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2. AFFIDAVITS AND TESTIMONY OF PROSECUTION WITNESSES EHRMANN AND
WAGNER |
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a. Affidavit of Dr. Felix Ehrmann, Deputy Business Manager of the
Economic Group Chemical Industry |
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TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT NI-4954 PROSECUTION EXHIBIT
500 |
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AFFIDAVIT OF DR. FELIX EHRMANN, 13 MARCH 1947. CONCERNING
CONVERSATIONS AT THE ECONOMIC GROUP CHEMICAL INDUSTRY ON THE INTERNATIONAL
TENSION IN THE SUMMER OF 1939 |
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I, Dr. Felix Ehrmann, residing at Baddeckenstedt, District of
Wolfenbuettel in the British Zone of Occupation, having been advised that by
making any false statements I will become liable to punishment, hereby
voluntarily declare the following under oath and without having been subjected
to any duress:
The main topic of conversation of the responsible
persons of the Economic Group Chemistry used to be, in the course of the summer
1939, the tension in the international situation. Though I don't know whether
Dr. Ungewitter¹ possessed any official information concerning the plans of
an invasion of Poland, he discussed these matters with many responsible persons
of the government and of the Wehrmacht, and often remarked in my presence that
Hitler would invade Poland.
This problem also appeared in connection
with the question of the I.G. Farbenindustrie plants at Ludwigshafen-Oppau. Mr.
Ungewitter also considered the possibility that war with Poland might also
entail war with France and England. Being the representative of the Economic
Group Chemistry, he had several conferences in this connection with delegates
of the Reich Ministry of Economics. This problem was also discussed with Herr
von Schnitzler,2 member of the Central Committee of the Managing Board
[Zentralausschuss des Vorstandes] of I.G. Farben. War with France and England
would have meant great dangers for the factories at Ludwigshafen-Oppau which
were situated close to the French border and could be reached by French
airplanes and even by French artillery. Therefore, it was considered advisable
to stop all new construction at the Ludwigshafen-Oppau plants and to transfer
part of the factories to the |
__________ ¹ Dr. Claus Ungewitter
was business manager of the Economic Group Chemistry as well as Reich
Plenipotentiary for Chemistry. ² An affidavit of Defendant von
Schnitzler concerning his conversation with Dr. Ungewitter at this time is
reproduced in the following subsection.
1487 |