Defendant Schlegelberger: (Nodded in the affirmative.)
Q. Why was that?
A. May I ask you a question, namely, does this question refer to the Poles and Jews, or as I now understand it, to the NN prisoners?
Q. It applies to both.
A. Well, that was for the following reason. From the cases of transfer about which I reported, I saw that the police was the instrument of power that Hitler used in order to do away with certain people without any legal procedure, and I wanted to give those people a legal procedure with a regular trial.
Q. Now the administration of justice at one time, at least, was responsible for the prosecution and trial of all crimes committed in the Reich, isn’t that correct?
A. Yes.
Q. Was there ever an investigation with subsequent trial after 1 September 1939 for the abuse or murder of a person in the hands of the police or in a concentration camp?
A. I can answer that question by saying that the Ministry of Justice as far as I am informed—that is, these matters were in the penal sector—interfered in every case, even in the case of abuses and concentration camps where they could actually do something about it, only since 1939—I don’t remember the exact date—these matters were taken out of our hands through the special jurisdiction of the SS.
Q. I don’t believe you quite answered my question. Did the Ministry of Justice ever call or ever prosecute a member of the police or somebody connected with the concentration camp because of abuse of the prisoners or murder of prisoners in their hands?