I would now like to read from the record part of this which we consider extremely important as rebuttal testimony received from several of the defendants.
On the face of it, it is a letter of transmittal dated the 10th day of July 1939, from the supreme command of the Armed Forces, on the subject, “Second Meeting of the Reich Defense Council.”
One hundred copies were prepared, and our copy is the 84th. It is labeled “most secret” and merely transmits in the name of the chief of the supreme command of the Armed Forces the enclosed document to following parties, among others. I shall name only the ones to which we have attached some importance: To the Party, the Führer’s Deputy, the first copy; to the Chief of the Reich Chancellery; to Ministerpräsident, Field Marshal Göring, the Reich Minister and Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force; to the Foreign Office; to the Plenipotentiary General for Reich Administration are nine copies, including copies for the Minister of the Interior, the Minister of Justice, the Minister of Education, the Minister for Church Affairs, and the Reich Office for Planning; also to the Plenipotentiary General for Economy, including copies for the Minister of Economy, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, the Ministry of Labor, the Chief Forester, and the Commissioner for Price Control; to the Minister of Finance; the Minister of Transport, Motor Transport, and Roads; and the Minister of Railways; the Post Minister; the Minister of Enlightenment and Propaganda; the Reichsbank Directorate; the General Inspector of German Roads; the Armed Forces, including nine copies for the OKH, five copies for the OKM, the Reich Minister for Air and Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force; the supreme command of the Armed Forces; a series of other copies being enclosed.
The enclosure is a report of the second meeting of the Reich Defense Council, held on a date to which we attach importance, the 6th day—the 23d day of June 1939.
“Place: Large conference room of the Reich Air Ministry.
“Commencement: 1110; termination: 1355.
“President: Ministerpräsident, General Field Marshal Göring.
“Persons present...”
I shall name only those to which we attach some importance, because the list is very long:
The Führer’s Deputy; the Chief of the Reich Chancellery, Dr. Lammers; Reichsministerpräsident General Field Marshal Göring’s staff, Secretary of State Körner, Secretary of State Naumann, Councillor Bergbohm, and several others; Plenipotentiary General for Reich Administration, Reichsminister Frick, Reichsführer SS Himmler and uniformed police, Daluege; Plenipotentiary General for the Economy, Reichsminister Funk; the Reichsminister of Finance Von Krosigk; Minister of Transport; General Inspector of German Roads, Dr. Todt; supreme command of the Armed Forces, Generaloberst Keitel, Warlimont, and Generalmajor Thomas; supreme command of the Army, by—from the General Staff, General of Artillery Halder; supreme command of the Navy, General Admiral—Grossadmiral Raeder; Reich Minister for Air Force, Milch and Bodenschatz, both of whom were witnesses here.