To the OKW/Wehrmacht Operational Staff. Top Secret. By Officer only. The Fuehrer has agreed in principle with Dr. Best's telegram that the Jewish question in Denmark be solved very soon by deportation. According to Best's proposal, the execution of this measure should take place while the state of martial law still exists. It is not certain yet if sufficient police forces can be provided for the arrest of the Jews and their families-about 6,000 persons, of whom most live in Copenhagen. The army would be heavily burdened by carrying out this measure, and will not be able to act forcefully and efficiently, since Copenhagen and on Fuenen young recruits have to be used mainly. I believe that the results of the deportation will be serious. It will no longer be possible to expect the cooperation of the Danish authorities and police machinery for the future. Supplies of foodstuffs will be made very problematic. The willingness of the armament industry to make deliveries will be prejudiced. Considerable disturbances, which will demand the utilization of the army, will have to be reckoned with. Commander, Denmark. Ic (Intelligence) 350/43 Top Secret. [Pencil note in Jodl's handwriting:] P.T.O. [On back of teleprint, in Jodl's handwriting:] Chief O.K.W. (1) I know nothing of this. If a political measure is to be carried out by the Commander, Denmark, the OKW must be notified by the Foreign Office. [Marginal note in Keitel's purple pencil.] Neither do I! K. [in purple pencil:] Correct! [sidelining in purple pencil.] (2) The Foreign Office must state if it has instigated this measure. [in Keitel's purple pencil:] [signed]: Jodl 20/9. (3) If the Foreign Office has issued this instruction it should also be clear about what means are to be used to carry it out. [in purple pencil:] Deputy Chief Armed Forces Operational Staff. [in brown pencil:] Qu 2 (N) (Admin) D.21/9. [initialed] K. 21/9. Commander of German troops in Denmark. 1. For action: Commander of German troops Denmark, For information: Reichsfuehrer SS and chief of the German police, SS Command Staff Hochwald. For information: Foreign Office for the attention of Ambas sador Ritter. For information: Chief of Army armaments Dept. and Commander of the Reserve Army. Top Secret command matter officer only. The Fuehrer has ordered: (1) The Reichsfuehrer SS has permission to recruit among the former members of the Danish armed forces who are about to be released, and to send to SS camps in the Reich up to 4,000 men of the younger classes. (2) The deportation of Jews will be carried out by the Reichsfuehrer SS who is transferring two Police Battalions to Denmark for this purpose. (3) The state of martial law will remain in force at least until the end of the actions as under pars. (1) and (2). A special order will be issued about its suspension. (4) The Reich plenipotentiary has been instructed via the Foreign Office in the same sense. By order, signed Jodl-OKW/Wehrmacht Ops. Staff/Qu. 2 (N) No. 66233 in red pencil 3/43 Top Secret Command Matter H X KO 19.50 hrs. received a top secret command matter message K R GWNOL 010589 Sintzenich 2nd Lt. By order signed Jodl. OKW/Wehrmacht Ops. Staff/Qu. 2 (N) -No. 662333/43 top secret command matter TM 2 20.10 hrs. received Lieut Reinhard HOKW. [pencil note] Tm 3 tel: Lieut. Reinhard 2045 hrs. Sending and transmitting tapes destroyed. [initialed] 22.9.43. KR teleprint HXKO 01740 Copy. [in red pencil:] Denmark [in green pencil:] Chief OKW. [initialed] "J" [Jodl] [in pencil] to 662369/43 top secret, command matter To OKW/Wehrmacht Ops. Staff For information: Head of Army Armaments Dept. Dept. and C in C Reserve army. Obersturmbannfuehrer Riedweg visited the Plenipotentiary and Commander on orders from Obergruppenfuehrer Berger for a discussion on the subject of volunteers from the Danish army being taken over into the SS. As against the directive sent us by the OKW [underlined in black pencil; marginal note in Jodl's handwriting: "Has this happened?" Marginal note in Keitel's purple pencil: "Yes! only for the older professional soldiers"] to undertake the recruiting of volunteers for the SS in the present internment camps in Denmark, Riedweg reported that it was not intended to carry out this kind of recruiting as it was totally pointless. [Underlined in green pencil.] The Reichsfuehrer SS had ordered that 4000 men [underlined in black pencil] of the youngest age groups should be transported to Germany in a body to training camps to be established there. [Last sentence sidelined in green and commented "Yes! K" in Keitel's purple pencil.] The recruitment of volunteers was only to begin after a few weeks of training. The total figure of interned members of the Danish army is 5057. [Underlined in Keitel's purple pencil.] It was intended to form a railway police from this interned army on a voluntary basis-the Danish State railways doing the recruiting and appointing. The purpose of this railway protection was to be, to protect and guard the railway's installations, particularly against sabotage. According to the considerations to date, about 800 men will be required for this. [Underlined in green pencil.] There thus remain, in round figures-should the withdrawal of these 800 men be agreed to by you-only 4275 soldiers [underlining in green pencil] i. e., strictly speaking, the whole Danish Army, with the exception of the 800 railway policemen, will have to be transported to Germany. In our opinion the question of the liberation of the regular soldiers-612 officers and 692 War Office officials does not arise as a result of the deportation of the soldiers. [Underlining in black pencil.] The officers would, under these circumstances, constitute a constant source of unrest and would presumably form the chief contingent of enemy provocateurs. [Sidelining in green beside the two last sentences.] Since the SS cannot recruit any volunteers from amongst prisoners of war, it is proposed to transfer Danish soldiers to Germany for a limited period for employment and for training in the anti-Bolshevist sense. [Underlining and marginal note: "Yes! K" in Keitel's purple pencil.] [Pencil bracket opened.] Since the Danish Officers' Corps has-in its general behavior-taken up a completely antagonistic attitude towards the German armed forces and it can be proved that propaganda was consciously conducted -particularly by the higher ranks—against our conduct of the war and since, in addition, arms and equipment as well as clothing were found in quantities far in excess of what was permitted, and thus the Danish Army Command intentionally broke the agreements [Pencil bracket closed]—I propose that the regular soldiers (officers and War Office officials) be transported to Germany as prisoners of war. [Underlining in green pencil. Marginal note in black pencil in Jodl's handwriting: "And the 4275 soldiers". Marginal note in Keitel's purple pencil: "See above. K." Purple arrows to Keitel's previous marginal note opposite previous lot of underlining.] As soon as the proposals of the Admiral, Denmark, regarding the discharge of the Danish Navy are available, they will follow immediately with opinion appended by return. I draw attention to the fact that, by a decision of the OKW jointly with the Foreign Office, it has been stated with regard to the war material of the Danish Army that this is not to be regarded as war booty, but is only to be made use of. In our opinion, the treatment of the war booty and the intended treatment of the interned Danish soldiers contradict one another. [Underlined in green pencil. Last sentence sidelined and crossed out also in green pencil.] Obersturmbannfuehrer Riedweg expressed the opinion of the individual departments here in a telegram to Obergruppenfuehrer Berger, the contents of which were approximately as follows: Transportation of Danish soldiers to Germany would after all probably cause serious political and economic harm; in view of the peculiarities of the Danes, it is furthermore questionable whether the recruitment, even after detailed training, will be crowned with success. R. therefore suggests foregoing the action planned. [Last two sentences sidelined in green pencil.] This view can, as I have already repeatedly stated, only be supported. The reasons given by me above for transferring the Danish Army to Germany and taking the officers prisoner are only far-fetched reasons to make it possible to support the measures politically in Denmark. Commander, Denmark. No. 27/43 Top Secret Command matter. [in red pencil:] Denmark . [in red pencil:] Chief of the Wehrmacht Ops. Staff [in green pencil:] Chief O.K.W. Army teleprint network Command matter only by officer. Received from HXKO 1.10. 1320 by Brockdorff F. v. K. [Signature]. [Stamp] O.K.W./Wehrmacht Ops. Staff. |