Would you please look on page 31. In the English text it is page 45. Would you please look at the provisions in this order, one of which substantially says that the officers of the units which allow their weapons to reach the partisans and who may common cause with the partisans are to be shot under martial law.
The other clause says that if the Italians continue to offer resistance the officers who are responsible for such resistance are to be shot as franc-tireurs.
Now, there is something I want to ask you, General. That order from the OKW, has that come as a new thing to you now? Has it surprised you?
A This is a written order from the OKW. It bears the date of the 15th of September and the information only reached the Army a few days later. Concerning those most important clauses which you have just mentioned, it did not come as anything new for we had already those clauses in advance by teletype and that is the order mentioned under "a", page 45 in the English text. It was received on the 13th of September. The order under "b" we received as the 11th of September, which means that we knew about those orders before we had received the written order.
Q Would you now please turn to page 41 in the same document book XIII in the English version that is on page 55. This is document NOKW-910. The exhibit number is 327. This is the order from the OKW which we have just mentioned. It is the order concerning Italian units that were still offering resistance. When was this order received?
A The document shows that we received the order on the 11th of September and that it was passed on at 3 o'clock in the afternoon on the 11th of September to the 15th Corps which at that time had General Luetters as its Commander.
Q That order of the 11th of September -- did you write that out yourself and when was it passed on by the Army?
A Well, this order was passed on at 3 o'clock in the afternoon on the 11th of September, I don't think that on that day I was with the Army. I want to say about this order that the Chief of Staff of the Army wrote it out. I am not saying this to hold the Chief responsible for this action for concerning all the actions that occurred in the Army Staff I take full and exclusive responsibility. The Chief is responsible to me; but I am drawing your attention to this fact in order to make it clear, that important orders were passed on automatically without the Commander being involved if the Commander had not to make any decisions.
Q General, would you please now turn to page 48 in the English text, 62, that is part of the document. There you find the OKW order already mentioned concerning the treatment of the Italian troops who sent weapons to the partisans. This order, as you can tell from the document, had reached the Army on the 13th of September. Did you have any misgivings about these orders? Please also tell us what reflections you made about these orders at the time?
A I had no misgivings nor could I have had any misgivings. I told myself if people are away from their own state, their own country, and contrary to the terms, so to speak, as private individuals wage war against another state such fighting is illegal. I must emphasize that at that time was not in a state of war with Germany nor would that have been of decisive importance because the terms of surrender are valid to the warfare convention even if the commander in Chief concerned makes such an agreement the will of his own government. Men who under such conditions wage war could only be considered franc-tireurs. If, furthermore, Italians supplied the partisans with weapons that, too, had to be regarded as an illegal action for, in virtue of the terms of the surrender, the Italians were the prisoners of the Wehrmacht and according to the Geneva Convention, the prisoners are subordinate to the laws of the state which keeps them prisoners and under German law favoring the enemy, aiding and abetting the enemy, by supplying him with weapons was a crime demanding the death sentence.
Italians who for supplying the enemy with weapons were punished by death rightly and they were treated no differently from any German soldier who committed the same action.
Q May I ask you to tell us now what was understood, what was meant, by the expression, "shooting a person after summary court martial." Would you tell us, General?
A To shoot a person after summary court martial that is just an abbreviate expression. That means that the person has to be brought before a summary court martial and the prosecutor, if the defendant's guilt has been proved, has to ask for the death sentence. The verdict of the Court is and remains entirely independent and can be seen from the verdict passed actually by summary court martials on Italians.
Q How was a summary court martial composed?
AA summary court martial had three members of whom one whenever possible was supposed to be qualified for the office of judge. Only if that was impossible, that condition could be waived. I have to assume that in the case of the summary court martial which was established for the Bergabo Division one judge was a member of the court because it was the only summary court martial which had to be established by that German division at that time.
Q General, we are still discussing the prosecution Document NOKW-910, Exhibit 327. Would you please turn to page 42. In the English text it is page 56. This document -- may I ask you whether you found it?
A Yes, I have.
Q: This document was described by the Prosecution as an order given at your initiative to take reprisal measures against the Italians. Would you please give us your views?
A: This document contained an order by the Second Panzer Army to the XVth Mountain Corps. At that time it was General Lueters who commanded that Corps. Well, the purpose of this order was to tell the XVth Corps about the terms which had been drawn up in Tirana for the Italians. It was always uncertain whether the XVIIIth Italian Army Corps, which was stationed in Zara, that is the Italian troops fartherest to the North was subordinate to the IXth Italian Army and whether that Corps was included in the surrender terms. Therefore, it was important to me that that Corps, which until then had made no difficulties and which had made its own arrangements with the XVth German Corps, should be informed about the Tirana terms. This order is nothing but an order to the German XVth Corps to tell the VIth and VIIIth Italian Corps which were the Corps within its area, about these terms and to inform them of these terms by way of an order. There is a dangerous translation error which makes it difficult to understand this order. May I read out the first sentence? It says: "The withdrawal of Italian troops within the area of the XVth Mountain Corps in accordance with instructions of the XVth Mountain Corps were in the hands of the Italian VIth and VIIIth Army Corps." That is to say, the two Italian Corps had to command the Italian withdrawal. And I continue: "The Commanding Generals of those Corps must be given orders, and they must be given orders in about the following sense". Now, may I say this? Certainly among all the documents here this is the most difficult sentence to be translated into the English language. The English language does not know any word to match this word "sinngemaess" (logical, reasonable). It is necessary to translate that word by a whole sentence.
In the original translation, such as appears in the English Document Book, no mention is made of the Commanding General. That is to say, only the singular is used; but in the original document I mean in the German context, there is the plural, and that plural itself reveals that those Commanding Generals were in fact the two Commanding Generals of the two Italian Corps.
MR. RAPP: Your Honors, possibly to clarify this issue Dr. Fritsch could hand the original document in question to the Interpreter and have him translate it, without having the Defendant comment about it. And then if the Defense is not satisfied with that interpretation further steps can be taken which we have taken in the past.
DR. FRITSCH: I agree with that procedure.
PRESIDING JUDGE BURKE: Of course you can do that if you want to, but I think the Witness has the right to put the interpretation on it that he gave to it. I think he had a right to testify to that if he cares to, irrespective of what the Translators might say up here. Of course we have no objection to the Translator's doing it if you care to have them do it.
DEFENDANT RENDULIC: Well, if I had given this order in English, what I would have said is this: (Speaking in English) "For this purpose the Commanding Generals of these Corps.....
PRESIDING JUDGE BURKE: Pardon me. I wonder if we might get the exact page and place in the record where he is reading.
DR. FRITSCH: In the English text the page is 56, the first paragraph.
MR. RAPP: Page 56, Your Honor, Document Book XIII, the 6th and 7th lines from the top.
PRESIDING JUDGE BURKE: I don't seem to have those pages here. (Giving indication of having found the pages in question).
BY DR. FRITSCH:
Q: Would you continue please?
A: Well, what I would say is this: (speaking in English): "The Commanding Generals of these Corps are to be given instructions, the meaning of which is indicated by the following."
BY DR. FRITSCH: Let me see I believe the translation is not correct.
A: This means that this order did not commit the people to whom it was given. It was not binding. The entire meaning of this sentence reveals that the German words "Auftraege" -"Instructions" -- which might in certain circumstances be translated into English "By orders," is so weak in its meaning here that it has the other English meaning; that is, it has the meaning of "instructions," - it must have that meaning. That is to say, we see that this order is an order to the XVth Corps. In Points 1 through 6 of this order there are provisions, rulings, which are to be passed on to the Italian Corps. Therefore, this is not an order to the German Corps, but these are instructions or directives passed on to the Italian Corps. You can see that too from the contents, of the various points. Under No. 1 the Italian Corps are informed of the terms of the surrender. Under No. 2 the Corps are instructed that in the future they would receive orders from the Commanding General of the XVth German Corps. Under No. 3 certain tasks are allotted to them concerning the organizations of their units. And now we come to No. 4, the incriminating point. Under No. 4 they are informed of the sanctions, the clauses in the Tirana agreement, in case the terms are not adhered to. I don't think I need to discuss the other points. That is the meaning of this order, and this was not a reprisal order to the Italians, but this order, apart from the various instructions concerning their different marching orders was nothing but a notification telling them of the Tirana sanctions.
This order was issued to the German troops by the German Commanding General to be passed on to the Italians as an instruction, but not to carry out the sanctions.
Q: Your Honors, in these circumstances I can do without having that passage translated again.
General, Article 3 of this order says in brackets, "SS Copy". That is the meaning of that addition?
A: The XVth Corps, at that time, had two divisions which were in contact with the Italians, the 114th Division and the 7th SS Mountain Division. Naturally those troops had to be informed about the instructions which had been given to the Italians within their area. On the last page there is the signature to this order, and below the signature it says, "Passed to 114th Division by Ia in person". We can explain that because the 114th Division was within the area of the Corps. The 7th SS Division was in Central Dalmatia. That is opposite Split, a long way from the Corps headquarters and, therefore, it received the information in writing or by teletype. That is the only meaning of this sentence.
Court No. V, Case No. VII.
Q. General, there is another question I should like to clear up. In the Indictment concerning Count 3, under 2 "i", you are charged with having issued an order to the effect that of every division in the Italian Army which had capitulated, which prior to its surrender had sold its weapons or had destroyed them or given them away, one officer and fifty men; furthermore, of every division one officer and ten men were to be shot, if before the surrender they had rendered them vehicles unusable. I have been unable to find any specific evidence concerning that Count, and therefore I have to assume that the Prosecution bases its charge on the order of the 12th of September, which we have just mentioned. May I ask you to state your views briefly?
A. I can't understand that Count in the Indictment either unless it refers to the order of which we have just spoken. And I believe I have proved that this order has been misunderstood. I believe I have proved that it is in no way an order for reprisals, but this order does not threaten sanctions for actions which were committed before the surrender.
PRESIDING JUDGE BURKE: General, in your statement "misunderstood" is it possible that you may mean "mistranslated?"
DEFENDANT RENDULIC: Yes, I mean mistranslated, and probably because it was mistranslated it was also misunderstood and misinterpreted.
BY DR. FRITSCH:
Q. General, you have just said that sanctions before the surrender are entirely out of the question, As a matter of fact no measures were taken.
A. No, never.
Q. I now come to the order organizing the withdrawal of the Italians.
It is the same Exhibit 327 in Document Book XIII. Would you please turn to Page 45 in the German text; the English page is 59. This order, General, deals with the evacuation of the Italians from the area of the XVth Corps to the railroad station at Bihac about 150 Km away. Would you please tell us something about that?
A. Yes, I will. The Italians had to march to the railway station of a distance of 150 to 400 Km. This march took them through partisan areas, and the Italians were afraid of that marching. They wanted to be taken away, to be evacuated, by sea, but there were no shipping space available. You can tell from this order, and you can see it from No. 3, that we persuaded the Italians by reason that it was absolutely necessary for them to be evacuated because of their food supply. At any rate, in view of the small number of German troops and in view of the ten-fold and more superiority in numbers of the Italians who also had their weapons, the situation was a very dangerous one in case they should offer resistance. And, therefore, it was a matter of course that very severe steps had to be taken against such resistance, and the necessary orders are given here.
Q. You didn't see anything extraordinary, anything unusual in this order did you?
A. No. No, not at all. I didn't see anything unusual in them. Under the rules which apply to German soldiers too everybody had to be shot who offered resistance in a dangerous situation, but I do not know of a single case where Italian resistance became so strong that one had to resort to such measures.
Q. General, you still have Document Book XIII before you haven't you? Will you now please turn to Page 23? It is Page 34 in the English Document Book. I am referring to Document No. 1403; the Exhibit No. is 319.
This is an order from the XVth Corps, the commander of which at that time was General Lueters. The order is dated the 11th of September. General, I ask you, has this order anything to do with the Army order of which we spoke earlier?
A. No, the Army order is dated the 12th of September, and this order is dated the 11th of September. It is interesting though to see that the Corps independently of the Army had reached the same conclusion that it might become necessary to take stringent measures. In the last paragraph of this Corps order it is expressly stated that any open or attempted resistance is to be broken by applying severe measures. The Corps too in the situation in which its troops found themselves did not feel very happy. And, therefore, it considered the possibly of taking severe measures in the case of resistance.
Q. Then, now, coming to a different matter, concerning the Italian problem. It is the so-called General Roncaglia case. General, would you please take Document Book XIII and open it to Page 26? In the English text it is Page 37. This is Document No. NOKW-037. The Exhibit No. is 320. This document contains a report from the Second Panzer Army of the 13th of September. It was sent over to the Army Group at a quarter past three in the afternoon. First, a preliminary question, General. How was it that such a daily report was made?
Q. These Daily Reports were written out every day in the afternoon, in connection with the Daily Reports we had been receiving during the day from the subordinate corps. The idea was to pass on the most important portions of the corps reports and incorporate them in the Army Report.
Q. General, and was that done in the Daily Report of the 13th of September?
A. Yes, I think one must assume it was. This Daily Report includes the Daily Report from the XXIst Mountain Corps. The first paragraph mentions partisan attacks and attacks on disarmed Italian soldiers. In the second paragraph the report from the 118th Jaeger Division is passed on, which mentions the intention to shoot the Italian General Roncaglia if he continued to offer resistance.
Court No. V, Case No. VII.
Q I want to interpolate another question which might possibly be significant. Did the army and the corps have to pass on any other reports apart from the daily reports?
A Yes, there were also morning reports and noontime reports.
Q Did you at that time read that report which we were just discussing?
A From the report itself, one cannot see that I read it but I must have read it or at least I must have heard about its contents because I issued an order in connection with this report, on account of it.
Q What picture did you gather from this report concerning the situation of the 118th Jaeger Division?
A I visualized the situation which prevailed with the 118th Jaeger Division--that is, the situation which had given rise to this report. I knew that until then there had been no difficulties with any Italian unit. I knew that everywhere the terms of the surrender had been carried out with the exception of the Bergamo Division which was offering resistance in Split and there was the exception of temporary friction in Ragusa and with the staff of the 14th Army Corps commanded by General Roncaglia. Roncaglia refused to acknowledge the order from his superior Commander in Chief concerning the surrender. He refused to conduct any negotiations for the carrying out of the surrender terms.
The staff was located in Podgoriza, a small place in Northern Albania. In that place and in the vicinity there was also stationed the Tavrinense Division. That division too refused to conduct negotiations and refused to acknowledge the surrender terms. It made excuses by saying that it was waiting for orders from Roncaglia. The German troops in the area of Podgoriza were too weak to enforce the surrender being acknowledged.
Q What consequences might have arisen for you from the conduct of General Roncaglia?
A The conduct, the attitude of General Roncaglia might have had Court No. V, Case No. VII.
extremely dangerous consequences. It had become known that, for example, the Second Italian Army which was stationed to the North of my area had taken prisoners the German unit which had asked them to surrender. From Greece, news was received on the 12th that the resistance--no, I should like to say the attitude of the Italians was stiffening. The evacuation of the Italians on their march to the railroad stations had not yet started. They and with their weapons were all in the coastal region. The situation around Split had not yet been cleared up. Gradually, they must have found out how weak we were. In that situation there was an extreme danger and threat that under Roncaglia's influence there might be a change of heart with the Italians, all the more so as Roncaglia was supported by the Tavrinense Division. That was the best division which the Italians had at their disposal. If such change of heart were to take place, it would have meant the destruction of my forces in the Italian area and furthermore an entirely changed situation in the coastal region.
The enemy bridgehead in the Balkans which we feared so much in that case would have been established, and the entire situation in the Balkans might have become untenable.
Q And what decision did you make?
A Of necessity, there could only be one decision and that decision was in all circumstances to eliminate General Roncaglia.
Q In other words, you approved of the division's decision, is that correct?
A Yes, but with one very important reservation. The decision of the division was in accordance with the Fuehrer's order. It also corresponded with an absolute military necessity. It was a fact for me that Roncaglia had to be eliminated at all costs. To me that was a perfect example of military necessity, but I did not approve of the division's decision in the form in which it had been reported. Roncaglia's conduct did mean great danger but it had not as yet led to any bloodshed. Therefore, I wanted to have a guaranty that extreme methods would only be Court No, V, Case No, VII.
resorted to if all other means had been exhausted.
Q In this connection, General, would you please open Volume 13 on page 28 in the German text--that is page 40 in the English text. It is Document NOKW-727, the exhibit number being 322. This is the order for the elimination of Roncaglia.
A Yes.
Q. Please will you tell us your views on the matter?
A I will say yes, this is my order. An order was given for Roncaglia, should he continue his resistance, to be shot as a franctireur but with the very important reservation if there is no guaranty for his immediate evacuation to Belgrade. The decision as to which of the two alternatives was to be chosen I had to leave to the division commander on the spot. I myself could not decide on that. I was 500 kilometers away from Potgorica. At any rate, the Divisional Commander was in no doubt about that clause of reservation in my order.
Q Do you know what was Roncaglia's fate after that, do you know what became of him?
A I don't remember from the time of the war but I know from entries made in the diaries of the 21st Corps with which I became acquainted here, the entries made on the 15th and 17th of September, that Roncaglia was taken to Belgrade quite safely.
Q Your Honors, those entries in the diary I shall submit but beyond that I am in the position on account of the cooperation of the American Military Attache at the American Embassy in Rome to prove that Roncaglia at the present time lives in Verona and is well.
General, we are still dealing with Book 13. Would you please take a look at Exhibit 321? It is on page 27 and on page 39 in the English book. The Commander-in-Chief Southeast ordered that General Roncaglia be shot in case of there being no guaranty of his being taken to Belgrade. Now, what do you have to say about that alleged order from the Commander-in-Chief Southeast?
A The Commander-in-Chief Southeast at that time was Fieldmarshal Court No. V, Case No. VII.
von Weichs. I can state that I do not remember that I ever discussed the affair of Roncaglia with Fieldmarshal von Weichs nor can I remember having received an order from him.
Q Is it possible that you spoke to his chief of staff General Foertsch?
A I am certain that I did not discuss this matter with him, nor did he have the position in which he might have given me advice. All he might have done was to say to me, "I shall report on this matter to the Commander-in-Chief and then I shall inform you of his decision." I am certain I did not talk to him about it. Foertsch no doubt would have been surprised if I had rung him up about this affair.
Q General, we are now coming to the events that occurred near Split. You told us that of the Battalions which were employed by the Italians on the 9th of September, all reached their destination with the exception of the one stationed near Split.
According to what you told us there were strong partisan units who blocked that battalion. Before we will discuss details, I should like you to tell us briefly what were the developments of the situation there.
A That battalion belonged to the 7th SS Mountain Division. Soon, the battalion reported that it was completely encircled by Italians and that the situation was in danger.
Q Did you take any steps?
Court No. V, Case No. VII.
A In Serbia around about that time there arrived a motorized infantry regiment. That regiment I immediately ordered in the direction of Split. That meant they had to march across Serbia, Albania, and they had to go up the coastal roads northward, roads which were very difficult. It was a march of considerably more than a thousand kilometers. Furthermore, other parts of the 7th SS Division, were withdrawn from the fighting against the partisans and also were sent towards Split.
Q And was that successful in the way you expected?
A Yes, at least in part. We succeeded in setting free the battalion. The considerable partisan forces were thrown back closer to Split. The Italians of the Bergamo Division joined in the fighting against us. They supported the partisans with weapons and with ammunition. We had very heavy looses in the fighting. When further elements of the 7th SS Division arrived, the partisans withdrew to the mountains and the town of Split was taken by the SS Division. The Bergamo Division was taken prisoner. About 300 officers and 9000 men, Part of the division had escaped to Italy on vessels.
Q Can you tell us the date when Split was taken, General?
A On the 27th of September.
Q Would you please look at Book XIII, page 41? It is 74 in the English text of thus Exhibit, 327. This is the Document NOKW-910which has been mentioned a great many times. Why was that inquiry made?
A That inquiry was made because the division did not know what orders were valid concerning the treatment of the Italians. I merely wanted to point out that the last sentence, last order re-treatment of Italians has been mistranslated in the English book.
Q May I ask you to translate that last sentence?
THE PRESIDENT: What page will you find that on?
DR. FRITSCH: Page 55 in the English text, your Honor. I beg your pardon, your Honor, the English page is 74. The German page is 58.
THE INTERPRETER: "Wie letzter Befehl Behandlung Italiener." is Court No. V, Case No. VII.
"The last order concerning the treatment of Italians."
BY DR. FRITSCH:
Q General, would you now in the same exhibit please turn to page 59, the English page is 75. This is the reply from the Corps. Was that answer in accordance with the orders that had been given?
A Yes, it was in accordance with them.
Q The document shows that the corps had also informed the Second Panzer Army of its reply. Did you, General, also receive that reply?
A You cannot tell that from the document but in any case it must have been so, for I remember that I did not agree with the decision of the Corps. I rang up General Leuters who unfortunately has died since, and I told him that the shooting of all officers was out of the question, a demand which had been made in the Fuehrer's order, but that one could only consider shooting those officers who were guilty in connection with the resistance.
Q Would you now turn to Exhibit 326 please? This is also contained in Book 13. It is Document NOKW-830. It is on page 36; in the English text it is or page 53. These are extracts from the Diary of the 15th A.K. (Army Corps). Would you please look at the entry made on the 27th of September, 1943?
A That entry which was made on the 27th of September reveals that the Corps which had issued orders to the 7th Division to apply the Fuehrer's order must have changed its intentions, for in the last paragraph of the entry made on that day it says: "The Commanding General has instituted investigations to ascertain who are the guilty officers." This entry mentions 202 officers. The true number of 300 probably at that time hadn't arrived yet.
Q In other documents the figure of 300 Italians officers is men tioned again. You know all documents. Do all those figures refer to the same case or are there other cases?
A Well, in all these documents in which three hundred officers Court No. V, Case No. VII.
are mentioned, only those same 300 officers who were taken prisoner at Split are referred to. Exhibit 332, 360, and 447 makes mention of that figure.
Q Would you now in Book 13 please turn to page 84? It is page 111 in the English text. It is Exhibit 332 which we have just mentioned, NOKW-053. This is the daily report from the XV A.K. dated 28 September. Would you please look at the passage which speaks of the shooting of the 300 officers?
A In this daily report from the XV Corps, it says in the last sentence of the first paragraph, 300 Italian officers will be shot according to the Fuehrer's orders after summary court martial. Again a very serious translating mistake has occurred. In the English text it says not "will be shot" as this interpreter translated it now quite correctly, but it stales merely "shot." That makes it look as if these 300 officers had already been shot at the time the entry was made.
Q Your Honor, may I point out that the passage in question occurred on page 111 of the English document. It is the fourth line from the top. It is the first paragraph -
PRESIDING JUDGE CARTER: We will take our morning recess at this time.
THE MARSHAL: The court will be in recess until 11:15.
(A recess was taken.)
Q. General, before the recess we discussed the question of the 300 Italian officers. Will you please look at Volume VIII the same Exhibit 332 which we discussed before the recess. It is Document NOKW 053, and look at the daily report by the 2nd Panzer Army; what can one conclude from that?
A. In this daily report the Army says, "300 officers and 900 men of the Bergamo Division have been captured." They are dealt with in accordance with the Fuehrer Order. Nothing is said here of any shooting.
Q. I want to clarify this matter altogether, and I shall therefore give you. the photostat copy of the original. Will you give us your comments about the passage with which we have dealt just now, and tell us what you can see therefrom?
A. From this report it becomes clear that a sentence has been crossed out. As far as it is possible to read it still reads as follows: "Officers will be shot after summary Courtmartial in accordance with the Fuehrer Order." This has teen crossed out and above it it says: "The treatment of those prisoners has been initiated in accordance with the Fuehrer Order."
DR. FRITSCH: I submit this photostat copy to the Tribunal, and I would appreciate it if the Tribunal takes notice of this change in the order. May I ask whether I should have the crossed out part translated, the sentence which the witness has just read. It has been translated as the witness read it, of course.
JUDGE CARTER: I assume that is a matter up to you, Dr. Fritsch.
DR. FRITSCH: Then might I ask to hand the document to the interpreter, who could then read out the sentence which has been crossed out.
May I point out once again that in the English Document Book it is on page 118.
THE INTERPRETER: There are actually two sentences which have been crossed out. I am not quite clear whether counsel wants me to read both of these sentences.
DR. FRITSCH: Might I ask you also to read the passage which has been substituted for the crossed out part.
THE INTERPRETER: The sentence is as follows: "300 officers and 900 men of the Bergamo Division have been captured." And there is one word crossed out which is illegible, and "have been shot after summary courtmartial in accordance with the Fuehrer Order." And the sentence goes on to say "and have been sent away for labor allocation," and the words crossed out in that sentence are "shot after summary courtmartial and sent away for labor allocation," and they have been crossed out and substituted with "And their treatment in accordance with the Fuehrer Order has been initiated."
DR. FRITSCH: Thank you.
Q. General, now what caused you to take these more mitigating measures as compared with the Fuehrer Orders?
A. When the capture of Split, the Italian crises was over, and when we interrogated many comrades of the Italian officers we learned that a large number of officers were opposed to continuing the fight on the part of the partisans, and also opposed to the idea of supplying them with arms. The same people who had once been their enemy. It seemed to me to be a matter of course that the Fuehrer Order no longer applied to all officers, but only to those who were really guilty.
Q. In the same document in Volume XIII on page 35 of the German and page 53 of the English, there is an entry "30th of September 1943 Banja Luka," and a statement is contained "Three generals shot to death in Split by virtue of summary courtmartial," what generals were those?