Apart from that in the firs two weeks.... nothing about partisan fighting, you knew nothing about the military, you knew nothing about actively conducting a platoon, and you could just as well have remained in Stuttgart, couldn't you, insofar as carrying out the program of the Fuehrer was concerned?
Q Where did you lead them to? to Kalinin at the moment when Foltis left.
Q You led them in an automobile?
Q Well, you were in a motor vehicle, weren't you?
Q You never led them into any action, you didn't lead them into any fight? so we will take you back to the farm, all right, Dr. Mayer. BY DR. MAYER:
Q Didn't you have an SD expert for these jobs that you described After he was transferred to Germany there was no such expert any more in my commando. Soviet State?
A Yes. I found an edition in the German langauge, published in 5 November 1947_A_MSD_24_5_Spears (Lea) Moscow, of Stalin's speeches.
From this I made excerpts and sent them to the Einsatzgruppe.
Q Why didn't, you return to your commando after your furlough had expired? Reich Security Main Office to relieve me. Thereupon a certificate by a dentist was demanded which I submitted.
Q When were you relieved?
Q Where were you then sent?
Q When did you receive your renewed order to report to Russia?
Q How did this new order come about?
PRESIDENT: Now, if it is a lengthy story, I suppose we should hear it tomorrow morning. What did you wish to say, Dr, Gawlik?
DR. GAWLIK: Could I ask that the defendant, Seibert, be excused tomorrow morning in order to prepare the defense?
PRESIDENT: The defendant, Seibert, will be excused from attending court tomorrow morning in order that he may prepare his defense with his counsel. Do you have anything further, Dr. Mayer, to present?
DR. MAYER: No, Your Honor.
PRESIDENT: The Tribunal will be recessed until tomorrow morning at 9:30.
THE MARSHAL: The Honorable, the Judges of Military Tribunal II.
DR. RIEDIGER (for the defendant Haensch): Your Honor, I ask that the defendant Haensch be excused from today's session of Cour and that he be brought to Room 57 for the purpose of preparing his defense.
THE PRESIDENT: The defendant Haensch will he excused from today's session of Court and will be taken to Room 57 in accordance with the request of his counsel.
DR. HOFFMANN (for the defense Nosske): Your Honor, I ask that the defendant Nosske be excused from tomorrow entire session, in order to prepare for his defense.
THE PRESIDENT: The defendant Nosske also will be excused from today' session of Court.
DR. MAYER (For defendant Steimle): Your Honor, I would like to be permitted to continue with my direct examination.
DR. HOFFMANN: I beg your pardon .... my colleague has drawn my attention to the fact that the translation said the Court has excused my defendant for today.I meant for tomorrow.
THE PRESIDENT: The correction will he made in the record. The defendant Nosske will not he excused today, but from tomorrow's session of Court. BY DR. MAYER:
Q. Witness, we come now to your two commands for Russia. The question is, when did you receive your new order to report to Russia?
A. About the middle of August 1942.
Q. How did this order come about?
A. There is a lengthy story connected with this order. Since the beginning of the war I was in contact with Office VI, the Foreign Information Service, and I maintained foreign contacts for this office from my Stuttgart office. Within this activity I had gotten in touch with Schellenberg, the Chief of Office VI. After my first return from Russia, Schellenberg tried to transfer me to his office as a deaprtment chief. This was not successful because Streckenbach objected to it. Who, for reasons unknown to me, refused this request of Schellenberg's. When in August 1942, on my trip to Russia, I reported, to Schellenberg in order to have my renewed order to report to Russia revoked and to seek a support for that, he said that such an effort would probably be in vain. He knew that this order came about in order to prevent me from joining him as a collaborator. Nevertheless, on the occasion of the stay in Berlin Schellenberg continued to make efforts to have this order rescinded, and the then chief of personnel Schulz - tried this too but Streckenbach kept on refusing.
Q. After this refusal of Strechenbach, did you see any other possibility of evading this new order to report in Russia?
A. No. I would have had only the way of an open refusal to obey orders, with its clear and obvious consequences.
Q. What kommando was given to you this time?
A. The Special Kommando 4-a.
Q. During what time did you command this kommando?
A. During the end of August 1942, until the 15th of January 1943.
Q. To what Einsatzgruppe was 4-a subordinate?
A. The Kommando belonged to Einsatzgruppe C, and was subordinate to the commanding officer of this Gruppe, Gruppen Leader Thomas. The latter had his headquarters in Kiev. At the same time he was commander of the security police and SD in the entire Ukraine.
His jurisdictional area, therefore, extended from the Polish border to the Valga River.
Q. From whom did you take o ver command of this Kommando 4-a?
A. My predecessor was Dr. Weinmann, who handed over the command to me.
Q. What was the situation in 4-a when you took over?
A. The main part of the kommando. which was not so strong as the Kommando 7-a, was in the area of the 6th German Army which at that time was advancing toward Stalingrad. Further: a liaison staff was with the Hungarian army. Sub-kommandos were in the sees of the Second German Army.
Q. Where were you, yourself?
A. The situation brought about such a spreading about of the kommando; because of the tremendous distances it was impossible for me to maintain contact with the entire kommando. Those were distances of about 800 kilometers. Therefore, I maintained the regulations set down by my predecessor, namely, that the small subkommandos in the Second German Army area would remain subordinated to the local field commands, and that the kommando would furnish a liaison officer to the Second German Army. The latter also maintained contact with the Hungarian Army.
Q. What was the relationship to the Hungarian Army, and how was it regulated?
A. The small staff there was to guarantee the exchange of information within the entire German liaison staff. It did not have an activity of its own since the area was under the Hungarian sovereignty.
Q. Describe your activity in the area of the Sixth Army.
A. The sequence of my garrisons were: Tschernishewkaya, NishnitsShirskaja and Kallarth on the Don River. The first mentioned place was a small village on the steppes of the Don River. As far as the other two are concerned, they are also small towns.
Q. Why did you pick these places?
A. In order to be near the army staff.
Q. Was any activity carried out in the sense of your orders in this area?
A. No. The territory showed no Jewish inhabitants.... was very sparsely inhabited.... one could drive for hours without finding a single village; as far as I remember, active resistance was only met in one individual case. This was a staff of a partisan movement which was just begining to develop, which was betrayed to us by a deserter. Otherwise, the area gave no cause for partisan marriage. There were hardly any forests. During the advance towards the above mentioned group there was a fight during which the partisans were killed in the course of the fighting.
Q. Didn't they surrender?
A. No, they didn't.
Q. What did the other activity of your kommando consist of during this time?
THE PRESIDENT: Dr. Mayer, the witness stated that rather abstractly. There was a fight. We know partisans were on one side. Who was on the other side? Does he mean that his kommando fought the partisans? That is a little unclear.
WITNESS: I mean to say by this that this partisan unit was fought by my kommando.
THE PRESIDENT: Very well.
BY DR. MAYER:
Q. Witness, I repeat my question. Of what did the other activity of your kommando consist during this time?
A. During the period of September and the beginning of October -the kommando was almost completely idle. The army already fought in the suburbs and the southern parts of Stalingrad, and we awaited the capture of Stalingrad. In view of this I had several conferences with the G-2, the Quartermaster of the Army, and the town commandant who was to command Stalingrad.
Q. What were the contents of these conference?
A. The activity of my kommando after the capture of Stalingrad.
Q. Was your kommando active in the area of Stalingrad?
A. No. This was impossible, considering the combat situation. There were only small parts of the city in the hands of the Army. At the end of September I personally was in this city for only one day. The kommando or parts of the kommando were never there. And no town commandant was installed there either at that time.
Q. When and why was your kommando relieved from the Sixth Army area?
A. After I received an order from Thomas, in the end of September, to take up contact with the Italian army which was being committed in the Don area, so that my competence was distributed to four armies, expressed justified misgivings to this distribution of the kommando in a radio message. I could not even take a semblance of responsibility for the kommando. Gruppenfuehrer Thomas, therefore, visited me. During this visit I suggested to him that he take my kommando out of the Sixth Army area because another kommando, namely, 4-b, was also marching on Stalingrad from the south with a tank unit. Thomas approved this, and he ordered that I join the Second Army. This was the area of Kursk. The liaison staffs to the Hungarian and Italian armies were to be continued to be supplied by me. After this decision I put the kommando under the leadership of my deputy and had it proceed toward Kursk. I personally handed over my headquarters to the Kommando leader of 4-b, and introduced the kommando leader of 4-b to the several army agencies.
After that, I installed the liaison staff with the Italian army, visited the leadership staff with the Hungarian army, and reached Kursk about the end of October 1942.
Q. What activity was your kommando engaged in, in Kursk?
A. I must say here that at this time Kursk had been in German hands for more than a year that a Russian auxilliary police force existed there, and German civilian administration was already active in many, varied fields. During my time cases of attacks against army members, carried out by illegal Communist activities were being dealt with. Furtheremore, I know of cases of Bolshevist agents and a very extensive case of sabotage. In two cases anti-partisan operations were carried out.
Q. In what manner were these cases dealt with?
A. The investigation was carried out partly independently by officers of my kommando, partly in collaboration with the secret field police; very frequently the Russian auxiliary police force was used in preliminary investigations because we had confidence men among them. My deputy, Sturmbannfuehrer Schmidt, made the conclusive investigation and proposed the sentence. If these cases involved Wehrmacht units in the area of the city of Kursk itself, I, or my deputy, submitted the case to the town commandant. In other cases, I confirmed, when I was present, the judgment by reviewing the case myself.
Q. During your activity in Kursk, were executions carried out of Jews, Gypsies and so-called social elements?
A. No; an execution of Jews was neither ordered by me, nor was it carried out by my kommando in Kursk. An order to shoot Gypsies or a social elements was not known to me at any time.
Q. In your affidavit you stated that your commando....
THE PRESIDENT: Pardon me, Dr, Mayer ... I am sorry to interrupt. I dodn't quite understand the answer of the witness to the effect that the killing of Jews, Gypsies and a-socials were not known to him at any time.
Does he mean by that that he was not familiar with the Fuehrer order which specifically ordered the executions of peoples in those categories, or does he mean that he was familiar with the order but that no executions of those peoples occurred, to his knowledge. It is not clear.
WITNESS: My answer is to the effect that I knew the order about the treatment of Jews, but that this was not carried out in the area of Kursk. On the other hand, at no time did I know of any order to shoot Gypsies or a-social elements.
THE PRESIDENT: You did not know that that was included in the purport of the original order?
WITNESS: No, not as far as Gypsies and a-socials were concerned.
THE PRESIDENT: Very well.
Q. Witness, in your affidavit you stated that your kommando IV A had a gas van? What is you comment on this?
A. Among the vehicles there was a so-called gas van. I did not speak of gas chambers during any interrogation, exit is claimed by the Prosecution. I heard of the existence of such a van in Kursk by the officer of the motor pool. He told me on the occasion of a conference that there was a so-called "G*van" among the vehicles which he had used as a transport-vehicle. The car was no longer usable for the original purpose, because it was being used for transportation purposes. I don't know whether this happened, because it had been reconstructed, or whether it was just being used for transportation.
Q. Thus during your activity as kommando leader, you never killed or had any one killed by means of this van?
A. No, I never did so.
Q. Were you never reprimanded by your group chief because of lack of activity?
A. Apart from the fact that my kommando took care of the matters currently, Kursk was so far away from Kiev, and Thomas was so busy with the activity in his wide area, that he did not even bother about my kommando. I merely saw him during a conference about the order for my kommando to leave Stalingrad.
Q. Didn't you ever receive any decisive orders from him?
A. The orders for example to proceed to the area of the Second Army; then once during the period of Kursk I once received the order that I was to furnish a number of officials and drivers to the commanding officer of Charkow, so that the kommando IV-A in Kursk still had five officials, several dirvers and a number of regular policemen.
Q. Were there any other factors which determined your activity in Kursk?
A. In the month of December typhus epidemic broke out in my kommando, just as well as it did in the prison, which stopped for weeks. Then in December in the southern sector of my area the fronts began to waver, i.e. in the Hungarian and Italian sector.
THE PRESIDENT: Dr. Mayer, pardon me, but when I interrupt you please understand it is purely to get information. I don't want in any way to impede you in proceeding with your case. The witness has stated that typhus broke out, and this made work impossible for weeks. Now, just what work were they engaged in at the time?
A. Investigations were currently carried out in those cases of which I spoke. The officials took out the arrestees, and put them into offices, to be interrogated there. Since they were mostly large complex questions, the interrogations lasted for weeks. Thus, if in the prison and in the house typhus broke out, the interrogations were interrupted and discontinued for medical reasons.
THE PRESIDENT: Very well, BY DR. MAYER:
Q. During your stay in Kursk, what were you engaged in?
A. Aside from supervising police activity I made a extensive report on the school question of the Soviet Union. Furthermore, I dealt with captured material, which came from the NKVD in Rostov, which was found by the Kommando IV-A. On the basis of this material I made out a report about the system of work of the NKVD.
Q. At what time and why did you leave your Kommando?
A. On l5th January I started a furlough which had been granted by Thomas. After I arrived in Stuttgart, I informed the chief of Office VI Schellenberg, of my presence in Germany, and I asked him once more to try to have me trasferred into his Office VI. This time I was successful. In the meantime, on 30 January Kaltenbrunner had taken over the Reich Main Security Office. The former chief of personnel, Schulz had become chief of Office I, and thus my transfer to Office VI became retroactive 8 January 1943, and, I, therefore, didn't return to Russia.
Q. Did you mean to say January or February?
A. I mean, 8 February.
DR. MAYER: Your Honor, I now am to speak about the documents, which refer to this witness, and to his activity in Kommando VII-A. in as far as I must make reference to certain places in these documents which are not contained in the extracts submitted by the Prosecution, I shall submit these documents to the Tribunal. BY DR. MAYER:
Q. Witness, please lock at Document Book II-B, prosecution's Exhibit No. 64, Document No. NO-3143, page 42 of the English Text, page 47 of the German Text, it is operational report NO 92 of 23 September 1941. I ask you now, when you took over the Kommando, did y you know how many executions had been carried out by the Special Kommando VII-A, by that time?
A. In this operational report 7077 executions are listed for special Kommando VII-A. This is supposed to have been as of 13 September 1941. I must state in general here---
THE PRESIDENT: We don't find that figure. On what page does it appear?
DR.MEYER: Your Honor, the list is on the last page----
THE PRESIDENT: Yes. Thank you, very much. It is on page 53.
BY DR, MAYER:
Q. Please repeat your answer, witness?
A. This report lists 1011 executions for Special Kommando VII-A.This was supposed to be as of 13 September 1941. I must state in general here that during my command of Special Kommando VII-A, no numerical compilations were ever made which referred to executions. I saw such compilations when I took over the Kommando. During my time various individual figures were reported, which were evidently then compiled by a different agency. About the circumstance that the figure 1011 is supposed to represent the figure as of 13 September 1941, I would like to point out that on 7 September I took over the Kommando, and, accordingly I was then one week with the Kommando when this figure was al report No. 108, dated 9 October 1941, on page 17 of the English text.
The excerpt about the Special Kommando VII-A might be understood thus as if your Special Kommando had delivered to prison every male person between the ages of 15 and 55, Can you comment on this?
A. I can remember a large action against partisans at that time, which took place in this area of Demidow by the Army. One part of Special Kommando VII-A participated in this action. The excerpt here gives t the situation in an er roneous fashion.
I, therefore, ask for permission to be able to read the complete text, relative to the matter as it is stated in the photostat.
THE PRESIDENT: Dr. Mayer; did I understand you to say that this report indicated that the witness' Kommando had executed all those between the ages of 15 and 55? The report does not say that, It merely says that they were arrested.
DR. MAYER: Yes, Your Honor, it looks as if the Kommando had arrested all persons between the ages of 15 and 55, and put them into prison in the Camp Demidow. The witness would like to explain what was the situation?
THE PRESIDENT: Very well. I understood you to ask him to explain why the report had said that all of those males between these ages had been executed. The report says they were arrested, not executed.
DR. MAYER: That is right.
DR. FERENCZ: May it please the Tribunal. The prosecution has not charged the witness with this particular crime, and if I may bear out some time to point to the fact that we made no mention to it in our case in chief, and have no intention of discussing this problem at all in the case against him.
THE PRESIDENT: Please make very specific then, Mr. Ferencz, your admission that the Prosecution does not charge him with any crime as could be possibly drawn from any certain document.
MR. FERENCZ: Yes, Your Honor, we do not charge him with crime for any of the event described in NO-3156, Section II.
THE PRESIDENT: You have heard that very specific reference, Dr, Mayer, that the present witness, or defendant Steimle is not charged with any crime arising out of Section II of Document NO-3156,
DR. MAYER: Your Honor, May I point out that subsequent to this Section II, there are dots, which means that there is a place where words have been omitted, which are to be found in the original document. The next sentence then reads: "The SK-VII-A was able to find 18? partisans and communists." Then from the same page more dots. Then there is another paragraph which ends by saying: "The remainder of the partisans were shot." This whole operation is, of course, described fully and is also described in the context in the original. It would now depend on whether the Prosecutor explains that, he does not charge the defendant with the entire report. Otherwise, for the sake of understanding the context of the entire report would have to be discussed.
MR. FERENCZ: No, Your Honor, we do not withdraw or fail to charge him with other crimes committed as shown in otherparts of this document, We have not made any mention of the arrest of males in the prison Camp Demidow, but I understood that the defendant was going to make a long explanation of it, so I wasjust trying to save some time.
THE PRESIDENT: I think Mr. Ferencz and Dr. Mayer, that in a situation of this kind, where a report weaves in and out of alleged criminality and not an alleged criminality, that it may be simpler to have the witness explain the entire situation, because other wise you may get into difficulty in trying to determine just what the witness did explain away and what he did not.
MR. FERENCZ: Yes.
THE PRESIDENT: So I think Dr. Mayer, it will be entirely in order for you to proceed asyou had originally intended, and let the witness explain in any way he sees fit this particular report.
DR. MAYER: Yes, Your Honor.
Coutr 2, Case 9 BY DR. MAYER:
Q. Witness, please continue?
A. This report is included in the number of executions of Special Kommando VII-A, and the report was based on the following; The Army made up a report from the numbers given it by the kommando, and I ask for permission to cite briefly the original text of the operational report." Special Kommando VII-A had repeatedly determined that in the dense forest southeast of Demidow, a great number of plunderings and attacks on the part of partisans had been carried out This caused great restlessness in that area, and endangered the through fares. There were reports according to which one could court she strength of the partisans from 800 to 2000 men. The Army High Command furnished two divisions to clean up this area. Every male person between fifteen and fifty-five years of age was put into the prison Camp Demidow for screening. The various mopping up operations resulted in the arrest of 693 persons, 438 persons, mostly collective farmers, could be rebased asnon-suspects. 72 former Rod Army men who lived in this operation area were brought into the prison of war camp. 183 partisans and Communist were determined by Special Kommando VII-A. Five partisans admitted to have killed fourteen German soldiers. One German soldier was asphyxiated when he tried to get some eggs, and the others were shot. Hand granades were thrown into passenger cars and in trucks." End of quotation. The compilation of this report shows fights with partisans, and of the taking of prisoners of 693 persons. It shows that extensive interrogations were carried out. On the basis of the document as far as I remember I can say that in the course of the use of Special Kommando VII-A.in this document, it was based on orders of the Army. Any action against these partisans took place under the leadership of the Army. The action lasted from ten or twelve days, if I remember correctly, including the interrogations carried out. The interrogations were not carried out only by Special Kommando VII-A but jointly with members of the Secret Field Police.
The sentences were not imposed by Foltis alone, the leader of the Sonderkommando, but after the review and investigation, the sentences were imposed after a deliberation by Foltis and army officers.
I do not know myself who carried out the execution. The document does not say anything about that either. I assume that members of my kommando, as well as parts of the Army, participated in this. This same report of the 9th of October also shows that the number of executions of the kommando increased to 1252. That is from the 13th of September an increase of 241 executions are shown. It seems necessary for me to cite two statements which are also contained in the original document. On page 7 of the original the document says - this report is not in the document book - that Special Kommando 7a, in connection with the arrest group of the Army Command, did, on several days and in several localities, carry out several actions against partisan groups in that area. Furthermore, some more localities were cleaned out. During these actions all in all, 7 partisans were arrested and liquidated." End of quotation. At another place the report contains another reference according to which eight persons were arrested and executed at another locality. I cite these events to show why this number of executions increased from beginning of September to the end of September and to explain this increase. of the German, page 14 of the original, the fact which is emphasized by the prosecution is mentioned here, according to which Special Kommando 7a executed juvenile communists because of their intention to destroy a railroad bridge. The document here lists a repetition of one event in two versions, one after the other. One time it is reported, and I quote: "Special Kommando 7a reports of juvenile communists who were liquidated because they intended to destroy a railroad bridge which had been almost finished. Explosives had already been acquired and had been made available." Then the text continues: "In Wilikie Luki too, there were a group of youthful persons who were rendered harmless who intended to blow up a railroad bridge. The leader of the group had persuaded its members to participate in this."
THE PRESIDENT: Dr. Mayer, now this does appear in the document book which is before us. What is accomplished by his reading it verbatim to us, what is the purpose of that?
DR. MAYER: The witness will explain this right now.
THE PRESIDENT: When he has an explanation of an item which appears in the document book it is enough if he calls our attention to the particular item and then makes the explanation. It is unnecessary to read literally every word of an item which is on the bench here before us.
DR. MAYER: Yes, Your Honor. Witness, please remember this.
(Continuing) As far as I remember, this is the same incident which actually happened in Welikie Luke where there was a subkommando of mine. There was evidence, that investigation showed, that juvenile communists had gathered together and had worked out a plan to blow up a bridge. The explosives had been acquired and they were right before accomplishing this deed. The incident was considered an offense against the existing directions. As far as the expression "youthful Communists" or "juveniles" is concerned may not Le clear. May I point out that in the same document in the original text, on the original page 9 which is not in this book, it is reported of juveniles, and it is added there, "on the ages of 16 to 22 years of age." The expression "juveniles" never refers to childred but to persons who are at least fifteen years of age or older, and in view of the use of such juvenile people, as it was conscientiously directed by the Bolshevist side, in this way such sentences must be understood, since those juveniles had to be considered and treated as fully responsible people. I personally do not know whether in this case these are eighteen years old or sixteen years old, but certainly these were not children. I still remember this event and it happened during my period of command.
DR. MAYER: Your Honor, after having discussed this report No. 108 of the 9th of October 1941, the following reports, numbered after 109 up to 122, bring no more reports about the activity of Special Kommando 7a. I shall prove this fact in my document book by showing these various excerpts.
Q. (By Dr. Mayer) Witness, in Document Book II-B look at operational Report No. 124 of the 25th of October 1941, Exhibit No. 65, Document NO-3160, on page 54 of the English text and page 48 of the German book. Please comment on the executions of 63 Communists, NKHD-functionaries, and agitators listed here.
A. Without being able to say anything above the number from memory, that is to say whether the number is correct or too low or too high, I refer to my statements which I have already made about the treatment of Communist functionaries and other Communist resistance forces. As far as I remember, it is certain that as far as these executions which are listed here are concerned it is not a one-time collective action but a compilation which extended over a longer period of time of those cases in which persons were found who *---*tive Communists or agents of the Bolshevist Party actively led *---*partisan warfare. I do not exclude that one or the other was *---*ted for arson or some individual action and was executed; but *---*ally these are partisans whose membership and function in the *---*st Party had been determined.
THE PRESIDENT: Witness, for clarification, you say that basically these were partisans whose membership in the Communist Party had been determined. In order to execute a partisan, did you first establish that he was a member of the Communist Party?
THE WITNESS: No, the partisan activity was determined, and as I have already said, already existing lists gave information about the activity of the persons or his functions which he held in the Communist Party and which was now determined when the individual concerned was arrested as a partisan.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, if the person arrested was proved to be a partisan that in itself was enough for his execution, was it not?
THE WITNESS: Yes, that was sufficient to execute him.
THE PRESIDENT: And, then when you say his membership in the Communist Party had been determined, that merely means in addition to partisan activities he was also a member of the Communist Party?
THE WITNESS: Yes, that is purely an additional determination.
PRESIDENT: All right.
Q. (By Dr. Mayor) Witness, in the same document further down it lists the execution of 272 Jews and Jewesses in a place called Sadrudubs who were supposed to have been taken into a village of Belowschtschina which had been set up as a ghetto. Can you remember this?
A. No, I never received such a message, neither in written form nor orally.
Q. When did you hear these town names, Belowschtschina and Sadrudubs, for the first time?
A. When here during my interrogation in Nurnberg in June of this year. The text just cited by you was read by me. That is when I heard them for the first time.
Q. What can you comment on this report?
A. The report at hand does not say that the Special Kommando 7a carried out such an operation. Special Kommando 7a is mentioned in the text two paragraphs before in connection with the execution of 63 Communists. Thus it does not say expressly here that this operation, Sadrudubs, was carried out by Special Kommando 7a. It seems to be, to me, only a conclusion, if one assumes that from the sequence of the reports, this execution also refers to Special Kommando 7a, but, as I have already said, outside of that the names of these villages are completely strange to me.