Evening star., 1945-12-02
Hess Listens InfentIy
To Trial After Court
Rules He Must STAY
BY DANIEL DE LUCE.


Associated Press Foreign Correspondent.
NUREMBERG, Dec. Rudolph
Hess, self-confessed amnesia faker,
was ruled fit to stand trial today,
and then listened intently as de-
tense attorneys failed to break down
a German spy chieftain's testimony
linking some of his co-defendants
with the worst horrors of Nazism.
British Lord Justice Sir Geoffrey
Lawrence announced the. Interna-
tional Military Tribunals decision
that Hess was capable of standing
trial" with no further medical
examination necessary. Before the
court opened, Hess had regaled his
fellow defendants with the story
Of his lost-memory hoax.
Hess Follows Proceedings.
Grand Admirals Karl Doenitz and
Erich Raeder shook with laughter,
and most OF the others chuckled as
Hess related the story to them.
When the session opened, Hess
laid aside the novel he had been
reading during the opening days of
the trial, and followed the proceed
ings closely.
To Maj. Douglas Kelley. Amer
lean Army psychiatrist, Hess had
boasted of his skilled navigation on
his astounding flight to Scotland in
May, 1941. Hess confirmed reports
that he had left a note for Hitler
saying he was going to try to ap-
peal for peace in the hope of what
he termed saving the world from
Bolshevism. He said he planned a
direct appeal to the King of Eng
land.
Maj. Kelley also denied that he
had told any one that Hess said
he intended to take King George
vi to Germany.
Lahousen Story Attacked.
Attorneys for Field Marshal Will
helm Keitel, Hermann Georing and
Joachim Won Ribbentrop sought in
vail to upset the story. told by Maj.
Gen. Erwin Lahousen, former officer
OF the German counterintelligence,
and first prosecution witness. La
housen had not mentioned Hess, and
Hess attorney put no questions to
Lahousen today.
But eight other German lawyers
for three hours grilled Lahousen,
who yesterday declared that Hitler
and the entire German high COM
mand were to blame for atrocities
on the Eastern Front.
The attorney for Franz Won Papen.
willy diplomat in the days of Nazi
power politics, extracted from La
housen an expression of belief that
Won Papen stayed on in a political
capacity in order to exercise miti-
eating influence" on Nazi policy.
KeitePs attorney, Otto Nelte. de-
clared Keitel had denied Lahousen's
testimony that his client had
ordered the assassination in 1910
of the French Gen. Maxine Wey-
gand, and demanded written proof
from Lahousen.
Lahousen replied that the order
was given verbally, but that he had
been present "at conference where
Keitei asked me what happened
about it,"
Assassination Orders Ignored.
The witness said Keitel's orders
to assassinate both Gen. Weygand
and Gen. Henri Giraud never were
carried out by Admiral Wilhelm
Canaris, Greek-born head of the
German Army's nter-intelligence
section to which the witness was at
tached.
Keitel's attorney let slip an ad-
mission that orders for branding
Soviet war prisoners were the re
suit of terrible misunderstanding
at the Fuehrer's headquarters. The
attorney asked Lahousen If such was
the case, and Lahousen replied that
he did not know.
To Won Ribbentrops counsel La
housen only reaffrmed that the for
mer foreign minister said in Sep
tember, 1889, that Polish farms must
be burned and Jews killed.
Goering's attorney diverged far
from preceding testimony to inquire
If Lahousen had failed to report
promptly the American landings in
North Africa.
Please don't make me respon-
sible for my whole department, -
Lahousen retored. This was not my
affair"
Fears Goering Will Explode"
The tribunal denied a request by
the defendants that they be given
the right to conduct their own
examination of witnesses.
The tribunal decreed that only de-
PENDANTS who lacked counsel could
participate in the questioning. All
20 defendants in the prisoners dock
have their own attorneys, as do
two others being tried in absentia
The ruling came after American
Chief Prosecutor Justice Robert H.
jackson said that permitting the
prisoners to examine witnesses
would convert the trial into a per
formance."
DR.. Otto Stahmer, attorney for
Goering, explained afterwards that
he made the request for cross
examination on behalf of his client
because "as temperamental a man
as Goering finds 1t nearly unbear-
able to sit there day after day with
out being able to open his mouth
He will explode if he doesn't get q
chance soon tn IInh,lrden himself
Stahmer said that in many re-
spects Goering was like big boy
relatively easy to guide, but with
occasional great outbursts of tenn
permanent"
d. nj