Chapter M: HERZOG: I submit Document F-824, which I hand to the Tribunal as

Exhibit RF-1515. This Document F-824 is a letter from the Commander of the West, from his headquarters, dated 25 July 1944. I quote:

“One can conclude from this that on the order of the Führer, and
after the abrogation of all contrary decrees, the desires of the
Plenipotentiary General for the Allocation of Labor...”

This Plenipotentiary General for the Allocation of Labor is you yourself; is that not so?

“...and of Reich Minister Speer must in principle be carried
out. Following my telegraphic communication, on the basis of the
conference of ministers of 11 July in the Reich Chancellery,
concerning which the Commander of the West will be informed by
the military commander, the following directives are in force
from now on:

“Without taking into account justified misgivings concerning
security and order within the country, recruiting must start
everywhere where the possibilities referred to in my telegram
present themselves. As an only exception the Führer has decided
that in the actual fighting zone no methods of coercion will be
used against the population as long as the latter are helpful to
the Wehrmacht. On the other hand, the recruiting of volunteers
among refugees from the combat zones is to be handled
energetically. Moreover, all means will be considered justified,
in order to recruit as much labor as possible from elsewhere by
means at the disposal of the Wehrmacht.”

Do you again deny that at your request, and at that of Reich Minister Speer, troop units carried out the recruiting of labor?

SAUCKEL: I should like to remark in this connection that I do not dispute what has just been described. At that time the commander-in-chief was under the stress of battle and the evacuation of the population. But I can testify that after the date of 25 July 1944 these things did not apply any longer, for the withdrawal of German troops was much too rapid; so that this decree, which had been issued by the Führer, was no longer in effect.

M. HERZOG: Do you remember the conference, the ministers’ conference of 11 July 1944, to which the document I have just read refers?

SAUCKEL: Yes, I recall it.

M. HERZOG: Do you remember the persons who were present at this meeting?

SAUCKEL: Not all of them.

M. HERZOG: I submit to you the minutes of this meeting. It is Document 3819-PS, which has been handed to the Tribunal under number...

THE PRESIDENT: The Tribunal would like you to read the last passage in Document F-824—that is, not the last, but the last on that page beginning with “Afin....” It is on Page 346 of the French translation.

M. HERZOG: “In order to make the measures undertaken as
effective as possible, the troops must be informed of the
necessity of the Arbeitseinsatz organization so that they may
put down the many acts of subversive and open resistance. The
field commanders and military administration offices must give
as much aid as possible to the delegates of the Plenipotentiary
General for the Allocation of Labor and refrain from encroaching
on their activities which are in conformance with instructions.
I therefore ask you to give the necessary directions to this
effect...”

Do you still deny that at your request the Army was used for the recruitment of workers?

THE PRESIDENT: There is a passage on the next page, too, in the supplementary note, Paragraph 1.