On 7 October 1942 a communiqué of the OKW, disseminated by the press and radio, announced the decision taken by the High Command to execute saboteurs. On Page 26 the Tribunal will find in the document book extracts from the Völkischer Beobachter of 8 October 1942 (Document Number RF-364):
“In future all terrorist and sabotage units of the British and their accomplices, who do not behave as soldiers but as bandits, will be treated as such by the German troops and shot on the spot without mercy, wherever it may be.”
Under the Exhibit Number RF-365 (Document 1263-PS), we submit the minutes of a meeting of the General Staff of the Wehrmacht, dated 14 October 1942. Paragraph 3:
“During the era of total warfare sabotage has become one of the most important elements in the conduct of war. It is sufficient to state our attitude to this question. The enemy will find evidence of it in the reports of our own propaganda units. . . .”
Page 29, the end of Paragraph 3:
“Sabotage is an essential element . . . we ourselves have strongly developed this means of combat.”
Then the sixth paragraph.
“We have already announced by radio our intention of liquidating, in future, all groups of terrorists and saboteurs acting like bandits. Therefore the WFSt has only to issue regulations to the troops how to deal with terrorist and sabotage groups.”
Page 30. The Tribunal will see what orders were given concerning the treatment of what the German General Staff called groups of terrorists and British saboteurs. It is certain that the German General Staff never called their own commandos groups of terrorists and saboteurs.
Paragraph A refers to groups of the British Army without uniform or in German uniform. I quote: