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Q. How were you informed about the extent and the aims of German
rearmament?
A. Our superior, the Chief of the High Command of the
Wehrmacht, Keitel, did not inform us at all.
PRESIDING JUDGE SHAKE: Mr.
Witness, may I take the liberty of reminding you that we do not understand what
you say and we must necessarily wait for a translation. If you will please
pause after Dr. Boettcher asks you a question until we get the translation of
his question, before you start to speak, it will avoid us hearing both
languages simultaneously.
DR. BOETTCHER: Witness, you just said that
the OKW, Chief of which was Keitel, did not inform you about the intentions and
aims of Hitler with respect to armament. My question is this: What agencies did
inform you about the intentions and armament aims of Hitler?
A. We did
not learn of all the plans of the Army, Navy, or Luftwaffe, in respect to
armament. The high commands of the various branches of the Wehrmacht reported
their requirements. One must distinguish here — for peacetime requirements
the branches of the Wehrmacht — that is Army, Navy, and Air Force —
reported only their raw material requirements, while the requirements for war
were reported in finished products.
Q. Could you explain this statement
by giving us an example?
A. In peacetime, the branches of the Wehrmacht
armed independently. They reported to the OKW only their requirements in raw
materials — that is, how many tons of steel they needed per month or
aluminum and similar raw materials, while for their war needs the high commands
reported their monthly requirements — for example, the Army would say
1,200 machine guns, 20,000 rifles, 300 tanks; or the Air Force, 150 fighters a
month.
Q. From these statements, could you conclude Hitler's aims for
war or peace?
A. No, for we were given a report of the requirements of
weapons, for example, 1,200 machine guns. But for how many divisions they were
destined, we could not tell from these figures. We did not know what the loss
factor was for the particular plane or tank. |
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Q. I now come to another point. Can you describe German armament to
the Tribunal? I mean by that the nature, the extent, depth, and so forth.
A. German armament was designed for a Blitzkrieg. It was, so to speak,
superficial armament. That is, a division set up in peace and a division to be
set up during war were equipped with |
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