dtufail/nuremberg-trials-corpus huggingface dataset:
STATE COUNSELLOR OF JUSTICE OF THE SECOND CLASS L. R. SHENIN (Assistant Prosecutor for the U.S.S.R.): This report has already been presented to the Tribunal as Exhibit Number USSR-93 (Document Number USSR-93) and, according to Article 21 of the Charter, constitutes irrefutable evidence. I quote an excerpt from this report which the Tribunal will find on Page 14 of the document book: "Expropriation and plunder of public and private property. "a) On 27 September 1939 the German military authorities issued a decree concerning the sequestration and confiscation of Polish property in the western provinces. 'The property of the Polish State, Polish public institutions, municipalities and unions, individuals, and corporations can be sequestered and confiscated,' stated Paragraph 1 of the said decree. "b) The right of the military authorities to dispose of Polish property in the incorporated provinces passed to the 'Haupttreuhandstelle 0st' (created by Goering on 1 November 1939) with headquarters in Berlin and branch offices in Poland. It was entrusted with the administration of confiscated property of the Polish State, as well as with the general policy in Poland in accordance with the plan devised by the Reich Government. "c) By a decree of 15 January 1940, the entire property of the Polish State was placed under 'protection,' which practically meant confiscation of all State property in the incorporated territories. A special decree of 12 February 1940 dealt with agriculture and forestry in the same way. "d) The confiscation of private property in the western provinces was initiated by a decree of 31 January 1940. Special permission was required for acquisition of property and transfer of ownership rights in all enterprises in the incorporated territory. By another decree of 12 June 1940, Goering authorized the 'Haupttreuhandstelle fist' to seize and administer, not only State property, but also the property of citizens of the 'former Polish State.' "e) The process of confiscation, however, went further.
STATE COUNSELLOR OF JUSTICE OF THE SECOND CLASS L. R. SHENIN (Assistant Prosecutor for the U.S.S.R.): The property of Polish citizens became liable to seizure and confiscation unless the owner acquired German citizenship in accordance with Hitler's decree of 8 October 1939. "Other decrees dealt with the repayment of debts, because the sequestrators were authorized to repay debts to privileged creditors only. These were members of the 'Deutsche Volksliste' so far as war debts were concerned, as well as citizens of the Reich or the free city of Danzig, as regards debts incurred after 1 September 1939." I skip two pages of this report enumerating the companies which were specially created for carrying out of this plunder activity and also for plundering the Polish-Jewish population, which as is already known to the Tribunal, was later exterminated. I pass on to the end of the Polish Government report. The Tribunal will find this excerpt on Page 17 of the document book. Mere quotations from these and other decrees may create a wrong impression as to the means used by the defendants in the case of the Jewish property in Poland. But it should be pointed out that steps concerning Jewish property were only preliminaries to infinitely greater crimes in the future. At the end of this section of the report is justly stated -- I quote: "Aside from the crimes which have been proved and described here, there are thousands of others which fade into insignificance beside the numberless crimes of mass murder, mass plunder, and mass destruction." It is impossible to enumerate all the crimes committed in Poland under the direct leadership of the Defendant Frank, who was the head of all the administration in the so-called Government General. Frank's diaries which were found and became part of the evidence in this case, give a clear and concrete idea of the crimes committed by the Hitlerites in Poland under his direction. In these diaries, Your Honors, are entries which have a direct bearing on the subject of my presentation. Therefore I should like, with your permission, to quote excerpts from this diary which have not yet been quoted.
STATE COUNSELLOR OF JUSTICE OF THE SECOND CLASS L. R. SHENIN (Assistant Prosecutor for the U.S.S.R.): I quote from the volume entitled "Conference of Departmental Heads for 1939-1940" (Document Number USSR-223), Pages 11 and 12. In your document book, gentlemen, this excerpt is on Page 21: "My relationship with the Poles resembles that between an ant and a plant louse. When I treat the Poles helpfully, tickle them in a friendly manner, so to speak, I do it in the expectation that I shall profit by their labor output. This is not a political, but a purely tactical and technical problem. In cases where, in spite of all measures, the output does not increase, or where I have the slightest reason to step in, I would not hesitate to take even the most Draconian action." From the volume entitled "Diary 1942" I quote: "Dr. Frank: 'We must remember that notes issued by the Bank of Poland to the value of 540,000,000 zlotys were taken over in Occupied Eastern Territory by the Governor General without any compensation being made by the Reich. This represents a contribution of more than 500 million exacted from the Government General by Germany, in addition to other payments.' " From the same volume, Page 1277 -- this concerns the Governor's conference which took place on 7 December 1942, in Krakow -- measures for increasing production for the years 1942-43 were discussed. A certain Dr. Fischer stated: "If the new food scheme is carried out, it would mean that in Warsaw and its suburbs alone 500,000 people would be deprived of food." From the same volume on Page 1331, Frank speaks: "I shall endeavor to squeeze out from the reserves of this province everything that it is still possible to squeeze out....
STATE COUNSELLOR OF JUSTICE OF THE SECOND CLASS L. R. SHENIN (Assistant Prosecutor for the U.S.S.R.): If you recall that I was able to send to Germany 600,000 tons of grain and that an additional 180,000 tons were reserved for local troops, as well as many thousands of tons of seed, fats, vegetables, besides the export to Germany of 300 million eggs, et cetera , you will understand how important work in this region is for Germany." This same Frank on Page 1332 states the following -- the Tribunal will find this quotation on Page 27 of the document book: "These consignments to the Reich had, however, one definite drawback to them, since the quantities we were responsible for delivering exceeded the actual food supplies required by the region. We now have to face the following problem. Can we, as from February, cut 2 million non-German inhabitants of the region out of the general rationing scheme?" In the volume entitled "Workers Conferences for 1943," we find an excerpt concerning the conference of 14 April 1943, which took place in Krakow. On Page 28 of the document book, the Tribunal will find the excerpt which I wish to read into the record. "President Naumann is speaking, and he quotes the figures estimated for 1943-44: "One thousand five hundred tons of sweets for the Germans, 36 million liters of skimmed fresh milk; 15,100,000 liters of full cream milk for the Germans." On Page 24 the same person continues -- this total account is on Page 28 of the document book: "Last year, more than 20 percent of the total amount of live stock in the Government General was requisitioned. Cattle which were really required for the production of milk and butter were slaughtered last year so that the Reich and the armed forces could be supplied and the meat ration maintained to a certain extent. If we want 120,000 tons of meat, we must sacrifice 40 percent of the remaining live stock." And further: "In answer to a question by the Governor General, President Naumann replied that 383,000 tons of grain were requisitioned in 1940, 685,000 tons in 1941, and 1.2 million tons in 1942.
STATE COUNSELLOR OF JUSTICE OF THE SECOND CLASS L. R. SHENIN (Assistant Prosecutor for the U.S.S.R.): It appears from these figures that requisitions have increased from year to year and have steadily approached the limits of possibility. Now they are preparing to increase the requisitions by another 200,000 tons which will bring them to the extreme bounds of possibility. The Polish peasant cannot be allowed to starve beyond the point where he will still be able to cultivate his fields and carry out any further tasks imposed upon him, such as carting wood for the forestry authorities." However, the quotation which I have read from Naumann's reply in no way influenced the policy of the merciless plundering of the Polish people, whose fate, to use Frank's own words, interested him from one angle only. In the volume entitled "Diary, From 1 January to 28 February 1944" there is the following statement by Frank made at the conference of the leaders of German agriculture on 12 January 1944. The Tribunal will find this excerpt on Page 30 of the document book. "Once we have won the war, the Poles, Ukrainians, and all other people living around can be made into mincemeat, or anything else, as far as I am concerned." I believe, Your Honors, that after this quotation there is no need for me, as a representative of the Soviet Prosecution, to add anything more to that section of my statement which deals with the crimes committed by the Hitlerite criminals on the territory of the Polish State. Indeed, any one of the sentences quoted is more than sufficient to give us an exact picture of the regime in Poland created by Frank, and of Frank, himself, who created this regime. Turning now to the plunder and pillage of private and public property by the Hitlerites in Yugoslavia, I must, Your Honors, read the appropriate extracts of the official report of the Yugoslav Government, submitted to the International Military Tribunal by the Soviet Prosecution as Exhibit USSR-36 (Document Number USSR-36). This report, in accordance with Article 21 of the Charter, is submitted as irrefutable evidence.
STATE COUNSELLOR OF JUSTICE OF THE SECOND CLASS L. R. SHENIN (Assistant Prosecutor for the U.S.S.R.): Count 6 of this report, entitled "Plunder of Public and Private Property," reads as follows -- this count is on Page 32 of the document book: "6. Plunder of public and private property. "Along with the exploitation of manpower the plundering of public and private property was systematically carried out in Yugoslavia. This plunder was carried out in various ways and within the scope of the different measures taken. In this way, too, Germany succeeded in completely exhausting the economic and financial forces in occupied Yugoslavia and in destroying her almost completely from the economic point of view. "We shall cite here only a few examples of this systematic plunder: "A. Currency and credit measures. "Just as in other occupied countries, the Germans, immediately after their entry into Yugoslavia, carried out a series of currency measures which enabled them to take out of Yugoslavia in great quantities goods and other valuables at an insignificant price. As early as 14 April 1941"-- that is to say, even before the occupation of Yugoslavia was actually completed --"the Commander-in-Chief of the Army, 'on the basis of the authority received from the Fuehrer and Supreme Commander of the German Armed Forces,' issued the 'Proclamation Concerning Occupied Yugoslav Territory.' "Article 9 of this proclamation fixes an obligatory rate of exchange of 20 Yugoslav diners for 1 German mark. Thus the value of the diner in relation to the Reichsmark was artificially and by force lowered. The real rate of exchange before the war was much more favorable to the Yugoslav currency. "This proves clearly the violation of the appropriate regulations of the Hague Convention, as well as the existence of a plan prepared in advance for the depreciation of Yugoslav currency." I submit to the Tribunal a certified photographic copy of the aforementioned proclamation as Exhibit Number USSR-140 (Document Number USSR-140).
STATE COUNSELLOR OF JUSTICE OF THE SECOND CLASS L. R. SHENIN (Assistant Prosecutor for the U.S.S.R.): "The second predatory measure in the field of currency policy was the introduction of German bonds (Reichskreditkassenschein) as an obligatory means of payment in the occupied territory of Yugoslavia. This measure was also mentioned in Paragraph IX of the proclamation submitted to the Tribunal as Exhibit Number USSR-140. These so-called occupation marks, which were without any economic foundation and without any value whatsoever in Germany itself, were printed in Yugoslavia in accordance with the needs of the German forces of occupation and authorities and in this way served as a means for enabling them to make purchases at a very low price. "On 30 June 1942" -- that is to say, more than a year later -- "these Reich bonds were withdrawn. This took place after the Germans had already bought up almost everything that could be purchased in Yugoslavia, and the Yugoslav State Bank had been liquidated and all its properties plundered. In its stead the Germans created the so-called Serbian National Bank. "However, so that the Germans would suffer no loss through this measure, the Serbian National Bank was forced to exchange the so-called occupation marks for new diners. The marks thus exchanged were simply withdrawn from the Serbian National Bank by the Germans against receipt. In this way one of the most shameless plunders was carried out, which cost Yugoslavia many thousands of millions of diners." I submit to the Tribunal as Exhibit Number USSR-194 (Document Number USSR-194), "the German decree of 30 June 1942 concerning the withdrawal of notes issued by the Reichskreditkasse and also a certified copy of the decree concerning the Serbian National Bank, of 29 May 1941," as Exhibit Number USSR-135 (Document Number USSR-135). "It can be seen from these documents that the German occupation authorities carried out by force the illegal liquidation of the Yugoslav State Bank, under the pretext that Yugoslavia no longer existed, and that they took advantage of this liquidation in order to plunder the country on an enormous scale.
STATE COUNSELLOR OF JUSTICE OF THE SECOND CLASS L. R. SHENIN (Assistant Prosecutor for the U.S.S.R.): "The Germans established the so-called Serbian National Bank exclusively for the purpose of creating an instrument for their predatory economic and currency policy in Serbia. The bank was administered by officials whom they themselves appointed. "The measures taken with regard to Yugoslav metal coins are also very characteristic. The Yugoslav coinage, which contained a certain percent of silver and brass, was withdrawn, and replaced by coins of very poor metal alloy. Naturally, the Germans carried to Germany a large quantity of the most valuable Yugoslav coins. "B. Requisitions and fines." The Tribunal will find this excerpt on Page 40 of the document book: "Reich Minister Speer, head of the Armament and War Production Ministry, declared that fixed prices were the Magna Carta of the Armament Program." The Defendant Goering, on 26 March 1943, issued a decree demanding a further decrease in the prices of all goods imported from the occupied countries. "This lowering of prices was attained by means of currency measures as well as by means of requisitioning, confiscation, fines, and in particular, through a special price policy. "By means of requisitioning, a policy of fixed low prices, and compulsory sales, the Government of the Reich was enabled to plunder thoroughly the Yugoslav people. This went so far that even the quisling institutions collaborating with the Germans frequently had to declare that the quotas of goods demanded by the Germans could not be filled. "Thus, a report made by the district chief, for the Moravski District" -- quisling administration of Milan Nedic -- "on 12 February 1942, stated: "1. If they are deprived of so many cattle, the peasants will not be able to cultivate their fields. On the one hand, they are ordered to cultivate every inch of ground, on the other hand, their cattle are ruthlessly confiscated. "2. The cattle are purchased at such a low price that the peasants feel that they are hardly compensated at all for the loss of their cattle. "Similar examples from other regions or districts of Yugoslavia are very numerous.
STATE COUNSELLOR OF JUSTICE OF THE SECOND CLASS L. R. SHENIN (Assistant Prosecutor for the U.S.S.R.): "In order to plunder the country, the Germans often reverted to the systematic imposition of money fines. For instance the cash fines imposed by the 'Feldkommandantur' in Belgrade during 1943 alone amounted to 48,818,068 diners. In Nish, during the first 3 1/2 months of 1943, the cash fines amounted to 5,065,000 diners. "Finally, we should like to give here a few details regarding the clearing accounts through which the export of Yugoslav goods to Germany was carried out. As early as 1 March 1943 the clearing balance in favor of Serbia amounted to 219 million Reichsmark, or 4,380 million diners. By the end of the occupation Germany owed Serbia 10,000 million diners. "The situation was the same in all the other provinces of Yugoslavia, and only the methods of plundering varied according to local conditions. "C. Confiscations. "Confiscations were one of the most widespread and effective means of plundering Yugoslavia. "Before the occupation of Yugoslavia was completed in 1941, a decree on confiscation was issued by the Germans in the combat zone. Pursuant to this decree the Germans confiscated enormous quantities of agricultural products, raw materials, semi-manufactured, and other goods." I submit to the Tribunal a certified copy of the above-mentioned decree as Exhibit Number USSR-206 (Document Number USSR-206). "Immediately after the occupation of the country, the German occupation authorities introduced by means of numerous decrees, the system of confiscation of private and public property." In order to save time I skip a part of this section of the document which quotes concrete examples of the confiscation of property belonging to the Yugoslav population, and I pass on to the next count, which is entitled, "Other Methods of Plunder." The members of the Tribunal will find this section on Page 52: "Together with the aforesaid methods of plunder, which were carried out on the basis of various decrees, laws, and regulations, more primitive methods of looting were practiced throughout the Yugoslav territory.
STATE COUNSELLOR OF JUSTICE OF THE SECOND CLASS L. R. SHENIN (Assistant Prosecutor for the U.S.S.R.): They were not sporadic incidents but constituted a part of the German system for enslavement and exploitation. "The Germans plundered everything from industrial and economic undertakings, down to cattle, food, and even simplest objects for personal use." I shall cite a few examples: "1. Immediately after their entry into Yugoslavia, the Germans looted all the bigger firms and storehouses. They generally engaged in this form of looting at night, after the so-called curfew hours. "2. The order of Major General Kuebler" -- which has already been submitted to the Tribunal by the Soviet Prosecution as Document Number USSR-132 -- "contains the following passage: " 'Troops must treat these members of the population who maintain an unfriendly attitude toward the occupation forces in a brutal and ruthless manner, depriving the enemy of every means of existence by the destruction of localities which have been abandoned and by seizing all available stocks.' " "On the basis of this and similar orders, the Germans ceaselessly looted the country under the pretext of so-called 'control of existing stocks,' using the opportunities afforded by the 'destruction of localities which had been abandoned.' "3. Punitive expeditions, which became an everyday event during the occupation, were, naturally, always accompanied by the looting of the victims' property. In the same way they robbed their prisoners and the bodies of those who had fallen fighting in the Free National Army, as well as all the internees in the concentration camps. "4. Not even churches were spared. Thus, for example, the German unit 'Konrad-Einheit,' which operated in the vicinity of Sibenik, looted the Church of St. John in Zablad." There are numerous examples of the same kind. "During the 4 years the whole of Yugoslavia was systematically looted. This was carried out either through numerous so-called 'legal measures,' or through mass looting on the part of the Germans.
STATE COUNSELLOR OF JUSTICE OF THE SECOND CLASS L. R. SHENIN (Assistant Prosecutor for the U.S.S.R.): The Nazi occupation forces showed great inventive ability and applied to Yugoslavia the experience which they had gained in other occupied countries. "These criminal measures damaged the Yugoslav State and its citizens to such an extent that one can consider it simply as economic destruction of the country." From this Your Honors may see that the plunder of public and private property in Yugoslavia was conducted by the Hitlerites according to a preconceived plan, that it affected every class and every branch of the country's economy, and caused enormous material loss to the Yugoslav State and to its citizens.
THE PRESIDENT (Lord Justice Sir Geoffrey Lawrence): I believe this would be a convenient time to recess. [A recess was taken.]
MR. COUNSELLOR SHENIN: After the invasion of Greece, the Hitlerite conspirators pursued their policy of merciless despoliation of the occupied countries and immediately began to plunder her national property. The official report of the Greek Government on the crimes committed by the Hitlerites has already been submitted to the Tribunal. The appropriate section of this report entitled, "Exploitation," gives the concrete facts of the plunder of public and private property in Greece. I quote the following excerpts from the part, "Exploitation," from this report of the Greek Government, which will be found on Page 59 of the document book: "Owing to her geographical position, Greece was used by the Germans as a base of operations for the war in North Africa. They also used Greece as a rest center for thousands of their troops from the North African and Eastern fronts, thus concentrating in Greece much larger forces than were actually necessary for purpose of occupation. "A large part of the local supplies of fruit, vegetables, potatoes, olive oil, meat, and dairy products were confiscated to supply these forces. As current production was not sufficient for these needs, they resorted to the requisitioning of livestock on a large scale, with the result that the country's livestock became seriously depleted." In addition to requisitioning supplies for their armies, the Hitlerite conspirators exacted enormous sums of money from Greece to cover the so-called cost of occupation. In the report of the Greek Government the following remark is made on the subject -- this is on Page 60 of the document book -- I read: "Between August 1941 and December 1941 the sum of 26,206,085,000 drachmas was paid to the Germans, representing a sum of 60 percent more than the estimated national income during the same period. In fact, according to the estimates of two Axis experts, Dr. Barberin, from Germany, and Dr. Bartoni, an Italian, the national income for that year amounted to only 23,000 million drachmas.