Text: English     International Military Tribunal "Blue Series," Vol. 4, p. 541
		8 Jan. 46 command apparently was given the members of the NSDAP in Austria to keep "hands off" in order to permit the deviltry to be worked out by the official Reich agencies, that is, through the Defendant Göring and, presumably, the Defendant Von Papen, by direct contact with the Austrian officials. I read from that document: "Yesterday information reached me to the effect that Landesleiter Leopold" — and may I interrupt for a moment to point out that the word "Landesleiter" is the title of the leader of the Nazi community in Austria — "also on his part has started negotiations with Chancellor Schuschnigg. Thereupon I have asked the Foreign Office to investigate the truth of this information and, in case it is true, to take care that such negotiations are not held because they would merely disturb the proceedings of the other negotiations. "Just now I got word from the Foreign Office that they received a report from the embassy in Vienna confirming the facts. I therefore would like to know whether it would not be more appropriate to forbid Landesleiter Leopold and the other members of the country's leadership to negotiate with Chancellor Schuschnigg as well as with any Austrian Government authorities as to the execution of the pact of the 11th, of July 1936, unless it is done after contacting and in agreement with the authorities in charge in the Reich." Now below, if I may call the attention of the Tribunal to the note that appears in this letter. It is written in blue pencil, and, while the translator has not indicated the initial below that note, it is a large "G"; and I have no doubt that that note was written by the Defendant Göring It reads: "Agreed, Minister Hess or Herr Bormann can give this order best! Keppler ought to ask therefore by telephone!" If I may direct your attention to the upper right corner, there is another note in pencil, "Transmitted to Herr Keppler on the 11th of February 1938 by Fräulein Ernst;" and it is signed with initial "G," which in this case, however, we are quite sure is the initial of Miss Grundmann, who was one of Göring's secretaries. The third document I offer as Exhibit Number USA-583, our Document 3471-PS. The first letter of this exhibit is written by the same Keppler to the same Bodenschatz mentioned a short while ago, but who is now a general. I shall not read from this exhibit, with the permission of the Tribunal, but I shall briefly summarize it. This letter and the annexes show that Leopold, the Nazi Landesleiter in Austria, was apparently not completely amenable to the orders given by Berlin and pursued his own methods for accomplishing an Anschluss. The second annex to this letter 541
		Text: English     International Military Tribunal "Blue Series," Vol. 4, p. 541     Last modified: October 10, 1998 Copyright © 1998 The Mazal Library and The Holocaust History Project. All rights reserved. Technical/administrative contact: webmaster@holocaust-history.org Find a typo? Let us know.