dtufail/nuremberg-trials-corpus huggingface dataset:
DR.ALFRED SEIDL (Counsel for Defendant Hess): But already during these economic negotiations, questions of general political nature were discussed which, according to the Soviet Russian News Agency Tass on 21 August 1939, made known the desire of both Governments to bring about a change of their policy and to ban war by concluding a nonaggression pact. This nonaggression pact was signed in Moscow on the night of 23 to 24 August 1939-therefore, as shown by the presentation of evidence in this Trial, 2 days before the attack of the German Army against Poland was ordered for the morning of 26 August 1939. Besides this nonaggression agreement, a "Secret Supplementary Protocol" was signed as an important part of the agreement. On the basis of the presentation of evidence, especially on the basis of the affidavit of Ambassador and Chief of the Legal Department of the Foreign Office, Dr. Friedrich Gaus, on the basis of the testimony of Baron van Weizsacker, State Secretary in the Foreign Office, and on the basis of the statements of the Defendants Von Ribbentrop and Jodl, the following contents of the Secret Supplementary Protocol can be considered as established: In the case of territorial-political reorganization in the territories belonging to the Baltic States, Finland, Estonia, and Latvia should fall into the sphere of interest of the Soviet Union, whereas the territory of Lithuania should belong to the sphere of interest of Germany. For the territory of Poland, the division of spheres of interest was made so that the territories lying to the east of the rivers Narew, Vistula, and San should fall to the sphere of interest of the Soviet Union, whereas the territories lying to the west of the demarcation line determined by these rivers should belong to the German sphere of interest. In other respects an agreement was reached concerning Poland, that both powers would act on mutual agreement on the final settlement of questions concerning this country.
DR.ALFRED SEIDL (Counsel for Defendant Hess): With regard to southeastern Europe, the limits of spheres of interest of both sides were made so that the Soviet side stressed its interest in Bessarabia, whereas the German side disclaimed any interest whatsoever in this territory. According to the testimony of all witnesses, but especially on the basis of the statements by Ambassador Dr. Gaus and State Secretary Von Weizsacker, it is established that this secret agreement included in it a complete new settlement concerning Poland and the future fate of the Polish State. The efforts nevertheless to come to an understanding with Poland with regard to the question of Danzig and the Corridor, made after the conclusion of the German-Soviet Non-Aggression Agreement and of the Secret Supplementary Protocol, failed. The Pact of Assistance which was made on 25 August 1939 between Great Britain and Poland did not prevent the outbreak of the war, but simply delayed it for a few days. I have no intention of going into particulars of the diplomatic negotiations which were conducted after the conclusion of the German-Soviet Agreement of 23 August 1939 to reach an agreement. One thing, however, can be said with certainty: If the unilateral guarantee declaration of England of 31 March 1939 meant to influence the already stubborn Polish Government not to accept the German offers, then an assistance pact with Great Britain would tend to dampen Poland's desire to negotiate. The failure of the negotiations which were carried on between Germany and Poland are all the less surprising when one bears in mind the testimony of the witness Dahlerus before the Tribunal. Has not this witness confirmed that the Polish Ambassador in Berlin, Lipski, declared on 31 August 1939 that he was not interested in discussing the proposals of the German Government? He based this negative attitude on the statement that in case of war a revolution would break out in Germany and the Polish Army would march toward Berlin.
DR.ALFRED SEIDL (Counsel for Defendant Hess): , Whatever the news might have been which induced the English Government to conclude the treaty with Poland and which possibly intimated a rift in the German-Italian alliance and symptoms of deterioration in the German State structure-and here I refer to the testimonies of the witnesses Dahlerus and Gisevius-the future was to prove that such ideas were not based on any facts. When on 1 September 1939 war broke out between Germany and Poland, it was at first a question of a localized conflict between two European states. But when Great Britain and France declared war on Germany on 3 September 1939, this conflict expanded into a European war, into a war which as all modern wars between great powers tended from its very beginning to develop into a world war because of inadequate international organization and the complete collapse of the system of collective security. This war was to bring immeasurable suffering to all humanity, and when on 8 May 1945 the European war ended with Germany's unconditional surrender, it left behind a Europe in ruins. Adolf Hitler did not live to see Germany's collapse and its unconditional surrender. Twenty-two former leaders of the National Socialist Germany stand before the bar of the Tribunal in order to answer charges of having committed crimes against peace, against the rules of warfare, and against humanity in the execution of a common plan. The so-called London Agreement of 8 August 1945, concluded between the Government of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Government of the United States of America, the provisional Government of the French Republic, and the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, is the basis of this Trial. The present Tribunal was created pursuant to this agreement, the composition, competence, and tasks of which were established by the Charter of the International Military Tribunal, which is a considerable part of the agreement concluded by the four Governments on 8 August 1945.
DR.ALFRED SEIDL (Counsel for Defendant Hess): The Charter of the International Military Tribunal, however, does not only contain the regulations dealing with composition, competence, and tasks; besides those, it includes-and these are the most important parts of the Charter-the regulations of material-juridical contents. This applies above all to Article 6 which contains the definitions of Crimes against Peace, War Crimes, and Crimes against Humanity, with their characteristic facts. Paragraph 3 of Article 6 of the Charter, which enumerates the characteristics of the so-called conspiracy in detail, has to be considered above all as the penal facts of the case. Furthermore, Articles 7, 8, and 9 of the Charter are to be considered as material-juridical regulations. The explanations following were not approved by the Court. They are substantially identical with the declaration made by the Defense at the beginning of the Trial on 21 November, and I beg to refer thereto. I continue on Page 40 with the last paragraph. In the Indictment the Defendant Hess is charged with having supported the seizure of power of the so-called Nazi conspirators, the strengthening of their control over Germany, and furthermore the furthering of the military, economic, and psychological preparations for war. He is furthermore charged with having participated in the political planning and preparation of wars of aggression and of wars in violation of international treaties, agreements and assurances, and in the preparation and planning of the foreign political schemes of the so-called Nazi conspirators. The Prosecution finally asserts that he approved of, directed, and participated in War Crimes and Crimes against }humanity as enumerated in Counts Three and Four of the Indictment respectively.
THE PRESIDENT: This ought to be a convenient time to break off. [A recess was taken.]
DR. SEIDL: Your Honors: Count One of the Indictment refers; to the so-called Common Plan or Conspiracy according to which all the defendants and various other persons are alleged to have participated for a number of years prior to 8 May 1945 in the planning or execution of a common plan as leaders, organizers, instigators, and collaborators. This plan aimed at and brought about the commitment of crimes against peace, of crimes against the laws of warfare and against humanity. It is asserted that the defendants planned, prepared, unleashed and directed wars of aggression, and committed war crimes and crimes against humanity in the execution of this common plan. While the Charter only knows three specifications of crimes- crimes against peace, against the rules of warfare, and against humanity-the Indictment contains four of them. In the Indictment, the Common Plan or Conspiracy is made an individual and independent count of the charge, without the Charter's establishing sufficient reasons for this. It may be left undecided whether conspiracy is considered a particular type of crime according to Anglo-American law. In view of the fact that the Charter rejects the use of both Anglo-American and continental law, but has established its own standards of law, and these sui generis only the text and spirit of the Charter itself is decisive. According, however, to what is expressly stated in Article 6, Paragraph 3 of the Charter, regarding the drafting or the execution of a plan for the perpetration of a crime against peace, against the customs of war, or against humanity, there surely cannot be an independent state of criminality as stated in Count One of the Indictment under the heading of Common Plan or Conspiracy, in all events, not on the basis of the provisions of the Charter.
DR. SEIDL: Since the Defendant Hess has been charged with all four Counts of the Indictment it is necessary first to answer Count One of the Indictment: The Indictment places at the center of the Common Plan or Conspiracy the National Socialist German Workers' Party of which Adolf Hitler had become the leader in 1921, and which the Defendant Rudolf Hess also joined as early as 1921. Even the Indictment does not, apparently, claim that the Party program of the NSDAP was actually criminal in itself. It appears all the less necessary to probe further into this question, as in the subsequent routine of political life the Party program by no means played the part which could probably be supposed. Moreover, the appraisal of evidence has definitely revealed, as far as the position and rise of the NSDAP is concerned, that up to 30 January 1933 the National Socialist Party had the same status as other parties; that it fought with the same legitimate means as other parties for the attainment of its objectives; and that not least among the factors of its rise is that Germany experienced in 1931-32, as a consequence of the reparations policy of the victor powers in 1919, an economic and social decline of uncommon magnitude; and that finally on 30 January 1933 the Party, being the strongest, was entrusted by the provisions of the Reich Constitution with the formation of the Government and its leader, Adolf Hitler, was nominated Reich Chancellor. During the so-called period of struggle the Party, like all other parties, openly fought for the principles it represented, and the Prosecution could not submit in evidence a single argument from which the conclusion could be drawn that by using illegal means the Party and its leaders had been participants in a common plan aiming at launching a war of aggression. In fact, one need only keep in mind the political, economic, and military condition of Germany in the first years after the end of the first World War to recognize how improbable such a plan, aiming at starting a war, is for that time.
DR. SEIDL: The conception put forward by the Indictment reveals not only an entirely false idea of the economic, political, and military conditions which Germany faced as a consequence of the peace settlement by Versailles, but this conception also discloses complete failure to appreciate the intrinsic virtue of any policy When Adolf Hitler as the leader of the strongest party had been appointed Reich Chancellor by Reich President Von Hindenburg on 30 January 1933, it was necessarily out of the question for him and his Government, in which also other parties participated, to start drafting a common plan aiming at a war of aggression, in complete misjudgment of the political and, above all, economic conditions. The problems which the German Reich Cabinet faced at that time resulted directly from the fact that 7 million unemployed people in Germany had to be put to work. As the witness Dr. Lammers stated, the elimination of economic and social distress actually was the most important question at the first cabinet session. There was no question at all of a common plan aiming at launching a war of aggression and, in fact, it is inconceivable that in the circumstances at that time even one member of the Government could consider such an idea in any concrete shape. Furthermore, it has been established through the testimony of Dr. Lammers and other witnesses that the subject matter of the first cabinet meeting and the resolution there passed are contained in the governmental declaration of 1 February 1933, made known to the German people in the form of a manifesto of the German Government. According to the Indictment, abrogation of the armaments restrictions imposed on Germany through the Versailles Treaty was the first aim of the conspiracy charged by the Prosecution. The final refusal of the victor powers to disarm in their turn, according to their pledge, contained in the treaty, at least accorded the German Reich the right to obtain an equalization of armament through its own rearmament.
DR. SEIDL: This was not done in secrecy by any means but in public, through the announcement of the law on the reintroduction of general conscription on 16 March 1935. The Prosecution have not been able to show evidence for their assertion that this law was connected with, and was part of, the common plan aimed at bringing about a war of aggression. The exclusive purpose of this law was rather to re-establish Germany's right to equality at least for that question, 16 years after the end of the first World War. Here too, with regard to the details I also refer to the statements of counsel for the Defendant Von Neurath. In this connection brief reference is appropriate to a document which the Prosecution produced, together with nine other documents, so-called key documents, which first of all are intended to serve the purpose of establishing the proof for existence of the common plan claimed in the Indictment. This is the written record of a discussion at the Reich Chancellery of 5 November 1937, Document Number 386-PS, Exhibit Number USA-25. As is known to the Court, this is not a literal reproduction of Adolf Hitler's statements, but a report of Colonel Hossbach which was drafted by the latter 5 days later, namely, on 10 November 1937. I have no intention of entering any further into the contents of this document. I refer here to the testimony given by the Defendants Goring and Raeder and to the statements which other defendants' counsels have made on this question. I only mention the fact that when addressing the Commanders-in-Chief and the Minister for Foreign Affairs at that time, Hitler had a chronological plan in view which reveals no conformity whatever with the subsequent events. In these circumstances, the existence of a determined and well-outlined plan by Hitler himself even seems very unlikely. Only one conclusion can with certainty be drawn from the contents of this document: Namely, that until 5 November 1937 Hitler himself only thought of an amicable settlement of the territorial problems raised by the Versailles Treaty.
DR. SEIDL: For this very reason, therefore, there can have been no question of a common plan aiming at the launching of a war of aggression-at least, up to this time. This document, however, is worthy of notice for still another reason: The report begins with the Fuehrer's assertion: ". . What the subject of today's conference is of such importance that its discussion in other states should belong to the forum of the government cabinet. He-the Fuehrer-however, considering the importance of the matter, refrained from making it the subject of discussion in a full session of the Reich Cabinet." First of all, it can be left undecided in how far other questions from 1937 on were still dealt with by the Reich Cabinet in cabinet sessions, or in the so-called circulation procedure, in the administrative procedure or in the legislative way. The conclusion can, however, be drawn with certainty from the presentation of evidence and in particular from the witness Dr. Lammers' statements and those of other witnesses, and from a great number of documents submitted by the Prosecution themselves, that, at the latest, from 5 November 1937 on, all problems concerning the question of war and peace were no longer dealt with by the Government as state authority, nor by another larger constant circle of collaborators, but exclusively by Adolf Hitler himself. In all probability this situation already existed in the year 1933. In this connection I should like to draw attention to the statements of several defendants in the witness box who, for example, were informed of the reoccupation of the demilitarized zone of the Rhineland in the same way as any other citizen, that is by means of the press and radio. It is certain, however, that all important political and military decisions were taken by Adolf Hitler alone after 5 November 1937, and particularly after the so-called Fritsch crisis and the transformation of the Reich War Ministry into the High Command of the Armed Forces which it involved. According to the witness Dr.
DR. SEIDL: Lammers' statements, general conferences between the Reich Government, the Reich Party Directorate and the generals never took place. According to the statement of this witness and others, a closer connection never existed between these three institutions. Indeed, not a single one of the documents submitted by the Prosecution reveals anything which might tempt us to admit the existence of an independent collaboration between the Reich Government, the Reich Party Directorate and the Reich War Ministry or afterward the High Command of the Armed Forces and the Commanders-in-Chief of the branches of the Armed Forces and their chiefs of staff. On the contrary, if a positive conclusion can really be drawn from the presentation of evidence, it is that the power was concentrated exclusively in the hands of Adolf Hitler, that the Reich Government, the Reich Party Directorate and the Armed Forces received their orders and directives only from him) that it was Hitler's own policy to prevent a working and independent combination of these institutions. It can thus also be explained that in all questions of a political or military nature, only those offices were included which had directly to do with the task to be carried out. It is clear from all the documents submitted by the Prosecution that, as a rule, at the conferences presided over by Hitler, there was no question of conferences as are perhaps customary in parliamentary democracies, but they were essentially only concerned with the issuing of orders. It is not necessary to examine in detail the statements in their relation to Adolf Hitler made by nearly all the defendants, nor is it necessary to assume an attitude toward the statements on the stand taken by a whole series of other witnesses regarding Adolf Hitler's position in the German governmental system.
DR. SEIDL: One thing can be said with certainty: at the latest, from 5 November 1937 on, Hitler's position was so commanding and his exclusive dealing with all decisive political and military questions so firmly established that for this reason alone there could be no grounds left for the supposition of a common plan. The Defendant Rudolf Hess, though the Fuehrer's Deputy and the highest political leader for Party matters, did not contribute to nor take part in any of the conferences or any other important political or military decisions characterized by the Prosecution as being essential to prove the existence of a common plan, just as lithe as he contributed to or took part in the conference of the Fuehrer in the Reich Chancellery on 5 November 1937 (USA-25). The same holds good, for example, for the next exhibit, USA-26, Document Number 388-PS, submitted by the Prosecution. This is the top-secret Case Green, Czechoslovakia. Without having to enter any further into the details of this document, it can be said without more ado that it deals with what is entirely the work of the General Staff, which was originally intended only as a problem, and afterward elaborated into a real operational plan. This operational plan was not put into action, the documents referring to Case Green, on the contrary, conclude with Directive Number 1 of the Fuehrer and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, which refers to the occupation of the Sudeten German areas separated from Czechoslovakia by virtue of the Munich Agreement of 29 September 1938. Under these circumstances, it is superfluous to deal further with the letter of 27 September 1938, of the Chief of the High Command of the Armed Forces to the Fuehrer's Deputy which is also contained in the documents for the Case Green and refers to the mobilization measures which were to be taken without the issuing of a mobilization order or a corresponding code word. What I have already said concerning Exhibit Number USA-25 applies similarly to Document Number L-79, Exhibit Number USA-27.
DR. SEIDL: This is another so-called key document having as subject the instruction by the Fuehrer of the Commanders-in-Chief of the branches of the Armed Forces and the chiefs of the general staffs in the new Reich Chancellery on 23 May 1939. Without intending to enter into the importance or the value of this document as evidence-the Fuehrer's speech closed with the order to set up a small research staff in the High Command of the Armed Forces-this document shows clearly that no common plan in the shape asserted by the Prosecution can have existed, especially not among the defendants now facing their trial. Not a single minister or official of civil administration took part in this conference at the Fuehrer's headquarters-which in reality was not a conference but again an instruction and issuance of orders. The next three documents submitted by the Prosecution as key documents refer to one and the same subject, namely, to Adolf Hitler's speech addressed to the Commanders-in-Chief of the Wehrmacht on 22 August 1939. The following are the documents in question: Exhibit Number USA-28, Document Number L-3; Exhibit Number USA-29, Document Number 798-PS; and Exhibit Number USA-30, Document Number 1014-PS. I will not enter any further into the value of these documents as evidence, although it is obvious that these documents cannot be of equal value, and though it is quite clear that even an approximate reproduction of Adolf Hitler's exposition is out of the question. None of these documents reveal their authorship. Moreover, the statements differ considerably as far as volume and contents are concerned. Document Exhibit Number USA-29 seems to contain the most complete reproduction of Hitler's statements. And here again the conclusion is most worthy of notice, a conclusion which throws some light upon the situation at that time and the events which made it possible for Hitler to make such a speech to the Commanders-in-Chief. "I was convinced that Stalin would never accept the English offer.