I will first refer to the decree of the Defendant Göring of 25 May 1942. It was published in the Reichsgesetzblatt, 1942, Part I, Page 347. He delegated to Sauckel part of the powers relating to labor held by the Minister of Labor. I submit it to the Tribunal under Exhibit Number RF-13 (Document Number 1905-PS).
Hitler’s decree of 30 September 1942 gave Sauckel considerable power over the civil and military authorities of the territories occupied by the German Armed Forces. It made it possible for the defendant to introduce into the staffs of the occupying authorities personal representatives to whom he gave his orders direct. The decree is countersigned by Lammers and by the Defendant Keitel and appears in the Collection of the Decrees, Directives, and Notices of 1942, second volume, Page 510. I submit it under Exhibit Number RF-14 (Document 1903-PS).
In the carrying out of this decree representatives of Sauckel’s department were in fact introduced into the headquarters staffs of the military commands. The interrogation of General Von Falkenhausen, Military Governor of Belgium and Northern France, gives in this connection a proof which I would ask the Tribunal to be good enough to remember. General Von Falkenhausen was interrogated on 27 November 1945 by the head of the Investigation Section of the French Delegation. I submit his evidence to the Tribunal under Document Number RF-15. I read the following extract—Page 3, the first paragraph, of the French text, and Page 2, the fifth paragraph, of the German translation:
“Q: ‘Can the witness tell us what was the line of demarcation between his own powers and the powers of the Arbeitseinsatz?’
“A: ‘Up to a certain moment there existed in my department a labor service which was engaged in the hiring of voluntary workers. I no longer remember the exact date—perhaps autumn 1942—when this labor service was placed under the order of Sauckel, and the only thing I had to do was to carry out the orders which came through this way. I don’t remember, but Reeder, who is also in prison’ ”—Reeder was a civilian official on the staff of General Von Falkenhausen—“ ‘is very well informed about the dates and can undoubtedly give them better than I can.’
“Q: ‘Before the question of labor was entirely entrusted to Sauckel’s organization, did there exist in the General Staff or in its services an officer who was in charge of this question? Afterwards was there a delegate from Sauckel’s service in this department?’
“A: ‘Until Sauckel came into power there was, in my service, Reeder, who directed the Bureau of Labor in my office. This labor office functioned as an employment office in Germany, that is to say, it concerned itself with demands for labor which would naturally be voluntary.’