for this by the Special Command 11b, hand over the collected items to the administration leaders and their deputies in order to have them passed on to Einsatzgruppe D;

(c) to supervise that the execution be completed in the most humane and military manner possible, exactly according to Ohlendorf's orders.

"After the execution I had to report personally to Ohlendorf that the execution had been carried out exactly according to his orders.

"As commissioner of Ohlendorf I followed his orders. I went to the gypsy quarter of Simferopol and supervised the loading of the persons who were to be shot, into a truck. I took care that the loading was completed as quickly as possible and that there were no disturbances and unrest by the native population. Furthermore, I took care that the condemned persons were not beaten while the loading was going on. Since it was my task to supervise the whole execution, I could only stay a short time at each phase of it.

"The place which was designated for the shooting of these Russians and Jews was several kilometers outside of Simferopol and about 500 meters off the road in an antitank ditch. Among other things I ascertained that the traffic in that region was stopped by persons designated for this and was detoured on side roads. When the condemned persons arrived at the place of execution, they were ordered to leave their money, their valuables and papers at a place designated for this. I watched that none of the deposited items were kept by the SS and Orpo men who were designated for the collection. The depositing of this property by the condemned persons was finished without the use of force. I supervised this phase carefully, in order that all the valuables could be handed over to the Einsatzgruppe D, for subsequent remittance to Berlin.

"For a short time, when the people who were to be shot were already standing in their positions in the tank ditch, I supervised the actual shooting which was carried out in strictest conformity with Ohlendorf's orders — in a military and humane manner, as far as possible. The people were shot with submachine guns and rifles. I know that it was of the greatest importance to Ohlendorf to have the persons who were to be shot killed in the most humane and military manner possible because otherwise — in other methods of killing — the moral strain [seelische Belastung] would have been too great for the execution squad.

"I have read this statement, consisting of three pages in the German language and declare that it is the whole truth to the best of my knowledge and belief. I had the opportunity to make