MILCH: I asked for his permission to think the matter over, and I made my consent dependent on whether Hitler would insist.
MR. JUSTICE JACKSON: Well, what did Hitler do?
MILCH: I accepted on the 30th, after Hitler had told me once again that he considered my technical knowledge and ability in the field of aviation to be indispensable.
MR. JUSTICE JACKSON: So, on the day that the Nazi Party came to power, you took over the task of building a Nazi air force, did you not?
MILCH: No, not an air force. The immediate problem was the linking up of all the various branches of aviation which existed at that time. For instance, there was one civil aviation transport company, or there might have been two. There were the aviation industries, the training schools for civilian pilots, the meteorological service, and I believe there were several research institutes. That, I think, covers the entire field of aviation of that time—but it had nothing to do with an air force.
MR. JUSTICE JACKSON: Perhaps, I will say, you took over the task of making Germany predominant in the air?
MILCH: No, I cannot agree with that.
MR. JUSTICE JACKSON: Put it in your own way. Tell us what you did; what your object was in taking over this new task.
MILCH: My first task was to develop the various branches in order to build up a large air transport system.
MR. JUSTICE JACKSON: You then made visits to France and England, and on your return reported to Hitler personally, did you not?