dtufail/nuremberg-trials-corpus huggingface dataset:
CAPT. HARRIS: We know that this is a harsh necessity, bare of any feelings." I next offer in evidence Document Number EC-347, which is Exhibit Number USA-320. This document was likewise found among the captured files of the OKW. It contains a set of directives issued by Defendant Rosenberg in his capacity as Reich Minister for the Occupied Eastern Territories. I quote from the first two full paragraphs of Page 1 of this exhibit. The German text is at Page 39, Paragraphs 4 and 5. In these directives Defendant Rosenberg stated, and I quote: "The principal task of the civilian administration in the Occupied Eastern Territories is to represent the interests of the Reich. This basic principle is to be given precedence in all measures and considerations. Therefore, the occupied territories, in the future, may be permitted to have a life of their own in a form not as yet to be determined. However, they remain parts of the Greater German living space and are always to be governed according to this guiding principle. "The regulations of the Hague Convention on land warfare , which concern the administration of a country occupied by a foreign belligerent power, are not applicable, since the U.S.S.R. is to be considered dissolved and, therefore, the Reich has the obligation of exercising all governmental and other sovereign functions in the interests of the country's inhabitants. Therefore, any measures are permitted which the German administration deems necessary and suitable for the execution of this comprehensive task."
THE PRESIDENT: Hasn't that been read before?
CAPT. HARRIS: Not to my knowledge, Sir.
THE PRESIDENT: Very well.
CAPT. HARRIS: Implicit in Defendant Rosenberg's statement that the Hague Regulations are not applicable to the Soviet Union is the recognition by him that the conspirators' actions in the Soviet Union flagrantly violated the Hague Regulations. The statement indicates that the conspirators were utterly contemptuous of applicable principles of international law. Mr. Dodd has already introduced into evidence Document 294-PS, now Exhibit Number USA-185, in connection with the slave labor presentation. This document is a top-secret memorandum, dated 25 October 1942, which was found in Defendant Rosenberg's files. It was written by Brautigam, who was a high official in Defendant Rosenberg's Ministry for the Occupied Eastern Territories. I should like to quote two additional passages from this document. I quote from the English text Page 1, the first full paragraph, line 17 to 20. The German text is at Page 1, the first full paragraph, lines 22 to 25. "In the East, Germany is carrying on a three-fold war: A war for the destruction of bolshevism, a war for the destruction of the Greater Russian empire, and finally a war for the acquisition of colonial territory for colonizing purposes and economic exploitation.... "With the inherent instinct of the Eastern peoples, the primitive man soon found out also that for Germany the slogan: 'Liberation from Bolshevism' was only a pretext to enslave the Eastern peoples according to her own methods." This completes, Your Honors, the list of the exhibits with respect to the Soviet Union which we propose to introduce at this time. As I mentioned at the outset of this presentation, these exhibits do not disclose all of the conspirators' plans with respect to the occupied countries but they do, we submit, show a constant pattern, a pattern of ruthless Germanization and destruction. In conclusion we desire to offer in evidence two documents which disclose that German industrialists and financiers aided and abetted Himmler in his relentless program of Germanization, exploitation, oppression, and destruction.
CAPT. HARRIS: I first offer in evidence Document Number EC-454, which is Exhibit Number USA-321. This document was found in the vaults of the Stein Bank in Cologne among the files of the banker Baron Kurt van Schroder, by a joint British-American team, headed by Colonel Kellam on the British side and Captain Roth on the American side. It is a carbon copy of a letter from Von Schroder to Himmler, dated 27 August 1943, and bears Von Schroder's initials. I quote it in its entirety: "My very honorable Reichsfuehrer: With great joy I learn of your appointment as Reich Minister of the Interior and take the liberty to extend my heartiest congratulations to you on assuming your new post. "A strong hand is now very necessary in the operation of this department; and it is universally welcomed, but especially by your friends, that it was you who were chosen for this by the Fuehrer. Please be assured that we will always do everything in our power at all times to assist you in every possible way. "I am pleased to inform you at this opportunity that your circle of friends has again placed at your disposal this year a sum slightly in excess of 1 million RM for 'your particular tasks.' An exact list showing the names of the contributors will be sent to you shortly. "Again all my very best wishes-as well as those of my family. I remain yours in old loyalty and esteem. Heil Hitler! Yours truly." I next offer in evidence-and this is the final exhibit, Your Honors-Document Number EC-453, which is Exhibit Number USA-322. This document was likewise found in the Stein Bank in Cologne by the above-mentioned joint British-American team. It is a carbon copy of a letter from Von Schroder to Himmler, dated 21 September 1943, bearing Von Schroder's initials, with the enclosed list of contributors....
THE PRESIDENT: Captain Harris, on what principle do you suggest that either of these letters can possibly be evidence in this case?
CAPT. HARRIS: Your Honors, at the time the motion to postpone the Trial as to Gustav Krupp was argued before this Tribunal, the British Chief Prosecutor specifically stated that if it should be the decision of the Tribunal that Krupp should be dismissed, the evidence as to the part which he, his firm, and other industrialists played in the preparation and conduct of the war would still be given to this Tribunal as forming part of the general conspiracy in which these defendants were involved, with divers other persons not now before the Court. The evidence we are now offering, Your Honors, is precisely of the type indicated by Sir Hartley Shawcross. It is evidence which goes to prove the length and breadth of the general conspiracy which is alleged in the Indictment. Evidence showing contributions to one of the leading conspirators, a conspirator who was in the forefront of the unlawful program to plunder public and private property and to germanize a large part of the world, is, it is submitted, relevant to this proceeding. May I continue?
THE PRESIDENT: Yes.
CAPT.HARRIS: I quote the last letter, EC-453, in its entirety: "Dear Reich Leader: "I thank you very much for your kind letter of the 14th of this month with which you made me very happy. At the same time I am enclosing a list with the total amount of funds made available to you by your circle of friends and totalling 1,100,000 RM. We are very glad indeed to render some assistance to you in your particular tasks and to be able to provide some small relief for you in your still further extended sphere of duties. "Wishing you, dear Reich Leader, the best of luck, I remain in old loyalty and esteem. Heil Hitler! Yours very truly." I had intended, Your Honor, to quote the names of the contributors; but I shall not, if Your Honor considers it unnecessary.
THE PRESIDENT: I don't think it would add to the expedition of the Trial, do you?
CAPT. HARRIS: Very well, Sir. I am exceedingly grateful to Your Honors for your very kind attention.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, Colonel Storey.
COLONEL ROBERT G. STOREY (Executive Trial Counsel for the United States): Do Your Honors want to proceed now before the recess?
THE PRESIDENT: No, perhaps we had better adjourn now for 10 minutes.
COL. STOREY: If the Tribunal please, the remainder of the presentation during the week will be concerning the criminal organizations. The first to be presented now is the Leadership Corps, including some of the illustrative crimes against the churches, against the Jews, against the trade unions, and the operation of the "Einsatzstab Rosenberg" concerning the looting of art treasures. On the threshold of presenting the proof establishing the criminality of the Leadership Corps of the Nazi Party it is in point to restate the Prosecution's theory of this case. It is this: The Nazi Party was the central core of the Common Plan or Conspiracy alleged in Count One of the Indictment, a conspiracy which contemplated and embraced the commission of Crimes against the Peace, War Crimes, and Crimes against Humanity as defined and denounced by the Charter. The Leadership Corps, upon the evidence, was responsible for planning, directing, and supervising the criminal measures carried into execution by the Nazi Party in furtherance of the conspiracy. More than this, as will be shown, the members of the Leadership Corps themselves actively participated in the commission of illegal measures in aid of the conspiracy. In the light of the evidence to be offered this Tribunal, the Leadership Corps may be fairly described as the brain, the backbone, and the directive arms of the Nazi Party. Its responsibilities are more massive and comprehensive than those of the army of followers it led and directed in the assault against the peace-loving peoples of the world. Accordingly, upon the record made in this case and now to be enlarged upon, the Prosecution requests this Tribunal to declare that the Leadership Corps of the Nazi Party is a criminal group or organization in accordance with Article 9 of the Charter. At this time I should like to submit to the Tribunal the document book supporting the brief as Exhibit USA-V.
COL. STOREY: If Your Honors please-diverting from the manuscript-during the recess there was placed upon your bench the document book, which has each document marked by tab and each quoted portion embraced by red pencil marks for the assistance of Your Honors. In addition, we have handed up two documents that have already been introduced in evidence: An enlarged copy of this chart, more detailed, which Your Honors have before you, and another chart, in photostatic form, with reference to the Leadership Corps; and both of those will be identified later. I now proceed to present the proof relating to the composition, the functions, and the responsibilities and powers of the Leadership Corps of the Nazi Party. First, what was the Leadership Corps...
DR. ROBERT SERVATIUS (Counsel for the Leadership Corps of the Nazi Party): After the last meeting I received a statement by Justice Jackson with the proposal concerning the taking of evidence and the time for the discussion of certain questions which will arise. I cannot understand the scope of these proposals, and must therefore ask that I may at some time speak about these points again, if it is necessary.
THE PRESIDENT: Of course, counsel will have the opportunity of making a full argument in answer to the argument presented on behalf of the Prosecution. What I understood from Mr. Justice Jackson on Friday was that he proposed that the evidence on the question of criminal organizations should be presented first, and the argument presented afterwards. Counsel for the organizations will, as I stated this morning, have the opportunity of calling evidence in answer to the evidence of the Prosecution, and will also have the opportunity of making whatever argument they think right in answer to the evidence and argument presented on behalf of the Prosecution.
COL. STOREY: First, what was the Leadership Corps of the Nazi Party? What persons made up its membership? What was its size and scope? In considering the composition and organizational structure of the Leadership Corps it will be convenient for the Tribunal to refer to Document Number 2903-PS, which is this exhibit on the wall and which was introduced by Mr. Albrecht at the opening of the Trial. And, supplementing the chart on the wall, I now offer in evidence Document 2833-PS, Exhibit Number USA-22, which is a chart of the Leadership Corps of the Nazi Party, appearing at Page 9 of a magazine published by the Chief Education Office of the Nazi Party, entitled The Face of the Party. It is this lithe photostatic copy that you have. Later on we expect to put the big one on the wall. These charts and the evidence to follow show that the Leadership Corps constituted the sum total of the officials of the Nazi Party. It included the Fuehrer at the top; the Reichsleiter, on the horizontal line; the Reich officeholders, immediately below-the five categories of leaders who were area commanders, called the "Hoheitstrager" or "bearers of sovereignty." They are in the redlettered or red-lined boxes at the bottom. They range all the way from the 40-odd Gauleiter in charge of large districts, down through the intermediate political leaders, the Kreisleiter, the Ortsgruppenleiter, the Zellenleiter, and finally, to the Blockleiter who were charged with looking after 40 to 60 households and what may be best described as staff officers attached to each of the five levels of the Hoheitstrager.
COL. STOREY: Organized upon a hierarchical basis, forming a pyramidal structure-as appears from the chart which Your Honors hold in your hands-the principal political leaders on a scale of descending authority were: The Fuehrer, at the top; the Reichsleiter, as I have mentioned, and the main office and officeholders; the Gauleiter, who was the district leader, with his staff officers; the Kreisleiter, who was the county leader, and his staff officers; the Ortsgruppenleiter, the local chapter leader, and his staff officers; the Zellenleiter, who was the cell leader, and his staff officers; and then, finally, the Blockleiter, with his staff officers. I now offer in evidence Document 1893-PS. This is Exhibit Number USA-323. And this, if Your Honors please, is the Organization Book of the NSDAP, the National Socialist Party. It was edited by the Defendant, Reich Organization Leader of the NSDAP-the late Defendant-Dr. Robert Ley, and it is the 1943 edition. A large part of the evidence to be offered relating to the composition of the Leadership Corps of the Nazi Party will be drawn from this primer of the Nazi organizations, and I shall later quote from it. And without so requesting the Tribunal each time to take judicial notice, I shall assume, in the absence of questions, that it is so understood. The English translation, to which we will refer, is Document 1893-PS. I now proceed to offer evidence on the make-up and powers of the Reichsleitung or the Leadership Corps, which consisted of the Reichsleiter or Reich Leaders of the Nazi Party-and they are shown on that long horizontal list at the top of the chart-the Hauptamter (main offices), and the Amter, or officeholders. The Reichsleiter of the Party were annexed to Hitler, the highest officeholders in the Party hierarchy. All of the Reichsleiter in the main of lice and officeholders within the Reichsleitung were appointed by Hitler and directly responsible to him. I quote from the first paragraph of Page 4, Document 1893-PS: "1.
COL. STOREY: The Fuehrer appoints the following political directors: "(a) Reichsleiter and all political directors, to include the directors of the Womens Leagues, within the Reich Directorate (Reichsleitung)." The significant fact to be grasped is that through the Reichsleitung perfect co-ordination of the Party and State machinery was guaranteed. The Party manual puts it this way-and I quote from the fourth sentence of the third paragraph of Page 20 of that document. You will find the page number at the bottom, Page 20. It is a very short quotation. I quote: "In the Reichsleitung the arteries of the organization of the German people and of the German State merge." If Your Honors please, there is a little different translation in that portion in your book. To prove...
THE PRESIDENT: Just a moment, please. It begins, "It is in the Reich Directorate where the strings of the organization of the German people and of the German State merge." Is that it?
COL. STOREY: Yes, Sir, that is it. This translation says, "the arteries of the organization of the German people and of the German State merge." To prove that the Reichsleiter of the Leadership Corps included the most powerful coalition of political overlords in Nazi Germany, it is necessary only to put in evidence their names. The list of Reichsleiter now to be offered in evidence will include the following defendants now on trial before this Tribunal: Rosenberg, Von Schirach, Frick, Bormann, Hans Frank, and the late Defendant Robert Ley. The evidence to be introduced will show that the Defendant Rosenberg was the leader of an organization named for him, the "Einsatzstab Rosenberg"-which is not shown on this chart, if Your Honor please which carried out a vast program of looting and plunder of art treasures throughout occupied Europe. The evidence will further show that, as representative of the Fuehrer for the supervision of Nazi ideology and schooling. Rosenberg participated in an aggressive campaign to undermine the Christian churches and to supersede Christianity by a German National Church founded upon a combination of irrationality, pseudo-scientific theories, mysticism, and the discredited cult of the racial state. It will further be shown that the late Defendant Ley, acting as the agent of Hitler and the Leadership Corps, directed the Nazi assault upon the independent labor unions of Germany and that before destroying himself he first destroyed the bastion of republican society, a free and independent labor movement, replacing it by a Nazi organization, the German Labor Front, or the DAF, and employed this organization as a means of exploiting the German labor force in the interests of the conspiracy and to instill Nazi ideology among the ranks of the German workers. It will be shown that the Defendant Frick participated in the enactment of many laws which were designed to promote the conspiracy in its several phases.
COL. STOREY: The Defendant Frick shares responsibility for the grave injury done by the officials of the Leadership Corps to the concept of the rule of law by virtue of his efforts to give the color of law and formal legality to a large volume of Nazi legislation which was violative of the rights of humanity, such as the Nazi discriminatory legislation designed to degrade, stigmatize, and eliminate the Jewish people of Germany and German-occupied Europe. Though the Defendant Bormann is physically absent from the dock, the evidence as to his responsibility in directing and furthering the course of the Nazi conspiracy is here and expands with the record in this case. As Chief of the Party Chancellery, right under Hitler, the Defendant Bormann was an extremely important force in directing the activities of the Leadership Corps. As will be shown, a decree of January 16, 1942 provided that the participation of the Party in all important legislation, governmental appointments, and promotions had to be undertaken exclusively by Bormann. He took part in the preparation of all laws and decrees issued by the Reich authorities and gave his assent to those of the subordinate governments. I now refer to Document 2473-PS, Exhibit Number USA-324. You will find that the English translation contains a list of the Reichsleiter of the NSDAP set forth on Page 170 of this book. It was edited by the late Defendant and Reichsleiter for Party Organization, Robert Ley. The names of the 15 Reichsleiter in office in 1943 will be found on Pages 1 and 2 of Document 2473-PS.
COL. STOREY: If the Tribunal please, I will not read all of them but will call attention only to certain of them, as follows: Martin Bormann, Chief of the Party Chancellery; then we skip over to Wilhelm Frick, Leader of the National Socialist fraction in the Reichstag, shown on the big chart over at the second box from the end on the right; Joseph Goebbels, Reich Propaganda Leader of the NSDAP, shown also on the same level; Heinrich Himmler, Reich Leader of the SS, the Deputy of the NSDAP for all questions of Germandom; Robert Ley, Reich Organization Leader of the NSDAP and Leader of the German Labor Front; Victor Lutze, Chief of Staff of the SA; Alfred Rosenberg, representative of the Fuehrer for the supervision of all mental and ideological training and education of the NSDAP; Baldur von Schirach, Reich Leader for the education of the youth of the National Socialist Party; and then, finally, Franz Schwarz, Reich Treasurer of the National Socialist Party. The principal functions of the Reichsleiter, which we might call directors, included the responsibility of carrying out the tasks and missions assigned to them by the Fuehrer or by the Chief of the Party Chancellery, the Defendant Martin Bormann. The Reichsleiter were further charged with insuring that Party policies were being executed in all the subordinate areas of the Reich. They were also responsible for insuring a continual flow of new leadership into the Party. . With respect to the function and the responsibilities of the Reichsleiter I now quote from Page 20 of Document Number 1893-PS: "The NSDAP represents the political conception, the political conscience, and the political will of the German nation. Political conception, political conscience, and political will are embodied in the person of the Fuehrer. Based on his directive and in accordance with the program of the NSDAP, the organs of the Reich Directorate directionally determine the political aims of the German people.
COL. STOREY: It is in the Reich Directorate"-or Reichsleitung-that the arteries of the organization of the German people and State merge. It is the task of the separate organs of the Reich Directorate to maintain as close a contact as possible with the life of the nation through their sub-offices in the Gau.... "The structure of the Reich Directorate is thus that the channel from the lowest Party office upwards shows the most minute weaknesses and changes in the mood of the people .... "Another essential task of the Reich Directorate is to assure a good selection of leaders. It is the duty of the Reich Directorate to see that there is leadership in all phases of life, a leadership which is firmly tied to National Socialist ideology and which promotes its dissemination with all of its energy .... "It is the supreme task of the Reich Organization Leader to preserve the Party as a well-sharpened sword for the Fuehrer." The domination of the German Government by the top members of the Leadership Corps was facilitated by a circular decree of the Reich Minister of Justice, dated 17 February 1934, which established equal rank for the offices within the Reichsleitung of the Leadership Corps and the Reich offices of the German Government. In this decree it was expressly provided that, ".... the supreme offices of the Reich Party Directorate are equal in rank to the supreme Reich Government authorities". The Party Manual termed the control exercised over the machinery of the Government by the Leadership Corps, "the permeation of the state apparatus with the political will of the Party". At a later stage in this proceeding it will be shown that the Leadership Corps of the Nazi Party incontestably dominated the German State and Government. The control by the Leadership Corps of the German Government was facilitated by uniting in the same Nazi chieftains both high offices within the Reichsleitung and the corresponding offices within the apparatus of the Government.