Memorandum on a meeting with Ribbentrop's representative (Lackmann) about assisting with foreign propaganda, and the firm's need to handle its efforts in its own way

V.B. No. 4SI.
vR/LB.
Essen, 12 October 1939 Representative's Office. MEMORANDUM
CONCERNS:—Distribution of Official Propaganda Literature abroad with the help of our Foreign Connections.
On the morning of October 11 the District Representative of Ribbentrop's private Foreign Office [Dienststelle Ribbentrop]
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made an appointment for a conference by telephone. A Mr. Lackmann arrived at the appointed time, at 15.30 hrs. In answer to my question, with whom I was dealing and which official Bureau he represented, he informed me that he was not himself the District Representative of Ribbentrop's private Foreign Office, that a Mr. Landrat Bollmann was such and that he himself had come at Mr. Bollmann's order.
Mr. L. informed me that there exists a great mix-up in the field of Foreign Propaganda and that Ribbentrop's private Foreign Office [SS Obergruppenfuehrer Lorenz, Berlin] wants to create a tighter organization for Foreign Propaganda. For this purpose the support of our Firm and above all an index of addresses [Adressenmaterial] were needed. .
I informed Mr. L. that our Firm had put itself years ago at the disposal of official Bureaus for purposes of foreign propaganda and that we had supported all requests addressed to us to the utmost. That we do not need a tight organization, that we had the desire to handle things our way, as we had-up to now. Above all, we would not like to let our Address-index out of our hands, because only we could estimate, if, for what purpose and to what extent, our connections abroad could be put to use. Only by personal handling can our connections abroad be used and kept receptive to effective propaganda. With the present lively activity of the "Secret Service" it must be avoided, not only in the interest of our Firm but also in the interest of Germany as a whole, that our agents in neutral foreign countries would come through improper handling to the attention of the "Secret Service" and economically ruined by it within a short time.
I repeated that, due to all these reasons, we would like to refrain from giving out any foreign addresses. If additional distributions of propaganda literature were desired, a propaganda-leaflet should be sent to us, and after examining it, we would advise the official Bureau what quantity of such printed matter could be mailed abroad through us, at our expense, as heretofore.
Mr. Lackmann mentioned at the end that the distribution of an illustrated extra-edition was being prepared, in which the particulars concerning the safe departure of foreign diplomats from Warsaw shall be given publicity. Expense shall be met through advertisements; a full-page advertisement would cost 8.000 Marks. I had to repeatedly explain to Mr. L. that I am not competent concerning advertisements and I implied that we would hardly "have any interest in such an advertisement.
[by stamp]
v. Raussendorff.
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TO:—Mr. Dr. Rademacher, General Office. Mr. v. Buelow.
Mr. Martiny, Werba.
Mr. Loenne, Information Bureau. Mr. Dr. Janssen, Berlin.
Mr. Grusonwerk.
Mr. Germaniawerft.
Mr. Friedrich-Alfred-Huette.
PERSONAL.