The Nuremberg Trials (Vol.9). International Military Tribunal

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ It is only on the basis of this information that I assume Dahlerus asked these gentlemen to come.

      LT. COL. GRIFFITH-JONES: And do you know that it was the object of Mr. Dahlerus that leading German and English personalities should meet, in order that they should understand one another’s points of view?

      BODENSCHATZ: Mr. Dahlerus later . . . he was again in Berlin after that meeting. On that occasion I met him in Berlin, and in conversations with him there I gained the impression that he was greatly interested in peace being maintained between Germany and England, and that he, assisted by Reich Marshal Göring, tried to establish this connection with influential British circles.

      LT. COL. GRIFFITH-JONES: One last question to you. Do you know that, in arranging that meeting and throughout the course of the negotiations thereafter, Dahlerus stressed the British point of view to Göring and in particular tried to impress Göring with the fact that the English were losing their patience with the policy of aggression being pursued by the German Government?

      BODENSCHATZ: I cannot remember having discussed with Dahlerus this line of thought which you mention now.

      THE PRESIDENT: Any other questions to ask?

      LT. COL. GRIFFITH-JONES: No.

      DR. STAHMER: I have only one more question.

      [Turning to the witness.] In the minutes of 2 December 1936, which were shown to you before and which you have before you, there is one paragraph which has not been read entirely. In my opinion it is very important for the interpretation and for the purpose and meaning of that meeting.

      It says there:

      “The general situation is very serious. Russia wants war. England is rearming strongly. Therefore, the order is: ‘From today on, highest degree of readiness, no consideration for financial difficulties. Generaloberst assumes full responsibility.’ ”

      Was this order, “highest degree of readiness from today on,” issued merely because Russia, as it says here, wants war and England is rearming strongly? Was that the motive?

      BODENSCHATZ: What do you mean?

      DR. STAHMER: Was the gravity of the general situation the motive for the order, “highest degree of readiness from today on”?

      BODENSCHATZ: At any rate, there was no intention of attack involved, but a measure for defense.

      DR. STAHMER: If it says here “Generaloberst assumes full responsibility,” could that be understood to refer to the words “no consideration for financial difficulties” which would be a permissible literal interpretation?

      BODENSCHATZ: That refers to financial difficulties, because the Reich Marshal had frequent controversies on that point with the Reich Finance Minister because the Luftwaffe had slightly exceeded its budget.

      DR. STAHMER: Thank you. I have no more questions.

      THE PRESIDENT: The witness may retire.

      [The witness left the stand.]

      DR. STAHMER: I should like to call as the next witness General Field Marshal Milch.

      [The witness Milch took the stand.]

      THE PRESIDENT: What is your name?

      ERHARD MILCH (Witness): Erhard Milch.

      THE PRESIDENT: Repeat this oath after me: I swear by God—the Almighty and Omniscient—that I will speak the pure truth—and will withhold and add nothing.

      [The witness repeated the oath in German.]

      THE PRESIDENT: You may sit down if you wish.

      DR. STAHMER: Witness, did you take part in the first World War?

      MILCH: Yes.

      DR. STAHMER: In what position?

      MILCH: First I was an artillery officer and at the end a captain in the Air Corps.

      DR. STAHMER: When did you leave the Army after the end of the first World War?

      MILCH: In the spring of 1920.

      DR. STAHMER: What were your activities after you left the Army?

      MILCH: I went into civil aviation.

      DR. STAHMER: When did you join the Wehrmacht again?

      MILCH: 1933.

      DR. STAHMER: Did you go straight into the Air Force?

      MILCH: Yes.

      DR. STAHMER: What position did you have when the second World War began?

      MILCH: I was General and Inspector General of the Air Force.

      DR. STAHMER: When did the military construction of the Luftwaffe start?

      MILCH: 1935.

      DR. STAHMER: To what extent?

      MILCH: A defensive air force was built up.

      DR. STAHMER: Can you give us more details about that?

      MILCH: In the year 1933 Germany had left the League of Nations and consequently also the Disarmament Conference. Hitler attempted to discuss with the individual nations whether or not disarmament should continue. These attempts to disarm failed, and Germany began to rearm. It was questionable whether the other nations would approve of that. Consequently Germany considered that it was imperative to have military strength in the air also, and to achieve that, the Air Force was itself to create an air power which would be sufficient for the defense of Germany. This is shown by the fact that principally fighters and anti-aircraft artillery were provided.

      Likewise, the organization of the German Air Force was constructed for defense. It consisted at that time of four “air districts” (Luftkreise), which one can picture as a kind of cross over Germany. There was a Northeast section, Southeast, Northwest, and Southwest. Moreover the strength of the Air Force, as it was organized, was not planned for an aggressive war or for a large-scale war. Besides fighter planes there were also bombers, but we always called these bomber formations the Risiko Luftwaffe (Risk Air Force), that is to say, their function was to prevent, if possible, any of Germany’s neighbors from entering a war against Germany.

      DR. STAHMER: What were the relations of the German Air Force with the air forces of foreign countries during the period beginning with the year 1935?

      MILCH: During the first years after 1935 Germany had no air force worth mentioning. There were only the first units and the first larger schools that were established. Also during these years, our industry was built up. Before the rearmament started, our industry had been on a very small scale. I happen to know that the number of workers in the entire German air force industry at the time of the seizure of power by the National Socialists was about 3,000 to 3,300 men—constructors, business men, technicians, and workers.

      The first contacts with foreign countries in the field of aviation started in 1937. This was when, in January 1937, an English commission led by Air Vice Marshal Courtney and three other high-ranking officers—Courtney was the Chief of the Intelligence Service of СКАЧАТЬ