A. I know that these constructions were meant for many other purposes because if these questions were discussed in the Jaegerstab I repeatedly heard Saur or some of his representatives saying, “We wish to change this; we want to use this for making tanks; or here, for instance, we will have V-2 rockets.” That is how it fluctuated. In any case, I know that the subterranean constructions or tunnels were meant for other armament purposes.
Q. Witness, did you ever hear about the fact that for the construction of the surface concrete factories concentration camp inmates were to be used?
A. I heard about that in the Jaegerstab, I believe; and that is how we can explain Kammler’s task.
Q. Witness, in your capacities as GL, as member of the Central Planning Board, or member of the Jaegerstab, what did you have to do with the concentration camp inmates? Did you apply for those?
A. No, we had nothing whatsoever to do with it. But they were requisitioned for industry through channels which I did not know at the time. At that time I knew from a conference that in Oranienburg, at Heinkel’s, people were being used from the concentration camps which were near there. I heard one of my men say that the work that was being done over there was good work, I myself did not see these inmates working. However, at that time I was convinced of the fact, through my visit to the concentration camp of Dachau in 1935, that these were, in the main, only German criminals.
Q. Witness, did you hear in connection with labor for concrete construction work, that Hitler gave orders for the use of one hundred thousand Jews, or did the Jaegerstab request this?
A. I am sure that the Jaegerstab did not do that. I cannot say for sure if before the collapse I knew anything at all about this matter. I know from the record that Hitler is said to have had a conference on 4 January 1944 about this question. However, I know that that conference lasted for quite a few days, I believe, from 1 to 4 January. I participated for a very short time in that conference on 4 January. I do not know, or I cannot recall, if during the time I was there they discussed that point.
Q. Did you later on find out that Jewish concentration camp inmates were used in this construction?
A. I never found out for sure.