“Minister Director Berndt got out and shot the enemy aviator on the road. I am against legal procedure. It doesn’t work out.” (735-PS)
That is signed by Keitel.
The remarks of Jodl then appear:
“This conference is insufficient. The following points must be decided quite definitely in conjunction with the Foreign Office:
| “1. | What do we consider as murder? |
| “Is RR in agreement with point 3b? | |
| “2. | How should the procedure be carried out? |
| “a. By the people? | |
| “b. By the authorities? | |
| “3. | How can we guarantee that the procedure be not also carried out against other enemy aviators? |
| “4. | Should some legal procedure be arranged or not? |
“(Signed) Jodl” (735-PS).
It is important to note that Ribbentrop and the Foreign Office were fully involved in these breaches of the laws and usages of war. The clarity with which the Foreign Office perceived that there were such violations is indicated by a document from the Foreign Office, approved of by Ribbentrop and transmitted by one of his officials, Ritter (728-PS). The approval of Ribbentrop is specifically stated in a memorandum of 30 June 1944 (740-PS). The Foreign Office document reads:
“In spite of the obvious objections, founded on international law and foreign politics, the Foreign Office is basically in agreement with the proposed measures.
“In the examination of the individual cases, a distinction must be made between the cases of lynching and the cases of special treatment by the Security Service, SD.
“1. In the cases of lynching, the precise establishment of the circumstances deserving punishment, according to points 1-4 of the communication of 15 June, is not very essential. First, the German authorities are not directly responsible, since death had occurred before a German official became concerned with the case. Furthermore, the accompanying circumstances will be such that it will not be difficult to depict the case in an appropriate manner upon publication. Hence, in cases of lynching, it will be of primary importance correctly to handle the individual case upon publication.