Defendant Lautz: What the prosecutor stated just now is what I reported.
Mr. King: And then you asked for approval of your interpretation; is that correct? That is the very last sentence in the letter?
Defendant Lautz: Yes. I had to ask for that because the decision lay with the Minister of Justice.
Q. Yes. Now, in subsequent cases that came before the People’s Court in which you were required to file the indictment, you based the charges on the interpretation which was subsequently approved by the Reich Ministry of Justice, the interpretation which you ask here? Is that right?
A. From case to case the Minister of Justice afterward decided as to whether that procedure was to be adopted or not. He did not issue a general instruction or directive.
Q. Do I understand you correctly? Let me restate it. Did you mean to say that even after you asked for this interpretation it was necessary in the future when cases came up involving these facts that the Minister of Justice give his approval before you filed your indictment? Is that correct?
A. The indictment was drafted, and the draft was submitted to the Minister of Justice, and he approved it or did not approve it.
Q. But the draft of the indictment was based on the law which you suggested be interpreted as we have discussed it. Then having drafted the indictment based on this interpretation you got approval or disapproval, as the case might be, from the Minister of Justice. Is that right?
A. Yes.
Presiding Judge Brand: What was the answer?