VOLUME XIV

16 May 46
Kingdom regard this proposal as a contribution of the greatest
importance to the cause of future naval limitation. They
further believe that the agreement which they have now
reached with the German Government and which they regard
as a permanent and definite agreement as from to-day
between the two Governments. .."
THE PRESIDENT: This is a well-known document, and the
Tribunal will take judicial notice of it, of course. It is not necessary
to read it all.
DR. SIEMERS: Very well. I should nevertheless like to point out
that, according to Point 2f of this document, the British Govern-
ment recognized that, as far as submarines were concerned, Ger-
many should be aliowed the same number as Britain. At that time
that amounted to about 52,000 tons, or rather more than 100 U-boats.
The Government of the German Reich, however, voluntarily under-
took to restrict itself to 45 percent of the total submarine tonnage
of the British Empire.
[Turning to the defendant.] Did you and the Navy regard such
considerable restrictions as the basis for Germany's peaceful
development, and was it received favorably by the Navy in general?
RAEDER: Yes, as I have already said, it was received with
greatest satisfaction.
DR. SIEMERS: Since a judgment formed some years ago carries
more weight than a declaration made now in the course of the
Trial, I wish to submlt Document Number Raeder-12, Document
Book 1, Page 64. This document deals with a comr;nunication made
by Grossadmiral Raeder for the information of the Officers' Corps.
It is dated 15 July 1935, a month after the slgning of the naval
agreement. Raeder says-and I quote the second paragraph:
"The agreement resulted from the Fuhrer's decision to fix the
ratio of the fleets of Germany and the British Empire at
35:100. This decision, which was based on considerations of
European pohtics, formed the starting point of the London
conferences. In spite of initial opposition from England, we
held inflexibly to our decision; and our demands were granted
in their entirety. The Fiihrer's decision was based on the
desire to exclude the possibility of antagonism between Ger-
many and England in the future and so to exclude forever
the possibility of naval rivalry between the two countries."
A sentence on Page 66 is also important. I wish to ask the High
Tribunal to take judicial notice of the rest of it:
"By this agreement, the building-up of the German Navy to
the extent fixed by the Fuhrer was formally approved by
England."