1939 REICHSGESETZBLATT, PART I, PAGE 1539
Fuehrer Decree Establishing a Ministerial Council For Reich Defense, 30 August 1939
For the period of the present foreign political tension, I decree the following for the uniform leadership of administration and economy :
I
(1) A Ministerial Council for Reich Defense shall be established as a standing committee out of the Reich Defense Council.
(2) The standing members of the Ministerial Council for Reich Defense shall include: General Field Marshall Goering as chairman, Fuehrer's Deputy, Commissioner General for Reich Administration, Commissioner General for the Economy, Reich Minister and Chief of the Reich Chancellory, Chief of the High Command for the Armed Forces.
(3) The chairman may draw on other members of the Reich Defense Council including further personalities for advice.
II
The Ministerial Council for Reich Defense may issue decrees with statutory effect, in so far as I have not provided for the passing of a law by the Reich Government or the Reichstag.
650
2018—PS
III
The authority of General Field Marshall Goering under the Decree for the Administration of the Four-Year Plan of October 13, 1936 (RGB1. I 887) including his power to issue instructions shall remain unaffected.
IV
The Reich Minister and Chief of the Reich Chancellory shall supervise the business of the Ministerial Council for Reich Defense.
V
I shall determine the period for the expiration date of this decree.
Berlin, 30 August 1939.
The Fuehrer
Adolf Hitler General Field Marshall Goering
The Reichs Minister and Chief of the Reichs
Chancellory Dr. Lammers
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Decree establishing the Ministerial Council for Reich Defense as a committee of the Reich Defense Council, to supervise "administration and economy"
Authors
Adolf Hitler (Fuehrer, Reich Chancellor, Supeme Commander of Wehrmacht)
Adolf Hitler
Austrian nationalized German politician, leader of the National Socialist party and dictator of Germany (1889-1945)
- Born: 1889-01-01 1889-04-20 (Braunau am Inn) (country: Austria-Hungary; located in the administrative territorial entity: Archduchy of Austria above the Enns; statement is subject of: Adolf-Hitler-Geburtshaus)
- Died: 1945-04-30 (Berlin Führerbunker) (country: Nazi Germany; located in the administrative territorial entity: Berlin; statement is subject of: death of Adolf Hitler)
- Country of citizenship: Cisleithania (period: 1889-04-20 through 1918-11-11); First Republic of Austria (period: 1919-01-01 through 1925-04-30); Nazi Germany (end cause: death of Adolf Hitler; period: 1933-01-30 through 1945-04-30); Republic of German-Austria (period: 1918-01-01 through 1919-01-01)
- Occupation: painter (statement is subject of: paintings by Adolf Hitler); political writer; politician (reason for preferred rank: generally used form); soldier
- Member of political party: German Workers' Party (period: 1919-09-12 through 1921-07-11); Nazi Party (series ordinal: 556)
- Member of: Nazi Party
- Participant in: Aktion T4; Beer Hall Putsch; The Holocaust; ethnic cleansing
- Significant person: Albert Speer; Benito Mussolini; Eva Braun; Joseph Stalin
Hermann Goering (Reich Marshal; Commander in Chief, Luftwaffe; Commissioner for Four-Year Plan)
Hermann Göring
German Nazi politician, military leader and convicted war criminal (1893–1946)
- Born: 1893-01-12 (Rosenheim)
- Died: 1945-01-01 1946-10-15 (Nuremberg Court Prison Nuremberg) (reason for deprecated rank: error in referenced source or sources; reason for preferred rank: most precise value)
- Country of citizenship: German Empire; Nazi Germany
- Occupation: aircraft pilot; art collector; politician; war criminal
- Member of political party: Nazi Party (period: 1922-11-01 through 1923-11-23, 1928-04-01 through 1945-04-29)
- Member of: Sturmabteilung
- Participant in: Beer Hall Putsch; Nazi plunder; genocide; war crime
- Significant person: Alma Hedin (role: friend)
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: 30 August 1939
Literal Title: 1939 Reichsgesetzblatt . . . Fuehrer's Decree Establishing a Ministerial Council for Reich Defense 30 August 1939
Defendant: Hermann Wilhelm Goering
Total Pages: 2
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-2018
Citation: IMT (page 255)
HLSL Item No.: 450224
Notes:Goering was appointed chairman of the council.
Trial Issues
Conspiracy (and Common plan, in IMT) (IMT, NMT 1, 3, 4) IMT count 1: common plan or conspiracy (IMT) Nazi regime (rise, consolidation, economic control, and militarization) (I…
Document Summary
PS-2018: Hitler decree, 30 August 1939, concerning the establishment of a Council of ministers for the defense of the Reich (reichsgesetzblatt, I, 1939)
PS-2018: Decree of 30 August 1939 signed by the defendant LAMMERS establishing the Ministerial Council for the Defense of the Reich, LAMMERS is a member of this Council. The decree authorizes the Council to issue decrees with to statutory effect but this authority was not to effect Goering's legislative authority under the Four Year Plan.