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THE REICH MINISTER AND CHIEF OF THE REICH CHANCELLERY Rk. 8008D
Berlin, 14 June 1942 Fuehrer's Headquarters
To the Plenipotentiary for the Reich Administration [General bevollmaechtigter die Reichs Norwaltung]
Subject: The Jurisdiction of the Council of Ministers for the Defense of the Reich [Ministerats fuer die Reichsverteidigung]
Your letter of 3 June 1942—CBV Nr. 493/42/2882—, Recently the Fuehrer announced in accord with the opinions of the Reich Marshal of the Greater German Reich as shown in my letter of 20 Feb. 1940-RK. 624B- that he believes it practical to reserve certain legislative missions for the Reich Cabinet. With this he has not limited the competency of the Council of Ministers for the defense of the Reich but given a directive as to how legislation should be handled under the point of view of practicability. I have no doubt that the Fuehrer, as well as the Reich Marshal, have not changed their point of view, in particular regarding the fact that at the present there should be only legislation important in the cause of war, and that they will stress the fact that the Fuehrer himself and the Reich Cabinet should not be eliminated from the powers of legislation. It will have to be tested from time to time what measures will be reserved for the Reich Cabinet. My letter of 20 February 1940, and the opinions of the Fuehrer therein expressed may serve as a directive even if the limitations indicated by me are no longer applicable in their full meaning. I would therefore suggest not basing the discussions with the Reich Minister of Finance on the question of competency of the Reich Cabinet or the Council of Ministers for the defense of the Reich, but on the question of whether it would be practical to achieve settlement through either Reich law or a Decree from the Council of Ministers for the defense of the Reich in the sense of the opinions voiced by the Fuehrer.
Signed: Dr. Lammers
Letter to the plenipotentiary for Reich administration on Hitler's views about the legislative powers of the Reich Cabinet and the Council of Ministers for the Defense of the Reich during the war
Authors
Hans H. Lammers (Dr., Chief of Reich Chancellery)
Hans H. Lammers
German jurist, Nazi politician, and Head of the Reich Chancellery (1879-1962)
- Born: 1879-05-27 (Lubliniec)
- Died: 1962-01-04 (Düsseldorf)
- Country of citizenship: Germany
- Occupation: judge; jurist; lawyer; politician
- Member of political party: German National People's Party (until: 1932-01-01); Nazi Party
- Member of: Schutzstaffel
- Participant in: Ministries Trial (role: defendant); Nuremberg Medical Trial (role: affiant, witness)
- Significant person: Adolf Hitler (role: superior); Karl Brandt (role: colleague)
Date: 14 June 1942
Literal Title: Subject: The Jurisdiction of the Council of Ministers for the Defense of the Reich (Ministerats fuer die Reichsverteidigung)
Total Pages: 1
Language of Text: English
Source of Text: Nazi conspiracy and aggression (Office of United States Chief of Counsel for Prosecution of Axis Criminality. Washington, D.C. : U.S. Government Printing Office, 1946.)
Evidence Code: PS-352
HLSL Item No.: 451326
Notes:This document was not presented as evidence in the trial.
Document Summary
PS-352: Folder containing correspondence, press notice, drafts photostatic copies (one notarized), and RGBI, issue re formation, membership, tasks, and powers of Ministerial Counsel for Reich Defense
PS-352: LAMMERS letter to Bormann, 28 July 1938: