10 Dec.
45
merely to recall to the Tribunal two or three of the
most significant sentences in that document. Most of these sentences
appear on Page 1 of the English translation. One of the most
significant, I believe, is this sentence with which the order begins:
"The German Armed Forces must be
prepared to crush Soviet Russia in a quick campaign even before the
end of the war with England."
On the same page it is stated:
"Preparations requiring more time to
start are, if this has not yet been done, to begin presently and are
to be completed by 15 May 1941. Great caution has to be exercised that
the intention of the attack will not be recognized."
The directive then outlines the broad strategy on which the intended
invasion was to proceed and the parts that the various services (Army,
Navy, and Air Force) were to play therein, and calls for oral reports to
Hitler by the commanders-in-chief, closing as follows:
"V." — that is on Page 2 —
"I am expecting the reports of the commanders-in-chief on their
further plans based on this letter of instructions.
"The preparations planned by all branches of the Armed Forces
are to be reported to me through the High Command, also in regard to
their time." Signed by Hitler, and initialed by Jodl, Keitel,
Warlimont, and one illegible name.
It is perfectly clear both from the contents of the order itself as well
as from its history, which I have outlined, that this directive was no
mere planning exercise by the staff. It was an order to prepare for an
act of aggression, which was intended to occur and which actually did
occur.
The various services which received the order certainly understood it
as an order to prepare for action, and did not view it as a hypothetical
staff problem. This is plain from the detailed planning and preparation
which they immediately undertook in order to implement the general
scheme set forth in this basic directive.
So we come to the military planning and preparation for the
implementation of Plan Barbarossa. The Naval War Diary for 13 January
1941 indicates the early compliance of the OKM with that part of
Directive Number 21 which ordered progress in preparation to be reported
to Hitler through the High Command of the Armed Forces. This entry in
the War Diary is Document C-35 in our numbered series, and I offer it in
evidence as Exhibit USA-132.
This document contains a substantial amount of technical information
concerning the Navy's part in the coming campaign and the