Again and again I discovered that, partly intentionally, partly out of neglect, he had failed to report to me on important occurrences. He had prohibited his ministerial directors from reporting to me directly. He wanted to do everything alone. In addition, although he did not drink much, he could not restrain himself once he started to drink, and in a condition of that kind he frequently made statements which gave an entirely wrong picture of the intentions of the Minister. Then when the disappointment came, when the agencies concerned found out that the practice of the Ministry was not according to these statements, then, of course, there were serious accusations on the part of the Party and a renewed struggle. His unstable nature brought it about that when I made objections to him he, frequently in tears, promised to better himself; but his moral strength was not sufficient to make him keep these promises for any length of time. Of course, my position with regard to Freisler was weaker than that of Guertner. I was, indeed, in charge of the work of the Ministry, but only due to the fact that I was the senior Under Secretary; otherwise we were on the same level. The possibility of influencing him or influencing others against him, was very limited for me, all the more because my mission was not set for a certain time, but could be repealed any day. Therefore, I could only find the optimal accomplishment of my tasks in maintaining the status quo in the Ministry of Justice as it was at the time of Guertner’s death; especially if one takes into consideration as a matter of course that on the one hand the attacks from the Party became stronger, being faced with a weaker man in charge of the Ministry, and that on the other hand this weaker man was always confronted with the necessity of an increased resistance on his part. In these proceedings here the witness, Father Wein,[176] confirmed that during the time when I was in charge of conducting the affairs, the administration of justice had not deteriorated and that only the appointment of Thierack brought about an absolute change-over. I ask you to try to understand that in that I found a justification for the work of my life under these conditions as I have described them. Q. What did the taking over of the post of Minister by Thierack mean to you?