dtufail/nuremberg-trials-corpus huggingface dataset:
MR. COUNSELLOR SMIRNOV: It develops that this document has already been presented by the American colleagues as Document Number L-316. I lust wish to remind the Tribunal that this document states that even the principles used for determining the activities of non-Germans should be different and that any actions of a non-German should be examined not from the point of view of justice but exclusively from the point of view of prevention. I think that this document is well known to the Tribunal and I shall refrain from quoting it. Thus in those territories of the occupied countries where the SS followed fin the footsteps of the aggressors' troops, the peaceful population was abandoned to the arbitrary will of the specially trained and fierce representatives of the police forces of German fascism. I shall take the liberty, while presenting the photostat of the document previously submitted to the Tribunal as Document Number 447-PS, to quote only one line of this document, which the Tribunal will find on Page 197 of the document book, fifth paragraph, after the heading, "The Region of the Operations." It deals with the special powers of the Reichsfuehrer SS and indicates that "within the scope of these assignments the Reichsfuehrer SS shall act independently and under his own responsibility." It is well known what the Reichsfuehrer SS really was. Of the many statements of Himmler, I shall limit myself to only one quotation which is, however, rather characteristic as a leading directive to the responsible officials of the SS who were subordinated to Himmler. On 4 October 1943 at the conference of the SS Gruppenfuehrer at Posen, Himmler said-this document was submitted to the Tribunal by the United States Prosecution as Document Number 1919-PS and was read into the record on 19 December 1945. I shall quote six lines from Page 23 of the photostat of this document. The Tribunal will find the document on Page 201 in the document book. There figures a short quotation. Am; PRESIDENT: The Tribunal feels that if a document has already been read, it should not be read again.
MR. COUNSELLOR SMIRNOV: It seems to me that this particular excerpt was not read into the record. The document was submitted on 19 December 1945 as Document Number 1919-PS. But this particular excerpt which I wish to quote now, was not read into the record of the Tribunal. It contains only six lines.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, of course, if you have verified that and can state that with certainty, then you can certainly read it.
MR. COUNSELLOR SMIRNOV: I perused the transcript and could not find this excerpt. Therefore it seems to me that it was not read into the record. I shall confine myself literally to six lines. The question at present is only a matter of six lines.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, you better go on and quote it then because these interruptions take up a very long time.
MR. COUNSELLOR SMIRNOV: I begin the quotation: "Whether other nations live in prosperity or starve to death interests me only insofar as we need them as slaves for our culture. Otherwise I am not interested. I am not interested whether 10,000 Russian females die of exhaustion while digging an antitank ditch, as long as the antitank ditch for Germany is finished." A document Divas already submitted to the Tribunal which establishes that the legalization of mass murders and extermination of the peaceful population of the Soviet Union carried out by the "Army with a view to terrorizing the population was begun by Hitler and his clique as early as 13 May 1941, that is, over a month before the beginning of the war. In this case I refer to a directive already well known to the Tribunal. This directive emanates from Keitel and is entitled, "Application of Military Jurisdiction in the Barbarossa Region and Special Army Measures." This document was already read into the record as Exhibit Number C-50 by the United States Prosecution on 7 January 1946. I shall not quote this document because I think that it is well known to the Tribunal. I merely wish to remind the Tribunal that this document categorically denies the necessity for establishing guilt; suspicion alone was sufficient for the application of a death sentence. An official system of group responsibility and mass repressions was set up. Furthermore, it was stated that the "suspect" should be exterminated in any case. This is plainly said in Paragraph 5 of the first section of the directive.
THE PRESIDENT: We better adjourn now. [The Tribunal recessed until 1400 hours. ]
MR. COUNSELLOR SMIRNOV: In accordance with your instructions, Mr. President, I omit the following documents to which I wished to refer and which have already been submitted to the Tribunal-Document 654-PS, for instance. I now proceed to the next document, which was submitted to the Tribunal yesterday by my colleague, Colonel Pokrovsky, as Exhibit Number USSR-3. It is the report of the Extraordinary State Commission of the Soviet Union, entitled, "Directives and Orders of the Hitlerite Government and the German Military Command Regarding the Extermination of the Soviet People." My colleague read into the record yesterday a short excerpt from the fourth part of this document concerning the carrying out of mass executions, the so-called executions in camps, where both peaceful citizens and prisoners of war were interned. As this section has already been read into the record, I omit it and proceed to other sections of this report, dealing with the organization by the German fascist criminals, from the very first days of the war with the Soviet Union, of the so-called Sonderkommandos (special task forces). The document which I am quoting refers to the organization of Sonderkommandos in the camps where prisoners of war and peaceful citizens were interned. I quote this excerpt because the term "Sonderkommando" acquired in the early days of the war a terrible meaning among the civilian population of the temporarily occupied territories of the Soviet Union. It was tone of the most cruel and most brutal organizations ever created by the German fascists for the wholesale slaughter of human beings. I request the Tribunal to revert to Page 207 of the document book, Column 1 of the text. I begin the quotation: "It is evident, from the documents discovered, that even before the attack on the U.S.S.R. Hitler's butchers had compiled lists and index files and collected the necessary information about such leading Soviet workers as their bloodthirsty plans had doomed to extermination.
MR. COUNSELLOR SMIRNOV: In this manner they prepared the following: 'Special Index Files for the U.S.S.R.,' 'The German Index File,' 'Lists for Establishing Domiciles,' and other index files and lists of the same kind which would facilitate the work of the Hitlerite murderers in the extermination of progressive circles within the population of the U.S.S.R. "However, the document entitled, 'Appendix Number 2 to Operational Order Number 8 of the Chief of the Sipo and the SD, Berlin,' dated 17 July 1941 and signed by Heydrich, who was at that time acting as Himmler's deputy, emphasizes the lack of such lists and index files and stresses the importance of not hampering the initiative of those who perpetrated the murders. The document states: " 'There is no possibility of lending any assistance to the Kommandos for the realization of your plans. The "German Index File," "Lists for Establishing Domiciles," and "Special Index Files for the U.S.S.R." will only prove useful in a few cases. The "Special Index Files for the U.S.S.R." are therefore insufficient, as only an insignificant number of Soviet Russian nationals, considered as dangerous, have been entered in these files.' " I omit one paragraph and continue: "For the realization of their criminal plans the German invaders created Sonderkommandos, both in the transient and permanent camps for prisoners of war, on German territory, in the so-called Polish Government General, and in the temporarily occupied territory of the Soviet Union." I further omit seven paragraphs and continue the quotation on Page 207 of the document book, Paragraph 6, Column 2 of the text: "The procedure in the formation of the Sonderkommando is described in Appendix Number 1 to Operational Order Number 14 of the Chief of the Sipo and SD, marked state top secret, Copy Number 15, dated Berlin, 29 October 1941. "The formation of the Sonderkommandos of the Sipo and SD is carried out in accordance with the agreement of 7 October 1941, reached between the Chief of the Sipo and the SD on the one hand and the OKW on the other hand.
MR. COUNSELLOR SMIRNOV: "By virtue of special powers the Kommandos will act independently in conformity with general directives, within the scope of the camp regulations. The Kommandos, of course, maintain close contact with the camp commandants and the officers of the Intelligence Service." I omit the following text and continue the quotation from Page 208 of the document book, Paragraph 1. The Tribunal will observe how much the Reich leadership extended the installation of these highly dangerous police organizations. The Sonderkommandos were organized all the way from the town of Krasnogvardeisk-a suburb of Leningrad-to the town of Nikolaiev on the Black Sea. I now continue with my quotation: "The order of the Chief of the Sipo and SD of 29 October 1941, regarding the organization of the Sonderkommandos, was sent to the operational groups in Krasnogvardeisk, Smolensk, Kiev, and Nikolaiev, and for information to Riga, Moghilev, and Krivoy Rog." I would also point out that during their attack on Moscow the Hitlerites organized in Smolensk a special Sonderkommando Moscow, entrusted with the task of mass-murdering the Moscow citizens. Mention has previously been made of the wide range of authoritative power granted to the Sonderkommando. In the document which I am quoting it is said: "The tasks of the Sonderkommandos are outlined in the operational directives attached to Decree Number 8 of the Chief of the Sipo and SD, dated Berlin, 17 July 1941, which, under the pretext of a. screening of civilians and suspected prisoners of war captured in the Eastern campaign indicate that: "The special nature of the Eastern campaign calls for special measures, to be carried out on personal responsibility beyond the range of any bureaucratic influences." I omit the next extract from this document, since it is merely a repetition of the basic rules which I have already read into the record. Having launched their criminal war, the Hitlerites directed it towards a mass extermination of the peaceful citizens of the Soviet Union and the countries of Eastern Europe.
MR. COUNSELLOR SMIRNOV: I have already read into the record several documents depicting the character of the Hitlerite murderers and the nature of their crimes. The latter consisted in the formation of large criminal units, specially trained by the leaders of the Hitlerite gang. It will, however, be clear to any criminologist that it is not sufficient to create these foul and criminal gangs-it is essential that once the crime has been perpetrated the criminal should feel that he has acted with complete impunity. In order that the crimes envisaged by the major criminals be fulfilled in their monstrous entirety, it became necessary to create for the minor criminals an atmosphere of complete impunity. In accordance with your wishes, Mr. President, I shall not quote the document previously read into the record as Number C-50 by the United States Prosecution, entitled, "Instructions Governing the Application of Martial Law and Special Measures To Be Adopted by the Army in the Barbarossa Area." But it appears to me that the contents of this document should be firmly borne in mind, for unless the meaning of this document is clearly understood it is quite impossible to envisage the series of wholesale crimes perpetrated by the Hitlerite criminals on the territory of the Soviet Union. This order, signed by Keitel, though issued in Hitler's name, was accepted by all the soldiers and all the officers of the fascist army as a personal order from Hitler. What conclusions the German soldiery drew from this order of Keitel's is confirmed by a communication of the Extraordinary State Commission, to which I shall now refer. It deals with the atrocities committed in the city of Minsk by the German fascist invaders. I submit this document to the Tribunal as Exhibit Number USSR-38 (Document Number USSR-38). It contains an excerpt from the testimony of the president of the military tribunal of the 267th German Rifle Division, Captain Julius Reichhof. I would ask the Tribunal to turn to Page 215 of the document book, to Column 1 of the text.
MR. COUNSELLOR SMIRNOV: I quote from the communication of the Extraordinary State Commission on the subject of Julius Reichhof's testimony: "According to an order issued by Hitler, German soldiers could not be committed to trial by court martial for acts committed against Soviet citizens. The soldier could be punished only by the commander of his own unit, should the latter deem the punishment necessary. By the same order Hitler granted even more extensive rights to all German Army of ricers. They could destroy the Russian population according to their own discretion. "The commander had full right to apply punitive measures to the peaceful population: He was allowed to burn down, in toto, villages and towns, rob the population of supplies and livestock, and, on his own responsibility, deport Soviet citizens to Germany for slave labor. Hitler's order was brought to the attention of every single soldier of the German Army on the eve of the attack on the Soviet Union. In accordance with Hitler's order, the German soldiers, under the leadership of their officers, committed all sorts of atrocities." But even this appeared insufficient to the Hitlerite leaders. In 1942 they considered it necessary to reconfirm, by a sharp directive brooking no exception, that any crime perpetrated by the German fascist soldiery against the peaceful citizens of the Soviet Union should go completely unpunished. The Reich and military leaders particularly emphasized the fact that atrocities committed should so remain unpunished, even if the victims of these atrocities happened to be women and children.
THE PRESIDENT: What was the reference to what you called "sharp directive"?
MR. COUNSELLOR SMIRNOV: I will at once submit to the Tribunal this directive as Exhibit Number USSR-16 (Document Number USSR-16). It is a photostatic copy of the document certified by the Extraordinary State Commission. The Tribunal will find the text of this directive on Page 219 of the document book. This directive is signed by Keitel and entitled "The Combating of Guerillas." The document is dated 16 December 1942. I will quote this document practically in full, starting with the tine. 15 Feb. 46 "Subject: The Combating of Guerillas; top secret. "The Fuehrer has been informed that certain members of the Wehrmacht who took part in the struggle against the guerilla bandits were later called to account for their behavior while fighting." My colleague, Colonel Pokrovsky, Mr. President, explained to the Tribunal yesterday that any resistance movement on the part of the peaceful population was termed "banditry." I will therefore not detain the Tribunal's attention any longer in an attempt to decode this German fascist term. "In this connection the Fuehrer ordered...." I omit one paragraph and continue the quotation, Page 219 of the document book: "If the repression of the guerillas in the East, as well as in the Balkans, is not pursued with the most brutal means, it will not be long before the forces at our disposal will prove insufficient to exterminate this plague. "The troops therefore have the right and the duty to use, in this struggle, any and unlimited means, even against women and children, if only conducive to success." I emphasize that the directive mentions all possible means of retribution against women and children. I continue to quote: "Scruples of any sort whatsoever are a crime against the German people and against the front-line soldier who bears the consequences of attacks by guerillas and who has no comprehension for any regard shown to the guerillas or their associates. "These principles must serve as a basis for using the 'Directive for Combating Guerillas in the East.' "2.
MR. COUNSELLOR SMIRNOV: No German participating in combat action against guerillas or their associates is to be held responsible for acts of violence either from a disciplinary or a judicial point of view. "Commanders of troops engaged in combat action against the bands are obliged to see to it that all officers of units under their command be immediately and thoroughly notified of this order, that their legal advisers be "immediately acquainted therewith, and that no judgments be passed which are in contradiction to this order. "Signed, Keitel." I hereby conclude the presentation of the documents referring to the first two sections of the list read into the record at the opening of the report. The materials which I have hitherto submitted to the Tribunal were to prove three facts: 1. Direct instigation, by the major criminals, to the perpetration of appalling crimes against wide circles of the peaceful population, by the German Armed Forces. 2. Special education by the Hitler leadership of mass criminal units for the practical realization of its plans for the extermination of peoples. 3. General unleashing of the criminals' basest instincts in an atmosphere of complete impunity for the perpetrators of the crimes. These purposes were fully achieved by the major war criminals. The Hitlerites committed crimes against the peaceful populations in the occupied territories of the Soviet Union and in the Eastern occupied countries which, in their extent, in the cruelty of the methods applied, as well as in the cynicism and brutality of purpose of the organizers and perpetrators of the crimes, are without precedent in the history of the world. I should like to submit evidence which characterizes the extent and the methods of these crimes of the German fascists. I should like to show exactly what Keitel's order for the "pacification" of the occupied territories meant in the lives of the peaceful population. The introduction of this regime of terror was the first sign of the arrival of the fascist authorities, whether military or civilian, in the territory of the U.S.S.R.
MR. COUNSELLOR SMIRNOV: or of other Eastern European countries. Moreover, this regime of terror was not exclusively confined to more savage forms of brutality. It also assumed the form of shameless outrages perpetrated against the honor and dignity of the victims of the German fascists. At the same time the terrorists primarily vented their misdeeds on the heads of such citizens whom they considered politically active and most capable of resisting them. In confirmation of this fact I refer to a document which I have previously presented to the Tribunal as Exhibit Number USSR-6 (Document Number USSR-6), which is a report of the Extraordinary State Commission on "Crimes Committed by the Germans in the Territory of the Lvov Region." The Tribunal will find the passage to which I am referring on Page 58 of the document book, in the first column of the text, in the last paragraph. I begin the quotation: "Even before the seizure of Lvov the Gestapo detachments had at their disposal, pursuant to an order by the German Government, lists of the most prominent representatives of the 'intelligentsia doomed a priori to annihilation. Mass arrests and executions began immediately after the seizure of Lvov. The Gestapo arrested a member of the Union of Soviet Authors, an author of numerous literary works, Professor Thaddeus Boi-Dhelensky, a professor of the Medical Institute; Roman Renzky, the principal of the University; Vladimir Seradsky, Professor of Forensic Medicine; Roman Longchamp de Berrier, Doctor of Juridical Science, together with his three sons, Professor Thaddeus Ostrovsky, Professor Jan Grek, and Professor of Surgery Heinrich Gilyarovich...." There follows a long list containing 31 names of outstanding intellectuals of the city of Lvov. I omit the enumeration of their names and continue quoting from the next paragraph: "Groer, a professor of the Medical Institute at Lvov, who fortuitously escaped death, has told the Commission what follows: "'When I was arrested at midnight of 3 July 1941 and placed in a truck, I met Professors Grek, Boi-Dhelensky, and others.
MR. COUNSELLOR SMIRNOV: We were taken to the hostel of the Abragamovitch Theological College. While we were led along the corridor the members of the Gestapo jeered at us, hitting us with rifle butts, pulling our hair, and hitting us over the head.... Later on I saw, from the hostel of the Abragamovitch Theological College, the Germans leading five professors under escort, four of whom were carrying the blood-bespattered body of the son of the famous surgeon Rouff, murdered by the Germans during his interrogation. Young Route, too, had been a specialist. The entire group of professors were taken under escort to the Kadetsky Heights, and 15 to 20 minutes later I heard rifle fire from the direction in which the professors were taken."' In order to humiliate dignity, the Germans resorted to the most refined methods of torture and then shot their victims. Goldsman, an inhabitant of Lvov, has testified before the special commission that he personally saw how, in July 1941: "Twenty people, including four professors, lawyers, and physicians, were brought by the SS into the courtyard of House Number 8, on Artishevsky Street. One of them I know by name, Doctor of Juridical Science Krebs. Among them were five or six women. The SS forced them to wash the stairs leading from the seven entrances to the four-story house, with their tongues and lips. After those stairways were washed, the same people were forced to collect garbage in the courtyard with their lips. All garbage had to be transferred to one place in the courtyard...." I omit the end of this paragraph and continue from the next paragraph: "The fascist invaders carefully concealed the extermination of the intelligentsia. To repeated requests of relatives and friends concerning the fate of these men of science, the Germans replied, 'Nothing is known.' "In the autumn of 1943, on the order of Reich Minister Himmler, the Gestapo men burned the bodies of the murdered professors.