TOP SECRET Typed by Officer Supreme Command of the Armed Forces
Berlin, 24/11/38.
No. 24.1/38 top secret important L la.
Re :—The Fuehrer and Supreme Commander of the Armed
Forces OKW No. 236/38 top secret important matter L la of
21/10/38.
10 Copies 3rd Copy.
Important Matter By hand of Officer Only.
[Handwritten] to be placed before the C-in-C
1st Supplement to Instruction dated 21/10/38
The Fuehrer has ordered:—
1. Apart from the 3 contingencies mentioned in the instructions of the 21/10/38, preparations are also to be made to enable the Free State of Danzig to be occupied by German troops by surprise ("4). Occupation of Danzig").
The preparations will be made on the following basis :—
Condition is a quasi-revolutionary occupation of Danzig, exploiting a politically favourable situation, not a war against Poland.
No. 3 of the "instructions on the power to give orders in East Prussia in the case of becoming involved in war" (OKW No. 230/38 top secret important matter L la, dated 27/9/38) will come into operation.
Occupation by the army has to take place from East Prussia. The troops to be employed for this purpose must not simultaneously be earmarked for the occupation of the Memelland, so that both operations can, if necessary, take place simultaneously.
The Navy will support the army's operation: by attack from the sea—according to detailed orders from the C-in-C Navy. The forces participating are to be instructed to co-operate with the army. The details of the support to be given by the navy are to be agreed between the branches of the armed forces.
How far air force units can collaborate in the occupation is to be investigated by the Reich Marshal of the Air Force and the C-in-C Air Force and to be agreed in direct co-operation with thé other two branches of the armed forces.
The plans of the branches of the armed forces are to be submitted by the 10/1/1939.
2. No. 3 of the "instruction on the power to give orders in East Prussia in the case of becoming involved in war" (OKW No. 230/38 top secret important matter L la, dated 27/9/38) will
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C—137
also apply for the "occupation of the Memelland" (part 3 of the instructions dated 21/10/38).
Distribution: OKH—1 (Copy No. 1 RdL u. ObdL—1 (Copy No. 2) OKM—1 (Copy No. 3) OKW—7 (Copy No. 4—10)
The Chief of the Supreme Command of the Armed Forces.
KEITEL.
Instructions, on Hitler's order, to plan for a military occupation of Danzig, conditioned on "a politically favourable situation"
Authors
Wilhelm Keitel (Field Marshal, Chief of the High Command of the Armed Forces)
Wilhelm Keitel
German field marshal
- Born: 1882-09-22 (Helmscherode) (country: German Empire; located in the administrative territorial entity: Duchy of Brunswick)
- Died: 1946-10-16 (Nuremberg) (country: Allied-occupied Germany)
- Country of citizenship: Germany
- Occupation: military officer; military personnel; politician
- Member of political party: Nazi Party
- Military rank: general field marshal
- Military branch: artillery
- VIAF ID: https://viaf.org/viaf/74027425
Adolf Hitler (Fuehrer, Reich Chancellor, Supeme Commander of Wehrmacht)
Adolf Hitler
Austrian nationalized German politician, leader of the National Socialist party and dictator of Germany (1889-1945)
- Born: 1889-01-01 1889-04-20 (Braunau am Inn) (country: Austria-Hungary; located in the administrative territorial entity: Archduchy of Austria above the Enns; statement is subject of: Adolf-Hitler-Geburtshaus)
- Died: 1945-04-30 (Berlin Führerbunker) (country: Nazi Germany; located in the administrative territorial entity: Berlin; statement is subject of: death of Adolf Hitler)
- Country of citizenship: Cisleithania (period: 1889-04-20 through 1918-11-11); First Republic of Austria (period: 1919-01-01 through 1925-04-30); Nazi Germany (end cause: death of Adolf Hitler; period: 1933-01-30 through 1945-04-30); Republic of German-Austria (period: 1918-01-01 through 1919-01-01)
- Occupation: painter (statement is subject of: paintings by Adolf Hitler); political writer; politician (reason for preferred rank: generally used form); soldier
- Member of political party: German Workers' Party (period: 1919-09-12 through 1921-07-11); Nazi Party (series ordinal: 556)
- Member of: Nazi Party
- Participant in: Aktion T4; Beer Hall Putsch; The Holocaust; ethnic cleansing
- Significant person: Albert Speer; Benito Mussolini; Eva Braun; Joseph Stalin
Date: 24 November 1938
Literal Title: Re: The Fuehrer and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces OKW No. 236/38 . . . 1st Supplement to Instruction dated 21/10/38.
Defendants: Hermann Wilhelm Goering, Wilhelm Keitel, Erich Raeder
Total Pages: 1
Language of Text: English
Source of Text: Nazi conspiracy and aggression (Office of United States Chief of Counsel for Prosecution of Axis Criminality. Washington, D.C. : U.S. Government Printing Office, 1946.)
Evidence Code: C-137
Citation: IMT (page 988)
HLSL Item No.: 450765