FLOTTENRICHTER KRANZBÜHLER: You were First Naval Staff Officer?
HESSLER: Yes.
FLOTTENRICHTER KRANZBÜHLER: Was it your task to instruct the commanders on orders issued before they left port?
HESSLER: Yes, I did that.
FLOTTENRICHTER KRANZBÜHLER: And what was the connection between the instructions given by you and those to be given by the flotilla chiefs—Korvettenkapitän Möhle, for instance?
HESSLER: The commanders whom I had to instruct received a complete summary of all questions concerning procedure at sea. The flotilla chiefs were charged with ascertaining that all commanders should receive a copy of the most recent orders issued by Commander, U-boats. I might say that these were limited instructions, compared with the full instructions they received from me.
FLOTTENRICHTER KRANZBÜHLER: Did these full instructions include the instructions to the commanders regarding the treatment of survivors?
HESSLER: Yes, in much the same style as the instructions I received during my training in the U-boat school.
FLOTTENRICHTER KRANZBÜHLER: Was any change made in the manner of instruction after the Laconia order of September 1942?
HESSLER: Yes. I related the incident briefly to the commanders and told them: