Herr von Wenning, after the Greek capitulation, were the Greek officers released with their weapons or without weapons?
A. The Greek officers retained their weapons after the capitulation. That is, with the restriction that they had to give their word of honor not to carryout any hostile actions against the German Wehrmacht.
Q. Was also the obligation included that they had to return home immediately?
A. I believe yes, but I can't remember details at the moment.
Q. Yesterday you made statements about military hospitals in Athens. I have just a short supplementary question here. A Greek witness has stated here that the German troops after their march into Athens-
MR. DENNEY: If your Honor please, I object to counsel quoting testimony of another witness. I believe he can't answer this question.
DR. MUELLER-TORGOW; Your Honor, my question is in immediate connection with the direct examination by Dr. Laternser.
PRESIDING JUDGE BURKE: Objection overruled. Proceed.
BY DR. MUELLER-TORGOW:
A. This Greek witness has maintained that the Germans, after their conquest of Athens, evacuated the Greek wounded and especially the amputated from the Greek hospitals and left them in the streets. Thus, he wanted to describe the very mean treatment by the Germans of the Greeks. Do you know anything about that?
A. I am sure that it never happened that Greek wounded were left anywhere in the street. That would have never corresponded with the mentality of any German soldier.
doctors, on principle, treated wounded of any nationality equally well, as I have already stated yesterday. Military hospitals were requisitioned by us but that was always done in such a manner that discussions proceeded with the Greek authorities and that there was sufficient time and opportunity to evacuate these hospitals to other hospitals in a proper manner. I remember too that for instance we put transportation at the disposal of the hospitals for this purpose.
Q. Summarizing, you can then say that the Greek wounded were not treated any worse by the Germans than their own wounded?
A. Yes.
Q. Thank you. I have no further questions.
PRESIDING JUDGE BURKE: Is there further examination on the part of any of the defense counsel? Mr. Denney, have you any crossexamination?
CROSS EXAMINATION BY MR. DENNEY:
Q Witness, when did you enter the army?
A On the 1st of April, 1928.
Q And were you a professional soldier?
A Yes.
Q Were you a member of the general staff corps?
A I didn't understand.
Q Were you a member of the general staff corps?
A Yes.
Q What was your rank at the beginning of the war?
A Captain.
Q When were you promoted to major?
A In February, 1942.
Q And when were you promoted to lieutenant colonel?
A In the spring of 1943.
Q And you remained a lieutenant colonel until the end of the war?
A Yes.
Q Did you command troops at any time throughout the war?
A No.
Q You were always a staff officer, weren't you?
A. All officers from major up are staff officers.
Q Let me put it in a different way. During the war, you always served on a staff. You never commanded, any soldiers.
A Yes.
Q And at least while you were with the 12th army, Supreme Command Southeast, Army Group E, and Army Group F, you were also on an army or higher echelon staff, were you not?
A Yes.
Q And what was your function as Q-I?
A I had to work on all questions which were connected the war material necessary for the troops and I had to take care that all this material was available, that is munition, fuel, weapons, food rations, medical supplies, etc.
Q You were concerned with all kinds of supplies -- what we in the American army call Class 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5? Is that right?
A I don't know the American army classifications.
Q Well, everything that the troops needed -- food, rations, material, munitions, oil, gasoline, and any other incidental supplies that were necessary to the living and campaigning of the troops for whom you had that responsibility?
A I was not responsible for it but I had to work on these matters That is, I had no independent responsibility but I was responsible to the Quartermaster General with regard to these matters.
Q Were you in combat at any time in the war?
A I always worked in the staff. I was that throughout the war. I was on the front but if you mean whether I ever commanded a troop, I didn't.
Q No, you were doing staff work throughout, were you not?
A Yes.
Q You didn't even have a platoon that you commanded, did you?
A No.
Q And a platoon is the smallest unit of a company, except for a squad, is it not?
A No, the smallest unit of a company is a squad.
Q Did you ever sit on a summary court martial?
A No.
Q Do you know anything about how those court martial were appointed?
A I can't give any details about it because I never had anything to do with it.
DR. LATERNSER: I object, Your Honor, that was not subject of the direct examination and can therefore not be made subject of the cross-examination.
PRESIDING JUDGE BURKE: Objection overruled.
BY MR. DENNEY:
Q In your function as Q-I officer under the Quartermaster General of the general staff of whichever group you were attached to, did you have anything to do other than from the supply point with prisoners of war?
A I had to do with prisoners of war inasmuch as the transient camps which were in our respective areas had to be supplied and the transportation home had to be regulated.
Q Were you responsible for the way the prisoners of war were treated?
A No.
Q Your only connection with them was supply, nothing else -supply and transportation?
A Yes, supply and transportation and everything else that has to do with the supplies -- that is medical supplies, clothing, etc.
Q Where were your headquarters?
AAt what time do you mean?
Q Oh, in 1941, 1942.
A L941 first of all in Bukarest and later in Kronstadt in Rumania, then in Chagoria near Sofia, Bulgaria, and then in Salonika after the conquest of Salonika. After the conquest of Athens, headquarters were established there. That is approximately as of November, 1941, it was again in Salonika.. Later on, I was transferred to Army Group F inBelgrade.
Q How long were you in Athens?
AAs of the time of the conquest of Athens up to approximately November of the same year.
Q And then did you return there at any later time either with Army Group # or Army Group F?
A No, only for personal reasons I was there on a trip when I passed through.
Q Did you ever hear of a camp in Athens called Chaidari?
A No.
Q Were you ever in Belgrade?
A Whether I was in Belgrade?
Q Yes.
A Yes, I was in Belgrade at one time for a short period when we took over the command area Serbia in order to get informed about the supply situation there and later on after the Army Group F had been created up to June 1944.
Q Did you ever hear of a concentration camp at Sabac?
A No, I don't know anything about it.
Q Did you ever hear of a camp at Zucovice?
A No.
Q You say that the transport of the German army was always short during the entire time of your duty in the Southeast?
A Yes.
Q And yet you gave your motor vehicles to the Greeks when they were released?
A We did not give any German motor vehicles to the Greeks but we merely instructed the subordinate troops to transport Greeks on their vehicles and get home as many as possible.
Q How long did that business of letting the Greek fishing fleet operate, continue?
AAs long as I was in Greece there were never any restrictions in that sphere. It might have been possible that it was temporarily discon tinued because of allied submarine danger.
Q Did yon ever hear of any restriction being placed on fishing once it had been taken up again?
A No, I don't know of any other restriction on the part of the Germans than the one which I have already mentioned, that for certain periods certain districts were not allowed to be fished in because of submarine danger.
Q Except then for this submarine danger and occasional periodic restrictions, the Greek fishing fleet was allowed to function throughout the time of the German occupation?
AAt least as long as we were in Greece, yes. That is correct.
Q You have spoken about the orders that you saw. Did you ever see any order that had to do with killing people at rates of 50 and 100 to one?
A I cannot remember those figures. I remember that orders did come in, which ordered reprisal measures, but since these matters did not belong to my sphere of work I only took very cursory notice of them and I can therefore not recollect any details today.
Q. Well, can you recall when you saw the first of these orders about reprisal measures?
A. No, I don't know that any more.
Q. You don't even know the year?
A. It must have been for sure in the year 1941.
Q. Well, when in 1941?
A. I can't say that any more.
Q. Do you know where you were when you saw the order?
A. No, I don't know that because I cannot remember any particular order in any case. I only know generally speaking that such matters were ordered.
Q. Do you remember who ordered them?
A. These orders could have only come from the OKW.
Q. I didn't ask you where they only could have come from; I asked if you remember who ordered them, who signed the orders.
A. I don't know that.
Q. Now, your Quartermaster Department, of which you were head - that is Q-I - you were charged with supplying all food and supplies to transient camps, were you not?
A. Yes.
Q. You spoke about the Signal Corps, and that you had been told that 20 odd members of a single corps unit were attacked and found mutilated. Where was that?
A. That was told to me when I was in Salinika. If I remember correctly, the attack itself took place somewhere in the Serbian area, but I don't know any details.
Q. When was it?
A. I cannot recollect exactly, but I think in the year 1942.
Q. Did you hear anything about reprisal measures that were carried out as a result of the attack?
A. No, I don't know that.
Q. Do you know what German unit was involved?
A. It happened to the Army Signal Corps, and I think the number was 591, but I can't say that for sure.
Q. Could it have been the 521 Signal Regiment?
A. I said I thought it was Regiment 591. Yes, that might be possible. I don't remember the number exactly.
Q. Did you ever see anything in the orders about the Partisans wearing insignia?
A. No, I don't remember that.
Q. As a matter of fact, the only thing you concerned yourself with primarily down there was questions of supply?
A. Yes.
Q. And any other information that you have on matters down there is purely incidental and you didn't interest yourself much on what went on other than in your sphere?
A. It was not incidental; I vas informed on all important matters, but I did not actually work on them and my own sphere of work occupied me all the time, so that these matters which I just took notice of I had not retained in my memory today, five years later.
Q. Well, in passing at the time you just noticed them incidentally?
A. Important matters I did not notice incidentally, but they were really brought to my attention, but details as for instance this story of the Signal Regiment I just heard of incidentally.
Q. Were you a member of the Party?
A. No.
Q. What was your attitude towards the Party?
A. I never had anything to do with the Party, and I have taken too little notice of the peculiarity of the Party as such, and I was not in a position to do that, so that before the war I had no opinion of the Party. During the war my task was so extensive that I had no time to think about the Party.
Q. Now, this conversation you had with a Bulgarian officer with reference to the lenient measures which the Bulgarians were employing in Serbia and Greece - did you report that to any of your superiors?
A. I don't think I reported it, but I might have talked to one of the gentlemen about that. I don't know any more.
Q. When did this conversation take place, do you recall?
A. It was in Salonika. It would therefore have only been towards the end of the year 1941 or the beginning of 1942, but I can't say for sure.
Q. Can you ever remember seeing any reports with reference to the execution of Jewish people?
A. No.
Q. If you had seen them, would you have remembered them?
A. I am pretty sure that I would have remembered them in that case. At least I would remember that something of that sort would have happened, maybe without the details.
Q. You spoke about the defendant Foertsch getting the consent of the Armed Forces Commander Southeast and then giving orders to the troops, but the general procedure that was followed there was that Foertsch issued the orders through you?
A. General Foertsch did not issue any orders through me, but he commissioned me to check whether certain orders, if less important, were signed by the Quartermaster General, or if they were of any importance, whether they were signed by the Commander in Chief.
Q. Could Foertsch give orders himself?
A. Do you mean whether he could sign orders?
Q. The question I asked you was if Foertsch could give orders.
A. Commissioned by the Commander in Chief, yes.
Q. And all orders that Foertsch gave were given on behalf of or in the name of the Commander in Chief?
A. Yes.
Q. And Foertsch had no power or right to give orders on his own behalf?
A. He has, of course, signed orders himself, but everybody who received that order knew that they were orders which were at least consented to by the Commander in Chief.
MR. DENNEY: No further questions.
JUDGE BURKE: Are there any further questions on behalf of the defense?
It has been indicated that there is no further demand for cross examination. The witness may be excused in accordance with the practice heretofore prescribed by the Tribunal.
(Witness excused)
You may proceed.
DR. LATERNSER: Your Honor, I ask for permission for Field Marshall von Weicks to be excused this afternoon and tomorrow during the day from the sessions?
JUDGE BURKE: Permission will be granted for him to absent himself for the time indicated.
DR. MENZEL: (Dr. Menzel for the defendant General Kuntze).
I am calling the defendant General Kuntze to the witness stand.
WALTER KUNTZE, a defendant took the stand and testified as follows:
BY JUDGE BURKE: Witness, raise your right hand please.
Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
(The witness repeated the oath).
You may be seated.
DIRECT EXAMINATION BY DR. MENZEL:
Q. Witness, please tell first of all to the Tribunal your full name?
A. Walter Kuntze.
Q. What was your last rank in the Army?
A. General of the Pioneers.
Q. When were you born?
A. On February 23, 1883.
Q. And where were you born?
A. Gretherbe. I will spell it, G-r-e-th-e-rb-e, near Brandenburg.
Q. What is your religion?
A. Protestant.
Q. What was your father?
A. Mayor.
Q. Are you married?
A. Yes, I am married.
Q. Do you have children?
A. I have one son.
Q. All right, will you tell us something about your education?
A. After I had finished elementary school I visited High School up to Obersekunda, then I had some practical training in a machine factory. After I had finished that I visited a private preparatory institute in Berlin in order to pass matriculation in Berlin.
Q. And when did you make matric?
A. In 1902.
Q. And how did your professional career develop after that?
A. While I made further studies in high school I decided not to become an engineer, as I had previously planned, but instead to become an active officer in the Pioneer Corps.
Q. Then when did you enter the Army?
A. In the spring of 1902.
Q. How did your military training develop up to the beginning of the First World War?
A. To begin with I was Fahnenjunker, then ensign, then I visited an officer candidate school. In 1903 I became an officer, and as a second respectively First Lieutenant I was employed in the Pioneer Battalion 516 and 9, and that up to the outbread of the First World War. During this time I was commanded to the Artillery and Engineers School, and from 1905 to 1907, and from 1911 to 1914 I was at the War Academy.
Q. And where was this War Academy?
A. In Berlin.
Q. What service did you do in the First World War?
A. I came to the Front as a Company Leader. Then on 15 November 1914 I was wounded, and after my recovery, at about the end of the spring of 1915, I was commanded to the General Staff, and during the course of 1915 I was permanently assigned to the General Staff, and there I worked up to the end of the War.
I worked in different General Staff positions, and as of 1917 I worked with two divisions which were employed at the Front.
Q. Did you participate in any combat during the First World War?
A. Yes, quite a bit on the Front as Company Leader in Eastern Prussia in the Weichsel bend, I was wounded there and came to the West to Verdun, and I was in Flanders and also in Romania at the end.
Q. During the First World War did you receive any decorations?
A. Yes, I received the Iron Cross, 1st and 2nd Class, and the House Order of Hohenzollern with Swords, and other decorations.
Q. What did you do now when the First World War was over?
A. After the First World War I remained a soldier without any interruption.
Q. And where were you employed then?
A. At first I worked in the Reich War Ministry, up to the year 1923, as an expert, then I was Chief of a Company in Kuestrin with the Pioneer Corps III, that was from 1923 to 1925, and from 1925 to 1928 I worked in the Kommandantura, and in 1928 I became Commander of Group I in Kuestrin, and remained that until 1930. From 1930 to 1932 I was Chief of Staff for the inspection of the Pioneer Fortress. From 1932 to 1934 I was high pioneer officer in the staff of the Pioneer Command I. In 1935 I became Commander of the 6th Division in Bielefeld, which was then newly created and remained in this position until February 5, 1938. As of that day I was appointed commander of the Command Staff Kaiserslautern, with the task to build the West Wall and to carry this out. This position was in the same year extended to the effect that the newly created volunteer troops were subordinated to this Staff, which for this purpose was changed into a higher corps command.
This higher corps command was designated as Corps Command of the Frontier Troops Saar-Palatinate. These higher Corps Frontier troops of Palatinate, also in 1938 the command staff was changed to Higher Troop Command Saar-Palatinate, and this higher Troop Command, at the outbreak of the Second World War, received the number 24.
Q. Now, when the Second World War broke out how were you employed after that?
A. The Higher Corps Command 24 had to begin with this sector of the West Wall. I myself in February 1940 was appointed commanding general of a newly established higher Troop Command 42. This troop command was employed in the campaign against France, that is in the second sector, in June, at the Front. We were fighting from the 6th of June 1940 from Chemin de Dames, up to the Luettich/Laon in the District of Toul, and after the conclusion of these combats the higher Troop Command, which up to then had been subordinate to the 9th Army, was rotated to the 16th Army for one month, that is for the month of July, and was employed at the channel coast, between Termenzen and Cape Gris Nex. After that the troop command was withdrawn to Charlesville, where it remained until the beginning of June 1941. It was at that time my task to train this division, which was stationed in France behind the Charleville line, and to help this country which was void of all population, as far as the army was able to do so, that is to help them rebuild their agriculture, etc. In June 1941 the troop command came to the East, that is to East Prussia, and that was quite late, as far as I remember somewhere around the 10th or 11th of June. I received the Commission to fill the gap with three divisions, that is the gap on the left wing of the 4th Army. That was somewhere near Lomza/Suwalle, and between the right wing of the 9th Army, and this troop headquarters was subordinate to the 9th Army.
JUDGE BURKE: We will take our usual recess at this time.
(Thereupon a short recess was taken.)
THE MARSHAL: The Tribunal is again in session.
JUDGE BURKE: The Tribunal is prepared to announce the decision with respect to the application for the continuance for the reasons stated by Dr. Laternser and Dr. Sauter. The Tribunal, beginning with Saturday of this week, will stand in recess for the full period of the following week, for the purposes requested by defense counsel. The application of Dr. Sauter to visit Greece will be respectfully denied.
The Presiding Judge wishes to make an announcement with reference to the documents.
JUDGE WENNERSTRUM: With reference to the documents which the defense counsel necessarily will have to prepare and submit: I think it shall be called to the attention of these counsel that these documents should be submitted to the Defense Center and the proper authorities at an early date and in order that there should be no question as to their being submitted in time the Tribunal feels that they should be prepared and be ready for submission by the time of the reconvening of the Tribunal, after our week's adjournment. We do not want any delay at some later time because the documents are not in.
Mr. Marshall, in coming into the room, I observed that the air was not very good. It is rather close in here. Can we have some better ventilation? Care should be taken that it doesn't blow on the defendants. It seems rather close in here to me. You may proceed. Dr. Menzel. If the air should blow on the men and you should feel cold, why let us know and we will try to make some other arrangements.
BY DR. MENZEL:
Q. Witness, we had stopped at your activities during the last World War. Will you please continue.
A. The second world war when employed in the gap between the 9th and 4th Army, the Corps Headquarters had the task of protecting the left flank of the 9th Army, where there were strong Russian forces in the area of Bialystok, and possibly take the fortress away from the Soviets, which actually happened during the combat actions.
After the Fortress had been taken away from the Soviets, the Corps Headquarters was withdrawn from the front and let to begin with, the Reserves of the 16th Army. In July, I remember, about the first half of July, the Corps Headquarters was transferred to Estonia and was there subordinated to the 18th Army; at first a purely defensive task. When the operation started, the 18th Army had to reach the coast east of Reval and to cover the attacking Russian forces in the Re Reval area. This purely defensive action was then changed into an offensive one, and we tried to take Reval away from the Russians and subsequently to take away from them also the Baltic islands of Moon, Oesel, and Dagoe. Moon was taken away from them during the middle of September and subsequently in the beginning of October the island Oesel as well. When the attack against Dagoe had been prepared, the Corps Headquarters suddenly received the commission to take charge and to go to Riga and from there to Roumania. That took from about 6 to 20 of October by rail. We left the train somewhere near Ticina and there received the order to march on Nikolajev and were then about to be employed against the Crimea. I myself received in Nikolajev the order to come immediately to the Fuehere's headquarters where, as far as I remember, I arrived in the evening of 22nd October.
Q. When you came to the Fuehrer Headquarters, who did you report to?
A. I had to report to Hitler, and then I further reported to the Commander in Chief of the Army, Field Marshal von Brauchitsch and to General Keitel. I may add here that the Chief of the OKW, Field Marshal Keitel, was not present.
Q. Did you know Hitler prior to that?
A. I knew Hitler from his visits to the West Wall.
Q. What time was that?
A. That was during the building up of the West Wall during the years 1938 and 1939.
Q. When in October 1941 you came to the Fuehrer Headquarters and talked to Hitler, what did he tell you at that time?
A. To begin with he gave me the order to report to him about my experiences of the fighting for the Baltic islands which was something completely new, and that took a considerable time. He showed great interest in the cooperation between the Army and the Navy and of these two Wermacht parts with the Air force, and he put several questions to me regarding this cooperation and at the end he told me quite briefly, that I was going to the Balkans now and should represent Field Marshall List there.
Q Did he tell you something else about your work in the Balkans?
A Yes, he said that he was mainly interested in the fact that on the Balkans law and order should be maintained, and that for two reasons. First of all the Balkans were located in the deep right flank of the army which was stationed in the east, and besides the Balkans played an important part with regard to the fighting in Africa which not yet decided, so that the Balkans in any case had to remain in German and Italian hands, so that the danger could not arise, as it had arisen during the years 1917-1918, and led to the collapse of the front.
Q Did Hitler tell you at that time what kind of measures should be taken against unrest, etc?
A He said that unrest had arisen in Serbia which had developed increasingly, and this unrest could be traced back to activities of Moscow, and that it was most important to eliminate, as quickly as possible, the causes of this unrest, and that for this purpose, bands, as unrest instigators had to be attacked and destroyed, and he emphasized that this unrest took place in Serbia, and he condemned them all the more as he said he had confidence in the Serbs, whereas in Greece, apart from small sabotage, incidents, there was absolute peace.
Q According to this commission did you have the task to fight these unrests immediately?
A No, the Plenipotentiary Commanding General in Serbia was responsible for that.
JUDGE BURKE: Please advise the witness to hesitate a moment after the question is propounded so that the interpreter may translate it before he starts his answer.
DR. MENZEL: Please, General Kuntze, after my question, do not answer right away, but wait a minute that my question can be finished in translation.
BY DR. MENZEL:
Q Now, did Hitler give you exact details about these measures on the Balkans, or did he tell you to take this up with somebody else?
A Since time was short, he told me to take it up with Field Marshal Keitel, Chief of the OKW, who was in Berlin, and whom I had to visit there.
Q Whom did you go to see first of all?
A I wont to see Field Marshal von Brauchitsch, as Commander in Chief of the Army.
Q What did von Brauchitsch tell you?
A Von Brauchitsch told me about the situation approximately the same as Hitler had already told me. His statements too, showed the worry which he had in case the situation in the Balkans should by any chance, change decisively, and he further added that the Armed Forces Commander Southeast was not subordinate to him, but directly to Hitler. But the Armed Forces Commander Southeast was not to forget, ever this task, the task of the Commander in Chief of the 12th Army. Since I did not understand that remark, and since I could not understand that remark, he said smilingly, "Well, I have to make sure that those troops which are to come now to the eastern front from the Balkan area, can be freed as soon as possible", by which meant the transport of the 5th Mountain Division from Crete, which was intended for the extreme north.
Q Were other troops promised to you as substitute?
AAs I see from the documents now, troops had already been sent by Field Marshal List, and besides, I believe that, Brauchitsch and perhaps even Hitler talked about reinforcements, which were about to go there, or had already gotten there.
Q Did you then talk to the Chief of the Army Personnel office?
A Yes. I was of course, interested in the question as to what was to happen to me, whether I could count on remaining in the Balkans, or what else was to happen to me, because after all, I was one of the eldest commanding generals there.
Keitel told me that my task in the Balkans was only a temporary one, to deputize for Field Marshal List, and it would probably not last longer than 4 to 6 weeks.