A. Apart from the general desire to turn over cases of Poles and Jews to the police, Himmler and Bormann, as it was said once, had a special preference and desire for the establishment of civilian courts martial. One could not quite bypass that desire in the decree concerning Poles and Jews, but it was possible to establish an obstacle. I did so, including the provision that civilian courts martial could only be established with the approval of the Minister of Justice and the Minister of the Interior. Greiser, with the support of Himmler, had recognized that that clause or that provision would make it impossible for them to have their wishes fulfilled.
Therefore, bypassing the Minister of Justice, they went directly to Hitler. Lammers, by order of Hitler, informed me that Hitler had decided that the demand for the establishment of civilian courts martial and the transfer of rightful pardon should be granted.
What I had always tried to achieve by various means had not been achieved; on the contrary, that which I had tried to avoid had come true. By the decision on the part of the Fuehrer, my hands were tied.
*******
CROSS-EXAMINATION
*******
Mr. LaFollette: Now I believe you testified on direct examination that you yourself had no anti-Semitic feelings as such against the Jews as a race; that also you sought justice rather than to classify people as groups. That, as I gather, was right?
Defendant Schlegelberger: Yes, that is correct.
Q. If then you extended the Nuernberg laws[405] by decree into the eastern territories, that would be a little inconsistent with your own feeling about the matter, would it not?
A. Certainly not.