dtufail/nuremberg-trials-corpus huggingface dataset:
M. DUBOST: The body bore the trace of two bayonet wounds in the back." I submit Document F-604 as Exhibit Number RF-416, Page 61 of the document book. A civilian was killed in his vineyard. Young men and girls walking along the. road were killed. The motive was given as "presence of Maquis in the region." All these victims, were completely innocent. Document F-904, which I submit as Exhibit Number RF-417, Page 62 of your document book. At Culoz ". . . young boys were arrested because they had run away at the sight of the Germans...." They were reported. ". . . not one of them belonged to the resistance." At St. Jean-de-Maurienne-Document F-906, submitted as Exhibit Number RF-418, Page 63 of your document book: "On 23 August the gendarmes, Chavanne and Empereur, dressed in civilian clothes, and M. Albert Taravel were arrested by German soldiers without legitimate reason. The lieutenant who was in charge of the Kommandantur promised the officer of the gendarmes to release these three men. This German later surreptitiously ordered his men to shoot these prisoners. "Mademoiselle Lucie Perraud, 21 years of age, who was a maid at the Caf Dentroux, was raped by a German soldier, of Russian origin, under threat of a pistol." I will not mention any more of the atrocities described in this document. I now come to the Vercors. This region was undeniably an important assembly center for French Forces of the Interior. Document F-611, which we submit as Exhibit Number RF-419, describes the atrocities committed against the innocent population of this region in reprisal for the presence of men of the Maquis. This document appears in your book on Page 69 and following. In Paragraph 3 is an enumeration of police operations in the Vercors area. On 15 June, in the region of St. Donat: rape and looting. Execution at Portes-les-Valence on 8 July 1944 of 30 hostages taken from among the political prisoners interned at Fort Montluc at Lyons. Police raids carried out against the Maquis of the Vercors region of Crest, Saillans, and Die.
M. DUBOST: Bombing by aircraft of numerous villages in the Vercors area and in particular at La Chapelle and Vassieux-en-Vercors; summary execution of inhabitants of these places; looting. Execution, after summary judgment, of about a hundred young men at St. Nazaire-en-Royans; deportation to Germany of 300 others from this region. Murder of 50 gravely wounded persons in the Grotto of La Luire. On 15 June 1944, attack by German troops at St. Donat. I quote, "The Maquis had evacuated the town several days earlier... 54 women or young girls from 13 to 50 years of age were raped by the maddened soldiers." The Tribunal will forgive me if I avoid citing the atrocious details which follow. Bombing of the villages of Combovin, La Baume- Cornillanne, Ourches, etcetera: "The losses caused by these bombings among the civilian population are rather high, for in most cases the inhabitants, caught by surprise, had no time to seek shelter... 2 women were raped at Crest ... 3 women were raped at Saillans.... "A young girl of twelve, who was wounded and pinned down between beams, awaited death for 6 long days unable either to sit down or sleep, and without receiving any food, and that under the eyes of the Germans who were occupying the village."-A medical certificate from Doctor Nicolaides, who examined the women who were raped in this region. I will pass on. I submit Document F-612 under Exhibit Number RF-420. To terrorize the inhabitants at Trebeurden in Brittany they hanged innocent people, and slashed the corpses to make the blood flow. I proceed. Document F-912 is submitted as Exhibit Number RF-421, Page 82 of your book. It is the report of the massacre of 35 Jews at St. Amand-Montrond. These men were arrested and killed with pistol shots in the back by members of the Gestapo and of the German Army. They were innocent of any crime. I submit Document F-913 as Exhibit Number RF-422-Page 96, I am quoting: "On 8 April 1944 German soldiers of the Gestapo arrested young Andre Bezillon, 18 years of age, dwelling at Oyonnax (Ain), whose brother war, in the Maquis.
M. DUBOST: The body of this young man was discovered on 11 April 1944 at Siege (Jura) frightfully mutilated. His nose and tongue had been cut off, There were traces of blows over his whole body and of slashes on his legs. Four other young men were also found at Siege at the same time as Bezillon. All of them had been mutilated in such a manner that they could not be identified. They bore no trace of bullets, which clearly indicates that they died from the consequences of ill-treatment." I submit Document F-614 as Exhibit Number RF-423, at Page 98 of your document book. It describes the destruction of the village of Cerizay, (Deux-Sevres). I quote: "The fire did not cause any accident to persons, but the bodies of two persons killed by German convoys and those of two victims of the bombardment were burned." This village was destroyed by artillery fire; 172 buildings were destroyed and 559 were damaged. We now submit another document, Document F-919 as Exhibit Number RF-424, Page 103. It concerns the murder of a young man of Tourc'h in Finistere. The murderers compelled the mother to prepare a meal for them. Having been fed, they had the victim disinterred. They searched and found that the body bore a card of identity bearing the same name and address as his mother, brothers, and sisters, who were present and in tears. One of the soldiers, finding no excuse to explain this crime, said dryly before going away: "He was not a terrorist! What a pity!" and the body was buried again. Document F-616 submitted as Exhibit Number RF-425, Page 104, concerns the report of the operations of the German Army in the region of Nice, about 20 July 1944. I quote: "...having been attacked at Presles by several groups of Maquis in the region, by way of reprisal, this Mongolian detachment, as usual commanded by the SS, went to a farm where two French members of the resistance had been hidden.
M. DUBOST: Being unable to take them prisoners, these soldiers then arrested the proprietors of that farm (the husband and wife), and after subjecting them to numerous atrocities, rape, et cetera, they shot them with submachine guns. Then they took the son of these victims, who was only 3 years of age; and, after having tortured him frightfully, they crucified him on the gate of the farmhouse." We submit Document F-914 as Exhibit Number RF-426, Page 107 of your document book. This is a long recital of murders committed without any cause whatever by the German Army in Rue Tronchet at Lyons. I now read: "Without preliminary warning, without any effort having been made to verify the exact character of the situation and, if necessary, to seize those responsible for the act, the soldiers opened fire. A certain number of civilians, men, women, and children fell. Others who were untouched or only slightly wounded fled in haste." The Tribunal will find the official report that was drawn up on the occasion of these murders. We submit without quoting, asking the Tribunal to take judicial notice of it only, the report relating to the crimes of the German Army committed in the region of Loches (Indre-et-Loire), Document F-617, submitted as Exhibit Number RF-427, Page 115 of your document book. Document F-607, submitted as Exhibit Number RF-428, which is on Page 119 of your document book, describes the looting, rape, and burnings at Saillans during the months of July and of August 1944. I quote, "During their sojourn in the region"-referring to German soldiers-"rapes were committed against three women in that area." I pass on. Document F-608, Page 120 of your document book, submitted as Exhibit Number RF-429: A person was burned alive at Puisots by a punitive expedition. This person was innocent. I submit Document F-610 as Exhibit Number RF-430, Page 122 of your document book. The whole region of Vassieux in the Vercors was devastated. This document, Number F-610, is a report by the Red Cross prepared prior to the liberation.
M. DUBOST: I am quoting: "We found on a farm a wounded man, who had been hit by 8 bullets in the following circumstances. The Germans forced him to set fire to his own house, and tried to prevent him from escaping the flames by shooting at him with their pistols. In spite of his wounds, he was able miraculously to escape." We submit Document F-618 as Exhibit Number RF-431, Page 124 of the document book. I quote, concerning people who were executed: "Before being shot these people were tortured. One of them, M. Francis Duperrier, had a broken arm and his face was completely mutilated. Another, M. Feroud-Plattet, had been completely disembowelled with a piece of sharp wood. His jaw bone was also crushed." We submit Document 605 as Exhibit Number RF-432, Page 126. This document describes the burning of the hamlet of des Plaines near Moutiers, in Savoy: "Two women, Madame Romanet, a widow, 72 years old, and her daughter, age 41, were burned to death in a small room of their dwelling, where they had sought refuge. In the same place a man, M. Charvaz, who had had his thigh shattered by a bullet, was also found burned." We now submit as Exhibit Number RF-433 the French Document F-298, Page 127 and following in your document book, which describes the destruction of Maille in the department of Indre-et-Loire. That area was entirely destroyed on 25 August 1944, and a large number of its inhabitants were killed or seriously wounded. This destruction and these crimes had no terrorist action, no action by the French Forces of the Interior as a motive. Document P-907 submitted as Exhibit Number RF-434-Page 132 and following in your document book-relates the incidents leading to German crimes at Montpezat-de-Quercy. This is a letter written to the French Delegation by the Bishop of Montauban, Monseigneur Theas, on 11 December 1945. This document really explains Document F-673, already submitted as Exhibit Number RF-392, from which I will read.
M. DUBOST: The first part consists of a letter by the French Armistice Commission, and has been taken from the archives of the Armistice Commission in Wiesbaden: "On the night of 6 to 7 June last, in the course of an operation in the region of Montpezat-de-Quercy, German troops set fire to four farmhouses which formed the hamlet called 'Perches.' Three men, two women, and two children, 14 and 4 years old, were burned alive. Two women and a child of ten who disappeared probably suffered the same fate. "On Saturday, 10 June, having been fired at by two recalcitrants at the village of Marsoulas, German troops killed these two men. Moreover, they massacred without any explanation all the other inhabitants of the village that they could lay their hands on. "Thus 7 men, 6 women, and 14 children were killed, most of them still in their beds at the early hour when this happened. "On 10 June, at about 1900 hours, five Luftwaffe aircraft attacked the town of Tarbes for half an hour with bombs and machine guns. Several buildings were destroyed, among them the Hotel des Ponts et Chaussees, and the Academic Inspectorate. There were 7 dead and about 10 wounded who were hit by chance among the population of the town. 'On this occasion the general in command of the VS-659 at Tarbes immediately informed the Prefect of the Department of Basses-Pyrenees that the operation had been neither caused nor ordered by him. "Following each of these events the Regional Prefect of Toulouse addressed to the general ~ commanding the I-IVS-564 letters in which in dignified and measured terms he protested against the acts in question, through which innocent women and children were deliberately killed. He asserted very rightly that under no circumstances could children in the cradle be considered as accomplices of the terrorists. He requested finally that instructions be given to avoid the recurrence of such painful events.
M. DUBOST: "Replying on 19 June to the three letters of the Regional Prefect of Toulouse, the chief of -staff of the general commanding the head liaison staff 564 announced the principles which determined the position taken by his chief, which justified the acts of reprisal quoted on the following grounds: "The duty of the French population is not only to flee from terrorists but also to, render their operations impossible, which will avoid any reprisals being taken against innocent -people. In the struggle against terrorism the German Army must and will employ all means at its disposal, even methods' of combat new to Western Europe. "The terror raids of the Anglo-Americans also massacre thousands and thousands of German children. There, too, innocent blood is being shed through the action of the enemy, whose support of terrorism is forcing the German soldier to use his arms in the South of France. "I beg to ask you"--concluded General- Bridoux, writing to the German Commission-"whether the French Government is to consider the arguments cited above as reflecting accurately the position taken by the German High Command, in view of the facts disclosed in the first part of the present letter." We now submit Document E-190 as Exhibit Number RF-435, Page 141 of the document book, which describes the crimes committed at Ascq by a German unit which, in reprisal for the destruction of the railway, massacred 77 men of all categories and all ages, among whom were 22 employees of the French State railway, some industrialists, business men, and workmen. I quote: "The oldest of these victims, M. Briet, retired, was 74 years old; he was born, on 3 October 1869 at Ascq. The youngest, Jean Roques, student and son of the postmaster, was 15 years old, born on 4 January 1929 at Saint Quentin. Father Gilleron, a priest at Ascq, and his two protegees, M.
M. DUBOST: Averlon and his son, who had fled from the coast, were also shot." This massacre was the cause of a protest made by the French Government at that time, to which Commander-in-Chief Von Rundstedt replied on 3 May 1944 (Document F-673, already submitted as Exhibit Number RF-392, Page 154): "The population of Ascq bears the responsibility for the consequences of its treacherous conduct, which I can only severely condemn." General Berard, president of the French delegation attached to the German Armistice Commission, was not satisfied with the reply given by Rundstedt; and on 21 June 1944 he reiterated the French protest, addressing it this time to General Vogl, president of the German Armistice Commission. This is still Document F-673, Exhibit Number RF-392. I quote: "In all, from 10 October 1943 to 1st May 1944, more than 1,200 persons were made the victims of these measures of repression.... "These measures of repression strike the innocent and cause terror to reign among the French population.. "A great number of the acts that have been mentioned took place in the course of repressive operations directed against population accused of having relations with the Maquis. In these operations there was never any care taken to discover whether the people suspected of having served the Maquis were really guilty; and still less in this case, to ascertain whether these people had acted voluntarily or under duress. The number of innocent people executed is therefore considerable.... "The repressive operation in Dordogne, from 26 March to 3 April 1944, and particularly the tragic affair of Ascq, which have already brought about the intervention of the head of the French Government, are grievous examples. At Ascq, especially, 86 innocent people paid with their lives for an attempted attack which, according to my information, did not cause the death of a single German soldier...
M. DUBOST: "Such acts can only stimulate the spirit of revolt in the adversaries of Germany, who finally are the only ones to benefit." The reply of the Armistice Commission, Document F-707, submitted as Exhibit Number RF-436, is the rejection of General Berard's request. The document is before you. I do not think it is necessary for me to read it. The general, on 3 August 1944, reiterated his protest. This is Document F-673, Exhibit Number RF-392, already submitted. At the end of his protest he writes: "An enemy who surrenders must not be killed even though he is a franc-tireur or a spy. The latter will receive just punishment through the courts." But this is only the text of stipulations to be applied within Germany. We submit Document F-706, Exhibit Number RF-437, which is a note from the French Secretary of State for Defense to the German general protesting against the measures of destruction taken by the German troops in Chaudebonne and Chaveroche. We shall not read this document. The Tribunal may take judicial notice of it, if it deems it necessary. We now come to the statement of the events of Tulle, in which 120 Frenchmen were hanged, Page 169 (Document F-673, Exhibit RF-392). I am quoting: "On 7 June a large group of francs-tireurs attacked the French forces employed in the maintenance of order and succeeded in seizing the greater part of the town of Tune after a struggle which lasted until dawn.... "The same day, at about 2000 hours important German armored forces came to the assistance of the garrison and penetrated into the city from which the terrorists withdrew in haste...." These troops, which re-took Tulle, decided to carry out reprisals. The French Forces of the Interior that had taken the town had withdrawn. The Germans had taken no prisoners. The reprisals were carried out upon civilians. Without discrimination they were arrested. "The victims were selected without any inquiry, without even any questioning, haphazardly; workmen, students, professors, industrialists. There were even among them some militia sympathizers and candidates for the Waffen SS.
M. DUBOST: The 120 corpses which were hanged from the balconies and lamp-posts of the Avenue de la Gare, along a distance of 500 meters, were a horrible spectacle that will remain in the memory of the unfortunate population of Tulle for a long time." We now come to the crowning event in these German atrocities: the destruction of Oradour-sur-Glane, in the month of June 1944. The Tribunal will accept, we hope, the presentation of Document F-236, which now becomes Exhibit Number RF-438. This is an official book, published by the French Government, which gives a full description of the-events. I will give you a brief analysis of the report which the de facto government of the time sent to the German general who was Commander-in-Chief for the regions of the West: "On Saturday, 10 June, a detachment of SS belonging very likely to the 'Das Reich' division which was present in the area, burst into the village, after having surrounded it entirely, and ordered the population to gather in the central square. It was then announced that it had been reported that explosives had been hidden in the village and that a search and the checking of identity were about to take place. The men were asked to make four or five groups, each of which was locked into a barn. The women and children were taken to the church and locked in,. It was about 1400 hours. A little later machine-gunning began and the whole village was set on fire, as well as the surrounding farms. The houses were set on fire one by one. The operation lasted undoubtedly several hours, in view of the extent of the locality. "In the meantime the women and the children were in anguish as they heard the sound of the fires and of the shootings. At 1700 hours, German soldiers entered the church and placed upon the communion table an asphyxiating apparatus which comprised a sort of box from which lighted fuses emerged. Shortly after the atmosphere became unbreathable. However someone was able to break open the vestry door which enabled the women and children to regain consciousness.
M. DUBOST: The German soldiers then started to shoot through the windows of the church, and they came inside to finish off the last survivors with machine guns. Then they spread upon the soil some inflammable material. One woman alone was able to escape, having climbed on the window to run away. The cries of a mother who tried to give her child to her, drew the attention of one of the guards who fired on the would-be fugitive and wounded her seriously. She saved her life by simulating death and she was later cared for in a hospital at Limoges. "At about 1800 hours the German soldiers stopped the local train which was passing in the vicinity. They told passengers going to Oradour to get off, and, having machine-gunned them, threw their bodies into the flames. At the end of the evening, as well as the following day, a Sunday morning, the inhabitants of the surrounding hamlets, alarmed by the fire or made anxious because of the absence of their children who had been going to school at Oradour, attempted to approach, but they were either machine-gunned or driven away by force by German sentinels who were guarding the exits of the village. However, on the afternoon of Sunday some were able to get into the ruins, and they stated that the church was filled with the corpses of women and children, all shrivelled up and calcinated. "An absolutely reliable witness was able to see the body of a mother holding her child in her arras at the entrance of the church, and in front of the altar the body of a little child kneeling, and near the confessional the bodies of two children in each other's arms. "During the night from Sunday to Monday the German troops returned and attempted to remove traces by proceeding with the summary burial of the women and children outside the church. "The news of this drama began to spread through Limoges on the 11th of June. "In the evening, the general commanding the Verbindungsstab refused to grant the pass, which was personally requested by the Regional Prefect, for him and the Deputy Prefect to move about in the area.
M. DUBOST: Only the Subprefect of Rodhechouart was able to go to Oradour and report to his chief on the following day that the village, which comprised 85 houses, was only a mass of ruins and that the greater part of the population, women and children included, had perished. "On Tuesday, 13 June, the Regional Prefect finally obtained authorization to go there and was able to proceed to the town, accompanied by the Deputy Prefect and the Bishop of Limoges. In the church, which was partly in ruins, there were still the calcinated remains of children. Bones were mixed with the ashes of the woodwork. The ground was strewn with shells with 'STKAM' marked upon them, and on the walls there were numerous traces of bullets at a mail's height. "Outside the church the soil was freshly dug; children's garments were piled up, half burned. Where the barns had stood, completely calcinated human skeletons, heaped one on the other, partially covered with various materials, made a horrible charnel- house. "... although it is impossible to give the exact number of these victims, it can be estimated that there were 800 to 1,000 dead, among them many 'children who had been evacuated from regions threatened by bombardment. There do not seem to have been more than ten survivors among the persons who were present in the village of Oradour at the beginning of the afternoon of 10 June." Such are the facts. "I have the honor, General, to ask you"-concluded General Bridoux addressing his enemy-"to be good enough to communicate these facts to the German High Command in France. I greatly hope that they will be brought to the knowledge of the Government of the Reich, because of the political importance which they will assume from their repercussion on the mind of the French population." An inquiry has been conducted since; it is summed up in the book which has just been placed before you. This inquiry has shown that no member of the French Forces of the Interior was in the village, that there was none within several kilometers.