Chapter XLI: Section 2: A III f (6)

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

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.