. NMT03-T0404
Volume III · Page 404
| crime and to use it in the discussions of
general questions, that an individual case was mentioned, but not in a single
case was it like this that Elkar ever was interested in a certain pending trial
or even wanted to get information about the final outcome in advance; such an
evaluation was not possible in practice at all for the decision could be given
only on the basis of the trial after it was concluded. Thus, Elkar's activity
was not aimed at such a goal. Q. By mentioning an individual case, did you ask for the opinion of the RSHA in order to find a basis for the political evaluation of the offense? A. Never. I had no connections whatsoever to the RSHA. Moreover, such a method even in the Third Reich would have been an absolute impossibility, and it was never alleged that this occurred. Q. Did you, in any individual case, receive an instruction from the RSHA or a recommendation to direct the trial in a certain direction under a certain point of view, or to pronounce a certain definite penalty? A. This, too, was never alleged so far. Such a procedure, too, would have been an absolute impossibility. No office would have dared to suggest anything of that nature even. |
| * * * * * * * * * * |
| Q. We started with your relationships to the
SD. On what formal basis were your relationships with the SD? Were you a member
of the SD? A. I was never a member of the SD; I don't know either whether there was such a thing as a membership in the SD; or, whether the people were assigned to the SD from the SS. Only during this trial did I hear that there was such a thing as an actual membership in the SD. At that time I assumed that it was an institution of the nature of an official agency, the personnel for which was appointed by the SS. I never made any application for any membership in this institution; I never signed anything. Q. Elkar says that in 1940 you had taken an oath as collaborator of the SD; that is in the English transcript at page 2896. Did you take an oath? A. I can say this with absolute certainty, that I never took an oath in that connection. The possibility exists that it was called to my attention that matters which I found out in connection with such conversations were supposed to be kept secret. However, I do not have the slightest recollection of this either, so I cannot imagine that I was approached on this matter in a solemn cere-[…mony] |
