A. Office A-11/3 dealt with the matter, as it was more a treasury business. It was dealt with by Office A-II and not by Office A-I. That agency could equally have been with Office A-I. That was a purely organizational detail, but after Obersturmbannfuehrer Eggert had become Chief of A-II and had managed this already with the Verwaltungsamt-SS, that is to say, prior to the 1st of January, 1942, he was left in charge of that agency and when he became Chief of Office A-II with the WVHA, it was a pure coincidence for this treasury not to be with A-I, but with A-II and was purely based on the fact that this man happened to be in charge.
Q. Well, let's take a more concrete example. During the time that you were in charge of A-I, did you hear about the construction of any concentration camps?
A. I did not hear any details.
Q. Did you hear that Nordhausen was built during your term of office, for example?
A. No, I knew nothing about Camp Nordhausen.
Q. Did you hear that Bergen-Belsen was constructed during your term of office?
A. No.
Q. Now in the case of the construction of a concentration camp, for example, there would have to be the purchase of iron girders, cement, nails, barbed wire, and so forth. Can you tell us from where these materials were supplied?
A. Just what agency supplied these things I did not know, but I assume that Office Group C, the Building Inspectorate had supply agencies which supplied these things centrally.
Q. Well, Frank told us that in the case of large scale constructions, that it was necessary for Amtsgruppe A to have some dealings with these expenditures, and I'm trying to find out from you what you know about those procedures. Which Office in Amtsgruppe A handled the financial dealings?
A. I did not hear that Frank said that Office Group A had carried this out, it was Office Group C. Office Group C had its building inspectorate and Office Group A knew nothing about the building project.
Only C and Kammler could do that.
Q. It's true that there was an open budget, but for large expenditures, unusual expenditures, it was necessary for Amtsgruppe A to make some check on this and to pass the demand on to the Reichsminister of Finance, wasn't it?
A. Special permissions were necessary usually only when building or land was being bought. That was not looked after by Office A-I, however, but by the Legal Office A-III, because here they had legal problems with which A-I would have been unable to deal.
Q. And that office was headed by a man by the name of Ast, A-S-T?
A. No, Standartenfuehrer Salpeter. Ast was an assistant in that office.
Q. He was in charge of the real estate, purchasing land for new concentration camps, wasn't he -- Ast?
A. I don't know how things were subdivided in A-III.
Q. In none of these purchases of land for the enlargement of concentration camps were you informed, you received notification? You had nothing whatever to do with it, is that right?
A. It is possible that A-I was informed about that. I do not wish to dispute that, but I did not work on it. It was worked on by Office A-III.
Q. It is not only possible that you were informed; it is a fact, isn't it, that your office was kept informed about these expansions and acquisitions of land? That was a regular procedure, wasn't it? You were on the distribution list.
Q. It is possible, because the Reichsminister of Finance permitted and granted the monies later on. We had to be informed.
Q. When you joined the WVHA you knew, didn't you, what kind of tasks Amtsgruppe C was carrying out? You knew that Amtsgruppe was engaged in construction and that it used inmate labor, slave labor, in the construction of its projects?
A. I knew that Office Group C was competent for all buildings of the Waffen-SS. I also knew that because of the shortage of manpower, apart from civilian workers, concentration camp inmates worked on building programs. I did not know that in building programs concentration camp inmates were worked to death. I needn't have known it and I didn't know it, simply because my position had nothing to do with that sort of thing.
Q. You knew, didn't you, that Amtsgruppe W employed concentration camp inmates in its industries?
A. That was well known.
Q. And you know when Amtsgruppe D was incorporated into the WVHA that it was charged with the administration of the concentration camps?
A. They were not only ordered to do so, they already had the administration as the Inspectorate.
Q. When was it that you first found out that inmates were being mistreated in concentration camps and that they were being worked to death in the stone quarries of Amtsgruppe W? Did you ever find out about that while you hold your position in the WVHA?
A. No, I emphasized before that I knew that concentration camp inmates were used to work, but I did not know that when they did so they were being worked to death.
Q. Did you think that everyone in the concentration camps were criminals. Did you think that they had all been duly tried?
A. I knew that during the war inmates had been sent to concentration camps without having been tried duly before. In total war, and as Germany was encircled, the higher Government Departments became increasingly nervous and regulations about offenses, became more and more tight. What I imagined was that these were measures necessitated by the war time emergency. I dispute most emphatically of having knowledge, first, that mass murders were being executed and, two, that inmates were being worked to death, and, three, that inmates starved to death in concentration camps. I never knew that, on the basis of my position.
Q. Did you know either privately or through any other sources, not on the basis of your official position?
A. No, I said I didn't know it at all.
Q. Did you know that Bible Research Workers, so-called, the Jehova's Witnesses, as a group were placed into concentration camps without being given any hearing at all?
A. As far as I knew the Jehova's Witnesses were sent to concentration camps because they were conscientious objectors -- on the basis of their attitude.
Q. Did you know that trade union members were sent to concentration camps?
A. I know nothing about the individual categories of people who were sent to concentration camps. I knew that people of various nationalities were in concentration camps, but whether these included trade union officials I was unable to know, because I never saw any reports of concentration camp inmates.
Q. Did you know prisoners-of-war were incarcerated in concentration camps?
A. No, I said before that I knew nothing about prisoners-of-war.
Q. You knew, didn't you, that Jews were rounded up and put into concentration camps without any hearing at all?
A. All I knew was that Jews were in concentration camps.
Q. How many inmates did you think were in the concentration camps in 1942 when you became -
JUDGE MUSMANNO: Mr. Robbins, let's pursue that preceding answer just a second. You said you knew that Jews were in concentration camps. Well, you also knew that they were sent there without any trial of any kind?
WITNESS: Under what circumstances Jews were being sent to concentration camps was unknown to me. How should I know it?
JUDGE MUSMANNO: But you did know that they were not given any hearing of any kind, because I think you stated earlier that you knew that practically all concentration camp inmates were sent without being given a hearing.
WITNESS: Your Honor, I did not know under what circumstances they were sent, whether they were sent there on a basis of an order, I did not know, because I had no connection with the Reich Security Office or other agencies responsible for the commitment of inmates.
JUDGE MUSMANNO: Well, you know today that people were sent to concentration camps without trials. You know, don't you. You knew it then.
WITNESS: I knew that people were in camps who had not been put before an ordinary trial, but on the basis of what offense or what orders they had been committed to a camp was unknown to me.
Q I'm only asking you if you did not know that practically all inmates of concentration camps were without having been given a hearing in the sense that we understand a judicial hearing.
A No, I did not know that, your Honor; certainly not.
BY MR. ROBBINS:
Q How many inmates did you think were in the concentration camps in 1942?
A I am unable to give you any estimate at all. I never saw any lists.
Q Well, did you know anybody who was ever Sent to a concentration camp?
A You mean I personally?
Q Yes.
A No.
Q You wouldn't make any estimate at all as to the population of the camps? Did you think it was 100,000, 50,000, 200,000?
A No, I never made an estimate.
THE PRESIDENT: Just a minute, Mr. Robbins.
EXAMINATION BY THE PRESIDENT:
Q Witness, a few minutes ago you said that since Germany was encircled--Do you remember saying that?
A Yes, Mr. President.
Q Of course, everyone is encircled. What did you mean by that? Encircled by what?
A Encircled by the enemy, military speaking, encircled. Germany was cut off from the rest of the world.
Q When did this become true? At what time?
A That became a fact after the fall of Stalingrad and later on after the invasion by the Allied troops.
Q I see. You don't mean that Germany was encircled by enemies in 1939?
A No. No, certainly not, Mr. President, only during war-time. Later on the encirclement became stronger and stronger as the war went on, particularly after Stalingrad, when the front had to be withdrawn all the time, and the higher agencies became more and more nervous.
Q You mean finally the nations against whom Germany had waged war surrounded her?
A Yes, quite.
Q All right.
BY MR. ROBBINS:
Q When did you first find out, if you ever found out, that it was the policy of the Nazi Party, of the SS, and of the German Reich to carry on the persecution of Jews?
A Mr. Prosecutor, the Party program has been quoted before and particularly the point that the Jews are to be segregated from public life, cannot be citizens, and are to be regarded as guests of Germany only. Between that paragraph and the extermination of the Jews there is a colossal difference. I could not see from the Party program that the extermination was intended. I had no idea of that.
Q Did you see that from the SS newspaper "Das Schwarze Korps"?
A No.
Q Did you ever read the paper?
A I saw it once or twice, yes.
Q You saw the "Schwarze Korps" only one or twice during your whole time with the SS?
A No. I do not wish to say that; but I cannot say either that I saw every single copy.
Q Did you see it regularly?
A Not regularly, irregularly.
Q Did you see it once a week?
A It came out only once a week.
Q Did you see it weekly?
A I said before that I am unable to say whether I saw every single copy. I traveled quite a lot; and when I traveled, I certainly did not read that paper.
Q You didn't at any time see in the "Schwarze Korps" that it was the policy of the SS to eliminate the Jews from Germany?
A I said before that there is a great difference between elimination and extermination.
Q What do you think the "Schwarze Korps" meant when it said, "for elimination."? Did you think it was deportation or just what?
A Elimination of the Jews from public life. May I perhaps at this point, Mr. President, mention an incident which is connected with this? This did not happen in wartime but before the war. It is being said all the time that we should have known from the Party program that the Party and the SS aimed at the extermination of the Jews. Therefore, I want to mention this. In 1936, up to the outbreak of war when I worked in Nuernberg, I was responsible also for the feeding and billeting of the SS during the Reich Party rallies. On those occasions the so-called guest tent of Reichsfuehrer Himmler was under my command. That was a guest tent which was a tent set up every year in the SS camp where Himmler received his guests, on the eve of the big parade before Hitler.
Among those guests there were the bigger part of the foreign diplomats and military attaches whom Himmler had invited and who had available themselves of that invitation. On those occasions there were usually about 1200 or 1500 guests. Guests were treated with Frankonian specialities. The Reichfuehrer made a speech, including to the foreign diplomats, who were present, and the speech was replied to in a very cordial tone by the dean of the diplomatic corps, and the SS was praised in particular.
Following that speech every guest received a present from the Reichfuehrer SS in the shape of a vase produced in the Allach factories.
That vase was filled with Nuernberg gingerbread. After that the Leibstandarte played a piece of military music because night had fallen. At that time I as an SS leader could never form the impression that the SS was an unlawful or criminal organization, when foreign diplomats came as the guests of the supreme Leader of that same SS and received presents from him. The Party program was not a secret document. It was public; and certainly it must have been known abroad.
EXAMINATION BY THE TRIBUNAL (JUDGE MUSMANNO):Q What year was that?
A 1936, 1937, and 1938. The same was also to have taken place in 1939; but the Party Rally did not take place because of the outbreak of war. I remember this extremely well because I had a lot of trouble with the tent, and from Friday evening to Sunday evening I never saw me bed.
Q In what month of the year did the Rally take place?
A The Reich Party Rally usually took place in the beginning of September.
Q And lasted until when?
A It usually lasted about a week.
Q Then it happened in September, and you say this program which you have just indicated of festivities and entertainment occurred in 1936, 1937, and 1938?
A Yes, quite. I know it myself because I was personally present.
Q And the foreign diplomats were present, you said?
A Yes.
Q Now, all this happened prior to November 10, 1938, didn't it?
A Yes, yes.
Q So that the foreign diplomats did not have an opportunity of observing the SS in action against the Jews, did they, when they were receiving this gingerbread that you speak of?
A No, not at that time, but what I wanted to say is that reception was planned also for 1939.
Q Did they have it in 1939?
A It could not take place because war broke out on the 4th of September.
Q The foreign diplomats weren't there in 1939; they were interned, I imagine.
A Yes, quite.
BY MR. ROBBINS:
Q You knew at that time, in September 1936, 1937, and 1938, that concentration camps were being operated in Germany, that they were being operated under the supervision of the SS, didn't you?
AAt that time in the Allgemeine SS I had no point of contact with concentration camps whatsoever. I knew that they existed. Apart from that I knew nothing at all about them.
Q But you knew they existed?
A Yes.
Q You didn't know what kind of people were sent there at all? You had no idea about that?
A I knew nothing at the time because I did not deal with concentration camps at that time.
EXAMINATION BY THE TRIBUNAL (JUDGE MUSMANNO):
Q Witness, you personally learned of November 10, 1938 exesses did you not? You've heard of them?
A Yes.
Q You also knew of the billion lark indemnity levied on the Jews in Germany?
A How big the damage was I did not know, your Honor. I knew that a great many shops had been plundered and smashed. That the indemnity amounted to in the whole of Germany I was quite unable to judge.
Q Then you learned rather early that the Jews were being per secuted.
You may not have known it when you joined the SS; you may not have known from reading the Party program that such excesses would be reached; but it wasn't long until you found out that one of the main purposes of the Nazi Party was to persecute -- we won't say exterminate -- but to persecute the Jews?
A Your Honor, may I draw your attention to the fact that at that time in the press and rallies it was pointed out that this had been a responsive demonstration on the part of the people because of the murder of the attache in Paris. It would have been a symptom of popular wrath. We did not know the real background.
Q When did you find out the real background?
A All I knew was that the Jews in the war were herded together on ghettoes and in concentration camps. A direct extermination program I never heard anything about.
Q No, but you say that the real background of the November 10 demonstration was not known at the time. There came a time, however, when you learned just what had happened. When was that?
A One could hear quite generally that on that so-called Crystal Sunday Jewish windows had been smashed and Jewish shops were plundered. One could hear that quite generally. One needn't be an SS leader for that. That was known quite generally.
Q When did you find out that the SS had a directing hand in this demonstration, this violence?
A How far the SS was involved in this, I never heard. I did not have the position to find out that.
Q This is just a matter of information. Why was it called the Crystal Sunday? I've heard that phrase several times.
A Because all the crystal windows had been smashed in the shops. That's why it is called Crystal Sunday.
THE PRESIDENT: We will recess.
THE MARSHALL: The Tribunal is in recess for fifteen minutes (A recess was taken).THE MARSHAL:
The Tribunal is again in session.
BY MR. ROBBINS:
Q. Witness, for just a moment I want to direct your detention to the memorandum of Baier, which you discussed on Direct Examination, Exhibit 86. I don't think it is necessary for you to turn to it.
In Baier's file memorandum he states that Pohl has ordered that he is to participate in the work of drawing up the camp regulations, and that you and Salpeter are to be consulted. That is Pohl's order. Do you want us to believe that you at no time had any conversation about this matter, and that you learned about it for the first time when you saw the document here in court?
A. In my direct examination I have already stated that I didn't participate in any conference as mentioned here.
Q. I ask you if this was the first time you heard about it when you saw the document in court?
A. It is possible that I learned that I was to be consulted. I have already stated before what the reason was, because I knew the terms about the employment of laborers with the Reichs authorities, and apparently -
Q. When you say "laborers" you mean inmate laborers, don't you?
A. No, I don't. I mean regular workers who were employed by the Reich normally, and for whom there were specific regulations.
Q. And you say that you never had any conversation with anyone pursuant to Pohl's order that you discuss these camp regulations?
A. No. It is possible that I heard somehow that I was to be consulted. However, I was not consulted.
Q. And you didn't talk to anybody about these regulations?
A. The camp regulations were to be set up new, as can be seen from the document. In other words, it was nothing but a new setting up where I was to be consulted, and apparently something new was to be created here. That was the reason why I was supposed to be consulted.
Q. And you at no time saw these new camp regulations?
A. No, I cannot recall ever having seen them, and I don't know if such a regulation was ever set up.
Q. You wish to tell us that you didn't see the regulations, or you just cannot remember having seen them?
A. Well, I cannot recall any longer having seen such regulations. I do not want to exclude the possibility of having seen them. However, I have no recollection, so to speak, that I ever saw a camp regulation concerning the employment of inmates.
Q. And you also wish to say that you cannot remember having discussed these camp regulations, discussed the procedure of setting them up?
A. I know for sure that I did not participate in those conferences, nor was I called upon to do so.
Q. You keep saying "conferences." I am asking you if you discussed it with anyone. I am not talking about a formal conference. Did you talk to Salpeter about this, or Baier, or Pohl, formally or informally?
A. No. It is possible that Baier informed me about the order of Pohl, namely, that I was to be consulted when they set up a new plan. This possibility exists. However, when this plan was worked out, I was not consulted. I believe I couldn't state in anymore clearly than that.
Q. Now, for a moment I would like to ask you about the Amt A-II. Did you tell us that you were at no time in charge of this Amt, you at no time had supervision over A-II?
A. I have stated that after the Chief of Office A-II, Obersturmbannfuehrer Eggert, was transferred at Easter 1944, I also supervised Amt A-II. However, I was not appointed Chief of Office, because the position of the Chief of Office had been eliminated.
Q. And what date was this that you started to supervise A-II?
A. Well, that was at Easter of 1944. I believe it was in April.
Q. Can you tell us how often you had conferences with Melmer?
A. I have stated before that Melmer was never under my orders. The treasury as I have already stated before also --
Q. I didn't ask you that. I just asked you how often you conferred with Melmer. If you didn't confer at all, just say so.
A. No, he was not under my supervision.
Q. Did you ever talk to him; did you ever speak to him?
A. It is possible that I spoke to him once or twice. However, he was not under my supervision, therefore I could not discuss official matters with him.
Q. How often did you confer with the Defendant Vogt?
A. I couldn't tell you today. I didn't have much contact with Amt A-IV. I have mentioned today that when the 300,000 Marks were repaid I had some business with him. However, generally speaking Amt A-I had nothing to do with Amt A-IV.
Q. That was the only time you ever had any connections with A-IV?
A. It is possible that we discussed certain matters sometimes, or that we spoke to each other, or then that there was a matter in which A-I or A-IV were interested. However, I really cannot recall the details today, and apart from that Amt A-IV was at a distance of approximately one hundred kilometers from Berlin.
Q. How often did you confer with Fanslau?
A. I have already stated that Fanslau did not have any expert knowledge in my field of task, and therefore I didn't consult him in those matters.
Q. Can't you answer my question more briefly? I just asked you, how often did you confer with Fanslau? You don't have to discuss his sphere of duties and your sphere of duties.
A. Yes, well, maybe three or four times a week, or then in three weeks maybe we didn't have a single conference.
Q. How often did you have conferences with Pohl?
A. It varied considerably. It could be twice within two weeks. However, it could be that there was no conference whatsoever within three months. It all depended on when Pohl desired conferences, and then the question was if I had anything to report to him.
As far as the organization Todt, T-o-d-t, was concerned, I always gave him the reports about the proposals made there, and that occurred perhaps once a month.
Q. How often did you confer with Frank?
A. Until Frank left the conferences also varied. It could be two or three times a week, or then I wouldn't see him at all for four or six weeks.
Q. Did you ever have a conference with Kammler?
A. I cannot recall having had any conferences with Kammler.
Q. Were you ever in a conference with Gluecks?
A. I had nothing to do with Gluecks. I only knew Gluecks from sight. I didn't have any official connections with him.
Q. Did you ever have any kind of a conference with anyone in Amtsgruppe D?
A. I spoke with Chief of Office D-II in Amtsgruppe D, and Office Chief D-IV. I can recall one conference with the Chief of Office D-II. We discussed the transfer of money that belonged to the inmates from one Reich agency to another Reichs agency. Let me give an example. The garden in Dachau employed inmates, and the treasury of the concentration camp at Dachau asked that the pay be sent to them. Of course, it wouldn't have made any sense because the payment would have taken place from one Reich agency to another Reich agency. Therefore, I had conferences with Maurer, namely that those transfers should be discontinued, and that his agencies should receive the necessary orders to that effect. I had conferences with Burger, B-u-r-g-e-r, with reference to the female guards in the concentration camps. In line with the simplification of the procedure of the administration in the entire Wehrmacht, of which the Waffen-SS was a part, a new procedure was to be instituted for women who worked in the Wehrmacht office. I informed Burger to carry out the preliminary organization for those supervisors who also belonged to that sphere in order to expedite matters when these new regulations would go into effect.
Q What did you confer with D-4 about? You said you conferred with some of the officials in D-4?
A Yes, I spoke with Maurer and with Burger.
Q And were those the only conferences with officials of D that you had?
A These were the conferences which I can recall. It is possible that I spoke with Maurer or Burger at another date. However, I can't recall any exact date. In any case, I didn't have any conferences with D-1 or D-3. I didn't have any connection with these matters.
Q Did you have any conferences with anyone in Amtsgruppe C, other than Kammler, whom you said you didn't confer with?
A I can recall that I spoke with one official of Amtsgruppe C. At the time we were dealing with the establishment of a Construction Savings Account, and the savings Association of the SS was to be consulted for that, and the man in charge, or the expert there came to see me, whose name I cannot recall, and conferred with me as to how those things should be carried out so that he could submit these proposals to his chief.
Q Is that the only conference you recall with officials of C?
A It is possible that we discussed budget matters once or twice. I say it is possible.
Q Do you recall any conferences of Amtsgruppe W?
A Do you mean D, for dog?
Q W.
A W, yes. I have today mentioned the conference with Dr. Volk with regard to the repayment of the 300,000 marks; then, furthermore, I possibly spoke with Baier about my potential participation by working out the new wage scale, but then I can't recall any conferences with anybody else, and particularly with W, because I had nothing to do with W.
Q Did you have any business conferences with any official in Amtsgruppe B?
A No. Well, I had conferences with Tschentscher who had taken over Office B-1 in order to draw his attention to the current happenings.
However, I had not other connections with Amtsgruppe B because in my office. I, I had nothing to do with food, clothing and billeting. I only had contact with Scheide when I needed a car for my official trips, because he was in charge of the motor pool.
Q Did you ever have a conference with anyone in B-2? No conference at all with any official in B-2?
A You mean B, for Baker?
Q Yes, B-2.
A You mean Obersturmbannfuehrer Lechler. It is possible that we discussed a few things. However, officially we didn't have any conferences. Maybe sometimes we discussed budgetary matters for his clothing works. It is possible that we discussed those things.
MR. ROBBINS: I have no further questions.
THE PRESIDENT: Any other questions of this witness?
DR. RAUSCHENBACH (Counsel for the defendant H. Loerner) Your Honor, I have no further questions for the re-examination, and if there are no further questions I believe I can now conclude the examination of the witness Hans Loerner. However, there might be other Defense counsel who may have a question or two.
THE PRESIDENT: Apparently there are none.
All right, the Marshal will place the defendant in the dock.
DR. SCHMIDT (Counsel for the defendant J. Vogt): Your Honors, the Defense in the case of Joseph Vogt, intend to simply call the defendant Joseph Vogt in the witness dock and, this presentation of evidence at the same time, to submit several document book and in an additional book.
I am not quite sure if this Tribunal has already received these document books in the English copy.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, Shall we call the defendant to the witness stand? Shall we call the defendant to the witness stand?
DR. SCHMIDT: Yes, indeed.
JUDGE MUSMANNO: Do you say that your document books have been circulated?
DR. SCHMIDT: Your Honor, in the defense information center we have already distributed the books, the document books, in both English and German. I received the German copies and also a few English copies.
JUDGE MUSMANNO: I will make further inquiry.
JOSEF VOGT, a witness, took the stand and testified as follows:
THE PRESIDENT: Witness, raise your right hand, please, and repeat after me: I swear by God, the Almighty and Omniscient, that I will speak the pure truth and will withhold and add nothing.
(The witness repeated the oath.)
THE PRESIDENT: Please be seated.
BY DR. SCHMIDT:
Q Witness, would you tell this Tribunal first of all very briefly your professional career until you joined the administration of the SS, and also you curriculum vitae?
A I was born on the 18th of February, 1884, in Urspringen in Lower Franconia. My father was a teacher at a community school. I am married; I have three children, one daughter and two sons. I visited the regular school from my tenth year on, and I attended the Humanitarian Gymnasium up until the fifth grade. When I was 19 I joined the NCO school. I studied there for three years and then signed up for 12 years of service. In the year 1906 I was permitted to become an adjutant petty officer in the administration, and after having completed my training I was used in the administration of the army with various units as a paymaster. In the 1914-1918 World War I participated, second clerk. I was wounded twice. Towards the end of 1918 I was promoted to paymaster with the rank of a First Lieutenant. In March 1920, due to the dissolution of the German army I was released from military service. Immediately afterwards I worked in Civil Service in the Office for Claims of wounded veterans. I completed my examination there for the higher grade of service and I became an administrative inspector. My last civilian agency was the Medical Examination School at Munich.
Q What brought about your entry into the administrative office of the SS?
AAs I already explained before, my profession was that of a military administrator. After the increase in the strength of the army started in 1906, I again wanted to serve in the army administrative service.
Q. Excuse me, did you say 1906?
A I said 1936. A request which I made in Munich in the Wehrkreis Administration No. VII was disapproved. The representative of the auditign court. Ambsrat Gerner referred me to the special task groups of the SS. He drew to my attention to the fact that the administration of the SS Special Task Groups was looking for former paymasters with expert knowledge in order to employ them. He had already reported me to the personnel office there.