Chapter M: HERZOG: Well, I am going to produce this letter. It is the French

document, Number F-822, which I submit to the Tribunal under Exhibit Number RF-1513:

“6 June 1944. Paris.

“Your Excellency and dear Party Comrade Abetz:

“The long-expected invasion has finally begun. Thus ends also
for the Allocation of Labor a period of waiting which up to now
has served as an obvious, sometimes tacit, pretext for saying
that the sending of workers into the Reich was impossible owing
to the political atmosphere in the country.”

I skip a few lines and I quote again.

“Now that the German soldier must once more fight and bleed on
the Channel coast, now that the struggle may extend at any hour
to many other parts of France, any call or any words from Laval
can have no weight whatsoever. The only language which can now
be understood is that of the German soldier. I beg you,
therefore, in these decisive hours to ask Premier Laval at last
to do something which is obviously very difficult for him; that
is to say, that he should at last sign the order for the calling
up of the 1944 class. I do not wish to be kept waiting any
longer. Neither do I wish to leave with an opinion which might
be unjust but which at the same time is forced upon me,
concerning the temporizing tactics of the French Government.

“I beg you, therefore, most urgently, to obtain by 10 o’clock
tomorrow morning the signature of the French Premier to the
decree for the calling up of the 1944 class, or else to inform
me quite clearly if Laval should answer with a categorical ‘no.’
I will not accept any delaying excuses, as all technical
preparations regarding the quotas from the _départements_, as
well as the arrangements for transport, have either been made or
are now about to be made, thanks to the joint discussions which
have been going on.”

Do you not call this a veritable ultimatum?

SAUCKEL: It is only an ultimatum insofar as my departure was in question and nothing else. I could not exert any pressure on Laval or use any threats.

M. HERZOG: What did you mean when you said:

“I beg you, therefore, most urgently to obtain by 10 o’clock
tomorrow morning the signature of the French Premier to the
decree for the calling up of the 1944 class, or else to inform
me quite clearly if Laval should answer with a categorical ‘no.’
I will not accept any delaying excuses...”

Is that not an ultimatum?

SAUCKEL: It is only an ultimatum insofar as I could not wait any longer. I had to leave, because I had orders to leave. I was trying to get a decision, a “yes” or “no,” nothing else.

M. HERZOG: And to demand an answer “yes” or “no”—you do not consider that an ultimatum, Defendant Sauckel?

SAUCKEL: I had to leave, and I wanted a decision as to whether the French Premier would sign it or not.

M. HERZOG: Thank you. The Tribunal will, I am sure, note your answer.

Do you know how many French workers were deported to Germany as the result of your various actions?

SAUCKEL: As far as I can remember—I cannot say exactly offhand—there were 700,000 to 800,000 French workers employed in Germany. However, I cannot tell you exactly without documents.

M. HERZOG: Is it correct that in Belgium and in Northern France the deportation of workers for forced labor was regulated through laws of the army of occupation?

SAUCKEL: I do not know about it being through the laws of the army of occupation but through labor administration.

M. HERZOG: Is it correct that it was the decree of 6 October 1942 which instituted forced labor in Belgium and in Northern France?

SAUCKEL: We called it “compulsory labor service” in German law. That is correct.

M. HERZOG: Is it correct that General Von Falkenhausen, the German Military Commander in Belgium and in Northern France, who signed the order of October 1942, did so under pressure from you?

SAUCKEL: No, he did not sign it under pressure from me, because I talked to him about it and there was not any argument. This was done at the request of the Reich Government and the Führer.