. NMT04-T0134
Volume IV · Page 134
| during my absence. One of his tasks was the
composition of all reports which went to the higher headquarters, to the Reich
Security Main Office, Berlin, and to the 11th Army. In rare cases only, if very
important reports had to be written, I dictated them myself, and later informed
Seibert of the contents as a routine matter. Seibert had full access to all the
secret files, including these which were designated as top secret. In cases
where reports bear my signature these can just as well have been written by
Seibert as by me. Reports which are signed by Seibert were as a rule written by
him during my absence from the Einsatzgruppe. Seibert was acquainted with all
the duties and problems within the framework of Einsatzgruppe D. Only two
people could have had complete knowledge of the number of executions which took
place, namely Seibert and myself. I tried to keep the number secret in order to
prevent the Kommandofuehrer from making a contest of it and reporting larger
numbers than had actually been executed. The former Obersturmfuehrer
Heinz-Hermann Schubert was my adjutant and assigned to managing the business
room. The registry, the dispatching and registering of mail, and the daily
business routine were under him. My staff consisted further of a physician, Dr.
Otto Schnopfhagen, an economist [Wirtschaftsfuehrer] a technical advisor, a
radio officer who at the same time took dictation for radio messages, and
several clerical workers and orderlies. 3. On the basis of orders which were given by former Brigadefuehrer Streckenbach, Chief of Amt I of the RSHA, by order of the head of the RSHA, to the chiefs of the Einsatzgruppen and the Kommandofuehrer at the time of the formation of the Einsatzgruppen in Pretzsch (in Saxony) and which were given by the Reich Leader SS to the ,leaders and men of the Einsatzgruppen and Einsatzkommandos who were assembled in Nikolaev in September 1941, a number of undesirable elements composed of Russians, gypsies, and Jews and others were executed in the area detailed to me. All Jews who were arrested as such were to be executed within my area. It was my wish that these executions be carried out in a manner and fashion which was military and suitably humane under the circumstances. For this reason I personally inspected a number of executions, for example, executions which were carried out by Kommando 11b under the direction of Dr. Werner Braune, executions by Kommando 11a under Sturmbannfuehrer Zapp in Nikolaev, and a smaller execution by Kommando 10b under the leadership of Alois Persterer in Ananev. For technical reasons (e.g., because of road conditions) it was not possible to inspect all mass executions. Insofar as I was prevented from inspections for personal reasons, I ordered members |
