Witness, what do you have to say about Leopold’s proposals?
VON PAPEN: Leopold’s proposals show the following. The leaders of the Austrian Nazis fully accepted the policy of the July Agreement. They recognized that in future the question of the Anschluss would be an internal Austrian affair to be settled by the Austrian Government. They proposed that this solution should be found in an evolutionary manner by the Austrian Government and the Party. In favor of this solution is the fact that by means of the declaration of the sovereignty of Austria these arguments could in the future no longer represent foreign political dangers for Austria, that is, that the Agreement of July was understood by the Austrian National Socialists and approved of, and that they were prepared to proceed in a legal way with the Austrian Government.
THE PRESIDENT: The Tribunal will adjourn now.
[The Tribunal adjourned until 18 June 1946 at 1000 hours.]
ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY-SEVENTH DAY
Tuesday, 18 June 1946
Morning Session
[The Defendant Von Papen resumed the stand.]
DR. KUBUSCHOK: The witness Guido Schmidt has referred to an incident involving a flag at Pinkafeld, in May 1937. Would you please describe your activities in settling that incident.
VON PAPEN: The flag incident at Pinkafeld is mentioned by myself, or rather by my defense counsel, because it is a typical example of Hitler’s attempts to pass on to an aggressive policy in Austria, even in the days before 1938.