b. To be prepared in advance against protests by the enemy powers, so as to be in a position to answer them immediately, and thus to prevent occurrences such as those which took place in connection with the escape of the Anglo-American aviators from camp Sagan.
Ambassador Ritter has been already notified accordingly by the Chief of the Command Staff of the Armed Forces.
II. It was impossible to clarify points 1 and 2 (in this connection point 3 as well) until 23 hours since neither Colonel von Brauchitsch nor an SS officer on the Command Staff Bergwald could be contacted. A telephone conference with Major Grothmann has been agreed upon for 4 June at 10:00 o'clock.
Distribution:
Deputy Chief of the
Command Staff of
the Armed Forces Copy No. 1 [pencilled notation]
Qu. (Draft) Copy No. 2 destroyed according to—
[initials] 18 August [illegible]
TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT 740-PS
Ops. Staff of the Armed Forces (Verw.1)
No. 006988/44 Secret
30 June 1944
Secret
3 Copies, Copy No. 1
Subject: Treatment of enemy terror-aviators
[Marginal note: "We must really do something about this now. What is still necessary?">[
[initialed] W.
[Warlimont]
[Initialed] K [Keitel] 30/6
Agenda
I. Enclosed I submit the draft of a reply of the Minister for Foreign Affairs to the Chief of the Supreme Command of the Armed Forces, which has been passed to the Armed Forces Ops Staff (WFSt) through Ambassador Ritter.
Ambassador Ritter has advised us by telephone on 29 June that the Minister for Foreign Affairs has approved this draft, but that he has ordered Envoy Sonnleitner to present the attitude of the Foreign Office to the Fuehrer, before the letter is sent to the Chief of the Supreme Command of the Armed Forces. The letter is to be forwarded to the Chief of the Supreme Command of the Armed Forces only after the approval by the Fuehrer of the principles established by the Foreign Office.