DR. SIEMERS: Am I obliged to do this even when the witness is already in the building?
THE PRESIDENT: Certainly, because, as I have told you, there are 20 or 21 defendants in the dock; and we have to try and make this Trial expeditious and we therefore cannot allow them to call as many witnesses as they choose to call. But if it is a question of your not having the names of the witnesses in your mind at the moment, you can certainly specify them after a short delay, or tomorrow.
DR. SIEMERS: I shall submit information on this matter shortly. I do not want to name the witness before I have talked it over with him.
THE PRESIDENT: Dr. Siemers, the Tribunal has no objection to your applying in respect of other witnesses, provided that you do so by tomorrow.
DR. SIEMERS: Very well, I know that, at the moment, the witness in question is not in Nuremberg, so that I cannot talk to him at the moment. I ask the Tribunal to pardon me for being so cautious. The Tribunal will be cognizant of the fact that witnesses have been taken into custody. I cannot take the responsibility for somebody’s being taken into custody because I named him as a witness. That is the reason. I shall, however, notify the Tribunal as soon as the witness is in Nuremberg and I have had a chance to speak to him. I shall do so within 24 hours. It is here a question of a testimony which would take 10 minutes at the most of the Court’s time. Therefore, I do not believe that this will burden the Tribunal too much.
THE PRESIDENT: Very well.
DR. SIEMERS: Then I should like to add that I can give the address of the witness Severing, retired Reich Minister. I received it yesterday by telegraph. Witness Severing is Number 3 and the Prosecution is agreeable to his being heard. I shall submit the address in writing to the General Secretary. He is in Bielefeld and can be reached without trouble.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes. If you give it to the General Secretary, that is all that is required. And now would probably be a convenient time to break off for 10 minutes.
MR. DODD: Your Honor. There is the matter of Admiral Bürckner. So far as we know, Dr. Siemers made one request about Admiral Bürckner some time ago, and at that time he was told, as I understand it, that Admiral Bürckner was to be called or that the Prosecution intended to call him as a witness, and that therefore we did not think it proper for him to talk to Admiral Bürckner until after we had called him as a witness.
Up to a very late date in this presentation of our case, we still had in mind calling Admiral Bürckner. I think some reference was made to him, as a matter of fact, before the Tribunal, with reference to the witness Lahousen. And it was for that reason that we told Dr. Siemers that we did not think he should talk to the witness until after he had testified or a decision had been made with reference to his testimony. But we have at all times tried to co-operate with the Defense and make available these people who are here in custody so that they may talk with them.