30 Nov. 45

ever given? Were there any meetings of the High Command headquarters about killings and ill-treatment of prisoners of war?

LAHOUSEN: There certainly must have been a number of discussions on this subject, but I was present at only one of them, which I have already described, so I cannot say anything more about it.

THE TRIBUNAL (Gen. Nikitchenko): At headquarters?

LAHOUSEN: In the OKW--at headquarters.

THE TRIBUNAL (Gen. Nikitchenko): At the headquarters of the German Army?

LAHOUSEN: Certainly in the OKW where Amt Ausland Abwehr had sent a delegate in my person, if for no other reason than to enter protest. As a matter of fact our Amt had nothing to do with prisoners of war in this sense. But contrarywise we were because of technical and easily understandable reasons, interested in proper treatment of the prisoners.

THE TRIBUNAL (Gen. Nikitchenko): The meetings were not about good treatment of prisoners, but rather about ill-treatment and killing them? Was Ribbentrop also present at these meetings?

LAHOUSEN: No! On no account. This discussion--I mean the one conference about which I have given testimony--took place after the accomplished fact. Everything had already happened; executions had taken place, and now effects began to make themselves felt. Protests of all kinds, from the front and from other places, such as, for example, our own office, Amt Ausland Abwehr followed. This conference was intended to show the necessity for the orders which had already been given, and to justify measures already taken. These discussions took place after the beginning of the operations, after the orders which had been given had already been carried out, and all that I have touched upon or stated had already happened and produced its evil effects. The accomplished fact had been thoroughly discussed with the idea of making one more attempt, a last attempt on our part, to put to an end, and break off, the matter.

THE TRIBUNAL (Gen. Nikitchenko): Did all these conversations bring about results?

LAHOUSEN: That is what I talked about, and that was the subject of the discussions with Reinecke in which I took part. I did not take part in the other discussions and therefore can say nothing about them.

THE TRIBUNAL (Gen. Nikitchenko): At which other meetings had orders been given about killings of Ukrainians and burning of towns and villages in Galicia?