1
Dec. 45
LAHOUSEN:
It should have been a purely military one,
according to our conception, but according to
the point of view put forward by the Chief of
the OKW at that time — whether he received
an order in this sense I am not in a position to
say, as I was not there — the basic
attitude should be one of absolute obedience in
a National Socialistic sense.
DR.
NELTE: Do you know anything about the attitude
of the generals to this problem?
LAHOUSEN:
Of course, I do, because immediately after such
conferences, as have been mentioned here, a
lively exchange of opinions took place on this
subject and a large number of those who were
present —I could name them and some of them
are present — resented that fact that the
words addressed to them had this strong
political flavor, and were couched in this "higher
level language" (Sprachregelung von oben)
as we used to call it, and contained so little
that was relevant and purely military, let alone
anything else.
DR. NELTE: Yesterday,
when discussing the meeting that took place in
the Führer's train, on the 12th September
of 1939, you said, regarding the communication
of the Chief of the OKW to you, that the
Defendant Keitel addressed himself to you, or
rather to the gentlemen present; and said that
these measures had been determined between the Führer
and Göring. He, Keitel, had no influence on
them. The Führer and Göring telephoned
frequently to one another. Sometimes he knew
something about it, sometimes he knew nothing.
Is that what you said?
LAHOUSEN: That
is correct. I made a record of everything that
was said in my presence; and I repeated it here
because it is true.
DR. NELTE: May I
ask whether the remark, "Sometimes I find
out something about it, sometimes I do not,"
relates to a concrete, specific case, or was
that a general rule?
LAHOUSEN: That
was to be understood as a general statement, to
the best of my recollection.
DR.
NELTE: At this conference in the Führer's
train on the 12th of September 1939, did you
first of all speak about the transmission of the
political aims which, according to you, came
from Ribbentrop. Did I understand you correctly?
LAHOUSEN: That is correct.
DR.
NELTE: And you said that the Defendant Keitel
transmitted these aims to those who were
present. Now, what I am not clear about is
whether this referred to the order regarding the
bombardment of Warsaw from the air. Did I
understand rightly?
LAHOUSEN Yes, as
regards the air bombardment of Warsaw, to the
best of my recollection and from what is
recorded in the notes, I can only say in this
connection, the same as when the