dtufail/nuremberg-trials-corpus huggingface dataset:
LIEUTENANT COLONEL J. M. G. GRIFFITH-JONES (Junior Counsel for the United Kingdom): May it please the Tribunal, it is my duty to present the evidence upon Counts One and Two of the Indictment against the Defendant Hess. My Lord, the trial brief, which I believe the Tribunal have before them, has been made out in the form of a fairly full note of the evidence to which I intend to refer, and it may be of convenience to the Tribunal to have it before them during the court sitting. May I first prove the positions which he held and which are set out in Appendix A of the Indictment , and say a word about his early life. The defendant was born in 1894. He is now 52 years old. He served in the German Army during the last war and in 1919 he went to Munich University. There he became the leader of the Nazi organization in that university and in 1920 he became a member of the Nazi Party itself. He was among the first of the SA, and he became the leader of the students' corps of police. In 1923 he took part in the Munich Putsch, and as a result of that he was sentenced to 18 months in prison. Half of that period he served in jail with Hitler himself. I stress that, because it was during those seven and one-half months in prison with Hitler that Hitler dictated Mein Kampf.
THE PRESIDENT: Have you got...
LT. COL. GRIFFITH-JONES: I think I know what the difficulty is. This case was originally scheduled to be presented by the American Delegation and they did have a brief of their own. It may be that that is the brief which Mr. Biddle has before him. I will hand you up a spare copy.
THE PRESIDENT: Go on, Sir.
LT. COL. GRIFFITH-JONES: It was during that time that Hitler dictated Mein Kampf to this defendant. Now, dealing with his actual appointments: From 1925 until 1932 he was private secretary and aide-de-camp to Hitler. In 1932 he became the Chairman of the Central Political Committee of the Party, in succession to Gregor Strasser. In March 1933, after the Nazi Party became a power, he became a member of the Reichstag, and in April of that year he was appointed Deputy to the Fuehrer, a position which he held until he flew to England in May of 1941. That evidence so far is all contained in two documents, one a book called Dates of the History of the Nazi Party, by Volz, which is already in evidence as Document Number 3132-PS and was put in evidence as Exhibit Number USA-592, and the other the Deutsche Fuehrerlexikon, Document Number 3191-PS, Exhibit Number USA-593. On the first of December 1933, he became Reich Minister without Portfolio, another position which he held throughout the remainder of his time in Germany. That appears in the Reichsgesetzblatt. It is Document Number 3178-PS and it goes in now as GB-248. On the 4th of February 1938 he became a member of the Secret Cabinet Council. My Lord, that is Document Number 3189-PS, and becomes GB-249. On the 30th of August 1939 he became a member of the Council of Ministers for Defense of the Reich, Document Number 2018-PS, which becomes GB-250. On the 1st of September 1939 he was appointed successor designate to the Fuehrer, after Goering. Goering, it will be remembered, was successor Numb er 1, and during that time Hess held the positions of Obergruppenfuehrer in the SS and in the SA. That completes the formal proof of the positions charged against him in the Indictment . I would say a word upon the authority he exercised under and holding these positions.
LT. COL. GRIFFITH-JONES: The Tribunal will remember that in appointing Hess as his Deputy, the Fuehrer decreed, in the decree by which he made the appointment, as follows: "I hereby appoint Hess as my Deputy and give him full power to make decisions in my name on al, questions of Party leadership." The extent of his office as Deputy Fuehrer can be seen from the Party year book of 1941, to which I would briefly refer the Tribunal, as it appears on Page 104 of the Tribunal's document book. It is Document Number 3163-PS and has already been put in as USA-255. I quote from that year book: "By decree of the Fuehrer of 21 April 1933 the Deputy of the Fuehrer received full power, to decide in the name of the Fuehrer on all matters concerning Party leadership. Thus, the Deputy of the Fuehrer is the representative of the Fuehrer, with full power over the entire leadership of the National Socialist German Workers Party. The office of the Deputy of the Fuehrer is therefore an of lice of the Fuehrer. "In essence, it is the duty of the Deputy of the Fuehrer to direct the basic policies of Party work, to give directives, and take care that all Party work be done in agreement with National Socialist principles. "All the threads of the Party work are gathered together by the Deputy of the Fuehrer. He gives the final Party word on all intra-Party plans and all questions vital for the existence of the German people. The Deputy of the Fuehrer gives the directives required for all the Party work, in order to maintain the unity, determination, and striking power of the National Socialist German Workers Party as the bearer-of the National Socialist philosophy. "In addition to the duties of Party leadership, the Deputy of the Fuehrer has far reaching powers in the field of the State. These are: "1. Participation in national and state legislation, including the preparation of Fuehrer decrees. The Deputy of the Fuehrer in this way validates the conception of the Party as the guardian of National Socialist philosophy. "2.
LT. COL. GRIFFITH-JONES: Approval of the Deputy of the Fuehrer of proposed appointments for officials and labor service leaders. "3. Securing the influence of the Party over the self-government of the regional administrations." I would refer the Tribunal to Page 119 of the document book, which is a chart which shows the organization of the Deputy of the Fuehrer's office. It is Document Number 3201-PS which becomes GB-251. I would particularly refer the Tribunal to the square in the center, showing the liaison officer of the Wehrmacht, and showing his close association with the Army; and in the right-hand column at the top: "Chief of the Foreign Organization," of which I shall tell the Tribunal in a moment; "Commissioner for Foreign Policy," showing his concern with the foreign policy of the German State; "Commissioner for All Technological Matters and Organization"; 'commissioner for All University Matters"; "Commissioner of University Policy," showing his concern with the education of Germany; and further down "Office for Racial Policy," showing his concern with the anti-Jew policy of the Nazi Government that followed; and at the bottom again, "Specialist on Education." But a glance at that chart will show that he was really involved in every aspect and every branch of Nazi life and the organization and administration of the State. As Reich Minister without Portfolio, in the Law to Secure the Unity of Party and State of 1 December 1933, it was stated that his task was to guarantee the close working co-operation of the Party and the SA with public authority. Put in as Document Number 1395-PS, it becomes GB-252. He acquired wide legislative powers, as it has already been seen from the extract which I have read from the Nazi year book of 1941. I would particularly draw the attention of the Tribunal to a decree of Hitler's dated 27 July. The extract which I wish to quote is set out in the trial brief. It has already been read and therefore I will do nothing now other than to draw the attention of the Tribunal to it.
LT. COL. GRIFFITH-JONES: The document is Document Number D-138 and has been put in as USA-403. By the law for the protection of people in November 1933, it will be remembered that Hitler and his cabinet obtained for themselves full powers of legislation, independently of the Reichstag, and this defendant, being a member of the cabinet, of course, shared in these powers. His approval of that procedure can be seen from a speech he made on the 16th of January 1937, and a short extract is again set out in the trial brief that the Tribunal has before them: "National Socialism has seen to it that vital necessities of our nation can today no longer be taken away by a Reichstag and made the object of the haggling of parties. You have seen that in the new Germany decisions of historic importance are made by the Fuehrer and his cabinet within a few hours, decisions which in other countries must be preceded by parliamentary debates lasting days and weeks." That last extract is taken from Document Number 2426-PS, which becomes Exhibit Number GB-253. That these powers and offices were no sinecure is clear from Hess' own order which he issued in October 1934. I will not read it now because it has already been read. It is Document Number D-139 and was put in as USA-404; and the Tribunal will remember that he is there issuing a decree saying he has been given the right to participate in legislation by the Fuehrer and any office that is promoting legislation, in which he therefore ought to take part, must let him have the draft in time to take effective action on it if he disapproves of it. I think again the extract I have read from the year book sufficiently describes the powers that he had without my referring to more than two other documents upon this matter. On Page 5 of the trial brief it will be seen that he acquired powers and took part in the organization and production under the Four Year Plan. I quote from a lecture given by the Defendant Frick on the 7th of March 1940, which is Document Number 2608-PS and has already been put in as USA-714.
LT. COL. GRIFFITH-JONES: But the short passage that I quote now was not actually read. In that lecture Frick said: "In order to guarantee the co-ordination of the various economic agencies of the Four Year Plan, those agencies were formed into a general council, under the chairmanship of Goering. Its members are the state secretaries of the agencies working in the field of war economy, the Chief of the Military Office of Economy, and a representative of the Deputy of the Fuehrer." And lastly, a quotation from the National Zeitung of the 27th of April 1941, which is Document Number M-102 and becomes GB-254. My Lord, it appears on Page 4 of the trial brief. I quote from these passages, set out simply to save the Tribunal's time in referring to the document book. It does appear on Page 12 of the document book if the Tribunal desires to refer to the full extract: "A long while ago-it was still before the outbreak of the war-Rudolf Hess was once called the 'Conscience of the Party.' If we ask why the Fuehrer's Deputy was given this undoubtedly honorable title, the reason for this is plain to see. There is no aspect of our public life which is not the concern of the Fuehrer's Deputy. So enormously many-sided and diverse is his work and sphere of duty that it cannot be outlined in a few words; and it lies in the nature of the duties laid on the Fuehrer's Deputy that the public at large hears little of the work of Rudolf Hess. Few know that many government measures taken, especially in the sphere of war economy and the Party, which meet with such hearty approbation when they are proclaimed because they voice true public feeling, can be traced back to the direct initiation of the Fuehrer's Deputy." Perhaps I ought to remind the Tribunal that in the decree appointing a Secret Cabinet Council, that council was appointed by Hitler to advise him in the conduct of foreign policy. The Tribunal will find attached to that document book a few photos. They are of little importance.
LT. COL. GRIFFITH-JONES: They were really to emphasize or remind the Tribunal of the film that was shown earlier in the course of these proceedings, when, it will be remembered, the Defendant Hess appeared in practically every scene of that film "The Rise to Power of the Nazi Party." These photographs are not actually photographs from that film; they are somewhat similar and I produce an affidavit with them to state they were taken by Hitler's own private photographer. That affidavit becomes Document Number GB-255. That, then, is the evidence of his position and of his authority; and perhaps I might be allowed to make one short submission upon that. I make it in respect of this Defendant Hess, although it is perhaps a submission which can be made in respect of every one of these defendants. The Prosecution has presented these cases against the individual defendants in the form of a collection of the documents which directly refer and which directly connect these defendants with specific instances of participation in the various cringes that were committed by the German people. My Lord, it will be my submission that it is sufficient to justify and bring home the conviction of this man and his colleagues to produce simply evidence of their positions in the Nazi State and the control of that State and also the general evidence of the crimes which were committed by the German people. It is only perhaps now, at this late stage in the trial, as day by day the extent and scope of those crimes is becoming clearer, that we realize that they cannot have happened by themselves. Crimes on that scale must be organized, co-ordinated, and directed. If the government of Nazi Germany, or the government of any country, is not the organization which directed and co-ordinated, what is? If the members of the German nation who ate committing those crimes are not people responsible for them, then, in my submission, one is entitled to ask, Who is? My Lord, there can be no question that these men had knowledge.
LT. COL. GRIFFITH-JONES: Again, as the picture unfolds, it will be my submission that everybody in Germany must have had knowledge of what was going on; and if everybody had knowledge, then, my submission is, these men must certainly have had knowledge; and I would urge upon this Tribunal the fact that the conviction of these men does not rely upon the mere chance of how many documents happened to have been captured bearing their signatures. It might well have been that no documents at all had been captured. But, in the submission of the Prosecution, these men could equally well and equally justifiably have been proved guilty in the part they took, beyond any kind of doubt, upon the evidence of the positions that they held and the evidence of the scope and extent of the crimes that were committed by the people they controlled. My Lord, that is my submission, and in view of that, I would perhaps deal briefly, for the convenience of the Tribunal, with the small matters, the many matters, which do directly connect him with, as I say, almost every aspect of the crimes and life of Nazi Germany. I turn to Page 6 of the trial brief....
DR.ALFRED SEIDL (Counsel for the Defendant Rudolf Hess): The prosecuting attorney just mentioned a sworn statement. I cannot find this sworn statement either in the document book or in his trial brief. I can, consequently, take no position in regard to this sworn statement, nor, especially, can I go into the question as to whether there is any objection to the statement as regards the terms of the Charter . I request the prosecuting attorney to present me with this sworn statement. 'TV; PRESIDENT: We couldn't hear the rest of the translation through. Well, go on!
DR. SEIDL: Mr. President, I am not sure how much of the translation you heard.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, there is some document that you are saying is not in the document book?
LT. COL. GRIFFITH-JONES: I intend to say that the photos graphs are in the book. The affidavit by the photographer was by mistake omitted from the book; the original is here. I will produce a copy for Dr. Seidl, and I regret it was not done before. It was not a very important document. My Lord, it might be expected that, in the positions he held, the Defendant Hess took a leading part in the acquisition of power by the Nazi Party and in its consolidation of control over the State. By the law of the 1st of August the office of Reich President...
THE PRESIDENT: 1934?
LT. COL. GRIFFITH-JONES: I beg your pardon, 1934, yes. [Continuing] . . . and of Reich Chancellor were joined together under Hitler. Hitler held both offices. That decree was signed by others and by Hess. Hess also signed a decree on the 20th of December 1934, a decree entitled "Laws against Treacherous Acts against the State and Party." By Article 1 of that decree penalties were imposed upon anybody making false statements injuring the prestige of the government, the Party, or its agencies; and by Article 2 penalties were imposed for statements proving a malicious attitude against the Party or its leading personalities. The decree was signed by Hess, and it was Hess who had to issue the necessary regulations for carrying the decree into effect. He took a leading part in the gaining of control over government appointments. I quote again in all these matters only a few examples. If one wanted to quote every decree that the defendant signed and every act he took in participation of these matters, it would really entail writing a history of the Nazi Party from 1920 until 1941, and a history of Germany from 1933 until 1941. Set out in the trial brief at Page 7, it will be seen that there are various decrees, all signed by Hess: On the 24th of September 1935, a decree providing for his consultation in the appointment of Reich civil servants; 3rd April 1936, providing for his participation in the appointment of labor service officials; and I refer again to the 10th of July 1937, another decree under which he participated by having to be consulted upon the appointment of other minor civil servants. With respect to the control of the Nazi Party gained over the German youth, again there are various decrees signed by this defendant and I set out in the trial brief, particularly, a reference to the book which has already been put in, Volz' dates of the Nazi Party, where it appears that he appointed a University Commission of the Party, which was under his supervision.
LT. COL. GRIFFITH-JONES: The Tribunal will remember that we have already seen from the chart of his staff that he had a department dealing with universities and with teachers. And I am quoting from The same document. On the 18th of July 1934, the Nazi League of German Students was directly subordinated to the Deputy of the Fuehrer. The defendant, as the Tribunal has heard, was an Obergruppenfuehrer himself in the SS and the SA. His responsibility for an association with those organizations can be seen from three documents. Amongst the papers found in the Krupp files was a circular sent by Hess, apparently to various industries, asking for funds or subscriptions for the Adolf Hitler Fund for German Industry. The document is Document Number D-151, which I put in now as Exhibit Number GB-256, and the relevant extract again is set out in the trial brief for convenience: "The 'Adolf Hitler Fund for German Economy' is founded upon an agreement between the Reich management of the NSDAP and leading representatives of German industry." Then its purpose is set out: "To put, firstly, at the disposal of the Reich leadership the funds required for the unified execution of the tasks which fall to the lot of the SA, SS, St., HJ and other political organizations...." He signed a decree on the 9th of June 1934. For the convenience of the Tribunal, perhaps I ought to mention that that last document I mentioned can be found at Page 5 of the document book. On the 9th of June 1934 he signed a decree by which the Security Service of the Reichsfuehrer SS was established as the sole political news and defense service of the Party. On the 14th of December 1938, he issued a decree by which the SD, which Himmler had established, was taken off the establishment of the Party; and it was, under that decree, to be organized by the SS. Those were both Hess decrees; and they are here both the same document, Document Number 3385-PS, which becomes GB-257; and they appear at Page 172 of the Tribunal's document book.
LT. COL. GRIFFITH-JONES: My Lord, there has already been given much evidence of the subversion of the churches in order to eliminate any hostile parties there may have been to the Nazi Party. Hess again took his share in that legislation, and there are set out in the trial brief, on Pages 8 and 9, a series of decrees which have already been put before the Tribunal during the presentation of the case against Bormann. Bormann, it will be remembered, was at this time and throughout, until Hess flew to England, Hess' deputy; and therefore, it will be my submission that decrees issued by Bormann as deputy for the Deputy of the Fuehrer are, of course, the responsibility of this defendant as well. For the sake of time I believe the Tribunal has a reference to the decrees and will bear in mind the evidence that was offered against the Defendant Bormann. I come now, then, to his activity in the general persecution of the Jews. Again it will be remembered that the chart of his organization showed an office of his which described itself as the Office for Racial Policy. His own views about this matter are found in a speech which he made on the 16th of January 1937 and which is reported in a volume of his speeches which is Document Number 3124-PS. It is already in as Exhibit Number GB-253. The extract I desire to quote is set out in the trial brief. The document can be found on Page 98 of the document book. "The organizations of the NSDAP will be used for the enlightenment of the people on questions concerning race and health with the aim of improving the latter and increasing the population..." "As at home, so in foreign countries, the Germans will be influenced in the National Socialist sense by the Landesgruppen or local groups of the Party. They will be educated to become again proudly conscious of their German origin, to stand together in mutual esteem and will be taught to place the German higher than any foreigner, irrespective of state or descent." It was Hess who signed the Law for Protection of Blood and Honor, one of the Nuremberg decrees of the 15th of September 1935.
LT. COL. GRIFFITH-JONES: It is Document Number 3179-PS. It is already in evidence as Exhibit USA-200. It will be remembered that under that decree and under the other Reich Citizenship Law of the same date, it was the Deputy of the Fuehrer who was to issue the necessary decrees and regulations for the carrying out and supplementing of those laws, the Nuremberg Decrees. On the 14th of November 1935, it was Hess who issued an ordinance under the Reich Citizenship Law which deprived the Jews of the right to vote or to hold public office. That is Document Number 1417-PS and becomes Exhibit Number GB-258. By a further decree of the 20th of May 1938, those Nuremberg laws were extended to Austria, that law of extension again being signed by this defendant-Document Number 2124-PS, Exhibit Number GB-259. As I said, those are only a few examples of the decrees and activities of this man in the acquisition of power and consolidation of power in the Nazi Party. There is a document which I will hand up to the Tribunal that perhaps it might add to its document books, and there is a copy in French for the learned French Judge. There are examples in this and other exhibits which I have not mentioned now but which are already before the Tribunal, put in when the case of Bormann was put before the Tribunal, for which, as I have already said, this defendant must take responsibility. You will see that under various headings-there are one or two German copies and the rest are in English-there are various documents set out under the headings, "Association with the SD and Gestapo"; "Subversion of the Churches"; and again, "The Persecution of the Jews." I turn then to the part which he played in the actual planning and preparation for aggressive war. We find that as early as in 1932 he was concerned with the rearmament and reorganization of the Air Force.