English Translation

The Imperial Protector Prague *226 I 1 d = Subject: Transfer of responsibilities of the ministries to the national authorities l.) Note: In accordance with the instructions of the Obergruppenführer, responsibility of the ministerial office for simplification will be transferred to the regional authorities in accordance with general order of leadership. This has already been announced in the press release on the new day of 27.5.42. Nothing has been done in this area so far by the protectorate government. Even recently, attempts have been made to raise the responsibilities of the state authorities to the ministries (the Interior Minister will take the provincial trade schools and forced labour institutions of the Iänder into their own administration, the Ministry of Transport will take over the district roads). This must be vigorously opposed and a deadline for deconcentration measures already set. The special situation in the Protectorate requires that this should not be done in a systematic manner, and there is a need for tight centralization in the interests of the defence industry and the labour market (Ministry of Economic Affairs and Labour), the education of the people (Ministerium für Volksaufklärung) and the pricing policy (Oberste Preisbehörde). A special regulation is necessary for the police. There is no interest in a deconcentration of the ministries with a Reinchisches Unterbau (Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Justice, Railways and Post), otherwise monitoring would be more difficult. On the other hand, the "Reichsstatthalterbehörde" of the internal, agricultural and technical administration are to be transferred to the state authorities in a wide range of ways. Transfer of the groups to the ministries must not lead to the German officials seeking to carry out as much tasks as possible from the department in the wrong direction. This can only be effectively countered if corresponding German experts are made available to the state vice-presidents. Sl.S. T.A.-43./42.