FLOTTENRICHTER KRANZBÜHLER: And then you were asked whether we had deceived the neutrals, and you answered that question with “no.” Did this negative answer apply to the previous question on the warning against sailing in certain waters, or did it refer to all the political measures with regard to neutral states which the German Government took in order to conceal their own political intentions?
WAGNER: The answer in that context referred to the previous questions which had been asked about warning the neutrals promptly of the measures which we adopted for the war at sea.
FLOTTENRICHTER KRANZBÜHLER: I want to make this point quite clear. Do you have any doubt whatever that the pretense of minefields in the operational zones around the British Coast served not only the purpose of deceiving the enemy defense, but also the political purpose of concealing from the neutrals the weapons which we employed in the war at sea?
WAGNER: Yes, I expressly confirm this two-fold purpose.
FLOTTENRICHTER KRANZBÜHLER: The two-fold purpose of secrecy?
WAGNER: Yes.
FLOTTENRICHTER KRANZBÜHLER: Do you have any doubt whatever that the German Government denied to neutral governments that certain ships were sunk by U-boats, although they had in fact been sunk by U-boats?
WAGNER: Yes. Or rather, no. I have no doubt that the denials were formulated in that way, as a generally accepted political measure adopted wherever indicated.
FLOTTENRICHTER KRANZBÜHLER: Yesterday you admitted the possibility that Admiral Dönitz, as Commander-in-Chief of U-boats, may have received knowledge from the Naval Operations Staff of the handling of political incidents caused by U-boats. Can you, after careful recollection, name a single instance when he did in fact receive from the SKL information on the political measures adopted?
WAGNER: No, I do not remember such an instance.