DR. FRITZ: How many people attended these 11 o’clock meetings?
VON SCHIRMEISTER: At the beginning, that is to say, up to the beginning of the Russian campaign, about 20 people. Later the circle grew to about 50 people.
DR. FRITZ: Were there discussions during these conferences or was it more or less the giving out of orders?
VON SCHIRMEISTER: There was no discussion during these conferences. First of all, the liaison officer from the OKW would give a survey of the military situation and then Dr. Goebbels would give his instructions regarding propaganda, mostly for the press, the radio, and the newsreels.
DR. FRITZ: Who presided over the conferences when Dr. Goebbels was not present?
VON SCHIRMEISTER: Normally the State Secretary.
DR. FRITZ: And who presided when the State Secretary was not there either?
VON SCHIRMEISTER: Usually Herr Fritzsche, sometimes also the head of the foreign press department or the foreign department, but mostly Herr Fritzsche.
DR. FRITZ: Did Fritzsche in these cases give the daily propaganda instructions on his own initiative or how was that done?
VON SCHIRMEISTER: No; if the Minister was not in Berlin, he was kept informed about news material coming in from abroad. He would then give the instructions to me or to one of my deputies in the same way as he did during the conferences. I had to pass on these instructions by telephone. In Berlin they were taken down by stenographers and then read out during the conference verbatim as instructions coming from the Minister. By the way, this must be seen by the minutes of the meetings. They were always called “Instructions from the Minister.”