Evening star., 1946-03-18
Goering DefiontIy Tells Jackson
He Never Was DisIoyoI to Hitler
BY the Associated Press

IC INCVCI W US l
BY the Associoted Press
NUREMBERG, Germany, Mar. 18
Hermann Goering def1antly TOLD
the international military tribunal
today he never was disloyal to Hit
Ter. If the dictator had been assas-
sinated, Goering said, he would have
taken control of Germany ano
fought the war to bitter end.
He testified that the Nazis never
considered any offensive action
against North or South America.
His profession of loyalty to Hitler
came under cross examination by
Justice Robert H. Jackson of the
United States, who had been ad-
monished by the British presiding
judge, Lord Justice Sir Geoffrey
Lawrence, when Mr. jackson tried
to cut short some of the lengthy re-
plies Goering made to his questions
Denies Betraying Hitler.
Mr.. Jackson asked Goerine
whether he sought to prolong the
war after he realized it was lost
and also about Hitler's political will
written Immediately before the
Fuehrers apparent suicide, accus.
ing Goering of disloyalty, secret
overtures to German enemies and
attempting to seize power.
Il neither betrayed Hitler nor In
that period negotiated with even
one foreign soldier" said the chief
among the % ranking Nazis on trial
as war criminals.
This document (Hitler's will
rests on an unfortunate mistake
1t grieves me that the Fuehrer in
his last hours believed that I could
be disloyal to him"
Goering asserted that Hitler got
his idea of attempted overtures
| through mistake in transmission
on message between the Vatican
and Berlin. He did not amplify
the claim
Sharp Contrast in Testimony.
Goering's testimony contrasted
sharply with the efforts of most
OF the other defendants to show
that they secretly opposed Hitler
and attempted to overthrow him.
When Mr.. Jackson suggested the
END Of the war could have been
hastened by killing Hitler, Goering
declared:
The assassination of Hitler would
have brought about my succession.
II the opposition had given me the
same observation-disclosures sur
render and all that was limited
I would have continued fighting
under all circumstances.
'If l had had bombers they would
have been used up to the last minute
as reprisals for attacks on our
cities"
Denies Firing Reichstag.
Goering said he considered the
war hopeless in January, 1945, after
the Russians broke through at the
Oder and the German offensive in
the Ardennes failed.
Asked why V-bombs were used
after the war was considered lost,
Goering asserted:
"As a soldier I could only regret
we did not have enough of these
V-weapons because that was our
only weapon to bring about the
easing of attacks on our cities"
He denied that he ever said he
set the Reichstag on fire.
Mr.. Jackson produced an affidavit
from Gen. Franz Halder and read
charge that Goering declared
to him in 1912 that only one knows
about the Reichstag. I am that
one. 1t was I who burned it."
The witness said: This CONVEX
satiOn never took place"
Says Defendants Co-operated.
Asked by Mr.. Jackson to name any
fellow defendants who did not CO.
operate to the end as far as possi-
BILE" in realizing Hitlerian and Nazi
aims, Goering said:
None of them was in opposition
or obstructed the Fuehrer in any
way"
He testified that Hitler did not
believe in the beginning that Amer
lea would intervene in the war, and,
through the attitude of the isola-
zionist press, he was strengthened
in that belief. On the other hand
was convinced that the Americans
would, under any and all circum-
stances, enter the war;
He denied ever saying that the
United States would decline to fight,
even if attacked, adding grimly:
We had one democracy-England-
among our enemies, and we knew
how they would fight"
The No. l defendant at the war
crimes trial here, testifying in his
own defense for the fifth day, also
asserted that Nazi efforts to make
an economic penetration in South
America were unavailing in the face
of competition by the United States
and Britain.
Argues About Conspiracy.
Goering's denial of Nazi plans to
attack the Western Hemisphere
came during questioning by Martin
Horn, attorney representing Joachim
Won Ribbentrop, who strove to show
that the former foreign minister
actually had been unable to guide
Hitler in the determination of Ger
man foreign policy.
To questions on prosecution
charges that the Nazis conspired to
gain domination of Europe, Goering
replied that conspiracy may be va
riously interpreted"
Apparently striving to shoulder
as much responsibility as possible
for the Nazi's policies, Goering de-
clared that mo one else worked
with the Fuehrer as closely as I.
No one else had the influence had.