The Presidents of the District Courts of Appeal
Subject: Defense of prisoners in protective custody by attorneys
To prepare a decision of the Reich Leader SS and Chief of the German Police on whether certain attorneys can generally be allowed to defend prisoners held in protective custody, you are requested to examine immediately whether attorneys in your district, and which ones, could be considered in this respect. To defend prisoners held in protective custody, qualification and reliability are necessary to a particularly high extent. Therefore, in making the selection, a very strict standard will have to be applied. Mere membership in the NSDAP—as far as it was acquired only after 30 January 1933—will generally not warrant the necessary extent of reliability; on the other hand, this qualification will not have to be denied merely because the attorney is no Party member. Only such attorneys can be considered whose attitudes prove beyond doubt that they fully approve of the political plans of the State and of the ideological aims of the movement. For the rest, it will have to be assumed that attorneys not acting as counsel for the defense in criminal cases—will generally not defend prisoners held in protective custody either.
I request that attorneys qualified according to these rules to defend prisoners held in protective custody and who, if possible, ought to reside at various places of your district be in sufficient number entered into a list arranged according to State Police Offices. As to their qualification I request that the president of the bar then be consulted, the necessity of a strictly confidential treatment will have to be pointed out to him. Agencies, other than the judicial administration, will not be consulted. I then request that two copies of the list be submitted and that the opinion of the president of the bar be attached. Concerning the attorneys mentioned in the list, personal data and qualification for each of them have to be attached in addition to the character and political attitude of the attorney, particularly the manner of his professional training as counsel for the defense in criminal cases has to be explained in this statement; furthermore, if possible, whether it can be assumed that the attorney enjoys the confidence of the State Police Office.
Negative reports, if such is the case, are requested.
As Deputy
[Signed] Schlegelberger
Note
I have discussed the question with the attorney Dr. Dormann today. He received from me 3 copies of the decree to deal with them; it was especially pointed out to him that the affair was strictly confidential. After contacting Dr. Droege he will try to compile for Hamburg and Bremen a list of such attorneys who are qualified to defend prisoners in protective custody.
Note