“I was Leader of the Reich Chancellery from 30 January 1933 until the end of the war. In this capacity I circulated drafts of proposed laws and decrees, submitted to me by the minister who had drafted the law or decree, to all members of the Reich Cabinet. A period of time was allowed for objections, after which the law was considered as being accepted by the various members of the Cabinet. This procedure continued throughout the entire war. It was likewise followed also in the Ministerial Council for Defense of the Reich.”—Signed—“Dr. Lammers”—and sworn to before Lieutenant Colonel Hinkel.
As an illustration of how the circulation procedure worked, I have here a memorandum dated 9 August 1943, which bears the facsimile signature of the Defendant Frick and is addressed to the Reich Minister and Chief of the Reich Chancellery. Attached to the memorandum is a draft of the law in question and a carbon copy of a letter dated 22 December 1943, from the Defendant Rosenberg to the Reich Minister of the Interior, containing his comments on the draft. I now offer Document 1701-PS as Exhibit USA-392, and I call Your Honors’ attention to the big red border around the enclosure. The quoted portion is from Page 1 of the translation and Page 1 of the original. Quoting:
“To the Reich Minister and Chief of the Reich Chancellery in Berlin (W8). For the information of the other Reich Ministers. Subject: Law on the Treatment of Asocial Elements of Society. Referring to my letter of 19 March 1942, 55 enclosures.
“The draft of the Law on the Treatment of Asocial Elements of Society having been completely rewritten, I am sending the enclosed new draft with the consent of the Reich Minister of Justice, Dr. Thierack, and ask that the law be approved in the circulatory manner. The necessary number of copies is attached.”
The same procedure was followed in the Council of Ministers when that body was created; and the decrees of the Council of Ministers were also circulated to the members of the ordinary Cabinet.
I have here a carbon copy of a memorandum found in the files of the Reich Chancellery by the Allied armies and addressed to the members of the Council of Ministers, dated 17 September 1939 and bearing the typed signature of Dr. Lammers. It is Document 1141-PS, Exhibit USA-393. From the English translation, the last paragraph just above Dr. Lammers’ signature, I quote:
“Matters submitted to the Ministerial Council for Defense of the Reich have heretofore been distributed only to the members of the Council. I have been requested by some of the Reich Ministers who are not permanent members of the Council to inform them of the drafts of the decrees which are being submitted to the Council, so as to enable them to check those drafts from the point of view of their respective offices. I shall follow this request so that all of the Reich Ministers will in the future be informed of the drafts of decrees which are to be acted upon by the Ministerial Council for Defense of the Reich. I therefore request that 45 additional copies of the drafts, as well as of the letters which usually contain the arguments for the drafts, be added to the folders submitted to the Council.”
Von Stutterheim, who was an official of the Reich Chancellery, comments on this procedure at Page 34 of a pamphlet entitled The Reich Chancellery, which I now offer in evidence, Document 2231-PS . . .
THE PRESIDENT: Colonel Storey, I don’t understand what the importance of the last document is.