On 26 August 1941, the Reich Labor Ministry directed the presidents of the Regional Labor Offices as follows:
“Upon personal order of the Reich Marshal, 100,000 men are to be taken from among the French prisoners of war not yet employed in armament industry, and are to be assigned to the armament industry (airplane industry). Gaps in manpower supply resulting therefrom will be filled by Soviet prisoners of war. The transfer of the above-named French prisoners of war can be utilized only in quite large concentrated groups under the well-known tougher employment conditions.” (T-49-50.)
In a discussion with Sauckel, the defendant, and others on the subject of manpower available for the armament industry, Goering stated on 28 October 1943, that out of 2,200,000 in armament production, 770,000 were prisoners of war. (T-2093.)
On 14 April 1943, Sauckel reported to Hitler that “1,622,829 prisoners of war are employed in the German economy.” (T-90.)
Noting that the utilization of prisoners of war in the war program was a very profitable enterprise for the Reich, Goering regretted that any had ever been released. However, it was a mistake easily rectified.
“I should like to see that the prisoners of war who have been released, Norwegians and so forth, be taken again. Insofar as officers are concerned, this has been done to a certain extent. It was the greatest nonsense ever committed by us and for which nobody thanks us. We have made prisoners of entire armies and we let them go again. We do not get anything from Norway.” (T-2096.)
At a Jaegerstab meeting on 19 June 1944, it developed that 300 American prisoners of war were assigned to work at the Dornier airplane factory at Oberpfaffenhofen, but with good Yankee obstinacy, knowing their rights, they refused to work. Lange, of the Speer Ministry, complaining about this said—
“They simply sat down, drank coffee, and ate corned beef, and could not be persuaded to work in spite of threats of shooting. Now, the question has been asked if we should not start a shooting action.” (T-2102.)
And the only reason they were not shot is that the Fuehrer feared reprisals.
III. PARTICIPATION OF MILCH IN THE SLAVE LABOR PROGRAM