Nazi Conspiracy & Aggression
The utilization of the ordinary cabinet as a manpower
reservoir for other governmental agencies, the chronological
development of the offshoots of the ordinary cabinet, and
the cohesion between all of these groups, is apparent from
the Nazi governmental organization chart (Chart Number 18).
The chart shows the following offshoots of the ordinary
cabinet: 1933, the Reich Defense Council; 1935, the Three-
Man College; 1936, the Delegate for the Four Year Plan;
1938, the Secret Cabinet Council; 1939, The Ministerial
Defense Council; and 1944, the Delegate for Total War Effort
(Goebbels). In every case these important Nazi agencies were
staffed with personnel taken from the ordinary cabinet.
(1) The Ordinary Cabinet. The unity, cohesion, and
interrelationship of the sub-divisions of the
Reichsregierung was not the result of a co-mixture of
personnel alone. It was also realized by the method in which
it operated. The ordinary cabinet consulted together both by
meetings and through the so-called circulation procedure.
Under the latter procedure, which was chiefly used when
meetings were not held, drafts of laws prepared in
individual ministries were distributed to other cabinet
members for approval or disapproval.
The man primarily responsible for the circulation of drafts
of laws under this procedure was Dr. Lammers, the Leader and
Chief
[Page 99]
Of the Reich Chancellery. Lammers has described that
procedure in an affidavit (2999-PS):
A memorandum dated 9 August 1943, which bears the facsimile
signature of Frick and is addressed to the Reich Minister
and Chief of the Reich Chancellery, illustrates how the
circulation procedure worked (1701-PS). Attached to the
memorandum is a draft of the law in question and a carbon
copy of a letter dated 22 December 1943 from Rosenberg to
the Reich Minister of the Interior, containing his comments
on the draft:
in Berlin W8.
"For the information of the other Reich ministers.
"After the draft of the law on the treatment of enemies
of the society has been completely rewritten, I am
sending the enclosed new draft with the consent of the
Reich Minister of Justice, Dr. Thierack, and ask that
the law be approved in a circulatory manner. The
necessary number of prints is attached." (1701-PS)
(2) Council of Ministers for the Defense of the Reich. The
same procedure was followed in the Council of Ministers when
that body was created. And the decrees of the Council of
Minister were also circulated to the members of the ordinary
Cabinet. A memorandum found in the files of the Reich
Chancellery and addressed to the members of the Council of
Ministers, dated 17 September 1939, and bearing the typed
signature of Dr. Lammers, Reich Minister and Chief of the
Reich Chancellery states (1141-PS):
[Page 100]
Von Stutterheim, who was an official of the Reich
Chancellery, comments on this procedure at page 34 of a
pamphlet entitled "Die Reichskanzlei":
For a time the Cabinet consulted together through actual
meetings. The Council of Ministers did likewise, but those
members of the Cabinet who were not already members of the
Council also attended the meetings of the Ministerial
Council. And where they did not attend in person, they were
usually represented by the state secretaries of their
Ministries. The minutes of six meetings of the Council of
Ministers, on 1, 4, 8, and 19 September 1939, on 16 October
1939, and on 15 November 1939, demonstrate this procedure.
(2852-PS)
At the meeting held on 1 September 1939, which was probably
the first meeting since the Council was created on 30 August
1939, the following were in attendance:
[Page 101]
These were the regular members of the Council. Also present
was the Reich Minister for Food and Agriculture, Darre, and
even State Secretaries: Koerner, Neumann, Stuckart, Posse,
Landfried, Backe, and Syrup (2852-PS). These State
Secretaries were from the several Ministries or other
supreme Reich authorities. Koerner was the Deputy of Goering
in the Four Year Plan; Stuckart was in the Ministry of the
Interior; Landfried was in the Ministry of Economics; Syrup
was in the Ministry of Labor.
The minutes dated 8 September 1939 (2852-PS) note that in
addition to all members of the Ministerial Council, the
following also were present:
Then come the names of nine State Secretaries from the
several Ministries, and then:
The close integration of the Ministerial Council with the
ordinary Cabinet is seen by the following excerpt from the
minutes of the same date (8 September 1939):
The minutes of the meeting of 19 September 1939 (2852-PS)
show the following Reich Ministers to be present in addition
to four members of the Council:
Then come the names of eight State Secretaries. Others
present included:
The minutes dated 15 November 1939 show the same co-mixture
Of ministers, State Secretaries, and similar functionaries.
In addition, the following were also present:
[Page 102]
Reich Commissioner for Price Control, Wagner *** as
well as experts (Sachbearbeiter) of the German Labor
Front and the Reich Labor Service." (2852-PS)
Some of the decrees passed and matters discussed at these
meetings of the Ministerial Council are significant. At the
first meeting of 1 September 1939 14 decrees were ratified
by the Council. Decree No. 6 concerned
At the meeting of the Council on 19 September 1939 the
following occurred:
"The Chairman directed that all members of the Council
regularly receive the situation reports of the
Reichsfuehrer SS. Then the question of the population
of the future Polish Protectorate was discussed and the
placement of Jews living in Germany." (2852-PS)
Finally, at the meeting of 15 November 1939 the discussion
concerned, among other things, the "treatment of Polish
Prisoners of War". (2852-PS)
The minutes of these meetings (2852-PS) not only establish
the close working union between agencies of the state and
the party, especially the SS, but also tends to establish
that the Reichsregierung was responsible for the policies
adopted and put into effect by the government.
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Volume II
Criminality of Groups and Organizations
The Reich Cabinet
(Part 3 of 8)
B. Functions of the Reichsregierung.
"*** I was Leader of the Reich Chancellery (Leiter der
Reichskanzlei) from 30 January 1935 until the end of
the war. In this capacity I circulated drafts of
proposed law and decrees submitted to me by the
Minister who had drafted the law or decree, to all
members of the Reich Cabinet. A period of time was
allowed for objections, after which the law considered
as being accepted by the various members of the
Cabinet. This procedure continued throughout the whole
war. It was followed also in the Council of Ministers
for Defense of the Reich (Ministerrat fuer die
Reichsverteidigung)." (2999-PS)
"To the Reich Minister and Chief of the Reich
Chancellery.
"Subj: Law on the treatment of enemies of the society.
"In addition to my letter of 19 March 1942.
"Enclosures: 55--.
"Matters submitted to the Council of Ministers for the
Reich Defense have heretofore been distributed only to
the mem-
bers of the Council. I have been requested by some of
the Reichministers who are not permanent members of the
Council to inform them of the drafts of decrees which
are being submitted to the Council, so as to enable
them to check these drafts from the point of view of
their respective offices. I shall follow this request
so that all the Reichministers will in future be
informed of the drafts of decrees which are to be acted
upon by the Council for the Reich Defense. I therefore
request to add forty-five additional copies of the
drafts, as well as of the letters which usually contain
the arguments for the drafts, to the folders submitted
to the Council." (1141-PS)
"*** It must be noted that the peculiarity in this case
is that the subjects dealt with by the Cabinet Council
(Council of Ministers for the Defense of the Reich),
are distributed not merely among the members of the
Cabinet Council, but also among all the members of the
Cabinet (Kabinett) who are thereby given the
opportunity of guarding the interests of their spheres
of office by adding their appropriate standpoints in
the Cabinet Council legislation, even if they do not
participate in making the decree." (2231-PS)
"Present were the permanent members of the Council of
Ministers for the Reich Defense: The Chairman and
Generalfield Marshall, Goering; the Deputy of the
Fuehrer, Hess [a line appears through the name Hess];
the Plenipotentiary for Reich Administration, Dr.
Frick; the Plenipotentiary for Economy, Funk; the Reich
Minister and Chief of the Reich Chancellery, Dr.
Lammers; and the Chief of the High Com-
mand of the Armed Forces, Keitel, represented by Major
General Thomas." (2852-PS)
"The Reich Minister for Food and Agriculture ***
Darr; State Minister *** Popitz;"
"SS Gruppenfuehrer *** Heydrich;"
"The Council of Ministers for the Reich Defense
ratified the decree for the change of the Labor Service
Law which had already been passed as law by the Reich
Cabinet. (Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, page
"Also: The Reich Minister for Finance, Count Schwerin
von Krosigk.
The Reich Minister for Food and Agriculture, Darre.
The Reich Minister for Enlightenment and Propaganda,
Dr. Goebbels.
State Minister *** Dr. Popitz." (2852-PS)
"SS Gruppenfuehrer *** Heydrich; General of the Police
(Ordnungpolizei) Daluege." (2852-PS)
"Reichsleiter, Dr. Ley; Reichsleiter, Bouhler;
Reichsfuehrer
SS, Chief of German Police in the Reich Ministry of
Interior, Himmler; The Reich Labor Service Leader,
Hierl ***
"*** the organization of the administration and about
the German safety police in the Protectorate of Bohemia
and Moravia. (RGBl, I, page 1681)." (2852-PS)
"The Chairman of the Council, Generalfieldmarshall
Goering, made comments regarding the structure of civil
administration in the occupied Polish territory. He
expressed his intentions regarding the economic
evacuation measures in this territory. Then the
questions of decreasing wages and the questions of
working hours and the support of members of families of
inducted workers were discussed."