dtufail/nuremberg-trials-corpus huggingface dataset:
MAJOR JONES: The memorandum realizes the unalterable fact that the campaign against Russia would be opened very shortly; but demands, however, that the undertaking Barbarossa 'which, because of the magnitude of its aims, naturally stands in the foreground of the operational plans of the armed forces leadership,' must under no circumstances 'lead to an abandonment, diminishing, or delay of the conduct of the war in the eastern Mediterranean."' So that Raeder was, throughout, seeking an active role for his Navy in the Nazi war plans. Now, once Hitler had decided to attack Russia, Raeder sought a role for his Navy in the campaign against Russia; and the first naval operational plan against Russia was a particularly perfidious one. I refer the Tribunal to the Document C- 170 which I have just been reading from, at Page 59 of the document book. There the Tribunal will see an entry for the 15th of June 1941: "On the proposal of Chief Naval Operations...use of arms against Russian submarines south of the northern boundary of the land warning area is permitted immediately; ruthless destruction is to be aimed at." The Defendant Keitel provided a characteristically dishonest pretext for this action in his letter, the Document C-38, which is at Page 11 of the document book and which will be Exhibit GB-223. The Tribunal sees that Keitel's letter is dated the 15th of June 1941: "Subject: Offensive action against enemy submarines in the Baltic Sea. "To: High Command of the Navy - OKM (SKL). "Offensive action against submarines south of the line Memel-southern tip of land is authorized if the boats cannot be definitely identified as Swedish during the approach by German naval forces. "The reason to be given up to B-day is that our naval forces believed to be dealing with penetrating British submarines." Now, that was on the 15th of June 1941, and the Tribunal will remember that the Nazi attack on Russia did not take place until the 22d of June of 1941.
MAJOR JONES: In the meantime Raeder was urging Hitler as early as the 18th of March 1941, to enlarge the scope of the world war by inducing Japan to seize Singapore. The relevant document is C-152, Exhibit GB- 122, at Page 23 of the document book. There is just one paragraph which I would like to be permitted to read. The document describes the audience of Raeder with Hitler on the 18th of March and the entries in it, in fact, represent Raeder's own views: "Japan must take steps to seize Singapore as soon as possible, since the opportunity will never again be as favorable (whole English fleet contained; unpreparedness of U.S.A. for war against Japan; inferiority of U.S. fleet vis-a-vis the Japanese). Japan is indeed making preparations for this action, but according to all declarations made by Japanese officers she will carry it out only if Germany proceeds to land in England. Germany must therefore concentrate all her efforts on spurring Japan to act immediately. If Japan has Singapore all other East Asiatic questions regarding the U.S.A. and England are thereby solved (Guam, Philippines, Borneo, Dutch East Indies). "Japan wishes, if possible, to avoid war against the U.S.A. She can do so if she determinedly takes Singapore as soon as possible." The Japanese, of course, as events proved, had different ideas from that. By the 20th of April 1941, the evidence is that Hitler had agreed with this proposition of Raeder's of inducing the Japanese to take offensive action against Singapore. I refer the Tribunal again to the Document C-170 and to an entry at Page 56 of the document book, for the 20th of April 1941. A few sentences from that read: "Naval Supreme Commander with Fuehrer. Navy Supreme Commander asks about result of Matsuoka's visit and evaluation of Japanese-Russian pact....Fuehrer has informed Matsuoka 'that Russia will not be touched if she behaves in a friendly manner according to the treaty.
MAJOR JONES: Otherwise, he reserves action for himself.' Japan-Russia pact has been concluded in agreement with Germany and is to prevent Japan from advancing against Vladivostok and to cause her to attack Singapore." Now an interesting commentary upon this document is found in the Document C- 66, at Page 13 of the document book. The Document C-66 has already been exhibited as GB-81. I would refer the Court to Paragraph 3 at Page 13 of the document book. At that time the Fuehrer firmly resolved on a surprise attack on Russia, regardless of what was the Russian attitude to Germany. This, according to reports coming in, was frequently changing; and there follows this interesting sentence: "The communication to Matsuoka was designed entirely as a camouflage measure and to ensure surprise." The Axis partners were not even honest with each other, and this, I submit, is typical of the kind of jungle diplomacy with which Raeder associated himself. I now, with the Tribunal's permission, turn from the field of diplomacy to the final aspect of the case against Racder, namely, to crimes at sea. The Prosecution's submission is that Raeder throughout his career showed a complete disregard for any international rule or usage of war which conflicted in the slightest with his intention of carrying through the Nazi program of conquest. I propose to submit to the Tribunal only a few examples of Raeder's flouting of the laws and customs of civilized states. Raeder has himself summarized his attitude in the most admirable fashion in the Document UK-65, which the Tribunal will find at Page 98 of the document book, and which will be Exhibit GB-224. Now that Document UK-65 is a very long memorandum compiled by Raeder and the German naval war staff on the 15th of October 1939 - that is to say, only a few weeks after the war started. And it is a memorandum on the subject of the intensification of the war at sea, and I desire to draw the Tribunal's attention to the bottom paragraph at Page 98 of the document book. It is headed, "Possibilities of Future Naval Warfare": "I.
MAJOR JONES: Military requirements for the decisive struggle against Great Britain: "Our naval strategy will have to employ all the military means at our disposal as expeditiously as possible. Military success can be most confidently expected if we attack British sea communications wherever they are accessible to us, with the greatest ruthlessness; the final aim of such attacks is to cut off all imports into and exports from Britain. We should try to consider the interests of neutrals in so far as this is possible without detriment to military requirements. It is desirable to base all military measures taken on existing international law; however, measures which are considered necessary from a military point of view, provided a decisive success can be expected from them, will have to be carried out, even if they are not covered by existing international law. In principle, therefore, any means of warfare which is effective in breaking enemy resistance should be based on some legal conception" - the nature of which is not specified -"even if that entails the creation of a new code of naval warfare. "The supreme war council... will have to decide what measures of military and legal nature are to be taken. Once it has been decided to conduct economic warfare in its most ruthless form, in fulfillment of military requirements, this decision is to be adhered to under all circumstances. Under no circumstances may such a decision for the most ruthless form of economic warfare, once it has been made, be dropped or released under political pressure from neutral powers; that is what happened in the World War to our own detriment. Every protest by neutral powers must be turned down. Even threats of further countries, particularly of the United States, coming into the war, which can be expected with certainty should the war last a long time, must not lead to a relaxation in the form of economic warfare once embarked upon. The more ruthlessly economic warfare is waged, the earlier will it show results and the sooner will the war come to an end.
MAJOR JONES: The economic effect of such military measures on our own war economy must be fully recognized and compensated through immediate reorientation of German war economy and the re-drafting of the respective agreements with neutral states; for"-these are the final words-"for this, strong political and economic pressure must be employed if necessary. I submit that those comments are most revealing; and the general submission of the Prosecution is that as an active member of the inner council of the Nazi State right up to 1943, Raeder, holding such ideas as these, must share responsibility for the many War Crimes committed by his confederates and their underlings in the course of the war. But quite apart from this over-all responsibility of Raeder, there are certain crimes which the Prosecution, submits were essentially initiated and passed down the naval chain of command by Raeder himself. I refer to the Document C-27, at Page 7 of the document book, which will be Exhibit GB-225. Those are minutes of a meeting between Hitler and Raeder on the 30th of December 1939. 1 will read with the Court's approval the second paragraph beginning: "The Chief of the Naval Operations Staff requests that full power be given to the Naval Operations Staff in making any intensification suited to the situation and to the means of war. The Fuehrer agrees in principle to the sinking without warning of Greek ships in the American prohibited area and of neutral ships in those sections of the American prohibited area in which the fiction of mine danger can be upheld, e.g., the Bristol Channel." At this time, of course, as the Tribunal knows, Greek ships were also neutral and I submit that this is yet another demonstration of the fact that Raeder was a man without principle.
MAJOR JONES: This incitement to crime was, in my submission, a typical group effort, because in the Document C-12, which is at Page I of the document book, the Tribunal will see that a directive to the effect of those naval views was issued on the 30th of December 1939 by the OKW, being signed by the Defendant Jodl. And that Document C-12 will be Exhibit GB-226. It is an interesting document. It is dated the 30th of December 1939, and it reads: "On the 30th of December 1939, according to a report of the Supreme Commander of the Navy, the Fuehrer and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces decided that: "I) Greek merchant ships in the area declared by England and the U.S.A. to be a barred zone are to be treated as enemy vessels. "2) In the Bristol Channel all shipping may be attacked without warning-where the impression of a mining incident can be created. "Both measures are authorized to come into effect immediately." Another example of the callous attitude of the German Navy, when it was under Raeder's command, towards neutral shipping, *is found in an entry in Jodl's diary...
THE PRESIDENT: I think perhaps you should read the pencil note, oughtn't you?
MAJOR JONES: The pencil note on the Document C-12 reads: "Add to 1): Attack must be carried out without being seen. The denial of the sinking of these steamships, in case the expected protests are made, must be possible." As I was saying, My Lord, another example of the callous attitude of Raeder's Navy towards neutral shipping is found in an entry in Jodl's diary for the 16th of June 1942, at Page 112 of the document book, which is Document 1807-PS, and will be Exhibit GB- 227. This extract from Jodl's Diary is dated the 16th of June 1942 and it reads: "The Operational Staff of the Navy (SKL) applied on the 29th May for permission to attack the Brazilian sea and air forces. The SKL considers that a sudden blow against the Brazilian war ships and merchant ships is expedient at this juncture because defense measures are still incomplete, because there is the possibility of achieving surprise, and because Brazil is actually fighting Germany at sea." This, the Tribunal will see, was a plan for a kind of Brazilian "Pearl Harbor" because the Tribunal will recollect that war did not in effect break out between Germany and Brazil until the 22d of August 1942. Raeder himself also caused the Navy to participate in War Crimes ordered by other conspirators, and I shall give one example only of that. On the 28th of October 1942, as the Document C-179, Exhibit USA-543, at Page 63 of the document book shows, the head of the operations division of the naval war staff promulgated to naval commands Hitler's notorious order of the 18th of October 1942 with regard to the shooting of Commandos which in my submission amounted to denying the protection of the Geneva Convention to captured Commandos. The Tribunal will remember the document is dated the 28th of October 1942, and it reads: "Enclosed please find a Fuehrer order regarding annihilation of terror and sabotage units. "This order must not be distributed in writing to officers below the rank of a flotilla leader or a section commander.
MAJOR JONES: After verbal notification to subordinate sections such officers must hand this order over to the next higher section which is responsible for its withdrawal and destruction." What clearer indication could there be than the nature of these instructions as to the naval command's appreciation of the wrongfulness of the murders Hitler ordered?
THE PRESIDENT: Shall we adjourn now for 10 minutes? [A recess was taken.]
MAJOR JONES: I have drawn the Tribunal's attention to the circulation of Hitler's order to shoot Commandos. I now draw the Tribunal's attention to an example of the execution of that order by the German Navy during the period when Raeder was its commander. My learned friend Mr. Roberts has already given the Tribunal an account of a Commando operation of December 1942, which had as its objective an attack on shipping in Bordeaux harbor. The Tribunal will recollect that the Wehrmacht account he quoted, Document UK-57, Exhibit GB-164, stated that six of the 10 participants in that commando raid were arrested and that all were shot on the 23 March 1943. In connection with that episode the Prosecution has a further document throwing more light on this Bordeaux incident and showing how much more expeditiously the Navy under Raeder had implemented Hitler's order on this particular occasion. I draw the Court's attention to Document C-176, at Page 61 of the document book, Exhibit GB-228. That document consists of extracts from the war diary of Admiral Bachmann, who was the German flag officer in charge of western France. The first entry, at Page 61, is dated 10 December 1942 and reads: "About 1015. Telephone call from personal representative of the Commander of the SD in Paris, SS Obersturmfuehrer Dr. Schmidt,' to flag lieutenant, requesting postponement of the shooting, as interrogation had not been concluded .... "After consultation with the Chief of Operations Staff, the SD had been directed to get approval direct from headquarters. "1820. SD, Bordeaux, requested Superior SD Office at Fuehrer's headquarters to postpone the shooting for 3 days. Interrogations continued for the time being." The next day, 11 December 1942: "Shooting of two English prisoners was carried out by a unit (strength 1/16 men) attached to the harbor command, Bordeaux, in the presence of an officer of the SD on order of the Fuehrer.'' Then there is a note in green pencil in the margin opposite this entry which reads: "SD should have done this.
MAJOR JONES: Phone flag officer in charge in future cases." The Tribunal will therefore see from this Document C-176, that the first two gallant men to be shot as a result of the Bordeaux operation were actually put to death by a naval firing party on the 11th of December 1942. They were Sergeant Wallace and Marine Ewart, who had the misfortune to be captured on the 8th of December in the preliminary stages of the operation. Of interest is the comment of the naval war staff upon this shooting, which is found in Document D-658.
THE PRESIDENT: What do the last two lines in Document C-176 about the operation being "particularly favored" mean?
MAJOR JONES: "The operation was particularly favored by the weather conditions and the dark night"- that presumably, My Lord, is a reference to the operation of the marine Commandos in successfully blowing up a number of German ships in Bordeaux harbor. Alternately, I am advised by the naval officer who is assisting me, that it probably is a reference to the conditions prevailing at the time of the shooting of the two men.
THE PRESIDENT: I should have thought so.
MAJOR JONES: I stand corrected by the representative of the British Navy upon my interpretation of the matter.
THE PRESIDENT: Doesn't it indicate that naval men had done it?
MAJOR JONES: The shooting was in fact, as the entry of 11 December shows, carried out by a naval party-by units belonging to the naval officer in charge of Bordeaux.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes.
MAJOR JONES: I was seeking to draw the Tribunal's attention to the comment of the naval war staff upon that shooting, which is in Document D-658, at Page 109, Exhibit GB-229. It reads: "The Naval Commander, west France, reports that during the course of the day explosives with magnets to stick on, mapping material dealing with the mouth of the Gironde, aerial photo graphs of the port installations at Bordeaux, camouflage material, and food and water for several days were found. Attempts to salvage the canoe were unsuccessful. The Naval Commander west France has ordered that both soldiers be shot immediately for attempted sabotage, if their interrogation, which has begun, confirms what has so far been discovered; their execution has, however, been postponed in order to obtain more information. "According to a Wehrmacht report, both soldiers have meanwhile been shot. The measure would be in accordance with the Fuehrer's special order but is nevertheless something new in international law, since the soldiers were in uniform." I submit that that last sentence shows very clearly that the Naval High Command under Raeder accepted allegiance to the Nazi conspiracy as of greater importance than any question of moral principle or of professional honor and integrity. This operation of the shooting of those two Commandos was, as I submit, not an act of war, but a murder of two gallant men; and it is upon this somber note that it is my duty to summarize this part of the Prosecution's case against the Defendant Raeder. The Prosecution's submission is that he was not just a military puppet carrying out political orders. The Tribunal has seen that, before the Nazis came, he had worked actively to rebuild the German Navy behind the back of the Reichstag. When the Nazis seized power, he unreservedly joined forces with them. He was the prime mover in transferring the loyalty of the German Navy to the Nazi Party. He, was as much a member of the inner councils of the Nazis as possibly any other defendant. And he was a member of their main political advisory bodies.
MAJOR JONES: He was well aware of their aggressive designs and I submit he assisted in their realization not only as a military technician, but also as a mendacious politician. And he furthered, as I have submitted, their brutal methods of warfare. And yet of an these conspirators Raeder was one of the first to fall from his high position. It is in fact true that the extension of war beyond the boundaries of Poland came as a disappointment to him. His vision of a Nazi armada mastering the Atlantic reckoned without Ribbentrop's diplomacy and Hitler's ideas of strategy. I would draw the Tribunal's attention to Document C-161, at Page 35 of the document book, which is an extract, Exhibit GB-230, from a memorandum of Raeder, dated 10 January 1943, just before his retirement, entitled, "The Importance of German Surface Forces for Conducting the War by the Powers Signatory to the Three Power Pact." The material entry reads: "...it was planned by the leaders of the National Socialist Reich to give the German Navy by 1944-45 such a strength that it would be possible to strike at the British vital arteries in the Atlantic with sufficient ships, fighting power, and range. "In 1939, the war having begun 5 years earlier, the construction of these forces was still in its initial stages... " The Tribunal will see from that document how completely Raeder was cheated in his ambitious plans by miscalculation as to when his high seas fleet would be required. The Tribunal has seen that Raeder made a great effort to recover some of his lost glory with his attack on an inoffensive Norway. He made many efforts to liven up the war at sea, both at the expense of neutrals and also of the customs and laws of the sea. But his further schemes, however, were disregarded by his fellow conspirators, and in January 1943, Raeder retired, and thereafter he was a leader in name only.
MAJOR JONES: I invite the Court's attention to the Document D-655, at Page 108 of the document book, Exhibit GB-231, which is a record in Raeder's handwriting of his interview with Hitler on the 6th of January 1943, which led to Raeder's retirement. I am only proposing to read the fifth paragraph, in which Raeder records: " . . . if the Fuehrer was anxious to demonstrate that the parting was of the friendliest character and wished that the name Raeder should continue to -be associated with the Navy, particularly abroad, it would perhaps be possible to make an appointment to the Inspector General, giving appropriate publicity in the press, et cetera. But a new Commander-in-Chief of the Navy with full responsibility for this office must be appointed. The position of Inspector General, or whatever it was decided to call it, must be purely nominal. "The Fuehrer"- the record reads - "accepted this suggestion with alacrity. The Inspector General could perhaps carry out special tasks for him, make tours of inspection, et cetera. The name of Raeder was still to be associated with the Navy. After Commander- in-Chief of the Navy had repeated his request, the Fuehrer definitely agreed to 30th January as his release date. He would like to think over the details." This was Raeder's twilight, and indeed a very different occasion from the period of his ascendancy in 1939, when on the 12th of March Raeder spoke on the occasion of the German Heroes' Day. I now refer the Court to the final document on Raeder, an account of that speech in March 1939, which is at Page 103 of the document book, in the Document D-653, Exhibit GB-232. The first paragraph reads: "Throughout Germany celebrations took place on the occasion of Hero Commemoration Day.... These celebrations were combined for the first time with the celebration of the freedom to rearm....