The Nizkor Project: Remembering the Holocaust (Shoah)

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Q. One moment, please. Go ahead.

A. The SKL had asked that in bombarding, occupying or
attacking Leningrad the dockyards, wharf installations, and
all other special naval installations were to be spared, so
that they might be used as bases later on. That request was
turned down by Hitler's statement as shown by this document.
That may be seen from Point 3 of the document.

We had to report this fact to Admiral Karls so that he could
act accordingly, and because in the case of a later
occupation of Leningrad he could not count on this port as a
base.

Q. Because of the significance of this testimony, I would
like to quote to the Tribunal the decisive point to which
the witness just referred, and that is III of Exhibit USSR
130:

                                                  [Page 364]

  "The original demands of the Navy to spare the dock,
  harbour and other installations important from the Navy
  viewpoint are known to the High Command of the Wehrmacht.
  The fulfilling of these demands, because of the
  fundamental aim of the action against Petersburg, is not
  possible."

That was the decisive point which the SKL told Admiral Karls
as Commander-in-Chief of Group North?

A. That was the sole reason for this communication.

Q. Do you know whether Admiral Karls did anything with this
document. Did he transmit it to anyone, or don't you know
anything about that?

A. As far as I am informed, this communication was not
passed on, and it was not the intention that it should be
passed on, for it was meant solely for Group North. On the
strength of this document, General Karls stopped the
preparations which had already been made for using the
Leningrad naval installations later on and made the
personnel available for other purposes.

That is the only measure which the Navy took on the basis of
this communication and the only measure which could have
been taken.

DR. SIEMERS: I should tell the Tribunal that accordingly in
my document book Raeder, I will submit under No. III, an
affidavit which contains this fact, which the witness also
points out, that nothing was passed on by Group North, so
the commanding naval officers never learned of this
document.

This concerns an affidavit by Admiral Butow, who at that
time was Commander-in-Chief in Finland, and I shall come
back to this point when I present the case on behalf of
Raeder.
I have no further questions.

THE PRESIDENT: Does any other member of defendants' Counsel
wish to ask any questions?

The prosecution may cross-examine.

CROSS-EXAMINATION

COLONEL PHILLIMORE: May it please the Tribunal, with regard
to the questions asked by Dr. Siemers, I was going to leave
the cross-examination on those points to the cross-
examination of the defendant Raeder, so as to avoid any
duplication.

BY COLONEL PHILLIMORE:

Q. As I understand the evidence which the defendant Donitz
has given, and your evidence, you are telling the Tribunal
that in respect of the treatment of neutral merchant ships,
the German Navy has nothing to reproach itself with. Is that
right?

A. Yes.

Q. And the defendant has said that the German Navy was
scrupulous in adhering to orders about the attitude towards
neutral shipping, and the neutrals were fully warned of what
they should and should not do. Is that right?

A. Yes.

Q. Admiral Donitz has also said that there was no question
of deceiving neutral governments; they were given fair
warning of what their ships should not do. Do you agree?

A. Yes.

Q. Now, I want just to remind you of what steps were taken
as regards neutrals, as they appear from the defence
documents.

First of all, on 3rd September, orders were issued that
strict respect for all rules of neutrality and compliance
with all agreements of international law which were
generally recognized were to be observed.

COLONEL PHILLIMORE: My Lord, that is D-55, Page 139.

THE PRESIDENT: In the British Document Book?

                                                  [Page 365]

COLONEL PHILLIMORE: In the Defence Document Book. Donitz 55.

BY COLONEL PHILLIMORE:

Q. And then, on 28th September, a warning was sent to
neutrals to avoid suspicious conduct, changing course,
zigzagging, and so on. That is Donitz 61, at Page 150.

On the 19th October, that warning was repeated and neutrals
were advised to refuse convoy escort. That is Donitz 62, at
Page 153. On 22nd October, there was a repetition of the
warning, that is Donitz 62, Page 162; and on 24th November,
the neutrals were told that the safety of their ships in
waters around the British Isles and in the vicinity of the
French coast could no longer be taken for granted. That is
Donitz 73, at Page 206; and then from 6th January onwards,
certain zones were declared dangerous zones. That is right,
is it not?

A. No. On 24th November, a general warning was issued that
the entire United States fighting zone was to be considered
dangerous. The specific zones which, since January, were
used as operational zones, were not made public, since they
came within the scope of the first warning, and they served
only for internal use within the Navy.

Q. That is the point I want to be clear about. The zones
that you declared from 6th January onwards, weren't
announced. Is that the point?

A. Yes, the neutrals were warned on the 24th of November
that all of those zones which had been specifically declared
as operational zones since January, would be dangerous for
shipping.

Q. But when you fixed the specific zones from 6th January
onwards, no further specific warning was given. Is that the
case?

A. That is correct. After the general warning, we issued no
further specific warnings about parts of this zone.

Q. Now, you are not suggesting, are you, that by these
warnings and by this declaration of an enormous danger zone,
you were entitled to sink neutral shipping without warning?

A. Yes. I am of the opinion that in this zone which we, as
well as the United States of America before us, regarded as
dangerous for shipping, it was no longer necessary to show
consideration to neutrals.

Q. Do you mean to say that from 24th November onwards, every
neutral government was given fair warning that its ships
would be sunk without warning if they were anywhere in that
zone?

A. What I want to say is that on 24th November, all the
neutral countries were notified officially that the entire
United States of America zone was to be considered as
dangerous and that the German Reich could assume no
responsibility for losses in combat in this zone.

Q. That is quite a different case. Do not let us have any
mistake about this. Are you saying that by that warning, you
were entitled to sink neutral ships anywhere in that zone
without warning, sink on sight?

A. I did not quite catch the last few words.

Q. Are you suggesting that you were entitled to sink at
sight neutral shipping anywhere in that zone, as from 24th
November?

A. I am of the opinion that we were justified from that
period of time onwards in having no special consideration
for neutral shipping. If we had made exceptions in our
orders to our U-boats it would have meant in every case that
they could not have sunk enemy ships without warning.

Q. It is not a question of any special consideration. Do you
say that you became entitled to sink at sight any neutral
ship or sink it deliberately whether you recognized it as
neutral or not?

THE PRESIDENT: Surely you can answer that question yes or
no.

THE WITNESS: Yes, I am of that opinion.

                                                  [Page 366]

BY COLONEL PHILLIMORE: Will you tell me how that compares
with the submarine rules?

A. I do not feel competent to give a legal opinion on this
question because that is a matter of international law.

Q. At any rate, that is what you proceeded to do, is it not?
You proceeded to sink neutral ships at sight and without
warning anywhere in that zone?

A. Yes, not just anywhere in this zone but in the
operational zones stipulated by us, neutral ships were -

Q. But wherever you could, wherever you could?

A. In the operational zones stipulated by us we sank neutral
ships without warning, for we are of the opinion that in
this case, we were concerned with secured zones near the
enemy coast which could no longer be considered the open
sea.

Q. And that is what you desired to do at the very start of
the war, was it not? That is what you decided to do?

A. From the beginning of the war on, we decided to adhere
strictly to the London Agreement.

Q. Would you look at the document which was put in
yesterday. My Lord, it is D-851. It is put in as Exhibit GB
451. It is a memorandum of 3rd September.

THE PRESIDENT: Where is it?

COLONEL PHILLIMORE: My Lord, it was the only new document
that Sir David Maxwell Fyfe put in cross-examination.

BY COLONEL PHILLIMORE:

Q. Would you look at the third paragraph: "The Navy has
arrived at the conclusion that the maximum damage to England
can be achieved with the forces available, only if the U-
boats are permitted an unrestricted use of arms without
warning against enemy and neutral shipping in the prohibited
area indicated on the enclosed map." Do you still say that
you didn't intend from the start of the war to sink neutral
shipping without warning as soon as you could get Hitler to
agree to let you do so? Do you still say that?

A. Yes, absolutely. In this document, in the first paragraph
it says "In the attached documents sent to the Navy by the
OKW the question of unrestricted U-boat warfare against
England is discussed." I cannot judge these documents if
they are not submitted to me.

Q. You were on the General Staff at this time. You were in
charge of the Department i-A. This point of view must have
been put forward by your department?

A. Yes. I have said already that we had decided after
consulting with the Foreign Office, to adhere strictly to
the London Agreement until we had proof that English
merchant shipping was armed and was being used for war
purposes. Here, we are apparently concerned solely with
instructing, with an exchange of opinions with the Foreign
Office -

Q. I did not ask for your general view on the document. We
can read that for ourselves. Your object was to terrorise
the small neutrals and frighten them from sailing on their
ordinary lawful occasions. Is that not right?

A. No.

Q. And isn't that why, in the orders you issued in January
of 1940, you excepted the larger countries from this "sink
at sight" risk? Would you look at Document C-21. That is
Exhibit GB 194, at Page 30, of the prosecution document book
in English; Page 59 to 60 in the German. Now, just look at
the second entry on Page 5, 2nd January, 1940 "Report by 1-
A." That is you, is it not? That was you, was it not?

                                                  [Page 367]

A. Yes, but I cannot find the point which you are quoting.

Q. Page 5 of the original, under the date Of 2nd January,
1940. Report by 1-A on directive of armed forces - High
Command - dated 30th of December, referring to intensified
measures in naval and air warfare in connection with "Fall
Gelb" (Case Yellow).

  "Through this directive, the Navy will authorize,
  simultaneously with the beginning of the general
  intensification of the war, the sinking by U-boats
  without any warning of all ships in those waters near the
  enemy coasts in which mines can be employed. In this
  case, for external consumption, the use of mines should
  be simulated. The behaviour of and use of weapons by U-
  boats should be adapted to this purpose."

That has nothing to do with the arming of British merchant
ships. That is not the reason that is given, is it? The
reason is because it fitted in with your operations for
"Fall Gelb."

A. I did not understand the last sentence.

Q. You do not give as your reason that the British were
arming their merchant ships. The reason you give is that it
was necessary in connection with intensified measures for
"Fall Gelb." Why is that?

DR. KRANZBUHLER: The German translation is so inadequate
that it is almost impossible to understand the question.

BY COLONEL PHILLIMORE:

Q. I will put the question to you again. The excuse for this
directive is to be the intensification of measures in
connection with "Fall Gelb." You notice, do you not, that
nothing is said about the arming of British merchant ships
as justifying this step? That is correct, is it not?

A. May I have time, please, to peruse these papers first?

Q. Certainly. This was written by yourself, you know.

A. No, that was not written by me.

This measure really came within the warning which one gave
to the neutrals on 24th November, 1939.

Q. Nothing is said about the warning Of 24th November. If
you were entitled, as you have told us, under that to sink
neutral ships, there would not be any need for this special
directive, would there?

A. No.

Q. No. Now, let us just -

A. (Interposing). For military and political reasons we
ordered that a hit by a mine was to be simulated and that is
a special point of this order.

Q. And just before we leave that document, look at the entry
on 18th January, will you? Have you got it? 18th of January.

A. Yes.

Q. That is the actual order for sinking without warning. You
notice the last sentence:-

  "Ships of the United States, Italy, Japan and Russia, are
  exempted from these attacks."

And then Spain is added in pencil.

Is it not right that you were out to terrorise the small
neutrals and to bully them, but you were not running any
risks with the big ones?

A. No, that is not correct. The explanation is, of course,
that one must take the disadvantages of war into the bargain
if one can obtain political advantages for them.

Q. Oh, yes, it was just entirely a question of how it paid
you politically. That is all it was, was it not?

A. Of course, all actions of war were strongly influenced by
the political interests of one's own country.

                                                  [Page 368]

Q. And because the Danes and the Swedes were not in any
position to make any serious protest, it did not matter
sinking their ships at sight. That is right, is it not?

A. The motive you give to this conduct is entirely
incorrect.

Q. Well, but what is the difference?

A. We sank the ships of all neutrals in these areas with the
exception of those countries where we had a special
political interest.


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