Documents on the Sagan ("Great Escape") Murders

[David Thompson]

On 25 March 1944, a number of captive airmen from the Commonwealth forces escaped from the POW camp "Stalag Luft III" and fled into the German countryside. By order of Adolf Hitler, 50 of these airmen who had been recaptured were shot. This is the first in a series of documents on the subject. The first group of documents are taken from the Nuernberg Military Tribunal (NMT) "Ministries Trial" (US v. Ernst von Weizsaecker, et al.), and deal with how the killings were handled by the Reich Foreign Office.

Readers interested in these murders can find more on the subject at Dr. Stuart D. Stein's Web Genocide Documentation Project at: http://www.ess.uwe.ac.uk/genocide/

A report of the trial of a number of Germans implicated in the killings of the recaptured POWs can be seen at:

Trial of Max Wielen and 17 Others: The Stalag Luft III Case. Part I
http://www.ess.uwe.ac.uk/WCC/wielen1.htm
Trial of Max Wielen and 17 Others: The Stalag Luft III Case. Part II
http://www.ess.uwe.ac.uk/WCC/wielen2.htm

Reports of similar cases, not involving the Sagan fliers, can be seen at:

Trial of Franz Schonfeld and Nine Others.
http://www.ess.uwe.ac.uk/WCC/schonfeld.htm
The Dreierwalde Case. Trial of Karl Amberger
http://www.ess.uwe.ac.uk/WCC/dreirwalde.htm
The Almelo Trial. Trial of Otto Sandrock and Three Others
http://www.ess.uwe.ac.uk/WCC/almelo.htm
Trial of Major Karl Rauer and Six Others
http://www.ess.uwe.ac.uk/WCC/rauer.htm

VII: Murder and Ill-Treatment of Belligerents and Prisoners of War: Count Three: (A) Introduction, in Trials of War Criminals Before the Nuernberg Military Tribunals Under Control Council Law No. 10. Vol. 13: United States of America v. Ernst von Weizsaecker, et al. (Case 11: 'Ministries Case'). District of Columbia: GPO, 1952. p. 1.

Eight of the defendants were charged under count three of the indictment, "War Crimes: Murder and Ill-Treatment of Belligerents and Prisoners of War" (pars. 27-28). Five different types of criminal activity were specified in the charges of this count--(1) the murder of captured Allied flyers; (2) the murder of members of Allied commando units; (3) the shooting of escaped Allied prisoners of war upon recapture--the so-called Sagan murders; (4) the murder of the French General Mesny; and (5) forced marches of Allied prisoners of war.

During the trial the prosecution withdrew its charges under this count against defendant von Erdmannsdorff. In its judgment, the Tribunal found three of the defendants--Dietrich, von Weizsaecker, and Woermann--not guilty on any of these charges. The Tribunal found four of the defendants guilty as follows: Lammers and Ritter under the charges concerning captured Allied flyers; Ritter and Steengracht von Moyland as to the Sagan murders; and Berger in connection with the murder of General Mesny (sec. XV, vol. XlV). Upon a defense motion alleging errors of fact and law in the Tribunal's judgment, the Tribunal vacated its conviction of defendant Steengracht von Moyland under this count (sec. XVIII D 2, vol. XlV).

In this section materials have been collected concerning two of the five types of alleged criminal activity--the Sagan murders (sec. B) and the case of General Mesny (sec. C). Materials concerning the treatment of captured Allied flyers and Allied commandos are included in the volumes of this series dealing with the High Command case (vols. X-XI), and material concerning the treatment of captured Allied flyers is also contained in the volume devoted to the Justice case (vol. III). Evidence on the treatment of belligerents and prisoners of war is also reproduced below in section IX (Atrocities) and section XI (Slave Labor).

[David Thompson]

Affidavit of Adolf Westhoff, 31 May 1948, concerning the shooting of recaptured British Prisoners of War from the Sagan Camp, and related matters, in Trials of War Criminals Before the Nuernberg Military Tribunals Under Control Council Law No. 10. Vol. 13: United States of America v. Ernst von Weizsaecker, et al. (Case 11: 'Ministries Case'). US Government Printing Office, District of Columbia: 1952.

Translation of Ritter Document 22, Ritter Defense Exhibit 22.

I, Adolf Westhoff*, at present at Nuernberg, having been informed that I make myself liable to punishment if I make a false affidavit, declare under oath that the following statement is true and was made in order to be submitted as evidence before the Military Tribunal IV at Nuernberg.

From February 1943 until the end of the war I was active in Prisoner-of-War Affairs [Department] of the Armed Forces High Command and later as Chief and Inspector until the end of the war. My last rank was that of a brigadier general.

I know of the escape of the British prisoners of war from Stalag Luft III in Sagan on 25 March 1944, during the time of my former activity. Some of the recaptured PW's were shot by the police on Hitler's orders already a few days after their escape.** Field Marshal Keitel had issued strict orders according to which it was prohibited to inform either in writing or by word of mouth any of the other civilian or military offices, especially the Foreign Office, of this incident. We were at that time unable to get any information at all from the Gestapo about these matters, especially concerning the number of men who had been shot and/or any details about it.

It was due to my cooperation that the British senior prisoner of Camp Sagan was sent to England as an exchange PW. Shortly afterwards Foreign Minister Eden informed the House of this incident, his declaration being obviously based on information which he had received from. this senior prisoner of the PW camp. The Foreign Office was then given by the OKW the information we ourselves possessed. If they ever had any information from the Gestapo and whether it was correct is more than I can say. I happen to remember, however, that Hitler's answer, when it was finally published, was drafted by himself.

The escape from camp Sagan took place at a time when mass escapes of PW's were quite frequent. The number of PW's who escaped in 1943 amounted to--as I remember--something like 43000. As established by the Wehrmacht, the greater part of them were organized mass escapes. There existed regular escape committees in the British PW camps which organized the escape attempts, drafted the plans which provided the PW's with money, maps, and all other escape material. It must be supposed that the PW's communicated with the foreign countries via the foreign civilian workers. There were also repeatedly found homemade radio sets in the camp.

After Eden's statement in the House of Commons I did not learn that any recaptured PW's had been shot. Document NG-2318, Prosecution Exhibit 1284*** was submitted to me. This was a "warning to all PW's to refrain from all further attempts at escape." I came across such drafts occasionally also at that time. However, this matter was not handled in my office. I never saw such a warning later on when I made my inspection tours of the PW camps in which there were also British PW's.

My answer to the question of what my interpretation of this "warning" had been at that time, is that I saw in it merely a measure which aimed at preventing further escapes and at making impossible plant espionage and sabotage.

Nuernberg, 31 May 1948,
[Signed] Westhoff.
___________________________________________________________________
* Westhoff also testified as a prosecution witness. His complete testimony is recorded in the mimeographed transcript, 9 March 1948, pages 2923-2936.
** The Sagan shootings are discussed in the judgment of the IMT under the heading "Murder and Ill-Treatment of Prisoners of War." See Trial of the Major War Criminals, Vol. I, pp. 228-232, Nuernberg, 1947. The IMT stated, among other things, that "In March 1944, 50 officers of the British Royal Air Force, who escaped from the camp at Sagan where they were confined as prisoners, were shot on recapture, on the direct orders of Hitler.
*** Reproduced later in this section. The proposition of the document in question was a proposed "warning" to be posted in prisoner-of-war camps which was transmitted by defendant Ritter to Albrecht, Chief of the Foreign Office Legal Division, on 4 August 1944.

[David Thompson]

Affidavit of Dr. Erich Albrecht, Chief of the Legal Division of the German Foreign Office, 31 May 1948, concerning the shooting of 50 Officers of the British Air Force and diplomatic developments with respect thereto, in Trials of War Criminals Before the Nuernberg Military Tribunals Under Control Council Law No. 10. Vol. 13: United States of America v. Ernst von Weizsaecker, et al. (Case 11: 'Ministries Case'). US Government Printing Office, District of Columbia: 1952. pp. 3-5.

Translation of Ritter Document 21, Ritter Defense Exhibit 21.

I, Dr. Erich Albrecht*, formerly Ministerial Dirigent in the Foreign Office, have been duly warned that I make myself liable to punishment if I make a false affidavit. As evidence for the Military Tribunal IV in Nuernberg, I declare the following under oath in accordance with the truth:

In the case of the shooting of fifty officer of the British Air Force who had escaped from Camp Sagan, the Swiss Legation handed the Foreign Office a complaint from the British Government at the end of April 1944.

The note was submitted to the Reich Minister of Foreign Affairs and I was told that I would have to wait for directives from the Minister for handling the matter.

At the middle of May 1944, I was in Barcelona in order to direct the German side of an exchange of seriously wounded and seriously ill prisoners of war agreed upon with the British and American Governments, as well as of medical personnel and civilians. On the occasion of this exchange, the British officer who had been senior prisoner in Sagan was exchanged. A few days after my return from Barcelona, around 25 May 1944, a younger official from Ribbentrop's circle of influence informed me by telephone of the latter's directive to come to Salzburg to work out a note in reply to the British complaint. Here I learned that Ribbentrop had requested the Reich Security Main Office to send two officials to Salzburg with the necessary documents regarding the incidents, and the OKW to send an officer of the Prisoner-of-War Department; however, they had not yet arrived.

Soon after my arrival, a discussion of the case took place in Ribbentrop's presence, in which Ritter and I took part. At the conclusion of the discussion, Ribbentrop authorized us to prepare the draft of a reply note to the Swiss Legation on the basis of the material which had been made available by the Reich Security Main Office and to submit it to him for approval.

A few days later, two officials of the Reich Criminal Police Office in Salzburg appeared and submitted photostatic copies of teletype messages or written reports in which the heads of a number of State Police Directorate offices in various parts of Germany reported about the shooting of individuals or of entire groups of prisoners of war escaped from Sagan. In the reports the statement was always made, either that the escapees had been shot in resisting recapture or in renewed attempts to escape after recapture. All the material created the impression of having been invented. When confronted with this, the officials of the Reich Criminal Police Office did not actually admit it in so many words, but did not dispute it seriously. After conferring with Ritter, I nevertheless prepared the draft of a reply note on the basis of this material, which Ritter submitted to the Minister with the urgent advice from both of us not to let such a reply be sent off. As Ritter told me, Ribbentrop came over to our point of view and retained the sole right to issue directives for the further handling of the matter.

In June 1944 I again took a business trip abroad, from which I returned on 21 June 1944. It is possible that on the next day, 22 June 1944, I was questioned as to the stage of handling of the Sagan affair with reference to a statement of Eden in the directors' conference; I cannot remember, at any rate. The information which I gave then must have corresponded with my present description, since I had heard nothing in the meantime regarding any further development. At any rate, it is impossible that I made the statement that the British would be sent a report that the escaped officers had to be shot, since they did not comply with the orders when they were captured; as mentioned above, Ribbentrop had already decided at our suggestion that a reply note should not be issued on the basis of the invented material of the Gestapo.

I consider the memorandum of Thadden under section 1 of his account of 22 June 1944 --Document NG-3496, Prosecution Exhibit 1283 -- to be an erroneous summary of what I was able to answer at that time to the question about the stage of handling.**

Nuernberg, 31 May 1948.
[Signed] Dr. Erich Albrecht.

The above signature of Dr. Erich Albrecht was performed before me, Dr. Erich Schmidt-Leichner, defense counsel at the Military Tribunal in Nuernberg, and is hereby certified and attested by me.

Nuernberg, 31 May 1948
[Signed] Dr. Erich Schmidt-Leichner.
__________________________________________________________________
* Albrecht also testified as a defense witness. His testimony is recorded in the mimeographed transcript, 4 March 1948, 15-16 March 1948, and 28 October 1948; pages 2666-2686, 3260-3339, and 26673-26678.
** Eberhard von Thadden testified as a prosecution witness in this case. His memorandum of 22 June 1944 to the chief of Division Inland II of the Foreign Office is reproduced below in this section. Von Thadden's complete testimony is recorded in the mimeographed transcript, 3 March 1948, pages 2638-2664.

[David Thompson]

Memorandum of Vogel, 25 May 1944, concerning telephone conversations on the shooting of British Prisoners of War with Senior Legation Counsellor Sethe of the Foreign Office, in Trials of War Criminals Before the Nuernberg Military Tribunals Under Control Council Law No. 10. Vol. 13: United States of America v. Ernst von Weizsaecker, et al. (Case 11: 'Ministries Case'). US Government Printing Office, District of Columbia: 1952.

Partial Translation of Document NG-2318 [Other parts of this exhibit are reproduced below in this section according to their dates.], Prosecution Exhibit 1284.

Copy,
File OKW,
Memorandum: Today I telephoned Senior Legation Councillor Sethe and Pointed out to him that the memorandum of 20 May 1944 regarding the British officers who escaped from a prisoner-of-war camp contained under B, a sentence to the effect that "a provisional communication on the subject of mass escape and shootings resulting therefrom had been sent by the High Command of the Armed Forces to the Foreign Office on 29 April 1944." I requested Senior Legation Councillor Sethe to let me have a copy of this communication. Senior Legation Councillor Sethe said in reply that the communication in question had never reached the Foreign Office.

Upon instructions from Ambassador Ritter I telephoned Senior Legation Councillor Sethe once more and told him that this would have to be made clear to the High Command of the Armed Forces. Senior Legation Councillor Sethe also said he had made a copy of the communication of 29 April 1944 for himself at the High Command of the Armed Forces in Torgau. He said he would send this to us together with a copy of his correction to the High Command of the Armed Forces with the next courier.

Salzburg, 25 May 1944
[Signed] Vogel.

[David Thompson]

Memorandum of Defendant Ritter, 5 June 1944, concerning his discussion with Field Marshal Keitel on the draft of a note to the Swiss Legation on the Sagan matter and the transfer in chains between Camps of certain British Prisoners of War, in Trials of War Criminals Before the Nuernberg Military Tribunals Under Control Council Law No. 10. Vol. 13: United States of America v. Ernst von Weizsaecker, et al. (Case 11: 'Ministries Case'). US Government Printing Office, District of Columbia: 1952. pp. 6-7.

Translation of Document NG-3901, Prosecution Exhibit 1282

Ambassador Ritter No. 359
Copy [Durchdruck]
[Handwritten] OKW

1. On 4 June 1944 Field Marshal Keitel informed me that he agreed to the draft of the note to the Swiss Legation regarding British prisoners of war. He asked why we wanted to inform the protecting power of the funeral beforehand. This had not been requested in the Swiss note. I replied that on a previous occasion Switzerland had requested this and that the commander of Sagan, Colonel Braune, had agreed to it. Keitel then also agreed.

[Marginal note] To be submitted: State Secretary, Minister Albrecht.
[Initial] A [Albrecht] 5 June 1944.

2. On this occasion Field Marshal Keitel informed me of the following:

A few days ago the British officers' camp near Moravska Ostrava had to be vacated and transferred to Brunswick, since the camp in Moravska Ostrava is needed for other purposes. The prisoners of war were transported from the station in Moravska Ostrava to the station in Brunswick in chains. The reason for this was that prior to the transport it had already been discovered that the officers intended to make use of the opportunity afforded by this train journey and escape. This intention had also been expressed in letters which had been found. Several officers had already hidden themselves in the Moravska Ostrava camp days before, so that they would be left behind.

He intended to inform the Foreign Office of this, in case complaints were lodged with regard to the chaining.

Salzburg, 5 June 1944
Signed: Ritter.

[David Thompson]

Note of the German Foreign Office to the Swiss Legation, 6 June 1944, concerning measures taken with respect to the Sagan matter, and Note of the Swiss Government transmitting this Note to the British Legation in Bern, in Trials of War Criminals Before the Nuernberg Military Tribunals Under Control Council Law No. 10. Vol. 13: United States of America v. Ernst von Weizsaecker, et al. (Case 11: 'Ministries Case'). US Government Printing Office, District of Columbia: 1952. pp. 7-9.

Partial Translation of Document NG-5844, Prosecution Exhibit C-372.

copy*

Foreign Office.

The Foreign Office is pleased to communicate the following to the Swiss Legation, Division of Foreign Interests**, in answer to the note of 26 May 1944 -- No. 743 -- relating to the escape of British officers from Stalag Luft 3:

A preliminary note was submitted to the Swiss Legation already on 17 April 1944, that is shortly after the escape which took place on 25 March 1944.

According to the investigations made meanwhile, it is certain that 19 out of the 80 prisoners of war who escaped at that time were taken back to the camp. While the hunt still continues at time of writing and the investigations have not been concluded as yet, there are preliminary reports on hand saying that 37 prisoners of war of British nationality were shot when they, brought to bay by the pursuing detachment, offered resistance or attempted a new escape after their recapture. Additional preliminary reports are on hand showing that 13 other prisoners of war of non-British nationality were shot after having escaped from the same camp.

The Foreign Office reserves the right to make a definite detailed statement after the conclusion of the investigation and as soon as the details will be known. As regards the British inquiry for the circumstance of the incident, the following can be said already:

Mass escapes of prisoners of war of different nationalities occurred in March 1944 from the prisoner-of-war camps scattered all over Germany. Several thousands of prisoners of war escaped during the month of March 1944. These mass escapes, prepared systematically and with General-Staff-like measures [generalstabsmaessig] partly in connection with foreign countries, pursued political and military aims. They were an attack on the public security of Germany and were at the same time intended to paralyze the agencies of administration and police. In order to nip in the bud such rebellious ventures, especially severe orders were issued to the pursuit detachments detailed for the recapture of the fugitives--also for the protection of the pursuing detachments themselves. Accordingly, the pursuit detachments, within the compass of such a large scale pursuit action, have to launch a relentless pursuit of escaped prisoners of war who disregard a challenge while in flight or offer resistance or attempt to re-escape after having been recaptured, and to make use of their arms until the fugitive is deprived of any possibility of resistance or further flight. Save some few hundreds who could not be discovered as yet, the prisoners of war escaped in the month of March 1944 have been recaptured and taken back to the camps. Arms had to be used against some prisoners of war. These include the 50 prisoners of war of Stalag Luft 3.

When dealing with such mass escapes and on account of the large scale pursuit actions throughout Germany necessitated thereby, any exact clarification of individual cases is difficult and takes time, the more so as the escaped prisoners of war have no identification papers or other personal documents on them, refuse to state their identities, or are in the possession of faked identity papers. This is the explanation of the fact that exact data cannot be gotten and reported to the protecting power with the usual expeditiousness. At the time of writing, the large scale pursuit action has not been concluded. As soon as this is the case, definite information will be forwarded to the Swiss Legation.

In compliance with a desire of the British camp spokesman of Stalag Luft 3, 29 urns containing the ashes of 29 shot prisoners of war have been brought to Stalag Luft 3 so far. As regards the time of the interment in the cemetery of Stalag Luft , the protecting power will be advised in advance.

Berlin, 6 June 1944 (stamp).

D.C. 10J/Ro, Federal Political Department, Division of Foreign Interests:

Subsequent to our note No. 28681, dated 9 June 1944, the Federal Political Department, Division of Foreign Interests, is pleased to forward to H.M. Legation a note here inclosed which Baron von Steengracht, State Secretary in the German Foreign Office, handed over to the Swiss Minister in Germany in regard to the death of 50 officers of the Royal Air Force who had escaped from Stalag Luft 3 in Sagan.

In addition to the forwarding of this note, M. Feldscher states that M. Gabriel Naville again has gone to the Stalag Luft 3 for the 4-5 June 1944 and will submit a special report on his visit.

Bern, 12 June 1944, Enclosure: Copy of a note (1) to The Legation of His Britannic Majesty, Bern.
___________________________________________________________________
* This document contained a certificate of the Acting British Consul at Bern, dated 10 August 1948, attaching true and faithful copies of the German notes of 6 June 1944 and 21 July 1944, together with copies of the transmittal notes of the Swiss Government to the British Legation in
Bern. The parts of the document concerned with the German note of 21 July 1944 are reproduced later in this section. The two German notes were in the German language and the two transmittal notes were in the French language.
** The German word "Schutzmachtabteilung" was frequently translated Protecting Power Division or Protective Division. Since the Swiss used the French words "Division des Interets Etrangers," the translations herein have been conformed throughout to "Divisions of Foreign Interests."

[David Thompson]

Memorandum from von Thadden to the Chief of Division Inland II of the Foreign Office, 22 June 1944, concerning further developments in the Sagan matter and other matters discussed at a conference of Directors of the Foreign Office, in Trials of War Criminals Before the Nuernberg Military Tribunals Under Control Council Law No. 10. Vol. 13: United States of America v. Ernst von Weizsaecker, et al. (Case 11: 'Ministries Case'). US Government Printing Office, District of Columbia: 1952. pp. 9-10.

Translation of Document NG-3496, Prosecution Exhibit 1283.

Legation Counsellor First Class von Thadden:

The following points were brought up in today's conference of directors.

1. According to a statement made by Eden in the House of Commons it is expected that a decision [Stellungnahme] will be made with regard to the shooting of British prisoners of war who escaped from German prison camps. With regard to this, Herr Albrecht declared that the British had been informed via Switzerland that several British and other escaped officers had to be shot in the course of search activities because they refused to submit to orders when captured. Nineteen other officers, who did not offer resistance, were taken back to the camp without further ceremony. Further details on the 50 cases of shootings will be submitted to the British.

2. The Consulate in Monaco sent a wire concerning the French national, Broussard. It was requested that Inland II check with the Security Service as to what is known about this man. During further discussions on this matter it was decided by the State Secretary* that the Political Division inform Minister Abetz of the Monaco report and instruct him to discuss this matter with Oberg, with the participation of Inland II.

3. The fact was brought out, as evidence against Turkey, that Eden was able to state in the House of Commons that chrome, on which an embargo had been placed for Germany, would now be exported to England.

4. Under State Secretary Hencke mentioned a particularly interesting report from Lisbon on the effectiveness of German secret weapons, which however was not distributed. I succeeded in securing one copy for the information of the Group Chief, which is attached to this letter.

5. Although it was not mentioned at the conference of directors, I nevertheless managed by accident to receive information that according to a wire from Stockholm a Swedish airline company was instructed to reserve a special plane for four Finnish delegates to Moscow. In his wire Thomsen requested not to disclose this information to the Finns in order to preserve the source of information.

Berlin, 22 June 1944.

Herewith submitted to Group Chief Inland II for information.
[Initials] v. TH. [von Thadden], 22 June 1944.

To the files [initials] v TH [von Thadden].
_______________________________________________________________________
* Defendant Steengracht von Moyland

[David Thompson]

Memorandum of Brenner, 17 July 1944, submitted to Defendant Ritter, concerning decisions of Hitler and von Ribbentrop on the handling of the Sagan affair, in Trials of War Criminals Before the Nuernberg Military Tribunals Under Control Council Law No. 10. Vol. 13: United States of America v. Ernst von Weizsaecker, et al. (Case 11: 'Ministries Case'). US Government Printing Office, District of Columbia: 1952. pp. 11-12.

Translation of Document NG-2318, Prosecution Exhibit 1284 [Other parts of this exhibit are reproduced above and below in this section according to their dates.].

copy
Office of Reich Minister for Foreign Affairs.
Subject: Stalag Luft 3.
Submitted to Ambassador Ritter.

Minister von Sonnleithner* stated on 15 July 1944, regarding the memorandum to the Fuehrer dated 13 July 1944, the following:

"The Fuehrer agrees to the note to the Swiss Legation regarding the escape of prisoners of war from Stalag Luft 3 and has furthermore approved the drawing up of a warning and publication of our note to the Swiss Legation.

"The Fuehrer was of the opinion that the warning also should be made public and was in agreement with the forwarding of this warning to the Swiss Legation."

End of message from Minister von Sonnleithner.

The Reich Minister for Foreign Affairs has accordingly decreed the following:

1. The Reich Minister for Foreign Affairs requests Ambassador Ritter to pass on to the Swiss envoy our second reply to the Swiss Legation regarding the escape of prisoners of war from Stalag Luft 3.

2. The Reich Minister for Foreign Affairs requests Minister Schmidt (Press), with regard to the publication of this note, to submit an appropriate draft to the Reich Minister for Foreign Affairs. In the press announcement the contents should also be briefly mentioned.

3. Furthermore the Reich Minister for Foreign Affairs requests Ambassador Ritter to cooperate with the OKW when composing the warning which is to be posted in the prisoner-of-war camps, and to submit it to the Reich Minister for Foreign Affairs for approval.

In addition to the suggestion in the Fuehrer's memorandum of 13 July 1944 -- paragraph 2 -- the warning could perhaps also state that in Germany there are certain "death zones" where very special secret weapons are tested; any person found inside any of these death zones will be shot at sight regardless of whether or not he saw anything of the secret activities. As there are numerous such zones in Germany, escaping prisoners of war would expose themselves--as well as to the danger of being mistaken for spies, saboteurs or enemy agents--to the danger of unwittingly entering one of these zones and being shot.

"Westphalia," 17 July 1944
Signed: Brenner.

Copy to Legationsrat Raykowski on account of paragraph 2.
___________________________________________________________________
* Franz von Sonnleithner was an official in the Office of the Reich Foreign Minister, 1939-45. He appeared as a defense affiant and witness. His complete testimony is recorded in mimeographed transcript, 26 August 1948, pages 18474-18499.
** Legation secretary Brenner was an official in the Office of the Reich Foreign Minister.

[David Thompson]

Note of the German Foreign Office to the Swiss Legation, 21 July 1944, declining to make further communication with respect to the Sagan matter, and Note of the Swiss Government transmitting this Note to the British Legation in Bern, in Trials of War Criminals Before the Nuernberg Military Tribunals Under Control Council Law No. 10. Vol. 13: United States of America v. Ernst von Weizsaecker, et al. (Case 11: 'Ministries Case'). US Government Printing Office, District of Columbia: 1952. pp. 12-13.

Partial Translation of Document NG-5844, Prosecution exhibit C-372.

[The German note of 6 June 1944 is reproduced earlier in this section under the same document and exhibit number.]

Foreign Office R 10 830.
Berlin W 8, Wilhelmstrasse 776.

Note Verbale: The Foreign Office has honor in acknowledging to the Swiss Legation, Division of Foreign Interests, the receipt of the note dated 26 June 1944 No. 983--concerning the escape of prisoners of war from Stalag Luft 3.

On 23 June 1944, the British Foreign Secretary, without awaiting the result of the German investigations, made a declaration in this respect which the Government of the Reich most emphatically rejects. The Foreign Secretary of a country which started the bomb war against the civilian population, and which murdered tens of thousands of German women and children by terror attacks on places of residence, hospitals, and cultural institutions; which, in an officially printed "manual on modern irregular warfare" for "His Majesty's Service" literally orders its soldiers to use the methods of gangsters, as for instance to gouge out the eyes of defenseless enemies lying on the ground or to crush their heads with stones, must be denied the moral right to make a stand in this matter at all or to raise complaints against others.

In consideration of this unprecedented attitude of the British Foreign Secretary, the Government of the Reich declines to make further communications in this matter. Berlin, 21 July 1944/ To the Swiss Division of Foreign Interests in Berlin.

Federal Political Department Division of Foreign Interests, D.C. 102--CA/Ro.

Subsequent to our note D.C. 102--J/Ro of 12 June 1944 (29012) relating to the death of 50 officers who escaped from Stalag Luft 3, the Federal Political Department, Division of Foreign Interests is pleased to forward to H.M. Legation the copy of a note R 10830 which was addressed to the Special Division of the Swiss Legation in Berlin by the German Foreign Office on 21 July 1944.

Bern, 25 July 1944.

Enclosure: Copy of a note (3) to The Legation of His Britannic Majesty, Bern.

[David Thompson]

Memorandum From Defendant Ritter to Albrecht, 5 August 1944, transmitting and commenting upon a draft of a 'Warning' to be posted in Prisoner-of-War Camps, in Trials of War Criminals Before the Nuernberg Military Tribunals Under Control Council Law No. 10. Vol. 13: United States of America v. Ernst von Weizsaecker, et al. (Case 11: 'Ministries Case'). US Government Printing Office, District of Columbia: 1952.

Partial Translation of Document NG-2318, Prosecution Exhibit 1284 [Other documents of this exhibit appear above and below in this section according to their dates.].

Ambassador Ritter
NO. 609.
To Minister Albrecht:

The enclosed version of the "warning" has now been approved by the Reich Minister for Foreign Affairs and the OKW. The Armed Forces Operations Staff is now passing the warning to the Propaganda Section of the OKW for translation. When the translation is completed, copies of the warning will be given to the Prisoners-of-war Section of the OKW for distribution to the camps.

The Foreign Office has not yet communicated this warning to the Swiss Government. The time of this communication must coincide with the time of the posting of the warning in the Camps. I request you to contact the Prisoners-of-War Section of the OKW with regard to this time and recommend that the wording of a note to the Swiss Government be submitted to the Reich Minister for Foreign Affairs for approval a few days in advance, so that the note is dispatched as soon as possible after the warning has been posted in the camps.

Westphalia, 5 August 1945, Signed: Ritter.

[In Ritter's handwriting] Megerle has received a copy simultaneously.
[Initial] R [Ritter].

[Enclosure] Distributed by Major Kipp on 4 August 1944.

To all Prisoners of War:

Escape from prison is no longer a game! Germany has always adhered to the Hague Land Warfare Convention and has punished recaptured prisoners of war only by disciplinary measures. Germany will adhere to the tenets of international law in the future as well. England, however, has carried the war beyond the honest fighting of the front-line soldiers into the occupied territories and even up to the borders of the Reich itself by using commando, terror, and sabotage units. In an English official secret instruction booklet, "Handbook of Modern Irregular Warfare," which was captured by us, the following paragraphs occur:

"The times in which we fought according to the rules of competitive sports are over. Now every soldier has to be a gangster at the same time, and must, if required, use gangster methods.

"The sphere of operations should always include the enemy country, every occupied country, and, under certain circumstances, such neutral countries as he can use as sources of supply."

Thus England has begun gangster warfare! Germany will protect her own territory, and especially her war industry and her supply installations for the fighting front. For this purpose restricted zones, so-called "death zones," have been created in which every non-authorized person will be shot at sight. Escaped prisoners of war, who unwittingly happen to come upon such death zones, will lose their lives. Thus, they are in constant danger of being taken for enemy agents or terror troops. We therefore issue strict warning against further attempts at escape!

The escape from prisoner-of-war camps today is a damned dangerous undertaking. The chances of remaining alive while making your escape have been reduced to almost nothing. All police and guard details have received strict orders to use their guns against any alien who exhibits suspicious behavior.

Thus, escape from prison is no longer a game!

[David Thompson]

Extracts from a memorandum of Minister Windecker on the First conference of the Prisoner-of-War Service of the Foreign Office held on 21 November 1944, in Trials of War Criminals Before the Nuernberg Military Tribunals Under Control Council Law No. 10. Vol. 13: United States of America v. Ernst von Weizsaecker, et al. (Case 11: 'Ministries Case'). US Government Printing Office, District of Columbia: 1952. pp. 15-17.

Partial Translation of Document NG-2318, Prosecution Exhibit 1284.

Prisoner-of-War Service
G.d.K. No. 515/44.
Highly confidential.

Memorandum on the Conference of the Prisoner-of-War Service on 21 November 1944, 1100 hours, at the Conference Room 109a, Wilhelmstrasse 76.

Before the conference began, Minister Windecker stated that the first conference of the Prisoner-of-War Service had only inter office importance, while other offices dealing with prisoner-of-war matters outside of the [Foreign] Office would also be invited to the following conferences. Minster Schmidt said that he had called this conference because the Reich Foreign Minister was especially interested in prisoner-of-war matters. For this reason the direction of all these matters is being consolidated within the Prisoner-of-War Service with Minister Windecker as Secretary General. The political indoctrination of prisoners of war, he continued, has furthermore become of prime importance inasmuch as the general treatment of PW's, after the evacuation of extensive territory, constituted the one element from which the office could still reap political and propagandistic advantages. Since 1940, the Foreign Office worked with excellent results in the field of prisoner-of-war treatment. This work necessitated close cooperation with the military authorities which, as a whole, was a fruitful undertaking, but also led to various tensions during the actual working process. In order to smooth over similar difficulties which might occur eventually, Minister Windecker has now been appointed to take charge of all questions relating to prisoners of war. It follows from this that all departments of the Foreign Office dealing with these matters would now have to work in close contact with Minister Windecker.

After that Geheimrat Reinhardt who, as Minister Windecker expressed it, is "at the front" of the Prisoner-of-War Service, gave a survey of his activities. Upon suggestion of Geheimrat Hesse, he began his work with prisoners in August 1943 starting with the British sector. At first it was necessary to emphasize repeatedly the necessity and importance of treating the prisoners well, if only for the reason that complaints to the protecting power would have no foundation. It was also necessary to overcome a certain resistance on the part of the military authorities. The labor offices were convinced of the fact that the prisoners would do more and better work if they were treated well. He further said that the difficulties to be overcome in the care of the prisoners were great, since the camps and labor commands were often situated far away from any railroad connection points. The personnel was not always of the best caliber and it was difficult to influence them en masse. In many respects, Americans were to be treated differently from the British. They did not adjust themselves as easily to living in camps. On the other hand, it was easier to start a conversation with them once they had overcome the fear of their own counterintelligence. Escapes from the camps, so greatly feared by the military because they result in court martials, should often not be taken too seriously because they were partly made only in order to carry out a regulation which provided that there would be no promotion later on if not even an attempt at escape had been made. Therefore, such occurrences as in camp Sagan, in which 50 officers were shot after having made an attempt to escape, are extremely regrettable. Through such happenings, he said, months of propaganda work are reduced to nothing. For the same reason also disciplinary camps cannot be considered as appropriate.

End of the conference, 1230 hours. Enclosed list of those present. [This list, not reproduced here, shows 35 persons as having been present at this conference. None of the defendant were present.] Signed: Windecker.
___________________________________________________________________
* The distribution list attached to this document, which is not reproduced here, shows that 41 copies of this memorandum were circulated to various persons in the Foreign Office, and among others to defendants Steengracht von Moyland and Ritter. A letter by Ritter concerning this memorandum is reproduced just below.

[David Thompson]

Memorandum of Defendant Ritter to Minister Windecker, 8 December 1944, returning a copy of the memorandum of the Conference of the Prisoner-of-War Service and commenting upon the mention in the memorandum of the Sagan affair, in Trials of War Criminals Before the Nuernberg Military Tribunals Under Control Council Law No. 10. Vol. 13: United States of America v. Ernst von Weizsaecker, et al. (Case 11: 'Ministries Case'). US Government Printing Office, District of Columbia: 1952. p. 17.

Partial Translation of Document NG-2318, Prosecution Exhibit 1284.

copy, Ambassador Ritter
No. 1034.
To Minister Dr. Windecker:

I am sending back to you the memorandum about the conference of the Prisoner-of-War Service No. 515.

The memorandum is very interesting. Since, however, the matters concerning prisoners of war are no longer under the supervision of the OKW but under the SS, I have no active interest in this matter. I therefore request that I be taken off the distribution list in the future and that you cease to invite a representative of my office to the conferences.

The sentence on page 8, "Therefore, such occurrences as in camp Sagan, in which 50 officers were shot after having made an attempt to escape, are extremely regrettable," should not have been written into a document which is not being treated as Top Secret matter.*

Berlin, 8 December 1944.
Signed: Ritter
[Illegible handwriting].
__________________________________________________________________
* Windecker's memorandum was marked "Highly confidential."

[David Thompson]

Affidavit of Theodor Krafft,* 16 March 1948, concerning the Sagan shootings, in Trials of War Criminals Before the Nuernberg Military Tribunals Under Control Council Law No. 10. Vol. 13: United States of America v. Ernst von Weizsaecker, et al. (Case 11: 'Ministries Case'). US Government Printing Office, District of Columbia: 1952. pp. 30-32.

Translation of Ritter Document 20, Ritter Defense Exhibit 20.

I, Theodor Krafft, residing in Arnsberg, Westphalia, have been duly warned that I make myself liable to punishment by making a false affidavit. I swear under oath that the following, to be submitted in evidence to Military Tribunal IV in Nuernberg, is true.

From autumn 1941 until the end of the war, I belonged to the Prisoner-of-War Affairs Department of the Armed Forces High Command as group leader, and from 1 October 1944 as division chief. In March 1944 I was Group Leader I in the general division under Colonel von Westhoff* as division head, and the former General von Graevenitz as Chief of Prisoner-of-War Affairs. My military rank at that time was that of a lieutenant colonel.

A short time after the escape of the British Air Force officers from camp Sagan--which was probably about 25 March 1944--Westhoff informed me upon returning from a conference with Keitel, that by order of Hitler the police had received orders to use their weapons ruthlessly when the escaped officers were captured. Westhoff's objection was rejected by Keitel with the remark that this order was already being carried out and any objection was useless.

It was a matter of general knowledge in our division that Keitel had strictly forbidden that the Foreign Office be informed about the directive issued to the police and its consequences, although Colonel Westhoff had stressed the necessity of informing the Foreign Office.

We did not know in our office how the police had carried out Hitler's order in capturing the escaped air force officers. We merely received the report via teletype message that the British prisoners of war, designated by name, had been shot in flight by the police and/or for resisting capture. Several teletype messages concerning this came in, which contained groups of names in each case.

At about the beginning or the middle of May 1944, Privy Councillor Sethe from the Legal Division of the Foreign Office -- a subordinate of Albrecht -- appeared at our office in Torgau, obviously there (because of rumors about the incident which had cropped up in the meantime) in order to gather particulars about it. In view of the earlier strict order of Keitel not to divulge anything of the matter to the Foreign Office, Colonel Westhoff telephoned Keitel in my presence, in order to ascertain to what extent he could give Privy Councillor Sethe information. Keitel decided that Privy Councillor Sethe should receive information with regard to all the incidents known to the office. This is what happened, and one should observe that the details of the execution of the order were not yet known to us, either, even at this time.

In the week before Whitsuntide 1944, Keitel's order came into the office (Chief of Prisoner-of-War Affairs) by telephone that the specialist informed as to the Sagan incident should go to Salzburg immediately in order to be at the disposal of the representative of the Foreign Office there, for possible further inquiries. On the basis of this order, I departed for Salzburg, after we had previously authorized the commander of camp Sagan, Colonel Braune, to come to Salzburg as well, in order to be able to give information on local questions if the occasion should arise. We then had a discussion in the hotel in which Ritter and Albrecht were staying. I had the teletype message with me, by which we had been informed by the police about the incident. The gentlemen of the Foreign Office also had lists of names, from which I assume that they were police reports, similar to the ones we had received. A comparison of our lists showed that the names agreed. In comparing the names, it became evident that there were also a few names among them which seemed to indicate Polish or Czech origin, so that a doubt was created in the Foreign Office as to whether the bearers of these names had actually been British prisoners of war. I could subsequently explain that these were obviously Polish and Czech citizens, who, however, were in the service of the British Air Force. No note of any sort was discussed or drafted in my presence. Although my activity was limited to clearing up the doubt mentioned, I nevertheless had the definite impression from our discussion that Albrecht as well as Ritter was outraged about the incident. Ambassador Ritter expressed among other things his displeasure that the Foreign Office had not been informed about this incident at the proper time. We did not know the exact details of the execution of Hitler's order even at the time of this discussion, for we were merely referred to the police reports.

Nuernberg, 16 March 1948
[Signed] Theodor Krafft.
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* Krafft also executed an affidavit which was submitted in evidence by the prosecution as Document No-3878, Prosecution Exhibit 1246, in connection with the Mesny murder. This affidavit and Krafft's testimony concerning it and related matter are not reproduced herein. Krafft's testimony is recorded in the mimeographed transcript, 1 March 1948, pages 3246-3256.
** An affidavit of Westhoff, Ritter Document 22, Ritter Defense Exhibit 22, is reproduced at the beginning of this section.