I pass on to the next document which I submit to the Tribunal.
It would be a mistake to think that the OKH gave orders only of such general character. In July 1941 the Defendant Keitel learned that the subdepartments of the Organization Todt in the Lvov district paid the local workers a wage of 25 rubles. This fact made Keitel indignant. Todt immediately received an appropriate reprimand. And so we come to the next document, which I present to the Tribunal as Exhibit Number USSR-366 (Document Number USSR-366).
The Reich Minister directly refers, in this document, to the fact that Field Marshal Keitel expressed his displeasure that the subdepartments of the Organization Todt in the suburbs of Lvov paid the local workers wages of 25 rubles and that the subdepartments of the O.T. were making use of the factories.
Todt declares that during his last trip he had explained in detail to all members of the staff that the rules for the allocation of labor in Russian territory were different from those in Western Europe. Further in this document Todt categorically prohibits the paying of any sums of money at all. He concludes this document in the following terms:
“No compensation shall be given to the firms for payments not in conformity with the above principles.
“This order is to be brought to the attention of all subordinate labor allocation offices and to all firms.
“Signed: Dr. Todt.”
The German Government and the High Command ordered the use of peaceful Soviet citizens for work which endangered life. This was mentioned by Göring at a conference on 7 November 1941. I now submit to the Tribunal Exhibit Number USSR-106 (Document Number USSR-106), which contains the translation of the Führer’s directive, signed by him on 8 September 1942. This directive concerns the allocation of labor for the construction of fortifications on the Eastern Front. This document comes from the German archives captured by the Allied armies in the West. The covering letter to this document states that this document “is top secret, and that copies of it will be sent to staffs and divisions and are to be returned to the Army staffs and destroyed.”
On the second page of the document, we find Hitler’s order. I read it into the record:
“HQu, 8 September 1942.