A. No. I did not know about that, with the very few exceptions that were discussed here. However, I never connected them with myself. There never was any connection at any time.
[March 18]
Q. Witness, after you received the Knight’s Cross in 1940, did you receive any distinctions from Hitler, any decorations?
A. Yes, I did, in 1940 I received the promotion to a field marshal, and that was also in 1940. After 1940 I did not receive anything which I considered a distinction as a soldier, because the bonus I received in 1942—yes, I will refer to that later—I couldn’t see any distinction in that as a soldier.
Q. Will you now talk of this bonus which you received? Give us some details about it.
A. Hitler sent his adjutant on my 50th birthday, with a picture of Hitler, that is, a photograph, with a dedication, and a letter in which he congratulated me, and there was a check inside to the amount of 250,000 marks. Hitler wrote in his letter that he knew I was leading a very modest life and he would like to give me in this way the possibility of making it a little pleasanter.
I thanked Hitler, and I told him that I gladly accepted the money, because after all I could not refuse it, as a compensation for the fact that I had earned a little less by this amount than I would have earned if I had remained with the Lufthansa, because my salary in the Lufthansa was twice as high, and even later on, three times as high as the money I received from the State. Consequently, I did not consider that as a gift exceeding my merits.
Q. Witness, did the Air Ministry not offer you a bonus, also?
A. That was not a bonus but the President of the Air Ministry told me that the industry wanted to give me a present to the value of 50,000 marks. I told him that I rejected this present; it looked to me like bribery. He immediately withdrew the offer, especially as he knew that never in my life had I accepted a present from industry while I was in government service.