27 Nov. 45
C-23, I offer in evidence as Exhibit USA-49. That is a set really
of three seperate documents joined together. I read from that
document:
"The true displacement of the
battleships 'ScharnhorstGneisenau' and the 'F/G' exceeds by 20
percent, in both cases, the displacement reported to the
British."
And then there is a table with reference to
different ships, and two columns headed "Displacement by
Type": one column "Actual Displacement" and the other
column "Notified Displacement."
On the "Scharnhorst" the actual was 31,300 tons; the
notified was 26,000 tons. On the "F"--actual 41,700 tons,
the notified 35,000. On the "F"--actual 56,200 tons,
notified 46,850, and so down the list. I need not read them all.
On the second document in that group towards the end, Page 2 on
the English version, is the statement:
"In a clear cut program for the
construction, the Führer and Reich Chancellor has set the Navy
the task of carrying out the aims of his foreign policy."
The German Navy constantly planned and committed violations of
armament limitation and with characteristic German thoroughness had
prepared superficial explanations or pretexts to explain away these
violations.
Following a conference with the chief of "A" section,
an elaborate survey list was prepared and compiled, giving a careful
list of the quantity and type of German naval armament and ammunition
on hand under manufacture or construction, and in many instances
proposed together with a statement of the justification of defense
that might be used in those instances where the Versailles Treaty was
violated or its allotment has been exceeded.
The list contained 30 items under "Material Measures"
and 14 items under "Measures of Organization." The variety
of details covered necessarily involved several sources within the
Navy, which must have realized their significance. As I understand
it, the "A" section was the military department of the
Navy.
We have this very interesting document among the captured
documents identified by our Number C-32. I offer it in evidence as
Exhibit USA-50. It again is Geheime Kommandosache and it is headed
"A Survey Report of German Naval Armament after Conference with
Chief of 'A' Section", dated 9 September 1933, and captured
among official German Navy files.
This is a long document, if the Tribunal please, but I should
like to call attention to a few of the more interesting items.