dtufail/nuremberg-trials-corpus huggingface dataset:
M. FAURE: I understand perfectly the feeling of the Tribunal. I simply intended to say a few words referring to the feeling shown by Frenchmen in regard to these persecutions. But these words have now been spoken, and I have just arrived at the object of the demonstration which I am to present to the Tribunal with the documents. To show the Tribunal that the spirit of my presentation is in accordance with the requirements of the Tribunal, I should like to indicate that I am not presenting in this brief any document which constitutes an individual story or even a collective story, and no document which comes from victims themselves, or even from impartial persons. I have tried to select only a certain number of German documents in order to furnish evidence of the execution of a criminal enterprise consisting in the extermination of Jews in France and the western countries. I should like to observe first of all that the Nazi persecution of the Jews included two sets of actions. This is important from the point of view of the direct responsibility of the defendants. The first category of actions is that resulting from the actual texts of laws and regulations and the second category is that resulting from the way in which these were applied. As regards the texts of laws and regulations, it is evident that these texts, which were issued by the German authorities-either military authorities or commissioners of the Reich-constituted particularly flagrant violations of the sovereignty of the occupied countries. I do not think that it is necessary for me to present these laws and regulations in detail, for their main features are common knowledge. In order to avoid reading, I have had two tables drawn up and these are before the Tribunal in the document book, although they are not documents properly speaking. These documents are to be found in an appendix. I should like to explain what the two tables in this appendix show. The first table, in the left-hand column, is arranged in chronological order; the other columns indicate the names of the different countries.
M. FAURE: The Tribunal will find arranged in chronological order the measures taken against the Jews in different countries. The second table classifies them according to subject-the concept "Jews," economic measures, bullying and petty irritations, the yellow star-and you will find in this table appropriate texts, arranged according to subject. I likewise present in the form of documents under Document Number RF-1200 a certain number of decrees which were issued in France concerning the Jews, and as these decrees are public acts I shall simply ask the Tribunal to take judicial notice of them. I must now make this observation: These texts, taken as a whole, considerably lowered the status of the Jews. Yet there are no texts in existence of German decrees ordering the mass deportation or murder of Jews. On the other hand, you must remember that this legislation was developed by progressive stages up to 1942, after which a pause ensued. It was during this pause that, as we shall see, genuine administrative measures for the deportation and consequently for the extermination of the Jews were introduced. This leads us to consider the fact that we are not dealing with two separate actions-the legislative action, to be ascribed to the military authorities, and the executive action, to be ascribed to the police. This point of view, which regards the military authority only as the author of the decrees and, therefore, as bearing a lesser degree of criminal responsibility, would be false. In reality we are looking at the development of a continued action which employs by turns different means. The first means, that is to say, the legislative means, are the necessary preparatory measures for putting into force the other, or directly criminal means. In order to put into practice their plan of extermination, the Nazis had first of all to single out the Jewish elements in the population and to separate them from the rest of the population of the country.
M. FAURE: They had to be able to find the Jews easily and to find them with decreased powers of self-defense and lacking in the material, physical, and intellectual resources which would have enabled them easily to avoid persecution. They had to be able to destroy the whole of this doomed element of the national community at a single blow, and for this reason they had first to put an end to the constant interweaving of interests and activities existing between all the categories of the population. The Germans wished to prepare public opinion as far as possible; and they could succeed in this by accustoming the public to no longer seeing the Jews, as the latter were practically forbidden to leave their houses. I shall now present to the Tribunal a few documents bearing on this general extermination deliberately undertaken by the Nazis. I shall first present a series of documents, Documents RF-1201, 1202, 1203, 1204, 1205, and 1206. I present these documents with reference to a particular question, the emigration of the Jews who tried to leave the occupied territories. Inasmuch as the Germans made their desire to get rid of the Jews apparent in every way; it would seem logical for them to look favorably on the solution offered by emigration. On the contrary, as we shall see, they forbade emigration and did so by a permanent measure of general application. This is a proof of their will to exterminate the Jews and a proof of the ferocity of the measures employed. Here, to begin with, is Document Number RF-1201. These documents are submitted to the Tribunal in a series of photostatic copies for each member. Document Number RF-1201 is a letter of 22 July 1941 emanating from the Bordeaux service and requesting certain instructions from Paris. I wish to read the beginning of this message: "It has just been established that about one hundred and fifty Jews are still in the territory of the District Command of St. Jean de Luz.
M. FAURE: At the time of our conversation with the District Commander, Major Henkel, the latter asked that these Jews should leave his district as quickly as possible. At the same time, he pointed out that in his opinion it would be far better to allow these Jews to emigrate rather than to transfer them to other departments or even to concentration camps." Here is the reply to this telegram. It is Document Number RF-1202, dated 26 July 1941. The second sentence: "We do not approve Major Henkel's point of view as the Reich Security Main Office has stipulated again in a decree the principle that the emigration of Jews residing in the Occupied territories of the West, and if possible also of those living in Unoccupied France, is to be prevented." Here is an exhibit which I submit as Document Number RF-1203 and which comes from the Military Command in France under date of 4 February 1942. We are no longer dealing with the SS but with the Military Command. "The Reichsfuehrer SS and Chief of the German Police at the R.M.d.I. has given orders that the emigration of Jews from Germany or the occupied territories has to be prevented, on principle." The rest of the letter indicates that exceptions may be made. This document establishes the collaboration between the Army and the police, the Army assuring the execution of the orders given by the Supreme Chief of Police. I now submit Document Number RF-1205. This document relates to the same subject, but I nevertheless submit it because it shows the intervention of a third German authority, the diplomatic authority. This is a note of the German Consulate General of Casablanca. I read the first sentence: "The number of European emigrants hitherto leaving Casablanca for the American continent only at long intervals has greatly increased during the last month. On 15 March . . ." The rest of the letter indicates that these are Jewish emigrants. Document Number RF-1204, which is joined to this one, constitutes a new report to the same effect from the Consulate General Casablanca, under the date of 8 June 1942.
M. FAURE: I read the last paragraph of this document: "The emigrants leaving Casablanca are, for the most part, Jewish families from Germany and Central Europe and also some French Jews. There is no reason to suspect that young people fit for military service have left Casablanca with the avowed intention of entering military service on the side of the enemy. It is left to your discretion to inform the military authorities about this." I have quoted this document to show that there was no question of a military emigration which they would have had an interest in preventing, and also to show that this document would normally have concerned firstly the German Embassy, to which it was addressed, and secondly the military services which it suggests should be informed. Now, what is the sequel to these two communications? The sequel is shown by Document Number RF-1206, of which the two documents just read constitute appendixes. This Document RF-1206 emanates from Berlin, from the Reich Security Main Office, and is addressed to the Chief of Police for France and Belgium. "Attached are two copies of confidential reports from the German Consulate General in Casablanca to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for your information. "You are asked to give your special attention to the state of affairs described and to prevent, as far as possible, an emigration of this kind." I therefore draw three conclusions. Firstly, as I have indicated, the Nazis opposed the emigration of the Jews, although they claim that they are undesirable. Secondly, this decision was made at a higher level and with a general application. Thirdly, all the services, the police, the Army, and the Department of Foreign Affairs intervened to ensure the execution of these barbarous orders. I now present to the Tribunal Document Number RF-1207. This document is a voluminous German report. It is in fact 70 pages in length. It was found in the German archives in Paris This document is interleaved with a series of graphs, drawings, and models of census cards.
M. FAURE: It is mimeographed, and the copy which we present does not bear the author's signature, but simply the indication "SS Obersturmfuehrer." This is Obersturmfuehrer Dannecker, who played an important role in regulating Jewish questions in France and who was chief of this bureau.
THE PRESIDENT: That fact which you have just stated to us, has that been verified by the French authorities, namely, that it was a captured document in Paris?
M.FAURE: According to the report submitted to the Tribunal, we took possession of these documents at the archives of the Surete Nationale. They were among the documents found in the German offices at the time of the liberation. Besides, I point out to the Tribunal that the other documents produced do bear the signatures of the German officials. This report is the only document without a signature. The fact that it was written by Dannecker will be proved by other documents, which constitute a resume of it. I shall not read to the Tribunal the 70 pages of this report, but I should like to read certain paragraphs which I think may interest the Tribunal. Here is the first page. To begin with, it is entitled, "The Jewish Question in France and Its Treatment. Paris, 1 July 1941." First page: "Final solution of the Jewish question-this is the heading and the goal for the work of those services of the Sipo and SD which are handling the Jewish problem in France. It has always been clear that practical results cannot be achieved without a study of the political situation in general as well as of the situation of the Jews. "The following pages, next to giving a general draft of our planning, are to explain the results achieved up to now as well as the immediate aims. "Everything touching the principle must be considered from the following point of view: Since the chief of the Sipo and SD has been charged by the Fuehrer with preparing the solution of the Jewish question in Europe, his offices in France are to carry out the preliminary work in order to be able to serve abroad as the absolutely reliable agents of the European Commissioner for Jewish Affairs, at the appointed time." I shall now point out to the Tribunal the chief headings of the paragraphs in order to pursue the development of the idea and of the operations of this German office.
THE PRESIDENT: I was considering, M. Faure, why this document has not got any identifying mark upon it. I mean, Of course we do not doubt for an instant what you say to us is true, but a the same time it is not the correct way to do it-for us to have to rely on counsel's statement as to the nature of the evidence And there is nothing on the document itself to show that it was captured in Paris or to show what it is except what it states.
M. FAURE: Mr. President, the joining of this document to the file of the French Prosecution was done by a report made in Paris which I shall present before the Tribunal, because as this report concerns a certain number of documents, it was not especial!, joined to the file of this particular document. On the other hand when I received these documents from the police, I did not wish to write anything on the document or to place it under a seal, for I wished to avoid altering the normal appearance of the document in any way. I must state that if the Tribunal prefers not to receive this document inasmuch as I do recognize that it does not bear a signature, I shall not submit the document for I have a second report by Dannecker which is signed by him. I submitted both in order to make clear the continuity of the operation.
THE PRESIDENT: M. Faure, in the case of the documents presented by the United States, the captured documents by the United States, as Sir David Maxwell-Fyfe reminded us the other day, there is an affidavit, I think, of Major Coogan, which states that all those documents of a certain series, PS, L, R. and various other series, were all captured in Germany by the United States forces. If there were such an affidavit with reference to documents captured in Paris which might be identified by some letter such as PS or some letter similar to that, the matter would seem to us to be in order. But when a document is presented to us which has no identifying mark upon it at all, we are then in the position which we are in now of simply hearing the statement of counsel, which, of course, is not evidence that the document was found in Paris or found somewhere else; and therefore it occurs to me that one way that it might be dealt with would be an affidavit by somebody who knows the facts that this document and any other documents of a similar sort were captured in the archives of the German forces in Paris or elsewhere.
M. FAURE: I could very easily produce before the Tribunal the affidavit which it requests. I say that if we do not have it in this form it is because our habitual procedure is not exactly the same as that which may be followed in the United States. In fact, as the Charter of the Tribunal indicates that the Prosecution was charged with the collection of evidence, we ourselves have authorized magistrates in our service to look for documents in the archives of the police and if the Tribunal wishes I shall ask the police in addition for attestation of the seizure of these documents in the German archives. I shall then ask the Tribunal to allow me to produce this affidavit in a few days' time, so that I can ask the police for it.
THE PRESIDENT: M. Faure, the Tribunal think that we might admit the document, subject to your undertaking that you would do that in the course of a day or two.
M.FAURE: I cannot guarantee that I will have this document in a day or two.
THE PRESIDENT: I wasn't stressing the number of days. If you will undertake to do it that is sufficient.
M.FAURE: Certainly, Mr. President. I shall go on then with the analysis of the Dannecker report. The first chapter is called, "History of the Jews in France." I shall not read it. It includes a series of ideas on a very elementary intellectual level. The following chapter is entitled, "Organization of the Jews in France." It includes a first part under the heading, "Before 14 June 1940." This part does not seem to me interesting. The second part of this chapter is entitled, "Operations of the Sipo and the SD (SS Einsatzkommando Paris) against these Organizations and against Leading Jewish Personages." The report comes from the SS Hauptsturmfuehrer Hagen. I think I might read the beginning: "From a study of the records collected in Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia, and Poland, it was possible to conclude that the center of Judaism in Europe and with it the chief lines of communication to overseas must be sought in France. Realizing this, first of all, the offices of great Jewish organizations already known, such as World Jewish Congress"-then follows an enumeration-"have been searched and sealed." Beginning with Page 14, the report attempts to demonstrate the existence of a bond between Judaism and Catholicism. It presents the results of searches made in the homes of various persons: The Rothschild family, the former minister, Mandel, the press attachûˋ at the British Embassy, and other persons; including the lawyers Moro-Giafferi and Torres. The end of this chapter is as indicated, Page 16, last paragraph: "To sum up, we can say on the basis of the records which have been collected, that France, where Judaism was linked with Catholicism and with certain important politicians, was its last bulwark on the continent of Europe." The following section has the title, "Life of the Jews after the Entry of the Germans." The text describes the way in which the Germans created a central and unified organization of the Jews and imposed it on them.
M.FAURE: This is the beginning of the plan which I have just described to the Tribunal, which consisted in singling out the Jewish elements in the population, massing them together, and separating them entirely from the rest of the population. I should like to read the first paragraph, for the analysis of it is very important: "After the Armistice and the return to normal life it appeared that almost all the Jewish associations had ceased to exist (in the absence of responsible officials and financial supporters who had fled into the unoccupied zone) while there was a growing need for aid. The progressive German anti-Jewish legislation caused a steady aggravation of the Jewish social problems. Generally considered, these circumstances should have provided a favorable ground in France for a Jewish all-round organization." In this text there is a very subtle idea. We note that the German legislation, that is to say, the legislation of the Military Command, brought about a great aggravation of social problems; and we conclude that this will facilitate the general organization of the Jewels., This reasoning confirms, I think, what I said to the Tribunal a while ago, namely, that we were faced with a whole system of measures, the first of which were intended to facilitate the separation of the Jewish community which was to be exterminated. Dannecker then explains how a co-ordination committee was created. I skip the details and come to Page 21, Paragraph 2: "An agreement has been made with the office of the Commander of Greater Paris that, in the future, Jewish organizations may address themselves to the German services only by way of the Committee of Jewish Co-ordination. This resulted in an enforced amalgamation of all minor Jewish organizations. "Moreover, an agreement has been made with the Paris Office for National Relief (Bureau du Eecours National) that, after the expiration of a period of 4 weeks, no Jew can any longer be fed and housed by National Relief. The S.N.
M.FAURE: will appoint a special representative for controlling the coordination committee on this matter. The blocking of Jewish accounts will compel the Jews in the very near future to ask that the co-ordination committee be authorized to receive gifts intended for it from these blocked holdings. The granting of this request will demonstrate the actual existence of an enforced Jewish union. "As can be seen this question too will be solved in the manner desired, even if it is a 'cold manner."' The following chapter bears the title, "Political Activities of the Office for Jewish Affairs of the Sipo and of the SD." I should like to read some passages from this: "After the promulgation of the Jewish statute of 3 October 1940 by the French Government, a certain slowing-down occurred in the handling of the Jewish question in France; and for this reason the Office for Jewish Affairs worked out plans for a Central Jewish Bureau. The plan was discussed with the military administration on 31 January 1941. The latter showed no interest; and, as the question was a purely political one, it was referred to the SD in agreement with the German Embassy." This is followed by an analysis of various discussions with the French Commissioner Vallat, with Ambassador Abetz, and with De Brinon and indicates the various demands presented by the Germans to the French authorities. I pass now to Page 26, the last paragraph: "The proposal of the Office for Jewish Affairs has been referred to SS Brigadefuehrer Dr. Best by SS Obersturmbannfuehrer Dr. Knochen. This proposal suggests that a liaison office ought to be created which should comprise the representatives of the four offices cited above. The management was to be in the hands of the Director of the Office for Jewish Affairs of the SD in compliance with the rules stipulating the competency of the OKW, the OKH, and the Commander in France. As a result of this suggestion, a conference was held on 10 June 1941. Those who attended were: Ministerial Counsellor Dr.
M.FAURE: Stortz for the Commander in France"-then German titles follow which have not been translated into French and which are a little hard for me to read-"Dr. Blancke, (Economic Service), Counsellor to the Embassy Dr. Zeitschel (German Embassy), and SS Obersturmfuehrer Dannecker. The representatives of the military administration stated clearly that the competence of the SD resulted from the decrees of the OKW and of the OKH as well as from the last confidential decree of 25 March 1941 of the Commander in France. Dr. Stortz declared that for various reasons it would be better to abstain from creating a special liaison bureau, under the direction of the SD. SS Obersturmfuehrer Dannecker explained for his part that we are concerned with the final solution of the question only; and, therefore, the SD must have the possibility of carrying out the orders given by the RSHA."
THE PRESIDENT: M. Faure, can't you summarize this? It is a very long document, and we have so many documents and so much evidence in connection with the Jews already.