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| D. The Austin Plant in Liancourt, France
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I. AFFIDAVIT AND TESTIMONY OF PROSECUTION
WITNESS MILOS CELAP |
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TRANSLATION OF
DOCUMENT NIK-10590
PROSECUTION EXHIBIT 662
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| AFFIDAVIT OF MILOS CELAP, 24 JULY 1947, CONCERNING THE HISTORY OF
LIANCOURT PLANT OF THE SOCIETE ANONYME AUSTIN, TOGETHER WITH A LETTER WRITTEN
FROM PRISON BY ROBERT ROTHSCHILD* |
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After having been duly sworn in, I, Milos Celap, declare that I
shall tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, and that I
state the following under oath, voluntarily and without coercion:
I was
born on 27 June 1909 at Jamena (Yugoslavia). I live at 42, rue Victor Hugo,
Liancourt (Oise). I am director general and president of the
Société Anonyme [joint-stock company] Austin and the
brother-in-law of Mr. Robert Rothschild who married my sister, Mrs. Rothschild,
née Vera Celap.
The majority of the stocks and shares (91
percent) of the Société Anonyme Austin in Liancourt (Oise)
belonged since May 1939 to Mr. Robert Rothschild, an industrialist and a
citizen of Yugoslavia.
Since the same date Mr. Rothschild was
administrator-deputy of the Société Austin. This firm having a
capital of 3,000,000 francs specialized in the manufacture of agricultural
tractors.
In June 1940, upon the order of the French authorities, Mr.
Rothschild moved into the interior of France taking with him all of his
personnel.
The factory in Liancourt was occupied by the German troops
as soon as they reached Liancourt at the beginning of June 1940.
After
the armistice I was sent back, by Mr. Rothschild, to Liancourt in order to
again start up the usual production, namely the manufacture of tractors. Mr.
Rothschild could not return, himself, because the Chamber of Commerce in Lyon,
which issued travel orders at this time, advised him not to go back into the
zone occupied by the Germans as he was a Jew.
When I arrived I found
the factory occupied by the German troops (Unit No. 06.263 under the command of
Lieutenant Broeck- […ler] |
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* When this affidavit was
offered in evidence the prosecution read extensively from it (Tr. pp.
1725-1731.) A few days later Celap appeared as a witness for the
prosecution. Substantial extracts from his testimony are reproduced immediately
below.
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