I would go to the next question.
MR. HIGGINS: Your Honor, in this particular instance I just wanted it a little more clearly. I wanted to ascertain and definitely establish that the witness actually did cause the transfers of dentists within the concentration camps and in the labor camps.
JUDGE MUSMANNO: That is the impression we get from his answer.
MR. HIGGINS: Then I am well satisfied, Your Honor.
BY JUDGE PHILLIPS:
Q. Witness, who selected the inmate dentists in the various camps and work camps? Who selected those men to do this work?
A. Your Honor, do you mean who selected the inmate dentists so they could be employed in the dental station? That was done by the camp dentist.
Q. Well, did the camp dentist consult with you about it?
A. Not the camp physician--the camp dentist did that on his own initiative together with the camp physician.
Q. Well, I said the camp dentist.
A. In collaboration with the camp medical officer.
Q. Did the camp dentist consult with you about the selection of these camp doctors from the inmates?
A. He did not discuss it with me.
Q. Well, did he give you a list of the ones that he had selected?
A. Lolling received. I believe, a list every month of the entire, medical personnel which was in every camp and which was not used. That is to say, as physician dentists, nurses, and so on. He constantly received those lists. Whenever a new dental station was established, and whenever somebody was needed, then these lists were referred to; personnel was produced in this way?
Q. Well, the translation came in that Lolling received a report of those that were not used. I don't care anything about the ones that were not used. I want to know about the ones that were used. Did you know who they were, the inmate dentists who were assigned in the camps and the work camps?
A. During the first time of my activity we were informed of this, --I believe from the summer of 1944 on, but I can't give you the exact time anymore, from that time on this was not done anymore because we had too many dental stations, and Lolling had prohibited that I should receive more details about the dentists who were actually working there.
Q. Well, now, when you made an inspection of, say, Auschwitz, and you went to the dental station, why didn't you call in those inmate doctors, dentists, and discuss with them what was going on in the camp in the way of dental care and dental treatment and the condition of the inmates with regard to that kind of work?
A. Your Honor, there was no possibility to call together all the dentists which originally came from Auschwitz and who were working in the camps there. After all, the inmates were not allowed to leave their outside camps. As I have already described this morning, the camps were up to about seventy or eighty kilometers away from Auschwitz on some occasions. I, therefore, was only able, together with the dentist from the main camp, to visit one or the other of the dental stations in order to take a personal look at it and to gain an impression which was necessary for me from the factual point of view.
Q. Well, you had charge of the dental care of the inmates -- that is, the supervision. Why didn't you find put what was going on as a part of your work?
A. Yes, Your Honor, I did care for what went on in dental matters. I looked at the dental stations. I talked to some of the patients who were treated there. I looked at the card index files, and I looked at the material, at the instruments and so on to see whether there were sufficient instruments on hand and whether they were in good condition. I did everything which was included in my field of tasks.
Q. Couldn't you have found out much more from the ones who were actually doing the work than from any other source?
A. Your Honor, I did not have an official rank in order to have any influence. After all, my grade alone did not play any part in this. After all, I was not the chief of an office or the chief of a Main Office, or something of that sort, so that I could have had any such authority. The dentist usually not holding all university degrees, was not very much respected by physicians, and others, in other branches of equal rank. Therefore, he could only carry out his work well and hope that by this work which he is doing with his own hands he is being recognized to some extent.
Q. I don't care whether you are a corporal or a general--you had the authority and you had the authority to find out what was going on under your supervision, and you went to the camps for the purpose of making inspections. What we want to know is: why didn't you talk to the dentists in the camps who were doing the work so that you could find out something accurately?
A. Your Honor, I did discuss dental matters with the dentists who carried out the work. The inmates themselves usually were not in the camp when I made these visits because they were outside of the camp for work with the detachments. Therefore-
Q. Just a minute. I am not talking about the inmates; I am talking about the camp dentists who were inmates themselves and were in the camp doing this work. If you had called them in to each place you would go to and let them give you a report as to what they were doing, what the condition of the camp inmates were, how their work was progressing, you would have found out something. Now, why didn't you do that?
A. Well, they did report to me about their factual activity-
Q. Oh, yes, in writing -- a monthly report. But I am talking about seeing them.
A. Yes; I also talked to them in person, and they would report to me about their work and their activities.
However, they did not report to me about other inmates or what the other inmates were doing, or how they were employed. We didn't discuss that at all. There was no reason for us to discuss that.
Q. Don't you know that if you had talked to those inmates who were dentists -- and the truth is, as the Government and the Prosecution has shown here that people were starving to death by the hundreds and the thousands -- that it was shown up in their work and in their teeth?
A. Your Honor, I don't believe that the people who were in these labor camps were starved because they would not have been able to carry out their work.
The people who came for dental treatment in the labor camps certainly must have been in a somewhat decent shape as far as their physical shape was concerned. No dentist ever told me that the inmates were starving in the camp, where he was treating inmates. No dentist ever told me that the inmates were starving.
Q. No one ever told you that?
A. No, Your Honor, nobody ever told me that.
Q. All the visits you made to the camps and all the inspections you made ...you had no reason to believe that from any source?
A. Your Honor, I was only there for one year, and I took very few trips and during one trip I visited two or three different camps.
After all, I could only inspect the dental stations themselves. I did not have any authority to inspect any other installation there.
Q. That is all.
BY MR. HIGGINS:
Q. Witness, I am interested in determining what happened during these inspection trips to the dental stations, and I would like you to enlighten me on this subject. For instance, if you went to a dental station, and you found conditions unsatisfactory there; you found the SS dentist was not properly performing the tasks assigned to him;
or in the case that you found the equipment was not being properly cared for; or in case you found anything wrong--what would you do in that case? What would happen?
A. If something of that kind would have happened, then I would have had to report this matter to Lolling; and the camp dentist, the member of the SS, certainly would have been punished.
Q. You wouldn't take it upon yourself to tell him, to correct him, to let him know that he should improve conditions? Did you ever give such advice or make such suggestions on-the-spot, previous to your returning to your office in Oranienburg?
A. I did not have any authority to give disciplinary punishment. I was unable to punish any member of the SS.
Q. I am not talking about punishing the member; I am simply saying that perhaps you would have told him, "Now, you had better get on the job" or that, "You had better shine up the equipment", or "take care of the equipment". Didn't you ever order him to improve his ways, to correct the deficiencies?
Court No. II, Case No. 4.
It would seem to me that this would be more the direct way to do it, simply tell him how you have to change this situation.
A If it would have been necessary and if I would have determined that the SS dentist in that camp had not really carried out his duty and if I had seen that on the occasion of an inspection then certainly I would have told him that during my visit and I would have told him that if he was not going to try any harder then I would have to submit a report to my superior and that he would be dismissed or punished.
Q On your inspections did you ever find the opportunity to take such action?
A I cannot recall ever having taken such a step.
BY JUDGE MUSMANNO:
Q Do I understand, witness, that in all this time that you were in charge of the dental stations in all the concentration camps that not once did you find a situation which warranted the dismissal of a dentist?
A Your Honor, I do not recall that when I visited a camp that I had to tell an SS dentist that I was not satisfied with his work. I cannot recall any such instances.
Q That's all. Very well.
BY MR. HIGGINS:
Q During the direct examination quite a large amount of time was spent concerning reports which passed through your office in D-III. I would like to enumerate them here very briefly and I would like you to tell me if I am correct in any of the statements which I make concerning reports of various nature which were submitted through you. You received and checked work and personnel reports from dentists in all WVHA operated concentration camps and after receipt of these reports you forwarded them to the medical office, did you not? I am talking about the personnel and work reports.
A Yes, that was the so-called personnel and efficiency report which had to be submitted every month.
Q Then there was another report which you handled and that concerned the keeping of the so-called gold books by the camp dentists.
A No, Mr. Prosecutor, we did not submit an extra report about that, but in this personnel and efficiency report the amount of gold on hand in that particular SS dental station from a certain day had to be submitted. This was entered in the just mentioned personnel and efficiency report.
Q I understood the testimony concerning this to be that you carried out audits of such books, that this gold was a very precious item and that very close reports were kept on it and that you audited the books so to speak, kept by these dentists in the concentration camps? That is not so?
A No. In every dental station of the SS, no matter if this was a dental station of units in the field, or units at home, or in concentration camps, every dental station had to keep a gold book. In this gold book the date of the arrival of the gold and the exact amounts were listed. They were listed according to different types of gold and also the name was included of the person for whom the gold had arrived. That is to say, the day when gold arrived from Office 14 in the Operational Main Office. The gold was again booked out from the gold book on the day the man in charge of dental station passed the gold on to the technicians, and that is to say, practically within the same dental station. Still the technician had to certify that he had received the gold. After the work was completed the remainder of the gold again had to be entered in the book and the technician again had to certify that he had turned over that amount of gold. Of course, in a certain period of time a certain amount of gold accumulated and from time to time this gold was returned to the medical office. At certain intervals these gold books were audited. This happened because in the gold book a certain statement was made. The dentist who kept this gold book would have to weigh the amounts of geld on hand in the presence of a witness, he Court No. II, Case No. 4.had to register it, and then together with this certificate, the gold book was submitted to office 14 for auditing.
The gold books of the camp dental stations went through official channels to office 14 through D-III.
Q When they were passing through D-III to Office 14 of the FHA, they passed through you and you checked them?
A No. At the time I passed on the books exactly like they arrived. That is to say, my clerk unpacked them and when two or three arrived together the same day, he wrapped them together and passed them on to another office. We didn't look at that at that time.
BY THE PRESIDENT:
Q The order of Dr. Peters appointing you to Amtsgruppe DIII was effective on 3 September 1943?
A Your Honor, I see that the date is 6 September 1943, Berlin W 15. In the text itself the date of 3 September has been mentioned.
Q That's right. What happened in August of 1944? Were your duties changed?
A In the summer of 1944 as a result of the evacuation of the medical office, the transfer of Office 14, that is to say the dental service of the medical office first to Buchenwald and then to Karlsbad, I requested the chief of the dental service to have the request for material of the dental stations worked on independently because too much time was lost as a result of the evacuation.
Q I don't want your reasons. I just want to know what happened, were you transferred or were your duties changed in the summer of 1944?
A It was not changed fundamentally, it was changed only insofar as that now I dealt with requests for material for dental stations and I passed them on directly to agencies of the Reich Physician SS and the Reich Medical Quartermaster. Therefore Office 14 did not handle these any longer.
Q Did you continue to inspect dental stations in concentration Court No. II, Case No. 4.camps until the spring of 1945 then?
A In the course of the winter, late in 1944 and early in 1945, as far as I recall I did not make any additional trips.
Q But your duties remained the same but you were no longer a collaborator with Dr. Lolling.
A No, your Honor, in dental matters I continued to be collaborator of Dr. Lolling. However, I perhaps received a somewhat more independent field of tasks because also now I took care of duties of office 14 in the Operational Main Office of the FHA.
Q Well, that was after you were transferred to Karlsbad or after the office was transferred to Karlsbad, but you continued to be chief dentist under Office 14 after the summer of 1944?
A Well, nothing changed in that respect.
Q I see.
BY MR. HIGGINS:
Q The fourth report I would like to mention here is the report which came to you from the dentists in concentration camps and labor camps concerning requisitions for materials. You received all those requisitions, did you not?
A I did not receive any requisitions. I don't know anything about it.
Q Haven't you recently said on direct examination that requisitions were submitted to you from the dental stations in the concentration camps and that up to a time you checked them and forwarded them to Office 14 of the FHA?
A Yes, Mr. Prosecutor, these are the requisitions for material which the dentists in the camps submitted monthly and the material was furnished by the Central Medical Office Berlin and they were intended for the inmate dental stations and SS dental stations within the camp so that this equipment could be used in the camps.
Q Is it true that all correspondence between Office 14 of the FHA and the concentration camp dentists passed through you.
Court No. II, Case No. 4.
A Yes. The official channel was through office DIII. However, I don't know if I saw all the correspondence. However, I have to assume that. After all Lolling passed on the mail to me and the entire mail was addressed to Lolling.
THE PRESIDENT: We will stop, Mr. Higgins. The Tribunal will recess until tomorrow morning to sit en bank with the other Tribunals. We will assume trial in this room tomorrow afternoon at a quarter of two.
Official Transcript of the American Military Tribunal in the matter of the United States of America, against Oswald Pohl, et al, defendants, sitting at Nurnberg, Germany, on 9 July 1947, 1345-1630, The Honorable Robert M. Toms, presiding.
THE MARSHAL: The Honorable, the Judges of Military Tribunal II.
Military Tribunal II is now in session. God save the United States of America and this honorable tribunal.
There will be order in the Court.
HERMANN POOK - Resumed CROSS- EXAMINATION (Continued) BY MR. HIGGINS:
Q. Witness, at this time I would like to hear from you concerning the reports received by you from the concentration camp dentists concerning the extraction of gold from the deceased inmates. Could you please tell me just what these reports contained, that is, what information was contained in these reports?
A. These reports were not very long, but they were only brief reports, and these reports included the number of grams, that is, to say the amounts of gold which had been turned in in grams.
Q. Then on the basis of these reports, if they solely contained a list of the amounts received, you cannot state then that you did not receive gold extracted from the teeth of exterminated inmates, that is correct, isn't it?
A. No. These reports only stated that in the month of June, so-and-so, let's say twenty, grams of gold have been turned over to the administrative official. Nothing further.
Q. You have stated previously that the reports received by you on the gold extracted from the teeth of inmates was not gold which had been taken from those inmates who had been probably put to death, and I just wanted to clear up that point.
That is, from the reports you could not tell that. I would now like to pass on to another question. I would like to ask you whether or not you received these reports from all concentration camps which were under the supervision of the WVHA?
A. I cannot say any more today just where these very brief reports came from. However, they came from all the camps which were subordinated to the WVHA. I have never received such reports from the concentration camps in the Baltic countries, nor did I receive any reports from the camps in the Lublin area. No reports of that kind arrived from that area.
BY THE PRESIDENT:
Q. What about the camps in Holland and France and Belgium?
A. Your Honor, as far as I know we only had this one camp at Herzogenbusch in Holland. I don't know anything about France. I don't know that any existed there. But, as far as I can recall no reports were received from Herzogenbusch either. In any case I don't know of any.
Q. Just a second until I get a picture of the camps. There was a camp called Herzogenbusch in Holland, was there not?
A. Yes.
Q. Did you get reports from that?
A. We received the usual reports from the dental station. We received reports about the personnal working in the dental station and requests for material. However, as I have just stated, I cannot say whether we received any reports about the gold which had been removed from the teeth of the inmates.
In any case I don't think so.
Q. Was Natzweiler in France?
A. I myself have never been in Natzweiler. I believe it was located in Alsace.
Q. Yes. Well, not to raise an old discussion, but was Alsace a part of France?
A. I don't think so. I believe at that time it was part of Germany. It changed quite frequently.
Q. And you didn't receive reports from the camps in the far east like Maidanek?
A. No. The name of Maidanek in particular was completely unknown to me, and I don't even know that a camp existed there. No dentist was assigned to that camp who belonged to our organization, at least I did not have any knowledge of it.
Q. Did you have a dentist at Treblinka?
A. They didn't have one there either.
BY MR. HIGGINS:
Q. Witness, concerning these reports which were directed to be made by Gluecks by the concentration camps and then forwarded to Amt D-III of the WVHA, I notice in Document NO-1923 that Herzogenbusch was one of those listed. We have previously discussed this document and you had commented on it. Does that refresh your recollection?
A Mr. Prosecutor, may I take a look at the document first, please? I believe that I have it right here with me.
Q It is in Book 22, Exhibit 552.
ANO-1923?
Q That's right, that document indicates, does it not, that reports were directed to be made to the Chief of Office D-3 from Herzogehbusch -- this document is dated 13 January, 1944 -- as well as Lublin and Warsaw. It is stated clearly on the listed concentration camps.
A Yes. I stated that I could not remember having received any reports about removal of gold from Herzogehbusch. I didn't say that we did not receive any reports. At the moment I really cannot remember it. At the moment I cannot say just from which camps which did receive these reports.
Q Did you know, witness, that prior to the extraction of gold from the mouths of deceased SS members, that the permission of the next of kin was required to be had?
A I didn't know that. After all, I didn't have anything to do with these things, and I don't know what regulations prevailed, and I don't know whether any prior permission had to be obtained. I have already stated I did not even see the fundamental order by Himmler from 1940 which, after all, was issued at a time when I was not even a member of the Waffen-SS; and even later on I never say this order. I only knew that such an order existed.
Q The reason that I asked you was that your predecessor in office, Reiter, was familiar with such things, and I thought perhaps that you also might have been familiar with these things.
Now, perhaps, you can tell me this: after the gold was removed from the mouths of the deceased prisoners, wasn't it a fact that it was cleaned in the dental stations in the concentration camps? You do know that, do you not?
A I have learned from affidavits of camp dentists that the gold which had been extracted by inmates who worked in the dispensary there, that this gold was then passed on to the dental stations and there it was cleaned and washed. And from there it was passed on to the administrative officer.
Q But you do not know of this of your personal knowledge, from having visited these dental stations on inspection trips?
A No; first of all I never worked in any camp as a dentist, and I have never been part of the camp personnel, and during my short inspection tours I was unable to observe such things. I didn't see anything at all about that.
Q You would say, having this knowledge now, having known now that the dentists supervised the extraction of the gold and having known that they cleaned and weighed it -- you would state that they were in a very favorable position to compile these reports which were sent to you? That is true, is it not? In other words, they occupied a position which qualified them to make out the reports on extractions of gold.
A Well, Mr. Prosecutor, I do not know what to tell you now. After all, the gold consisted of individual teeth and bridges and that was turned in. The records did not show just what the amounts consisted of, but only the quantity was listed in these reports, in grams. It was not stated whether these were fillings or false teeth or things of that kind. I was unable to see that from the reports.
Q The point was, however, that the dentists were well-qualified to submit these reports to you -- and that, I believe, can be answered either Yes or No. Can you state Yes or No to that question?
A Mr. Prosecutor, these weren't reports; they were just very brief reports which went through the official channels to the camp medical officer, because the dentist could not submit then independently. He had to submit this report to the camp medical officer. And from there the reports went to Lolling. I saw the reports and then they were passed on to the medical office Office 14.
Q All right. We Will proceed to another question now. On Direct Examination, witness, you testified that where the removal of gold from the teeth of deceased inmates is done in such a manner as not to imply theft or robbery, it is not a sacrilege. I believe they were pretty nearly your exact words as you gave them on direct testimony. Now, was there any question in your mind that this confiscation of gold teeth was not actually a theft on the part of those who participated in it? And I would like as brief an answer as you possibly can give.
A Naturally, Mr. Prosecutor, I think that the whole matter of removing the gold was incorrect, and I don't consider it to be a nice matter. However, that was an order which had been issued by the highest authority; that was Himmler. And, after all, the dentist did not have anything to do with that, just as little as the person who worked in the office D-3. This extraction of gold was carried out earlier by order of the camp medical officer, and this work was carried out by inmates who worked at the dispensary. I have been able to see that from the affidavits and documents here. I must assume, of course, that irregularities occurred; that is, that inmates did not turn over the gold, and that they kept some of it for themselves. For this reason, apparently, from 1941 or 1942 on, by order of Lolling, the camp dentist had to supervise the whole matter in order to prevent such irregularities.
Q But, nevertheless, despite the fact that the order for the removal of teeth was issued by Himmler, you think that it makes it right -- or do you think it was still wrong to do this? Do you admit that this was theft, that it was wrong despite the fact that the order was issued by Himmler?
A I am quite convinced that if such a thing was carried out, that at least the family members of the deceased inmates should have received this gold.
As I have already stated in my direct examination, in most cases no members of the families existed any longer so that from this perhaps we could have a certain right to this gold. However, as a dentist, I am not informed about the legal aspect of this case, and I cannot make any statement about it.
Q You speak about the relatives of the deceased inmates and the fact that they were not available to receive the gold. Do you know of any single instance in which a relative of the deceased inmates was given the opportunity to enter the concentration camp and to claim that which belonged to the inmate?
A I am not at all informed about these matters because I had nothing to do with them. I never heard anything about it. I didn't hear anything with regard to such extracted gold, nor did I hear anything about the belongings of inmates in general. After an inmate had died I don't know whether the heirs of that person would receive his belongings, or not.
Q Witness, can you tell me what happened to the gold following the receipt of it by the dental station? Do you know to whom it was delivered thereafter?
A Today I know the channel through which this gold was passed on. At the time I did not know. I didn't even know at the time when I arrived in the prison. I only knew that the gold was turned over to the administrative officer -- after all, this whole gold matter was the task of the administration, and the dentist was only connected with it in order to prevent irregularities; secondly, in order to have the gold cleaned. However, he did not have to carry out the extraction, nor did he have anything to do with the utilization of the gold later on. I know today that the gold was passed on by the administrative officer of the camp through Office D-4 in Office Group D, to Mellmer in the WVHA: and from there the gold was again passed on to the Reichsbank. Burger had a dual knowledge of this since, originally, he was the administrative officer of a camp and later on he was a chief of Office in D-4. He has also stated quite clearly that the gold from the extermination actions was routed through special channels and it was treated in a special manner.
Q Isn't it the fact that dental gold was delivered to Amt D-3 while you were a dentist there?
A From the individual concentration camps, as long as I was there, no gold was sent to us. The only shipments of gold -- and we can't even call them shipments of gold -- the only gold which passed through D-3 was the gold which had been requested from Office 14 in order to use it for fillings. This gold was furnished by Office 14. It was sent through Office D-3 and passed on to the dental stations.
Q I believe, witness, that you remember an instance in which gold was received -- that is, dental gold was received -- from a concentration camp by you in D-3, and I am referring to Document NO-1000, which indicates clearly that gold was received by D-3.
A. Mr. Prosecutor, during my interrogation in December, 1946, I have already expressed my opinion with regard to this document to Mr. Wolf, and I did that in writing. I believe that this letter is still available. In this case, also, no gold was sent to D-III. The gold was sent to Lolling and it immediately returned the same way in which it had come, because neither D-III nor I, as dentist, was authorized to accept this.
Q. Witness -
THE PRESIDENT: How can we find that document, NO-1000?
MR. HIGGINS: Your Honor, I have it here and I am going to distribute it immediately. I interrupted the witness, so that --
THE PRESIDENT: It has not been offered yet?
MR. HIGGINS: No, it has not been offered, Your Honors, I would like to give Exhibit No. 575 to this document for reference. I would like to read this document. It is rather brief, containing but one paragraph. It is dated 11 July 1944 and issues from the concentration camp Hinzert. "Subject: Gold for tooth fillings."
THE PRESIDENT: Which concentration camp?
MR. HIGGINS: H-i-n-z-e-r-t, Your Honor, Hinzert. It is indicated on our chart containing concentration camps. However, I do not know whether you are in possession of the chart at this time.
THE PRESIDENT: It is the first time we have heard it mentioned.
Q. (Reading) "Since 1 January 1943 84 grammes of tooth gold have become available here in all, of which 20 grammes were sent to Office Group D, the Head Dentist, on 1 September 1943. The remaining 64 grammes which our courier should have delivered on 29 April 1944, were returned by the Head Dentist of Office Group D, because of the small quantity. This gold is still here." Signed Sporrenberg. Now, it is a fact, is it, Witness, that you received this gold and then later returned it, because the quantity was insufficient. That is the question I would like answered, whether or not you returned it because
A. Mr. Prosecutor, I will have to make a detailed statement about this subject. This document states basically that within a long interval of time only 84 grammes of gold had accumulated. That is a fact which confirms my testimony that the gold from the teeth of deceased inmates didn't amount to very much. The amount of 20 grammes on the 1st of September, 1943? which was turned in according to this document -- was turned in at a time when I was not yet in the WVHA, when I was not yet a dentist in D-III.
Q. Excuse me. However, the 64 grammes referred to were turned into you and you remember it being turned in to you? Is that not right?
A. No, that is not correct.
Q. Well, I would like then to refer to your affidavit which is Document NO-1297. It is Exhibit 14, contained in Book I, at page 71 of the English. "It is true" --- and I am quoting from the affidavit --- "It is true that I talked with Lolling about this and received the order from him to send the gold back. I did this by the request of Burger of D-IV, either orally or by way of a communication," and that statement refers directly to Document NO-1000, which was shown to you at that time. Now I repeat the question --
A. Yes.
Q. Isn't it true that you remember this incident; that you remember receiving this telegram?
A. I did not receive this telegram. This telegram was not addressed to Office D-III. It was not addressed to the Dentist in D-III either, but it was addressed to Office Group D proper. At the time I did not receive any knowledge of that telegram, but I saw it here for the first time during my interrogation last December. May I say something about the 64 grammes of gold. A courier from the camp of Hinzert brought this gold. Since neither Office D-III nor I personally were competent to receive such gold, I asked Lolling what I should do with that gold. Lolling was of the opinion that, if anybody within Amtsgruppe D. was authorized to accept this gold, then this could only be the administration.