dtufail/nuremberg-trials-corpus huggingface dataset:
COL. POKROVSKY: With the permission of the Tribunal, I wish to present Major General Zorya, State Councillor of Justice of the 3rd Class, who will present the materials on the following theme of "Aggression against the Soviet Union."
DR. LATERNSER: I should like to point out that the decision of the Tribunal, that every defendant's counsel should receive, sufficiently in advance, a copy of all documents which are to be submitted as evidence in the course of the proceedings, has not been complied with. It is, therefore, difficult for the Defense to follow the proceedings because the documents submitted have not been distributed in sufficient quantity.
THE PRESIDENT: I don't think the Tribunal have ever imposed upon the Prosecution the duty of supplying a copy of every document to every member of defendants' counsel. You no doubt have before you a copy of the Tribunal's order upon the subject, and I believe that the order is posted upon the board in the defendants' Information Center. If I remember correctly, it is that a certain number of originals or photostatic copies shall be deposited in the Information Center, and that a certain number of copies of the documents shall be supplied to the defendants' counsel, and that, for the rest, the defendants' counsel must rely upon the fact that every document or part of a document which is put in evidence is read in open court and, therefore, comes through the earphones to defendants`, counsel and will appear in the shorthand notes. We have provided that copies of the shorthand notes shall be supplied to defendants' counsel as soon as possible after the day on which the evidence is given. Beyond that we have not thought it right to impose a duty upon the Prosecution to supply documents to the defendants' counsel. Is that not in accordance with your recollection?
DR. LATERNSER: Mr. President, the American Prosecution, the British Prosecution, and also the French Prosecution, in the course of the proceedings, handled this in such a way that enough copies of all documents were made available to the Defense for each defendant's counsel to have one copy before him. I believe that what is possible for the other Prosecution should also be possible for the Soviet Prosecution, in order to facilitate the work.
THE PRESIDENT: That is a belief on your part which is not strictly in accordance with the Tribunal's orders. The Tribunal has not made that order, and it may be that the United States and Great Britain have gone beyond the Tribunal's orders, and have supplied a copy to each defendant's counsel. But, as I say, the Tribunal has not as yet seen fit to impose that duty upon the Prosecution. I suppose you don't really know exactly how many copies of these Soviet documents have been deposited in the Information Center?
DR. LATERNSER: I don't know the exact number. At any rate, there were not enough for each defendant's counsel to get a copy of each document, as was the case, so far, with the other Prosecutions.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, you no doubt understand the very. great difficulties of making translations and making copies. I am sure that the Soviet prosecutors will do everything in their power to assist defendants' counsel, but, as I say, we have not imposed upon the Prosecution the duty of supplying one copy of a translation into German of each document for each defendants' counsel. I can only express the hope that the Soviet prosecutors will do the best they can.
DR. LATERNSER: Mr. President, I remember, when the fact became known that the press had received 250 copies of the documents, you, Mr. President, expressed the opinion that it should then also be possible to distribute 25 copies to the defendants' counsel. That was, at that time, the opinion of the Tribunal.
THE PRESIDENT: The Tribunal's orders on this subject are in writing and you will find them in the defendants' Information Center. I have stated my recollection of them; if I am wrong, you can bring me a copy of the document and I will withdraw my statement.
MAJOR GENERAL N. D. ZORYA (Assistant Prosecutor for the U.S.S.R.): May it please Your Honors, it is my task to present the documentary evidence dealing with the aggression against the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, organized by the fascist war criminals now sitting in the dock. This charge of the crime, mentioned in Subparagraph a, Article VI of the Charter of the International Military Tribunal, was formulated in Paragraph 6, Section 4, Count One of the Indictment in the present case, and in Section IV of the opening statement by the Chief Prosecutor from the U.S.S.R., General Rudenko. Among the many criminal wars which German fascism, with predatory aim, waged against the freedom-loving nations, the attack on the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics occupies a place by itself. It can be safely said that the predatory war against the Soviet Union was the keynote of the entire fascist conspiracy against peace. The aggressive actions on the part of German fascism committed To prior to the attack on the U.S.S.R., and in part the German aggression against Czechoslovakia, Poland, and Yugoslavia, were, as has been demonstrated by my colleague, Colonel Pokrovsky, merely stages on the road to the attack on the Soviet Union. Ukrainian wheat and coal from the Don Basin, nickel from the Kola Peninsula, and oil from the Caucasus, the fertile steppes of the pre-Volga region and the forests of Bielorussia all played a decisive part in the criminal schemes of the fascist aggressors. The war against the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics Divas also waged by fascist Germany with the intent of enslaving and exploiting the Soviet peoples. In the war of fascist Germany against the Soviet Union, the animal hatred of the Hitlerites against the Slav peoples found its full horrifying expression.
MAJOR GENERAL N. D. ZORYA (Assistant Prosecutor for the U.S.S.R.): And finally, German imperialism, appearing in its fascist edition, saw in the seizure of the wealth of the Soviet Union and in its incalculable resources of food and raw materials a base for the realization of their far-reaching aggressive aims to achieve, first, ascendancy over Europe, and, later on, ascendancy over the whole world. The well-known formula of German imperialism, "Drang nach Osten," mentioned in the opening statement of the Chief Prosecutor of the U.S.S.R., was at different times and in many different ways disguised by the fascist criminals, but always, in all their aggressive plans, pride of place was given to the attack on the Soviet Union. "If new territory is desired"-wrote HiMer in his book, Mein Kampf-"in substance it can be secured at the expense of Russia. The new empire must move along the paths trodden by the knights of old." (Hitler, Adolf, Mein Kampf, Munich edition, 1930, Page 742.) The fact that having definitely brought fascist aggression to a head in 1939, Hitler began the war in the West, did not substantially change anything in this basic conception of fascism. Under Document Number 789-PS the United States Prosecution submitted to the Tribunal the transcript of the conference held on 23 November 1939 between Hitler and the members of the German Supreme Command. At this conference, Hitler, according to his own expression, gave a "survey of the thoughts dominating him in connection with the events to come." In the course of this survey he declared-you will find the passage I am now reading on Page 3 in the document book lying on the table of the Tribunal, Page 2 of the Russian text: "For a long time I hesitated whether I should not begin with an attack in the East, and only then with the one in the West.
MAJOR GENERAL N. D. ZORYA (Assistant Prosecutor for the U.S.S.R.): It came about by force of events that for the nearest future the East dropped out of the picture" This statement by Hitler bore witness to the fact that the attack on the Soviet Union remained within the plans of fascist aggression, and the whole question was reduced only to the problem of selecting the most favorable moment for this attack. It should be noted that this western version of the start of fascist aggression was not considered as the most favorable version by the authors of the aggression. This same Hitler, exactly 5 months prior to the above-mentioned conference, at another conference of 23 May 1939 (Document Number L-79), while briefing his accomplices on the present situation and political aims, had said-the passage I am now quoting is Page 6 of the document book, "If fate forces us into a conflict with the West, it would be desirable that we, by that time, possess more expanse in the East." The vast expanses in the East, according to the aspirations of Hitler's conspirators; were to play a decisive part during the conflict in the West. Therefore, when the fascist hordes were unable to force the Channel, stopped at its shores, and were obliged to find new ways of aggression, the conspirators immediately began to prepare for an attack on the Soviet Union. This attack was the basis of all their plans of aggression, without which they could not be realized. I believe it is not necessary to refer to documents of an earlier period, and particularly to quote any further from Hitler's book, Mein Kampf, where questions connected with the predatory attack on the Soviet Union were formulated long before 1939. This book has already been presented to the Tribunal, and relevant passages from it were quoted as evidence by our United States and British colleagues. The Soviet Prosecution desires to submit to the Tribunal a series of documents which bear witness to the fact that the aggression of fascist Germany against the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was committed with malice aforethought.
MAJOR GENERAL N. D. ZORYA (Assistant Prosecutor for the U.S.S.R.): Among these documents there are files from various archives captured by units of the advancing Red Briny, statements by fascist leaders published in the press, including those by several of the defendants, and depositions by persons who were in possession of reliable information as to how the preparations for the attack on the Soviet Union were actually carried out. The documents of the Soviet Prosecution are presented under the following sections: 1. Pre parations for war in Germany itself. 2. Assuring the security of the preparations for war by the intelligence activities. 3. The securing by the fascist conspirators of the participation of the satellite countries in the aggression against the Soviet Union. I shall begin with Section 1, which I shall call, "Preparations for War in Germany Herself." The statements of Hitler and his accomplices demonstrate that the idea of a criminal attack on the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics had for a long time been ripe in the minds of the fascist conspirators. But apart from this fact, we are also interested in the question as to when this intention began to take on the concrete form of direct military preparations for the predatory war against the Soviet Union. On 18 December 1940 the directive known to the Tribunal as directive Number`21, Plan Barbarossa-the document of the United States Prosecution numbered 446-PS-was put into its official form. The moment when the signature of the Supreme Command appears on such a document is the moment which crowns long and intensive work by all who formed the links in the. chain of military administration. This work may not have been governed by written orders. The secrecy camouflaging this work often made it necessary to have recourse to verbal orders. And, on the other hand, many orders of a routine nature, on the strength of an already existing strategic project, became correlated, although outwardly they seemed to have no connection with it.
MAJOR GENERAL N. D. ZORYA (Assistant Prosecutor for the U.S.S.R.): It therefore appears that, with regard to establishing the actual moment at which military plans for the attack on the Soviet Union began . . .
THE PRESIDENT: General Zorya, the Tribunal observes that you are about to read a deposition of General Warlimont, who, the Tribunal understands, is in Nuremberg, and the Tribunal considers that, in accordance with the order that it made the other day in another case, in the case of another deposition, that if the defendants' counsel desired, and you wish to use this deposition, you ought to be prepared to allow General Warlimont to be submitted to the defendants' counsel for cross-examination.
GEN. ZORYA: I am about to read into the record an extract from the interrogation of General Warlimont. This interrogation was carried out by General Alexandrov of the Soviet Prosecution, and if the Defense desires to call General Warlimont for cross-examination here before the Tribunal, the Soviet Prosecution will do its utmost to satisfy this request.
THE PRESIDENT: That is, of course, on the supposition that I am right to saying that General Warlimont is in Nuremberg- available in Nuremberg. Go on.
GEN. ZORYA: I am definitely of the opinion that it would be useful, when establishing the actual moment of the beginning of military operations for the attack on the Soviet Union, to resort not to documents only-for not everything is always put down in writing-but to revert to the testimony of people who participated directly in the realization of these preparations. I should now like to pass on to those depositions of Walter Warlimont which you, Mr. President, have just mentioned. These depositions were given by Warlimont on 13 November 1945. I am presenting them as evidence under Document Number USSR-263. Walter Warlimont, as is known, was the Chief of the Department of National Defense in the OKW, and later Deputy Chief of the Operational Staff. I shall read into the Record that part of his deposition which touches on the question before us. I ask you to turn to Page 2 of the Russian text of this document, which is on Page 20 in the bundle of documents presented by the Russian Prosecution on the question, and the answers to questions put to Warlimont: "Personally, I first heard of this plan"-that is Plan Barbarossa-"on 29 July 1940. On that day General Jodl arrived in a special train at Bad Reichenhall, where Department 'L' of the Operational Staff was stationed. HiMer was in Berchtesgaden. This struck us immediately, because General Jodl had, till then, hardly ever, I believe, come to see us. Besides myself, the three other senior officers were ordered to be present." I now skip several lines and pass on to Page 3 of the minutes of Warlimont's interrogation; this will be Page 21 in the bundle of documents: "I cannot repeat his statements verbatim. The meaning was as follows: Jodl said that the Fuehrer had decided to prepare for war against Russia.
GEN. ZORYA: The Fuehrer justified this by saying that war had to come one way or another, so that it would be better to prosecute this war in connection with the one already being fought, and, in any case, to start the necessary preparations for it." I skip several lines which are not relevant to the question we are dealing with and continue: "Then or at a later date Jodl declared that Hitler intended to begin the war against the Soviet Union as early as the autumn of 1940, but later he gave up this idea. The reason was that the deployment of the troops at that time could not yet be executed. For this purpose the necessary conditions in Poland did not exist; railways, quarters, and bridges were not prepared for the advance of the tanks; communication lines and airdromes were not organized.... Therefore an order was given to establish all the conditions for the preparation and execution of such a campaign." To the question put by the Prosecution as to whether this order was issued on 9 August 1941 and called "Aufbau Ost," Warlimont replied: "Yes, this order was prepared by the staff leaders in accordance with the instructions of General Jodl.... "In General Jodl's opinion, the concentration could take place only after all the preparations indicated in this order had been made" Further on in his statement, Warlimont said that Plan Barbarossa, originally called "Fritz," was presented to Hitler on 5 December 1940, after which it Divas re-edited and issued on 18 December. I think that the testimony of a man like Friedrich Paulus, a former field marshal of the German Army, who, as is known, was directly concerned both in the preparations and in the execution of Plan Barbarossa, can give considerable help in investigating the preparation of this plan. I present the testimony of Friedrich Paulus, dated 9 January 1946, given in a camp for prisoners of war, and marked Document Number USSR-156, and request that it be accepted as evidence.
DR. NELTE: Mr. President, I just wanted to remark that I do not possess a copy of the document concerning Paulus. But it seems to be the same statement which it has not. yet been possible to give to the defendants' counsel. If the Soviet Prosecution could give me the statement now, I would then decide if I could present my protest for decision now in the form in which I raised it at the beginning of this session. [Copies of the document were submitted to Dr. Nelte.] According to the original before me now, this is a similar statement by Field Marshal Paulus. Paulus has expressed his opinion in a letter to the Government of the Soviet Union and the Soviet Delegation has, I assume, now presented the original to you. This photostat bears no official certification by the Soviet authorities, nor is the statement an affidavit which could be admitted as evidence. Therefore, I ask the Tribunal in this particular case to give a general decision on the question which I raised at the beginning of this session as well, so that in the future the Soviet Prosecution will be familiar with the treatment of such statements by the Tribunal.
THE PRESIDENT: Do you wish to make any answer to what Dr. Nelte has said?
GEM. ZORBA: Yes, I do. In accordance with the wish of the Tribunal, as expressed in a previous session, the Soviet Prosecution has taken the necessary measures for originals of all the documents of the Soviet Prosecution, or else documents certifying the authenticity of these documents to be placed at the disposal of the Tribunal through the good' offices of the General Secretary, with indications of the places where they are to be found. Moreover, bearing in mind that certain witnesses, whose evidence will be presented in a forthcoming session by the Soviet Prosecution, are of considerable interest and that it is possible that the Defense may wish to cross-examine them, the Soviet Prosecution will take all necessary measures to bring some of these witnesses to Nuremberg in order to hear their verbal evidence. Special interest attaches to the deposition of Paulus, extracts from which I propose to quote in my report, and which must be checked no later than this evening, after which Friedrich Paulus will be brought to the courtroom.
THE PRESIDENT: Then I understood from what you said, General, that as far as the photostatic copy of Field Marshal Paulus' statement is concerned, a certificate will be furnished-as we indicated the Tribunal wishes-that the photostatic copy is a true copy of the original, and so far as the question of producing witnesses of importance is concerned, Field Marshal Paulus will be produced as a witness for the defendants' counsel to cross-examine. That meets your objection, I think, Dr. Nelte.
DR. NELTE: The basic principle of this question, as it appears to me, lies in the fact that official proof should be given that the statements contained in the documents submitted really represent what the persons who made them meant to say. Written statements are never more than a dubious substitute for a personal examination of a witness. The Defense is fully aware of the difficulties encountered, particularly by the Soviet Prosecution, in producing witnesses where, for instance, reports are to be found. The Defense realizes the fact, but in those cases in which the individuality of the witness and the importance of certain questions really do matter, the personal examination of witnesses should be preferred to any statement. Wherever this is impossible, for reasons which we are unable to judge, it would however, at any rate, be desirable that those people who have made these statements should make them in the form of an affidavit or an interrogatory. If the Soviet Delegation should produce a certificate to the effect that these statements are corresponding to the original statements, it would not mean that the documents would acquire an increased value in our eyes. We do not doubt for one moment that statements of this kind are in the possession of the Soviet Delegation. The Defense is interested not so much in the formal confirmation of the statements as in the possibility of increasing the material evidence. If the Soviet Prosecution could assist us in this respect, we should be grateful.
THE PRESIDENT: You can go on, General.
GEN. ZORYA: I repeat, I believe that the testimony of Friedrich Paulus can be of great assistance to us in our investigation. I present the testimony of Friedrich Paulus to which I have just referred and shall now read into the Record that part of his testimony which refers to the history of the preparation of Plan Barbarossa. I request you to open the bundle of documents submitted to the Tribunal on Page 27, and there, in the text of Paulus' testimony, on Page 2, you will find the passages underlined in pencil, which I now intend reading into the Record. From 3 September...
THE PRESIDENT: Perhaps, General, since it is now a quarter to one you had better not begin this document before the adjournment.
GEN. ZORYA: I obey, Mr. President. [The Tribunal recessed until 1400 hours.]
GEN. ZORYA: Mr. President, in pursuance of the statement made by the Soviet Delegation, I will ask for permission to bring before the Tribunal for direct examination the field marshal of the former German Army, Friedrich Paulus, who win be examined by the Chief Prosecutor of the U.S.S.R., General Rudenko.
THE PRESIDENT: Very well; the witness may be brought in. [The witness, Paulus, took the stand.]
THE PRESIDENT: Will you please tell me your name?
FRIEDRICH PAULUS (Witness): Friedrich Paulus.
THE PRESIDENT: Will you repeat this oath after me: "I swear by God-the Almighty and Omniscient-that I will speak the pure truth-and will withhold and add nothing." [The witness repeated the oath.]
THE PRESIDENT: Would you like to sit down?
GEN. RUDENKO: Your name is Friedrich Paulus?
PAULUS: Yes.
GEN. RUDENKO: You were born 1898?
PAULUS: 1890.
GEN. RUDENKO: You were born in the village of Breitenau, in the district of Kassel, in Germany?
PAULUS: Yes.
GEN. RUDENKO: By nationality you are a German?
PAULUS: Yes.
GEN. RUDENKO: You are field marshal of the former German Army?
PAULUS: Yes.
GEN. RUDENKO: Your last official position was Commander-in-Chief of the 6th Army at Stalingrad?
PAULUS: Yes.
GEN. RUDENKO: Will you please tell us, Witness, did you on 8 January 1946, make a statement to the Government of the Soviet Socialist Republics?
PAULUS: Yes, I did.
GEN. RUDENKO: You confirm this statement?
PAULUS: Yes, I confirm this statement.
GEN.RUDENKO: Please, tell us, Witness, what you know regarding the preparation by the Hitlerite Government and the German High Command of the armed attack on the Soviet Union.