dtufail/nuremberg-trials-corpus huggingface dataset:
MR. COUNSELLOR RAGINSKY: What the Germans perpetrated in Lidice was repeated a short time later in another inhabited point of Czechoslovakia in the village of Lezhaky. I shall refer as evidence to the Czechoslovak Government's report, Pages 126-127. This report is presented to the Court as Exhibit Number USSR-60 (Document Number USSR-60). This report states, "Lezhaky, like Lidice, was totally destroyed and the ground where it stood is now covered over with rubble." I pass on to the next section of my report, the destruction of villages and towns, industry, and transport in the territory of the U.S.S.R. Your Honors, I have quoted above the general directives of the criminal Hitler Government and the German Supreme Command concerning the destruction of inhabited centers, industry, and means of communications in the U.S.S.R. Now I pass on to the presentation of evidence of those destructions which were carried out in execution of these directives by the Hitlerites everywhere on the territory of the Soviet Union which they temporarily occupied. I omit the evidence regarding the destruction of single towns of the Soviet Union and pass on to the presentation of my report beginning on Page 42. There are a large number of documents at the disposal of the Soviet Prosecution which incriminate the Hitlerite criminals in premeditated and systematic, calculated and cruel annihilation and destruction of cities and towns, plants and factories, railways and means of communication. The presentation of all this documentation would seriously delay the Trial. Therefore, I consider it possible to pass on to the presentation of the general conclusive data established by the Extraordinary State Commission of the Soviet Union instead of presenting separate documents. From Exhibit Number USSR-35 (Document Number.USSR-35), I shall read into the record only those sections and data which have not been read into the record previously and only those which directly concern my subject. These extracts, Your Honors, are on Pages 223-224 of your document book.
MR. COUNSELLOR RAGINSKY: I quote: "The German fascist invaders totally or partially destroyed and burned 1,710 towns and more than 70,000 villages and hamlets. They burned and destroyed more than 6 million buildings and rendered some 25 million persons homeless. Among the destroyed towns which suffered most are the greatest industrial and cultural centers: Stalingrad, Sevastopol, Leningrad, Kiev, Minsk, Odessa, Smolensk, Novgorod, Pskov, Orel, Kharkov, Voronezh, Rostov-on-the-Don, and many others. "The German fascist invaders destroyed 31,850 industrial works which employed some 4 million workers." I omit the end of Page 43, Pages 44 and 45, and the beginning of Page 46 of my report. "The Hitlerites destroyed ...36,000 postal and telegraphic offices, telephone centers, and other communication centers.... During their occupation of a part of the territory of the Soviet Union, and especially during their retreat, the German fascist invaders caused great damage to the railway system, waterways, and river transport. "They used special machines for the destruction of roads and thus put out of action 26, and partially destroyed eight, main railway lines. They destroyed 65,000 kilometers of rails and 500,000 kilometers of cables for the automatic railroad controls, signals, and communication lines. They blew up 13,000 railway bridges, 4,100 railway stations, and 1,600 water pressure stations. They destroyed 317 locomotive depots and 129 locomotive and wagon repair shops, as well as railway machine works. "They destroyed, damaged, or evacuated to Germany 15,800 locomotives, and Diesel locomotives, and 428,000 railway cars. "The enemy caused great damage to the buildings, enterprises, and institutions and ships of the shipping lines operating in the Arctic Ocean, in the White Sea, the Baltic Sea, the Black, and the Caspian Seas. They sank or partially damaged more than 1,400 passenger, cargo, and special ships.
MR. COUNSELLOR RAGINSKY: "The sea ports of Sevastopol, Mariupol, Kerch, Novorossisk, Odessa, Nikolaiev, Leningrad, Murmansk, Lepaya, Tallinn, and other ports equipped with modern technical installations suffered greatly. "The invaders sank or captured 4,280 passenger and cargo ships and steam tugs of the river shipping and auxiliary services, as well as 4,029 barges. They destroyed 479 harbor and quay installations, as well as 89 dockyards and machine factories. "While retreating under the pressure of the Red Army, German troops blew up and destroyed 91,000 kilometers of highways and 90,000 road bridges of a total length of 930 kilometers." With this I conclude my statement, Your Honors. The documents which were read into the record and presented to the Tribunal clearly demonstrate how the Hitlerite conspirators, in all the territories seized by them in the U.S.S.R., Yugoslavia, Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Greece, violated the laws and customs of war, the fundamental principles of criminal law, and the direct provisions of Articles 46 and 50 of the Hague Convention of 1907 . The documents submitted also prove that the German invaders contemplated complete destruction of cities and villages from which the Hitlerites were compelled to retreat under the blows of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union. Finally these documents show with what bestial cruelty and mercilessness the Hitlerites carried out their criminal plans in reducing to dust and ashes the largest cultural and industrial centers. Over a wide area from the White to the Black and the Aegean Seas, in the territory temporarily occupied by the German troops, the Hitlerites purposely and according to plan reduced to ruins densely populated and nourishing Russian, Bielorussian, Yugoslavian, Greek, and Czechoslovakian cities, towns, and villages. All this was the result of the criminal activity of the Hitlerite Government and of the German High Command, the representatives of which are now in the dock. In conclusion I should like, Mr.
MR. COUNSELLOR RAGINSKY: President, to present as evidence and as Exhibit Number USSR-401 (Document Number USSR-401) a documentary film concerning the destruction perpetrated by the Germans on the territories of the Soviet Union. Documents certifying the authenticity of this film are now being submitted to the Tribunal. [Moving pictures were then shown.]
THE PRESIDENT: We will adjourn until 1410 hours. [The Tribunal recessed until 1410 hours.] Afternoon Session
MR. COUNSELLOR RAGINSKY: Mr. President, in order to exhaust fully the presentation of evidence on the subject matter of my report I ask your permission to examine witness Joseph Abgarovitch Orbeli who has been brought to the courthouse. Orbeli will testify to the destruction of the monuments of culture and art in Leningrad. [Dr. Servatius approached the lectern.]
THE PRESIDENT: Do you have any objections to make? DR. ROBERT SERVATIUS (Counsel for Defendant Sauckel and for the Leadership Corps of the Nazi Party): I would like to ask the Court to decide whether the witness can be heard on this subject, whether this single piece of evidence is relevant. Leningrad was never in German hands. Leningrad was only fired upon with the regular combat weapons of the troops and also attacked from the air, just as it is done regularly by all the armies of the world. It must be established what is to be proved by this witness.
THE PRESIDENT: The Tribunal considers that there is no substance in the objection that has just been made, and we will hear the witness. [The witness Orbeli took the stand.]
THE PRESIDENT: What is your name?
JOSEPH ABGAROVITCH ORBELI (Witness): Joseph Abgarovitch Orbeli.
THE PRESIDENT: Will you repeat the oath after me -- state your name again: I -- Orbeli, Joseph, a citizen of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics -- summoned as a witness in this Trial  -- in the presence of the Court -- promise and swear -- to tell the Court nothing but the truth -- about everything I know in regard to this case. [The witness repeated the oath in Russian.]
THE PRESIDENT: You may sit if you wish.
MR. COUNSELLOR RAGINSKY: Witness, will you tell us, please, what position do you occupy?
ORBELI: Director of the State Hermitage.
MR. COUNSELLOR RAGINSKY: What is your scientific title?
ORBELI: I am a member of the Academy of Science of the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics, an active member of the Academy of Architecture of the U.S.S.R., an active member and president of the Armenian Academy of Science, an honorable member of the Iran Academy of Science, member of the Society of Antiquarians in London, and a consultant member of the American Institute of Art and Archeology.
MR. COUNSELLOR RAGINSKY: Were you in Leningrad at the time of the German blockade?
ORBELI: Yes, I was.
MR. COUNSELLOR RAGINSKY: Do you know about the destruction of monuments of culture and art in Leningrad?
ORBELI: Yes.
MR. COUNSELLOR RAGINSKY: Can you tell the Tribunal the facts that are known to you?
ORBELI: Besides general observations which I was able to make after the cessation of hostilities around Leningrad, I was also an eyewitness of the measures undertaken by the enemy for destruction of the Hermitage Museum, and the buildings of the Hermitage and the Winter Palace, where the exhibits from the Hermitage Museum were displayed. During many long months these buildings were under systematic air bombardment and artillery shelling. Two air bombs and about 30 artillery shells hit the Hermitage. Shells caused considerable damage to the building, and air bombs destroyed the drainage system and water conduit system of the Hermitage. While observing the destruction done to the Hermitage I could also see, across the river, the buildings of the Academy of Science, namely: the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography, the Zoological Museum, and right next to it the Naval Museum, in the building of the former Stock Exchange. All these buildings were under especially heavy bombardment of incendiary bombs. I saw the effect of these hits from a window in the Winter Palace. Artillery shells caused considerable damage to the Hermitage. I shall mention the most important. One shell broke the portico of the main building of the Hermitage, facing the Millionnaya Street and damaged the piece of sculpture "Atlanta." The other shell went through the ceiling of one of the most sumptuous halls in the Winter Palace and caused considerable damage there. The former stable of the Winter Palace was hit by two shells. Among court carriages of the 17th and 18th centuries that were there displayed, four from the 18th century of high artistic value, and one 19th century gilt carriage were shattered to pieces by one of these shells. Furthermore, one shell went through the ceiling of the Numismatic Hall and of the Hall of Columns in the main building of the Hermitage, and a balcony of this hall was destroyed by it.
ORBELI: At the same time, a branch building of the Hermitage Museum on Solyanoy Lane, namely the former Stieglitz Museum was hit by a bomb from the air which caused very great damage to the building. The building was absolutely unfit for use, and a large part of the exhibits in this building suffered damage.
MR. COUNSELLOR RAGINSKY: Please tell me, Witness, do I understand you correctly? You spoke about the destruction of the Hermitage and you mentioned the Winter Palace. Is that only one building? Where was the Hermitage located, the one you mentioned?
ORBELI: Before the October Revolution, the Hermitage occupied a special building of its own facing Millionnaya Street; and the other side facing the Palace Quay of the Neva. After the Revolution, the Little Hermitage, the building of the Hermitage Theater, the building which separated the Hermitage proper from the Winter Palace, and later even the entire Winter Palace were incorporated into the Hermitage. Therefore, at the present moment the series of buildings comprising the Hermitage consist of the Winter Palace, the Lithe Hermitage, and Great Hermitage, which was occupied by the museum prior to the Revolution, and also the building of the Hermitage Theater, which was built during the reign of Catherine II by the architect Quarenghi and which was hit by the incendiary bomb which I mentioned.
MR. COUNSELLOR RAGINSKY: Besides the destruction of the Winter Palace and the Hermitage, do you know any other facts about the destruction of other cultural monuments?
ORBELI: I observed a series of monuments of Leningrad which suffered damage from artillery shelling and bombing from the air. Among them damage was caused to the Kazan Cathedral, which was built in 1814 by Architect Voronikhin, Isaak's Cathedral, whose pillars still bear the traces of damage pitted in the granite. Within the city limits considerable damage was done to the Rastrelli Wing near the Smolny Cathedral, which was built by Rastrelli. The middle part of the gallery was blown up. Furthermore, considerable damage by artillery fire was done to the surface of the walls of the Fortress of Peter and Paul, which cannot now be considered a military objective.
MR. COUNSELLOR RAGINSKY: Besides Leningrad proper do you know anything about the destruction and devastation of the suburbs of Leningrad?
ORBELI: I had the chance to acquaint myself in detail with the condition of the monuments of Peterhof, Tzarskoye Ssyelo, and Pavlovsk; in all those three towns I saw traces of the monstrous damage to those monuments. And all the damage which I saw, and which is very hard to describe in full because it is too great, all of it showed traces of premeditation. To prove, for instance, that the shelling of the Winter Palace was premeditated, I could mention that the 30 shells did not hit the Hermitage all at once but during a longer period and that not more than one shell hit it during each shooting. In Peterhof, besides the damage caused to the Great Palace by fire which completely destroyed this monument, I also saw gold sheetings torn from the roofs of the Great Palace, the dome of Peterhof Cathedral, and the building at the opposite end of this enormous palace. It was obvious that the gold sheetings could not fly off because of the fire alone, but were intentionally torn off. In Monplaisir, the oldest building of Peterhof, built by Peter the Great, the damage showed also signs of long and gradual ravages, and was not a result of a catastrophe. The precious oak carvings covering the walls were torn off. The ancient Dutch tile stoves, of the time of Peter the Great, disappeared without trace, and temporary, roughly-built stoves were put in their place. The Great Palace, built by Rastrelli in Tsarskoye Ssyelo, shows indubitable traces of intentional destruction. For example, the parquet floors in numerous halls were cut out and carried away, while the building itself was destroyed by fire. In Catherine's Palace, an auxiliary munition plant was installed, and the precious carved 18th century fireplace was used as a furnace and was rendered absolutely worthless. Paul's Palace, which was also destroyed by fire, showed many a sign that the valuable property that once could be found in its halls was carried out before the Palace had been set on fire.
MR. COUNSELLOR RAGINSKY: Tell me, please, you said the Winter Palace as well as the other cultural monuments that you mentioned were intentionally destroyed. Upon what facts do you base that statement?
ORBELI: The fact that the shelling of the Hermitage by artillery fire during the siege was premeditated was quite clear to me and to all my colleagues because damage was caused not casually by artillery shelling during one or two raids, but systematically, during the methodical shelling of the city, which we witnessed for months. The first shells did not hit the Hermitage or the Winter Palace -- they passed near by; they were finding the range and after this they would fire in the same direction, with just a little deviation from the straight line. Not more than one or two shells during one particular shelling would actually hit the Palace. Of course, this could not be accidental in character.
MR. COUNSELLOR RAGINSKY: I have no more questions for the witness.
THE PRESIDENT: Do any of the other prosecuting counsel want to ask any questions? Do any of the Defense Counsel want to ask any questions? DR. HANS LATERNSER (Counsel for the General Staff and High Command of the German Armed Forces): Witness, you have just said that through artillery shelling and also through aerial bombs, the Hermitage, the Winter Palace, and also the Peterhof Palace were destroyed. I would be very much interested to know where these buildings are located; that is, as seen from Leningrad.
ORBELI: The Winter Palace and the Hermitage, which stands right next to it, are in the center of Leningrad on the banks of the Neva on the Palace Quay, not far from the Palace Bridge, which during all the shelling, was hit only once. On the others side, facing the Neva, next to the Winter Palace and the Hermitage, there are the Palace Square and Halturin Street. Did I answer your question?
DR. LATERNSER: I meant the question a little differently. In what part of Leningrad were these buildings -- in the south, the north, the southwest, or southeast section? Will you inform me on that?
ORBELI: The Winter Palace and the Hermitage are right in the center of Leningrad on the banks of the Neva, as I have already mentioned before.
DR. LATERNSER: And where is Peterhof?
ORBELI: Peterhof is on the shores of the Gulf of Finland, southwest of the Hermitage, if you consider the Hermitage as the starting point.
DR. LATERNSER: Can you tell me whether near the Hermitage Palace and Winter Palace there are any industries, particularly armament industries?
ORBELI: So far as I know, in the vicinity of the Hermitage, there are no military enterprises. If the question meant the building of the General Staff, that is located on the other side of the Palace Square, and it suffered much less from shelling than the Winter Palace. The General Staff building, which is on the other side of Palace Square was, so far as I know, hit only by two shells.
DR. LATERNSER: Do you know whether there were artillery batteries, perhaps, near the buildings which you mentioned?
ORBELI: On the whole square around the Winter Palace and the Hermitage there was not a single artillery battery, because from the very beginning steps were taken to prevent any unnecessary vibration near the buildings where such precious museum pieces were.
DR. LATERNSER: Did the factories, the armament factories, continue production during the siege?
ORBELI: I do not understand the question. What factories are you talking about -- the factories of Leningrad in general?
DR. LATERNSER: The Leningrad armament factories. Did they continue production during the siege?
ORBELI: On the grounds of the Hermitage, the Winter Palace, and in the immediate neighborhood, no military enterprise worked. They were never there and during the blockade no factories were built there. But I know that in Leningrad munitions were being made, and were successfully used.
DR. LATERNSER: I have no further questions.
DR. SERVATIUS: Witness, the Winter Palace is on the Neva River. How far from the Winter Palace is the nearest bridge across the Neva River?
ORBELI: The nearest bridge, the Palace Bridget is 50 meters from the Palace, at a distance of the breadth of the quay, but, as I have already said, only one shell hit the bridge during the shellings; that is why I am sure that the Winter Palace was deliberately shelled. I cannot admit that while shelling the bridge, only one shell hit the bridge and 30 hit the nearby building. The other bridge, the Stock Exchange Bridge, connecting Vasilievsky Island with the Petrograd side, is on the opposite bank of the Great Neva. Only a few incendiary bombs were dropped from planes on this bridge. The fires which broke out on the Stock Exchange Bridge were extinguished.
DR. SERVATIUS: Witness, those are conclusions that you are drawing. Have you any knowledge whatever of artillery from which you can judge whether the target was the palace or the bridge beside it?
ORBELI: I never was an artillery man, but I suppose that if German artillery was aiming only at the bridge then it could not possibly hit the bridge only once and hit the palace, which is across the way, with 30 shells. Within these limits -- I am an artillery man.
DR. SERVATIUS: That is your conviction as a non-artillery man. I have another question. The Neva River was used by the fleet. How far from the Winter Palace were the ships of the Red Fleet?
ORBELI: In that part of the Neva River there were no battle-ships which were firing or were used for such kind of service. The Neva ships were anchored in another part of the river, far from the Winter Palace.
DR. SERVATIUS: One last question. Were you in Leningrad during the entire period of the siege?
ORBELI: I was in Leningrad from the first day of the war until 31 March 1942. Then I returned to Leningrad when the German troops were driven out of the suburbs of Leningrad and had a chance to inspect Peterhof, Tsarskoye, Ssyelo, and Pavlovsk.
DR. SERVATIUS: Thank you. I have no more questions.
THE PRESIDENT: General, do you want to ask the witness any questions in re-examination?
MR. COUNSELLOR RAGINSKY: We have no further questions.
THE PRESIDENT: The witness can retire. [The witness left the stand.]
STATE COUNSELLOR OF JUSTICE OF THE 3RD CLASS MAJOR GENERAL N. D. ZORYA (Assistant Prosecutor for the U.S.S.R.): May it please Your Honors, I want to begin to submit documentary evidence on the part of the Soviet Prosecution with regard to the employment of compulsory slave labor practiced by the Hitlerite conspirators on an enormous scale. Fascism, with its plans for world domination, with its denial of law, ethics, mercy, and humane considerations, foresaw the enslavement of the peaceful population of the temporarily occupied territories, the deportation of millions of people to fascist Germany, and the compulsory utilization of their labor power. Fascism and slavery -- these two concepts are inseparable. I shall begin, Your Honors, the presentation of documents relating to this count with the report of the Yugoslav Republic, which has already been submitted to the Tribunal as Exhibit Number USSR-36 (Document Number USSR-36). I shall ask you to look at Page 40 of the report, which is on Page 41 of the document book at the disposal of the Tribunal. I read into the record extracts from the report of the Yugoslav Republic, which is entitled, "Forced Labor of Civilians." I quote: "The Nazi policy of the wholesale exploitation of the occupied territories has also been applied in Yugoslavia. "Immediately after the occupation of Yugoslavia the Reich Government and the OKW introduced obligatory labor service for the population of the occupied territory. The exploitation of manpower in Yugoslavia has been carried out within the framework of the general German plan. The Defendant Goering, as the leader of the German economic plan, issued directives to his subordinates concerning the systematic exploitation of manpower of the occupied territories. "In a report from Berlin, written by one of the head functionaries of the economic service of the German Kommandantur in Belgrade, named Ranze, instructions by Goering are communicated, according to which the economic measures in the occupied territories do not aim at the protection of the local population, but at the exploitation of manpower of the occupied countries for the benefit of the German war economy.