A. The main difficulties which arose and which gave cause to discuss this matter at all were made from up above—from a higher level. A report was made on some occurrence or other to the SD; the SD passed the matter on to Berlin; from there it was passed on as a rule without having been settled or even examined to the press where it caused a great deal of sensation.
Q. Was this lower level, to which you refer, the local representatives of the SD?
A. Yes, naturally.
Presiding Judge Brand: Go ahead.
Dr. Koessl: Now, Witness, tell us please, what was to be prevented by the discussions, the report to the higher level; what was it—was it that things were to be clarified after the higher level had dealt with it?
Defendant Rothaug: One cannot state all that in one reply in such a general way. With these questions it always depended on what the individual case was like; what the attending circumstances of the individual case was like; and it depended upon what the aims and object of the participants were. Without going into the matter of the individual case, it is impossible to give an objective answer.
Q. The witness Doebig said, “It was only a great deal later after I had left Nuernberg that I heard for certain that Rothaug worked in the SD.”[230] Later, Doebig stated that he remembered that the SD Leaders Friedrich and Elkar paid him a visit, but that he could not remember the subject which was discussed. Anyhow, he had never given an inference that the administration of justice would cooperate with the SD. (Tr. pp. 1865–1866.) What position did Doebig take?
A. I have already answered that question when I said that Doebig was altogether in favor of settling matters in that way.
Q. How often would Elkar call on you in the subsequent periods?
A. He said on Saturdays, and that makes it sound as if he had come every Saturday, but that is quite out of the question. He came on some Saturdays, but sometimes weeks passed or months until he came to see me again about some matter or other. As was the case with many other things that were organized within the sphere of the Party, they dragged on and finally nothing much was done.