The firm sent this letter as a complaint. I had this letter in my files. Unfortunately it was burned when we escaped from Rostock.
Q. Witness, in order to clarify the matter the innate Gross wrote about the camp at Dachau?
A. Yes, he referred to the camp Dachau.
Q. And Weissruettel?
A. He referred to the concentration camp Sachsenhausen.
Q. From the testimony of the witness Kogon I can recall in particular that he also mentioned the fact that inmates had to perform work while double timing; that is to say, they had to carry stones and so on. Do you know anything about that?
A. Yes, that was also customary in the concentration camp Sachsenhausen. An order existed there by the camp commander Loritz, according to which workers who did not work or did not have to carry any objects were allowed to move on the double only. This was already fundamentally prohibited in May, 1942.
Q. Do you know anything about orders which concerned supplemental clothing for the inmates?
A. Yes, I know that a competition took place where suggestions were to be submitted, according to which the clothing for the inmates could be improved with the available raw materials. I do not know the results, but I assume that this matter was handled by Office D-4.
Q. Do you know anything about the fact how the execution of these orders was supervised, and can you tell me what happened to the camp commanders who violated these orders? What kind of action was taken against them?
A. Yes, The first disciplinary measure was taken against the camp commander of Sachsenhausen, Loritz. The director in charge of the training school for inmate roofers reported at the time that two roofer apprentices had not appeared for work and that they allegedly were sick.
However, it had been pointed out to him by other inmates that Loritz wanted these inmates to work for him, for his own purposes, and that he had given them some other work. At the time I was ordered to investigate the matter. That is exactly what I did. I don't want to bore this Tribunal by giving a detailed account of what steps were taken at the time. In any case the result of the investigation was that it was determined that Loritz employed a detachment of inmates who, in the list were shown as being sick; that he used them in order to build a poultry farm and a fishing pond. Beyond that he had an inmate detachment of his own loaned to a friend of his in order to establish a big bakery in Augsburg, and he himself had a house built for his own use at the Wolfgang Lake. Beyond that he had *** black market shops for his own requirements within the camp itself. Loritz and Biokowski, who at that time was the commander of Dachau and who was connected with the matter at Augsburg, and several other commanders were relieved of their assignments.
Q. Do you know whether the concentration camp inmates had been insured against accidents as far as they were working in the industries?
A. Yes, all concentration camp inmates had accident insurance. Every accident had to be recorded in the files and the documents had to be sent to the RSHA, Reichs Security Main Office. From that agency all the further negotiations were carried on. The whole procedure was based on legal regulations as is also mentioned in Document NO-3654, Exhibit 557.
THE PRESIDENT: Do you mean to say that if a Polish Jew was injured while working for DEST, that he got damages if he was injured?
THE WITNESS.: I have to assume that, your Honor. In the legal provision it states that all concentration camp inmates and all inmates of other state institutions have to be insured against accidents, and nowhere is it stated that any group of persons is to be exempted from that law.
THE PRESIDENT: You don't think that the employer---that would be DEST or the Klinker Works--that they got the damages instead of the man who was hurt?
WITNESS: No, your Honor, that is impossible.
THE PRESIDENT: No, not impossible. You don't know, do you, one way or the other?
THE WITNESS: No, your Honor, I don't know that.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, neither do I.
BY DR. BELTER:
Q. Witness, what do you know about measures to supplement the food of the inmates?
A. I know that the concentration camps were ordered during the summertime to collect mushrooms, berries and wild vegetables and that Jehova's Witnesses who were inmates were to be used for that purpose. There was also an order that all the bare spaces in the concentration camps were to be used for the growing of vegetables, to be used as food for the inmates. As far as I know, in the post exchanges in the camps, groceries could also be purchased.
BY THE PRESIDENT:
Q. What would they be purchased with -- the wages of the inmates?
A. Well, they could buy goods in the post exchanges.
Q. What would they use for money?
A. The inmates, after all, received certain working bonuses in camp money, so to speak.
Q. And those were the only people who could buy at the post exchanges, the people who by working harder than the others got coupons or bonuses?
A. Your Honor, may I correct that the working bonuses were not paid only to inmates who did more work than others, but they were paid for all the work that was done. I shall refer to the system of bonuses a little later, Your Honor. May I ask you to put aside this subject until that time?
DR. BELZER: I am just about to ask this question, Your Honor.
BY DR. BELZER:
Q. Witness, the former inmate who has testified here as a witness, the writer, Eugene Kogon, states in his book "The SS State" on page 69: "Probably with a reasonable working system, if it had been carried on a humane basis, twice or three times the amount of work could have been carried out with one fifth the number of workers that was actually used for this work."
I now want to ask you, witness, whether there was an inducement for inmates to work at all, which Kogon missed, and what did this inducement consist of?
A. This inducement did exist. It consisted mainly of the working bonuses and a special reward for suggestions for improvements with regard to the plants, and it could result in the release of an inmate from the concentration camp.
Q. Please give us a short description of the bonuses.
A. From my knowledge and from my activity with the DEST I can state on this subject that the inmates originally received cigarettes and additional food. From the beginning of 1942 on they received cash funds. The plant manager had to pay this money to the inmates in the presence of the commander. This procedure was very complicated, and a so-called payroll was worked out. That is to say, the inmate received only a small paper script, and he could exchange that at the inmate finance office against standard currency. I know from activity with Office D-II that the working bonuses were introduced and that for these bonuses the inmate could make purchases in the post exchange. Originally it had been intended to pay these bonuses in cash. However, as far as I can recall, Bluecks refused to comply with this measure. He asked that camp scrip be introduced, so that it would become more difficult for inmates to escape and to make it impossible for the inmates to carry on black market deals with civilians and others for tobacco goods.
The principle of these bonuses was approximately the following: The firm had to pay a certain sum to the Reich. That is, it had to pay the sum which corresponded to the expenses which the Reich had for the inmates. However, above that, it was to have payrools, and it was to figure out the pay which was due to the inmates. The difference between the payment to the Reich and wages which the inmates had earned was to be paid to the inmates themselves.
Especially with regard to Kogon's opinion, I would like to quote from the book of Weissruettel briefly, and I want to give the opinion of Weissruettel about these things. In his book he states, on Page 121:
"Toward the end of the year 1943 the agency and the labor assignment system which in the meantime had become an extensive and efficient agency, developed working coupons. They were issued to the inmates, and they were worth a maximum of RM 40. They were issued monthly. Of course, this system offered an inducement to the inmates that could not be under-estimated. Even if the amount did not correspond at all to the achievement, the conditions under which we had to live still induced us to try to obtain these coupons, in particular since we were able to buy cigarettes only by means of these coupons. Now, we could also get some malt beer that was free of alcohol and which tasted better than the bitter camp coffee, and in many of us it awakened the illusion of a certain luxury. With these coupons we were also able to do without money orders from home. If we consider all these improvements, one might think that suddenly humanity had opened its gate to us in order to compensate us with a flood of good deeds for everything that we had suffered in the past."
He then goes on to say, on Page 132:
"With the exception of food, all objects which were sold here came from the booty stocks of the SS, mainly the cigarettes and tobacco, and there were usually very large amounts on hand."
Q. Witness, you have already answered one question. You have already stated in answering a question by the President that the bonuses were not paid only because inmates worked more than some of the other inmates, but for good work.
A. Beyond that, they were also issued to the inmates as a reward for suggestions that the inmates made for improvements in the plants. In this connection, I would also like to state that the camps had to submit a report every month on just how many bonuses the firms had paid to the inmates.
These figures were handled by the Office D-II-/3 , and they were submitted constantly to the office chief. I know that initially Maurer very often brought them to the commanders and asked them to carry on negotiations with the firms so that these bonuses would be increased.
Q. Witness, the President of this Court has been justified in asking you a certain question. I want you to clarify it now. Was the issuance of bonuses limited to the inmates who worked in the industries, or were coupons also issued to inmates who worked only in the camps proper?
A. It was stated explicitly that all the inmates were to receive the bonus coupons. The inmates who were working in the camps received these bonuses from the Reich Treasury. Responsible for the expenditure here was the administrative officer of that particular concentration camp.
Q. According to what you heard, what was the participation of the inmates in the submission of suggestions for improving conditions?
A. The request for the submission of suggestions for improvements in the plants originated in a measure that was ordered by the Reich Government, according to which all workers in the plants were requested to pass on such requests and suggestions to their plant managers; that is to say, suggestions in which the production methods could be simplified or improved.
This measure also was extended to the inmates and I know that the inmates participated in this to a very large extent. We only received suggestions for improvements which could not be utilized in the plant where the inmate was working, and we then would pass them on to the Speer Ministry, who would pass it on to the Luftwaffe, the Army or the Navy. That depended on the field of work to which this suggestion for improvement referred.
The Prosecution has presented a document here, it is Document 1584-PS. It is Exhibit 68 in Document Book 3. This letter is written by Pohl, addressed to Himmler, and it states in the Heinkel Works alone up to now two hundred inmates have submitted suggestions for improvements. It also states that the number of inmates there is to be increased to 6,000. That is to say the percentage of the inmates who participated in the suggestions was very considerable.
Q Of what did the reward consist which was given for production improvement suggestions?
A Here the reward also consisted in the payment of certain bonus coupons, and the Speer Ministry generally had worked out a list according to the height of the amounts to be paid, and according to which the suggestions could be evaluated. Then the inmates could be made foremen, or they could be suggested for release.
Q Did any cases come to your attention where in industrial plants recommendations were made for the release of inmates who were working there? You have already made a statement yesterday about the release of inmates from the DEST.
A I know for certain from the Heinkel Works that in a very large number of cases they recommended the release of inmates who had submitted suggestions for improvement. I also know that these releases actually were carried out.
Q How did the Office D-II deal with these requests for releases made by the firms?
A The Office D-II officially had nothing to do with these requests for releases. However, I know from conversations with Maurer that Maurer always pointed out this possibility to the firms.
Q Beyond that, and apart from other suggestions, did the Office D-II recommend the release of inmates?
A The RSHA, the Reich Security Main Office, was exclusively competent for the release of inmates. The Office D-II, therefore, whenever such a matter was submitted to it, had to get the approval from the RSHA, and had to make its application to the RSHA just like any other agency. I know that in May or June of 1942 Maurer requested a list from some camps of inmates who had already been in a concentration camp for quite a while, and that list was compiled only of political inmates. He then submitted these lists to Gluecks, and he requested Gluecks to make a request to the RSHA for the release of these inmates, because it was intended to use these people as civilian workers in economic plants. We took this way because it was know that, for example, the Gestapo Agency at Nuernberg, by order of Streicher, fundamentally refused to have Communists released. Therefore we had to use these inmates in M-plants, that is to say, in plants which were located outside of the Gestapo District of Nuernberg. The RSHA approved these requests at the time, and a large number of inmates were consequently released.
Q In order to clarify the testimony of the Witness Kogon, did the Office D-II have the right to object to requests for releases which came from another agency? In other words, could the Office D-II prevent the release of inmates?
A No, as far as I know the correspondence went directly from the RSHA to the camps. It went to the political departments there where a man from the RSHA was stationed. The Office D-II did not know anything about this whole procedure. It did not receive any documents about any inmates so that it could not have raised any objections.
Q With regard to the benefits to inmates which you have just mentioned, were certain groups of inmates excluded from that, for example, Jewish inmates?
A No, I have already stated that originally the order stated that all initiates should enjoy the benefits of these bonuses. When I visited the watch repair shop at the camp in Sachsenhausen, the man in charge of that repair shop told me at the time that the administrative officer of the camp Sachsenhausen was refusing to pay bonuses to the Jewish inmates. I immediately reported this matter to Maurer. Maurer issued an order which was addressed to all camps, and in that order it was stated once more fundamentally that all inmates, including Jewish inmates, were to receive these working bonuses. The administrative officer of Sachsenhausen at that time was reprimanded.
The Prosecution has presented a document here; it is NO-1247, Exhibit 349, in Document Book 12. It is an order by Kaltenbrunner according to which in the east Jews should only be given manual work. I would like to state here that this order by Kaltenbrunner was not complied with, but that the Jews also were workers for us, and we used them in accordance with their professional skills. We used them as physicians, as clerks, or as skilled craftsmen.
JUDGE MUSMANNO: Could you ignore -
DR. BELZER: Witness -
JUDGE MUSMANNO: Could you ignore an order issued by Kaltenbrunner?
THE WITNESS: Your Honor, this letter was not an explicit order. It is a notification to all authorities where he announces certain bad conditions in existence, and where he tells them that such and such a procedure is to be followed.
JUDGE MUSMANNO: I take it then that you were allowed a certain latitude of action in your administration of the camps? Do you understand that? You were allowed a certain liberty that you were not required to follow literally suggestions made, or even recommendations or perhaps orders coming from a higher level.
THE WITNESS: Your Honor, the RSHA, in my opinion, never interfered with our labor allocation. Unfortunately, the situation was that two different agencies worked in the concentration camps, and they gave their orders, and one agency did not know very much about the orders which were given by the other.
JUDGE MUSMANNO: Very well.
Q (By Dr. Belzer) Witness, what compelled you to make the statement here that the Jewish inmates also received their bonuses?
A I considered that the Jewish inmates as workers were also justified to receive these bonuses.
Q Therefore, that was your feeling of justice?
A Yes.
Q Did you have to overcome any resistance when you recommended this measure, or did Maurer immediately comply with all your wishes in that matter?
A Maurer immediately agreed with my suggestion, and he issued an order to that effect.
Q Were any special regulations in existence about the labor allocation of inmates, who issued them, and what were their contents?
A In the course of the years more and more orders were issued about the labor. In the summer of 1944 they were compiled into a service regulation for labor assignment of inmates including the bonus system, and Pohl issued that particular order.
Q Witness, in some other connection you have already answered the question in the negative, that the Office D-II was able to prevent or delay the release of concentration camp inmates. Does this apply to all cases, or wasn't the Office D-II in special cases the border limit of releases? I want to refer to Document NO-1293, Exhibit 99, in Document Book 4 where the witness Grimm has stated -- That is Page 85 of the German text and Page 68 of the English text, Exhibit 99 in Book 4.
A Is it an affidavit of Grimm? The Grimm affidavit is located in Document Book 11.
Q. I made a mistake; I confused these two documents. Please make a statement with regard to Document NO-1293, Exhibit 99 in Document Book 4.
A. It is an order by Gluecks to the camp commanders. The Office D-II did not receive any copy of this order. In this order, Gluecks criticized the inmates who had been committed to camps for a short time only and who were about to be drafted after release from the camp, and who had been used for secret production. He said that difficulties would arise after their release because they had obtained knowledge of secret matters -- he ordered that before inmates would be used for such production it should first be ascertained with the Political Department through the existing documents whether these inmates should be released. This had also to be done when we had specialist workers or skilled workers ---
BY JUDGE PHILLIPS:
Q. Why do you say D-II did not get a copy of this order?
A. Your Honor, I have already stated yesterday that collaboration between the offices was very bad.-
Q. I did not ask you that. Answer the question I asked you please. Why do you say that D-II did not get a copy of this order?
A. Well, that is shown by the distribution, Your Honor.
Q. In the order itself, right near the end of the order, under the title B, brackets, For Chief of Office D-II, Summary giving the number and working assignment of prisoners in the concentration camps." A part of the order directed it to D-II.
A. I beg your pardon, Your Honor; on the German copy of the Document NO-1239 I don't see anything about that.
Q. Well, it is in the English copy. I have the document he is talking about.
A. Exhibit 99, Document Book 4, Your Honor. That is NO-1293.
Q. I have got 1923. The English is NO-1923, Exhibit 99, in Document Book No. 4, at page 68.
THE PRESIDENT: Is it a letter?
JUDGE PHILLIPS: It is an order by Gluecks; an order by Gluecks dated Oranienburg, 13 of January 1944.
WITNESS: In the German Document Book, Your Honor, the letter has the date of the fourth of April, 1944.
JUDGE PHILLIPS: Well, there has been a mistake in the documents then. All right.
THE PRESIDENT: That is wrong, isn't it?
JUDGE PHILLIPS: There is a mistake in the document.
BY DR. BELZER (Counsel for the defendant Sommer):
Q. Therefore, the order of Gluecks was to prevent that in this way that inmates should be prevented from being released?
A. Yes, that is correct.
Q. Please make a statement with regard to Document NO-1971, Exhibit 312 in Document Book 11. It is on page 105 of the German text, and page 102 of the English text.
A. This is also an order by Gluecks as Inspector of the Concentration Camps from the year 1940. In this order he states that inmates who cannot be immediately released because their immediate release would cause a decrease in production because replacements cannot be trained immediately, that this matter must be reported to the RSHA by the political department so that appropriate consideration will be given to this matter in the case of an eventual release.
In the index of this order it is stated such inmates are not to be released although their release may be requested from the RSHA. That is not stated, however, in the document. Here it only states that they are not to be released immediately. I know that this time limit was within a 14-day period, and I have already made a statement about that yesterday.
Q. Now, please look at the Grimm document which you mentioned before. You have it in your hands now. Are Grimm's statements correct as far as they refer to this particular question?
A. On page 4 of his affidavit Grimm states that from his activity as labor assignment officer he knows that in 1942 an order was issued by Pohl to the concentration camps which entitle the concentration camp commanders to retain inmates who were necessary for the production in the camp, and to keep them in the camp until the end of the war. Grimm must have made a mistake here. This can only be the order where a 14-day period in mentioned.
THE PRESIDENT: Mr. Robbins, will you check Exhibit 99, please, and see whether it should be Document 1923 or 1293? I think it should be 1923.
MR. ROBBINS: Yes, Your Honor. I have made a note to do it, and I will report to you.
THE PRESIDENT: Because I notice in paging we have called it 68-A, -B, and -C -- a three-page document rather than a one -- Will you let us know which is the real exhibit?
MR. ROBBINS: Yes, sir.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you.
BY DR. BELZER:
Q. Did you make any personal observations about the treatment of concentration camp inmates in economic enterprises?
A. Of the approximately 500 labor camps with industrial plants which, as far as I can recall, existed at the end of 1944, I only know very few of these plants; at the most, I know of ten of them, I, therefore , was only able to make very few personal observations. However, I know from statements by Maurer that the industries tried to give the inmates good accommodations and to treat them well because they were interested in maintaining these workers. After all, most of the workers were unskilled and in a very complicated process which lasted for several weeks they had to be trained in the special production tasks. Therefore, the plant was interested, since it had to reach a certain production rate prescribed by the Speer Ministry. To keep these workers, and in order to have them employed actually they had to treat them well.
Q. Witness, what do you know about the subordination of the so-called construction brigades, and the conditions which prevailed there?
A. In the summer of 1942, by order of Himmler, the so-called SS Construction Brigades were established. These brigades were construction units, and each of them had strength of approximately 1,000 inmates. They had to repair bomb damages in the German cities. That was what was intended. They were used for the first time afterwards in the West. Obergruppenfuehrer Dr. Kammler was in charge of the technical aspects of that, of those units. As far as I can recall, it was in the year 1943 when he also took charge over the other functions in these detachments and units. That is, he was responsible for all other matters which were connected with the construction brigades.
Later on, after an agreement between the Reich Minister of Transportation & Communication and Himmler, the so-called Railway Construction Brigades were also established. These detachments had an inmate strength of approximately 500 inmates. They were billeted in special trains which had been built for that purpose, and they were used to repair the railroad communications which had sustained bomb damage. These units also were subordinated to Kammler in disciplinary measures, and also in the technical aspects.
Q. What do you know about the conditions which prevailed there?
A. During the time of my internment I have heard that the inmates liked very much to work in these units. Whenever they entered bombed-out houses and cellars they found many objects which they could use very well. Otherwise, I don't know anything further about this matter.
Q. You have told us yesterday that on one occasion you accompanied Gluecks when he visited Camp Dora. Will you please give us a brief description just what brought about this Strip, and what you saw in the Camp Dora?
A Between Christmas and New Year's Day, 1943, this thing took place. At that period of time Dora was still an outside labor camp of Buchenwald. For reasons of security, it went under various names and designations. It was called "Nie."; that is an abbreviation of Niedersachswerffen. That is the locality where it was. It was also called K-Dorf,"and it was also called Dora and some other names. Guecks called my by phone one evening and he told me that on the following day he was going to visit Dora. He told, me he would meet Mauer and Pister. At that time Mauer took his Chrismas leave at Buchenwald where his family was also staying. He told me that if I had any mail for Maurer, I should go along the following day and submit this mail at Dora. On the following morning at 0700 we left Oranienburg. We arrived at Dora around noon time. We then went through the main shaft and I had the impression of being in a giant factory hall. Then I submitted the mail to Maurer which I had brought along with me and Gluecks in the meantime had a conference with the camp commanders and Pister, who was the commander of Buchenwald at that time. Then we again returned to Oranienburg. In this connection, I would like to say that the shafts and tunnels at that time looked quite dry. Already at that time production was going on there. That is to say, V-2 Weapons were being assembled there. I believe that this could have been impossible in a shaft which was not completely dry. The offices of the firms with their civilian employees were also located within the shafts and tunnels. Outside of the tunnels there was a big camp for the inmates which consisted of barracks. The director who was responsible for the production there was a certain Rickhei. At the same time he was in charge of a special field in the Speer Ministry. It came to my knowledge later on that Speer had told the commander of that camp that In recognition if the especially good work which had been done there and in acknowledgment of that work, he had given him and a four others special Christmas gifts.
In this connection, and in connection with the testimony of the various witnesses that have testified here about Dora, I would like to refer to Document III-336. That is Exhibit 379 in Document Book 13. It was presented by the prosecution temporarily.
Q On what page is this document located?
A It is Document 336 and it is on page 122 of the English Document Book. It is a report of the International Camp Committee and various detachments are mentioned and at various time intervals.
Q That is on page 111 of the English text.
A What I would like to discuss is found on page 122. It is stated here in all the statements that the death rate amounted to approximately 10%. The expert who compiled this document only failed to see in this case that in the statistics when you use columns you also must add up the counter figures in order to gain a real picture. In the case of Dora, he only adds the death rate and then he transfers that to the number of people who stayed at Dora in one month, and, of course, we have a false picture here; that is to say, we reach a mortality rate of 11.3%. If this had been figured out correctly, the death rate is a 12-month period should only amount to 2%.
Q In its opening speech, the prosecution in connection with Project S-III has made the following statement: "The Defendant Sommer himself went to Buchenwald in order to select inmates for this work." Is this statement of the prosecution correct?
A No.
Q During any of your interrogations or in any affidavit which you have given, did you ever make a statement to the effect which would support or justify this statement by the prosecution?
A No.
Q What do you know about S-III?
A The construction Project S-III was treated as a top secret matter. The documents about that were held in the safe of Maurer. I can recall that I heard of this project for the first time when Maurer one evening made several long distance calls with the Fuehrer Headquarters at Berchtesgaden. On that occasion he only told me that at the Troop Training Center at Ohrdruff a construction enterprise was to be carried out and that this Troop Training Center was to be evacuated for that purpose by the 10,000 soldiers who stayed there at that period of time.
I do not know who issued the individual orders for the Project S-III. I was only told that for reasons of secrecy once the project had begun no one could enter the Troop Training Center. I was also told that this camp was to be subordinated to the Camp Commander of Buchenwald and that he himself, however, would not be allowed to go there. He would not be authorized to send anybody there, in order to guarantee the security of the project. Therefore, everything which was necessary to maintain the camp with regard to the personnel would have to be sent to Ohrdruff and this personnel would have to remain at Ohrdruff until the construction enterprise had been completed. The concentration camp of Buchenwald was to furnish the necessary inmates for Project S-III. The order that no one was to be allowed to enter this training center, in my opinion, however, was very soon rescinded. The construction measures were carried out by Kammler's special staff.
Q Did you yourself have to go to Ohrdruff in official matters?
Q Yes.
Q What did you do at Ohrdruff?
A The Office Chief of D-IV, Sturmbannfuehrer Burger, at the end of the year, 1944, when the camp contained 500 inmates, that is to say, work had just begun there, was sent to Ohrdruff in order to settle the supply problem of the inmates. I received the order to go with Burger to Ohrdruff. in order to determine whether the labor assignment officer, who for the first time occupied an independent position, would be able to fulfill the requirements which were made of him; that is to say, whether he was a good administrator. If necessary, I was to provide him with the necessary information. That is why I went to Ohrdruff. I remained at Ohrdruff for approximately two hours and carried out my mission there.
Q Did you also make any suggestions to the other labor assignment officers before they began their work?
A No, this was an exceptional case, because of the special measures which had to be taken in the project.
Q In this connection did you also go to Buchenwald?
A Yes.
Q Please give the Tribunal a short description of just that brought about your visit at Buchenwald and what you observed there. Please give the Tribunal a short description of just what brought about your visit at Buchenwald and what you observed there. Please give us your opinion on the affidavit of Schwarz, Document NO-2125, Exhibit No. 299, which is located in Document Book XI. It is on page 30 of the German book, and on page 15 of the English text.
A On page 4 of this affidavit Schwarz states that I have visited Buchenwald at the end of 1944. The reason for this visit he alleges was to procure all workers for the construction of the secret fuehrer headquarters was to be established and constructed at Ohrdruff. My visit at Buchenwald happened quite by accident and it was not previously planned. We carried out the trip by means of a motor vehicle and because we did not have sufficient gasoline we had to use wood coal. As a result of this, the trip was very long and we would only be able to reach Berlin late at night and probably while an air raid was going on. Therefore, we decided to stay at Buchenwald over night. We arrived at Buchenwald around 2000 hours in the evening. On the following morning, at 0900 hours, I reported to the camp commander. I then requested him to call the labor allocation officer Schwartz there because I wanted to discuss labor allocations matters with him. I then looked at the statistics about labor assignment in the protective custody camp and the labor assignment leader, Schwarz, had it explained to me by an inmate just hour the classification officers tested the inmates with regard to their professional skills, that is to say, by using tools and materials which was located at the working statistical office. Afterwards we looked at the bomb damage and after dinner we returned to Berlin.
EXAMINATION BY THE PRESIDENT:
Q Witness, was the secret Fuehrer headquarters near Ohrdruff ever completed?