[Page 600]

C. ROSENBERG'S ACTIVITIES ABROAD THROUGH THE APA, IN PREPARATION FOR AGGRESSIVE WAR.

Rosenberg also actively contributed toward the preparation for aggressive war through the international activities of the APA (The Foreign Policy Office of the NSDAP). Rosenberg became a Reichsleiter, the highest level of rank in the Leadership Corps, and was made chief of the Foreign Political Office of the NSDAP in April 1933 (3530-PS). The Organizational Manual of the NSDAP (2319-PS) describes the functions of the APA as

[Page 601]

including the influencing of public opinion abroad so as to convince foreign nations that Nazi Germany desires peace. The following excerpt indicates the far-flung activities of the APA:

" II. 1. The APA is divided into three main offices
"A. Office for Foreign Referats with the Main Offices
a. England and Far East
b. Near East
c. South East
d. North
e. Old Orient
f. Controls, personnel questions, etc.
"B. Office of the German Academic Exchange Service.
"C. Office of Foreign Commerce.
"2. Moreover, there is in the APA a main office for the press service and an educational office." (2319-PS)

The Press activities of the APA, designed to influence world opinion in such a manner as to conceal the conspirators' true purposes and thus facilitate the preparation for waging aggressive war, were conducted on an ambitious scale. "A short Report on the Activities of the APA of the NSDAP" describes the press activities as follows:

" The Press The Press Division of the APA is comprised of persons who together master all the languages that are in use. Daily they examine approximately 300 newspapers and deliver to the Fuehrer, the deputy Fuehrer, and all other interested offices the condensations of the important trends of the entire world press. I know that these press reports are highly praised by all who constantly follow them. The Press Division furthermore conducts an exact archive on the attitudes of the most important papers of the world and-an exact archives on the most important journalists of the world. Many embarrassments during conferences in Germany could have been avoided had one consulted these archives (case of Leumas, Nurnberg, 1934; case of Dorothy Thompson; and others). Further, the Press Division was able to arrange a host of interviews as well as conducting a great number of friendly foreign journalists to the various official representatives of Germany." (003-PS)

The nature and extent of the activities of the APA are amply disclosed in a "Report on the Activities of the Foreign Affairs Bureau of the Party from 1933 to 1943," signed by Rosenberg (007-PS). This report contains a recital of widespread activities -in foreign countries. These activities range from the promotion

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of economic penetration, to fomentation of anti-Semitism; from cultural and political infiltration to the instigation of treason. Activities were carried on throughout the world and extended to such widely separated points as the Middle East and Brazil. (007-PS)

(1) Activities in Hungary, Belgium, Holland, and Luxembourg. Much of the APA's achievements were brought about through the subtle exploitation of personal relationship. Activities in Hungary proceeded as follows:

" The first foreign state visit after the seizure of power took place through the mediation of the Foreign Affairs Bureau. Julius Gombos, who in former years had himself pursued anti-Semitic and racial tendencies, had reached the Hungarian Premier's chair. The Bureau maintained a personal connection with him." (007-PS)

The APA endeavored to strengthen the War Economy by shifting the source of food imports to the Balkans:

"Motivated by reasons of War Economy, the Bureau advocated the transfer of raw material purchases from overseas to the areas accessible by overland traffic routes, i. e., primarily in the Balkans, naturally insofar as practicable. At first little heed was paid to the Bureau in these endeavors, but it later secured the active support especially of the Food Estate [Naeurstand]. Through its cooperation, e. g., on the subject of fruit and vegetable imports, a very substantial shift in the source of imports was attained, particularly through the currently initiated cooperation with Croatian and Hungarian cooperatives as well as with commercial associations all over the Balkans." (007-PS)

Activities in Belgium, Holland, and Luxembourg were confined to "observation of existing conditions" and "to the establishment of relations, especially of a commercial nature." (007-PS)

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