OFFICE OF U.S. CHIEF OF COUNSEL S> Oi / O FOR THE PROSECUTION OF AXIS CRIMINALITY

INTERROGATION DIVISION SUIffllARY

Interrogation of Karl WOLFF By. Col. H. A. Brundago, 5Scpt. 1945 A.M.

PERSONS ,wp ORGANIZATIONS TITLTGATOD AND. SUBJECT?

1. Karl 'VOLFF a) Monbership in NSDAP (p.l)

2. HITLER,0 HEHLER, HEYDRICH a) Rochn Putsch (p.4,8-9) b) Powers of arrest and commitments to concentration camps (p. 5,6-7,11,3.2-14,15) (l) General Fritsch incident (p.10,ll) 3. BORMANN a) Unification of Government and NSDAP (p.3-4)

4. NSDAP a) Early development (p.1,2-4,14) b) Control of courts (p.12)

5. SS a) Absorption of and other police agencies (p.4) b) AS a nilitary occupational force in Austria and Czechoslovakia (p.5) 6. GEST.1P0 a) Early development under Goering (p,13) b) Bavarian political police originally under Himmler (p.13-14) c) Transfer of Prussian Gestapo to Himmler (p.13-14) d) Commitment of persons to concentration camps (p.15)

IffiMREBSHIP IN Nsp,tP

Wolff joined tho Forty and the SS in 1931. (l)

EARLY DEVELOPMENT OF NSDAP

The Party at this time tried to gain people for Hitler's idoas, and the SS was mainly a protection for loading members; (l) later a force against anti-Nazi activities. (14) The immediate objective v/as to gain the power net by putsch liko 1923, but on a legal basis.

- 1 - Krrl 'Volff, 5. Sept. 1945. A.M.

After this WFS pchieved, 10 per cent of the best pprt of the population were to be gpined ps pprty members, with the SS never •,«xcooJÖag 10 per cent of the totpl membership. ( p.2^3) All importpnt positions 4ti PH brpnches of the government were occupied by Pprty members, pnd former Sociplist officipls were nensionod. ( p.°-3) Some officifls were Pprty menb ers by necessity of circumstfnces, but in fret 30 percent of pll officifls were members. ( p.3) Since the flight of Hess to Snglrnd, Bormpnn tried to unite the government rnd Prrty ( p."a-1)

JDEVELQPl^MT OF SS "ND GESTIO

In 1933, the SS beepme the protector of the whole stfte. Cp«4) First the Gestppo wrs rdded to the SS in 1°33. Then the Criminpl Police, the Generpl Police, pnd Gendprmerie in 1936, rnd lpstly the Wrifen SS were incorporpted in the SS, there by obtaining control of rll key positions, (p.4)

Every disobedience WFS suppressed, i'Vhen the institution of r rpdicrl Sa Stpte WFS rttempted by merns of the Roehra Putsch on June 30, 193-'1-, rll SÄ lefders, including Roehm, wore prrested, pnd executed by decisions of Hitler, Himmler, pnd Heydrich. ( p.4) About 77 were executed June 30th to July ?,nd, in p Jril by Hitler's-BJnttelion without Fny court proceedings. (p,8-9) Mpny of them were homoeexupls, or terrorists, but Himmler, merely using this occpsion, pdded mpny of them to the execution list. ( p.9) This pll shows thft the morple of the SS WFS still high. ( p.«) During the invasions of Austrip, Sudetr-nlfmü pnd Czecho-Slovpkip, the SS wrs used for the first time with the pray, followed by the Pprty, to orgfnize the populption. ( p. 5)

KH/ERS OF ARREST.,

In importpnt cpses of disobedirnce or unfpithfulness, the chief of the security police, Heydrich, reported it to the herd of the SS, Himmler, who mpde decisions in less importpnt CFSC-S. (p.5) In very importpnt mptters Himmler submitted the records to Hitler. They decided whether to show the CPSO to the public, (p.5) oterwnse both mFde pt once the finpl decision. Ordinpry orses mpy hpve been turned over to the courts. ( p.12-1/-) Only politicpl mptters pnd CPSGS of significpnee repched Heydrich, Hitler, or Himmler ( p.6-7) Exp-rts were Kpltonbrunner pnd Mueller. ( p.7) If the pverpge citizen wrs under suspicion, p pprty member informed the Gestppo., which questioned the subject, prrested him, pod brought him before the proper court; in c?se of high trepson, before tho people's court, (p.7,11,12)

2 - . Karl Wolff, 5iSeptember 1945, A.M.

An oxamplo of the procedure in an important mattor was tho case of Gen, Fritsch, who was an aristocrat and considered a reactionary by Hitler and Himmler and dangorous on account of his attitudo against thoo Waffen SS. Heydrich learned in connection with a homosexual case that Fritsch was involved. He submitted the proof to Himmlor, who took it to Hitler, who decided tho destruction of all documonts. (p.lo) Before tho Austrian invasion started, Hitler, wanting to get rid of Fritsch, ordered Dr. Best to reassemble all tho evidence. But the evidence was not very convincing, and in view of the basic law still existing, Fritsch only retired, (p»ll)

PARTY CONTROL QT 002833 Wolff admits «-that during the war tho Party's control over courts by sending confidential observers to the court section, but as far as ho had heard, it was only tov/ard the end of the war that judges wore punished if the sentences were not agreeable to the Party ($.12).

Between January 1933 and April 1934, Goering as primo minister of Prussia, was responsible for tho Gestapo and tho croation of concentration camps,. In Himmlor as police president of Munich since March 1933^ appointed Hoydrich as hoad of the political police of Bavaria, On account o-f tho shortage of trained men, ho was forced to keep everybody with tho oxcoption of known anti-Naais and Jows. (p.13) Gradually ho strengthened tho Gestapo by adding members of other offices, Himmlor added tho surrounding provinces to his sphere,'an finally Goering turned over to him tho Prussia Gestapo, (p,13-14)

Tho Gestapo workod independently of all government or party branches. (p. 14) The Gestapo could commit persons to a concentration camp only on the decision of Hoydrich or Himmler, but Wolff insists ho is not well informed on this subject because of his stay in Italy tho last two years (15/ Ho denied knowledge of the Gestapo committing porsons to concentration camps without a trial (15).

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