Q In this case, we are mainly interested in the activity of Professor Rostock as a leader of the Department of Science and Research. Where was Professor Rostock's agency in this capacity?
A Until the spring of 1944, you could hardly speak of an agency. As I said before we medical assistants of Professor Rostock had to dour our clinical duties first. At the clinic only one additional secretary had been hired and who only worked there for half days in order to deal with the work which was connected with the new activities which had been taken over by Professor Rostock. In the winter of 1943 and 1944, the air raids increased on Berlin to the extent that the clinical work had to be limited. At that time most of the clinical work was done in air raid shelters and cellars. Working rooms were furnished in Beelitz. Beelitz was about one hour distance from Berlin by car.
Q Did you, yourself, continue to stay with Professor Rostock, and continue to work where he was?
A Yes, up until the end of February 1944 I was active at the clinic at Ziegelstrasse. After the new office was furnished at Beelitz I repeatedly went to the clinic in Berlin together with Professor Rostock.
Q Witness, what did Professor Rostock tell you when you commenced your activities at the Department for Science and Research?
A Professor Rostock gave me information about the situation of the medical research as it prevailed in Germany at that time. He explained that by and large there were two groups; on one side there was the civilian sector, that is to say, mostly university clinics and university institutes, and on the other side was the armed forces branches with their independent research agencies. Every one of those research groups had the aim to maintain their research field and to expand it as far as possible. On the other side, difficulties as they resulted from the way, that is to say, the scarcity of personnel and material played a big part, and it was his aim to create some kind of coordination between these two units. As a university professor he was mostly interested in maintaining the research on the civilian sector. Contrary to other countries, in Germany the research work connected with the civilian sector had become particularly difficult since a number of research workers had been drafted into the Wehrmacht.
He, himself, said that it would be a false conclusion to assume that the biggest values were to be attached with special results from the war, for if at any time basic research work was to be dropped, this would bring about a considerable harm to the entire medical research work in Germany.
Q Would you please describe how the activities were practically carried on in this Department of Science and Research, and also what your special task was?
A There were four medical assistants who helped Professor Rostock in his new work. He divided the entire scope of the tasks amongst us four assistants, and he divided this according to the individual subjects of medicine such as surgery, internal medicine, and-so-forth. The practical way in which the work was carried on was the following: His mail was dealt with by the first secretary, the mail was opened and presented to Professor Rostock for his perusal. Professor Rostock made notations on the various letters and then passed the matter on to his assistants in order that we could deal with them. We, then, returned these matters to Professor Rostock who looked through them, and sometimes signed them. Then these matters went back to the secretary of Professor Rostock, who took care of the mailing, and who registered the matters according to the various expert fields. I, myself, mainly had to deal with tasks relating to internal medicine in accordance with my pre-medical education, childrens medicine, physiology, hygiene, and later the compilation of the so-called research card index system.
Q What were the material things with which this agency dealt?
A From the very beginning there was not a definitely defined circle of tasks. The individual tasks developed only during the course of this one year.
Q Excuse me, you are not speaking about the year 1944?
A Yes, 1944. The circle of tasks that especially crystallized were the following: Professor Rostock was mostly interested in basic research. In that connection one incident took place, the penicillin and lectronemicros work, and other work was done in brain research work, and tissue culture.
In connection with basic research, Professor Rostock endeavored to maintain high scholastic work in research. A further point was the maintenance of medical literature and the creation of an information periodical about medical literature that was printed abroad. It was at the end of 1944 when the consuming functions of Professor Rostock increased, and which was in connection with the limitations of production, in the field of the productions of drugs, and in the field of the production of medical instruments. In order to explain the functions of Professor Rostock, I would say, for instance the efforts he made in order to safeguard medical literature. Professor Rostock personally did not sit down a regulation as to what future medical educational books were to be written and printed, but there were working committees available who, for instance, in that case, were working with the Ministry of Interior, and were representatives of the Ministry, and who from their side stated what papers would contain and what ones were available in order to produce medical educational work. In addition representatives of the various publishing institutions were present, who, from their point of view, stated what their production facilities were in order to decide what books were to be published. There were no medical experts available who were neither depended upon Professor Rostock nor dependent on any direct state institution or incorporated institutions; therefore Rostock was asked to attend these conferences on the basis of his knowledge as a university teacher, and who was competent to say that, for instance, in the case of surgical educational books, two or three must be used by the student. The decision of which books were to actually be produced rested with the whole committee itself. The meetings with regard to the limitations of the production of drugs were of a similar nature.
Q How was the so-called card index system compiled and what led to it?
A It is perhaps important that at the outset I speak about the extent of the so-called card index system. This card index system cannot be compared to perhaps the card index systems as they were described here in the press and as they are available in the United States where modern means of statistical procedure were used in order to build up large scale card index systems, perhaps according to the so-called Locke's system, with various data about the various research workers, how they worked and where they worked, and so forth.
This card index system I am speaking about consisted only of two card index boxes. These contained perhaps six to seven hundred research assignments. The research cords were perhaps of the size of a postcard; and one card index box contained the date in alphabetical order of the research workers, whereas the second card index box contained the same research assignment but only according to the expert fields they belonged to. This entire card index system was here only for the purpose of helping Professor Rostock gain some survey as to what research work was being carried on in Germany.
In the summer of 1944 Professor Rostock wrote to the Reich Research Council and to the individual Wehrmacht branches and asked that he receive reports on the current research assignments. Later the Reich Department for Building and Economy was added. It distributed research assignments concerning the pharmaceutical field.
Q Witness, I shall put a few questions to you later with reference to the card index system and I should now like to ask you something about your own special field. You have already stated that your field was especially internal medicine and hygiene?
A Yes.
Q Is it to be understood that you worked on all the incoming and outgoing mail concerned with these special fields?
A Yes. As I said before, Professor Rostock in accordance with the division of the work gave us the mail in order to have it prepared.
Q Did that also refer to mail which was designated as secret?
A Yes. The secret mail was dealt with by all the assistants at the agency. I therefore had insight into all secret mail that came in. Our secret mail comprised mostly the reports of the various research stations about the current research assignments as well as reports about medical literature abroad. Altogether this secret mail was really very small in extent.
Q Witness, beyond your field did you gain a certain insight? Did Professor Rostock ever call his collaborators together and discuss all the events and problems as they were connected with his work?
A Yes. Professor Rostock a few times a week had a number of discussions with us, the assistants. He expressly wanted everyone of our assistants to be well acquainted with the field of work of the others. That was for the practical reason that we were repeatedly present at the clinic in Beelitz; and al all times one of the assistants present at Beelitz was to be able to deal with any questions that might come up, at least in broad outlines, and was to know something about the other fields of work.
Q Now, if I understood you correctly, the assistants represented one another, too, and sometimes represented Professor Rostock, too?
A Yes, that also happened. Whenever one of us went on vacation, somebody else took over his field of work. While we were working there, the fields of work were changed among us.
Q During that entire period you worked there, did you at any time see any event from which you could conclude that in any field anywhere in Germany inadmissible experiments were carried out on human beings?
A No. From the material which we received no such events became apparent in anyway.
Q Was there any event or circumstance? Even if you had no material, could you feel on the basis of any remark that was true and could you arrive at such conclusions?
A No, we never had any such thoughts throughout the entire time.
Q During the discussions Professor Rostock had with his assistants, was there any mention made of anything like that?
A No, never were any inadmissible experiments mentioned -- and I mean experiments which are now being described as inadmissible. Also in my conversations with the other assistants we never discussed these matters; and we certainly would have spoken about it if it had been true.
Q Why do you think that you would have spoken about it if any such matters had come up?
A For us physicians these would have been things which we wouldn't have been used to at all.
Q From your own knowledge have you had any hint causing you to believe that Professor Rostock knew about such matters?
A No. No hint whatsoever. Judging from the scientific work of Professor Rostock at the clinic, I only know about the things which fall absolutely within the framework of the general medical field of science and research.
Q Did you at any time hear the name of Professor Haagen in Strassbourg?
A Yes. Professor Haagen is known to me as a well-known bacteriologist and virus research worker.
Q Was Professor Haagen mentioned in the material that you dealt with?
A I cannot clearly remember that. I cannot clearly remember having listed Professor Haagen in my card index system.
Q Did you know Professor Haagen personally?
A No, I didn't know him personally.
Q Do you know whether there was any correspondence between Professor Haagen and Professor Rostock regarding typhus at any time?
A No, I know nothing about that.
Q Would any such correspondence have to go through your hands since you dealt with fields of internal medicine and hygiene?
AAccording to the procedure that was customary with us, I certainly would have heard something about such correspondence. If it hadn't been dealt with by me personally or perhaps by Professor Rostock, himself, it would have been according to custom that he send a copy to our registration office, which I would have dealt with in turn.
Q Do you know whether Professor Haagen was with Professor Rostock in Berlin at any time?
A I don't know that.
Q In what form were reports made by other agencies about research assignments, assignments which were worked upon in the card index system?
A From the various agencies we received certain lists about the research assignments which had already been distributed. These lists contained the following data: The name of the research workers, sometimes including the number of the assignment, the term of the research assignment, and in the case of assignment of the Reich Research Council mostly data at what clinic the work was performed. In addition in some of the cases the priority number and the value of the assignment was laid down. Information about the research assignments were supplemented a few times by additional reports which were sent to us. We didn't only receive compilations of lists from the Reich Department for Building Economy, but we also received assignments set down on various pieces of paper and on these pieces of paper it was stated, for instance, when we were concerned with a new therapeutical task, from what chemical basic material one had to start and in what manner a new synthesis was planned.
THE PRESIDENT: The Tribunal will be in recess.
(A short recess was taken.)
THE MARSHAL: The Tribunal is again in session. May it please Your Honors, the defendant Rudolf Brandt has returned to court.
THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary General will note for the record the return of Rudolf Brandt.
DIRECT EXAMINATION RETURNED BY DR. PRIBILLA (Defense Counsel for the Defendant Rostock):
Q Witness, you told us in what form the reports of the various agencies which were used in the card index were formulated. You also said that the reports of the Reich Office for Economic Expansion came on individual pieces of paper and were a little more explicit. In what form were the other reports received, especially these of the Reich Research Council and the branches of the Wehrmacht? Did they show the technical means used in carrying out the experiments?
A No. As I have already said, they contained only the indication of the name of the research worker, the subject of research, sometimes the clinic at which the work was done, the number of the assignment, the priority and value of the assignment. The manner of execution of the research assignment was not mentioned.
Q Did any reports say that human experiments were conducted? Did any reports say that work was done on concentration camps or that work was done on concentration camp inmates?
A No. In no single case was the name of any concentration camp mentioned or any concentration camp inmate mentioned.
Q You have already described the purpose of the research card index. Was the purpose which Professor Rostock assigned to this card index realized in any way?
A The research card index was established in the summer of 1944 by Professor Rostock. At this time Professor Rostock wanted to orient himself on the research assignments. It was not possible in any way, on the basis of this file, to increase research. From one's desk, even if one know what research assignments were being carried out at the time, one could no longer see where such research assignments were still being carried out.
As a result of the increasing air raids and the destruction of institutes, the execution of the research work by clinics and institutions, to a large extent, interferred with. University professors repeatedly told us that they could work only under the most primitive conditions and try to carry out at least part of their work--their research. We, ourselves could understand these difficulties caused by the war very well from our own work at the clinic. It would, therefore, have been completely useless to try to interfere with individual research problems at that time. The aim. of establishing the research card index, the aim that Professor Rostock had in mind, was originally only for general information for himself and particularly to give him insight into where basic research was being conducted and where specialized research was being conducted. This basic research, which was especially important to Professor Rostock, was, as I have already said, at a distinct disadvantage as against specialized research. In any case, Professor Rostock did not interfere with any individual research problem.
Q Now, this morning the prosecution submitted a document. This shows that on the 26th of August, 1944, there was a meeting at which a number of agencies were represented. Did you, as Professor Rostock's assistant, participate in this meeting?
A Yes, there was a meeting at Bielitz which I remember. As far as I can remember, there were present from the Reich Research Council, Professor Sauerbruch and Professor Schreiber, and the heads of the Wehrmachtthe chief of the Wehrmacht Medical Service.
Q At this meeting there was discussed what research was important in Germany and vital in these last months of the war. Was this done in the form that the individual institutes, research workers and subjects for research were discussed, or were certain fields of research of an extensive nature designated as important or less important or unimportant?
A No, individual research assignments were not discussed. The heads of the individual research departments or their representatives, An a report of about ten minutes, gave a general survey of the most important groups of research being done by them.
As far as I recall, at the end Professor Rostock summed up and said that a certain number of larger subjects were to be considered especially important.
Q Did Professor Rostock play a decisive role in this meeting, or was it a meeting of equals?
A No, as I said, the head of each individual research department told what points were especially important in his field. Professor Rostock spoke primarily about the work in the civilian sector and told what he considered particularly important. As far as I recall, there was an invitation to the Reich Physicians' Leader who could have represented the civilian sector, but Dr. Conti did not appear.
Q Among the fields for which Professor Rostock spoke and which he considered especially important was there included the field of chemical warfare agents, or did you have the impression that someone else spoke in favor of this field?
A I cannot say that anyone spoke especially about chemical warfare agents, but it is possible that in Professor Rostock's summing up the. question of chemical warfare agents was designated as urgent.
Q But whether he himself had spoken about it before hand primarily what do you think about that?
A I consider that quite unlikely. That was not in Professor Rostock's sphere of work. None of us assistants ever was given anything to work on in this respect by Professor Rostock.
Q It has been said here during the trial that the field of defense against chemical warfare agents was worked on by Professor Brandt. Does that correspond to your impression of the facts?
A Yes, we know that defense against chemical warfare agents was worked on by Professor Brandt.
Q Did reports on chemical warfare sent to Professor Brandt's office did they afterwards come to the attention of Rostock's agency?
A No, no one in our office had anything to do with this field.
Q After this meeting of the 26th of August a list was drawn up, signed by Professor Rostock.
This list was drawn up about three weeks to the report. Now in this list, the fields considered important are listed on the right, and on the left are given the institutes in which work was being done in these fields. Did you prepare this list?
A I cannot remember any such list. I would have to see it.
Q Here we are interested only in determining whether the individual fields were discussed at the meeting itself or whether this list was ***** up afterwards, and the fields designated as important were taken out and the card index entries were used. You yourself cannot remember having prepared the list?
A No, I did not prepare this list.
Q Is it possible that you were absent at that time and that another assistant or a secretary drew up the list?
A That is possible. In any case, I myself did not prepare the list I would be grateful if I might see the original. Perhaps I can tell from some indication who prepared the list.
DR. PRIBILLA: Mr. President, I do not know whether it is important enough or if the Court would like to show the witness the original so that he can examine it.
THE PRESIDENT: If the original is available it may be shown to the witness.
(Witness is shown the original document.)
BY DR. PRIBILLA:
Q Witness, please look at the original and tell us whether you can say for certain who prepared this list.
A No, I cannot see anything new from this. I see only from the subjects which are listed that they came from these groups which were designated as "urgent" or as "essential."
Q An these notes at the bottom of the first page -- do they refer to things in your office, or do you have the impression that they were added later by the Reich Research Council to whom this list was sent?
A They are apparently some notes put on by the office which receives the letter.
Q Do you know Circular No. 5?
A No. We did not issue any circulars on research matters.
Q Thank you. Will you please return the original?
(Document is returned.)
Witness, do you know what position Professor Rostock had in connection with the Reich Research Council?
A No, I do not know that exactly. I heard from Professor Rostock once, in conversation, I believe it was the end of 1944, that he became deputy in the board of directors of the Reich Research Council.
Q Could Professor Rostock, in the Reich Research Council, have any responsible activity in issuing research assignments which the Reich Research Council issued?
A I am not informed in detail about authority within the Reich Research Council. I can only speak of the work under Professor Rostock, I never saw any letter in which he made any decisions for the Reich Research Council. On the other hand, I remember a letter from Professor Rostock to the Reich Research Council in which he made suggestions for working on subjects in the field of tissue cultures, which interested Professor Rostock particularly. If Professor Rostock had himself had the opportunity of issue research assignments for the Reich Research Council, he would have been already to do so directly.
Q Yes, I understand. Witness, I shall show you a chart, which Document 1, Exhibit 1, in the Rostock case. It shows the activity of Professor Rostock. Can you confirm, from your own knowledge, whether that is an approximately correct distribution of his activity?
A This concerns the years 1939 to 1945. I can speak only of the t** when I worked with Professor Rostock, from December 1943 until Professor Rostock moved to Liebenstein, at the end of February or beginning of March 1945. For this time the distribution shown by this chart is correct. During the time when Professor Rostock was at Beelitz a considerable part of his activity was always his work for the clinic and his scientific work. I can testify about this because we assistants were always used by him in his scientific work.
Q Witness, what activity did Professor Rostock always consider him most important--his main activity?
A Professor Rostock was Generalarzt of the reserve but he did any value on being called Generalarzt. In the office, not only the assistant but everyone generally, called him Professor. He always placed the greatest value on his position as a university professor.
Q What was the relationship of Professor Rostock to his associates and his patients?
A The basic characteristic of Professor Rostock is a very extensive general respect for other persons. As assistants of the head of our clinic.
A Stabsarzt and a Genaralarzt, we always were especially gratified he had this respect for our, I might say, civilian personality, and always emphasized it. The notes which he put on the letters did not take the for of orders as "take care of this" but they usually said "please see whether there is a research assignment." And he did not say "tomorrow morning at you will drive with me to Berlin" but he said "Mr. Christensen, would you good enough to go to Berlin with me tomorrow morning?" Those are, perhaps only external matters which hardly deserve to be mentioned, but they do characterize Professor Rostock. He was not merely a military superior -emphasized the human contacts. From the work in the clinic I know the patients' attitude toward Professor Rostock. He was not the superior scientist and big clinic chief who just rushed past the patients, but they themselves emphasized how pleasant it was that he was not only a doctor and a good surgeon but was interested in them as human beings. Especially in the time of frequent air raids on Berlin, we saw Professor Rostock's care for his patients. Night after night he slept at the clinic in order to direct the removal of the patients to the air raid shelters if there was an alarm, and he also took charge when fires broke out in the clinic, as frequently happened.
Q He took charge of putting the fires out, you mean?
A Yes.
Q Did you know Professor Rostock personally through your work, -did you know him very well?
A Yes, of course we had personal contacts with Professor Rostock.
Q Then at the end will you please tell me what your impression of him as a doctor and a human being, whether you consider it possible, in view of your knowledge of his personality, and his work, that he had any connection with criminal experiments on human beings?
A I knew Professor Rostock only as an outstanding scientist and a good doctor. I knew him personally as a decent, clean, character. I can imagine Professor Rostock having any connection with anything of a criminal nature. Whoever knows Professor Rostock personally and knows how humane his feelings were, above all how soft-hearted he is, cannot imagine that he would take any such spiritual burden upon himself.
Q Thank you. I have no further questions.
THE PRESIDENT: Is there any cross-examination of this witness as far as any defense counsel are concerned?
(No response.) There being none the prosecution may examine.
CROSS-EXAMINATION BY MR. HARDY:
Q Witness, you are familiar with the activities of Professor Rostock in his capacity as Chief of the Office of Medical Science and Research under the defendant Brandt; what is the basic purpose of this Office of Medical Science and Research?
AAs I said before one cannot give any clearly defined set of duties. What seemed to me essential when I worked under Professor Rostock was the Medical Advisory physician in various practical questions in medical science and research.
Q Then you are not of the opinion that this office was set up to coordinate scientific research?
AAccording to what professor Rostock told us assistants at the beginning, he wanted to coordinate the various research interests, as I said before. The fact that Professor Rostock began the work so late in effect did not permit this to be done.
Q Well, now, you have stated the purpose of this card index file was to orient Professor Rostock in the various research assignments, such orientation being necessary I presume in order that he could more capably coordinate the various research assignments; is that true?
A Yes, Professor Rostock wanted to get insight into the work going on -
THE PRESIDENT: The transmission system is not working. We will be suspended for a moment until it is in order.
Proceed.
Q Now, my question, witness, was the purpose of this card index file so that Rostock could more capably coordinate these research problems, is that true?
A Yes. This card index was set up in the summer of 1944, because Professor Rostock was confronted with various questions connected with research assignments.
For example, University Professors approached him and asked him for support in maintaining their own research work and on the basis of this card index he was able to see whether he could consider this work especially important, or whether similar work was net being done somewhere else.
Q So then it was his job to avoid duplication of scientific work, wasn't it?
A Yes, I assume that originally avoiding duplication was planned, but on the other hand I know from what Professor Rostock told us that he was completely opposed to interference in the work of a research worker. He told us assistants repeatedly that the supreme principle always had to be that any research work could to carried out freely. I do not believe, therefore, that he had the intention of interferring in anyway in the research work being carried on, but he told us and as we had the impression, he rather had the intention of preserving as much as possible of the research being conducted, especially basic research in the civilian sector, in which he was especially interested, and which he considered especially important as a University Professor.
Q Well, now naturally his task was to avoid duplication of scientific work in the coordination of his medical research problems, then this was within the sphere of the Fuehrer's Decree, which gave Karl Brandt the authority to establish the office of Science and Medical Research, wasn't it?
A Yes. I do not know how the assignment read which was given to Professor Rostock. I can only say what we could know from our practical work as assistants.
Q Well, now, you have stated on direct examination that these index files contained some 650 assignments; if it merely contained the data that would not fully describe how this research work was being carried out, how could. Rostock avoid duplication of scientific work without knowing precisely what the particular scientist was doing?
A That shows that Professor Restock, by no means intended to intervene in such cases of duplication. He merely wanted to get orientation on the research work being conducted to be more or less informed on what was being done by the individual people. The subject given does show whether in the field of war research, for example, 50 or only 5 people are workings
Q Well, would you turn to that document you have in front of you, which is NO 692, which has been offered for identification as Prosecution Exhibit No. 457. The list you have in front of you, Witness, this particular list, the subject: "The list of Medical Institutes working on Problems of Research which were Designated as Urgent by the Discussion on Research on 26 August 1944 in Belitz." The last sentence in parenthesis states, "Summary in connection with the 650 Orders on Research Submitted to Us." Does that convey that the purpose of Dr. Rostock requesting reports on those various assignments was merely for orientation purposes?
A Originally Professor Rostock had the card index set up only for his information. I can remember very well how that happened, a very simple practical incident. Later more and more restrictions were necessary, and in this way there were discussions between the heads of the individual research Departments and Professor Rostock, using the card index which he already had.
Q Now, as I understand it there were 18 fields of research of the utmost importance, that is considered urgent, and Professor Rostock had received 650 orders for research in order to determine their urgency, and of these 650 orders he only selected as urgent those which fell into any one of the particular 18 different fields. This document lists the institutions, the work they are doing and sets up priority ratings; now the Reich Research Council has received this list; what did the recepient do with it, what was the purpose of it -- did they just read it and say "interesting?"
A No, Mr. Prosecutor, I don't think so, but I do not know for what purpose the Reich Research Council received this list. I do not know what connection the Reich Research Council had with the Institutions listed here whether they were directly under its orders or whether it was merely to be informed.
I do not know whether such a list was not sent to each participant in the discussion, including the Reich Research Council.
Q Then the priority rating set up here could not be filed in your opinion, that is Professor Rostock here has selected 45 different assignments out of 650 as urgent to have priority; do you mean to tell me that the list signed by Professor Rostock has no effect whatsoever upon the recipient? He could very well have omitted a very important assignment and the recipient would never have had knowledge of the assignment, hence this very important assignment on behalf of another institute wouldn't receive the priority orders, and therefore wouldn't get the personnel necessary, isn't that possible?
A The original of the subjects stated there is not to be understood to mean that Professor Rostock on the basis of the card index set up the subjects, they are the fields of work which at a joint discussion of the heads of all research organizations were designated as urgent. Professor Rostock did not assign a priority to the individual fields of work. At this discussion the individual heads of the Research Groups designated individual fields as urgent. Then at the end Professor Rostock summed it up and said that the following 18 or 20 points of research are considered especially urgent today. This research had all been going on for sometime, and it was merely to ascertain what was to be continued to be considered essential. I do not know whether on the basis of this list anything was done, any steps were taken. It was fully planned that the institutions listed here were to got special protection and were not to suffer from the intended closing of research institutes which had been planned for the civilian sector.
Q Now, Doctor, did you ever receive reports on special research assignments, that is during the time you were in Rostock's office?
A I mentioned the Reich office for Economic Extension. This office dealt with work in the pharmaceutical field. I know only the part of the work which effected medical matters. It had to be decide from the point of view of production, which drugs and which medical instruments were to be continued to be produced. The Reichs Office then approved Professor Rostock, I was present at the first discussion where the request was personally presented to Professor Rostock and he was asked to comment on it from the medical point of view, since they could do so only from the point of view of production. For this Reichs Office for Economy Extension, which issued the assignments essential to the pharmaceutical industries, we repeatedly received reports on the research already done as to whether there were any immediate results or if no progress had been made in that field for some time. These reports were given so that we could see and advise whether it was important to continue this work. As far as I know there was no doctor in the Reichs Office for Economic Extension. Of the other research assignments, we received notices only occasionally--that is in detail. For example, if Professor Rostock was particularly interested in these things, I remember for example work on the seeing prothesis, current research on penicillin, etc. and in these fields to be informed what had been done in these matters. For example, I would say in the case of seeing prothesis, that we had no idea of what that meant and it was the same with Professor Rostock. He asked the institute in Freiburg on the question which was being worked on and he asked what it meant, then we received information on it.
Q By that you mean Professor Rostock could also have asked the institute at Strassburg under Professor Haagen or Hirt, could he not in his position as chief of the Reich Medical Research Office at the Reichs Chancellery.
A Yes, of course Professor Rostock could have asked the Institute in Strassburg too. I don't believe he did so because it was not in his field and it did not interest him.