[Jochen Prien]

Gentlemen,

the letter "B" in column 9 of the claims lists denotes that there is documentary proof that the claim in question was officially confirmed as was explained in Vol. 1, p. 83. For the rest of the claims so far no official document has been found which does not automatically mean that they were not confirmed - in many cases it just means that the neccessary proof is lacking in the incomplete documents that were left behind by the RLM. There is also a subsantial proportion of claims that were still pending an official assessment or decision respectively when in early 1945 the confirmation apparently came to a stand still owing to the development of the war situation; the known RLM documents peter out in January / February 1945. At this time a surprisingly high proportion of claims dating back from 1942 and 43 were still awaiting their confirmation, slumbering in the files with the respective remarks such as "A.S.M." or "V.N.E." which in both cases meant that the final assessment was postponed - until which point still remains a matter of conjecture.

The lack of a "B" in column 9 does not mean, that the claim was officially rejected; in those cases, where it is proven by documents that a claim was rejected, there appears a "n.b." for nicht bestätigt or not confirmed.

Hope this helps

Regards

Jochen Prien