DR. SERVATIUS: Witness, how far were the political leaders informed beforehand of the Führer’s foreign political intentions?
GÖRING: “Political leaders” is a very comprehensive term. It includes everyone from the Reichsleiter to the Blockleiter or Zellenleiter. Instruction of the entire body of political leaders with regard to matters of foreign policy quite naturally and understandably never took place, and could not take place unless the Führer publicly made known his general foreign political intentions to the entire nation either in the Reichstag or over the radio. The higher officers of the political leaders, for instance, the Reichsleiter or the Gauleiter, were likewise never called together as a group in order to be informed of political intentions which the Führer did not want to announce publicly.
He may personally have mentioned his intentions to one or other of the political leaders, who at the same time held another state office, or who was for some other reason in his confidence—I should first have to think where that might have been the case. He certainly did not do it to any unit or sub-unit. In his speeches to Gauleiter after the events had taken place, he merely referred to these things each time in retrospect and explained and unfolded his political intentions, which he had, however, already realized by then.
DR. SERVATIUS: I have no further questions.
DR. MARTIN HORN (Counsel for Defendant Von Ribbentrop): Witness, do you know to what extent Von Ribbentrop was informed about military plans and intentions in his capacity as Foreign Minister?
GÖRING: I do not know the exact details. In general the same principle applies here too, that only such authorities as were competent, as far as these intentions were concerned, were kept informed, particularly so in the case of military intentions. Just how much the Führer told Herr Von Ribbentrop now and again in conversations about his military plans, I did not know.
DR. HORN: Is it correct that Hitler set down the guiding principles for all policies, including foreign policy?
GÖRING: That is a matter of course. Foreign policy above all was the Führer’s very own realm. By that I mean to say that foreign policy on the one hand and the leadership of the Armed Forces on the other hand enlisted the Führer’s greatest interest and were his main activity.
DR. HORN: Should I conclude from that that he was interested in the details of foreign policy as well?
GÖRING: He busied himself exceptionally with these details, as I have just stated, and with particularly great interest in both of these fields.