The war between Germany and Russia began on 22 June 1941. According to the last page but one of the document which you have before you, the OKW as early as 15 June—a week before the outbreak of the war—ordered the use of arms against enemy submarines south of the Memel line, the southern tip of Oeland, at the request of the Naval Operations Staff.
The Prosecution is basing the accusation on this document and once more referring to an aggressive war. Unfortunately, the Prosecution has only submitted the last page of this document. It did not produce the first and second page of the document. If it had done so, then this accusation would probably have been dropped. May I read to you, Witness, what is contained there; and I quote:
“On 12 June at 2000 hours one of the submarines placed as outposts on both sides of Bornholm, as precautionary measure, reported at 2000 hours an unknown submarine in the vicinity of Adlergrund (20 miles southwest of Bornholm) which had surfaced and was proceeding on a westerly course and which answered a recognition signal call with a letter signal which had no particular significance.”
That ends the quotation.
May I ask you to explain what it means that this submarine did not reply to the recognition signal call?
WAGNER: In time of war the warships of one’s own fleet have an arrangement of recognition signals; that is to say, the recognition signal has a call and a reply which immediately identifies the ship as belonging to one’s own fleet. If a recognition signal is wrongly answered, it proves that it is a foreign vessel.
DR. SIEMERS: As far as you can remember, were there any other clues showing that ships appeared in the Baltic sea which were recognized as enemy ships?
WAGNER: Yes. I remember that there were individual cases where unknown submarines were observed off the German Baltic ports. Subsequently it was found, by comparing the stations of our own submarines, that these were indeed enemy vessels.
DR. SIEMERS: Were these facts the reason which caused the Naval Operations Staff to ask for the use of weapons?
WAGNER: Yes, these very facts.