Examples from Czernigow, Poltawa and other Army groups (for example, Staraja Russa near Orscha) prove that the enemy in the future will employ partisans using explosives and mines.
d. The inner political interest of the population is limited at present to questions of administration and meritorious service in offices or semi-military associations.
Of all the old, strong political parties in Kiev, only a subordinate ("Kultur") section of the "Sojus Wyzwolennia Ukrainy" (organisation for the liberation of the Ukraine) could be found; other trails led to Shitomir, Uman, and Lemberg, but were lost there in some remnants of local organizations.
Up till now, the Bandera people could not fulfill their original plan, the establishment of a self-supporting government in Kiev, since the "Command Kiew" which was to perform this, was removed by the security service [SD] in Fastow and Wassilkow; in the first days after the occupation of the city, they pasted small propaganda placards right next to the German governmental publications, however without much result. Also handbills, in which it was tried to justify the attentat of Shitomir, remain ineffective. The burning of Kiev and the strict screening of the population following thereafter [Sichtungen] have caused, it seems, a (passing) standstill in the organizational construction of the Bandera group.
From the Melnyk organization it was possible to obtain a secret directive called "in Matters of Propaganda"; aside from the old and well-known requests (self-rule demands of totalitarianism, national socialistic philosophy of life) the following is noticeable in regards to the Reich's relative points (Par. 18): "The special aim is to obtain a clarification of the relations to the German factors. It is to be pointed out that Germany is at war with Moscow and therefore is our ally which one must support in battle. At the same time it is emphasized that the opportunity of the construction of a Ukrainian political system does not only depend alone on the Germans but also on our own combined organization and on our ability to produce. Our motto here is: "Our strength lies in ourselves." (This settlement of a German policy differentiates itself, despite their careful composure and stipulation, fundamentally from the rules laid down by Banderas, in which—to my knowledge—it was, up until now, referred to as "allies", often set in quotation marks but never used in connection with the specific references to the Reich.)"
e. A permanent security police force (military) is in every town. It draws its replacements from newly captured Ukrainians, is entirely under German command and wears the blue-yellow brassard; weapons are only issued them for guard duty or patrols. At the beginning of September a (melnyk-friendly) group of 300-500 Ukrainian fugitives out of Bukawia was used in the district Winnica-Gaisin. They are mainly serious men with some knowledge of German and up till now we received no complaints about their services.
f. The fire of Kiev (24-29 September 1941) destroyed the very center, that is the most beautiful and most representative part of the city with its two large hotels, the central Post Office, the radio station, the telegraph office and several department stores. An area of about 2 square kilometers was affected, some 50,000 people are homeless; they were scantily housed in abandoned quarters. As reconciliation for the obvious sabotage, the Jews of the city, approximately (according to figures from the SS-Commands for commitment) 3,500 [sic] people, half women, were liquidated on the 29th and 30th September. The population took the execution—as much as they found out about it—calmly, many with satisfaction; the newly vacated homes of the Jews were turned over for the relief of the housing shortage. Even if certain relief was created in a social respect, the care of the city of half a million is still in danger and one can already foresee food shortages and eventual epidemics.
Up to date the danger of mines has not been eliminated—according to official reports of the engineer officers—at least 10,000 (ten thousand!) mines were deactivated, among them, of course, a great number in the outskirts of the city (railroad station, civilian airport, etc.) and in the tactical forward areas; in individual buildings (also in museums) there were found 3-1/2 tons of explosives in prepared, technically correct mine chambers; captured detonator apparatus leads to the belief that other arrangements of similar nature were built for wireless detonation. With consideration to possible electrical mine detonation, the power supply has not yet been switched on and therefore most staffs and commands are functioning only with candle or poor petroleum lighting. The explosion and the burning of the city caused several losses on officers, men and materials.
The inhabitants of the city remain quiet and disciplined as before; German regulations are enforced to the best ability and without resistance.
I reported over the evacuation measures of the Bolshevists in Kiev in my telephone conversation of the 24-29 September; the picture has not changed noticeably as a whole.