. NMT04-T0328
Volume IV · Page 328
| The liaison officer came and told Mr.
Ohlendorf the army demanded the execution to be carried out before Christmas.
Naturally, above all, there was the Fuehrer Order, unchanged and valid as
before. Q. Well, why didn't you include this fact, since it was so important, in your affidavit, or, I am sorry, in your statement? A. Mr. Prosecutor, I believe I can remember perfectly well that I told Mr. Wartenberg at the time that the things which he had put into the affidavit only constituted a small fraction, but I believe, I am certain I told him that it was the army which gave that order. In fact, I believe that I can remember just now that that is contained in my statement. Perhaps I can just have a look. Yes, I have found it. May I quote |
"The 11th Army had ordered that the execution at Simferopol was to be finished before Christmas." |
| That is in my own statement which I deposed
at the time. It is on page 2, Mr. Prosecutor, and it is the last paragraph.
Q. By that you meant that the army ordered all executions of Jews in Simferopol to be finished by Christmas, is that correct? Was it this one that you specifically state, or all others? A. Mr. Prosecutor, the Fuehrer Order was there and now the army said "We want it finished before Christmas." I wasn't able at the time to find out all the reasons. Maybe the reasons were strategic reasons, military reasons, which caused the army to issue that order. Maybe they were territorial questions. Maybe they were questions of food. The army at that time was afraid that hundreds of thousands of people might have to starve to death during that winter, because of the food situation, but all those are suppositions on my part and I cannot tell you what was the ultimate reason for that order given by the army. Q. Are you trying to tell us now that the execution of all undesirables was ordered because there might not be enough food for them? A. No, Mr. Prosecutor, all I wanted to say was that might have been the reason for the army to issue that order at that particular time. The over-all principles of the matter were not affected by that. Q. Were there any executions carried out in Simferopol after Christmas 1941? A. Certainly, executions were carried out after Christmas, 1941, Mr. Prosecutor. |
| * * * * * * * * * * |
