. NMT04-T0264
Volume IV · Page 264
| purpose of preventing an expected
collaboration of the adversaries in the Reich itself and in the occupied
territories at the front. The essential thing was that these activities were to
be carried out by me and the Einsatzkommandos in the assigned territories and
that was within the territory of the army; this means that the task and
activities of the Einsatzkommandos were under supreme authority of the
Commander in Chief of the Army. He held the executive power within his
territory, and his authoritative power had been laid down in the Reich defense
law, as well as in a decree of the Supreme Command of the Armed Forces
regarding the position of a Commander in Chief in the operational theater.
According to this, the decrees issued by the Commander in Chief of the Army
were of primary importance and had to be complied with first. Therefore, it was
necessary for the units to carry out all activities and tasks in a form which
was in agreement with the intentions of the army. That means the army had
either to approve the action or agree with the plans and activities of the
units within the framework of their own tasks. By this I mean that the
activities of the Einsatzkommandos, these special task forces, were formed to
comply with tasks given by the army itself. They had to attempt to fulfill the
assignments which were meant for these special units. It was their duty to
accept special assignments which, according to the authority of the Barbarossa
Decree,* could be asked for by the army. Q. This is the general program. Was this factual and legal relationship between the army hierarchy and the Einsatzgruppe and Einsatzkommandos also put down in individual decrees? A. Yes, this relationship had been regulated by me in the agreement I mentioned. It was left to the discretion of the army to determine the operational theater of the individual Kommandos, the strength of the Kommandos, and the period of activity of the Kommandos. Furthermore, it also had been determined that for operative necessities the regulations and decrees of the army had priority. What had not been determined, however, was the current competition of orders which might occur within the decrees of the chief of SD and the security police and the chief of the army. It was often the case, that it was more or less left to the skill of the officers in charge of the respective agencies to find an objective solution in case of such competitive orders. For |
* The order abolished court martial proceedings in the eastern territories and authorized any German officer to order executions without trial of civilians who allegedly committed crimes or were merely suspected of having committed crimes against the occupying power. The order further stated that members of the German Armed Forces who had committed crimes against the civilian population need not be prosecuted.
