Archive/File: imt/nca/nca-06/nca-06-3711-ps
Last-Modified: 1997/08/05

           Nazi Conspiracy & Aggression, Volume VI
               Translation of Document 3711-PS

                                                  [Page 424]
                                                            


                                 Nurnberg, 25 November 1945.
                                                            
I, Wilhelm Scheidt, belonged to the War History Section of
the OKW from the year 1941-1945.

Concerning the question of partisan warfare I state that I
remember the following from my knowledge of the documents of
the Operations Staff of the OKW as well as from my
conversations in the Fuehrer's headquarters with
Generalmajor Walter Scherff, the Fuehrer's appointee for the
compilation of the history of the war.

Counter-partisan warfare was originally a responsibility of
Reichsfuehrer-SS Heinrich Himmler who sent police forces to
handle this matter.

In the years 1942 and 1943 however counter-partisan warfare
developed to such an extent that the Operations Staff of the
OKW had to give it particular attention. In the Army
Operations Section of the Operations Staff of the OKW a
specific officer was assigned the development of counter-
partisan warfare as his special job. It proved necessary to
conduct extensive operations against the partisans with
Wehrmacht troops in Russian as well as Jugoslavian
territory. Partisan operations for a long while threatened
to cut off lines of communication and transport routes that
were necessary to support the German Wehrmacht. For
instance, a monthly report concerning the attacks on the
railroad lines in occupied Russia revealed that in the
Russian area alone from 800 to 1000 attacks occurred each
month during that period, causing among other things, the
loss of from 200 to 300 locomotives.

It was a well-known fact that partisan warfare was conducted
with cruelty on both sides. It was also well-known that
reprisals were inflicted on hostages and communities whose
inhabitants were suspected of being partisans or of
supporting them. It is beyond question that these facts must
have been known to the

                                                  [Page 425]
                                                            
leading officers in the Operations Staff of the OKW and in
the Army's General Staff. It was further well-known that
Hitler believed that the only successful method of
conducting counter-partisan warfare was to employ cruel
punishments as deterrents.

I remember that at the time of the Polish revolt in Warsaw,
SS-Gruppenfuehrer Fegelein reported to Generaloberst
Guderian and Jodl about cruelties of the Russian SS-Brigade
Kaminski, which fought on the German side.

                                    [signed] WILHELM SCHEIDT
                              Retired Captain of the Reserve
                                                            
CITY OF NURNBERG: SS

Before me, Walter H. Rapp, Captain, Cavalry, ASN O-454231,
an officer duly qualified to take oaths, appeared Captain
Wilhelm Scheidt, to me known, who in my presence signed the
foregoing statement consisting of three pages in the German
language, and swore that the same was true on the 26th day
of November 1945.

                                    [signed ] Walter H. Rapp
                                              WALTER H. RAPP
                                                Captain, CAV
                                                    O-454231

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