpreters, etc.

The S.S. leaders in the camp used to like to relate all the things they had done, and I myself heard many of their experiences. From all that I heard I am quite sure that of the 400 or so members of the Allgemeine S.S. in the camp not more than 40 could have filled in the questionnaire truthfully with innocent answers.

As I myself was expelled from the S.S. in 1937 I could have filled the questionnaire in relatively truthfully, but after I was expelled I learned enough to know that no member of the Allgemeine S.S. who was on active service after 1937 (i.e. nearly everyone in the camp) could have truthfully asserted that he had never heard of atrocities which were committed in concentration camps, or that he had never heard of crimes committed by the S.S. I myself heard of the atrocities in concentration camps when my driver drove to Neuengamme camp. He was not allowed in, but saw enough from the gate. When he returned, he told me that things were bad in Neuengamme concentration camp.

[Sgd] KURT EHRHARDT.

TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT D-975

AFFIDAVIT OF SZLOMA GOL

[Supplement to Document 'D-964.]

I, SZLOMA GOL declare as follows:

As the corpses were taken from the mass graves, and before they were placed on the pyre, two persons were charged with extracting the gold from the teeth of the bodies with prongs, and two or three other persons simultaneously washed the gold in benzine. The washing of the gold thus extracted was done by three Jewish boys aged 12 to 13 who were among the 80 persons

in the pit. The gold was packed in boxes each weighing 8 kilograms. During the period of my stay in the pit 7 or 8 such boxes were filled with dental gold. LEGEL ordered the boxes to be neatly packed because they were to be sent to Berlin. MURER personally took the boxes with him.

I declare the above to be correct.

[signed]: SZLOMA GOL

10 August, 1946.

TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT D-976

Nurnberg, 13 August 1946

AFFIDAVIT OF RUDOLF DIELS

I, RUDOLF DIELS, declare the following under oath: At the time when I was head of the Secret State Police (Gestapo) in Prussia I received from various sides-among others from the American journalist LOUIS LOCHNER-serious complaints about ill-treatments by SA men in concentration camps. I learned that the SA guards had badly ill-treated the following persons in the concentration camp Oranienburg: Mr. EBERT son of the former Reich President, ERNST HEILMAN, the leader of the Prussian Social Democrats, the Reichstag President PAUL LOEBE, and the Oberpraesident LUKASCHEK. These concentration camp inmates, who had been apprehended by the SA, had also been severely beaten by the SA guards and they had further been forced to hold lectures in which they had to praise National Socialist politics.

I myself have gained confirmation of those ill-treatments on the occasion of an inspection tour through the camp Oranienburg. At that time the commandant was SA leader SCHAEFER. For a short time conditions improved after my interference, then they deteriorated again. I myself did not succeed in removing SCHAEFER, since he was backed by the SA leadership. The SA has also carried out severe ill-treatments and killing of defenseless prisoners in other camps, such as for instance in the moor camps in the West near Papenburg. The SA has murdered the former police president OTTO EGGARSTAEDT of Altona and HEILMANN was shot at, he died later. I know all this from complaints, on the basis of which I tried to help, I also succeeded in achieving the release of several persons and thus managed to save their lives.

Read, approved of, subscribed to and sworn.

[sgd] Rudolf Diels

Sworn before me this 13th day of August 1946

744400-47-76

[sgd] Anthony Marreco Lieut. Commander R.N.V.R.

The Reich War Minister and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed

Forces:

WA, No. 1961/37 Most Secret L IV a

(When replying, please quote above

reference and give date and contents.

in brief).

[Stamp]

Most Secret

Re: Plenipotentiary General for War Economy

To the Commissioner for the Four Year Plan, Ministerpraesident General Goering, Berlin

Dear General Goering:

As provided in Section 6 of the Reich Defense Law, the Fuehrer and Reich Chancellor, when declaring the state of defense, provided for the appointment of a "Plenipotentiary General for War Economy G.B." for the direction of the war economy as a whole. By virtue of a decision of the Reich Cabinet of 21.5.1935 he has already taken up his duties in peacetime.

The Fuehrer and Reich Chancellor, by a special decree, had appointed the President of the Reichsbank directorate, Dr. Schacht, as Plenipotentiary General, and he was at the same time charged with the direction of the Reich and Prussian Ministry of Economics.

Because I deem it necessary that the position of Plenipotentiary General should continue to be combined with that of the Reich and Prussian Minister of Economics, I intend to suggest to the Fuehrer and Reich Chancellor that he should appoint the Reich and Prussian Minister for Economics, Funk, as Plenipotentiary General, effective immediately, and strengthen his operational staff as regards constitutional law, through the appointment of a Secretary of State.

The urgency of unified further work on all preparations for the conduct of the war does not admit of this office being paralyzed until 15.1.1938.

May I have your opinion on this matter?

Heil Hitler! signed v. BLOMBERG

Most Secret

No. 1961/37 Most Secret. IV A.

To War Economy Staff.

The above copy is transmitted with the request that it be noted.

[Stamp]

[signature illegible]

War Economy Staff, War Economy Ia.

Dec. 2 1937.

No. 3333/37/Secret Encl.

TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT EC-270

DRAFT [rubber stamp]

9 April

Berlin, 27 April 1938

War Economic Staff

File No. 11 b W Wi Ia

No. 923/38 Top Secret

2 copies

2nd copy

Ref: 610/38 Top Secret L IV a of 9 April 1938

Subj: Attitude of the Supreme Command of the Armed Forces (OKW) toward the Plenipotentiary General for the War Economy.

TOP SECRET [rubber stamp]

To L, through Lt. Col. Hinnemann on 27 April. Registered 21 April 1938 Bl.

The interpretation, which the Plenipotentiary General for the War Economy has given the decree of the Fuehrer and Reich Chancellor of 4 February 1938 in his letter "GB No. 649/38 top secret of 31 March 1938" toward the Reich Minister and Chief of the Reich Chancellery, does not in any way correspond to the necessities of total warfare.

The demands which warfare has to make of economy are decisive for the mobilization preparations. The achievements of the economy, however, reach their full importance only then when these mobilization preparations are being directed along similar lines. These lines must be in accordance with the requirements of national defense. They form one of the most important provisions for the supply of the armed forces and therewith for the fighting ability of the units.

It must therefore be requested that you agree with the opinion in the planned conversation with General Field Marshal Goering that the Plenipotentiary General be dependent on the directives