20 Dec. 45
MAJOR FARR: Both are branches, yes. Now with respect to
the camp commandants, for instance, normally all high ranking officers
in the SS were members of the Allgemeine SS, so doubtless such personnel
would be drawn from that branch. It is certainly not beyond question
that some members of the Waffen-SS may have been called on to act as
guards in certain camps. I do not think that you can say that there is
no component of the SS which may not have had some of its personnel
involved in the program.
THE PRESIDENT: That wasn't exactly what I meant. What I meant was:
Could you say that one or other branches of the SS furnished the whole
staff of the concentration camps?
MAJOR FARR: I don't think I can say that. I think I could say this ...
THE PRESIDENT: What other organization was it that furnished a part of
the staff of the concentration camps?
MAJOR FARR: You mean an organization other than the SS?
THE PRESIDENT: Yes.
MAJOR FARR: I know of none.
THE PRESIDENT: Then the answer would be "yes" then?
MAJOR FARR: I thought Your Honor was referring to any one branch of the
SS which was concerned alone with that. The SS, so far as I know, is the
only organization which played a part in the concentration camp picture,
except at the very end of the war when I think, as Colonel Storey said
yesterday, some members of the SA were also involved as guard personnel
of concentration camps.
THE TRIBUNAL (Mr. Biddle): Do you know the total personnel at the end
of the war?
MAJOR FARR: Of the entire SS?
THE TRIBUNAL (Mr. Biddle): Yes.
MAJOR FARR: That is something you would have to estimate. I quoted to
the Tribunal yesterday the figures that D'Alquen gave as the strength of
the Allgemeine SS in 1939. He said then that there were about 240,000
men in the Allgemeine SS. There were, at that time, about four regiments
of Death's-Head Units, several other regiments of the Verfügungstruppe
a few thousand personnel involved in the SD, so that I should say in
1939 you had about 250,000 to 300,000 members of the SS. With the
outbreak of the war, the Waffen-SS was built up from a few regiments of
the Verfügungstruppe to about 31 divisions at the end of the war,
which probably would mean that the Waffen-SS by 1945 had had some
400,000 to 500,000 persons involved. I take it that 400,000 to 500,000
members of the Waffen-SS would be in addition to personnel of the