This is also confirmed by the statement of the Defendant Jodl, who at his preliminary examination testified that the plans of attack on the U.S.S.R. were actually worked out in the months of November-December 1940 and that during that period the first directives were given to the Army, to the Navy, and to the Air Force. Speaking of these directives, Jodl refers to a document known as the Case Barbarossa. This document is signed by Hitler, Jodl, and Keitel. This directive, intended only for the High Command of the German Army, contains an elaborate and detailed plan for a sudden attack on the U.S.S.R. I quote:
“The German Armed Forces must be prepared to crush Soviet Russia in a quick campaign even before the end of the war against England.
“For this purpose the Army will have to employ all available units with the reservation that the occupied territories will have to be safeguarded against any surprises.”
The directive, Case Barbarossa, emphasizes that “great importance attaches to the fact that the intention of an attack will not be recognized.”
The directive further states that in case of emergency the order for attack against Soviet Russia will be given 8 weeks in advance of the intended beginning of operations, and that “preparations requiring more time to start are, if this has not already been done, to begin presently and are to be completed by 15 May 1941.”
And, finally, the same directive contains a detailed strategic plan of an attack on the U.S.S.R., which plan already contemplated the actual form of participation on the part of Romania and Finland in this aggression. In particular, the directive says bluntly:
“Probable Allies and their tasks.
“1. At the flanks of our operations the active participation, in the war against Soviet Russia, of Romania and Finland may be counted upon.”
The directive also states that:
“we may count on the possibility that Swedish railroads and highways may become available for the deployment of the German Group North not later than the beginning of actual operations.”