Then "c", the supply of medicines to the civilian population.
"Throughout the entire period of occupation the adequate supply of medicines of all kinds to the Creek population was secured by the aid measures of the German army doctors and by importing German medical supplies. Example: For the area Salonika-Aegaeis alone 12 million Atebrin tablets, 3 million Prochinin tablets, 50,000 ampeules of Atebrinmusenat. Further supplies were delivered as required. Transportation to the individual districts and towns was effected in German vehicles, to the islands in airplanes."
And then there is a paragraph "d" -- "General Prevention of Epidemics." And the last sentence in that paragraph reads: "Result: Throughout the period of occupation, Greece has boon spared of large scale epidemics during the occupation."
Then on page 57 we have the paragraph about malaria prevention which has been mentioned before in other affidavits. I need not go into it again. And then on page 58 there is a description of conditions in Serbia, "Hospital system."
"Special care for all installations of the civilian health service, in particular hospitals, first-aid stations, and clinics. Supply of bandages and linen to the hospitals. Among other things, more than 700000 meters of linen for bedding for civilian hospitals were issued from German stocks. Special allocations of coal for the civilian hospitals during the winter months.
"b Medical supplies.
"Organization of large-scale drug supply, adequate supplies of medicines of every kind to the local civilian pharmacies throughout the period of occupation."
And finally on the next page, paragraph "d", "prevention of epidemics," the second sentence:
"Setting up of epidemics prevention groups, so-called "Equipen", which consisted of 2-3-doctors, nurses and disinfectors. The equipment of these groups with mobile disinfection apparatus, distribution of linen, clothing and adequate money from German stocks.
Emergency allocation, whereever focal points of an epidemic danger appeared.
"e Typhus.
"Excellent results by drawing up of a sanitary corden along the Drina.
"Large scale delousing measures and setting up of quarantine stations."
Finally on page 60 is an example, paragraph "i" "Tuberculosis."
"Establishment of poli-clinic treatment facilities for the civilian population at German hospitals.
"Extension of large sanitariums in Knez Sela near Nisch and in the Dinat, at the expenses of the German administration.
"k Welfare of refugees.
"Organization of an extensive welfare and care system for the stream of refugees moving back and forth within the entire Balkan area.
"In the Serbian sector, for instance, in the area Raska, 30-40 000 completely destitute refugees were cared for exclusively through German aid.
"The following measures were carried out:
"Securing of nutrition from German stocks, "Delivery of several 100 truck loads of food, "Creation of special homes for sich and ailing children.
"Medical care and supervision by German health officer. Supply of infant milk for new-born children. Procurement of additional food for the welfare organization "Mother and Child" in connection with the International Red Cross."
And then on page 61, paragraph 3 on Croatia, here again there are some more paragraphs about medical care for the civilian population, malaria prevention, etc. in a similar manner. The same applies to page 62, paragraph about Albania. The paragraph about Albania I should like to read from the beginning.
During the occupation on 9 September 1943 the situation of the Albanian health service was very critical. After taking over the areas formerly occupied by Italy, the first consideration was the maintenance of the existing sanitary establishments. The difficulties were, on the one hand, the fatalistic attitude of the inhabitants (30% Mohammedans) and the passive resistance, which, with the recognition of Albania as an independent state, was offered by the Albanian authorities and particularly by the Albanian doctors, who saw in the measures of the German agencies a competition running contrary to their economic interests.
On the next page, paragraph A, hospital system and medical care: "At the time of the occupation, situation catastrophic."
And then the measures carried out: I shall read paragraph 2.
2) Admittance and medical care of the civilian population in the German hospitals in Valona, Lushnja, Elbasan, Tirana, Miloti, Skutari, Kukos, Struga, and Korza.
Results of these measures:
Most intensive use of these installations, particularly of the specialist stations, by the Albanian civilian population. The German doctors had great prestige with the civilian population, and they expressed their gratitude up to the last day of the occupation.
Then on the next page, paragraph Malaria Prevention, on page 64 in the middle. It is just in the middle of page 64: "In Valona, a multi-joint pump and drainage system was established. For the entire Malaria scheme for the civilian population, about 800,000 Albanian francs, equal to 300,000 Reichs Mark, were spent in one year for wages and materials alone, by Germany."
And then paragraph D, General Hygiene. "Supervision of the civilian health welfare, despite all the resistance of the Albanian doctors."
On the next page, 65, skipping a few sentences, -
Result: During the German occupation Albania has been spared any epidemic worth mentioning. The number of Malaria cases in the civilian population has decreased considerably.
All these measures in the Balkan states, above described, which were always carried out in collaboration with the medical civilian agencies would have been impossible, if General Fieldmarshal Freiherr von WEICHS and General Hermann FOERTSCH had not been guided in their attitude towards the whole population question, not only by a purely humane feeling, but also by the intention of active aid.
This statement holds true, not only for the generals primarily responsible for the executed measures, but also for the subordinate local military commanders and their Chiefs of Staff, which applies in the present case especially for General of the Armored Corps KUNTZE, Generalmajor von GEITNER, General of the Air Force FELMY, and General of the Air Force SPEIDEL.
As an enclosure with this affidavit, I shall offer Document No. 60 which will become Exhibit 52. This is a copy of a letter of the Vice President and Minister of Health in Greek Government, dated Athens, 29 June 1942, addressed to a German Medical Officer in Salonika. It is addressed to Oberstatsarzt Dr. Wehrens. This letter reads as follows:
Dear Major, Your personal contribution in the restoration of healthy conditions in Macedonia and your assistance in the organization of the medical service there -- and this under the present difficult conditions from which our country suffers --, oblige me to offer you the most sincere thanks of the Greek Government and to ask you to favor us with your benevolent interest in the alleviation of the bitter sufferings of our distressed population also in the future.
I take the opportunity to offer you also my sincerest personal thanks for your friendly feelings toward our country which, thanks to its past, its culture and its history, merits the reverence and love of all cultured people.
The next document I would like to offer is Foertsch Document No. 61 which I offer as Exhibit No. 53. It is an affidavit by Arthur von Schauroth which describes a few incidents connected with the guerilla warfare, surprise attacks on soldiers in leave and. hospital trains. It reads as follows:
From fall 1943 until the capitulation I was detailed to the Commander in Chief "South-East" (Supreme Command of Army Group F) as General for Special Missions (Commander of the Order Troops of the Wehrmacht) and, in this capacity, was under the direct orders of Field Marshal Freiherr von WEICHS, Commander in Chief. From 10 September until March 1944 this developed into a regular official collaboration with General FOERTSCH, Chief of Staff of this Army Group and consisted of occasional discussions and of the regular attendance of the Monday Conferences of Chiefs.
The duties of the Order Troops which in part were completely subordinated to me, and in part were under my orders only with regard to their duties (Patrol Units, Welfare Detachments, Rod Cross Auxiliary Workers, Railway Traffic Officers, Direction Centers), consisted in supervising discipline and in providing care (food, information, billeting, delousing, etc.) for all unattached German soldiers, in particular those on official journeys, on leave or those who were separated from their units in the larger cities, on the bigger railway junctions and on the furlough-trains.
It happened that on the Belgrad-Geurk track all passengers of a furlough-train, including the train guards which had been detailed from the order troops, at a strength of 1 officer, 2 NCO's and one orderly, were butchered by the partisans in summer 1944. There is no other expression available in order to truly describe the state in which the corpses were later found. These matters cannot be judged by normal Central-European standards at all. In order to do so, one must have an intimate knowledge of Balkanian customs and habits which, however, have not been invented by the Germans.
And then the next document I should like to offer Document Foertsch No. 62 which I offer as Exhibit No. 54. It is an affidavit by Wilhelm von Starck who, as it says at the beginning, w..s an ADC to the staff officer for artillery from 8 October 1933 until 30 April 1933 with Army Group F. Ho took part in the Monday conferences on occasion when the defendant Foertsch was present.
THE PRESIDENT: We will not be able to complete this affidavit with this day's proceedings and the Tribunal will adjourn at this time to reconvene tomorrow at nine-thirty.
(The Tribunal recessed until 17 October 1937 at 0930 hours)
Official Transcript of the American Military Tribunal in the matter of the United States of America against Wilhelm List, et al, defendants, sitting at Nurnberg, Germany, on 17 October 1947, 0930, Justice Carter presiding.
THE MARSHAL: Persons in the Courtroom will please find their seats.
The Honorable, the Judges of Military Tribunal V. Military Tribunal V is now in session. God save the United States of America and this Honorable Tribunal.
There will be order in the Court.
THE PRESIDENT: Mr. Marshal, you will ascertain if all the defendants are present in the Courtroom.
THE MARSHAL: May it please Your Honor, all the defendants arc present in the Courtroom except the Defendant von Weichs who is still in the hospital.
THE PRESIDENT: Judge Carter will preside at this day's session.
PRESIDING JUDGE CARTER: You may proceed.
DEFENDANT HERMANN FOERTSCH - Resumed.
DIRECT EXAMINATION - Continued BY DR. RAUSCHENBACH:I shall now come to Document No. 62 in Document Book III for the Defendant Foertsch, which is on Page 70 of the Document Book.
And I offer it as Exhibit No. 54. It is an affidavit by Wilhelm von Starck, by which I wish to prove the attitude of the Defendant Foertsch towards the problem of how to fight the bands and particularly his attitude towards the OKW. I want to road a brief excerpt from Page 70 of this affidavit. I shall start at the beginning:
From 8 October 1943 until 30 April 1944 I belonged to the Staff of Army Group F. I was a Hauptmann (officer of the reserve) and adjutant to the Staff Officer for Artillery. I was present at almost all verbal reports of my superior to Foertsch. Moreover, I made some independent verbal reports to him, and, in that capacity, I also took part several times in the Monday conferences of the chiefs. Because of this activity, as far as our sphere of work was concerned, I was constantly informed of the basic line observed by the Army Group with regard to the SouthEast.
This line differed considerably from the one ordered by Hitler. Foertsch softened a good many of the orders of the OKW. In the Monday conferences as well, particularly in the course of internal verbal reports and personal conversations, he did not conceal his opinion about the absurdity of some OKW directives. If Foertsch assumed responsibility for such alterations of orders, he did so solely because of his personal repudiation of certain war methods to which Hitler was turning more and more as the end of the war came in sight. Foertsch's fundamental stand concerning the question of collective measures against the population may be summed up by the following: 'The population is to be left alone as far as possible, since the best basis for a defense by the weak German troops lies in a pacification of the territory.'" The next document I beg to offer is Foertsch No. 63, which I offer as Exhibit No. 55.
This is a copy of an excerpt from a letter of Foertsch to his wife.
Q. Witness, did you write this letter at that time, and is it completely contained in this exhibit?
A. I wrote this letter on 3 September 1943, and here I have the complete copy.
DR. RAUSCHENBACH: Once again the letter shows the Defendant's attitude towards the OKW in the same manner in which he wrote it down in this letter. This brief excerpt reads as follows: "No news here. Except for a stupid letter from JODL, who imagines that one can do a lot with staffs without troops. One can only laugh and pity these people up there in their own fashion."
The next document, also a letter, is Foertsch Document No. 64, on Page 75 of the Document Book. And I offer it as Exhibit 56.
Q. Did you write the letter at the time, Witness?
A. Yes, I wrote this letter on the 4th of September 1943, and the document I have in front of me is a complete copy of it.
DR. RAUSCHENBACH: I shall read the extract from the document book. It reads "But one is not surprised at anything anymore than comes from higher up. All in all rather an unsatisfactory feeling, all the more so as a gain and again all requests meet with a 'we do not have a thing.' But they expect everything as though everything were available."
And the next document is also a letter on the same subject-matter. This is Document No. 65, which is offered as Exhibit No. 57. It is on Page 76.
Q. Did you also rite the letter at the time, and is it completely contained in the exhibit?
A. I wrote this letter on the 7th of September 1943, and it is complete.
DR. RAUSCHENBACH: I shall read the fourth sentence: "Those things however, which should be remedied, for instance the pigsty Croatia, are discussed again and again, or one plays at blindman's bluff with them, and nothing is changed either. A continuous muddling through, and I am fed up. But this will pass too, as soon as I get a little more freedom."
Q. Witness, what did you mean when you said a little more freedom.
A. As I explained before, my activity tied me usually to the telephone at my desk, and it was my hope in those days that sooner or later I might be able to go on a journey somewhere which might relieve me of this daily routine.
Q. What did you mean when you said, "Those things which should be remedied, for instance the pigsty Croatia?"
A. The whole policy which I have described frequently before.
DR. RAUSCHENBACH: The next document is Foertsch Document No. 66, on page 77 of the Document Book, and I offer it as Exhibit No. 58. It is also a letter. And I wish to prove with it that the Defendant tried time and again to be relieved from his position as Chief of the General Staff.
Q. Did you write the letter at the time in that form?
A. I wrote the letter at the time mentioned, and it is complete in the document.
DR. RAUSCHENBACH: "It is unlikely that I shall change my position in the fall, probably not until the spring, and this when the threat in the Northern part is greater than ever. The old staff has been degraded more or less to an AOK, and kept only the name Army Group because of personal considerations for LOEHR. Weichs would not give me a release now."
And then we come to Document No. 67, which I offer as Exhibit No. 59, on Page 78 of the Document Book. It is a letter dated the 30th of July 1942. And it is about the subject-matter which we had before, namely, that General Foertsch tried time and again to be relieved. And the last sentence is particularly characteristic.
Q. Did you write the letter at the time in that form, and is it complete?
A. It is complete, but it was written on the 30th of July 1943. In the German Document Book it says 30th July 1942, which is wrong.
DR. RAUSCHENBACH: In the English Document Book there is also a misprint in the date. The original says 30th July 1943. I will be grateful if this can be corrected. The actual date is 30th July 1943.
It reads as follows: "Yesterday Generalfeldmarschall von Weichs who possibly will replace Ro. arrived here."
Q. Who is Ro?
A. At that time there was a rather strange plan whereby the whole of the South East area was to be divided up into a Greek part and into that part North of the Greek-Albanian-Bulgarian Frontier. The idea was that Field Marshal Rommel should take over Greece at that time, but it was never carried out.
DR. RAUSCHENBACH: To continue:
Whether I shall then stay with W. I do not know. He obviously would like me to do so, and through his assistant Adjutant he has already asked mine some funny questions.
I would like to work with W. He is a very quiet and objectively minded person, on the other hand, I would not be able to leave in the near future. And it is easier for me to getaway from Belgrade, - if this is not yet out of the questions....... If it would not look like cowardice, I would like to get away from here. No more enjoyable legacies here. It has remained the old weather corner of 1918 without glory or laurels, only with difficulties. Well, never mind, I do my duty. Unto myself and Germany my conscience is clear. I have warned enough. This is a relief for me now.....
And the next document I shall offer is Exhibit 60. It is Document No. 68. Again it is a letter. This letter is dated the 27th of August 1942.
Q. Is that correct? Did you write it at the time?
A. Twenty-seventh of August 1942?
Q. I said 27th of August 1942.
A. I wrote the letter, and it is complete.
DR. RAUSCHENBACH: "Thus I call Ziehlberg today and asked him when I would be free from my unthankful tasl."
Q. Who was Ziehlberg?
A. Colonel von Ziehlberg was the personnel official in the Army Personnel Office.
DR. RAUSCHENBACH: I shall continue to read: "Answer" 'For the time being you are to stay, as a statue pole.' Of course, if all others are being removed."
The we come to Foertsch Document No. 69, which I offer as Exhibit 61, on Page 80 of the Document Book. Once again it is a letter.
Q Did you write it at the time, and is it complete in the Exhibit?
A I wrote the letter on 25th October 1943, and it is complete.
DR. RAUSCHENBACH: The excerpt reads as follows:
"Be happy, that you do not hear or see anything connected with the war. Thus I will no longer fit into this peaceful world with all my knowledge. I am trying so hard to look for the good, and I am still one of the hopeful ones, if there are such people. And in spite of it I cannot free myself from those things which I have to see, to hear and to know.
That is often depressing, and makes me lonesome with thoughts which I cannot get rid of."
The next document is Foertsch No. 71. I am not offering No. 70 at the present time, Document Foertsch No. 71 is on page 87, and it is Exhibit No. 71. This is the last Exhibit in Document Book III. It is an extract of the directions for fighting bands in the East of 11th of November 1942.
MR. FENSTERMACHER: If Your Honors please, I object to the admission of this document--you will note from the heading of it that it's labeled "Fighting Directives which were valid for Russia were not valid for the Southeast; and I, therefore, submit that this document is irrelevant and immaterial.
PRESIDING JUDGE CARTER: I think that statement applied only to the Commissar Order, as far as I can remember. I don't think they said that generally.
MR. FENSTERMACHER: It applies to at least one other order, Your Honor--one by Keitel, in which he says that draconic measures should be used.
PRESIDING JUDGE CARTER: There may be some orders to that effect, but I don't think it's a general rule. The objection will be overruled.
BY DR. RAUSCHENBACH:
Q Witness, let me ask you about that document first of all. Was this directive for anti-guerilla combat in the East made also valid in the Southeast?
A On direct examination I said already that these directives applied to the whole of the Wehrmacht, because of the order which is contained in this document, as well, and which was signed by order of Jodl. Moreover, I have also stated that General Loehr at the time issued a decree which once again stressed that the directives should apply to the Southeast, but that the special conditions in the Southeast had to he taken into consideration. As for your question, "What special conditions were meant thereby?", I believe I said at the time - I cannot remember the wording in detail, - but there were two essential points: 1) the completely different territorial conditions; 2) the fact that in the Southeast there was not a uniform front behind which guerilla activity went on, but rather that in that area you had to expect the appearance of bands everywhere and all over the place.
Q On the first page of this document, the letter by the OKW, is contained. It says, "Fighting Directives for Anti-Guerilla Combat in the East effective for the Wehrmacht as of 1 December 1942."
Witness, if this provision had not been contained in the document, namely that the fighting directive is effective for the Wehrmacht, would it then have applied to the Southeast without any further ado?
A Not without further ado, but if that supplement by Loehr which I just mentioned, would have been there, it would have applied as well.
Q Do you know whether the so-called commissar-Order, which originally applied only to Russia, was given such a supplement, thus making it effective for the entire Wehrmacht?
A No, that cannot be the case because in that case I, as Chief of Staff of the AOK-12 in the Southeast would have had to he informed.
Q These fighting directives for the anti-guerilla combat in the East based on experiences made in the East became effective for the whole of the Wehrmacht did they?
A That becomes clear also from the fact that the Southeast was known as a Wehrmacht theatre of war. That is to say, the Eastern theatre was under the direction of the OKH, that is the Supreme Commander of the Army. And only later on it came under Hitler's direction, whereas the West--Italy and the Southeast--were what was known as the Wehrmacht theatres of war where the OKH was not interpolated with the exception of supply problems, training questions, and Army matters proper, which wer par se independent of the actual theatre of war.
Q And the Eastern Front, the Russian Front, to which the Commissar Order was directed, was not a Wehrmacht theatre?
A It was not in the Wehrmacht Theatre.
Q I see.
I shall now read the extracts contained in the Document Book from these fighting directives. It reads as follows:
"E. Directives for the Treatment of Bandits and their Helpers.
83. The treatment of bandits and their voluntary helpers demands the utmost severity. Sentimental considerations in this decisive question are inexcusable. The very severity of the measures taken and the fear of the penalties to be expected must prevent the population from aiding or favoring the bands.
84. Captured Bandits, as far as, in exceptional cases, according to figure 11, they are not being enrolled in our own anti-guerrila combat, are to be hanged or shot, deserters to be treated like prisoners at the front, depending on the circumstances. As a rule, prisoners are to be shot on the spot following a short questioning. Only in exceptional cases individual prisoners and deserters, fit for that purpose, are to be handed over to the Secret Field Plice or Police for further interrogation and later treatment. Every unitleader has the responsibility to see that captured bandits and civilians who are being seized in action including women, are shot or, better, hanged.
Only in well-founded exceptional cases, he is authorized to depart from this principle, reporting the particular reason for his doing so.
85. Whoever supports the bands by affording them shelter or food, by concealing their known location or by any other measures, is liable to the death penalty. As far as the able-bodied male population is concerned who can prove that they had been forced by terrorism to aid the bands, their employment is forced labor is called for, and shipment to Germany for labor allocation is provided for.
When conducting interrogations, which is normally a matter of the Secret Field Police or Police, it must be taken into consideration, that Russians are prone to act as informers. All statements must therefore be carefully checked. Unjust punishments shatter the confidence of the population and produce new bands.
86. Collective measures will normally be required against villages in which bands have found assistance of any kind. According to the severity of the offense, these measures may consist of an increased taxation, seizure of part or the whole live stock, shipment of ablebodied men for labor allocation to Germany, and even of the extermination of the entire village. The order for taking collective measures may be given only by officers with the rank of (Hauptmann) Captain.
Such punitive measures generally are in order, if the inhabitants voluntarily supported the band. However, by our measures the civilian population should not be placed in the hopeless position, of being threatened with the ruthless extermination by both sides.
This would merely benefit the bands by enabling them to draw more support from the population. At any rate, when taking collective measures, the population must be enlightened as to why the measures were taken. This enlightenment cannot be taken too seriously.
III Harnessing of the Population into the Anti-Guerrilla Combat.
100. The population is to be included as far as possible in anti-guerilla combat.
Their collaboration may be either as members of the selfdefense units (regular police service) or as confidential agents.
IV Supervision of the Population.
104. The majors are to be put under the obligation to report immediately all persons strange to the place. Non-observance of this order is to be punished by the severest measures (death penalty). Suspected aliens are to be transferred to Germany for labor allocation.
105. From time to time, the population is to be screened in regard to suspected elements. In doing so localities, particularly those near railway lines, are to be thoroughly searched for hidden weapons, explosives etc. Operations of the armed forces should be utilized for this purpose. By the process of clever questioning of all the villagers and by comparing the contradictions, the bandits and banditshelpers must be pinned down and rendered harmless."
Q Witness, let me ask you something about this lest there be a misunderstanding. What about the term "pin down?" How is it used here? Does that mean that the bandits or those who help them are to be nailed against doors as the bandits did themselves?
A No, by that is simply meant that what they say in the examination must be correct. They must be pinned down to it.
Q Do you mean it only applies to the examination--to the questioning?
A Yes, what they actually did should be established quite clearly--even in the interrogation.
Q To continue, "It may be expedient to provisionally arrest all male inhabitants for this purpose and to watch them for some time in special camps, in order to find out by this method, through confidential agents, those who are siding with the bands. The release of the innocent persons will then contribute in increasing the confidence of the population in the justice of the German measures.
"106. Solitary deserted houses and sheds outside of villages, in which bands may find shelter, are to be burned down; pillboxes, dugouts, etc., are to be destroyed as far as possible."
Were the fighting directives for anti-guerilla warfare in the East issued as a printed pamphlet?
A During the examination, I have confirmed this, namely that it was a proper set of directives which becomes quite clear from the first pages. It says, "Appendix II to Service Men Ia." I cannot remember which one that was but I believe it was some directives for infantry fighting. Then it says "For restricted use" and what it says under the Supreme Commander of the Wehrmacht--it says "NFD." NFD was an abbreviation for a directive which was used only for official use, and was restricted.
Q And that was a binding set of directives, was it? And nobody under the OKW could deviate from it, is that right?
A Yes, it was a binding directive and there was a general order which preceded any other directive, I believe, namely that alterations and additions to the directives must not be made, and the directive was sent immediately from the OKH-as was usual with all the other directives-to the divisions according to a quite general distribution list, I assume, right down to the companies--certainly to the battalions but perhaps even to the companies.
Q In other words, the Commander-in-Chief Southeast was in no position to conceal the directive from the troops?
A No, because then he would have had to say "I forbid the application of the directive", which would have been quite impossible.
Q And the troops got the directive as it came immediately from the OKH without the Commander-in-Chief Southeast having to pass it on at all?
A These directives came in according to a quite general army distribution list and went to all existing divisions, usually in the same number as they were packed accordingly and reached the divisions not through the official channel OKW-OKH-Army Group army CorpsDivision, but just like a parcel, coming through the mail.
Q And did the directive apply until the end of the war in the Balkans?
A As far as I know, in the course of 1944, I believe in late summer, a new version was issued of the directives but I don't know that one because at that time I was no longer in the Southeast and was therefore not concerned with guerilla fighting in the Southeast. I only know this from hearsay.
Q This has brought me to the end of the presentation of documents from the third document book of the defense and at present I have no further question to put to the witness.
THE PRESIDENT: Just by way of correction, it was the Third Document Book, was it not?
DR. RAUSCHENBACH: Yes, the Third Document Book, I am so sorry. I have no further document book at present, but I should be grateful if later on in the trial I may submit a small appendix.
I have no further question to put to the witness on direct examination and he can be cross-examined.
PRESIDING JUDGE CARTER: Are there any questions by other defense counsel?
BY DR. LATERNSER:
Q May it please the Tribunal, I only have very few questions. General, did you take part in the Greek campaign?
A Yes.
Q In what capacity?
AAs the liaison officer of the OKH.
Q After the capitulation of the Epiros Army, did any Greek forces continue to fight?
A after the capitulation, no Greek forces continued to fight.
Q Who defended the Thermophyles?
A The British.
9 Who defended the Isthmus of Corinth?
A The British.
Q Who took part in the fighting on the Pelloponess?
A The British.
Q The reasons why Greek prisoners were released so quickly have frequently been discussed here. I would like to put one additional question, though. What was hoped from this quick release of Greek prisoners?
A Good cooperation and pleasant relations with the Greek population and in every sense of the word a benevolent attitude to be taken by us.
Q I see. General, let us turn briefly to Exhibit 27.
A I am afraid I haven't got it.
Q I shall give it to you presently. It is contained in Volume I on page 71 and in the English Document Book I on page 91.
This is an OKW order of 29 July.
PRESIDING JUDGE CARTER: Do you propose to inquire about many of these exhibits, Dr. Laternser?
DR. LATERNSER: No, I shall only ask about three exhibits.
BY DR. LATERNSER:
Q General, in what manner was this order Exhibit 27 passed on?
AAs to its technical side, it was a teletype letter and as to its contents, as I said before, consciously with the introductory remark; "OKW deems it requisite that death sentence for sabotage be carried out by hanging."
Q Why was that formulation chosen-- "OKW deems it requisite?"
AAs I stated before, in order to express tacit disagreement.
Q Was it known within your sphere that if that type of wording was chosen, that you wanted to disassociate yourself from it?
A That was quite generally understood. Everybody knew that.
Q On direct examination, you said that the way it was passed on was discussed with General Felmy. Did I understand you correctly there?
A What I said, I think, was that the wording was arrived at by agreement with the representative of Fieldmarshal List.
Q Did you also obtain the agreement of Fieldmarshal List on the way in which you passed the order on?
A Yes, because otherwise I would perhaps not have suggested this wording to the representative.
Q Why did you ask for Fieldmarshal List's agreement?