dtufail/nuremberg-trials-corpus huggingface dataset:
DR. SERVATIUS: against the so-called "Wotan Cult" and rejects it emphatically. Document Number 86 prohibits interference by the State in Church discussions; it specifically says that any police interference, such as protective custody, confiscation, and the like, is forbidden. This document dates back to the year 1933. Document Number 87 was issued in conjunction with a declara-tion of Reich Bishop Mueller forbidding spiritual coercion. It is a directive of Hess dating back to the year 1933. In the year 1935 a directive was issued by Hess which also opposed interference in Church matters. It states that the Party should abstain entirely from intervening in these questions and that individual action against churches is prohibited. Document Number 89 is a circular letter taken from the Party regulations of the year 1937. It states that all denominations are to, be treated alike' and it decrees that the Party will remain aloof from all denominational groups. It rejects the creeds known as "Deutsche Glaubensbewegung" (German Faith Movement) and "Deutsche Gotterkenntnis" (Haus Ludendorff). Document Number 90 deals with "National Socialist celebrations," and it condemns the attempt to bring about a substitute for religious services by means of certain celebrations of their own. The next document, Number. 91, deals with the practical conse-quences which result from the fact that when someone assumes a Church office he cannot be called to account for his actions but should be left unmolested. Do cument Number 92 deals with the Reich Labor Service and states that the individual may not be impeded in any way. It merely ,opposes the formation of denominational bodies. Then we come to the treatment of students of divinity and the avoidance of polemics *n Church matters in the Labor Service. Document Number 93 deals with the book The Myth. When looking at it carefully, it is evident that it did not receive the Party's official seal of approval. Document Number 94 deals with lynching. It refers to the Japanese measures concerning the sentencing to death of airmen participating in air raids there.
DR. SERVATIUS: The document condemns a similar attitude in Germany. This is in the year 1942. Document Number 95 deals with the treatment of prisoners of -war. It states that they were to receive sufficient food and that their treatment, although strict, should not be rough, and must be just and decent. Document Number 96 deals with the employment of Eastern workers. This is a circular by the Reich Propaganda Leadership, -which was also sent to Political Leaders. It says that the workers were to be reasonably treated, and therefore would have to be properly fed, and that "they must not be confused with prisoners -of war." Document Number 97 deals with the religious needs of the Eastern workers, and it says that Orthodox clergymen may be appointed. Document Number 98 deals with the question of the interruption of pregnancies of female Eastern workers. This is a confidential communication by the Party Chancellery, which states that only with the consent of the worker concerned may such an interruption -of pregnancy be carried out. It is only at the request of the pregnant woman that the pregnancy may be interrupted. Document Number 99 deals with protective custody. This excep-tionally severe measure may only be resorted to when the facts of the case and the question of guilt have been thoroughly investigated, and it is expected that it will be asked for only in really urgent and well-founded cases. This circular is addressed to the Kreisleiter. Document Number 100 deals with the care of families of political prisoners and of the prisoners themselves after their release. The peculiar fact arises that the relatives of the political prisoners who are in concentration camps are taken care of both as to their economic and their political needs while, after their return, the internees released from concentration camps will continue to receive economic care.
DR. SERVATIUS: Document Number 101, on the Jewish question, condemns rumors and states: "Terror actions against Jews are to be avoided as provocations, so that it will be possible to counteract the foreign propaganda about atrocities and boycotting, and brand it as lies." The next document is of significance insofar as the Prosecution has stressed the consumers' co-operative associations, which were incorporated together with the trade unions. Document Book Number H has now been discussed in detail. Certain other applications have been granted me. Document Num-ber 59-a has been admitted. It states that Himmler had only the Party rank of a Reichsleiter, but that he was not actually a Reichs-leiter, which may be of legal significance. Then we have another document which has been admitted, taken from a Leitz folder in the Gestapo office at Duesseldorf and dealing with the ill-treatment of foreign workers. In that document beating, detention, and ill-treatment are prohibited, and a Special Court sentence is mentioned, according to which the guard personnel of a camp were sentenced to imprisonment for not less than 4 months for having deprived people of liberty and caused them grievous bodily harm. Thus, Mr. President, I have submitted all the actual documents.. I shall now turn to the affidavits which have been granted me.
THE PRESIDENT: You are going to deal with your affidavits now?
DR. SERVATIUS: Yes, Mr. President. The Tribunal has before it a list showing these 64 affidavits which are granted to me. I should like to proceed now according to that list. Affidavit Number 1 has been translated, and I shall submit it to the Tribunal. Up until now we have only had this document in English. This is an affidavit furnished by a 60-year-old Landgerichts-direktor (judge) in Ratisbon, who had been a Block Leader. He states how he ha4 to take over this office and explains in detail what the work consisted of. He mentions the significance of the organization book, which is of some importance inasmuch as many conclusions are drawn from it concerning the size of the organi-zation and the activity of the various members. It is frequently repeated that this book was only a draft and was to be a working basis rather than a final official Party solution. Document Number 2 has not been translated. It may be found in the transcript of 16 July 1946 before the first Commission. This is the testimony of a Kriminalobersekretär (clerk of Criminal Police) of Munich, who shows how his application was received; at first he was turned down as unreliable for the post of Blockleiter, but later on was installed nevertheless. The point of the matter is to show that these were not important political offices such as could only have been carried out by a so-called "Hoheitstr6ger." The witness answers the various questions. Affidavit Number 3 was taken in the same session of the Com-mission. This is a commercial employee who was a Block Leader for eight years. Then we turn to Affidavit Number 4, to be found on the same page. This is sworn to by a head dairyman who for ten years was a Block Leader in a small country town, and who was a former member of the Trade Unions. He deposes on the question of spying and informing.
DR. SERVATIUS: He also deals with the card index which was kept of the inhabitants, and the orders and instructions that he received- Affidavit Number 5 comes from a Wiesbaden locksmith who is 72 years old, who for many years was a Block Leader and then later a, Cell Leaden He deals with the question of spying and says that it was unwise and that it created ill will and mistrust. He also mentions the reason for his joining the Party and he describes the type of people from whom the Block and Cell Leaders were taken; inn-keepers, tailors, locksmiths, carpenters, and similar people. Now I shall turn to Affidavit Number 6, which has been trans-lated. This is the testimony given by a government office employee from Stuttgart. He gives information about conditions before the war and detailed statements on the various points which are of importance in connection with the matter of Block Leaders. Affidavit Number 7 has not been translated. It may be found in the transcript of the Commission. This witness was a wartime Block Leader and an engineer. He defines his attitude toward the well--known card-index system and describes what a Block Leader had to do in his area. He mentions everything, from the collection of Party subscriptions to snow-sweeping and such work, in which he had to assist in the general interest. Document Number 10 is the testimony of a bricklayer's foreman, who deals with the relationship with the Church in the district of Cologne, and says that at the creation of this cell they were all strictly orthodox members of the Evangelical Church; that the parson was a member of the Party and that in the neighborhood theologians appeared as speakers; however, all that was changed in the year 1935 with the beginning of the German Christian move-ment. Document Number 11 has also been translated. It comes from a Kreisamtsleiter-that is a professional Party official in the district of Cologne and Euskirchen. He deals with the card-index system. I have omitted Document Number 9. It comes from Brake in Oldenburg and deals with general matters.
DR. SERVATIUS: Now I should like to refer to Affidavit Number 16, and here I must make a correction. I have repeatedly referred to these affi-davits as "documents," which may bring about confusion. Docu-ments are in the document book, whereas the affidavits have been numbered separately. Affidavit Number 16 was made by an engine fitter who was a member of the Metal Workers' Union and who knows 200 Block-leiter. He deals principally with the question of nomination and confirmation of Political Leaders and he says that this hardly ever happened. Affidavit Number 18 was sworn by a Zellenleiter in Bremen -who was Verwaltungsoberinspektor (senior administrative inspector). He deals with the question of accepting office under coercion. He says that he had to fill out questionnaires which were added to his personnel file. - Affidavit Number 19 was sworn by a Block- and Zellenleiter at Hamburg, who deals with the question of whether a functionary is a Hoheitsträger or not, and, he gives a detailed statement of facts -which may be of service in judging this matter. Affidavit Number 20 comes from Berlin and it describes activities in the metropolis; the collection of winter relief contributions and other contributions, the distribution of pamphlets, collections, and so forth. It also deals with the question of obtaining information on individuals, and the procedure followed. If negative reports were turned in in answer to requests through official channels, an extensive investigation from higher authorities would take place in order to check the correctness of the accusation. Affidavit Number 12 comes from Berlin-Hessenwinkel, which is in the Soviet Zone. This is a publisher who gives a clear survey of conditions that prevailed in his area. Affidavit Number 17 comes from Dresden and enumerates the activities of Blockleiter in simple matters and non-essential things. He compares the members of the Ortsgruppen staffs with the Block-and Zellenleiter and concludes that the Block- and Zellenleiter were less influential than the members of the Ortsgruppen.
DR. SERVATIUS: Finally we have Affidavit Number 21 which comes from Eisenach and which also deals with the question of the treatment of the population; winning of confidence, exemplary behavior, no chicanery, spying prohibited. Affidavit Number 13 comes from the Gau organization leaders of the Gau Munich, Upper Bavaria, and deals with the evidential value of the organization book which I mentioned previously; it deals therefore with the question of Hoheitsträger and the authority of the individual. It says that one passage of the book is partic-ularly exaggerated: the one dealing with the opinions and plans about Block- and Zellenleiter who are named for propaganda reasons as the Party's most important peopl6. Three more affidavits follow, all dealing with Block- and Zellenleiter, which are: Affidavit Number 14, the statement of an Amtsgerichtsrat (judge), who deals with the question of authority. Then there is a farmer from Westphalia who was elected mayor. He also states, in con-nection with the Hoheitsrechte, that they did not exist in the case of Block- and Zellenleiter, and that spying activity never took place, nor any activity connected with a conspiracy. Affidavit Number 15 is the affidavit of a full-time Kreisleiter at Nuertingen. He gives a survey of the Block- and Zellenleiter in his district and how they were composed: 40% industrial workers, 20% small farmers, 20% members of professions and civil servants. He then deals with the tasks involved,' the issuing of food cards was the most important task. As far as the organization book is con-cerned, he said that it was merely a routine compilation. Affidavit Number 24, made by Karl Hederich, has been translated. It deals with the matter of the number of Political Leaders, which I touched upon when I submitted my documents. This witness was in the Reich Leadership of the Party and he was the deputy chairman of the examination board for literature. He dealt with statistical material and had to summarize it. There-fore, he is well-informed as to the questions which he treats in his affidavit.
DR. SERVATIUS: In his affidavit he shows that the number of the Political Leaders was not just 600,000, but in reality at least one and a half million. He emphasizes in this connection that this figure is set very conservatively and that he had taken into consideration that one person might have had more than one office. Affidavit Number 25 is in Commission Report Number 1. It deals with the significance of the organization book, the terminology of which is of fundamental importance in these proceedings. The author says that he had talked this matter over repeatedly with the expert assistant of the author of the book, that is the witness Mehnert, who stated that the book did not represent actual circum-stances, although it was hoped to do so in the future. Next, Affidavit Number 26 made by Foertsch. He is the former Gau Organisationsleiter of Munich, Upper Bavaria. He, too, says. that the book was a theoretical work. Affidavit Number 27 is a second affidavit by the same Hederich of the Reichsleitung just mentioned, in which the significance of the organization book is described in detail, based on personal knowl-edge of its contents. Affidavit 28 is a second affidavit by the Gau organization leader of Munich, Upper Bavaria, Foertsch, wherein he defines his attitude to the question, "What is the Corps of Political Leaders?" He states that one should clearly differentiate between official position (Dienst-stellung) and official rank (Dienstrang). He says that only a fraction. of, those people who held an office in the Party were also appointed "Political Leaders." For instance, he estimates that in the Gau Munich, Upper Bavaria, about 20 percent of the people who held Party offices were "Political Leaders," while the balance of 80 percent were never nominated Political Leaders; therefore, as to the legal aspect, a considerable reduction in numbers must be made. Then he points out that the granting of the title "Political Leader" and the installment in office were carried out by different agencies.
DR. SERVATIUS: Affidavit 29 was sworn by the witness Davidts and states that the speakers, such as Reich speakers, Gau speakers, and Kreis speakers, did not as such have the rank of Political Leaders. Then follows Affidavit Number 30, which is a document by Alfons Schaller, Kreisleiter at Cologne. He deals with the well-known card-index which was in use in the Gau Cologne, Aix-la-Chapelle, and explains its existence on the basis of local circumstances; that is to say, since the large card-indexes had been destroyed by air raids, they were to have been compiled afresh by the lower offices, although, he says, these card-indexes were in practice not re-estab-lished. Affidavit 31 is made by a Richard Schaller and deals with political appraisals. He states that the offices under the Kreisleitung could not issue any such appraisals. A document by Gauleiter Sprenger was submitted by the Prose-cution, Document Number D-728. At the time, I disputed the authenticity of the document, and various witnesses testified about it. Here we have an affidavit made by a man who was adjutant to. the Gauleiter and worked with him as Gau manager for years. He says, according to his personal knowledge, that judging by the nature of these letters, they could not possibly come from the source to which they are attributed, and, he adds to his affidavit the state-ments of other people who told him so, too.
SIR DAVID MAXWELL-FYFE: My Lord, I am very anxious that the Prosecutions case should rest on documents which are unchallenged as far as it is humanly possible. Therefore, rather than have any dispute on the document, the Prosecution will not rely on that document which is dealt with here.
DR.SERVATIUS: Mr. President, if I understand correctly, this Document D-728, by Sprenger, is being withdrawn. Is that correct?
THE PRESIDENT: Yes; go on.
DR. SERVATIUS: Then I will omit Affidavit 33, which deals with the Sprenger document. Affidavit 34 is sworn to by an Oberlandesgerichtsrat (Provincial Judge), who presided over a Supreme Party, Court, and he states his opinion that Party judges were not Political Leaders, although later, in 1943, a certain change was made in the organization book, according to which they came closer to the Party. Mr. President, may I refer once more to the document which has been withdrawn, D-728, and ask that the excerpt recorded from that document be stricken from the record.
SIR DAVID MAXWELL-FYFE: I make no objections, My Lord. When I withdrew the document, I withdrew it entirely from the record. Certainly.
DR. SERVATIUS: Now, I shall turn to the various depart-ments...
THE PRESIDENT: Go on, Dr.Servatius.
DR.SERVATITJS: Now, I shall turn to the affidavits dealing with the expert appointments in the staffs of the Hoheitsträger. In the Hoheitstr5ger's staffs there were various groups of offices, com-prising the regular political leadership offices, Party administration offices, and finally professional and specialists' offices. These special-ists' offices were as a body and in matters of discipline subordinate to the Hoheitsträger, but they received their instructions directly from the Reichsleiter. I shall begin with Affidavit 35, deposed by Schön, a Gau training leader in Mainfranken. He deals with the training material for the schools and also with the problem of severing connection with the Church. In this connection he says that it was prohibited. He says further that he never, in any way participated in the planning of any war crimes or crimes against humanity. He testifies as to the activities of his office. Affidavit Number 36 is made by Dr. Schulz, chief leader for education of the Gau propaganda office in Gau Lower Silesia. He states in detail what kind of information was received concerning the outbreak of the war, and that everything happened very rapidly and surprisingly. He further talks about the setting up of the DAF and its propaganda activities. He states that it is essential to note that only 4% of the people in office were paid officiLs and 961/o of them were honorary officials, also that 76% belonged to the Christian denominations. The next group of affidavits deals with the Party administration. We have Affidavit Number 37, given by Paul Kuenzler, who was in the finance administration. He confirms the exclusive activities in finance and technical administrative matters, and how the personnel were kept away from all political tasks. The third group of expert offices comprises the expert liaison agents between the Party branches, the professional representatives, the general expert counsellors and offices, and finally the office of welfare and public care.
DR.SERVATITJS: To the liaison experts belonged the Women's League (Frauenschaft), the Teachers' League, and the Students League. They are independent organizations, which have no connection with the Hoheitstriiger through an office in their staffs. Only the local leaders form the liaison with the Gau- and Kreisleiter in an advisory capacity. Before the Commission two female witnesses for the Women's League, Westernacher and Paul, were heard, and for the Teachers' League, a Dr. Kutover. As Affidavit Number 38, we have a statement by Frau Minast, Gau department leader in the Berlin mother's service. It says that she had no connection with the Gauleiter or any of his collaborators, and that she was directly subordinate to the Women's League Gau Leadership. In Affidavit Number 39, a lady physician, Dr. Hildegard Brauns, testified as to the activity of the Women's League's district leaders in Wesermuende and the manner in which conferences were carried out; she also says that at conferences which did not deal with purely feminine matters the women had to leave the room, and they were never called in for political work. The professional group was composed of teachers, civil servants, technicians, physicians, and lawyers. For the educators and teachers, I cannot submit an affidavit as yet. For technical reasons it was impossible for me to do so. Concerning civil servants, I have Affidavit Number 40, made by Dr. Schenk, who also confirmed that at conferences of Hoheitsträger with their staff officers these groups did not participate, and, he says that since 1943 the office for civil servants was closed down since its work was not considered sufficiently important. Dealing with the Kreis and Gau offices for technical science I have one affidavit given by Sch6nberger, a Kreis technical office leader of Cologne, who describes his activity, which was purely technical, in connection with electric power, building, transport, and so on. He says that he was called in only for practical work of a technical nature.
DR.SERVATITJS: Affidavit Number 42 is from the Gau technical office leader for Pomerania, Mackels; he makes statements on the same lines as the previous witness and says that all work had to be done without pay, and outside of his usual occupation. Then follows the Office of Public Health. Here Affidavit Num-ber 43 applies, which was sworn to by a Dr. Sassé, head of the Kreis public health office in Iserlohn. He says that the local leaders of the National Socialist physicians' league were at the same time leaders of their respective Gau offices for public health. He states that he was consulted as far as professional work was concerned, while at the inner staff conferences the physicians were not admitted, so that they were not informed along political lines., Then follow the tasks of the legal offices. Affidavit Number 44, by a Kreis legal office leader, Dr. Steinhauser of Augsburg, deals with the task of the lawyers' league; he says that the legal offices which were attached to the staff had no political significance, since as early as 1942 they were dissolved as being non-essential to the war effort. The next group are expert offices and expert advisers, the DAF leaders, representatives of handicrafts and commerce, the office for agrarian policy, the office for communal policy, the economic consul-tants, and delegates for racial questions. In this connection I should like to submit Affidavit Number 45, made by a Kreis leader of the DAF, from Neu Ulm, whose name is Haller. He describes in detail just what the DAF men had to do and what their position was, and emphasizes that exclusively social work represented the only activity which was carried on in his sphere. For the office of trade and commerce, I cannot give you any affidavits, since I have no witness at my disposal. Then follows Affidavit Number 46, made by the former Reich Minister for Food and Agriculture and Reich Farmers' Leader, Darré.