English Translation

Minist Pernschreibung KR Eing.: 14. FEB. 1945 To Chief of the General Staff of the Army General Superior Guderian Message: OKW/WPSt OO/CAAA Reichsleiter Bormann In preparation and at any time defense of the fortress Briinn_requires the fortress commander: 1.) The immediate evacuation of the 270,000 Czech and 70,000 German inhabitants of Brno with the exception of 50.Oo0 for defense, for ski jumping and for the maintenance of the utilities necessary Germans and Czechs. 2.) The use of the essential part of the air protection room available to the population for the secure stockpiling laying of food and ammunition for 3 divisions. W Bv considers this demand from the purely military point of view and in the sense of all set defense tasks to be justified. The jury has raised the following objections to me and Reichsleiter Bormann. 1.) At present, the armaments industry essential for warfare is paralysed. 2.) Evacuation will encounter active or passive resistance of the Czech population and will not necessarily be enforced. 3.) Evacuation will have a decisive negative impact on the attitude of the population in the Protectorate and in neighbouring Gauen Sudetenland and Niederdonau. 11A-4m/45