Twenty-Second Day: Tuesday, 18th December, 1945
[Page 87]
In addition, the Fuehrer awarded the Gold Party Badge
to Generaloberst Freiherr von Fritsch; Generaladmiral
D. h. c. Raeder; the Prussian Minister of Finance,
Professor Popitz; and the Secretary of State and Chief
of the Presidential Chancellery, Dr. Meissner.
The Fuehrer also honoured with the Gold Party Badge the
Party [Page 88]
I thank you for the confidence you have placed in me
during the four years of your leadership and for the
honour you do me in offering to admit me into the
Party.
My conscience forbids me, however, to accept this
offer. I believe in the principles of positive
Christianity and must remain faithful to my Lord and to
myself. Party membership would mean that I should have
to face, without contradiction, the steadily increasing
attacks by Party officers on the Christian confessions
and on those who want to remain faithful to their
religious convictions.
This decision has been infinitely difficult for me, for
never in my life have I performed my duty with greater
joy and satisfaction than under your wise State
leadership.
I ask to be permitted to resign.
THE PRESIDENT: Was Baron von Eltz permitted to resign?
COLONEL STOREY: As I understand, your Honour, every one of
them was a member except this one, and he declined and
offered his resignation which was accepted. The Nazis did
not wait until all members of the Cabinet were Party
members. Shortly after it came to power, it quickly assured
themselves of active participation in the work of the
Cabinet. On 1st. December, 1933, the Cabinet passed a law
securing the unity of Party and State. That has been
introduced previously and I will not refer to it any more.
It is referred to here as our Document 1395.
THE PRESIDENT: Why is Baron von Eltz shown as a member of
the Cabinet in 1938?
COLONEL STOREY: Your Honour, please, the "1938" simply
refers to the time the Secret Cabinet Council was created.
It does not have to do with when any of these people came to
the Cabinet.
THE PRESIDENT: I see.
COLONEL STOREY: In other words, all these arrows show that
these different agencies were created during those years.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, I follow it.
COLONEL STOREY: I say, for your Honour' information, that in
this list of all of the Cabinet members and the members of
the Reichsregierung from 1933 his name is shown in the list
that we handed to your Honour.
THE PRESIDENT: Up to 1937?
COLONEL STOREY: No, Sir from 1933 right up to 1945 his name
is
[Page 89]
THE PRESIDENT: You mean, that is a mistake?
COLONEL STOREY: No, Sir; it is not a mistake.
THE PRESIDENT: He did not resign?
COLONEL STOREY: He did resign, but your Honour asked if his
name was shown up here and I said that in the separate list
showing the list of all members of the Reichsregierung, from
1933 to 1945, the Baron's name was included and the proper
reference is made in this separate list for your Honour's
guidance.
I have here a copy of an unpublished decree signed by
Hitler, dated 27th July, 1934. It is Document D-138, Exhibit
USA 403, and it is in the section headed "Laws and
Decrees," if your Honour pleases, and I offer it in
evidence. This is a decree of Adolf Hitler:
This order will apply in the same sense to legislative
ordinances. The Deputy of the Fuehrer in his capacity
of Reich Minister can send as representative an expert
on his staff. These experts are entitled to make
statements to the Reich Ministers on his behalf."
I now quote the entire document:
[Page 90]
2. File in File 7B.
COLONEL STOREY: In the first place, your Honour, the one I
have just referred to shows that they passed laws over
conquered territory; that one related to Austria. The one
signed by Hess, just before, gives him almost unlimited
power as regards both formal and legal ordinances and over
administrative districts; and in addition, I think, your
Honour, the most important point is that Hess says: "You
must send them to me long enough in advance so that I may
consult with the Party and the appropriate Party members and
get their reaction."
THE PRESIDENT: Is that relied upon as evidence of
criminality, that he took the trouble to find out what other
Ministers thought?
COLONEL STOREY: I think it is a part of the general
conspiracy showing the domination of Party and State by the
Nazi Party and particularly the Leadership Corps.
THE PRESIDENT: I thought I had already said that it appeared
to us -- and I think I speak on behalf of all the Tribunal -
- that that matter had been amply proved and that we wished
you to turn to the question of criminality of the Reich
Cabinet.
COLONEL STOREY: May I assume, your Honour, that we need to
offer no further proof that the Party itself had to do with
the making of these laws as suggested by the defendant Hess?
I thought it was incumbent upon us to prove that the Party
dominated this Cabinet, and particularly the Leadership
Corps.
[Page 91]
COLONEL STOREY: I think that we go a little step further and
undertake to show, if we have not already shown, that the
way and manner in which they did it by consulting the Party
was criminal. Now, I have some other laws to cite here in
corroboration of that, but, if the Tribunal is satisfied, I
do not see any use in citing them.
THE PRESIDENT: I do not think the Tribunal would imagine
that they made laws without consulting somebody. Perhaps it
would be a convenient time to break off for ten minutes.
(A recess was taken.)
COLONEL STOREY: If your Honour pleases, when we adjourned we
were speaking of these laws that had been passed, and
certainly I do not want to offer any redundant evidence or
any that is not necessary. I therefore am briefly referring
to the laws which we propose to offer now.
The Party, as your Honour will recall, had 25 fundamental
points which they had set out to achieve, as introduced in
evidence yesterday. Those points, your Honour will recall,
related to everything from the abrogation of the Treaties of
Versailles and St. Germain to the obtaining of greater
living space, and so forth.
Now, we propose to cite various decrees and laws passed by
this Cabinet carrying into effect what we contend were the
criminal purposes of the Party, and to show that the Reich
Cabinet was asked by the Party to give semblance of legality
to their alleged criminal purposes. That is the only reason
we expect to chronicle or to mention the laws that were
passed in pursuance thereof. And I shall proceed, as your
Honour suggests, merely to list a group of the laws that
seek to establish the co-called 25 points of the Nazi Party.
Perhaps, with your Honour's permission, I will just refer to
a few of them as being indicative of the type of laws that
were passed to further their 25 points.
For example, in implementation of this point, the Nazi
Cabinet enacted, among others, the following laws:
The law of 3rd February, 1938, concerning the obligation of
German citizens in foreign countries to register. That is
cited in the Reichsgesetzblatt.
The law of the 13th March, 1938, relating to the reunion of
Austria with Germany----
THE PRESIDENT: Were these were all passed by the Reich
Cabinet?
COLONEL STOREY: Yes.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, are you not going to cite the laws?
COLONEL STOREY: Yes, but I was going to show them as
illustrative; that is the 1938 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I,
Page 237.
The law of 21st November, 1938, for the re-integration of
the German Sudetenland with Germany, 1938,
Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, Page 1641.
The incorporation of Memelland into Germany, 23rd March,
1939, Part I, Page 559, of the 1939 Reichsgesetzblatt.
[Page 92]
THE PRESIDENT: Would you give me the place where the 25
points are set out? Have you got a reference to that?
COLONEL STOREY: Yes, Sir; it appears in Document 1708-PS, in
document book A.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you.
COLONEL STOREY: I believe we referred to it yesterday.
THE PRESIDENT: That is sufficient.
COLONEL STOREY: Yes, Sir.
Now, as an illustration, Point 2 of that Party platform --
which, as your Honour will recall, demanded the cancellation
of the Treaties of Versailles and St. Germain -- the
following acts of the Cabinet in support of this part of the
programme may be mentioned:
Proclamation of 14th October, 1933, to the German people
concerning Germany's withdrawal from the League of Nations
and the Disarmament Conference, 1933 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part
I, Page 730.
Law of 16th March, 1935, for the establishment of the
Wehrmacht and compulsory military service, 1935
Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, Pages 369 to 375.
Now, with reference to Point 4 of the Party platform, which
said:
Among other Cabinet laws, this point was implemented by the
law of 15th July, 1933, for the recall of naturalisation and
deprivation of citizenship of these people, 1933
Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, Page 480.
The law of 7th April, 1933, which said that persons of non-
Aryan descent could not practise law, 1933
Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, Page 188.
The law of 25th April, 1933, restricting the number of non-
Aryans in schools and higher institutions of learning, 1933
Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, Page 225.
The law of 29th September, 1933, excluding persons of Jewish
blood from the peasantry, 1933 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I,
Page 685.
Another one, 19th March, 1937, excluded Jews from the Reich
Labour Service , 1937 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, Page 325.
There is another one of 6th July, 1938, prohibiting Jews
from participating in six different types of businesses,
1938 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, Page 823.
Point 23 of that Party platform proclaimed,:
One concerning editors, of 4th October, 1933, 1933
Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, Page 713.
Another one with reference to restrictions as to the use of
the theater, on 15th May, 1934.
THE PRESIDENT: The use of what?
[Page 93]
THE PRESIDENT: What is the date of that?
COLONEL STOREY: 15th May, 1934.
Now, passing from those illustrative laws, the ordinary
Cabinet did, in fact, enact most of the legislation which
set the stage for and put into execution the Nazi Conspiracy
described under Count One of the Indictment. Many of these
laws have been referred to previously by the prosecution.
All the laws to which I shall refer or have referred to were
enacted specifically in the name of the Cabinet. A typical
introductory paragraph reads, and I quote:
"The Reich Cabinet has enacted the following law which is
hereby promulgated." In other words, that shows it is a
Cabinet law.
THE PRESIDENT: That applies to all the ones you have just
given us?
COLONEL STOREY: Yes, Sir. That is a typical heading.
In connection with the acquiring of control of Germany under
Count One of the Indictment, I refer to some of the
following laws.
Here is a law of the 14th July, 1933, against the
establishment of new parties. I believe I referred to that
yesterday. That is 1933 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, Page 479.
Another of 14th July, 1933, providing for the confiscation
of property of Social Democrats and others, 1933
Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, Page 479.
I have already referred to that law of 1st December, 1933,
which consolidated the Party and State, which is found in
1933 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, Page 1,016. In the course of
consolidating the control of Germany these laws were
enacted, and I give a few illustrations:
21st March, 1933, creating special courts. That is in 1933
Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, Page 136. Law of 31st March,
1933, for the integration of all the States into the Reich,
1933 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, Page 153.
THE PRESIDENT: Will you repeat that, integration of what?
COLONEL STOREY: Integration of the States -- that is the
separate States into the Greater Reich.
Here is one of 30th June, 1933, eliminating non-Aryan civil
servants or civil servants married to non-Aryans, 1933
Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, Page 433.
The law of the 24th April, 1934, creating the People's
Court, 1934 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, Page 341. And that
was the same Court your Honour saw functioning in one of the
films exhibited last week.
The law of 1st August, 1934, uniting the office of President
and Chancellor, 1934 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, Page 747.
I am not introducing all of them or referring to all of
them.
Here is a law of the 18th March, 1938, that provides for the
submission of one list of candidates to the electorate of
the entire Reich, 1938 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, Page 258.
Nazi extermination of political internal resistance in
Germany through the purge of their political opponents and
through acts of terror, which are set forth in Paragraph
III(d) 3(b) of Count One, was facilitated or legalised by
the following Cabinet laws, translations being found in
Document Book F, which has previously been submitted. I will
just refer to a few of these as they are translated in that
book.
Here is one of 14th July, 1933, that prohibits the
establishment of new
[Page 94]
THE PRESIDENT: You have already given that one.
COLONEL STOREY: I believe so, yes, Sir.
Here is a law of the 3rd July, 1934, concerning measures for
emergency defence of the State, and which legalised their
own purge. That is in 1934 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, Page
529.
Law of 20th December, 1934, on treacherous acts against the
State and Party and for protection of the Party uniforms,
1934 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, Page 1269.
Here is one of 24th April, 1934, that makes the creation of
a new or continuance of existing political Parties an act of
treason, 1934 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, Page 341.
Here is one of the 28th June, 1935, that changes the Penal
Code, 1935 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, Page 839.
Here is the last one I will mention: 16th September, 1939,
permitting second prosecution of an acquitted person before
a Special Court, the members of which were named by Hitler,
1939 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, Page 1841.
Now, next are some laws that related to the extermination of
the trade unions, which I have already cited, and they are
in Document Book G. I will not refer to them. Then the laws
abolishing collective bargaining. I have referred to those;
I will pass them.
In fact, even the infamous Nuremberg Laws of 15th September,
1935, although technically passed by the Reichstag, were
nevertheless worked out by the Ministry of the Interior.
This is verified by a work of Dr. Franz A. Medicus, entitled
"Ministerial-dirigent", published in 1940. It is Document
2960-PS, Exhibit USA 406. I would like to refer to the
paragraphs at Page 62 of the original publication, and
translated in our Document 2960-PS, beginning the first
paragraph:
Also the law of 4th December, 1941, which imposed penal
measures against the Jews and the Poles in the Eastern
Occupied Countries; 1941 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, Page
759.
The last one was concerning the employment of Eastern
Workers, which I referred to this morning.
Almost immediately upon Hitler's coming into power, the
Cabinet commenced to implement the Nazi conspiracy to wage
aggressive war. Three of the documents that establish this
point have already been introduced in
[Page 95]
THE PRESIDENT: Is it in this book?
COLONEL STOREY: Yes, Sir, EC-177. Your Honour, I did not
intend to quote from that. I am simply referring to it as
being the minutes of the second session of the working
committee of the delegates for Reich Defence and being
signed by the defendant Keitel.
Document 2261 consists of a letter dated the 24th June,
1935, 2261-PS. That transmits a copy of a secret,
unpublished Defence Law of 21st May, 1935, and also a copy
of a decision of the Reich Cabinet of the same date in the
Council for Defence of the Reich. These have been previously
introduced, but they are illustrative laws passed by this
Cabinet.
Document 2194 also transmits a copy of the secret,
unpublished Reich Defence Law, 4th September, 1938.
I will skip down to the laws passed by the Reich Defence
Council, on Page 50, for the record.
The Reich Defence Council was a creation of the Cabinet. On
4th April, 1933, it was decided to form that agency. The
decision of the Cabinet, attached to Document 2261-PS, which
is Exhibit USA 24, Page 4 of the translation, Paragraph 1,
proves that fact. The two secret laws contained in Document
2261, as well as in document 2194, were passed by the
Cabinet; nor was this a case of one group setting up an
entirely distinct group to do its dirty work. The Cabinet
put itself into the picture. This might have been a
difficult task to accomplish before the Nazis assumed power
-- but with the Nazis in control, things could move swiftly,
and I now refer again to Document EC-177, but I will not
undertake to quote from that (although the quotation is set
out here).
There is only one point in that connection which would not
be cumulative. It is Page 5 of the translation and Page 8 of
that original of EC-177, on the question of security and
secrecy, that I think would be pertinent to the criminal
nature. I quote:--
THE PRESIDENT: What is that?
COLONEL STOREY: It is, if your Honour pleases, Document 2986-
PS. Exhibit USA 409, the original affidavit, signed by the
defendant Frick. I believe defendant Frick sums up pretty
well how the work was carried on.
[Page 96]
Signed and sworn to by Dr. Wilhelm Frick, on the 19th
November, 1945."
That is this "3-Man College."
Now, in conclusion, if your Honour pleases, I would like at
this time to summarise briefly the proof concerning the
Reichsregierung.
From 1933 to the end of the war, the Reichsregierung
comprised the dominant body of influence and leadership
below Hitler in the Nazi Government. The three sub-divisions
were included in the term Reichsregierung in the Indictment:
the ordinary Cabinet, the Secret Cabinet Council, and the
Council of Ministers for Defence of the Reich. Yet, in
reality, there existed only an artificial, illusory boundary
between the three.
The predominant sub-division was, of course, the ordinary
Cabinet, which was commonly referred to as the
Reichsregierung.
In it were the leading political and military figures in the
Nazi Government; 17 of the 22 defendants before this
Tribunal were integral parts of the ordinary Cabinet.
I should like now to name these defendants and to indicate
the positions they held in the Reichsregierung:--
[Page 97]
Under them were grouped practically all the Ministers of the
ordinary Cabinet.
Where political considerations of foreign policy required
that another select group be chosen to act as advisors, the
Secret Cabinet was created and populated with members of the
ordinary Cabinet.
The Reichsregierung was dominated by the Nazi Party through
the control exercised over its legislation by the Deputy of
the Fuehrer, Hess, and later by the Leader of the Party
Chancellery, Bormann. Party control was also effected
through the individual membership of all members, and the
union of various key Cabinet and Party positions in one man.
As a result of this fusion of the Party and State, an
enormous concentration of political power was gathered into
the Cabinet.
The laws enacted by the Cabinet established the framework
within which the Nazi conspirators established their control
of Germany, set forth in Count I of the Indictment, by
virtue of which they were enabled to commit the crimes
alleged in Counts I, 2, 3 and 4 of the Indictment. The
Cabinet enacted harsh penal laws, discriminatory laws,
confiscatory laws, in violation of the principles of justice
and humanity. Decrees enacted by the Ministerial Council
during the war clothed the criminal acts of the Nazi
conspirators with a semblance of legality. As an instrument
of the Party the Cabinet effectively implemented the
notorious-points of the Party programme. Finally, the
Cabinet, almost immediately upon the coming into power of
Hitler, became a war-planning group through its
establishment in 1933 of a Reich Defence Council and its
active participation in the schemes and plans for waging
aggressive war.
It is, therefore, most respectfully submitted that, by
virtue of all of the foregoing, the Reichsregierung, as
defined in Appendix D, Page 35, of the
[Page 98]
That concludes, if your Honour pleases, this presentation,
and the next subject is the S.A.
It will take a minute or two to get ready for that.
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(Part 7 of 8)
"In view of the anticipated lifting of the ban for
Party membership, the Fuehrer, as the first step in
this regard, personally carried out the enlistment into
the Party of the members of the Cabinet who so far had
not belonged to it; and he handed them simultaneously
the Gold Party Badge, the supreme badge of honour of
the Party.
Members State Secretary Dr. Lammers, State Secretary
Funk, State Secretary Koerner, and State Secretary
General of the Air Force Milch."
It was thus possible to refuse the Party membership thus
conferred. Only one man did this, however, von Eltz-
Ruebenach, who was the Minister of Postal Services and
Transportation at the time. I have here an original letter,
dated 30th January, 1937, from von Eltz-Ruebenach to Hitler,
and it is in his own personal handwriting. It is Document
1534-PS which I desire to offer as Exhibit USA 402, and I
quote it in toto:
But the Nazis did not wait until all members of the
Cabinet...
Wilhelm Street, 79.
Yours very obediently,
(Signed) BARON VON ELTZ." "I decree that the Deputy of the Fuehrer, Reich
Minister Hess, will have the capacity of a
participating Reich Minister in connection with the
preparation of drafts for laws in all Reich
administrative spheres. All legislative work is to be
sent to him when it is received by the other Reich
Minister concerned. This also applies in cases where no
one else participates except the Reich Minister making
the draft. Reich Minister Hess will be given the
opportunity to comment on drafts suggested by experts.
The defendant Hess himself has some pertinent comment to
make regarding his right of participation on behalf of the
Party. And I now offer in evidence Document D-139, Exhibit
USA 404. This is an original letter signed by Rudolf Hess
and is dated the 9th October, 1934, on the stationery of the
N.S.D.A.P., and it is addressed to the Reich Minister of
Public Enlightenment and Propaganda.
"By a decree of the Fuehrer dated 27th July, 1934, I
have been granted the right to participate in the
legislation of the Reich as regards both formal laws
and legal ordinances. This right must not be rendered
illusory by the fact that I am sent the drafts of laws
and decrees so late, and am then given a limited time,
so that it becomes impossible for me to deal with the
material concerned during the given time. I must point
out that my participation means taking into account the
opinion of the N.S.D.A.P. as such, and that in the case
of the majority of drafts of laws and decrees, I
consult with the appropriate departments of the Party
before making my comment. Only by proceeding in this
manner can I do justice to the wish of the Fuehrer as
expressed in the decree of the Fuehrer of 27th July,
1934. I must therefore ask the Reich Ministers to
arrange that drafts of laws and decrees reach me in
sufficient time. Failing this, I would be obliged in
future to refuse my agreement to such drafts from the
beginning and without
giving the matter detailed attention -- in all cases
where I am not given a sufficiently long period for
dealing with them.
A handwritten note appears attached to the letter. I quote
from Page 2 of the translation:
The participating powers of Hess were later broadened. I now
refer to Document D-140, Exhibit USA 405; and it is a letter
dated the 12th April, 1938, from Dr. Lammers to the Reich
Ministers. I offer it in evidence and quote from the English
translation, Paragraph 3:
"The Deputy of the Fuehrer will also have participation
where the Reich Ministers give their agreement to the
State Laws and legislative ordinances of States, under
paragraph 3 of the first decree concerning
reconstruction of the Reich of 2nd February, 1934
(Reich Law Gazette I, 81). Where the Reich Ministers
have already, at an earlier date been engaged in the
preparation of such laws or legislative ordinances, or
have participated in such preparation, the Deputy of
the Fuehrer likewise becomes participating Reich
Minister. Laws and legislative decrees of the Austrian
State are equally affected hereby."
THE PRESIDENT: Colonel Storey, may I ask you what those
three documents are supposed to prove?
"Only those who are members of the 'Volk' can be
citizens. Only those who are of German blood, without
regard to religion, can be members of the 'Volk.' No
Jew, therefore, can be a member of the 'Volk.'"
That is Point 4.
"We demand legislative action against conscious
political lies and their broadcasting through the
Press."
To carry out this point I give a few of the Cabinet laws
that were passed. One of 22nd September, 1933, which
established the Reich Culture Chamber, 1933
Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, Page 661.
"The work of the Reich Ministry of Interior forms the
basis for the three 'Nuremberg Laws' passed by a
resolution of the Reichstag on the occasion of the
Reich Party Meeting of Freedom.
The 'Reich Citizenship Law' as well as the 'Law for the
Protection of German Blood and German Honour' opened
extensive tasks for the Ministry of the Interior not
only in the field of administration. The same applies
to the 'Reich Flag Law' that gives the foundation for
the complete reorganisation of the use of the flag."
A few decrees of the Council of Ministers which similarly
supplied the legal basis for the criminal acts and conduct
of the conspirators, about which the Tribunal has already
heard and will hear more, relate to those of 5th August,
1940, which imposed a discriminatory tax on Polish workers
in Germany; and that is in 1940 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I,
Page 1077.
"Question has been brought up by the Reich Ministries.
The secrecy of all Reich Defence work has to be
maintained very carefully. Communications with the
outside by messenger service only has been settled
already with the Post Office, Finance Ministry,
Prussian Ministry of the Interior and the Reichswehr
Ministry. Main principle of security: no document must
be lost, since otherwise enemy propaganda would make
use of it. Matters communicated orally cannot be
proved; they can be denied by us in Geneva. Therefore
the Reichswehr Ministry has worked out security
directives for the Reich Ministries and the Prussian
Ministry of the Interior."
I will omit the next reference. I believe I will pass over
to the affidavit of defendant Frick, on Page 60.
"I, Wilhelm Frick, being first duly sworn, depose and
say: I was Plenipotentiary for Reich Administration
from the time when this office was created until 20th
August, 1943. Heinrich Himmler was
my deputy in this capacity. Before the outbreak of the
war my task as Plenipotentiary for Reich Administration
was the preparation of organisation in the event of
war, such as, for instance, the appointment of liaison
men in the different Ministries who would keep in touch
with me. As Plenipotentiary General for Reich
Administration I, together with the Plenipotentiary for
Economy and the O.K.W., formed what was called a '3-Man
College.' We were also members of the Reich Defence
Council, which was to plan preparations and decrees in
case of war, which later were published by the
Ministerial Council for the Defence of the Reich.
Since, as soon as the war started, everything had to be
done speedily and there would have been no time for
planning, such measures and decrees were prepared in
advance, in case of war. All one then had to do was to
pull out of the drawer the war orders that had been
prepared. Later on, after the outbreak of the war,
these decrees were enacted by the Ministerial Council
for Defence of the Reich."
To sum up this particular phase of the proof, the Cabinet by
its own decision and its own laws created a large war-
planning body -- the Reich Defence Council -- the members of
which were taken from the Cabinet. Within the Council they
set up a small working committee, again composed of Cabinet
members and certain defence officials, a majority of whom
were appointed from the Cabinet members, and to streamline
the action, they placed all of its Ministries -- except Air,
Propaganda, and Foreign Affairs -- into the Groups headed
respectively by the Plenipotentiaries for Economy and
Administration and the O.K.W., and everything was organised
in and for the greatest of secrecy.
MARTIN BORMANN, Leader of the Party Chancellery.
KARL DOENITZ, Commander-in-Chief of the Navy.
HANS FRANK, Reich Minister without Portfolio.
WILHELM FRICK, Minister of the Interior, Plenipotentiary for
Reich Administration, Reich Minister without Portfolio.
WALTER FUNK, Minster of Economics, Plenipotentiary for
Economy.
HERMANN GOERING, Minister for Air, Reich Forest Master. RUDOLF HESS, Deputy of the Fuehrer.
From the ordinary Cabinet there came not only the members of
the Secret Cabinet Council and the Council of Ministers for
Defence of the Reich, but also the members of the War
Planning Group, the Nazi Secret Reich Defence Council. When
it was deemed essential for the purposes of the conspiracy
to wage aggressive war, that power was concentrated in a few
individuals. Again these individuals were drawn from the
ordinary Cabinet. Thus the Plenipotentiaries for Economy and
Administration were also Ministers of the ordinary Cabinet
and members of the Reich Defence Council and Ministerial
Council.
WILHELM KEITEL, Chief of the O.K.W.
CONSTANTIN H. K. VON NEURATH, Minister for Foreign Affairs,
President of the Secret Cabinet Council.
FRANZ VON PAPEN, Vice-Chancellor.
ERICH RAEDER, Commander-in-Chief of the Navy.
JOACHIM VON RIBBENTROP, Minister for Foreign Affairs.
ALFRED ROSENBERG, Minister of the Occupied Eastern Territories.
HJALMAR SCHACHT, Acting Minister of Economics, Reich Minister
without Portfolio, President of the Reichsbank, Plenipotentiary
for War Economy.
BALDUR VON SCHIRACH, Reich Youth Leader.
ARTHUR SEYSS-INQUART, Reich Minister without Portfolio.
ALBERT SPEER, Minister for Armaments and War Production.