1
Dec. 45
General
Giraud was to be done away with on orders from
higher quarters.
LAHOUSEN: Yes. That
it is so is borne out by the remark that
Pieckenbrock made, and which I remember very
well, that Herr Keitel should tell these things
to Herr Hitler once and for all.
DR.
NELTE: So according to the communication made to
you by Admiral Canaris, it was not an order of
Keitel's but an order of Hitler's.
LAHOUSEN:
As far as we knew in the Abwehr office, it was
Keitel who gave the order to Canaris. I can only
assume this in view of an order Hitler made to
this effect. I do not know who actually gave
this order, because I had no insight into the
hierarchy of command beyond Canaris. It was, as
far as I was concerned, an order from Canaris —
an order which I could discuss immediately with
him, in the same way as I can discuss it here.
DR. NELTE You yourself did not hear
this order?
LAHOUSEN: No, I personally
did not hear it. I never said I did.
DR.
NELTE: But you mentioned that later Keitel spoke
to you about this matter?
LAHOUSEN:
The procedure was the same as in the case of
Weygand.
DR. NELTE: Do you remember
whether any precise or positive expression such
as "killing," "elimination,"
or something similar was used on this occasion?
LAHOUSEN: The word generally used was "elimination"
(umlegen).
DR. NELTE: What I mean is
whether in this connection such a word was used
by the Defendant Keitel in addressing you?
LAHOUSEN:
Yes, of course — when I gave my report, the
notes of which I have, together with the date,
just as in the Weygand case. For reasons unknown
to me, the Giraud affair was apparently carried
further than the Weygand affair, for Canaris and
I could determine the different stages in its
development.
DR. NELTE: You did not
answer my question. What did the Defendant
Keitel say to you in this instance, when you
were present at the occasion of a report by
Canaris and the question of Giraud was brought
up? What did he say?
LAHOUSEN: The
same thing: "How does the matter stand?"
And by "matter" he clearly meant
Giraud's elimination, and that was the very
subject we discussed under similar conditions in
the Weygand affair.
DR. NELTE: That is
your opinion, but that is not the fact on which
you have to give evidence. I wish to find out
from you what