862.00/2963

The Consul General at Stuttgart (Dominian) to the Secretary of State

No. 959

Sir: I have the honor to submit below a partial list37 of political personalities who have been confined in jails in this consular district because of their political affiliation. I am abstaining to include any Communists in this list. The professions or occupations accompanying the names in the list indicate the concern with which the present reactionary government is endeavöring to prevent liberal thinking Germans from expressing any opinion against its methods and actions. The list has been taken from the daily papers which contain almost every day names of prominent political persons who have been placed in confinement by the police. It may be stated that while this list is confined to southwestern Germany it may be considered as representative for the entire country.

According to the local press, high officials in the State of Baden appear to have suffered more than elsewhere in southern Germany. At the very beginning of the National Socialist régime the State President of Baden, a member of the Center party, was confined to his house by order of the National Socialist State Commissioner and was kept there in a state of virtual arrest. Subsequently the next ranking official, also a member of the Center party, and counselor for the Ministry of the Interior of the State of Baden, was taken to jail at Karlsruhe, along with a colleague of his who was secretary to the Minister of the Interior. A large number of Social Democrat deputies to the state parliaments in Wuerttemberg and Baden have been arrested and confined either to jails or to concentration camps. The list as culled from the daily newspapers includes judges, clergymen, teachers, lawyers and officials of every rank. In some instances the arrested officials have been released after an investigation of their cases. The impression, however, is acquired that in the case of many of the officials the arrests were the result of personal vengeance on the part of National Socialist officials who resented the manner in which they were treated by former officials before their party came into power. It also seems that arrest of prominent political personalities is a deliberate measure of intimidation by the National Socialists to quell any opposition against their party.

Respectfully yours,

Leon Dominian
  1. Not printed.