|
A. No, not one word. I did not even know that Schmitz was in that
committee.
Q. Now it is a fact, is it not, that Dr. Schmitz accompanied
you and Dr. Krauch to London to negotiate with Standard with respect to the
purchase of this aviation gasoline; is that a fact?
A. Yes, certainly,
that is stated in the exhibit of the prosecution the exact description
of the journey taken by Krauch, Schmitz, Fischer and me. To repeat it once
more, not only aviation gasoline was involved, but many other
matters. |
|
* * * * * * * * * * |
|
|
7. TESTIMONY OF DEFENDANTS KRAUCH, TER MEER, SCHNEIDER, BUERGIN,
BUETEFISCH, HAEFLIGER, AND WURSTER |
|
a. Testimony of Defendant Krauch |
|
EXTRACT FROM THE TESTIMONY OF DEFENDANT KRAUCH* |
|
DIRECT EXAMINATION |
|
* * * * * * * * * * |
|
DR. BOETTCHER (counsel for defendant Krauch) : There is also the
matter of your conduct in the planning and setting-up of hydrogenation plants,
buna plants, and so forth. From what point of view did you build these plants,
and what was the effect of these points of view in the course of the war?
DEFENDANT KRAUCH: The measures taken for the construction and operation
of these plants were based on general economic reasons. We wanted to have these
plants near a coal supply, near a water supply, and so forth. We wanted to have
plants with as great a capacity as possible, so as to keep the costs as low as
possible. No consideration was given to any protective measures. The most
important plants were concentrated at certain points, such as refrigerating
plants, gasometers, compressors; and war considerations were completely
ignored. If we had wanted to build these plants for a war, they would have been
built in quite a different way, and they would have been strongly protected
against the enemy.
Q. Were reproaches made to you for this reason
during the course of the war?
A. Yes; right at the beginning of the
war. I shall mention a few examples. In the West we had built a plant for brown
coal, near Wesseling; that is near Cologne. The plant was being built and was
to go into operation soon. Upon the outbreak of war |
__________ * Further extracts are
reproduced above in subsections C 5a, F 3. G 7a, H 4e, and below in subsections
L 3e, N 5b and in section IX F 1. volume VIII, this series.
1209 |