dtufail/nuremberg-trials-corpus huggingface dataset:
MR. COUNSELLOR SMIRNOV: Disability for the loss of an eye is 30 percent for a German and 25 percent for a Pole. The payment of a subvention depends on 33 1/3 percent disability." I continue my quotation on Page 135 of the original document, that is to say, on Page 111, last paragraph of the document book: "The most stringent measures are provided for the dependents of fatally injured persons. The maximum a widow can receive is half of that granted by the insurance to Germans -- and this only in case she has to support four children under 15 years of age, or is herself an invalid. "The restriction on the rights of Poles is illustrated by an example: A German widow with three children receives 80 percent of the yearly salary of her fatally injured husband; from an annual income of 2,000 marks she receives 1,600 marks per year, but a Pole in a similar situation would receive nothing." The major German fascist war criminals not only sent into the temporarily occupied Eastern territories soldiers and the SS, but specially appointed fascist "scientists," "consultants in economic problems," and all sorts of "investigators" followed after. Some of them were detached from Ribbentrop's office; some others were sent by Rosenberg. I beg the Tribunal to enter into the record as evidence one of these documents. I submit it under Document Number USSR-218. I mean the report of the representative attached by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the command of the 17th Army, Captain Pfleiderer, and addressed to his colleague Von Rantzau from the information service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. These documents were discovered by units of the Red Army on the Dirksen estate in Upper Silesia. On the basis of a reading of these documents, it can be concluded that in 1941-42 Pfleiderer made a trip covering the following route through the occupied territories on the route Yaroslavl in the Ukraine, Lvov, Tarnopol, Proskurov, Vinnitza, Uman, Kirovograd, Alexandria, and Krementshoug on the Dnieper.
MR. COUNSELLOR SMIRNOV: The purpose of this trip was to study economic and political conditions in the occupied territories of the Ukraine. That the author of this document was also completely free of so-called humanitarian tendencies, can be seen from the short excerpt from his report dated 28 October 1941, where Pfleiderer writes -- the Tribunal will find this quotation on Page 113, second paragraph of the document book. I quote only one line: ". . . there is the urgent necessity to press out of the country everything to secure the food supply of Germany." But even with such proclivity to cruelty and rapacity, Pfleiderer evidently was abashed by the conduct of his compatriots to the extent that he deemed it necessary to bring it to the attention of the highest authorities of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I quote the report of Pfleiderer which is entitled: "Conditions for the Guarantee of Supply and for Producing the Largest Possible Food Surplus in the Ukraine. ". . .3) Frame of mind and living conditions of the population by the end of October 1941." The Tribunal will find this part on Page 114, third paragraph of the document book: "The frame of mind of the population generally became worse a few weeks after the occupation of the territory by our troops. The reason for it? We display . . . inner hostility and even hatred toward this country, and arrogance toward the people.... The third year of war and the necessity of wintering in an unfriendly country causes many difficulties, but they must be surmounted with courage and selfdiscipline. We must not work off our discontent over this country on the population.... How often it happened that, acting against the rules of psychology and committing mistakes that we could easily have avoided, we lost all sympathy of the population. The people cannot understand the shooting of exhausted prisoners of war in villages and larger localities and the leaving of their bodies there.
MR. COUNSELLOR SMIRNOV: As the troops are entrusted with a broad authority for self-provisioning, the kolkhozes along the main roads and near the larger towns for the most part lack pedigree cattle, seeds, seed potatoes (Poltava). Evidently, the supplying of our own troops stands first; however, the system of supply in itself is not immaterial: Psychologically, requisitioning the last hen is as unreasonable as it is economically unreasonable to kill the last pig or the last calf." I continue my quotation, Paragraph 3, Page 115 of the document book: "The population . . . is without leadership. It stands apart and feels that we look down on it, that we see sabotage in their tempo and methods of work, that we do not take any steps to find a way to an understanding." A similar document is the document submitted as Exhibit Number USSR-439, which was graciously given to us by our United States colleagues. It was registered by the American Prosecution as Document Number 303-PS, but was not filed. It is a political report of the German professor, Doctor Paul W. Thomsen, written on the forms of the State University of Posen Biological Paleontological Institute and was indexed by the author himself, "Not for publication." Your Honors will find this document on Page 116 of the document book. This document also introduces us into this field of complete lawlessness and tyrannical arbitrariness toward the local population of the temporarily occupied districts of the Soviet Union. These observations were made by this fascist professor during his trip through the temporarily occupied territories of the Soviet Union "from Minsk to the Crimea." I refer to two short excerpts from this document. The quotation which I have read into the record testifies to the absence of any humanitarian tendencies on the part of that author and if Paul Thomsen brought back from his trip only "the most depressing impression" that is only further proof of the depths of cruelty and brutality to which the German fascists were willing to go.
MR. COUNSELLOR SMIRNOV: The Tribunal will find these excerpts on Page 116 of the document book. I begin the quotation...
THE PRESIDENT: We will adjourn now. [The Tribunal adjourned until 26 February 1946 at 1000 hours.]
THE PRESIDENT: I wanted to explain the Tribunal's decision with reference to General Halder and General Warlimont. Would Dr. Nelte kindly come to the Tribunal? I wanted to ask you, Dr. Nelte, whether you were the only one of the defendants' counsel who wished to call General Halder and General Warlimont?
DR. NELTE: No, besides myself, so far as I know, my colleagues Dr. Laternser, Professor Dr. Kraus, and Professor Dr. Exner have called both General Halder and General Warlimont.
THE PRESIDENT: Very well, I understand. Then the Tribunal's decision is this: The Tribunal ordered, when the Soviet prosecutor wished to put in the affidavits of these two generals, that if they were put in, the witnesses must be produced for cross-examination. But in view of the fact that defendants' counsel have asked to call these witnesses themselves, the Tribunal is willing that the defendants' counsel should decide whether they prefer that those two generals should be produced now, during the Prosecution's case, for cross-examination, or should be called thereafter during the defendants' case for examination by the defendants, in which case, of course, they would be liable to crossexamination on behalf of the Prosecution. But it must be clearly understood, in accordance with the order which the Tribunal made the other day -- either yesterday or the previous day, I forgot which it was -- that these witnesses, like other witnesses, can only be called once, and when they are called, each of the defendants' counsel who wishes to put questions to them must do so at that time. Now, if there were any difference of opinion among defendants' counsel, one defendant's counsel wishing to have these two generals produced now during the Prosecution's case for cross-examination, and other defendants' counsel wishing to have them called hereafter as witnesses on their behalf during the course of their case, then the Tribunal consider that in view of the order which they have already made, Generals Halder and Warlimont ought to be produced and called now. And the same rule would apply then. They could only be called once, and any questions which the other defendants' counsel wish to be put to them should be put to them then. But the decision as to whether they should be called now or whether they should be called during the course of the defendants' case is accorded to defendants' counsel. Is that clear?
DR. NELTE: I request to hear the decisions of the various Defense Counsel at the beginning of the afternoon session...
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, certainly, certainly. You can let us know during the afternoon session, at the beginning of the afternoon session, what the decision of defendants' counsel is.
DR. NELTE: Thank you.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, Colonel Smirnov.
MR. COUNSELLOR SMIRNOV: I continue the quotation of the political report of Professor Paul Thomsen, which was already submitted at yesterday's afternoon session to the Tribunal. Your Honors will find it on Page 116 of the document book. I start quoting -- and quote only two short excerpts from this political report: "I consider it is my duty, although I am only here in the East on a specific scientific mission, to add a general political outline to my actual reports. I must admit, openly and in all honesty, that I return home with the most grievous impressions. "In this fateful hour of our nation every mistake we make may result in the most disastrous consequences. A Polish or a Czech problem can be crushed because the biological forces of our people are sufficient for that purpose. "Remnants of people like Estonians, Lithuanians, and Letts have to adapt themselves to us or they will perish. Things are quite different in the immense Russian area, of vital necessity to us as a basis for raw materials." Here I interrupt my quotation and continue on Page 117 of the document book, Paragraphs 10 and 11 -- I quote: "I do not dare to voice an opinion on the economic measures, such as, for instance, the abolition of the free market in Kiev, which has been taken as a heavy blow by the population, since I am in no position to observe the entire situation. The 'sergeant major attitude,' the beatings and shouting in the streets, the senseless destruction of scientific institutions which is still going on as strong as ever in Dniepropetrovsk, should cease immediately and be punished severely. "Kiev, 19 October 1942; Professor Dr. Paul W. Thomsen." The German fascist theory of Germanization, already well known to the Tribunal, announced that not the people but the territories were to be germanized. I shall submit evidence to the Tribunal that a similar Hitlerite crime was to have been committed in Yugoslavia. This crime could not be perpetrated because of the liberation movement which flared up all over Yugoslavia.
MR. COUNSELLOR SMIRNOV: I quote a short excerpt from the statement of the Yugoslav Government, which is on Page 68, Paragraph 7 in the document book: "Immediately after the entry of the German troops into Slovenia, the Germans began to put into effect their long premeditated plankton the Germanization of the annexed regions of Slovenia. It was perfectly clear to the leading Nazi circles that a successful Germanization of Slovenia could not be realized unless the greater part of the nationally and socially conscious elements had previously been removed; and in order to weaken the resistance of the mass of the people towards the Nazi authorities engaged in the task of Germanization, it would be essential to lessen them numerically and destroy them economically. "The German plan foresaw the complete removal of all the Slovenes from certain regions of Slovenia, and their repopulation by Germans" -- Germans from Bessarabia and so-called "Gottscheer" Germans. I omit a passage and continue: "A few days after the seizure of Slovenia, central offices were organized for resettlement control The headquarters staff was established in Maribor (Marburg on the Drava) and Bled (Veldes). "At the same time, on 22 April 1941, a 'Decree for the Strengthening of German Folkdom' was published. The immediate aim of this decree was the confiscation of property of all persons and institutions antagonistically inclined towards the Reich. Naturally, all those, who in accordance with the aforesaid plan were to be deported from Slovenia, were included in this category. "The Hitlerites proceeded to the practical realization of this plan. They arrested a large number of persons registered for deportation to Serbia and Croatia. The treatment of the arrested persons was extremely cruel. Their entire property was confiscated in the interest of the Reich.
MR. COUNSELLOR SMIRNOV: Numerous assembly points were organized and practically turned into concentration camps, in Maribor, Zelie, and other localities." As regards the treatment of arrested persons in these points, the statement of the Yugoslav Government reads as follows -- the members of the Tribunal will find this passage on Page 69, Paragraph 4, of the document book: "The internees were left without food; in unhygienic conditions; the personnel of the camp subjected them to bodily and mental torture. All the camp commanders and personnel belonged to the SS. Among them were Germans from Carinthia and Styria who hated anything connected with Slovenia in particular, and Yugoslavia in general." The following sentence is typical: "The members of the so-called Kulturbund" -- Cultural Union  -- "particularly distinguished themselves for their cruelty." In corroboration of this Hitlerite crime, I submit to the Tribunal, as Exhibit Number USSR-139 (Document Number USSR-139), a letter from the German Command in Smeredov, addressed to the Yugoslav quisling, Commissioner Stefanovitch, ordering him to report what the possibilities were for transferring to Serbia a large number of Slovenes. Your Honors will find this document on Page 119 of the document book. In the report of the Yugoslav Government, Page 49 of the Russian text, which corresponds to Page 59, Paragraph 7, of the document book of the Tribunal, it is stated that the Germans primarily intended to transfer 260,000 Slovenes to Serbia. However, the realization of this plan met with a number of difficulties.
MR. COUNSELLOR SMIRNOV: In this connection I should like to quote a paragraph from the report of the Yugoslav Government: "But in view of the fact that the transportation to Serbia of such a very large number of Slovenes has encountered a great many difficulties, negotiations were opened shortly afterwards between the German authorities and the quisling Oustachi administration in Zagreb concerning the transit of the expelled Slovenes through Croatian territory and the resettling of a certain number of these Slovenes in Croatia proper while the Serbs in Croatia were deported from the country;" I submit to the Tribunal, as Exhibit Number USSR-195 (Document Number USSR-195), the minutes of a conference held on 4 June 1941 at the German Legation in Zagreb and presided over by SA ObergruppenFuehrer Siegfried Kasche, German Minister in Zagreb. These minutes, in the Serbian translation, were seized in the archives of the Refugee Commission of the so-called Government of Milan Neditch. They give the subject matter of the conference, that is, "The Expulsion of the Slovenes from Germany to Croatia and Serbia, as well as of the Serbs from Croatia to Serbia." The Tribunal will find this document on Page 120 of the document book. The passage in question literally reads as follows: "The conference was approved by the Reich Ministry for Foreign Affairs by Telegram Number 389, dated 31 May. The Fuehrer's approval for the deportation was received by Telegram Number 344, dated 25 May." We are thus able to prove that the direct responsibility for this crime against humanity rests on the Defendant Von Ribbentrop . We gather, at the same time, from the report of the Yugoslav Government, that the deportation of a considerable number of Slovenes to Germany was put into effect. I quote a paragraph from the report of the Yugoslav Government, which Your Honors will find on Page 70, last paragraph of the document book. I begin the quotation: "Shortly afterwards the deportation itself began. In the morning German trucks would arrive in the villages.
MR. COUNSELLOR SMIRNOV: Soldiers and Gestapo men, armed with machine guns and rifles, broke into the houses and ordered the inhabitants to leave, each man being allowed to take with him only as much as he could carry. The unfortunate people were given only a few minutes in which to quit and they were forced to leave all their property behind them. The trucks drove them to the Roman Catholic Trappist monastery of Reichenberg. The transports started from the monastery. Each transport consisted of 600 to 1,200 persons to be taken to Germany. The district of Bregiza was almost completely depopulated, the district of Krshko up to 90 percent; 56,000 inhabitants were deported from these two districts. Over and above this 4,000 were deported from the communities of Zirkovsky and Ptuya." I omit one paragraph and continue: "They were forced to perform the very hardest tasks and to live under the most horrible conditions. The mortality rate assumed enormous proportions in consequence. The harshest penalties were applied for the slightest offense." I shall not enumerate other passages in the report of the Yugoslav Government in connection with the same subject. I do not quote this document; I merely ask the Tribunal to accept as evidence the supplementary official report of the Yugoslav Government which I am submitting as Document Number USSR-357. Similar crimes were committed by the German criminals on the territory of occupied Poland. I quote a few excerpts from the official report of the Polish Republic. Your Honors will find the passage I wish to quote on Page 3, Paragraph 3 of the document book. The passage is in Subparagraph A and is entitled, "The Germanization of Poland": "Clear indications concerning the program are found in a publication distributed among members of the National Socialist Party in Germany in 1940. It contained the principles of German policy in the East. Here are some quotations from this document: " 'In a military sense the Polish question has been settled, but from the point of view of national policy it is only now beginning for Germany.
MR. COUNSELLOR SMIRNOV: The national political conflict between the Germans and Poles must be carried forward to a degree never yet seen in history. " 'The aim which confronts German policy in the territory of the former Polish State is twofold: Firstly, to see that a certain portion of space in this area is cleared of the alien population and colonized by German nationals; secondly, by imposing German leadership, in order to guarantee that in that area no fresh conflagrations should flare up against Germany. It is clear that this aim can never be achieved with, but only against, the Poles.' " I interrupt this quotation and continue on Page 15 of the report of the Polish Republic, which corresponds to Page 5, Paragraph 5 of the document book. This part is entitled, "The Colonization of Poland by German Settlers." I begin the quotation: "The policy, in this respect, was clearly expressed by the official German authorities. In the Ostdeutscher Beobachter of 7 May 1941 the following proclamation is printed: "For the first time in German history we can exploit our military victories in a political sense. Never again will even a centimeter of the earth which we have conquered belong to the Pole." Such was the plan. The facts which were put into practice were the following: "Locality after locality, village after village, hamlets and cities in the incorporated territories were cleared of the Polish inhabitants. This began in October 1939, when the locality of Orlov was cleared of all the Poles who lived and worked there. Then came the Polish port of Gdynia. In February 1940 about 40,000 persons were expelled from the city of Posen. They were replaced by 36,000 Baltic-Germans, families of soldiers and of German officials. "The Polish population was expelled from the following towns: Gnesen, Kulm, Kostian, Neshkva, Inovrotzlav..." --  and many other towns. "The German newspaper Grenzzeitung reported that in February 1940 the entire center of the city of Lodz was cleared of Poles and reserved for the use of future German settlers.
MR. COUNSELLOR SMIRNOV: By September 1940 the total number of Poles deported from Lodz was estimated at 150,000. "But it was not only that the persons living in these places were ordered to leave -- they were forbidden to take their property with them; everything was to be left behind. The German newcomers took the place of the Poles evicted from their homes, business shops, and farms. By January 1941 more than 450,000 Germans had been settled in this manner." I omit the next part of this report which I wished to quote and I would request the Tribunal only to pay attention to the part entitled, "Germanization of Polish Children." This is a short quotation. Just two small paragraphs: "Thousands of Polish children (between the ages of 7 and 14) were ruthlessly torn from their parents and families and carried off to Germany. The purpose of this most brutal measure was explained by the Germans themselves in the Kolnische Zeitung Number 1584, 1940 issue. We read: " 'They will be taught German. They will be inculcated with the German spirit so that later they can be brought up as model German boys and girls.' " In order to explain the methods adopted by the German fascists in the execution of their cannibalistic plan for the extermination of the Soviet people -- peaceful citizens of my motherland, women, children, and old people -- I request the Tribunal to call and question witness Grigoriev, Jacob Grigorievitch, a peasant from the village of Pavlov, village soviet of Shkvertovsk, region of Porkhovsk, district of Pskov. He has arrived from the district of Pskov, a district near Leningrad and, according to my information, is now in the courtbuilding. I ask the permission of the Tribunal to examine this witness.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, certainly. [The witness Grigoriev took the stand.]
THE PRESIDENT: What is your name?
JACOB GRIGORIEV (Witness): Jacob Grigoriev.
THE PRESIDENT: Will you take this oath: I -- Jacob Grigoriev -- citizen of the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics -- summoned as witness in this Trial -- do promise and swear -- in the presence of the Court -- to tell the Court nothing but the truth -- about everything I know in regard to this case. [The witness repeated the oath in Russian.]
THE PRESIDENT: You may sit down.
MR. COUNSELLOR SMIRNOV: Please tell us, Witness, in which village did you live before the war?
GRIGORIEV: In the village of Kusnezovo, Porkhov region, district of Pskov.
MR. COUNSELLOR SMIRNOV: In which village were you overtaken by the outbreak of war?
GRIGORIEV: In the village of Kusnezovo.
MR. COUNSELLOR SMIRNOV: Does this village currently exist?
GRIGORIEV: It does not exist.
MR. COUNSELLOR SMIRNOV: Please tell the Tribunal what happened.
GRIGORIEV: On the memorable day of 28 October 1943, German soldiers suddenly raided our village and started murdering the peaceful citizens, shooting them, chasing them into the houses. On that day I was working on the threshing floor with my two sons, Alexei and Nikolai. Suddenly a German soldier came up to us and ordered us to follow him.
THE PRESIDENT: Wait a minute, wait a minute. When you see the light on that desk there or here, it means you are going too fast. You understand?
GRIGORIEV: I understand, yes.
THE PRESIDENT: Very well.
MR. COUNSELLOR SMIRNOV: Please speak slowly, Witness. Continue, please.