dtufail/nuremberg-trials-corpus huggingface dataset:
stolen-contrary indeed to the solemn assurance given by President Wilson, which was the basic condition on which Germany laid down her arms. The objection that these colonial possessions are of no importance in any case should only lead to their being returned to us with an easy mind." (2773-PS) (3) To acquire further territories in colonial Europe and elsewhere claimed to be required by "racial Germans" as "lebensraum" or living space, at the expense of neighboring and other countries. Hitler made it clear that the two objectives of the Nazi conspirators set forth above were only preliminary steps in a more ambitious plan of territorial aggrandizement. Thus he stated: "One must take the point of view, coolly and soberly, that it certainly cannot be the intention of Heaven to give one people fifty times as much space (Grund und Boden) on this earth as to another. One should not permit himself to be diverted in this case by political boundaries from the boundaries of eternal justice. "The boundaries of 1914 do not mean anything for the future of the German nation. They did not represent either a defense of the past nor would they represent a power in the future. The German people will not obtain either its inner compactness by them, nor will its nutrition by secured by them, nor do these boundaries appear from a military standpoint as appropriate or even satisfactory. * * *" (2760-A-PS) While the precise limits of German expansion were only vaguely defined by the Nazi conspirators, they clearly indicated that the lebensraum to which they felt they were entitled would be acquired primarily in the East. Rosenberg was particularly insistent in his declarations that Russia would have to "move over" to make way for German living space. he underlined this demand as follows: "The understanding that the German nation, if it is not to perish in the truest sense of the word, needs ground and soil for itself and its future generations, and the second sober perception that this soil can no more be conquered in Africa, but in Europe and first of all in the East-these organically determine the German foreign policy for centuries. (2777-PS) "The Russians * * * will have to confine themselves so as to remove their center of gravity to Asia." (2426-PS) A similar view was
that this soil can no more be conquered in Africa, but in Europe and first of all in the East-these organically determine the German foreign policy for centuries. (2777-PS) "The Russians * * * will have to confine themselves so as to remove their center of gravity to Asia." (2426-PS) A similar view was expressed by Hitler in Mein Kampf: "If one wanted territory in Europe, this could be done on the whole at the expense of Russia, and the new Reich would have to set out to march over the road of the former Knights, in order to give soil to the German plow by means of the German sword, and to give daily bread to the nation." (2760-A-PS) in Mein Kampf Hitler threatened war as a means of attaining additional space: "If this earth really has space (Raum) for all to live in, then we should be given the territory necessary. Of course, one will not do that gladly. Then, however, the right of selfpreservation comes into force; that which is denied to kindness, the fist will have to take. If our forefathers had made their decisions dependent on the same pacifistic nonsense as the present, then we would possess only a third of our present territory. "In contrast, we, National Socialists, have to hold on steadily to our foreign political goals, namely, to secure on this earth the territory due to the German people. And this action is the only one which will make bloody sacrifice before God and our German posterity appear justified." (2760-A-PS) B. Methods. The Nazi conspirators advocated the accomplishment of the foregoing aims and purposes by any means deemed opportune, including illegal means and resort to threat of force. force. and aggressive war. The use of force was definitely sanctioned, in fact guaranteed, by official statements and directives of the conspirators which made activism and aggressiveness a political quality obligatory for Party members. Hitler stated in Mein Kampf: "* * * The lack of a great creative idea means at all times an impairment of the fighting spirit. The conviction that it is right to use even the most brutal weapons is always connected with the existence of a fanatical belief that it is necessary that a revolutionary new order of this earth should become victorious. A movement which does not fight for these highest aims and ideals will therefore
spirit. The conviction that it is right to use even the most brutal weapons is always connected with the existence of a fanatical belief that it is necessary that a revolutionary new order of this earth should become victorious. A movement which does not fight for these highest aims and ideals will therefore never resort to the ultimate weapon." "* * * It is not possible to undertake a task half-heartedly or hesitatingly if its execution seems to be feasible only by expending the very last ounce of energy . . . One had to become clear in one's mind that this goal [i.e. acquisition of new territory in Europe] could be achieved by fight alone and then had to face this armed conflict with calmness and composure." (2760-A-PS) In 1934 Hitler set out the duties of Party members in the following terms: "Only a part of the people will be really active fighters. But they were the fighters of the National Socialist struggle. They were the fighters for the National Socialist revolution, and they are the millions of the rest of the population. For them it is not sufficient to confess: 'I believe,' but to swear: 'I fight'." (2775-PS) This same theme is expressed in the Party Organization Book: "The Party includes only fighters who are ready to accept and sacrifice everything in order to carry through the National Socialist ideology." (2774-PS) At the trial of Reichswehr Officers at Leipzig in September 1930 Hitler testified: "Germany is being strangled by Peace Treaties. * * * The National Socialists do not regard the Treaty as a low, but as something forced upon us. We do not want future generations, who are completely innocent, to be burdened by this. When we fight this with all means at our disposal, then we are on the way to a revolution. President of the Court: 'Even by illegal means?' Hitler: "I will declare here and now, that when we have become powerful (gesiegt haben), then we shall fight against the Treaty with all the means at our disposal, even from the point of view of the world, with illegal means." (2512-PS) Moreover, Hitler stated the true reason for rearmament as follows: "It is impossible to build up an army and give it a sense of worth if the object of its existence is not the preparation for war. Armies
the means at our disposal, even from the point of view of the world, with illegal means." (2512-PS) Moreover, Hitler stated the true reason for rearmament as follows: "It is impossible to build up an army and give it a sense of worth if the object of its existence is not the preparation for war. Armies for the preservation of peace do not exist; they exist only for the triumphant exertion of war." (2541-PS) C. Doctrines. The Nazi conspirators adopted and published the following doctrines: (1) That persons of so-called "German blood" were a master race and were accordingly entitled to subjugate, dominate, or exterminate other "races" and "peoples." The Nazi doctrine of racial supremacy was incorporated as Point 4 in the Party Program of 24 February 1920, which provided as follows: "Only a member of the race can be a citizen. A member of the race can only be one who is of German blood, without consideration of creed. Consequently no Jew can be a member of the race." (1708-PS) The Nazi conspirators' dogma of the racial supremacy of the Germanic peoples was fully elucidated in the writings of Rosenberg: "The meaning of world history has radiated out from the north over the whole world, borne by a blue-eyed blond race which in several great waves determined the spiritual face of the world * * * "We stand today before a definitive decision. Either through a new experience and cultivation of the old blood, coupled with an enhanced fighting will, we will rise to a purificatory action, or the last Germanic-western values of morality and state-culture shall sink away in the filthy human masses of the big cities, become stunted on the sterile burning asphalt of a bestialized inhumanity, or trickle away as a morbific agent in the form of emigrants bastardizing themselves in South America, China, Dutch East India, Africa. "A new faith is arising today: the myth of the blood, the faith, to defend with the blood the divine essence of man. The faith, embodied in clearest knowledge that the Nordic blood represents that mysterium which has replaced and overcome the old sacraments." (2771-PS) Thus, the Nazi conspirators acclaimed the "master race" doctrine as a new religion-the faith of the blood-superseding in individual allegiance all other
faith, embodied in clearest knowledge that the Nordic blood represents that mysterium which has replaced and overcome the old sacraments." (2771-PS) Thus, the Nazi conspirators acclaimed the "master race" doctrine as a new religion-the faith of the blood-superseding in individual allegiance all other religions and institutions. According to Rosenberg: "The new thought puts folk and race higher than the state and its forms. It declares protection of the folk more important than protection of a religious denomination, a class, the monarchy, or the republic; it sees in treason against the folk a greater crime than treason against the state." (2771-PS; see also further excerpts from Rosenberg's writings contained in 2405-PS.) Illustrative of the Nazi conspirators' continued espousal and exploitation of racial dogmas following their accession to power was the discriminatory legislation which they caused to be enacted. These laws, with particular reference to Jews, are set forth in Section 7 of this Chapter on the Program for persecution of Jews. The logical consequence of the "master race" dogma, in its bearing on the right of Germany to dominate other "inferior" peoples and to acquire such of their territory as was considered necessary for German living space, was disclosed by the Nazi conspirators. In a speech concluding the Reichsparteitag at Nurnberg on 3 September 1933 Hitler said: "But long ago man has proceeded in the same way with his fellowman. The higher race-at first 'higher' in the sense of possessing a greater gift for organization-subjects to itself a lower race and thus constitutes a relationship which now embraces races of unequal value. Thus there results the subjection of a number of people under the will often of only a few persons, a subjection based simply on the right of the stronger, a right which, as we see it in Nature, can be regarded as the sole conceivable right because founded on reason. The wild mustang does not take upon itself the yoke imposed by man either voluntarily or joyfully; neither does one people welcome the violence of another." (2584-PS) (2) The Fuehrerprinzip (Fuehrer Principle). (a) Essential elements. 1. Complete and total authority is vested in the Fuehrer. "The Fuehrer
founded on reason. The wild mustang does not take upon itself the yoke imposed by man either voluntarily or joyfully; neither does one people welcome the violence of another." (2584-PS) (2) The Fuehrerprinzip (Fuehrer Principle). (a) Essential elements. 1. Complete and total authority is vested in the Fuehrer. "The Fuehrer Principle requires a pyramidal organization structure in its details as well as in its entirety. "The Fuehrer is at the top. "He nominates the necessary leaders for the various spheres of work of the Reich's direction, the Party apparatus and the State administration." (1814-PS) "He shapes the collective will of the people within himself and he enjoys the political unity and entirety of the people in opposition to individual interests. "The Fuehrer unites in himself all the sovereign authority of the Reich; all public authority in the state as well as in the movement is derived from the authority of the Fuehrer. We must speak not of the state's authority but of the Fuehrer's authority if we wish to designate the character of the political authority within the Reich correctly. The state does not hold political authority as an impersonal unit but receives it from the Fuehrer as the executor of the national will. The authority of the Fuehrer is complete and all embracing; it unites in itself all the means of political direction; it extends into all fields of national life; it embraces the entire people, which is bound to the Fuehrer in loyalty and obedience. The authority of the Fuehrer is not limited by checks and controls, by special autonomous bodies or individual rights, but it is free and independent, all-inclusive and unlimited. "The Fuehrer-Reich of the (German) people is founded on the recognition that the true will of the people cannot be disclosed through parliamentary votes and plebiscites but that the will of the people in its pure and uncorrupted form can only be expressed through the Fuehrer." (2771-PS) "Thus at the head of the Reich, stands a single Fuehrer, who in his personality embodies the idea which sustains all and whose spirit and will therefore animate the entire community." (2780-PS) As stated in the Organization Book of the Nazi Party: "The will of the Fuehrer is the
through the Fuehrer." (2771-PS) "Thus at the head of the Reich, stands a single Fuehrer, who in his personality embodies the idea which sustains all and whose spirit and will therefore animate the entire community." (2780-PS) As stated in the Organization Book of the Nazi Party: "The will of the Fuehrer is the Party's law." (1814-PS) The first commandment for the Party members declares: "The Fuehrer is always right." (1814-PS) "he (the Fuehrer) is responsible only to his conscience and the German people." (1814-PS) Hess, in a speech broadcast at Cologne on 25 June 1934, characterized the position of the Fuehrer as follows: "It is with pride that we see that one man is kept above all criticism-that is the Fuehrer. "The reason is that everyone feels and knows: he was always right and will always be right. The National Socialism of us all is anchored in the uncritical loyalty, in the devotion to the Fuehrer that does not ask for the wherefore in the individual case, in the tacit performance of his commands. We believe that the Fuehrer is fulfilling a divine mission to German destiny! This belief is beyond challenge." (2426-PS; see also additional statements of the Nazi conspirators designed to condition the German people to blind acceptance of the decisions of the Fuehrer and his co-conspirators, as translated in 2373-PS.) 2. The Fuehrer's power descends to subleaders in a hierarchical order. In the words of the Organization Book of the NSDAP: "The Party is the order of fuehrers. "All political directors (Politische Leiter) stand as appointed by the Fuehrer and are responsible to him. They possess full authority towards the lower echelons. (1893-PS) "he (The Fuehrer) nominates the necessary leaders for the various spheres of work of the Reichs' direction, the Party apparatus, and the State administration." (1814-PS) The effect of this was aptly expressed by Hitler in 1933: "When our opponents said, 'it is easy for you: you are a dictator'-We answer them, 'No, gentlemen, you are wrong; there is no single dictator, but ten thousand, each in his own place.' And even the highest authority in the hierarchy has itself only one wish, never to transgress against the supreme authority to which it, too, is responsible." (2771-PS) 3. Each
are a dictator'-We answer them, 'No, gentlemen, you are wrong; there is no single dictator, but ten thousand, each in his own place.' And even the highest authority in the hierarchy has itself only one wish, never to transgress against the supreme authority to which it, too, is responsible." (2771-PS) 3. Each subleader is bound to unconditional obedience to his immediate superior and to the Fuehrer. As Hitler said, "We have in our movement developed this loyalty in following the leader, this blind obedience of which all the others know nothing and which gave to us the power to surmount everything." (2771-PS) The duty of obedience is so fundamental that it is incorporated as the second of the NSDAP commandments for party members: "Never go against discipline!" (2771-PS) As Ley said: "Our conscience is clearly and exactly defined. Only what Adolf Hitler, our Fuehrer, commands, allows, or does not allow is our conscience." (2771-PS) The obedience required was not the loyalty of a soldier to the Fatherland, as was the case prior to the Nazi regime. On the contrary, the obedience exacted was unconditional and absolute, regardless of the legality or illegality of the order. The oath taken by political leaders (politische Leiter) yearly was as follows: "I pledge eternal allegiance to Adolf Hitler. I pledge unconditional obedience to him and the Fuehrers appointed by him." (1893-PS) 4. Each subleader is absolute in his own sphere of jurisdiction. The Nazi Party Organization Book lays down the same principle with respect to the successive tiers of its leaders: "The fuehrer Principle represented by the Party imposes complete responsibility on all party leaders for their respective spheres of activity * * * The responsibility for all tasks within a major sphere of jurisdiction rests with the respective leader of the NSDAP: i.e., with the Fuehrer for the territory of the Reich, the Gauleiter for the territory of the Gau, the district leader for the territory of the district, the local leader for the territory of the local group, etc. "The Party leader has responsibility for the entire territory under his jurisdiction on the one hand, and on the other hand, his own political fields of activity appertaining thereto. "This
the district leader for the territory of the district, the local leader for the territory of the local group, etc. "The Party leader has responsibility for the entire territory under his jurisdiction on the one hand, and on the other hand, his own political fields of activity appertaining thereto. "This responsibility for the complete or partial performance of task entails a relationship of subordination of the leaders among themselves, corresponding to the fuehrer principle." (2771-PS) (3) Glorification of War as a noble and necessary activity of Germans. The Nazi conspirators disseminated dogmas designed to engender in the masses a deep reverence for the vocation of the warrior and to induce acceptance of the postulate that the waging of war was good and desirable per se. The motive underlying the concerted program of the Nazis to glorify war was disclosed by Hitler in Mein Kampf: "Thus the question of how to regain German power is not: how shall we manufacture arms?, but: How do we create the spirit which enables a nation to bear arms? If this spirit governs a people, the will finds thousands of ways, each of which ends with a weapon!" "* * * Oppressed countries are led back into the lap of a common Reich by a mighty sword and not by flaming protests. It is the task of the inner political leaders of a people to forge this sword; to safeguard the work of the smith and to seek comrades in arms in the task of the foreign policy." (2760-A-PS) Hitler's writings and public utterances are full of declarations rationalizing the use of force and glorifying war. The following are typical: "Always before God and the world, the stronger has the right to carry through his will. History proves it: He who has no might, has no use for might. (2405-PS) "The political testament of the German People for its foreign policy should and must always follow this line of thought: Never tolerate the rise of two continental powers in Europe. See in every attempt to organize a second military power, * * * an attack against Germany and take therefrom not only the right but the duty to prevent by all means, including the use of arms, the rise of such a state, respectively to destroy such a state if it has already
continental powers in Europe. See in every attempt to organize a second military power, * * * an attack against Germany and take therefrom not only the right but the duty to prevent by all means, including the use of arms, the rise of such a state, respectively to destroy such a state if it has already arisen. Take care that the strength of our people should have its foundation not in colonies but in the soil of the home country in Europe. Never consider the Reich as secured as long as it cannot give to every descendant of our people his own bit of soil for centuries to come; never forget that the most sacred right on this earth is the right to own the soil which one wants to cultivate and the most sacred sacrifice, the blood which is shed for this soil." (2760-a-PS) (4) The leadership of the Nazi Party. (a) The Nazi Party leadership was the sole bearer of the doctrines of the Nazi Party. The Party Organization Book declares: "The party as an instrument of ideological education, must grow to be the Leader Corps (Fuehrer Korps) of the German Nation. "This leader Corps is responsible for the complete penetration of the German Nation with the National Socialist spirit * * *" (1893-PS) "The Party is the order of fuehrers. It is furthermore responsible for the spiritual ideological National Socialist direction of the German people." (1814-PS) Referring to the mission of the Ortsgruppenleiter (local chapter leader) of the NSDAP, the Party Organization Book states: "As Hoeheitstraeger (bearer of sovereignty) all expressions of the party will emanate from him; he is responsible for the political and ideological leadership and organization within his zone of sovereignty." (1893-PS) Similar statements are made with regard to the Kreisleiter (county Leader) and the Gauleiter (Gau leader) and the Reich Directorate (1893-PS). (b) The Nazi Party leadership was entitled to control and dominate the German state and all related institutions and all individuals therein. Hitler said at the 1935 Nurnberg Party Congress: "It is not the State which gives orders to us, it is we who give orders to the State." (2775-PS) Frick declared in a similar vein: "In national Socialist Germany, leadership is in the hands of an organized community, the National socialist