Translation of document 3016-PS

Nurnberg
Germany

Max Amann being duly sworn deposes and says:

1. I joined the NSDAP in 1921 and held membership in that Party continuously until the end of the war. In 1922 at Hitler’s request I took over management of the party publishing business known as the Franz Eher Verlag. Since 1933, when the party came into power, I held the position of Reich leader of the press [Reichsleiter fuer die Presse] and president of the Reich press chamber which was a subordinate chamber of the Reichskulturkammer. My duties and responsibilities as Reich leader of the press were defined generally in the Organizationsbuch der NSDAP, and my duties and responsibilities as president of the Reich press chamber were defined generally in the law establishing the Reichskulturkammer. I considered that I discharged my duties and responsibilities in those offices consistently with the description of my functions as contained therein and consistently with article 23 of the party program.

2. After the party came into power in 1933 the socialdemocrat and Marxist press was promptly liquidated or suppressed pursuant to orders of Hitler. Decrees were subsequently issued, including racial laws and regulations which adversely affected other publishing concerns. Many of these concerns such as the Ullstein publishing firm, which were owned or controlled by Jewish interests, or by political or religious interests hostile to the NSDAP, found it expedient to sell their newspapers or assets to the Eher concern. There was no free market for the sale of such properties and the Franz Eher Verlag was generally the only bidder. In this manner the party publishing business, that is, the Franz Eher Verlag, together with publishing concerns owned or controlled by it, expanded into a monopoly of the newspaper publishing business in Germany. By virtue of economic operation and close supervision, the party investment in these publishing enterprises became financially very successful.

3. It is a true statement to say that the basic purposes of the Nazi press program was to eliminate all press in opposition to the party.

4. The Zentralverlag der NSDAP was the central publishing house and holding company of the entire party publishing machine and all of its official organs which included Der Voelkischer Beobachter, Der Angriff, Der SA Mann, Das Schwarze Korps, Die HJ, Der SA Fuehrer, NS Monatshefte, etc. I was employed as the business manager of the Sentralverlag der NSDAP, Franz Eher Nachf., G.m.b.h., and the above-named newspapers and magazines were published with the approval of the then German government before the seizure of power by Hitler.

/s/ Max Amann
MAX AMANN

Sworn to before me this 19th day of November, 1945, in the Justice Building, Nurnberg.

/s/ Thomas S. Hinkel
Lt. Col. IGD

Webmaster note: See also the transcript of Max Amann’s interrogation.