DR. NELTE: What did you say to Canaris and Lahousen in the Führer’s train on 14 September, that is, shortly before the attack on Warsaw, with regard to the so-called political “house cleaning”?
KEITEL: I have been interrogated here about this point, but I did not recall this visit at all. But from Lahousen’s testimony it appeared—he said, as I remember—that I had repeated what Hitler had said and had passed on these orders, as he put it. I know that the Commander-in-Chief of the Army who then directed the military operations in Poland had at the daily conferences already complained about interference by the police in occupied Polish territory. I can only say that I apparently repeated what had been said about these things in my presence between Hitler and Brauchitsch. I can make no statements regarding details.
I might add that to my recollection the Commander-in-Chief of the Army at that time complained several times that as long as he had the executive power in the occupied territories he would under no circumstances tolerate other agencies in this area and that at his request he was relieved of his responsibility for Poland in October. I therefore believe that the statements the witness made from memory or on the strength of notes are not quite correct.
DR. NELTE: We come now to the question of Norway. Did you know that in October 1939 Germany had given a declaration of neutrality to Denmark and Norway?
KEITEL: Yes, I knew that.
DR. NELTE: Were you and the OKW taken into consultation about declarations of neutrality in this or other cases?
KEITEL: No.
DR. NELTE: Were you informed of them?
KEITEL: No, we were not informed either. These were discussions referring to foreign policy, of which we soldiers were not informed.
DR. NELTE: You mean you were not informed officially. But you as a person who also reads newspapers knew of it?