1947-03-27, #2: Doctors' Trial (late morning)

THE MARSHAL: Persons in the courtroom will please find their seats. The Tribunal is again in session.

THE PRESIDENT: The Tribunal understands that the German document book will not be ready until noon. It will be prepared at that hour, however.

DR. FLEMMING: Mr. President, shall I submit the affidavit which I previously announced now?

THE PRESIDENT: It appears to the Tribunal that the copies of letters referred to as attached to the affidavit are referred to in the affidavit itself.

DR. FLEMMING: Yes.

THE PRESIDENT: The Tribunal is disposed to overrule the objection and admit the exhibit as offered.

DR. FLEMMING: In that case I offer Document Mrugowsky 62 as Exhibit Mrugowsky 18. It can be found on Page 64 of the Document Book Mrugowsky 6. I shall omit the opening paragraph. The affidavit refers to the conference in the Reich Ministry of the Interior on the 29th of December 1941.

On the 29th of December 1941 at a conference in the Reich Ministry for the Interior in Berlin, Professor Gildemeister communicated that a program of experiments for the testing of the lice vaccine according to Weigel and of the vaccine of the Robert Koch Institute had been fixed between the Robert Koch Institute and the Hygiene Institute of the Waffen SS. When the representatives of the Behring Works hoard this, they requested that the typhus vaccine of the Behring Works should also be included in this program of experiments. The program of experiments itself was not discussed, which, by the way in my opinion was completely superfluous because I took it as a matter of course that the comparative test of the vaccines would be conducted in the usual manner on persons in typhus areas who were threatened by typhus.

Professor Gildemeister replied that we should approach Dr. Mrugowsky personally about this request. According to a very brief memorandum of Ministerialrat Bieber dated 4 January 1942, on the mentioned conference of 29 December 1941, it was to have been my task to contact Dr. Mrugowsky personally.

This personal discussion with Dr. Mrugowsky never took place quite apart from the fact that Bieber's memorandum of 4 January 1942 couldn't have reached me before 6 January 1942 at the earliest, that is, at the time when Bieber's instruction had been rendered invalid by events. On 2 January 1942 a certain Dr. Doetzer from the Hygiene Institute of the Waffen SS Berlin telephoned Marburg and ordered concentrated typhus vaccine for 600 persons. This vaccine was to be sent to Dr. Waegener of the East Ministry. At the same time concentrated vaccine for thirty persons was ordered to be sent to the Hygiene Institute of the Waffen SS in Berlin for the purpose of conducting comparative tests with the Gildemeister vaccine. Therefore, I no longer had reason to contact Dr. Mrugowsky personally with regard to the typhus vaccines. My own memorandum on the conference of 29 December 1941 proves, moreover, that Dr. Mrugowsky was not due to return from Kiev until 6 January 1942.

During the following years of the war I visited Dr. Mrugowsky two or three times. The subject of these visits was merely the deferment of our Dr. Richard Maas, who was the head of the Typhus Institute in Lvov or else the postponement of the two Waffen SS training courses which Dr. Haas had to attend.

In the former part of the affidavit Dr. Demnitz states that he later spoke to Mrugowsky regarding one of his officials being considered indispensable, and, he, furthermore, states that he visited Mrugowsky in order to speak to him regarding vaccine of the Behring Works, and at that time human experiments were not discussed at all. At the bottom of page 65 he said that the invoices were attached with reference to the typhus vaccine. Then follows the usual certification. On page 67 there is a document which belongs to the document I just read, and it is the letter of the Behring Works addressed to the Hygiene Institute, which is concerned with the telephone conversation, and also the order of typhus vaccine for six hundred persons. At the same time there is a question there as to where this vaccine is to be sent for 30 persons. On page 68 there can be found a letter by the Hygiene Institute where it is asking that this vaccine for this 30 persons to be sent to Berlin to the Hygiene Institute of the Waffen-SS. Pages 69 and 70 are the delivery notes regarding the type of typhus vaccine of the Behring Works. Now I offer document as Mrugowsky 63 — one moment.

MR. HARDY: May I see the original of that, sir?

DR. FLEMMING: Document 64 is an affidavit made by —

THE PRESIDENT: You refer first to document 63 and now you are referrin to 64. You refer in the first instance to document 63, and now you are referring to 64.

DR. FLEMMING: I was talking about document 64, I am sorry, Your Honor Document 64 is to be found on page 102, document book No. 1. This is a file located by a certain Mr. Zahn. It becomes Mrugowsky's No. 19. It is found also that deals with conference that took place at the Reich Ministry of Interior. The quoted note reads on page 102, and I quote:

Subject: The combat of typhus.

The session is presided by Ministerialrat Dr. Bieber, who is in charge of the department concerned with the fight against epidemics. Besides the undersigned and Dr. Demnitz/Marburg and Neumann/Leverkusen, the following gentlemen took part in the meeting: Oberstabsarzt Dr. Scholz, as delegate of the Inspector Generalstabsarzt, Dr. Handloser —

MR. HARDY: Your Honor, in this regard, inasmuch as the Tribunal has admitted the other two documents submitted, and this likewise is submitted with a copy made and certified to by the Burgermeister, now do I understand it to be the ruling of the Tribunal, whenever a German document is offered here, when the original or photostat copy thereof can not be obtain that a typewritten copy certified to by the Burgermeister will be admissible in evidence?

THE PRESIDENT: In the affidavit referred to and the letter referred to, the letter mentioned you refer to in the affidavit of Dr. Demnitz is in this document? Where is the original of this document, counsel?

DR. FLEMMING: The Prosecution had it.

MR. HARDY: Do I understand that counsel for the defendant says that the original of this document is in the possession of the Prosecution?

DR. FLEMMING: No.

THE PRESIDENT: Where is the original of this document, counsel?

DR. FLEMMING: The original of that document is to be found with the files of the Firma Behring at Marburg, and the Burgermeister of Marburg certified to the authenticity of the copy.

MR. HARDY: I may add, Your Honor —

THE PRESIDENT: When was this document book submitted to the Prosecution? Will you answer, Mr. Attorney.

MR. HARDY: The document book itself, Your Honor, the English, you mean?

THE PRESIDENT: Yes.

MR. HARDY: I believe we received it yesterday morning prior to Dr. Bing commencing his dissent. The English translation of the document before the court at this time bears date of 29 November 1941, and so it in Dr. Flemming's bore the same date, although I did not carefully scrutinize the quoted original exhibit which shows that it is the 29 November, and it is an apparent discrepancy inasmuch as the meeting took place on 29th December. Be that as it may, Your Honor, the Prosecution requests a ruling as to whether or not the document by submitting a copy therefor, that a typewritten copy will stand as an original to be introduced here into evidence in lieu of the original or photostatic copy thereof, if it is certified to by the Burgermeister.

THE PRESIDENT: The court itself is going to understand how counsel for the defense can still procure the originals, or photostatic copies. If the Prosecution is in doubt as to the correctness of any certified copy, it would be very simple matter to investigate that from that angle to find out if the matter is incorrect, or not. The Tribunal will be disposed to at least at this time to admit this document subject to a subsequent investigation by the Prosecution, if the Prosecution desires to make any examination as to the correctness of the document.

MR. HARDY: Then, Your Honor, am I to understand that documents in this form are to be admissible in the future. These are several, others in this Document Book, and I do not want to take the time of the Tribunal to objecting to them.

THE PRESIDENT: Each document offered under these circumstances constitute a separate case, and counsel, if he can show any different circumstance from those appearing in this document has a perfect right to object to the introduction of any such document. It might well be determined that if the appear questionable, that this rule might be applied.

MR. HARDY: Of course, before making your ruling, Your Honor, I want to call your attention to the fact that whenever the Prosecution introduce an exhibit, which purports to be a captured German document, that we have a rather elaborate system by Coogan affidavits and Neibergall affidavits to substantiate and to authenticate it and one need not to authenticate this document by the certification of the Burgermeister.

THE PRESIDENT: Exactly, but the Prosecution has ample means at its disposal to follow that procedure, while it is easy to see that the defense counsel has not any such means or opportunity.

DR. FLEMMING: I shall sec to it immediately that a photostat of that document be obtained, and I shall submit it subsequently. I shall see to it immediately that a photostat of this document is obtained, and I shall submit it in the future.

THE PRESIDENT: We understand, counsel.

DR. FLEMMING: In this case I shall offer the document Mrugowsky No. 64 as Mrugowsky's Exhibit No. 19. The first part of that document does not deal with the case that we deal with, but I should like to read from page 104 of the document, I should like to read the last paragraph, the last paragraph starting:

On request of Ministerialrat Dr. Lieber, it is also stipulated, that in a large-scale experiment — agreed upon by the Robert Koch Institute, and the Hygienist of the SS, Dr. Mrugowsky both Weigl's Vaccine, and the vaccine of the Behring Works shall be included.

In this way it will probably be possible to compare the protective value of the different vaccines in a few months. All persons present are, however, even now aware of the fact, even if the vaccines produced of incubated chicken eggs would he somewhat less effective than the Weigl's vaccines, i.e., for instance, if the Weigl vaccine would offer a 10-80% protection, and the vaccines of the Behring works only approximately 60%, the egg vaccines still could be used in practice since they allowed at least to expect a mild course of the disease.

BY DR. FLEMMING:

Q: Witness, the prosecution will now assert that the large scale experiments arranged on 29 December 1941 were the first typhus experiments in Buchenwald. What can you say about that?

A: From this file notation of Director Zahn of the Behring Works it becomes evidence that a large scale experiment had been arranged. Ding, for the purpose of his first series of experiments, which started with four vaccines, provided 31 to 35 persons including 10 control persons. Dealing with biology we also reckoned with the threat of accidents and therefore it is a rule that sufficiently large numbers of experiments, animals or human beings, be used in order to exclude the possibility of an accident. Furthermore, there is a rule that in case figures below the hundred, no certain results can be expected; therefore, one automatically arrives at so-called large scale experiments with a high figure of persons.

It appears evident from the file notation that I was thinking of an experiment involving six hundred persons, that is, six hundred persons only treated with that vaccine. Ding only used a third of the minimum figure, namely, 31 to 35 persons and it is clear the the great possibility of accident then in the case of a large number of persons and if one minimizes that figure of 35 persons, the threat of accident would become so noticeable that a practical result would no longer be possible. When conducting such experiments on human beings, generally then the purpose can certainly not be served with a small number of persons involved. In the case of 35 or 31 persons we were certainly not concerned with a large scale experiment.

In addition, it further seems evident in this file notation that in case of this large scale experiment with 600 persons it was plain to me that from the Behring Works vaccine one could only expect delivery as from the 6th of January 1941. It can further be seen from Dr. Demnitz's remarks that I was only expected back from the Ukraine on the 6th of January and considering the long distance it is highly improbable that on the 29th of December, which was one week before, I was still in Berlin. It is very unlikely that I had left sometime earlier; therefore, I obviously was not in Berlin on the 29th of December and therefore could not participate in that meeting.

Ding started his first series of experiments on 6 January. That means that his order, the order for that experiment, had to come earlier that than for he yet had to obtain the vaccines. Dr. Bieber, who was in charge of that conference on the 29th of December, was a direct subordinate of Conti and it becomes clearly evident from the file notation of Dr. Zahn that these conferences were called by order of Conti.

It is therefore possible that in this way the problem was brought to Ding's attention and I would even go further, that it is not only probably, it is certain and I shall be in a position to submit the document which originates from that time and clearly proves that the large scale experiment, which was arranged by the Robert Koch Institute with me, had nothing at all to do with what Dr. Ding wanted. It was intended to use these vaccines on German civilians who were active in the typhus area of the east. That can be seen from Demnitz's assurances. I had access to this circle of persons since they were actually vaccinated on my order, that is, before they went to the occupied eastern territory. Then Dr. Wegner was the head of the health department of the eastern ministry, who carried out the vaccination of the people who were committed in that territory.

Q: In addition to the vaccine intended for 600 persons, that is, the large scale experiments, Dr. Demnitz mentioned a vaccine intended for 30 persons. Was that not for the purpose of experiments at Buchenwald?

A: That is not possible. Ding did not use 30 persons, but 35 or 34. That is to say that the amount of vaccines intended for 30 would not suffice for 35. Moreover, it can be seen from Document No. 62, which was just submitted, that these 30 vaccines could only be delivered or could be expected to be delivered on the 15th of January. They were to be sent to Berlin and not to Buchenwald. If they had been sent away from Marburg on the 15th and if they had to go to Berlin and from there to Buchenwald, they could at the earliest have arrived in Berlin on the 20th of January. Ding, on the other hand, had started to use his vaccines already on the 6th of January. The entry in the diary shows clearly that the vaccinations were started at the period of the 6th of January and continued up to the 1st of February 1942. That does not correspond with the delivery of these thirty portions of vaccine.

Q: And what did you suppose these vaccines were used for?

A: When persons were entrusted with the care of typhus patients, one naturally tried to protect them by vaccination. Now, if these artificially infected people, who have no lice, are not infectious, one must still reckon that their blood contains viruses and therefore could transfer this disease. Since for reasons of treatment injections have to be made through the veins in order to make certain discoveries, the executing persons, the medical personnel, are naturally subject to danger and are therefore being vaccinated. Therefore, it can quite easily be assumed that this vaccine was ordered by Ding for that purpose and was used accordingly.

Q: The defendant just mentioned a document which I now want to submit. This is Document Mrugowsky No. 10 and can be found on page 86 of the document book. I ask you to accept it as Exhibit Mrugowsky No. 20.

I shall submit a photostat of the original to date with the other documents of the Behring Works, and shall submit it in the near future. This is a letter sent by the Reichsarzt SS and police, Chief Hygienist, the defendant Mrugowsky sent to the Behring Works, Marburg/Lahn and also to the Reich Health Leader, Dr. Conti, and all the other persons that can be on the address.

I seems, Mr. President, that I have the original available here, shall then be able to submit it. This letter is a report about the first series of experiments in Buchenwald, which begins:

The tests of 4 typhus vaccines made by us an human subjects at the instigation of the Reich Healthy Leader Dr. Conti had the fallowing results.

Then the vaccines are being discussed. The result of the experiments is being discussed, and on page 89 it says:

Immunization against typhus can thus doubtless be obtained by means of a vaccine, produced according to the chicken egg process, which, in its immunization effect, is equal to the vaccine after WEIGL. The effectiveness of protection depends on the method used in producing the vaccine.

/s/ Dr. Mrugowsky

I shall at a later date come back to that document.

MR. HARDY: May it please, Your Honor, may I inquire as to the whereabouts of the original of this document?

MR. PRESIDENT: Will counsel for defendant answer the prosecution's question?

DR. FLEMMING: Where is the original? Here.

MR. HARDY: No objection to that your Honor.

Q: You were just saying that Dr. Ding still had to test the vaccine of the Behring Works as to its effectiveness; do you believe that in spite of that he already used it for protective vaccinations?

A: He had no choice but to do that. I can well remember the vaccine situation as it prevailed at that time. The vaccine for the Waffen SS was drawn from the central medical depot of the Waffen SS in Berlin. Very small amounts of the vaccine of the Army were at our disposal, but we were always concerned with very small portions that could be issued, and it was difficult to vaccinate even a circle of ten persons.

I am therefore convinced that Weigl vaccine was at that time not at our disposal, and as a result of the animal experiments certain effectiveness of that vaccine could be assumed. already. For that reason it was not only used by Ding, but by innumerable other persons. However, it was no weapon with which one could exactly comb epidemics because its value was not fully recognized. This fact shows once more how very urgent the problem of vaccine was in Germany at that time.

Q: You were just speaking about animal experiments; were animal experiments conducted with the chicken-egg vaccines of the Behring Works?

A: The Behring works belonged to the most well known laboratories in the world in this field. The preparations of that firm are World renowned, and are absolutely reliable. One can therefore assume of those preparations of the Behring Works that before distributing any preparations they were examined very closely. I also know that a number of physicians, bacteriologists, and virus research workers, a large group of laboratory assistant were employed at the Institute for that purpose. In the case of other large firms matters are very similar.

DR. FLEMMING: Before we continue to deal with typhus questions I should like to discuss the question of the probative value of the so-called Ding Diary, because this Diary was submitted by the prosecution as one of the main pieces of evidence against you.

Mr. President, the Ding Diary is Prosecution Exhibit No.287, Document NO-265. It can be found in Document Book No. 12. It is the eighth document to be found in Document Book No. 12, looking at the index.

Q: You have already found out that the conference, of the 29th of December 1941 mentioned in Ding's Diary, did not take place. The correctness of your assertion is confirmed by the file notice submitted by the Prosecution of Ministerialrat Bieber and the affidavits of Dr. Domnitz and Zahn. Is there anything you have to say about the entry of December 29, 1941; you have the Diary before you?

A: Yes. In this entry a number of entries are to be found which are very conclusive.

It says there at first:

President professor Gildemeister of the Robert Koch Institute, Reich Institute to combat contagious diseases.

On the 29th December, 1941 this Institute was not a Reich Institute. It only became a Reich Institution early April of the next year. Up to that time only a Prussian Institution had existed. Gildemeister at that time was not president, but merely vice-president. In addition I myself, am being mentioned as a Standartenfuehrer, whereas I only became a Standartenfuehrer a half year later, and that occurred on the 21st of June 1942.

DR. FLEMMING: Mr. President, in that connection I am submitting Document Mrugowsky No. 7, which can be found on page 63 of the Document Book, at I offer it as Exhibit Mrugowsky Exhibit No. 21. This is a certification of the Robert Koch Institute regarding the fight against contagions diseases, and bears the date of January 29, 1947. It reads:

After appropriate consultations at the Reich ministry of the Interior in September 1941, it has been decided to make the former 'Prussian Institute for Infectious Diseases Robert Koch' to an institute of the Reich. The official transfer took place on 1 April 1942. The institute was named: 'Robert-Koch Institute, Reich Officer for the Fight against Contagious Diseases.

Then we have the certification by the President of the Robert Koch Institute. This shows that the Robert Koch Institute only became a Reich Institute on the 1st of April 1942, and only then received the name which Ding already mentioned on the 29th December 1941 in his Diary.

Q: Now, would you please turn to the entry of the 9th January 1943.

A: 9th of January 1943.

Q: It is me sixth page of the document in the German document book.

A: On that day there is an entry which states that the typhus experimental station in the concentration camp of Buchenwald is going to be renamed "Department for Typhus and Virus Research." Would you please read that entry

A: The entry reads:

By order of the Surgeon General of the Waffen SS Gruppenfuehrer and Major General of the Waffen SS, Genzken the hitherto existing spotted fever research station at the concentration camp Buchenwald becomes the Department for spotted fever and virus research". The head, of the department will be SS Strurmbannfuehrer Dr. Ding.

During his absence, the station medical officer of the Waffen SS, Weimar, SSHauptsturmfuehrer Hoven will supervise the production of vaccines. The child of the economic and administrative main office, SS-Obergruppenfuehrer and General of the Waffen SS Pohl, orders the extension of a block of stone buildings.

SS Sturmbannfuehrer Dr. Ding is appointed at the same time as Chief department head for special missions in AMT XVI (Hygiene), of the Division (Amtsgruppe) D (Medical Affairs of the Waffen SS) of the SS Main headquarters.

Q: Would you please define your position to that document.

A: The former experimental station for typhus was now to have received the name "Department for Typhus and Virus Research". That was written on the 9th of January, 1943. The same title, however, is already used as the title of the entire diary on the first page of that diary.

There it says:

From 1941 to 1943. Diary for the Department of Typhus and Virus Research of the Hygiene Institute of the Waffen-SS.

Then follows the first entry of December, 1941, and I think it is quite out of the question that Dr. Ding on that day could already prophecy what would come about more than a year later; and as far as position, in this entry of the 9th of January, 1943, Dr. Genzken is mentioned as Gruppenfuehrer and Lieutenant-General of the Waffen-SS. However, he only was promoted to that rank on the 30th of January. This entry, therefore, cannot have been made on the 9th of January, 1943, and must originate from a later date.

Q: Ding calls himself in the last paragraph of that entry the Chief Departmental Head for Special Missions in Department 16. Were there any such "Chief Departmental Heads" in Department 16?

A: Department 16 was subordinated to me, and I, naturally, know very much about its organization. There was never any departmental head (Hauptabteilungs-Leiter) in that. There certainly was not a departmental head for special missions. This does not mean a thing to me. The sane statement is confirmed in the document book of Mr. Genzken.

DR. FLEMMING: The Tribunal will remember that when submitting the so-called "Ding Diary", I maintained that we are not concerned with a diary of the Block 46 in Buchenwald, but we are concerned with a forgery. In the meantime I submitted this so-called diary to two writing experts of the police Office in Nurnberg. They gave me their expert opinion which I wanted to submit to the Tribunal as Mrugowsky Document No. 8. It can to found on page 76 of the document book, and I offer it as Mrugowsky Exhibit no. 22, page 76. The expert opinion reads — the usual introduction, and then the third paragraph reads:

On 5 February 1947 the undersigned were shown in the palace of Justice, Nurnberg, Document No. 275, Exhibit No. 287, which are the notes of a certain Dr. Ding.

It was to be established whether these notes cover a long period of time and if the type script was made with one or several typewriters.

In the course of a through examination the following was established:

1. That the paper of 27 leaves of Dr. Ding's notes correspond in color, smoothness, thickness and transparency. It can be assumed with certainty that the same sort of paper was used for all leaves of the notes.

2. The typed script of all notes was made by one machine. Besides the similarity of the size and shape of the types which show repeatedly on each page of the notes.

   The following types are discussed here:

   "The letter "f" has an oblateness in the head bend; the horizontal stroke on top is missing in the letter "k". The same is the case with the letter "h". The right upper part of the horizontal final stroke is missing in the letter "w". The upper horizontal stroke of the letter "m" is slightly damaged.

   These are individual damaged shapes, and owing to their constant appearance throughout the whole report it can safely be assumed that one and the same machine used for that copy.

   'The machine could not hove been fitted with an SS-type because such a type was never used in the document.

   The abbreviation signs in question was, to the contrary, made by the mark of "SS"."

   The Tribunal will probably know the very characteristic SS-type which is not curved but has corners.

3. Page 1 has a very fine script while the script on pages 2 and 12 shows a saturated dark coloring. We must come to the conclusion that page 1 was written with a different and older ribbon than pages 2 and 12. With regard to pages 2 and 12 it can be established that both in the reproduction of the color as well as in the degree of soiling, the typewriter types correspond. Page 13 again shows a somewhat finer script which almost corresponds to the color of page 1. Contrary to that, the pages 14 to 16 show again a saturated coloring as seen on pages 2 to 12. Page 17 shows a fainter coloring than the previous pages 14 to 16. Pages 18 and 19 have an even fainter tint. Pages 20 and 21 again show a stronger tint than the previously mentioned pages which are, however, not so intensively dark as pages 2 to 12. Finally pages 22 and 26 indicate a completely worn out ribbon. The last page, 27, is very similar in color to page 17.

   It is, therefore, established that page 13 was not written at the same time as pages 2 and 12 and 14 and 16. Because of the corresponding degree of soiling of the typewriter types, it can be assumed that pages 2 and 12 and 14 and 16 were written within a short period of time. The degree of soiling of the types of page 13 varies from that of the previous and following pages.

   As it has been established that the types were written by one and same machine, and as it can not be assumed that a ribbon with a good coloring of pages 2 and 16 was changed for page 13, it must, therefore, be assumed that page 13 was written at a later date and introduced subsequent 4) Especially striking is the fact that the outer margin of the writing it vertical although there are several signatures by Dr. Ding on various pages which indicate an interruption and a re-insertion of the paper into the typewriter. A re-insertion of the paper usually results in a later displacement of the outer margin, even if only of a few millimeters.

   This conclusion proves that the entries for different times were type during a single insertion into the machine.

4. The fourteen signatures of Dr. Ding on pages 2 and 12 were made in thin light blue ink and correspond basically with regard to the execution of the signature. The appropriate rank of SS-Hauptsturm and SS-Sturmbannfuehrer have been added by a stamp. Or the other hand, the signature on page 13 is written in deep black ink, and the rank SS-Sturmbannfuehrer added in writing. On the following pages 14 to 17, the signature has be made again in light blue ink which corresponds to the color of the signatures on pages 2 to 12. On pages 18 and 27 the various signatures have been made in dark blue ink which do not show any essential differences From page 22 onwards the rank has been left out, while on page 25 the signature of Dr. Schuler was made in part without the addition of the Dr. title. The fact that on page 13 the type of signature and the use of a different ink is completely different from the regular execution of the signatures as on pages 2 and 12 and 14 and 17 also indicates that page 13 was written at a different time.

At a later date I shall submit a photostatic copy of a list of ranks of the SS which will be supplemented to my document book No. 3. From this photostatic copy it can be seen that Dr. Ding was a Sturmbannfuehrer on the 9th of November, 1942.

BY DR. FLEMMING:

Q: Would you please define your position as to that?

A: In many places of the diary Ding signs his name with his former rank of Hauptsturmfuehrer [Captain] although he was already a Sturmbannfuehrer [Major]. These are the entries made on the 20th and the 30th of November, 1942, and the 4th of January, 1943, which can be found on pages 4, 5 and 6 of Document No. 265.

Considering the vanity, the well-known vanity of Ding, it can hardly be assumed that he would consider an event as a promotion which was so important for his life as of so little importance as not to include it in the signature. This fact, too, proves that these entries were made at a much later date and that an error was made as to the date when he did become a Sturmbannfuehrer.

This can not be explained in any other way.

THE PRESIDENT: The Tribunal will now be in recess until one-thirty.

(A recess was taken until 1330 hours.)