Detroit evening times., 1945-05-06
Nazi War Crime
Charges Proved,
Editors Declare

>
- FORCES, May 5 QNS)-Eighteen editors who
visited German prison camps at the request of
Gen. Dwight d. Eisenhower tonight unanimously
stated that the evidence of Nazi war cruelty is
overwhelming.
They declared that the entire German nation
must share in responsibility for the host of crimes
and that Nazi party leaders, members of the Ger
man general staff, all party office-holders men,
bers of the gestapo and the special SIS corps must
be indicted as war criminals and punished.
Following is the editors announcement:
THIS statement is issued by the editors who to
Il the European theater of operations through the
personal invitation of Gen. Eisenhower for them
selves conditions in German prison camps by
the Allies.
This delegation of newspaper and magazine editors
was brought to Europe at the suggestion of Gen Eisen
hover to investigate reports of German atrocities.
WE HAVE visited and spent considerable time nvesti.
w eating prison camps at Buchenwald and Dachau
We have interviewed recentyfreed political prisoners
slave aborers and civilians of many natonalities. We
have studied great Of documents covering the
German occupation of France which contained photo
graphic evidence and testimony taken in many places
and pansakingly authenticated with the sworn state
mens Of witnesses and victims
The conclusion is nescapabe that the Nazis had
master plan for their political prison camps That plan
was based upon policy of calculated and organized br
talty. The evidence We have is not
bling Of local unassocated incidents It is convincing
proof that brutality was the basic Nan system and
method.
This brutality took different forms different places
and with different groups. The basic pattern varied
little.
4 CTUAL Naz methods the gamut from deliberate
"A starvation and routine beatngs sadstic tortures
too horrible and too perverted to be publicly described
Murder was commonplace.
Prisoners whose only crime was that they disagreed
or were suspected of dsagreeing with the Nan phoso-
phy treated with uniform cruelty. When death
to multiplied thousands of them it did it must
have been relief from worse than death.
By these tortures most of the Jews in prison camps
had already been destroyed After the Jews the most
cruelty treated victims the Russians and the Poles
ITO THE basic policy of brutality toward political pris-
oners there were however significant exceptions
This we believe is the nexorable consequence of the
whole Nazi-German philosophy BY this philosophy and
the cunning and persistence with which propa-
gated the German mind became contaminated and dis
eased.
EOR these crimes the German people be allowed
to escape their share of the responsibility Just pun
lshment must be meted out to the outstanding party
leaders. and the German general staff to party office
holders to all members of the gestapo all members of
the SIS Simple justice and the future peace of the
world require that all these by virtue Of their position
be indicted criminals
In Furnishing these crimes the historic principle of
individual and personal responsibility must be preserved
and all those responsible for these atrocities must be
punished in accord with the accepted laws of civilized
nations
WE STRONGLY urge that United Nations policy in
w regard to war criminals be speedily agreed to and
the war crimes commission speedily empowered to put
those policies into action.
AS we witness the collapse Of the Nazis' experiment
Din ruthessness and totalitaransm we are more than
convinced that there be peace earth until
the right of the earths peoples life liberty and the
pursuit of happiness is reconzed and protected law
Signed by
julius 0chs Adler, New York Times
Malcolm Bingay Detroit Free Press.
Anon Carter, Fort Worth Star-Teegram
Norman Chandler Los Angeles Times
William L. Chenery Golfers.
T. 2. Dmitman, Chicago Sun.
Continued on Page p Col ~