From PRO file WO.208/4170.

IF THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS REPORT IS REQUIRED FOR FURTHER DISTRIBUTION. IT SHOULD BE PARAPHRASED SO THAT NO MENTION IS MADE OF THE PRISONERS' NAMES, NOR OF THE METHODS BY WHICH THE INFORMATION HAS BEEN OBTAINED

S.R.G.G.1294(C)

The following conversation took place between a number of Senior Officer PW, including:-

Generalmajor Gerlach (Comd., 14 Flak Div.) Capt. Hagenow 2 May 45

Generaloberst Student (Oberbefehlshaber d FS Truppen) Captd Meyn, nr Flensburg 28 May 45

Generalleutnant von Hippel (3 Pz. Armee) Captd nr Pampow 3 May 45

Information received: 10 Jun 45

? Hippel: I had a few hundred Russian personnel at Jena, and received orders in April to send them to Kahla [in Thuringia]. It became known only afterwards that those people were all to be gassed there. There were about 18,000 men at Kahla . . . The 550 men with us marched off under the command of a Hauptmann and the necessary escort, but came back in the evening because the business in Kahla was not to be started. Those Russians had noticed something or other and some of them broke away and came . . . back , wringing their hands and begging to be allowed to fight to the last; they wanted to die as soldiers. The next morning but one -- the last morning I was still in communication with Jena -- it was reported that the people had been marched off again to Kahla. I don't know whether they came back again. I presume not. They were all to be driven into those caves there, they were to be gassed and then blown up.

Student: Who issued that order?

? Hippel: The SS.

?: But not Himmler?

? Himmler himself.

? It must be a fairly old order?

? Hippel: No, it was only issued in April.

BY C.S.D.I.C. (U.K.)

M.I.19.a      War Office   (65 copies)
N.I.D.        Admiralty    ( 9 copies)
A.D.I.(K)     Air Ministry (17 copies)

(29111) Wtr51755/3515 37,000 2/45
   A. & E.W.Ltd GP.692 J.7303

Website note: Kahla was occupied by the American army around April 13, 1945. It was the site of an underground factory with a planned production capacity, according to Göring, of 1,000 to 1,200 jet airplanes a month. Fritz Sauckel, Gauleiter in Thuringia, was very much occupied with the development of this underground factory.