dtufail/nuremberg-trials-corpus huggingface dataset:
DR. SERVATIUS: It says: "For the execution of its task the Party is divided into four areas of authority: (1) Reich, (2) Gau, (3) Kreis, and (4) Ortsgruppe- "At the head of each of these areas of authority is placed the respective Hoheitstriiger: (1) the Fillirer, (2) the Gauleiter, (3) the Kreisleiter, (4) the Ortsgruppenleiter." Document Number 22, on Page 77, of the year 1940, is an official order to the same effect which defines the term "Hoheitsträger." Document Number 4, Page 18, is also to the same effect. It is an order of Hitler about the circle of persons allowed to determine the extent of damage after air raids. It says: "The competent Hoheits-räger, that is, Gauleiter, Kreisleiter, and Ortsgruppenleiter, are permitted to enter the areas affected." In other words, when something has happened in the very area of the Blockleiter or Zellenleiter, he is not given access because he is not a Hoheitstr4ger. I refer to Document Number 23, on Page 19, which is to the same effect. Document Number 24, on Page 20, again confirms my submission. Document Number 25, on Page 21, is an excerpt from Der Hoheitsträger. It deals with confidential information and tens how far this information may be passed on. Such confidential informa-tion may be passed on as far down as the Ortsgruppenleiter; Block-and Zellenleiter are not informed. There follows Document Number 9, on Page 23; it is a decree of the Reich Finance Minister concerning the granting of marriage loans and various other subsidies. The document is of importance because it states which applicants must submit proof of their political reliability before being able to expect a grant. It shows that the Blockleiter and Zellenleiter must first prove their political reliability and cannot therefore be Hoheitstr5ger in the true sense of the word. Now I come to another subject. Document Number 26, Page 26. The question is to what extent SA and SS are subordinate to Political Leaders. It says there exists no such relation either for the SA, SS, Hitler Youth, or NSKK. Document Number 27 is to the same effect.
DR. SERVATIUS: It confirms that the leaders of the SA groups or brigades were not under the orders of the Gauleiter. The next document, Number 28, deals with recruitment groups and the question of -how propaganda should be spread; assistance should be given by word and deed, and above all, people have to, be won over and convinced. It also deals with spies and informers, a subject which comes up later. The next document is Number 29. This refers to the relations between Party and State, and interference of the Party in State rights. It is an instruction which says: "Keep away from measures to enforce that which is the State's responsibility. In calling upon State organs, it is to be carefully considered whether interference is justified." Document Number 30 is on Page- 31. It is a decree of Hess as to the attitude of a National Socialist, saying that he should endeavor to induce confidence and willingness to co-operate. The next document, Number 31, also warns against attempts to misuse an official Party position in dealings with other offices for personal ends. Document Number 32 deals with legal proceedings. It indicates that the Party has nothing to do with this and that it is to abstain -from such proceedings. It says: "The decision whether a punishable act shall be prosecuted or. not rests alone with the Public Prosecutor and/or the Roch Minister of Justice." The next document is Number 33. It is another order by Hess, of the year 1935. It refers to political appraisal reports and states that they may be issued only from the Kreisleiter upward. I should like to call special attention to this, because I consider it an essential indication concerning the higher Party leaders and a salient point conducive to proper estimation.
DR. SERVATIUS: Document Number 34 concerns the problem of investigation, known as "spying" or "informing." It was issued by Hess in October 1936, and I quote: "Never, even when dealing with the most unimportant fellow- Germans and their families, should Zellenleiter and Block-leiter become importunate, and they should never stoop to snoop and spy on them, for this would not breed confidence but distrust." The next document, Number 35, is an order of 1937. It states that investigations and inquiries are in no way the task of the Party. These are up to the State agencies formed to disclose and eliminate such dangers. In Document Number 36, on Page 37, this is stressed once more. It is a document concerning collaboration between Party offices and the Gestapo. It says: - "I prohibit all Party offices from conducting inquiries and interrogations in cases which are being investigated by the Gestapo." The next document, Number 37, shows that the Political Leader's duty to report any incidents was no more compelling than that of any civil servant. The German Civir Service Law is quoted here. Paragraph 3 specifies: "All circumstances which may endanger the interests of the Reich or of the NSDAP, even if not discovered in the course of his official duties, should be brought by him to the attention of his superior in office." Document Number 38 is on Page 39. It concerns the expert agencies in the political staffs. It is a circular from the official book Verfuegungen, Anordnungen und Bekanntgaben (Orders, Regulations, and Notices), Volume 1. This deals with reports to be made by experts on their activities. The political situation report is to be rendered only by the Hoheitsträger. A difference is made between the two kinds. I am submitting it in defense of the experts on the political staffs. The following documents concern the common plan against peace. Document Number 39, on Page 41, is an excerpt from the com-mentary on the Party Program by Gottfried Feder, which is an authoritative publication of the year 1934.
DR. SERVATIUS: It says: "We declare, however, that we do not contemplate enforcing by violence the Anschluss of Germans living outside Germany under Danish, Polish, Czech, Italian or French sovereignty. "-I shall skip a sentence.-"Thus the postulate under discussion is devoid of any imperialistic aims." Document Number 40 is on Page 42. It is an excerpt from the Journal of Instructions of the Reich Leadership ?f the NSDAP, and is an announcement made by Hess in 1933. "In some foreign countries anti-German propaganda has recently made use of the untrue assertion that the NSDAP is contemplating to annex parts of Switzerland, Holland, Bel-gium, Denmark, et cetera. "Though that supposition is utterly ludicrous, nevertheless it is believed in some quarters. The Reich Leadership, therefore, desires to state that no serious-minded person in Germany contemplates even touching the independence of other states." Document Number 41 is on Page 43. This is another order of Hess, issued one year later, in October 1934. It says that the Ger-mans and their Fuehrer want to live together in peace and mutual respect with the other peoples and nations, and that they do not want any disagreement with anybody. In August 1935, a year later, another order was issued by Hess to the Party; that is Document Number 42. It refers to Hitler's principal speeches, in which he repeatedly stresses his wish for a peaceful settlement of all unsettled questions. Statements made in foreign countries are declared to be malicious fabrications. The next document, Number 43, is again by Hess, in January 1937. It refers to armaments, the purpose of which was to protect Germany against arbitrary actions coming from abroad. I will come to another subject, that of the question of secrecy regulations, which disproves the existence of a common plan. First of all, the well-known secrecy order issued to the Wehrmacht also applies to the Party, that no office and no officer may have more knowledge of any matter than is absolutely necessary.
DR. SERVATIUS: In Document Number 45 this order is extended to every agency, every official, every clerk, and every worker. Document Number 46 deals with the question of the press. It concerns secrecy regulations to the extent that it says that impor-tant articles must be discussed with the Reich Press Agency before publication. Document Number 47 is on Page 49. This is an-order that dis-cussions on the military situation are prohibited, and a case is quoted of a Blockleiter disclosing his most important instructions. Document Number 48 is on Page 50. This document deals with the law concerning the interrogation of members of the NSDAP and its formations. Secrecy is again assured here by the Official Secrets order; also, interrogations are to be made only when specially authorized and carried out only by Unterfuehrer of the Party. Document Number 48 on Page 51 is a regulation for the application of this law. It determines who is considered an Unterfuehrer in the eyes of the Party, and' again I would point out that the last link in the chain of command is the Ortsgruppenleiter; Block- and Zellenleiter are again omitted, not even receiving the designation of "Unterleiter." Document 49 is on Page 53. This is confidential information of the Party, dated 9 October 1942. "Preparatory Measures for the Final Solution of the Jewish Question in Europe. Rumors Concern-ing Conditions of the Jews in the East." It reads as follows: "In order to be able to oppose the formation of rumors con-cerning the Jews, which are often of a wilfully tendentious nature, the following statements on the present state of affairs are made:" On the next page a statement is made of what is intended. First, to force the Jews out of the various fields of activity of the German people. Secondly, to endeavor to expel the enemy from the Reich territory. The next document is Number 50. It deals with the idea of the conspiracy. Here the well-known Fuehrer principle is shown.
LT. COL. GRIFFITH-JONES: I hesitate to interrupt, but before Dr. Servatius leaves that last document, Number 49 on Page 53: it is a document to which the Prosecution attach considerable impor-tance now they have found it in the Defense document book. And at Page 54 it will be seen, halfway down in Paragraph 2, that the elimination of the Jews is no longer possible by emigration. I partic-ularly draw the attention of the Tribunal to the last sentence on the following page, which is: t "It is in the nature of the matter that these partly very difficult problems will, in the interest of the final protection of our people, only be solved with ruthless severity." My Lord, on the first page of that document it will be seen under the "Remarks" column, "Open only for G. and K." Dr. Servatius will correct me if I am wrong, but I presume that means for Gau and Kreis.
DR. SERVATTUS: I assume that the note "Open only for G. and K." means what the prosecutor has said, Gau and Kreis, but now I should like to read the whole document, since only then can the complete meaning be shown. Obviously, the writer's intention is to conceal the actual situation, and if it is said that ' there is no longer any possibility for emigration, the document shows that a settlement area in the East is to be created but not, as one might conclude, that extermination is the aim. When it speaks of ruthless measures to be taken, or of ruthless severity, that was simply the customary expression found in Party writings, indicating that this measure of removal was to be carried out with ruthless severity, for I believe that it was sufficiently ruthless to remove these people regardless of the fact that they are now known to have been exterminated. I do not believe that I need read the whole document now, but I think that is the correct inter-pretation of the meaning. Document Number 50 on Page 56 shows that in foreign policy, in particular, the Fuehrer was entirely in charge; that even measures which struck every German as peculiar, as for instance the renun-ciation of the South Tyrol, were condoned following intimation from higher quarters. Document Number 51 on Page 57 is to the same effect. It is a circular to the Party issued by the Party Chancellery in November 1942. It states that there can be "only one binding Party opinion" and refers to an earlier decree. Document Number 52 on Page 58 must be understood in the same sense. It states that the Hoheitstr5ger are to act only in accordance -with the directives received from the Fuehrer. Document Number 53 on Page 60 deals with the position of Bor-mann.
DR. SERVATTUS: It is stated here, and I quote: "For years the Fuehrer has been in the habit of entrusting Reichsleiter Martin Bormann with special missions of various kinds which 'do not come into the usual field of Reichsleiter Martin Bormann's activities in his capacity as Chief of the Party Chancellery, but which concern affairs where, outside the Party scope, instructions and opinions of the Fuehrer have to be transmitted in his name to leading personalities of State and Government agencies." This is of significance because Bormann decided very essential things in his capacity as Secretary of the Fuehrer, for example, the subject of euthanasia. Document Number 54 on Page 62 gives general points of view on political leadership, such as avoidance of differences of opinion among the leading Party members. A formation of cliques is thus practically made impossible. The next document, Number 55, on Page 64, deals with the Foreign Organizations and explains the following document, Num-ber 56, wherein the Hoheitsträger are classified, although in a somewhat different way. Since they do not have any territory of their own they are only given the rank of Gauleiter or deputy Gau-leiter. It is the same with the Kreisleiter, Ortsgruppenleiter and Statzpunktleiter. Document Number 57 on Page 68 emphasizes in this connection the principle: "National Socialism is no export commodity." It says that it is not proposed to win over other places abroad for National Socialism. Document Number 58 on Page 69, is a circular on relations with foreign political groups, of the year 1942. It says the following: "Any association of members of offices of the Movement at home or abroad with political or allegedly non-political groups in other states is determined exclusively by the relation of those groups to their own government with whom the German Reich entertains diplomatic relations. Any relations with such groups must without exception be discontinued, if they do not support their official government or if they cause it difficulties.
DR. SERVATTUS: This holds good even if these groups describe themselves as National Socialist or Fascist." Document Number 59 on Page 70 is from the Reichsverfuegungs-blatt (Gazette of Decrees). It is a decree of 4 November 1942 by Hitler. It says the following: "The living together of peoples calls for mutual and tactful consideration of their natural characteristics. The NSDAP and its organizations, therefore, have no European or world-wide missionary task to fulfill." That concludes Document Book Number 1.
THE PRESIDENT: Perhaps that would be a good time to, break off. [A recess was taken.]
THE PRESIDENT: Dr. Servatius, the Tribunal appreciates the way in which you are dealing with these documents; but, at the- same time, are you not going over some ground which you will have to cover in your final speech?
DR. SERVATIUS: Yes, Mr. President; but in my final speech I shall touch upon these questions only briefly. First of all, they have to be submitted, and it has proved to be very useful in the question ...
TEE PRESIDENT: So far as the formal submission or offering of- evidence'is concerned, that can be done more shortly. If you are going to deal with the substance of the documents in your final speech, it is not necessary to take up time and give us the substance of the documents when you offer them in evidence. If you are going to deal adequately with it subsequently for your own purposes in -your final speech, it means that you will do it twice over.
DR. SERVATIUS: Yes, Mr. President. The same questions will -reappear once more with the affidavits that I am going to present. I cannot avoid at least mentioning the matters in court, for in my -final speech I shall be very brief and refer to them only in a few -words. I did not intend to ...
THE PRESIDENT: I expect you to offer the documents now in evidence without dealing with the substance of them and then to -deal with the substance in your final speech.
DR. SERVATIUS: Mr. President, in my final speech, which has been completed already, I deal with these matters very briefly, as, I assumed that I would be able to deal with the substance now. Originally I should have arranged matters differently if we had then been told that the documents were to be submitted and explained, and that we might refer to them in the final speech. In that case my final speech would have been constructed in a different way from the way in which I have developed it now.
THE PRESIDENT: You will try to help the Tribunal, I am sure, by being as short as you can.
DR. SERVATIUS: Yes, indeed. Document Book Number II begins with Document Number 60 and deals, first of all, with the question of coercion in accepting an office. First of all, there is a fundamental directive, according to which every member of the Party is compelled to collaborate and can be called upon to do so. The next document deals with the same problem, and Document Number 62 again confirms the fact that, besides his professional activity, everyone is obliged to undertake Party tasks and it is significant that Party members who, without giving sufficient reasons, refuse to assume Party office, will be deemed to be acting contrary to the interests of the Party and are liable to be punished by the Party courts. I The next document shows that under the State Law for the con-solidation of State and Party this violation of duty is punished by the State. In Paragraph 5 it says: "In addition to the regular disciplinary penalties, arrest and detention may be decreed." This is important in that physical coercion is introduced in the form of arrest. The next document applies the status of public law to the Party statutes. This is Document Number 63. On Page 77 the practical ,conclusion is drawn that whoever acts contrary to the Party's tendencies can be expelled from the Party for lack of interest. The next document, Number 8 on Page 78, shows a verdict where this actually took place when someone did not wish to accept an office. On Page 82 the official dismissal is confirmed. There was an appeal in this case, and the verdict was reduced from expulsion to release. Document Number 64 contains a decision of the Supreme Party Court; someone was expelled from the Party for having deliberately -neglected his duties in order to be expelled, or to be dismissed from his post. Of special significance is Document Number 65. It says: "Ex-pulsion from the Party is the greatest punishment." Reichsleiter Buch has repeatedly emphasized that' under certain circumstances this means the loss of all means of existence and of all personal respect.
DR. SERVATIUS: Everyone knows that a definite punishment, 'no matter how long, will come to an end. But the loss of all means of existence here means that the person expelled and his family will never be able to obtain work or any livelihood. In Document Number 66 conclusions are drawn as to civil servants who were expelled. Their appointments can be cancelled. Then there are several documents dealing with the coercion exerted on officials and employees by various Government agencies. This is Document Number 67, issued by the Bavarian Government, there-fore not by the Party, saying what will happen if a person refuses an office. Document Number 68 is a copy of a decree by the Ministry of the Interior; and this follows the same line. The official has t(> prove where he is working and what he does for the Party, otherwise a report is to be made. Then Document Number 69 deals with teachers; it emanates from the State Minister for Education and Culture, dealing with Upper Franconia and Central Franconia. Teachers who prove in any way objectionable have to be reported by name. In Document Number 70 the Reich Minister for Finance makes promotion dependent upon collaboration within the Party. Document Number 71 deals with resignation and exclusion of civil servants; it says that they may not remain civil servants after they have left the Party. The least that the official can expect is that his promotion will be deferred. Bormann asks that he be notified at the same time of the decision concerning his exclusion as a member of the Party. Then Document Number 72 deals with the experts' offices. Here it is emphasized that the experts' offices attached to the staff of the Hoheitsträger are to be run on non-political lines. Document Number 73 gives special standing to the staff officials of the Reich Party Treasury who deal with financial control and accounts. Document Number 74 again shows the separate development of the financial system apart from the regular political system.
DR. SERVATIUS: Document Number 75 orders the separation of the Party's finan-cial and political administration and the discharge of finance experts from the staff of the Gau leadership. Document Number 75 also lays down the rule that the treasurers are responsible only to the Gau treasurer and must follow his in-structions. Document Number 76 deals with proceedings which the finance department can institute against any member, including the political staffs. Document Number 77 shows the organization of the various offices in the staff. The distinction is made here between political leadership, administration, and Party courts. Document Number 78 again deals with the separation of the Gau treasurers and cashiers. Document Number 79 deals with the topic of the organization within the staff in the various spheres of responsibility. Document Number 80 prohibits the interference of Party offices in Party court proceedings. Document Number 81 is of significance insofar as the Party courts are put outside the Party organization and are made in-dependent. As a result, Party judges are not Political Leaders. Document Number 82 defines the position of the Party judge. It says: "He is subordinate only to the Fuehrer," and therefore not a Political Leader. The next few documents deal with the Church problem. First of all, we find the -commentary given by Feder with reference to the -Party Program. As far as cultural policy is concerned, it is stated that attacks on Christianity are to be avoided because they are clumsy and tactless; and at the end he emphasizes, "The Party is based on Christianity." Document Number 84 is of significance, for it emphasizes in detail, as a Party commentary, what practical attitude should be taken toward Church matters. Under Points 27 and 29 it mentions full religious freedom and liberty of conscience, protection of the various denominations, repression and elimination of theological dogmas which are contrary to the German sense of morality, and. so forth. In Document Number 85, on the other hand, the Party turns.