Dr. Thierack
C. Organization and Structure of the German Judicial System and the Reich Ministry of Justice
I. THE POSITION AND RESPONSIBILITY OF LEADING OFFICIALS IN THE REICH MINISTRY OF JUSTICE
EXTRACT FROM THE TESTIMONY OF DEFENDANT METTGENBERG[113]
DIRECT EXAMINATION
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Dr. Schilf (counsel for defendant Mettgenberg): Dr. Mettgenberg, at the Reich Ministry of Justice you last held the position of a subdepartment chief. In the course of this trial a great many things have been said about that subdepartment chief,[114] but you are the only defendant who last held that position. Therefore, would you please give the court an outline of that last position you held?
Defendant Mettgenberg: Perhaps I may somewhat exceed the scope of the question and say a few words about the structure of the Reich Ministry of Justice as a whole, of which so far nothing has been said here. The entire personnel of the Reich Ministry of Justice amounted to approximately 800. Those 800 people composed three groups, the workers, the employees, and the officials. As an example for the workmen may I perhaps mention the cleaning women and the boilermen. As an example for the employees, the majority of the secretaries and typists. Officials were those who held the posts of civil servants. Conditions to fulfill the status of a civil servant were mainly of a formal nature. Within the body of civil servants there were three groups which must be distinguished—the lower grade, the intermediate grade, and the higher grade. Lower officials were, for example, those who carried the files, the chief messengers, etc. Officials of the intermediate grade were the men whose task it was to keep the registers and to draft documents which were made by the dozen. The higher grade of officials were those beginning with assessor [junior judge or prosecutor] up to the Minister himself. The scope of work for the higher grade civil servants was distributed in such a way that the younger of these civil servants were employed as so-called co-workers [Mitarbeiter] or assistants. Above the co-workers there were the Referents.[115] They were older officials who held the rank of Oberregierungsrat or ministerial counsellor [Ministerialrat].[115] Above them the next category was the subdepartment chiefs [Unterabteilungsleiter]. These subdepartment chiefs were either senior ministerial counsellors [Ministerialraete] or Ministerialdirigenten.[115] Above them there were the department chiefs [Abteilungsleiter], as a rule a ministerial director.[115] Sometimes it was a Ministerialdirigent. Above them, but only temporarily, there was an assistant under secretary [Unterstaatssekretaer]. Above him there was one or several under secretaries [Staatssekretaeren].[115] At the very top there was the Reich Minister.[115] When one keeps that survey in mind, the answer to the question which counsel put to me becomes fairly clear. The subdepartment chief was between the Referent and the department chief. His task was to take reports from the Referent on matters which were of a somewhat supernormal importance; matters which were altogether normal and clear and unambiguous, where there were no misgivings, no doubts, there the Referent made the decision. But as soon as a matter, from any point of view, assumed somewhat greater significance, he had to report on it to the chief who, in turn, had to consider as to whether he himself was competent to decide on the question. If it was of real significance, a report had to be made to a higher authority, to the department chief, to the State Secretary, and possibly to the Minister. In the absence of the department chief, the subdepartment chief had to deputize for him in his business as department chief. And the organization with us was such that every subdepartment chief for his sphere of work had to undertake that work as a deputy. In the big department IV, which has been discussed here such a great deal, there were in the end six subdepartment chiefs, each of whom had his own sphere of work. When the department chief was absent, each one of the six subdepartment chiefs had to deputize for the department chief within and for his own sphere of work. In the main, my defense counsel has already explained the matter in his opening statement, and I may therefore refer to it. As concerns myself as a subdepartment chief, I too had to deputize for the department chief when matters were concerned which belonged within my sphere of work as a subdepartment chief.
2. EXTRACTS FROM THE “BASIC INFORMATION”
A BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE COURT SYSTEM[116]