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27 Nov. 45
"Q. Do you know whether, before
the work was published, a draft of it was circulated among the
officers in the Admiralty for comment?
"A. No, I don't think so. Not before it was published. I saw
it only when it was published.
"Q. Was it circulated freely after its publication?
"A. It was a secret object. I think all upper commands in
the Navy had knowledge of it.
"Q. It was not circulated outside of Navy circles?
"A. No.
"Q. What then is your opinion concerning the comments
contained in the work, regarding the circumventing of the provisions
of Versailles?
"A. I don't remember very exactly what is in here. I can
only remember that the Navy had always the object to fulfill the word
of the Versailles Treaty, but in order to have some advantages. But
the flying men were exercised 1 year before they went into the Navy.
Quite young men. So that the word of the Treaty of Versailles was
filled. They did not belong to the Navy, as long as they were
exercised in flying, and the submarines were developed, but not in
Germany and not in the Navy, but in Holland. There was a civil
bureau, and in Spain there was an industrialist; in Finland, too, and
they were built only much later, when we began to act with the
English Government about the Treaty of 35 to 100, because we could
see that then the Treaty of Versailles would be destroyed by such a
treaty with England, and so, in order to keep the word of Versailles,
we tried to fulfill the word of Versailles, but we tried to have
advantages.
"Q. Would a fair statement be that the Navy High Command was
interested in avoiding the limiting provisions of the Treaty of
Versailles regarding personnel and the limits of armaments' but would
attempt to fulfill the letter of the Treaty, although actually
avoiding it?
"A. That was our endeavor."
MR. ALDERMAN Now the rest of this is the portion
that Counsel for the defendant asked me to read:
"Q. Why was such a policy adopted?
"A. We were much menaced in the first years after the first
war by the danger that the Poles would attack East Prussia, and so we
tried to strengthen a little our very, very weak forces in this way;
and so all our efforts were directed to
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