Tapping Hitler's Generals

KITTEL: Well, those Jews were the pest of the east! They should have been driven into one area and employed on some useful occupation. By the way I’m going to hold my tongue about what I do know of these things, until such time as they pick me out. After the fall of ROSTOV the Russians accused me, in a great official solemn declaration on the radio, of having poisoned 18,000 Russians. As regards that I can only say: until then I knew nothing whatsoever about the whole affair in which so many people were killed, and was actually not under the impression either that so many people had been removed from there. They were probably carried off. I don’t know. Anyhow I’m certainly one of the best nominees for a war criminal–although there are quite a number of them–WILDERMUTH (PW) also told me in the strictest secrecy that he has signed about forty sentences of death in his official capacity as ‘Feldkommandant’.[306] Yes, I have some anxiety on that score!

I deprived the Security Services people of every possibility of maltreating the population, but I could not overcome the fact that my own superiors made arrangements with the Police General which simply knocked me off my feet. I said to General von ROTHKIRCH who played a part down there in the defence of the DNIEPER line in the winter of 1941/43:[307] ‘Well, Sir, with the signing of this agreement with the police you are handing over all your executive power, and we are responsible for it!’[308] And now this is what happens! I wrote that quite clearly to the Supreme Command of the Armed Forces too. This government by HIMMLER and his men who received personal instructions, is intolerable. Just look at FRANK,[309] one of the personalities who does not have a very good press, he is stationed at CRACOW and has an SS-Obergruppenführer in charge of the German police in POLAND. The whole of POLAND forms a completely autonomous government under FRANK. Now comes the strange part of it. I went to FRANK and said to him: ‘We will have to make some changes in the distribution of labour forces.’ So he said: ‘I’m not authorised to do that. Hasn’t the Secretary of State told you that already?’ I said: ‘Who is in charge of that in POLAND then?’ He said: ‘I have an administrative job! You go and see SS-Obergruppenführer KOPPE, and see to it that you reach an agreement with him!’[310]

EBERBACH: Didn’t he come under FRANK?