2. THE CENTRAL PLANNING BOARD

EXCERPT FROM THE STATEMENT OF THE PROSECUTION REGARDING MILCH’S ACTIVITY IN THE CENTRAL PLANNING BOARD, 6 JANUARY 1947^[90]

Mr. Denney: We come now to the part of the proof which places the defendant in the very center of the Slave Labor Program.

We have shown that from the outset of the war and prior thereto, he was thoroughly informed of the Nazi plan for total war, which contemplated the full use of all human material resources within the homeland. We will show he was active in the formation and announcement of decisions of the Central Planning Board. We will show the Board exercised jurisdiction in the matter of procurement, allocation, and use. He carried out the master plan for requisition, allocation, and use of human raw material for the war machine. There are words we will have by necessity to repeat as we introduce the documents—requisition, allocation, and use.

Our evidence will show that Milch, a member of the Central Planning Board, belonged to an organization—and here again we have another important word “belong”. He was one of two most essential men in the Planning Board that guided the decisions of that organization.

We will present to the Court excerpts from the minutes of some 12 conferences at every one of which Milch was present, starting with the first held in April 1942 and ending with the fifty-eighth held in May 1944. Actually, he was at all but eight conferences, and we use the figure “eight” advisably. We are not sure, he may have been in some of those. There is no question that he was in every one of those meetings which we introduce here. On occasions when Speer was not present Milch presided. We will show he actively participated when the Central Planning Board arrived at decisions with respect to the request, allocation, and use of this labor.

We will show he was active in the formation of the announcement of decisions of the Central Planning Board. We will show the Board exercised jurisdiction in the matter of procurement, allocation, and use of labor. And all of them were prisoners of war and were allocated to the German war effort. Requisition, allocation, and use were the dominating voice. Decisive influence, active participation, forced labor, illegal occupation—these are the words with which we are concerned, and these are the things with which he concerned himself.

Evidence

Prosecution Documents

Doc. No.Pros. Ex. No.Description of DocumentPage

R-12448-BStenographic record of the first conference of the Central Planning Board on 27 April 1942.447

R-12448-BLetter of 20 October 1942 transmitting the statutes of the Central Planning Board.448

1510-PS58Extracts from decree of 16 September 1943, defining the duties of the Planning Office of the Central Planning Board.450

3721-PS41-ATestimony of Fritz Sauckel, 22 September 1945, regarding the jurisdiction of the Central Planning Board.452

NI-109863Extracts from affidavit of Fritz Sauckel, 22 September 1946, regarding the jurisdiction of the Central Planning Board.456

R-12448-AExtracts from report on the eleventh conference of the Central Planning Board, 22 July 1942.457

R-12448-AExtracts from report on the seventeenth conference of the Central Planning Board, 28 October 1942.459

R-12448-AExtracts from stenographic minutes of twenty-first conference of Central Planning Board, 30 October 1942.461

R-12448-BExtracts from stenographic minutes of the twenty-third conference of the Central Planning Board, 3 November 1942.465

R-12448-AExtracts from stenographic minutes of the thirty-third conference of the Central Planning Board, 16 February 1943.467

R-12448-AExtracts from stenographic minutes of the thirty-sixth conference of the Central Planning Board, 22 April 1943.471

R-12448-AReport of the forty-second conference of the Central Planning Board, 23 June 1943.475

R-12448-AExtracts from stenographic minutes of the fifty-third conference of the Central Planning Board, 16 February 1944.478

R-12448-BReport on the fifty-third conference of the Central Planning Board, 16 February 1944.479

R-12448-AExtracts from stenographic minutes of the fifty-fourth conference of the Central Planning Board, 1 March 1944.484

R-12448-DExtracts from the report on the fifty-sixth conference of the Central Planning Board, 4 April 1944.498

NOKW-28749Letter from Milch to Sauckel, 8 April 1943, concerning the protection of industry.499

R-12448-ASpeer’s minutes of a conference with Hitler on 8 July 1943.501

R-12448-AExtract from the report by Saur of the conference with the Fuehrer, 5 March 1944.502

Defense Documents

Doc. No.Pros. Ex. No.Description of DocumentPage

R-1245Extract from the stenographic report of the eleventh conference of the Central Planning Board, 22 July 1942.509

R-1246Extract from the stenographic minutes of the twenty-second conference of the Central Planning Board, 2 November 1942.510

R-1247Extract from the stenographic minutes of the thirty-second conference of the Central Planning Board, 12 February 1943.510

R-1248Extract from the stenographic minutes of the thirty-third conference of the Central Planning Board, 16 February 1943.511

R-1249Extract from stenographic minutes of the thirty-ninth conference of the Central Planning Board, 23 April 1943.516

R-12431Extracts from the stenographic minutes of the fifty-fourth conference of the Central Planning Board, 1 March 1944.517

Testimony

Excerpts from the testimony given by defense witness Albert Speer before commission on 19 February 1947502

TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT R-124

PROSECUTION EXHIBIT 48-B

STENOGRAPHIC RECORD OF THE FIRST CONFERENCE OF THE CENTRAL PLANNING BOARD ON 27 APRIL 1942

Berlin, 27 April 1942

Secret

“THE CENTRAL PLANNING BOARD” IN THE FOUR YEAR PLAN

1ST CONFERENCE

Present:

The three members:

Reich Minister Speer,

Field Marshal Milch,

State Secretary Koerner.

Furthermore:

State Secretary Dr. Schulze-Fielitz, Ministry of Munitions, Ministerialrat von Normann, Four Year Plan.

Result:

I. The Central Planning in the Four Year Plan (Decree of the Reich Marshal of Greater Germany of 22 April 1942—VP 6707 g) is a task for leaders. It encompasses only principles and executive matters. It makes unequivocal decisions and supervises the execution of its directives. The Central Planning does not rely on anonymous institutions difficult to control, but always on individuals and fully responsible persons who are free in the selection of their work methods and their collaboration as far as there are no directives issued by the Central Planning.

II. Discussion of the situation in iron.

A. The objective is to reach a production of 2,2 million tons per month. In the first place it has to be established whether, after taking into account the excessive requests which were certainly made and of the difficulties confronting an increase of production (coal, transport) the present figures are sufficient (2 million tons). For the distribution in the third quarter these 2 million tons have to serve in any case as a basis.

B. The principles of distribution and the new quotas will be discussed in a subsequent conference with a wider circle of participants (see special protocol).

C. The iron-producing industry will be organized into a Reich association. It is to be established and made to operate as soon as possible. The creation of an interimistic liaison organization (Planning Group Iron) has, therefore, been abandoned. The task of the Reich Association ends with the production of iron and before the distribution of the iron.

D. For the position of president of the Reich Association Iron, Generaldirektor Voegler and Geheimrat Roechling^[91] are suggested. Roechling was chosen, the appointment of whom would be approved by the Fuehrer, according to Reich Minister Speer. State Secretary Koerner will submit the proposal to the Reich Marshal [Goering].

III. The reorganization of the Upper Silesian Territory with the object of the highest and best utilization for war economy in mind is urgent. The selection of locations and the determining of capacities in this territory has to be expedited with regard to raw material, transport, and labor.

PARTIAL TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT R-124

PROSECUTION EXHIBIT 48-B

LETTER OF 20 OCTOBER 1942 TRANSMITTING THE STATUTES OF THE CENTRAL PLANNING BOARD

The Plenipotentiary for the Four Year Plan.

Central Planning Board.

Z. P. 1

Berlin, October 20, 1942

Enclosed I send you, for your information, the statutes of the Central Planning Board with the request to support the office of the “Central Planning Board” in every possible way in its work, and to direct, more particularly, your section chiefs and reporters to forward all information requested orally or by writing, in the shortest possible time. By this collaboration of your section chiefs and reporters, the building up of a larger apparatus in the framework of the “Central Planning Board” is to be avoided.

By Order:

[Typewritten] Walther Schieber

Certified: Schwinge

Ministerialregistrator

[Stamp of the Plenipotentiary for the Four Year Plan.]

Distribution to—

a. The highest Reich authorities.

b. The Reich Protector.

c. The Governor General.

d. The executive authorities in the occupied territories.

STATUTES OF THE CENTRAL PLANNING BOARD

1. The Central Planning Board, created by the Fuehrer and the Reich Marshal in order to unify armament and war economy, deals only with the decision of basic questions. Professional questions remain the task of the competent departments, which in their fields remain responsible within the framework of the decisions made by the Central Planning Board.

2. In order to have the conferences properly prepared and to have the execution of the decisions supervised, the Central Planning Board appoints an office. This office consists of the deputies appointed by each of three members of the Central Planning Board; one of these three deputies shall be appointed chief of the office.

[Handwritten marginal note on left side of the document: “To be forwarded”.]

3. In accordance with the attached Table of Organization [not reproduced], the office appoints reporters. These reporters are at the disposal of all members of the Central Planning Board. The office appoints one reporter to keep the record.

4. Office and reporters have to see to it, above all, and to draw the attention of the Central Planning Board, if necessary, to the required measures, that—

a. All decisive tasks of war economy are achieved quickly, without red tape, and ruthlessly, by mutual adapting of all composing branches.

b. All such work as is obviously without importance for winning the war, be discontinued.

5. Tasks of the office

a. The office prepares the meetings of the Central Planning Board in such a manner that the members of the Central Planning Board have the agenda and the material of discussion 24 hours in advance. For this purpose the office conducts preliminary talks with the competent departments, etc.

b. On the strength of the record made by the reporter, the office sees to the execution of the decisions of the Central Planning Board by the competent agencies, and sees to it that the deadlines fixed are complied with.

c. The members of the office keep the members of the Central Planning Board informed between the sessions.

6. The distribution of work, dealing with incoming mail, etc., is arranged by the office itself. The members of the office sign: “By order” of the Central Planning Board.

7. Tasks of the reporters

Reporters have to keep in constant touch with the departments, with regard to the sectors of work they are in charge of. In the regular sittings of the office they report on the progress made and on the measures which are required for the carrying on of the war economy, especially for the increase in production, for other improvements in the supply with raw materials, and for necessary changes in distribution. They do the preliminary work for the meetings of the board (see also 5 a) and in their working sector they are primarily responsible for the execution, within the established time limits, of the decisions of the Central Planning Board.

Berlin, 20 October 1942.

[Typewritten] Milch

[Typewritten] Speer

[Typewritten] Koerner

[Stamp]

Berlin 6-11-1942

No. L 16-501

Copy to the State Secretary for his information.

[Typewritten] Dr. Schattenmann

Certified: Schulz, Reg. Sekr.

PARTIAL TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT 1510-PS

PROSECUTION EXHIBIT 58

EXTRACTS FROM DECREE OF 16 SEPTEMBER 1943, DEFINING THE DUTIES OF THE PLANNING OFFICE OF THE CENTRAL PLANNING BOARD

Berlin, 16 September 1943

DECREE OF 16 SEPTEMBER 1948 OF THE PLENIPOTENTIARY GENERAL FOR ARMAMENT TASKS WITHIN THE FOUR YEAR PLAN AND OF THE REICH MINISTER FOR ARMAMENT AND WAR PRODUCTION CONCERNING THE TASK OF THE PLANNING OFFICE

The Reich Marshal of the Greater German Reich has established a Planning Office in my department by decree of 4 September 1943 for the purpose of concentrated handling of all fundamental questions of war economical planning.

In this connection I order:

I

1. The Planning Office prepares the decisions of the Central Planning Board and supervises their execution.

2. In this connection it will especially prepare the distribution to consumers of basic materials (for instance, iron, metals, coal, mineral oil, nitrogen, and other important raw materials).

3. As a working basis for Central Planning Board, the Planning Office has to draw up plans for production and distribution for the entire war economy, the demand schedules being based on the demands of the entire German sphere of power. In this connection imports and exports are to be considered. The entire planning is to be synchronized in advance with the participating departments and specialist offices, taking into account production requisites. The Planning Office will constantly have to summarize and to evaluate the necessary statistical material.

4. The Planning Office will have to submit to the Central Planning Board for decision the proposed assignment of manpower to the individual big sectors of employment (trade industry for war effort [gewerbliche Kriegswirtschaft], traffic, foodstuffs, etc.). It also has to evaluate statistically the carrying through of the assignments.

6. The Planning Office will have to advocate towards the Reich Ministry of Economics the requirements of war industry in connection with the establishment of import and export quotas.

It has to report constantly to the Central Planning Board about the state of imports essential for war economy.

II

4. The Planning Office has to evaluate statistically the industrial and war production existing within the power sphere of Greater Germany or of the states allied with the Reich; it has to develop out of that evaluation proposals for a common exchange of production in order to increase the initial war production.

[Signed] Speer

The Reich Minister for Armament and War Production

Plenipotentiary General for

Armament Tasks within the Four Year Plan

PARTIAL TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT 3721-PS

PROSECUTION EXHIBIT NO. 41-A^[92]

TESTIMONY OF FRITZ SAUCKEL, 22 SEPTEMBER 1945, REGARDING THE JURISDICTION OF THE CENTRAL PLANNING BOARD

TESTIMONY OF FRITZ SAUCKEL TAKEN AT NUERNBERG, GERMANY, 1030 HOURS TO 1210 HOURS ON 22 SEPTEMBER 1945, BY JOHN J. MONIGAN JR., MAJ., CAC, OUSCC

Major Monigan: Principally, what I am interested in are the functions and responsibilities of the Central Planning Board in their relationship to your office and their relationship to industry.

Sauckel: I believe that this Central Planning Board was founded about three months after my taking over my office. The Board was founded in accord with a law by the Fuehrer or just upon an agreement between the Fuehrer and Speer and Goering, I don’t know which. The leader and chairman of this Central Planning Board was Speer himself. It was founded to transfer the work from the Four Year Plan to Speer, I think, because Goering was already ill at that time, and there also were difficulties about which I am not informed. Speer always took on the job of making great changes in production and put it under his own direction. Constant members of this Central Planning Board were the State Secretary and Field Marshal Milch, and State Secretary Koerner. These three were responsible for the decisions of the Central Planning Board and for internal matters and they went through this office if they were worked out by other people inside the office. I was only called to this Central Planning Board when my task was discussed, and the demands were put before me and my agencies by Speer, the Four Year Plan [Office], as well as by Milch. The Fuehrer himself told me to fulfil these demands without question. In other words, if Speer asked me for a certain amount of workers, for instance, several thousand, I could not refuse him. The particular minister had to give the number to the Central Planning Board and that was the only place where the number of workers could be discussed. In the Central Planning Board it was decided how many workers I was able to supply to these various sections like Milch and Speer, agriculture, and so on. If it came to an argument, these discussions were brought before the Fuehrer and he then decided himself.

Q. Would the Central Planning Board, in their outline of workers to be provided for agriculture and for Speer and for Milch’s industries, etc., just give you the numbers of workers which they required, or would you get the final destination of the workers too, say panzers [tanks] and machine guns, and so on, from the Central Planning Board?

A. In general, I always got the numbers for the sections in large, except for Speer who always demanded individual allocations of workers to agriculture or mining; in other words, Speer always demanded a certain number of workers for a certain kind of work.

Q. Except for Speer, they would give the requirements in general for the broad field, but in Speer’s work you would get them allocated by industry, and so on. Is that right?

A. The others only received whatever was left over, because Speer told me once in the presence of the Fuehrer that I am here to work for Speer and that I mainly am his man, he mentioned it very often, without reference to the countries involved. It was very unnatural, that process of doing these things. These smaller plants, instead of ordering their workers from the next higher echelons, gave their orders to the very highest, to Speer, who in turn handed them down to the lower ones and to me, and this was the reason for the Rotzettel (red slip) system which had to be fulfilled by me without question. In practice it came to this that if a factory actually didn’t need any workers but Speer demanded them for that factory I had to supply these workers without being able to discuss or to tell him that it would be a waste of manpower; I just had to do it because Speer had complete domination.

Q. When it was determined in the Central Planning Board that say a thousand workers would be required by Speer, how did these workers find their way from all over Germany and Europe into the Krupp factory, for instance?

A. The orders were given from higher echelons down to lower echelons; for instance, the transports were either turned over from one office to another or the lower echelons in Berlin, for instance, got orders to transfer certain men from one factory which happened to be in Berlin to another factory which was also in Berlin. This happened also through the cooperation among the various offices who were headed by Hildebrand. The orders were discussed in a so-called daily schedule of trains which was decided upon in all these meetings.

Q. Well, as I understand it, you would get a requirement for say a thousand workers for panzers, say; now, in Germany certain factories would be making tread, some would be making turrets, and some would be making other things. Now, of that thousand workers needed for tank production some would be working on treads and some would be working on other things. How did they get into the particular factories which were making the specific products?

A. This was accomplished by giving orders recklessly through the various offices. A factory, for instance, got an order to send 20 or 30 men to another place, and they were just ordered to go there. This was the reason for the Notdienstverordnung [Emergency Service Decree] where the workers were forced by a decree to obey any order which was given to them.

Q. After the workers were conscripted inside the Reich and outside, they would be worked according to certain skills and technical specialties, would they not?

A. As far as possible, they were used according to the profession they had been trained in.

Q. And the local Gau labor offices, etc., would have a list of all the workers according to their skills, would they not?

A. Yes, there were detailed files about this. This was the basic principle: There were various offices which only were concerned about a certain kind of trade or skill.

Q. So, when you got the request from the Central Planning Board for a hundred thousand men for tank production, would you, through your ministry, tell the various offices that you needed so many welders and so many machine tool people, etc., and then tell them how many of each specialty you wanted?

A. When I got these orders my assistants were always present and they in turn took down the individual numbers required for this kind of work. I also received rosters which pointed out in detail how many people were needed for certain productions and how many were needed in a certain place. There was also, besides the red-slip system, another one, which was a system used after the red-slip system. We called this the Dringlichkeitsstufen—that means the priority system for workers. These Dringlichkeitsstufen, which were divided according to place and kind of work, were given to me in the presence of my assistants and they in turn worked out these plans. The influence of Speer was so great that sometimes he specifically asked for certain specialists from a certain factory to be turned over to another place. It also happened that we were not even told about these things. If we were not able to supply him with workers from inside Germany, we had to take them from the other departments or from foreign countries. There was always a reserve of something like 500,000 people who went to schools where they were trained for the armament production.

Q. That was 500,000 German and foreign workers?

A. Yes.

Q. When a requirement was fixed for Speer or for Milch in the Central Planning Board and they called you in and said we need 500,000, or some number of workers, would they give at that time the breakdown of what kind of workers they wanted, or would they give a blanket request for 500,000 without the listing of specialties?

A. Naturally, they gave a detailed breakdown. For instance, they only asked for miners, but they also asked for specialists in that kind of work.

Q. The requirements would be stated in detail for the kind of work, not only whether it should be a mine worker, but, for instance, a locomotive engineer in a mine, or something like that, would they not?

A. Naturally, since there are many kinds of professions; I, for instance, put in charge of the mining President Dr. Gaertner who was always oriented about the different jobs which were required in that field of work.

Q. Then after you got the detailed specification of the qualifications of the workers desired, would you also get a statement as to what places they would work in, and so on?

A. This was just the remarkable thing about it, especially from Speer; factories were always mentioned and they were also mentioned by priority; for instance, the ones that always were working on the so-called Fuehrer orders had priority over the others. Speer actually controlled the small places, not step by step, but directly from the highest echelon.

Q. So that you would be informed at the Central Planning Board, at least for Speer’s factories, about the specialists and the place to which they were supposed to be sent, is that right?

A. The Central Planning Board determined only the numbers for a certain time, three months or so. These orders were then forwarded to the individual offices, who were working for me, from all kinds of industries; the Central Planning Board met only every two weeks or so.

Q. The Central Planning Board would decide that Speer would get so many hundred thousand and Milch would get so many hundred thousand, and that the agricultural program would get so many hundred thousand. Then, that was agreed upon, if they all agreed upon it among themselves in the Central Planning Board, and had no disputes regarding the number. But if there were disputes, then the Fuehrer would decide?

A. Yes.

Q. Then, after they decided a hundred thousand for Speer, then the section chiefs (in the rings for tank treads, and machine guns, etc.) would meet with your section later and say we need so many hundred thousand, we need 10,000 who are welders and 10,000 who are metal workers, etc., is that right?

A. Yes. A daily conference was held among the different offices where it was decided how many workers were needed for the individual industries. It did not occur that when a factory asked for a certain amount of men, it was like that: Speer said this factory has to be supplied with so and so many workers. In peacetime it was different.

Q. And the requirements of Speer were met as a matter of priority among all the other industries; first Speer and then the others?

A. Yes.

PARTIAL TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT NI-1098

PROSECUTION EXHIBIT 63

EXTRACTS FROM AFFIDAVIT OF FRITZ SAUCKEL, 22 SEPTEMBER 1946, REGARDING THE JURISDICTION OF THE CENTRAL PLANNING BOARD

A. 1. I, Fritz Sauckel, born in Hassfurt-Unterfranken on 27 October 1894 was honorary Obergruppenfuehrer of the SS and SA, Reich Governor [Reichsstatthalter], Commissioner for Reich Defense and Gauleiter of Thuringia. Since 1942 I was Plenipotentiary General for Manpower and from 1933 on I was a member of the Reichstag. I state upon oath the following facts which are known to me personally:

L. 1. The Central Planning Board intervened in the problem of foreign workers to the extent of determining priorities and in representing and demanding the requirements of the economics branches consolidated in the Central Planning Board. It also transmitted these demands to the Fuehrer. The competent gentlemen of the Central Planning Board at the same time of course represented their ministries as heads. Thus I am not in a position today to say whether Speer, for instance, spoke in one or the other capacity in connection with any special matter. At any rate the Central Planning Board determined the total labor requirements. In practice I only obtained labor for them.

2. I attended sessions of the Central Planning Board only when questions concerning the mobilization of labor were involved. Sometimes only my representatives, Dr. Timm, Landrat Berk, Stothfang, or Dr. Hildebrand, attended.

3. The competent gentlemen from Speer’s Ministry also attended. Speer had a labor mobilization department where the requirements of industry were collected and confirmed.

4. Milch produced the figures for aviation. The same was done by Speer in his sphere of activity. Speer and Milch, however, also exerted influence on the allocation of workers. How far this came within their capacity as members of the Central Planning Board I cannot say; in any case they did this in their ministerial capacity.

PARTIAL TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT R-124

PROSECUTION EXHIBIT 48-A

EXTRACTS FROM REPORT ON THE ELEVENTH CONFERENCE OF THE CENTRAL PLANNING BOARD, 22 JULY 1942

Berlin 24 July 1942

Dr. Goe/W

Reich Minister Speer

Minister’s Office

Secret

REPORT ON THE 11TH CONFERENCE OF THE “CENTRAL PLANNING BOARD” ON 22 JULY 1942

Present:

Reich Minister Speer

Field Marshal Milch

State Secretary Koerner

Kommerzialrat RoechlingReich Association Iron

Dr. RohlandReich Association Iron

Von Bohlen und HalbachReich Association Iron

Dr. LangenReich Association Iron

Bergassessor SohlReich Association Iron

Gauleiter SauckelPlenipotentiary General for Labor Mobilization

State Secretary BackeReich Food Ministry

General Director PleigerReich Association Coal

Dr. FischerReich Association Coal

Major General GablenzReich Air Ministry

Colonel SellschoppReich Air Ministry

Ministerial Director Gramsch4 Year Plan

Ministerial Advisor Normann4 Year Plan

Dr. SchieberReich Ministry for Armament and Munitions

Dr. StellwaagReich Ministry for Armament and Munitions

Major WagnerReich Ministry for Armament and Munitions

Brigadier General BechtReich Ministry for Armament and Munitions

Lieutenant Colonel NicolaiReich Ministry for Armament and Munitions

Ministerial Advisor Dr. WissmannReich Ministry for Armament and Munitions

SchliekerReich Ministry for Armament and Munitions

Dr. GoernerReich Ministry for Armament and Munitions

Securing of food. A net influx of 1 million foreign workers is counted on. This number was not reached in the past months. Even with an influx of more than 1 million in the coming months, the 1-million peak will actually not be surpassed in view of current departures of workers. Food for this 1 million is secured.^[93]

To what extent an improvement of the food situation, through a sharper hold on the production outside of Germany, could be accomplished.

Every day a train load of the forces recruited in the East will be directed to the coal mines until the figure of 6,000 is achieved. Prisoners of war are being obtained, at present, from camps in the General Government. 51,000 prisoners of war in the Senne Camp. In the district east of the General Government there are 74,000 prisoners of war available. Up till now an elimination quota of 50 percent of unemployable people has been reckoned with in the allocations to coal mining. It is considered necessary that not too high demands should be placed on the choice of prisoners of war. The Miner’s Union doctors [Knappschaftsaerzte] are to be informed that a different standard is to be established for the prisoners of war than for German miners.

For the consecutive order in which the prisoners of war are to be put to work, it will be laid down, that before the metal workers are chosen, the coal mining in the first place and requirements for the loading and unloading commands in the second place are to be considered.

Field Marshal Milch undertakes to accelerate the procuring of the Russian prisoners of war from the camps.

[Typewritten] Dr. Ing. Goerner

PARTIAL TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT R-124

PROSECUTION EXHIBIT 48-A

EXTRACTS FROM REPORT ON THE SEVENTEENTH CONFERENCE OF THE CENTRAL PLANNING BOARD, 28 OCTOBER 1942

Berlin, 30 October 1942

The Plenipotentiary General for the Four Year Plan

Central Planning Board

REPORT ON THE 17TH CONFERENCE OF THE CENTRAL PLANNING BOARD ON 28 OCTOBER 1942, 0930 HOURS

Increase of Coal Production

Allocation of Labor

Coal production in the Ruhr district has increased to 390,000 tons per day. Any further increase depends on whether the requirements for labor are being met. About 104,000 men are required. Furthermore 7,800 men—originally 16-17,000 requirements having been brought down by rationalization—are needed for the supplying industry, 6,800 of these for the machine industry. 5,000 more unskilled workers are furthermore required to secure the transport of mine-timber which is essential for reason of variety [Sortimentsgruenden].

The intake capacity of the mining industry for the month of November is 44,000 prisoners of war, of whom 25,000 are for the Ruhr district, and 12,600 eastern workers, 7,500 of whom are for the Ruhr district. Total requirements so far amount to 191,000 laborers of whom 90,700 were wanted by the Ruhr District. Up to 24 October a total of 123,000 was allocated. These numbers are still to be checked up by the Reich Association Coal (RVK) and Mr. Sauckel.

According to the Plenipotentiary for Labor Allocation, the following number of prisoners of war is at present at hand.

Within the Reich (on the way and in camp)30,000

Remainder of prisoners of war (outstanding from a total of 150,000 and promised up to the beginning of December)60,000

At camps in the General Government15,000

Of these the following can be regarded as available up to 1 December:

Within the Reich15,000

Of the remaining prisoners of war10,000

From the General Government7,500

———

Total about 32,000

Therefore, as compared to the required 44,000, there is a deficit of about 12,000. Moreover, 10,000 civilian laborers from the East can be put up by exchanges from the agricultural sector which is 2,000 less than required so that the November deficit amounts to 14,000 and, in comparison with the total requirements of the mining industry of 104,000, there is a deficit of 62,000. The deficit increases by the smaller number of prisoners of war the size of which is still to be ascertained by the Commissioner of Labor.

The mining industry is in a position to use any amount of eastern labor instead of prisoners of war. Therefore, it is to get preference at the combing-out of the agricultural sector. There is no objection to a temporary accommodation of eastern labor at prisoner-of-war camps (without barbed wire, etc.).

The requirements of the supply industry are to be met by the Red Label method [Rotzettelverfahren]. Constructors are to be provided by canvassing at the French prisoner-of-war camps for officers.

[Typewritten] Dr. Steffler

Present:

Reich Minister Speer

Field Marshal Milch

State Secretary KoernerReich Ministry for Armament and Munitions

Staatsrat SchieberReich Ministry for Armament and Munitions

Brig. Gen. BechtReich Ministry for Armament and Munitions

Lt. Col. v. NicolaiReich Ministry for Armament and Munitions

Herr SchliekerReich Ministry for Armament and Munitions

Oberberghauptmann GabelReich Economic Ministry

Colonel Dr. KrullReich Economic Ministry

Oberbergrat OttoReich Economic Ministry

State Secretary GanzenmuellerReich Traffic Ministry

Staatsrat HeinbergReich Traffic Ministry

Min. Dir. GramschFour Year Plan

Min. Rat StefflerFour Year Plan

Min. Dirig. TimmPlenipotentiary for Labor Allocation

Oberreg. Rat HildebrandPlenipotentiary for Labor Allocation

Gen. Dir. PleigerReich Association Coal

Dr. SogemeierReich Association Coal

Dr. FischerReich Association Coal

Dir. WinkausPlenipotentiary for Mining Requirements

PARTIAL TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT R-124

PROSECUTION EXHIBIT 48-A

EXTRACTS FROM STENOGRAPHIC MINUTES OF TWENTY-FIRST CONFERENCE OF CENTRAL PLANNING BOARD, 30 OCTOBER 1942

EXCERPT OF STENOGRAPHIC MINUTES OF THE 21ST CONFERENCE OF THE CENTRAL PLANNING BOARD

Re: Labor supply and direction of labor held on 30 October 1942, afternoon, at the Reich Ministry of Armament and Munitions.

Berlin, Pariser Platz 3

Sauckel: There is but one possibility, and that is, that the moment the Wehrmacht takes prisoners in operational territory, they are to be immediately turned over to us. We will move them away much faster than the Wehrmacht.

Milch: The correct thing to do would be to have all Stalags transferred to you by order of the Fuehrer. The Wehrmacht takes prisoners and as soon at it relinquishes them, the first delivery goes to your organization. Then everything will be in order.

Sauckel: Yes, but we do not have sufficient personnel for guarding the prisoners.

(Milch: The Wehrmacht should have to provide you with that!)

Sauckel: As soon as prisoners of war are taken, they should be placed at our disposal and we would then allocate them in a fair manner. However, with the present method we get nothing or only a fraction of what the Wehrmacht had promised us, although the prisoners had been taken by the Wehrmacht.

Timm: We can hardly hope to achieve that, since this might have something to do with the convention concerning the treatment of prisoners of war.

Milch: The man who acts there for you can wear a uniform all right and be a soldier. Only his superior will not be Herr Reinecke but Herr Sauckel.

For psychological reasons emphasis should be placed on first of all covering the requirements of the Wehrmacht branches, without other considerations. The feeling, we don’t get it anyway, has gradually permeated our whole air force industry—and I heard the same about the army. I will admit that these gigantic allocations are completely misjudged. For example, in the Luftwaffe where from an original allocation of 480,000, a balance of 150,000 was left over [per Saldo uebrig]. The plants always look only at the balance [Saldo]. However, there are many plants also who have suffered an actual decrease in manpower, especially in a young industry like ours, which is occupied with the manufacture of very special products. This industry has many young people, of whom many again have been drafted into the Wehrmacht. This drafting is done in such an idiotic way that one actually has to feel ashamed. All three experimenting engineers working on a development which may have an important bearing on the outcome of the war are simply drafted. They are not sent to the front or into training but sit around in the back somewhere and are guarding some camp. No consideration whatsoever is given to individual cases. Of course the plants then call for replacements. The masses cannot fill these breaches, and qualified replacements we cannot supply at all. Herr Dr. Werner, for example, writes a letter to Herr Schieber of which he forwards a copy to me and which states that production figures established in the delivery schedules can no longer be met, owing to the fact that for weeks partially even for months, no manpower has been allocated, and that even current withdrawals cannot be replaced by the labor offices [Arbeitsaemter]. The fact, that we can no longer meet the demands of the rising production, that backlogs are increasing more and more, fills him with rising apprehension. He then goes into details, but always reverts to the same conclusion: everything might be accomplished, we could even get the necessary material; in the final analysis we fail, however, in one important aspect in connection with our whole armament program—the allocation of manpower. If only we had, if only we had—thus it goes all day and in every conference.

I am convinced that many people are beginning to put in fake requests and exaggerate their requirements. There is only one way to straighten out this affair. In my department, I do it this way: if for months a spare part cannot be found, the entire front begins to hoard this article; so, for instance, the tail skid of a Ju 52. Then we proceeded to manufacture triple the amount of the expected requirements, yet no tail skids were available. Ordnance stock piles were filled with it; but they did not issue any. I then said: We will now manufacture nothing but tail skids until we hear shouts not to send any more. Thus, an affair like that gets finally straightened out. And here likewise we must say for once: We will supply the required laborers to the industry, if necessary by depriving other fields. Agriculture, at the moment can spare laborers; it does not need them from 15 November to 15 March of next year. It is just a waste to have to feed them. Only a small number will be needed for the procurement of wood. Thus we are able to generously help industry and later on again replenish agriculture. At the same time we have the advantage of getting fairly well-fed people. As Herr Timm recently explained, prisoners of war from the Ukraine would not serve our purpose; they could not regain their physical strength on what they get to eat in the industry. Even supplying them with better food than we give to our own people would not be sufficient to get them beyond a still weakened condition. In agriculture they get additional food. Don’t muzzle the mouth of a beast when food lies all around it. This is also of advantage to prisoners of war and workers from the East.

However, we have to finally do away with the general feeling: we have nothing and we want yet anything; we have been forsaken by God and the Fuehrer; constantly more and more is demanded of us; how can we still believe in this great program? We can only carry it out if we have such faith in it, as is spoken of in the Bible. In January we started with a monthly production of 2,000 engines; today we have reached 4,000, and in a year and a half I must reach 14,000. That of course is a gigantic achievement for a month. Every engine has at least 1,200 h.p. If in measurements of horsepower I compare the present with the former World War, then the present achievement is 40 times as great. What an immense amount of manpower was available at that time for an industry so totally different from ours! Yet today we must come up to more than three times that, which we have already done. That means, that in airplane engines alone we have to achieve 135 to 140 times as much as we did in the World War. Dr. Werner who is responsible for the engine industry proposed how this can be done. He said: We must apply a mass production scale everywhere, or else we will not accomplish it. He has very progressive ideas in this field. With the airplane engine, it can be done for sure. Crankshafts and connecting rods, etc., we can produce on a mass production scale. Today we manufacture 40,000 connecting rods. However, we still have no machines today that assemble these products individually on the assembly line. The Americans have such machines. We are lacking about 10 construction engineers and 5 mechanics; they just simply cannot be procured. One must for once satisfy the needs of the people again. I have always put them off until November and told them that Sauckel would produce the necessary labor from agriculture.

Speer: We must also discuss the slackers. Ley has ascertained that the sick list decreased to one-fourth or one-fifth in factories where doctors are on the staff who are examining the sick men. There is nothing to be said against SS and police taking drastic steps and putting those known as slackers into concentration camps. There is no alternative. Let it happen several times and the news will soon go around.

Sauckel: We talked of taking the waiters out of the restaurants in Germany. But in this respect we have absolutely an abundance in France, the General Government and the Protectorate. As long as we have not skimmed that off, we could not take the responsibility towards the German people for such a measure. Again a cable of the Foreign Minister has burst into my recent negotiations in France stating that under no circumstances should the Ministry Laval be put into peril. The Fuehrer has said: If the French show no good will, then I shall retake the 800,000 French PW’s. If they show good will, then the French wives can follow their husbands to Germany and work there. Of course, he said, I have an interest that Laval remains in power. The Ministry Laval will remain, it depends only on us. And Laval cannot go back after he has reproduced in his speech and spoken before the French passages which he has taken verbally out of my appeal. Only Pétain could bring him to fall. I wish to draw your attention to the fact, however, that in France there is a surplus of young men all of whom we could use in Germany. If we expect our people to accept severest restrictions then we cannot admit such luxuries in Paris as, e.g., small restaurants with bands of 25 musicians and two waiters per table. I am firmly convinced, if we are brutal also against the others then we can extract quite a considerable number of men out of the General Government—I sent an efficient man, President Struwe, over there—and of the Protectorate. This need not interfere with the armament industry over there. There is, therefore, no fear that the demand could not be met.

PARTIAL TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT R-124

PROSECUTION EXHIBIT 48-B

EXTRACTS FROM STENOGRAPHIC MINUTES OF THE TWENTY-THIRD CONFERENCE OF THE CENTRAL PLANNING BOARD, 3 NOVEMBER 1942

Secret

STENOGRAPHIC MINUTES OF THE 23D CONFERENCE OF CENTRAL PLANNING BOARD

Concerning the fixing of iron quotas, on 3 November 1942, 1600

hours in the Reich Ministry for Armament and Munitions,

Berlin, Pariser Platz 3

Pleiger: * * * For the physical strain on the miners, who practically work two Sunday shifts each month, is such that they could not stand it for another six months. In other words—this is the important point—the quota of approximately 95,600 men is still lacking and must be assigned to work now at last; it was promised to me at one time. The gentlemen of the Ruhr tell me: We have our huts ready. Some of them are not completely furnished, and I reproached the people for it. They answered, however: But you promised us workers for about half a year. We have always been ahead with our huts. How can you reproach us now, our huts were not ready. The workers assigned to us will be taken care of. I would be very thankful if Sauckel would be induced to assign to us the quota of workers.

Speer: He received the instruction in the last conference of the Central Planning Board to assign workers first of all to the coal-mining industry as well as to the iron-producing industry, for you the amount of 44,000 plus 12,000, plus 7,500 for the feeder industry, plus 5,000 for pit props. The same holds true for Mr. Rohland.

Pleiger: In our conferences it must always be taken as a basis that the Reichsbahn, with regard to the allocation of cars, is at least in the same position as they were last year.

(Speer: That’s pretty bad.)

—No, it allocated over 80,000 cars in December.

Speer: Can you give me by name any smelters or other people which could be taken out?

(Rohland: Yes.)

This would still be another 50 or 100, I guess.

Rohland: I figure about 40 men per Martin furnace. If we take away 20 or 15—let’s say 20—as trained Martin furnace smelters, we would have 300 men. 300 smelters could help us a lot. But when will they come?

Speer: Then we could deceive the French about the industry in such a way, as if we would release among the prisoners of war the rollers and smelters—they have—if they give us their names.

Rohland: We opened our own office in Paris. In other words, you mean the French should report the smelters who are prisoners of war in Germany?

Milch: I would simply say: You will get two people for one of this kind.

Speer: The French firms know exactly who is a smelter among the prisoners of war. There you should make it appear, as if they would be released. They give us the names and then we take them out. Try it.

Rohland: That’s an idea.

Milch: We in the Luftwaffe and airplane industry will also try to find out: Who is a roller, smelter, or furnace mason.

Rohland: But by the time the people arrive, the quarter of the year will be over.

PARTIAL TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT R-124

PROSECUTION EXHIBIT 48-A

EXTRACTS FROM STENOGRAPHIC MINUTES OF THE THIRTY-THIRD CONFERENCE OF THE CENTRAL PLANNING BOARD, 16 FEBRUARY 1943

Secret!

Top Secret State Matter

STENOGRAPHIC MINUTES OF THE 33D CONFERENCE^[94] OF THE CENTRAL PLANNING BOARD

Concerning Labor Supply on 16 February 1943 at 1600 hrs. at the

Reich Ministry for Armament and Munitions 3,

Pariser Platz, Berlin

Timm: I should like to say something about the labor supply possibilities. Perhaps you will permit me to emphasize the negative side a little. The greatest difficulties result from the fact that the supply of labor outstanding could not be fully dispatched from the East, but came in in ever diminishing numbers. One may say that they have almost become completely exhausted. Eastern laborers during the last six weeks arrived only in smaller numbers than in former times, so that they can hardly be included to an appreciable amount on the credit side of the supply account. In any case their numbers are small. The foremost reason is that in former months most transports were dispatched from the Ukraine while the main recruitment areas were those which in the meantime have become operational areas, or even are no longer in our hands. The forecasts we made applied to a large extent to the transport of people from the Caucasus district, the Kuban, from areas like Stalingrad. We prepared measures which should enable us to draw more eastern workers again during the following months. I venture to think that we should be able, on a conservative calculation, to transfer during the month of March between 150,000 and 200,000 laborers from the East to the West.

(Speer: Including or excluding those needed for agriculture?)

Including those needed for agriculture. But in my opinion it will be necessary to apply much pressure, since just those districts are concerned which have been pacified to a certain extent, and for the same reason will not be very much inclined to release labor. This is calculated on the assumption that some labor has to be released also from the eastern and northern parts of the East.

The second area, capable of releasing a considerable amount of labor is the General Government and that for the January estimate which has been drawn up with particular caution as I again wish to emphasize. We expect that the figures will be surpassed rather than not reached. I think we can expect a number of 40,000, of which, it is true, a part will have to be given to agriculture, if we intend no more than to cover the losses which we had to inflict last autumn.

Beyond this it ought to be possible in my opinion to employ within the Reich, and especially for the mining industry, part of the Polish Building Service. I venture to think one ought to enlarge this organization in such a way that more age groups than so far are called up for it, since this procedure is functioning. The younger age groups which in fact are especially suited for mining could be dispatched to the Reich. In this case the supervisors who are provided for the greatest part by the Building Service, will be needed only in very small numbers in the Reich.

The next area would be the Protectorate on which I cannot make a final statement today. We have been promised for the month of March about 10,000 laborers. But I am of the opinion that some loosening-up is possible. The Plenipotentiary will soon in a personal visit take in hand the possibility of this loosening-up.

France is included in the account with 100,000 laborers for March. Messages which I received permit us to hope that this number will be increased in the middle of March. Belgium is included with 40,000, Holland with 30,000, Slovakia with 20,000, who, it is true, are exclusively suited for agriculture, since their share of individual workers has been completely delivered. This item consists exclusively of agricultural laborers, owing to a state treaty. For the remaining part of the foreign areas I included another 10,000. This amounts altogether to 400,000 laborers who should arrive in March. One might be entitled to add for the last month altogether 10,000 prisoners of war. These are men to be drawn from the East. It can be expected that this number might under certain conditions be surpassed, since the High Command intends especially for operational reasons, to take the prisoners of war back to the Reich, particularly from the areas threatened by the enemy.

A former item concerns the fluctuation of labor which certainly amounts to about 100,000 laborers. Then there are items which at the moment cannot be estimated—the yield from the threatened areas and from the “Stoppage-action”. Here I cannot venture to name final figures, but I hope to be able to do so next month.

Sauckel: Of course, we regret very much that last autumn we were unable to recruit as much as we would have liked in the areas which now are again in enemy hands. This is partly due to the fact that we were not assisted in the degree we had expected. Moreover we were not able to effect the removal of the civil population which had been planned. These events are an urgent reminder of the fact that it is necessary to employ foreign laborers at once and in great numbers in Germany proper and in the actual armaments industry. You may be certain that we wish to achieve this. We have not the slightest interest in creating difficulties for an armaments office, even for those working for German interest abroad, by taking labor away from them to an unreasonable extent. But on this occasion I should like to ask you to try and understand our procedure. We Germans surely have sent to the front between 50 and 75 percent of our skilled workers. A part of them has been killed while the nations subjugated by us need no longer shed their blood. Thus they can preserve their entire capacity with regard to skilled workers, inasmuch as they have not been transferred to Germany which is the case only for a much smaller percentage than all of us supposed, and in fact they do use them partly for manufacturing things which are not in the least important for the German war economy. If we proceed energetically against this abuse, I ask you to give me credit for so much reason that I do not intend to damage the foreign interests of the German armaments industry. The quality of the foreign worker is such that it cannot be compared with that of the German worker. But even then I intend to create a similar proportion between skilled and workers trained for their job, as it exists in Germany by force of tradition, since it has come about that we had to send men to the front in much larger numbers than we requested France or any other country to do. Moreover we shall endeavor increasingly to bring about on a generous scale the adaptation of the French, Polish, and Czech workers. I do not see for the moment any necessity for limiting the use of foreign labor. The only thing I ask for is that we understand each other, so that the immense difficulties and friction between the respective authorities disappear and the program drawn up by us will by no means be frustrated by such things.

There are without a doubt still enough men in France, Holland, Belgium, the Protectorate, and the General Government to meet our labor demands for the next months. I confess that I expect more success from such a procedure with respect to heavier work or for work where shifts of 10 or more hours are customary, than from relying on the use of German women and men exclusively. We shall have better success by proceeding this way provided the foreign workers still obey, which remains a risk we always run, than by using weaker German women and girls as labor in places of very important armament work, where foreigners may be used for security reasons. * * *

* * * The situation in France is this; after I and my assistants had succeeded after difficult discussions in inducing Laval to introduce the Service Act this act has now been enlarged, owing to our pressure so that already yesterday three French age groups have been called up. We are now, therefore, legally and with the assistance of the French Government entitled to recruit laborers in France from three age groups, whom we can use in French factories in the future, but of whom we may choose some for our use in Germany and send them to Germany. I think in France the ice is now broken. According to reports received they now have begun to think about a possible break-through by the Bolshevists and the dangers which thereby threaten Europe. The resistance which the French Government has hitherto shown is diminishing. Within the next days I shall go to France in order to set the whole thing into motion, so that the losses in the East may be somewhat balanced by increasing recruitment and calling-up in France.

If we receive comprehensive lists in time, we shall, I think, be able to cover all demands by dispatching in March 800,000 laborers.

Speer: Recruitment abroad as such is supported by us. We only fear very much that the skilled workers extracted from the occupied countries do not always reach the appropriate factories in Germany. It might certainly be better if we acted in such a way that the parent firms of Germany which work with the French and Czech factories would comb out the foreign workers more than before for their own use.

Sauckel: We made an agreement with Field Marshal Milch. You will get the factories which are urgently needed for your airplane motors, etc.; these will be completely safeguarded. In the same way I promised Admiral of the Fleet Doenitz^[95] today that the U-boat repair firms proper are absolutely safeguarded. We shall even be able to provide our own armament factories on French soil with labor extracted from French factories, in the main from the unoccupied territory where there still are metal works which have their full complement of skilled workers without even having been touched so far.

Hildebrand: May I point out at this point that we have to figure that we shall be deprived of the Italian workers this year. This according to present discussions, concerns 300,000 men altogether, or 15 to 20,000 a month. If we deduct the first installment, the remaining ones to a great part are just highly skilled metal workers.

Sauckel: This is a request of the Fuehrer, but he has not yet finally decided.

Hildebrand: But we have been told to be prepared to lose these men.

Speer: We ourselves quite support the combing-out abroad. On the other hand we must be entitled—and this was agreed—to exclude or prefer particular kinds of work, e.g., the armor factories. In France we are more and more turning towards giving up finishing processes and stressing the subcontracting. It is the foundries and similar works, e.g., for the use of the aluminum industry, which we wish to use to capacity. We could force the production of Opel, so that in this case Peugeot who manufacture the forged parts for Opel, the parent firm, might demand more labor for this while the rest of their workers would be taken over by Opel.

PARTIAL TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT R-124

PROSECUTION EXHIBIT 48-A

EXTRACTS FROM STENOGRAPHIC MINUTES OF THE THIRTY-SIXTH CONFERENCE OF THE CENTRAL PLANNING BOARD, 22 APRIL 1943

Dr. Jaenicke

Secret

Top Secret State Matter

STENOGRAPHIC MINUTES OF THE 36TH CONFERENCE OF THE CENTRAL PLANNING BOARD

Concerning 1943-44 coal economy plan. Held on Thursday, 22 April 1943, 1550 hours at the Festival Hall at the Zoo, Jebenstr.

Speer: Throughout the winter we have seen that in the last instance it is coal which provides the basis for all plans we wish to execute in other respects, and most of you are also aware of our intention to increase the manufacture of iron. Here also it will again be coal which in the last instance will tip the scales, whether or not we shall be able to accomplish this increase of iron production. Seen from the Central Planning Board, we are of the opinion that the demand for coal as well as the demand for iron ought to be coordinated in a separate plan, and that this plan ought to receive about the same degree of urgency as the Krauch plan, and that with regard to labor, the conditions required for the execution of that plan must be established. Perhaps Mr. Timm will be able to state how he expects the question of the miners to be developed; unfortunately the miners cannot be taken from the German reservoir, in their place we shall have to use very strong foreigners.

Timm: At the moment, 69,000 men are needed for hauling that coal. We want to cover this by finding within the Reich 23,000 men, viz., healthy prisoners of war, etc., who are especially suitable for mining—and by dispatching 50,000 Poles from the General Government. Out of these about 30,000 men have been supplied up to 24 April, so that about 39,000 men are still outstanding for January to April. The demand for May has been reported to us at 35,700. The difficulties existed especially with regard to recruitment in the General Government, since in every district surrounding Germany there is an extraordinary resistance to recruitment. In all countries we have to change over more or less to registering the men by age groups and to conscripting them in age groups. They do appear for registration as such, but as soon as transport is available, they do not come back so that the dispatch of the men has become more or less a question for the police.

Especially in Poland the situation at the moment is extraordinarily serious. It is well known that vehement battles occurred just because of these actions. The resistance against the administration established by us is very strong. Quite a number of our men have been exposed to increased dangers, and it was just in the last two or three weeks that some of them were shot dead, e.g., the head of the labor office in Warsaw who was shot in his office, and yesterday another man again. This is how matters stand presently, and the recruiting itself even if done with the best will remain extremely difficult unless police reinforcements are at hand.

Speer: These [women] we can use in the Reich. There are a great number of Russian PW’s and laborers who are employed at places where they need not be employed. There can be an exchange. The only thing is to do this with unskilled workers, and not to take the workers from the industry where they were trained with difficulty.

Kehrl: Where we are late in completion of a task, or where we lose an opportunity, we can make up for it. But any coal which we cannot haul at once is definitely lost for use in this war. This is why we cannot do enough to force the allotment to the pits.

Speer: But not by forcible actions in smashing what we toilsomely built.

(Kehrl: We need not do that!)

You ought to add the conscripted labor.

Timm: We must endeavor to get German men for working at the coal-face.

Kehrl: We subsist on foreigners who live in Germany.

Timm: These men are concentrated within a very small area. Otherwise there might be trouble in this sector.

Speer: There is a specified statement showing in what sectors the Russian PW’s have been distributed, and this statement is quite interesting. It shows that the armaments industry only received 30 percent. I always complained about this.

Timm: The highest percentage of PW’s are Frenchmen, and one ought not to forget that it is difficult to employ them at the coal-face. The number of Russians living within the Reich is small.

Rohland: In the mines one should exclusively use eastern people, not western ones.

Speer: The western men collapse!

Speer: In any case we ought to force the coal production with all our power. I now have here a statement on the distribution of the Soviet prisoners. There are 368,000 altogether. Of these are: 101,000 in agriculture; 94,000 in the mining industry—who are not available in any case; 15,000 in the building materials industry; 26,000 in iron and metal production where they cannot be extracted either; 29,000 in the manufacture of iron, steel, and metal goods; 63,000 in the manufacture of machines, boilers, and cars, and similar appliances, which means in armaments industry; and 10,000 in the chemical industry. Agriculture has received by far the most of them, and the men employed there could in the course of time be exchanged for women. The 90,000 Russian PW’s employed in the whole of the armaments industry are for the greatest part skilled men. If you can extract 8-10,000 men from there, it would already be the limit.

Kehrl: Would it not be possible to add Serbians, etc.?

Sogemeier: We ought not to mix too much.

Rohland: For God’s sake, no Serbians! We had very bad experiences with mixing.

Speer: Everything depends on the amount of the influx from abroad.

Schieber: If anyway nothing arrives, the mines certainly will get nothing.

Timm: Gauleiter Sauckel is perfectly convinced that the transports will be on their way within a short time. Now the front has been consolidated at last.

Schieber: We ought to be grateful that the weather has allowed the farmer to keep things going in some way despite the little labor being available to him. For the farmer, the coal supply is just as important as for the whole of the armaments industry. When we discuss tomorrow the nitrogen problem we shall see the same; our first need is coal.

Koerner: On 1 April we had in agriculture a deficit of about 600,000 laborers. It had been planned to cover it by supplying labor from the East, mainly women. These laborers will first have to be supplied until other laborers are released from agriculture. We are just entering the season where the heaviest work in the fields has to be done, for which many laborers are necessary. Much labor is needed for the hoeing of the fruits, and it is to be hoped that this year the harvest can be started early which would be rendered much more difficult if an exchange of labor would have to take place.

Milch: We ought to except certain areas of the Protectorate to which the orders are being directed, and extract nothing there until a surplus is found out subsequently. For the time being it cannot be ascertained. There are enough other areas of the Protectorate which are not affected by the industry plan and some labor could be extracted from them at once. We ought to name the places which are excepted from our action.

Timm: In this the authorities on the other side ought to participate; they are in the best position to tell the places from where nothing must be extracted.

Milch: If one proceeds as I proposed, and Timm agreed to it, no damage can be done. This ought to be done in any case. For the rest I completely agree; we must now supply the mines with labor. The greatest part of labor which we can supply from the East will indeed be women. But the eastern women are quite accustomed to agricultural work, and especially to the type of work which has to be done these coming weeks, the hoeing and transplanting of turnips, etc. The women are quite suitable for this. One thing has to be considered: first you must supply agriculture with the women, then you can extract the men, laborer for laborer. It is not the right thing if first the men are taken away and the farmers are left without labor for 4 to 6 weeks. If the women arrive after such time they arrive too late.

Speer: Beyond this we are prepared to release from all parts of the war economy, in exchange for women, any Russian PW’s or other Russian who is employed as auxiliary laborer.

PARTIAL TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT R-124

PROSECUTION EXHIBIT 48-A

REPORT OF THE FORTY-SECOND CONFERENCE OF THE CENTRAL PLANNING BOARD, 23 JUNE 1943

The Plenipotentiary for the Four Year Plan

Central Planning Board

Z.P. 148

Berlin W 8, 24 June 1943

Leipziger Strasse 3

24 copies, 17th copy

Top Secret State Matter

REPORT ON THE 42D CONFERENCE OF THE CENTRAL PLANNING BOARD ON 23 JUNE 1943, 1600 HOURS

Coal situation

The manpower situation in the coal mining industry, particularly in the hard coal mining industry, is still unsatisfactory, and necessitates an extension of the measures decided upon at the 36th Conference of the Central Planning Board, held on 22 April 1943.

The intensive discussion yielded as the most expedient solution the use of Russian prisoners of war to fill the existing vacancies. The more homogeneous character of the shifts will bring about the necessary higher output resulting both from an increased capacity of such shifts and particularly from a restriction of fluctuations.

1. The present drive, which is to be carried out throughout the German economy proper, aims both at freeing Russian labor, fit for work in the mining industry and actually not employed as semi-skilled workmen, and at replacing it by additionally imported labor consisting of eastern workers, Poles, etc. Thus, about 50,000 workmen are expected to be made available up to the end of July 1943. This drive is to be accelerated.

Furthermore as an immediate measure it should be suggested to the Fuehrer—RVK [Reich Association Coal] and GBA [Plenipotentiary General for Labor Allocation] submitting the necessary figures for the statement to the Fuehrer—that 200,000 Russian prisoners fit for the heaviest work be made available from the Wehrmacht and Waffen SS through the chiefs of the army groups [Heeresgruppenchefs]. The prisoners will be selected on the spot by medical officers of the mining industry and officials of the office of the Plenipotentiary General for Labor Allocation will take charge of them there and then. Provisions are to be made for an extension of this program in order to satisfy any demand for manpower, which will have accumulated up to the end of the year 1943.

The manpower needed by the mining transport industry [Bergbau-Zubringer-Industrie] and by the iron-producing industry may be supplied from that same source provided that the necessities of the coal mining industry have previously been adjusted.

The performance of the Soviet Russians so employed is to be raised by a premium system. For this purpose, the present pay restrictions are to be lifted and the manager [Betriebsfuehrer] be allowed to distribute amongst the workers, according to his discretion, one Reichmark per head per day as premium for particular services rendered.

Furthermore, care will be taken that workmen can exchange these premiums, which will be paid out in camp money [Lagergeld] for goods. It is intended to put at their disposal various provisions (e.g., sunflower seeds, etc.) beer, tobacco, cigarettes and cigars, small items for daily use, etc.

The Reich Food Ministry in conjunction with the Reich Association Coal and the Reich Ministry of Economic Affairs will clarify the question whether, beyond that, something else can be changed as far as rations are concerned.

2. Equally, in occupied countries, labor is to be tied more securely to the various factories by means of the distribution of additional ration cards as premium for good services. This refers in particular to the General Government and the occupied territories in the East. The output demanded of the General Government is to be fixed at the proposed amount, and the additional rations for armament workers may then be rated accordingly.

[Typewritten signature] Dr. Gramsch

Present:

Reich Minister Speer

Field Marshal Milch

Staatstrat SchieberReich Ministry for Armament and Munitions

Oberbuergermeister LiebelReich Ministry for Armament and Munitions

Major General WaegerReich Ministry for Armament and Munitions

Dr. Ing. GroenerReich Ministry for Armament and Munitions

President KehrlReich Economic Ministry

Min. Dir. GramschFour Year Plan

Min. Dirig. TimmPlenipotentiary General for Labor Allocation (GBA)

Staatsrat PleigerReich Association Coal (RVK)

Dr. SogemeierReich Association Coal (RVK)

Dr. RosenkranzReich Association Coal (RVK)

PARTIAL TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT R-124

PROSECUTION EXHIBIT 48-A

EXTRACTS FROM STENOGRAPHIC MINUTES OF THE FIFTY-THIRD CONFERENCE OF THE CENTRAL PLANNING BOARD, 16 FEBRUARY 1944

Secret!

STENOGRAPHIC MINUTES OF THE 53D CONFERENCE OF THE CENTRAL PLANNING BOARD

Concerning Supply of Labor held on 16 February 1944, 10 o’clock,

in the Reich Air Ministry

Present: Milch (for Central Planning Board), Kehrl, Backe, etc.

Milch: The armament industry employs foreign workers to a large extent, according to the latest figures—40 percent. The new allocations of the Plenipotentiary General for Labor Allocation consist mostly of foreigners and we lost a lot of German personnel which was called up. Specially the air industry being a young industry employs a great many young people who should be called up. This will be very difficult as is easily seen if one deducts those working for experimental stations. In mass production the foreign workers by far prevail. It is about 95 percent and higher. Our best new engine is made 88 percent by Russian prisoners of war and the other 12 percent by German men and women. 50-60 Ju 52’s which we now regard only as transport planes are made per month. Only 6-8 German men are working on this machine, the rest are Ukrainian women who have beaten all the records of trained workers.

The list of the shirkers should be entrusted to Himmler’s trustworthy hands who will make them work, all right. This is very important for educating people and has also a deterrent effect on such others who would likewise feel inclined to shirk.

* * * It is, therefore, not possible to exploit fully all the foreigners unless we compel them by piece work or have the possibility of taking measures against foreigners who are not doing their bit. But if the foreman lays hands on a prisoner of war or smacks him, at once there is a terrible uproar, the man is put into prison, etc. There are sufficient officials in Germany who think it their most important duty to stand up for human rights instead of war production. I, too, am all for human rights. But if a Frenchman says, “You fellows will all be hanged and the chief of the factory will be beheaded first”, and if then the chief says, “I am going to hit him”, then he is in a mess. He is not protected, but the “poor fellow” who said that to him is protected. I have told my engineers, “I am going to punish you if you don’t hit such a man; the more you do in this respect the more I shall praise you. I shall see to it that nothing happens to you.” This is not yet sufficiently known. I cannot talk to all plant leaders. I should like to see the man who stays my arm because I can take care of anybody who does so. If the little plant leader does that he is put into a concentration camp and runs the risk of losing the prisoners of war. In one case two Russian officers took off with an airplane but crashed. I ordered that these two men be hanged at once. They were hanged or shot yesterday. I left that to the SS. I expressed the wish to have them hanged in the factory for the others to see. * * *

PARTIAL TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT R-124

PROSECUTION EXHIBIT 48-B

REPORT ON THE FIFTY-THIRD CONFERENCE OF THE CENTRAL PLANNING BOARD, 16 FEBRUARY 1944

[Marginal notes] St. 10-44 VII Top Secret

The Plenipotentiary for the Four Year Plan

Central Planning Board

Z.P. 7 g. Rs.

Pl. 030053

Berlin, 18 February 1944

W 8, Leipziger Strasse 3

Secret

31 copies, 3d copy

[Milch’s initial]

M

REPORT ON THE 53D CONFERENCE OF THE CENTRAL PLANNING BOARD ON 16 FEBRUARY 1944, ON LABOR ALLOCATION 1944

The purpose of this conference is to determine the labor needs and resources for the 1st quarter and the whole year of 1944. The session is opened by the discussion of the data submitted by the planning office (see enclosures 1-9). On the basis of the planning office’s estimate of the requirements (enclosure 9) these turn out, after discussion with the individual allottees, to be the following:

FirstSecond-Fourth

Quarter-44Quarter-44Total

in 1000’s

Agriculture70(1)70(2)140

Forestry and Timber Industry40(3). .(4)40

Armament and War Production544(5)3,000(6)3,544

Air Raid Damages10050150(7)

Communications85(8)265350

Distribution. .. .. .

Public Administration62(9). .62

Wehrmacht Administration130. .130

—————————

1,0313,3854,416

(1) Not including the 200,000 of whom 100,000 each will flow back from industry and forestry.

(2) Not including the demand for seasonal workers amounting usually to 62,000.

(3) 25,000 for forestry and 15,000, including 8,000 women for the timber industry, as against a peacetime requirement of 150,000 male and 40,000 female seasonal workers, although now considerably increased production (1943:70 million cubic meters; 1944:80 million cubic meters) and particularly heavy combing-out through draft.

(4) Starting autumn 1944, the usual necessary transfer from agriculture.

(5) Found to be a priority requirement for February with the Plenipotentiary for Labor Allocation.

(6) Starting March, 200,000 monthly as compensation for fluctuations—2 million for period March to December 1944. Plus compensation for return to agriculture 100,000 (cp. note 1) including 30,000 retrained workers who perhaps will have to be covered by an over-all exchange system and about 900,000 as replacement for draftees, as reserves for increased programs, etc., making about 3 million men all told for the period from March to December 1944.

(7) 150,000 is the minimum requirement in addition to the hitherto assigned 70,000 OT, 100,000 GB construction and 118,000 workmen to the local and district assignments and 42,000 workers centrally assigned. The mobile formations are to be increased and sometimes to be reinforced by local help, particularly by people unemployed through bombings.

(8) Including 75,000 for the Reichsbahn, 1,000 for inland navigation, 7,000 for motor traffic, 2,000 for minor railways.

(9) Including 27,000 for the Reichspost and 35,000 for the Red Cross.

In this estimate, real fluctuation (departure from work) as well as fictitious fluctuation (change of work location) are taken into account. Fictitious fluctuation is still to be variously estimated in the various branches. For the armament section it is estimated at 50 percent of the total fluctuation (cp. note 6). The total requirements of approximately 4.4 million would thus decrease by up to 1 million. The above estimate of requirements ought, therefore, in no case to exceed the requirements determined at the Fuehrer’s conference on 4 January 1944, comprising only the real fluctuation and amounting to 4,05 million namely:

1.Maintenance of the status of activity in the whole of the war economy including agriculture, taking into account the replacement of deficiencies due to drafts into the Wehrmacht, deaths, illness, expiration of contract, etc. (real fluctuation)2,5 million

2.For additional armament tasks and removal of bottleneck situations in armament plants1,30 million

3.Air raid defense constructions, etc.0,25 million

—————

Total4,05 million

Kehrl is charged with the task of ascertaining the magnitude of real and fictitious fluctuation, and as a basis thereto, on behalf of the Central Planning Board, together with the competent offices, to determine the concepts, “real and fictitious fluctuation,” furthermore the concepts, assignment, reserves [Aufstockung], etc., in a uniform terminology which will be binding for all agencies concerned.

The following resources are the GBA’s [Sauckel’s] estimated coverage of the requirements:

1.With the utmost efforts, other workers can be mobilized from German domestic reserves (getting hold of labor unemployed as result of enemy air raids, compulsory registration, shutting down, combing out measures)500,000

2.Recruitment of Italian labor numbering at the rate of 250,000 a month from January to April—1,000,000 and 500,000 from May to December1,500,000

3.Recruitment of French labor at equal monthly rates, from 1 February to 31 December 1944 (approx. 91,000 per month)1,000,000

4.Recruitment of labor from Belgium250,000

5.Recruitment of labor from the Netherlands250,000

6.Recruitment of labor from the eastern territories, occupied former Soviet territories, Baltic states, and General Government600,000

7.Recruitment of workers from other European countries100,000

—————

Approximately4,2 million

In addition, the following possibilities are seen for the mobilization of more reserves: Intensification of employment of women (in England, 61 percent of women between 14 and 65 are conscripted for the war economy, in Germany only 46 percent) especially in agriculture (more stringent application of the Goering ordinance), reduction in number of domestic assistants, reduction of the idle classes (Sauckel-Kehrl-Himmler, in this respect regional round-ups are to be carried out separately for foreigners, men and women) improvement of the sanitary system (saving up to 3 percent), working out of equitable contractual wages with incentive wage premiums. The planning office undertakes in common with the GBA [Sauckel] the examination of these possibilities for an intensified mobilization. Kehrl is moreover commissioned to make a general examination of the question of an improvement of industrial labor assignment. Everyone concerned will transmit their data on faulty assignment of workers to the planning office. If necessary, this question will be handled at a special session of the Central Planning Board.

For the 1st quarter of 1944 the following resources (including a fictitious fluctuation of about 50,000 per month) are given by the estimate of the GBA [Sauckel]:

Assignments in January145,000

Assignments February-March500,000

————

Approximately650,000

The adjustment of requirements and coverage will be effected at another session of the Central Planning Board.

[Signed] Steffler

Present:

Field Marshal Milch

State Secretary Koerner

President Kehrl

Ministerial Councillor Steffler

Maj. Gen. WaegerMinistry for Armament and Munitions

TeuscherMinistry for Armament and Munitions

KVV Chief BoschMinistry for Armament and Munitions

Ministerial Councillor WissmannMinistry for Armament and Munitions

Lt. Col. SchaedeMinistry for Armament and Munitions

Provincial Counsellor BerkPlenipotentiary for Labor Allocation

State Secretary HaylerReich Economic Ministry

General of Engineers SellschoppReich Air Ministry

Staff Engineer KaufmannReich Air Ministry

Staff Secretary GanzenmuellerReich Transport Ministry

Ministerial Director HassenpflugReich Transport Ministry

Ministerial Councillor HennigReich Transport Ministry

State Secretary BackeReich Food Ministry

State Secretary AlpersReich Office for Forestry

Prof. AbetzReich Office for Forestry

State Secretary GuttererPropaganda Ministry

Mayor EllgeringPropaganda Ministry

Gen. WeidemannOKW

Major KochOKW

Distribution:

Reich Minister Speer1st copy

Reich Minister Funk2d copy

Field Marshal Milch3d copy

State Secretary Koerner4th copy

President Kehrl5th copy & 6th

Engineer Goerner7th copy

Ministerial Councillor Steffler8th & 9th copies

Maj. Gen. Waeger10th copy

KVV Chief Bosch11th copy

Ministerial Councillor Wissmann12th copy

Provincial Councillor Berk13th copy

State Secretary Hayler14th copy

General Engineer Sellschopp15th copy

State Secretary Ganzenmueller16th copy

State Secretary Backe17th copy

State Secretary Alpers18th copy

State Secretary Gutterer19th copy

Gen. Weidemann20th copy

Major Koch21st copy

Planning Office22d & 23d copies

Registry V.P.24th & 31st copies

Pla. 160/ 11.2.

List of persons invited to the Conference of the Central Planning Board on 16 February 1944:

Chairman: Field Marshal Milch

Participants:

Reich Minister of Economy Funk

State Secretary Koerner

State Secretary Dr. Backe

General Forester Dr. Alpers

State Secretary Dr. Ganzenmueller

State Secretary Dr. Gutterer

President Kehrl

Maj. Gen. Waeger

Ministerial Manager Dr. Timm (crossed out and replaced by Provincial Councillor Berk)

Military Government vice-regent Dr. Bosch

Ministerial Councillor Dr. Steffler

PARTIAL TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT R-124

PROSECUTION EXHIBIT 48-A

EXTRACTS FROM THE STENOGRAPHIC MINUTES OF THE FIFTY-FOURTH CONFERENCE OF THE CENTRAL PLANNING BOARD, 1 MARCH 1944

STENOGRAPHIC MINUTES OF THE 54TH CONFERENCE^[96]

OF THE CENTRAL PLANNING BOARD

Re: Labor Supply on Wednesday, 1 March 1944, 10 o’clock, at the Ministry for Air Transport

Sauckel: Field Marshal [Milch], Gentlemen, it goes without saying that we shall satisfy as far as possible the demands agreed upon by the Central Planning Board. In this connection I wish to state that I call such deliveries as can be made by the Plenipotentiary for Labor Allocation “possible” by stressing every nerve of his organization. Already on 4 January I had to report to the Fuehrer with the greatest regret that for the first time I was not in a position to guarantee delivery of the grand total of 4,050,000 men then calculated in the Fuehrer’s Headquarters for the year 1944. In the presence of the Fuehrer I emphasized this several times. In the previous years I was able to satisfy the demands, at least with regard to the number of laborers, but this year I am no longer able to guarantee them in advance. In case I can deliver only a small number, I should be glad if those arriving would be distributed by percentage within the framework of your program. Of course, I shall readily agree if I am now told by the board: Now we have to change the program; now this or that is more urgent. It goes without saying that we will satisfy the demands whatever they may be, to the best of our ability, with due regard to the war situation. So much about figures!

We have no reason to contest the figures as such, for we ask nothing for ourselves. We are not even able to do anything with the laborers we collect; we only put them at the disposal of industry. I only wish to make some general statements and ask for your indulgence.

In the autumn of last year the supply program, inasmuch as it concerns supply from abroad was frustrated to a very great extent; I need not give the reasons in this circle; we have talked enough about them, but I have to state: the program has been smashed. People in France, Belgium, and Holland thought that labor was no longer to be directed from these countries to Germany because the work now had to be done within these countries themselves. For months—sometimes I visited these countries twice within a month—I have been called a fool who against all reason travelled around in these countries in order to extract labor. This went so far, I assure you, that all prefectures in France had general orders not to satisfy my demands since even the German authorities quarreled over whether or not Sauckel was a fool. If one’s work is smashed in such a way, repair is very, very difficult. * * *

* * * Today I am able to report that we stopped that decrease. According to most accurate statistics, which I had ordered, we have today again including foreign workers and prisoners of war, the same number of 29.1 million which we had in September. But we have added nothing since that time. Thus we dispatched to the Reich in those two months no more than 4,500 Frenchmen which amounts to nothing. From Italy only 7,000 civilians arrived. This, although from 1 December until today, I have had no hour, no Sunday, and no night for myself. I have visited all these countries and travelled through the whole Reich. My work was terribly difficult, but not for the reason that no more workers are to be found. I wish to state expressly, in France and in Italy there are still men galore. The situation in Italy is nothing but a European scandal, the same applies to a certain extent to France. Gentlemen, the French work badly and support themselves at the expense of the work done by the German soldier and laborer, even at the expense of the German food supply, and the same applies to Italy. I found out during my last stay that the food supply of the northern Italians cannot suffer any comparison with that of the southern Italians. The northern Italians, viz., as far to the south as Rome are so well nourished that they need not work; they are nourished quite differently from the German nation by their Father in Heaven without having to work for their bread. The labor reserves exist but the means of touching them have been smashed.

The most abominable point made by my adversaries is their claim that no executive had been provided within these areas in order to recruit in a sensible manner the Frenchmen, Belgians, and Italians and to dispatch them to work. Thereupon I even proceeded to employ and train a whole batch of French male and female agents who for good pay, just as was done in olden times for “shanghaiing”, went hunting for men and made them drunk by using liquor as well as words in order to dispatch them to Germany. Moreover I charged some able men with founding a special labor supply executive of our own, and this they did by training and arming, with the help of the Higher SS and Police Leader, a number of natives, but I still have to ask the Munitions Ministry for arms for the use of these men. * * *

* * * Especially the protected factories in the occupied countries make my work more difficult. According to reports received within the last days these protected factories are to a great part filled to capacity, and still labor is sucked up into these areas. This strong suction very much obstructs our desire to dispatch labor to the Reich. I wish to emphasize that I never opposed the use of French labor in factories which had been transferred from Germany to France. I am still sound of mind, and as recently as last summer I charged Mr. Hildebrand with an inquiry in France which had the following result: It would be easy to extract from French medium and small factories—80 percent of all French factories are small enterprises with only 36-40 working hours—1 million laborers for use in the transferred factories, and 1 million more for dispatch to Germany. To use 1 million within France should be quite possible unless the protected factories in France artificially suck up the labor completely and unless their number is continually increased, as happens according to my reports especially in Belgium, and unless new categories of works are continually declared protected, so that finally no labor is left which I may use in Germany. I wish here and now to repeat my thesis: A French workman, if treated in the right way, does double the amount of work in Germany that he would do in France, and he has here twice the value he has in France. I want to state clearly and fearlessly—the exaggerated use of the idea of protected factories in connection with the labor supply from France in my submission implies a grave danger for the German labor supply. If we cannot come to the decision that my assistants, together with the armament authorities, are to comb out every factory, this fountain of labor too in the future will remain blocked for the use of Germany, and in this case the program prescribed to me by the Fuehrer may well be frustrated. The same applies to Italy. In either country there are enough laborers, even enough skilled workers; only we must have enough courage to step into the French plants. What really happens in France, I do not know. That a smaller amount of work is done during enemy operations in France, like in every occupied country, than is done in Germany seems to me evident. If I am to fulfill the demands which you present to me, you must be prepared to agree with me and my assistants, that the term “protected factory” is to be restricted in France to what is really necessary and feasible by reasonable men, and the protected factories are not, as the Frenchmen think, protected against any extraction of labor from them for use in Germany. It is indeed very difficult for me to be presented to French eyes as a German of whom they may say, Sauckel is here stopped from acting for German armament! * * * On the other hand, I have grounds for hoping that I shall be just able to wiggle through, first by using my old corps of agents and my labor executive, and secondly by relying upon the measures which I was lucky enough to succeed in obtaining from the French Government. In a discussion lasting 5-6 hours I have exerted from M. Laval the concession that the death penalty will be threatened for officials endeavoring to sabotage the flow of labor supply and certain other measures. Believe me, this was very difficult. It required a hard struggle to get this through. But I succeeded and now in France, Germans ought to take really severe measures, in case the French Government does not do so. Don’t take it amiss, I and my assistants in fact have sometimes seen things happen in France that I was forced to ask, is there no respect any more in France for the German lieutenant with his 10 men. For months every word I spoke was countered by the answer: But what do you mean, Mr. Gauleiter, you know there is no executive at our disposal; we are not able to take action in France! This I have been answered over and over again. How then, am I to regulate the labor supply with regard to France. There is only one solution—the German authorities have to co-operate with each other, and if the Frenchmen despite all their promises do not act, then we Germans must make an example of one case, and, by reason of this law, if necessary put prefect or burgomaster against the wall, if he does not comply with the rules; otherwise no Frenchman at all will be dispatched to Germany. During the latter quarter the belief in a German victory and in all propaganda statements which we were still able to make has sunk below zero, and today it is still the same. I rather expect the new French ministers, especially Henriot [French (Vichy) Minister of Propaganda] will act ruthlessly; they are very willing and I have a good impression of them. The question is only how far they will be able to impress their will on the subordinated authorities. Such is the situation in France.

In Italy the situation is exactly the same, perhaps rather worse. * * *

Moreover, I am offended, and this grieves me most, by the statement that I was responsible for the European partisan nuisance. Even German authorities reproached me thus, although they were the last ones who have the right to make such statements. I wish to protest against this slander, and I can prove that it is not I who is responsible. * * *

* * * Numerous German authorities, even such as had no connections with economics and labor supply, inquired of me, why do you fetch these people to Germany at all? You make trouble for this area and render our existence there more difficult. To which I can only reply: It is my duty to insist on it that labor supply comes from abroad. There is no longer a German labor supply. That the latter is exhausted I already proved by my ill-famed manifesto of April of last year. But I am not able to transfer the German soil to France. Nor can I transfer the German traffic to France nor the German mines. Nor can I transfer the German armament works which still have to release part of their workers, if fit for war service, nor their machines. Here alone 2,500,000 men are in question as has been calculated in the Fuehrer conference. It is the flower of German workers who go to the front and must go there. I have always been one of those who says: If only energetic measures are applied in fetching labor from abroad, then we want to release in God’s name everybody from armaments work whom we can, in order to strengthen our companies. The 1st and 7th Armored Divisions from Thuringia are frequently mentioned in the armed forces report, I can only tell you that the number of soldiers killed in battle in some Thuringian villages has surpassed for some time already the number of soldiers killed in the World War [I] by twice that amount. This I mention in my capacity as Gauleiter. It is for this reason that we have to do our duty. The best kind of German men, and men in the prime of life, have to go to the front, and German women of more than 50 years of age cannot replace them. Therefore I have to continue to go to France, Belgium, Holland, and Italy, and there will be a time again when I shall go to Poland and extract workers there as fit and as many of them as I can get. In this circle I only wish to urge that you spread it around that I am not quite the insane fellow I have been said to be during the last quarter of a year. Even the Fuehrer has been told so. It goes without saying that just this slander has had the effect that I was unable to deliver in the last quarter at least 1½ million workers whom I would have been able to deliver as long ago as last year, had the atmospheric conditions been better. It was due to that “artificial atmospheric screen”, that they did not arrive. I am aware that they simply have to arrive this year. My duty to the Fuehrer, the Reich Marshal, Minister Speer, and towards you, Gentlemen, and to agriculture is apparent, and I shall fulfill it. A start has been made, and as many as 262,000 new workers have arrived, and I hope and am convinced to be able to deliver the bulk of the order. How the labor is to be distributed will then have to be decided according to the needs of the whole of German industry, and I shall always be prepared to keep the closest contact with you, Gentlemen, and to charge the labor exchanges and the district labor exchanges with intimately collaborating with you. Everything is functioning if such collaboration exists. * * *