Fuehrer Order of 23 Jul 1941 - security measures in the East

[David Thompson]

This aggressive extract can be found at "Document C-52 [partial translation]", in Nazi Conspiracy and Aggression. Volume VI: US Government Printing Office, District of Columbia: 1946. p. 876.

TOP SECRET By officer only
Fuehrer HQ. 7/23/1941

Chief, High Command of the Armed Forces No. 441254/41, Top Secret, by officer only
Armed Forces Operational Staff/Dept. L (1 Op)

14 copies Copy No. 2
Supplement to order no. 33

On 22 July, the Fuehrer after receiving the Commander of the Army issued the following order with a view to supplementing and enlarging Order No. 33:

[1 to 5: strategic measures]

6. In view of the vast size of the occupied areas in the East, the forces available for establishing security in these areas will be sufficient only if all resistance is punished not by legal prosecution of the guilty, but by the spreading of such terror by the occupying forces as is alone appropriate to eradicate every inclination to resist amongst the population.

The respective Commanders, with the troops available to them are to be held responsible for maintaining peace within their areas. The Commanders must find the means of keeping order within the regions where security is their responsibility [Sicherungsraume], not by demanding more security forces, but by applying suitable, draconian measures.

[Signed [Keitel]

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