LT. COL. GRIFFITH-JONES: You say he was not a liaison officer between your organization and the Abwehr?
BOHLE: No, he was not an officer at all. He was not a member of the Wehrmacht.
LT. COL. GRIFFITH-JONES: I do not want to quibble with you about his rank. Was he, in effect, whatever he was, acting in a capacity of liaison between you and the Abwehr?
BOHLE: Yes, that is correct.
LT. COL. GItIFFITH-JONES: Very well. Now, in addition to the information that Hess obtained through your system of reporting, that is, the Auslands-Organisation, did he also obtain information from those organizations which were dealing with the Volksdeutsche, that is to say, non-German citizens, racial Germans abroad who were not members of your organization, because you allowed only German citizens to become members of your organization. But others Volksdeutsche, I think you call them-did Hess receive information from other sources about their activities?
BOHLE: I could not say, because I did not discuss it with Hess, and the affairs of the Volksdeutsche were entirely out of my field.
LT.COL. GRIFFITH-JONES: Dr. Karl Haushofer was for some time in 1938 and 1939 president of the VDA, was he not?
BOHLE: I believe so.
LT. COL. GRIFFITH-JONES: Which was an organization dealing with the activities of the Volksdeutsche in foreign countries. Is that correct?
BOHLE: Yes, I believe so. I am not familiar wiih this field.' LT. COL. GRIFFITH-JONES: And, as you know, Hess and Karl Haushofer were great friends, were they not?
BOHm: Yes, that is correct.
LT. COL. GRIFFITH-JONES: Haushofer had been Hess' pupil at Munich University; did you know that?
BOHLE: It was the other way around.
LT.COL. GRIESFITH-JONES: Do you not know that Hess received information from Haushofer as to the activities of these other organizations?
BOHLE: No, I know nothing about it.
LT. COL. GRIFFITH-JONES: Well, now, I do not want to catch you out. Is that your answer? Are you being honest to this Tribunal?
BOHLE: No. I wanted to add that the Deputy of the Führer very painstakingly separated the "Auslandsdeutsche," that is, citizens of the Reich who worked abroad,, and the "Volksdeutsche," and with equal care he made certain that I should have nothing to do with the question of Volksdeutsche. Therefore I knew nothing of these matters.
LT. COL. GRIFFITH-JONES: Hess as Deputy to the Fuhrer was in fact in charge of all matters concerning Germanism abroad; was he not?
BOHLE: Yes, that is so, because he was born abroad. However, to my knowledge, he did not take charge of these matters in his capacity as Deputy to the Fuhrer. I do not believe that there was any connection.
LT. COL. GRIFFITH-JONES: Are you telling the Tribunal that just because he was born in a foreign country he had charge of all matters concerning Germanism abroad?
BOHLE: I believe so, because any other Reichsleiter of the Party might just as well have taken care of these matters. However, assume that Hess took over these functions simply because he was familiar with foreign countries.
LT. COL. GRIFMTH-JONES: I want to be quite clear. Whatever the reason was, he in fact did have charge of them. That is your evidence?
BOHLE: Yes.
LT. COL. GRIFFITH-JONES: Now, I just want to remind you of a passage in your interrogation in this building on the 9th of November. Do you remember that you were interrogated on the 9th...
BOHLE: [Interposing.]:September?
LT. COL. GRIFFITH-JWS: On 9 November last.
BOHLE: November, yes.
LT. COL. GRIFFITH-JONES: You were interrogated by a Lieutenant Martin, the afternoon of that day.
BOHLE: By Lieutenant Martin, yes.
LT. COL. GRIFFITH-JONES: Let me read a short extract from the transcript of that interrogation and ask you whether, in fact, it is correct. You were being asked about the information which came back through the Auslands-Organisation.
"Question: 'He would have to rely on you for his information on matters of that kind?'
"Answer: 'Not entirely; I think Hess had a great many connections in Hamburg through which he obtained information which he did not relay to me.'
"Question: 'What were his connections in Hamburg?'
"Answer: 'The shipping companies.'
"Question: 'Rather like your Landesgruppenleiter instructions in Romania?'
"Answer: 'I think he knew a number of people there. P have always been convinced that he knew them'
"Question: 'Is that Helferich?'
"Answer: 'Helferich was me, but then there were many people from whom he received information. I believe from Professor Haushafer, his old teacher, with whom he was very friendly. But he always made it a point not to inform us of anything that concerned the Volksdeutsche; he said, "It is not your affair at all." ' "
Is that correct?.
BOHLE: That is quite correct, yes.
LT. COL. GRIFFITH-JONES: And as you have said it there, is that a correct description of the position that Hess was in with regard to information from abroad, from agents abroad? Does that correctly state the facts as they were?
BOHLE: So far as I can see, it is probably correct. I myself can judge only to the extent to which the reports concerned the Auslands-Organisation. About the others I can make only a guess; I cannot give definite information, because I was not acquainted ' with them.
LT. COL. GRIFFITH-JONES: I have no further questions. Perhaps I might get the exhibits in order, the ones that I have referred to.
The Yearbook of the Auslands-Organisation from which the stories about Norway and Greece came, becomes Exhibit GB-284.
The two translations that you have are numbered Documents M-153 and M-156, both of which become Exhibit GB-284.
The secret wireless telegram, which was Document Number M-158, becomes Exhibit GB-285; and the letter from Landesgruppenleiter Konradi, which was Document Number 3796-PS, becomes Exhibit GB-286.
BOHLE: May I add something to a point which was brought up by the British cross-examination?
THE PRESIDENT: Yes.
BOHLE: May I begin?
THE PRESIDENT: You may give a short explanation. You are not here to make a speech.
BOHLE: No, I do not want to make a speech. I merely wish to say the following on the question of secret transmitters which was brought up this morning: Although I am not familiar with the technique of these secret transmitters, I assume that a secret transmitter would be of use in a foreign country only if there were a receiving set in Berlin.
I am quite certain that to my knowledge there was never such a receiving set, either in my office in Berlin or in any other office of the Auslands-Organisation, and therefore I may assume that such a receiving set did not exist.
COLONEL JOHN HARLAN AMEN (Associate Trial Counsel for the United States): Do you recall being interrogated on 11 September 1945, by Colonel Brundage?
BOHLE: Yes.
COL. AMEN: I want to read you a few questions and answers from your interrogation and ask you whether you recall being asked those questions and having made those answers:
"Question: 'Now, when you started, your immediate superior was who?'
"Answer: 'Rudolf Hess, until. 1941 when he left for England.'
"Question: 'Who succeeded him?'
"Answer: