BILFINGER: Yes.
DR. MERKEL: Was it possible for the officials to resign from the Secret State Police easily?
BILFINGER: It was extremely difficult and, in fact, impossible to resign from the Secret State Police. One could resign only in very special circumstances.
DR. MERKEL: It has been stated here with reference to the composition of the Secret State Police personnel that there was the following proportion: executive officers about 20 percent; administrative officials about 20 percent; and technical personnel approximately 60 percent. Are these figures about right?
BILFINGER: I have no general information about the composition of the personnel; but for certain offices about which I knew more these figures would probably apply.
DR. MERKEL: Under whose jurisdiction were the concentration camps in Germany and in the occupied countries?
BILFINGER: The concentration camps were under the jurisdiction of the Economic Administration Main Office under SS Gruppenführer Pohl.
DR. MERKEL: Did the Secret State Police have anything to do with the administration of the concentration camps?
BILFINGER: No. It maybe that at the beginning certain concentration camps here and there were administered directly by the Secret State Police for a short period. That was probably the case in individual instances. But in principle even at that time, and later on without exception, the concentration camps were administered by the Economic Administration Main Office.
DR. MERKEL: Do you know at all who gave orders for the liquidations which took place in the concentration camps?