A. I was never a member of the SD; I don’t know either whether there was such a thing as a membership in the SD; or, whether the people were assigned to the SD from the SS. Only during this trial did I hear that there was such a thing as an actual membership in the SD. At that time I assumed that it was an institution of the nature of an official agency, the personnel for which was appointed by the SS. I never made any application for any membership in this institution; I never signed anything.

Q. Elkar says that in 1940 you had taken an oath as collaborator of the SD; that is in the English transcript at page 2896. Did you take an oath?

A. I can say this with absolute certainty, that I never took an oath in that connection. The possibility exists that it was called to my attention that matters which I found out in connection with such conversations were supposed to be kept secret. However, I do not have the slightest recollection of this either, so I cannot imagine that I was approached on this matter in a solemn ceremony. It is a fact, in any case—and this is why the people who worked for me also knew about these occurrences—that the matters which were discussed there, without exception, I believe, I had also discussed with them and among them. Thus, I had no thought of violating any secrets or any pledges of secrecy.

Q. What was the status called that you had with the SD?

A. In former times I never worried about that because for me it was not a question of practical importance as to what I would be designated as, since I had agreed to hold conversations of the type that I used to carry on with Elkar. Thus, in former times, there was no need to have some kind of a rank for that, or whatever you want to call it.

Q. Did you ever become a member of the SS?

A. I was never a member of the SS.

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b. New devices to change final court decisions—The “Extraordinary Objection” and the “Nullity Plea”