dtufail/nuremberg-trials-corpus huggingface dataset:
GEN. ZORYA: I will quote only the first 18 lines of this decree, which are on Page 100 of the document book: "In the coming months the employment of manpower will acquire still greater importance. On the one hand, the recruiting situation of the Armed Forces necessitates the release of all members of the younger age groups for this task. On the other hand, urgent armament production and other phases of the war economy, and also of agriculture, must be provided with the manpower urgently needed by them. For this, the utilization of prisoners of war, especially from Soviet Russia, plays an important role. "The measures that will be necessary in this field in the future promise success only under unified leadership, and I shall use every means to attain it. "For that reason I have now granted my manpower commission -- which had already been dealing with all the man-power questions of the Four Year Plan -- the unlimited power to direct... the entire manpower program." Later on, Your Honors, the criminal activity of the fascist conspirators in organizing and extending the system of forced labor acquired such magnitude that on 21 March 1942 Hitler issued a decree creating a special department under the Defendant Sauckel, who developed these activities on a large scale. I shall not dwell any longer on these historical facts as they have already been covered by our American, English, and French colleagues. The vital bond between fascism and the system of forced labor is especially apparent when we consider the part played in this field not only by the fascist government machine but by the fascist Party itself. I should like to submit to the Tribunal a few documents which illustrate this fact. I present to the Tribunal as Exhibit Number USSR-365 (Document Number USSR-365) a printed edition entitled, "Report of the Delegate of the Four Year Plan -- Plenipotentiary for the Allocation of Labor." This document is on Page 101 of the document book. The copy of the report, which I present, has the order Number 1 and it is dated 1 May 1942.
GEN. ZORYA: The first page of the report contains Hitler's decree of 21 March 1942, appointing Sauckel to this post. On the second page there is an order of the Defendant Goering dated 27 March of the same year, explaining the duties of the Plenipotentiary for Allocation of Labor within the framework of the Four Year Plan organizational structure. And on the third page of this report there is a program prepared by Sauckel for the "Fuehrer's birthday" in 1942. Your Honors, the above-mentioned documents have already been submitted to the Tribunal by the Prosecution of the United States. But I wish to draw your attention to Page 17 of the Russian translation of this document, where you will find an order of the Defendant Sauckel, dated 6 April 1942: Order Number 1. This order is presented for the first time and is entitled, "Concerning Appointment of Gauleiter as Commissioners for the Allocation of Labor in the Gaue. This order begins as follows -- I quote Page 118 of the document book: "I hereby appoint the Gauleiter of the NSDAP my commissioners for allocation of labor in the Gaue administered by them. "A. Their tasks are: "1) The achievement of smooth co-operation between all offices set up by the State, the Party, the Wehrmacht, and the economic authorities to deal with questions of manpower; and by means of this, the regulation of different interpretations and claims in such a way as to utilize manpower to the best possible effect." I omit some points. "4) Investigation of the results obtained by utilizing the labor of all foreign male and female workers. Special regulations will be issued with regard to these. "5) Investigation of the correct feeding, housing, and treatment of all foreign workers and prisoners of war engaged in work." In his program for the allocation of labor, presented -- as I have already pointed out -- for Hitler's birthday in 1942, the Defendant Sauckel wrote -- this part of the program was not read into the record by the United States Prosecution; it is on Page 105 of the document book: "IV.
GEN. ZORYA: The Plenipotentiary for Allocation of Labor will, therefore, with a very small personal staff of his own choice, make exclusive use of existing institutions set up by the Party, State, and industry, and the goodwill and co-operation of all will assure the quickest success of his measures. "V. The Plenipotentiary for Allocation of Labor has, therefore, with consent of the Fuehrer and in agreement with the Reich Marshal of Greater Germany and the Chief of the Party Chancellery, appointed all the Gauleiter of Greater Germany as his commissioners in the Gaue of the National Socialist Labor Party (NSDAP). "VI. The commissioners for allocation of labor will use the competent offices of the Party in their Gaue. The chiefs of the highest competent State and economic offices in their Gaue will advise and instruct the Gauleiter in all important questions relative to labor allocation. "Especially important for that purpose are the following: The President of the State Labor Office, the Trustee for Labor, the State Peasant Leader, the Gau Economic Adviser, the Gau Trustee of the German Labor Front, the Gau Women's Leader, the District Hitler Youth Leader, the highest representative of the Interior and General Administration, especially if the Office for Agriculture falls within his jurisdiction. "VII. The most elevated and most essential task of the Gauleiter of the NSDAP in their capacity of commissioners in their Gaue is to secure the maximum agreement between all offices dealing with questions of manpower in their Gaul" In this document Sauckel addressed himself to the Gauleiter asking them repeatedly to give him all possible assistance in every respect. I would like to draw Your Honors' attention to only one of Sauckel's assertions in this document. He mentions the decision of Hitler to send to the Reich "in order to help the German peasant women, four or five hundred thousand selected, healthy, and strong girls from the eastern territories," thus to relieve German women and girls of labor duty.
GEN. ZORYA: Apparently in order to explain the advantage of this measure Sauckel wrote, "Please trust me as an old and fanatical National Socialist Gauleiter when I say that in the end the decision could not be different." The importance of the part played by the fascist Party in the organization of compulsory slave labor and how far this Party went into the matter, is shown by the following document which I am submitting to the Tribunal as evidence, Exhibit Number USSR-383 (Document Number USSR-383). This document is a letter of the Defendant Sauckel, dated 8 September 1942, and is entitled, "Special Action of the Plenipotentiary for Allocation of Labor for the Purpose of Procuring Female Workers from the East for the Benefit of Town and Country Households with Many Children." In the course of my presentation I shall have the opportunity to refer once more to this document. In the meantime I wish to draw your attention to the passage which has direct bearing on the role of the fascist Party in this measure. On Page 3 of the Russian text of the document, which I hereby submit, there is a section entitled, "Viewpoints for Selecting Households."
THE PRESIDENT: Does it matter whether these women were brought into a house where they ought not to have been brought and whether a particular German housewife was entitled to a woman worker or not? The whole point, it would seem, is whether they were deported -- and forcibly deported.
GEM. ZORYA: Mr. President, I just had it in view to abridge this passage which you mentioned. But now I am talking about something else. I would like to show the part which the fascist Party played in organizing slave labor inside Germany and in particular in the distribution of those Soviet women who were transported for this purpose to Germany. Here are two short documents which I consider necessary to submit to the Tribunal. As for the rest, which concerns the regime which has already been described sufficiently by the United States and British Prosecutions, I do not intend to dwell upon it and contemplated cutting down this part to the minimum. I wish to dwell on this part of the document which says that applications for obtaining an eastern woman worker for household duties are to be examined by the Labor Department which would decide whether there is a real need for the worker and are then to be forwarded for final approval to the corresponding leader of NSDAP. Should the district leader object to granting a woman worker to the household, the Labor Department declines to send an eastern woman worker to the applicant and accordingly declines the permission for the employment of such. The refusal need not be motivated, and the decision is final. You may find this on Page 129 of the document book. It is followed by the application form. You will find this in the appendix to Exhibit Number USSR-383 (Document Number USSR-383). This application form contains a brief questionnaire about the family which would like to employ a domestic worker in the household. This application form also contains the reply form of the corresponding fascist Party organization whether it recommends or not the use of an eastern slave in this household. I request the Tribunal to pay attention to the appendix to Exhibit Number USSR-383. This appendix is entitled, "Memo for Housewives Regarding Employment of Eastern Woman Workers in Urban and Rural Households." This memo has already been mentioned by Mr. Dodd.
GEM. ZORYA: I will not dwell upon it in detail, but will only draw the attention of the Tribunal to the subtitle which is on Page 133. I beg Your Honors to pay attention to the subtitle of this slave owner's memo. The statement between brackets announces that this memo is published by the Plenipotentiary for the Allocation of Labor in agreement with the chief of the Party Chancellery and other corresponding authorities. It is difficult to state it more precisely. Millions of foreign slaves were languishing in Germany. A German could become a slave-owner with the sanction and under the supervision of the fascist Party. Apparently this also constituted one of the elements of the New Order in Europe. I deem it indispensable to refer also to the order of the Defendant Goering, dated 27 March 1942. I do not submit this document, as it is already at the disposal of the Tribunal, having been presented by the United States Prosecution: "The Plenipotentiary for Allocation of Labor, in order to carry out his tasks, herewith receives the power which the Fuehrer has given me to issue directives to the superior Reich authorities and to their subordinate offices, to Party authorities and to Party organizations and attached units." This order of the Defendant Goering does not only determine the special part of the fascist Party in the execution of the compulsory labor system, but also emphasizes the extraordinary powers of Defendant Sauckel in this field. The documents to which I have been referring thus far give grounds for the Soviet Prosecution to assert that within the general framework of the fascist State the fascist Party was the center of all measures for the organization of compulsory slave labor. I would like now to turn to the part taken by the German High Command in the organization of compulsory labor and deportation into slavery of Soviet people.
GEM. ZORYA: With this object in view, I submit to the Tribunal as Exhibit Number USSR-367 (Document Number USSR-367), an OKH document regarding -- I am using the words of the document itself -- the "Enlistment of Russian Manpower for the Reich." I beg the Tribunal to refer to Page 138 of the document book in which this document is to be found. First of all, let us look at the source from which this document emanates. In the upper left hand corner of the first page you will find, "High Command of the Army, General Staff of the Army, Quartermaster General, Office of Military Administration, (EC) Number II 3210/42 -- secret." In the upper right-hand corner: "Headquarters, High Command of the Army, 10 May 1942," and again the stamp "secret." After the title it states: "Subject: OKH, Gen Qu/Ec/II, Number 2877/42, secret, 25 April 1942; OKH, Gen Qu/Section Mil. Adm. Number 3158/1942, secret, 6 May 1942." Therefore, the document which I intend to quote here originates from the OKH and is based on orders previously issued by the OKH. At the end of the document there is a list of addresses to which it was distributed. I will not quote this list in full, but it leaves no doubt as to who were the executors of the orders contained in the above document. These executors were the military authorities. Let us now turn to the contents of the submitted document. First of all, what induced the OKH when it issued this letter? The reply to this question is contained in the first paragraph of our document, which I shall now read into the record. I abridge the quotation: "The Plenipotentiary for Allocation of Labor appointed by the Fuehrer, Gauleiter Sauckel. . . in consideration of the increased armament requirements of the Reich and in order to secure the manpower requirements of the German war and armament economy, has ordered that the enlisting and transferring into the Reich of Russian manpower be speeded up and considerably increased. "For the execution of this recruiting action. . .
GEM. ZORYA: influence of the military and local administrative authorities (field Kommandantura, local Kommandantura, I A -- organization of the Economic Staff East, district administrations, town mayors, et cetera ) . . . is necessary. This is a task of decisive importance for the outcome of the war. The labor situation of the Reich makes it necessary that the ordered measures are carried out on a priority basis and in a large scale manner. This must be the chief task of all organizations." The next two paragraphs of the quoted document, part of which is entitled, "Priority of Manpower Needs in the Armed Forces and Economy in the East," contain the following statement -- I quote Page 139 of your document book which runs: "The immediate manpower needs of the Army must be satisfied in the highest priority inasmuch as the need is actually inescapable . . . and unalterable. The scale of the needs of the Army is to be determined by the armies, the commanders of the front areas, and the Wehrmacht commanders. However, in consideration of the urgent labor needs of the Reich... the severest standard is to be applied, and especially the scale 22Feb.46 of the troops' own manpower needs is to be most carefully examined."
THE PRESIDENT: Isn't it sufficient to say that this document provides for the speeding up of the mobilization of manpower and slave labor for the purposes of the necessities of the Reich? Does it do anything more than that?
GEN. ZORYA: Yes, you are quite right, Mr. President. It would be enough if we add that this document contains the demand not only to accelerate the mobilization of manpower but also the demand for immediate participation by the military authorities who had to arrange a suitable machinery in the form of suitable officers. I pass on to the next document which I submit to the Tribunal. It would be a mistake to think that the OKH gave orders only of such general character. In July 1941 the Defendant Keitel learned that the subdepartments of the Organization Todt in the Lvov district paid the local workers a wage of 25 rubles. This fact made Keitel indignant. Todt immediately received an appropriate reprimand. And so we come to the next document, which I present to the Tribunal as Exhibit Number USSR-366 (Document Number USSR-366). The Reich Minister directly refers, in this document, to the fact that Field Marshal Keitel expressed his displeasure that the sub-departments of the Organization Tort in the suburbs of Lvov paid the local workers wages of 25 rubles and that the subdepartments of the O.T. were making use of the factories. Todt declares that during his last trip he had explained in detail to all members of the staff that the rules for the allocation of labor in Russian territory were different from those in Western Europe. Further in this document Todt categorically prohibits the paying of any sums of money at all. He concludes this document in the following terms: "No compensation shall be given to the firms for payments not in conformity with the above principles. "This order is to be brought to the attention of all subordinate labor allocation offices and to all firms. "Signed: Dr. Todt." The German Government and the High Command ordered the use of peaceful Soviet citizens for work which endangered life. This was mentioned by Goering at a conference on 7 November 1941. I now submit to the Tribunal Exhibit Number USSR-106 (Document Number USSR-106), which contains the translation of the Fuehrer's directive, signed by him on 8 September 1942.
GEN. ZORYA: His directive concerns the allocation of labor for the construction of fortifications on the Eastern Front. His document comes from the to German archives captured by the Allied armies in the West. The covering letter to this document states that this document "is top secret, and that copies of it will be sent to staffs and divisions and are to be returned to the Army staffs and destroyed." On the second page of the document we find Hitler's order. I read it into the record: "HQu, 8 September 1942. "The heavy defensive battles in the area of Army Groups Center and North induce me to fix my views on some fundamental tasks of the defense." The next Paragraphs, 1 and 2 on Pages 1 to 7, concern general principles of defense, which do not interest us today. On Page 148 of the document book is the following passage which I read into the record: "The enemy carries on construction to a far greater extent than do our own troops. I know that it will be argued that the enemy has at his disposal more labor for construction of such positions. But it is therefore an absolute necessity at exactly this point to make use, with ruthless energy, especially of prisoners of war and the population for these tasks. Only in this respect is the Russian superior to us in his brutal way. By this means, however, the German soldier, too, can be spared to a large extent from labor on defensive works behind the front lines, in order that he may be kept free and fresh for his real duties. Frequently the necessary ruthlessness which the present fateful battle demands is not yet being employed here, for in it not a victory but the existence and survival of our people is contested. Besides, it is in all circumstances still always more humane to drive the Russian population to work, with every means, as it has always been accustomed to be driven, than to sacrifice our most precious possession, our own blood." This order is signed by Hitler.
GEN. ZORYA: Units of the Red Army also captured a decree issued by the German occupation authorities, which referred to an order of the General Staff about forced labor in combat zones. I submit this document as Exhibit Number USSR-407 (Document Number USSR-407), and I deem it necessary to quote a few sentences from Page 149 of the document book: "Decree: In accordance with the regulations of the Chief of the OKW, dated 6 February 1943, regarding transfer for labor in the combat zone of the newly occupied eastern territory, all women born in 1924 and 1925 are hereby summoned for labor in Germany. "Point V of this order provides that: . . .those who do not present Themselves on the given dates shall be held responsible as saboteurs in accordance with military laws." I am summarizing this section. The High Command of the German Armed Forces and the Defendant Keitel took a direct part in the execution of this system of forced slave labor. For the realization of this criminal objective they used on a large scale from bottom to top, the entire machinery of the military administration. Your Honors, I beg to refer to the next document which I am now presenting as Exhibit Number USSR-381 (Document Number USSR-381).
THE PRESIDENT: General, was that last order that you gave us Keitel's order? It is signed apparently by the Chief of the General Staff of the Military Command.
GEN. ZORYA: This is not an order of Keitel. This document which was submitted as Exhibit Number USSR-381 is entitled "Instruction to the Economic Offices, 'Section Labor,' on the Organization of Labor Allocation in the East."
THE PRESIDENT: I thought you said that was by Keitel.
GEN. ZORYA: The preceding document which was submitted to the Tribunal was actually one of Keitel's orders, but now I wish to speak of this instruction. I beg Your Honors to pay attention to the date on which this instruction was issued, namely 26 January 1942. In this instruction, on Page 150 of the document book, it is stated that the hopes which the Reich Marshal had played in the office for the allocation of labor must be justified at all costs: "The task of the economic organizations and the office for the allocation of labor in the East consists in bridging, during the coming months, the gaps in the economy which arose owing to the departure into the army of men of younger conscription age due to the universal enlistment of Russian manpower. This is of decisive importance for the war and must therefore be achieved. If the number of volunteers does not come up to expectations, then the enlistment measures already ordered should be reinforced by all available means." The United States Prosecution has submitted to the Tribunal a document of the Soviet Prosecution Exhibit Number USSR-381 (Document Number USSR-381), entitled, "Memo on the Treatment of Foreign Civilian Workers in the Reich." I do not wish to quote this document again, but consider it necessary only to show...
DR. OTTO NELTE (Counsel for Defendant Keitel): The President has just now asked about the Document Number USSR-407 and the prosecutor has presented it here as a document of Keitel. I have only just now found this document. If it is a question of the same document that I have marked as USSR-407, then it is signed by a local commander and by a chief of the labor office. Is this document the same as that presented to you as USSR-407?
THE PRESIDENT: I have already pointed out, have I not, that it was not by Keitel?
DR. NELTE: Yes, Sir. But the Prosecutor has thereupon repeatedly said that this Document 407 represents an order by Keitel. That is why I wanted to clarify it.
GEN. ZORYA: Perhaps the Tribunal will allow me to clarify this matter. Apparently a misunderstanding arose through faulty translation. I said that troops of the Red Army had seized a German order, and added that the order had been issued by the German occupational authorities -- you can verify this by looking up the stenographic record -- which referred to an order of Keitel regarding forced labor in the combat zones. This order begins with the following words, "In accordance with the regulations of the Chief of the OKW, dated 6 February 1943, transfer for labor in the combat zone," and so forth. I shall not quote any further. If I may beg the Tribunal to consider once more a document which I have already submitted previously, that is, the document of the High Command of the Army, Number II/3210/42, it is because this order refers to corresponding orders of the General Staff of the Army on questions of allocation of labor in the East. This order of the occupational authorities, which I submitted as Exhibit Number USSR-407, refers to one of these orders. It states quite clearly, "In accordance with the regulations of the Chief of the OKW." That is why I submitted this document.