 |
agriculture. Mussolini had taken an interest in that matter and Carlo
Ferrario informed me that Mussolini desired to talk to me.
Q. Did you
get an award from Mussolini as a result of your conference?
A. Yes.
Q. Was that the so-called Commandatore?
A. Yes, that was the
title, Commandatore.
Q. That was the same title which Ferrario had from
the Italian Government, is that right?
A. No, Ferrario had a higher
rank. He was Grande Officiale, Grand Officer, if I remember well.
Q. In
connection with your mission, your conference with Mussolini, I would like to
introduce in evidence Document
NI-15026, as our Prosecution Exhibit 2066.* This is your report to Dr.
Schmitz concerning this matter, and I think it lends a little clarity to
several matters. Now, just after you had this talk with Mussolini, didn't the
Leverkusen plant receive an award by Hitler?
A. Well, yes, but I don't
know where the connection is between that award and that visit with Mussolini.
There was absolutely no connection. |
| |
| * * * * * * * * * * |
| |
| REDIRECT EXAMINATION |
| |
DR. LUMMERT (counsel for defendant Kuehne) Dr. Kuehne, in connection
with Exhibit 2064, you were questioned by the prosecution. This is your letter
to Dr. Schmitz of 18 October 1941, with your report about the birthday
celebration for Mr. Poensgen. First of all one question for explanation. Who
was Mr. Poensgen?
DEFENDANT KUEHNE: Mr. Poensgen was the
Generaldirektor of the Vereinigte Stahlwerke.
Q. After reading your
letter of October 1941, can you tell me who arranged this birthday celebration?
A. The birthday celebration was arranged by the Industrial Club of
Duesseldorf. Subsequent to that Party Gauleiter Florian extended the invitation
to dinner and afterwards the Minister of Economics Funk extended an invitation
for tea.
Q. When you rejected the attack of Mr. Pleiger on Farben,
saying that without buna and gasoline, Hitler could not have started the war,
did you mean that Farben invented buna and gasoline to permit Hitler to wage
aggressive warfare?
A. No. Certainly not. At any rate, these substances
were invented long before the First World War, at least as far as |
__________
* Letter of 15 May 1942,
reproduced above in subsection C 4.
641 |
. 
