dtufail/nuremberg-trials-corpus huggingface dataset:
DR. HEINZ FRITZ (Counsel for Defendant Fritzsche): After hearing the evidence, what was the actual relation between the propaganda furnished by Fritzsche and the various military invasions, and what did he know of their background? At the time of the occupation of Bohemia and Moravia, instructions were given him by the Reich Press Chief only a short time before the decisive step of 15 March 1939. These consisted, as in an other cases, of so-called "daily directives" (Document Number 3469-PS) which were given out at press conferences. Such daily directives thereby received publication in the headlines of German papers. It may be mentioned here, that the best known organ of the Party-namely, the Volkischer Beobachter, due to its direct connection with the Reich Press Chief and, during the war, with the Fuhrer's headquarters-was more independent of such daily directives, considering that it had a foreign news service of its own. What was printed in the Volkischer Beobachter does not, therefore, represent what had been approved by Fritzsche as leader of the German press. At that time, Fritzsche had already-and this attitude is of greatest importance with regard to all of his activities-established the principle for his press reports that untrue news should never be given to the press. The apparent reason for that was the fact that his predecessor in the German Press Division, Berndt, had had all kinds of news spread during the Sudeten crisis, by which he lost the confidence of German editors. Fritzsche, as well as the witness Von Schirrmeister, gave details about these matters on the witness stand. It is not apparent in what respect Fritzsche played a greater part than any other officials or officers when the German troops marched into Czechoslovakia. Fritzsche knew just as little about what has been disclosed in this Trial about Hitler's secret intentions at that time as he could have known about the Case Green plan.
DR. HEINZ FRITZ (Counsel for Defendant Fritzsche): As head of the domestic press, he could have exercised no influence whatsoever on the propaganda possibilities which were to be made use of within Czechoslovakia proper (Document Number 998-PS). The same is true of the Polish campaign. Here too, Fritzsche did not speak a single word in favor of any armed conflict, or deliberately spread any stories which might have supported any bellicose intentions. Even in his radio broadcast of 29 August 1939, which was held against him during his cross-examination (Session of 28 June 1946, Document USSR-493) he points out explicitly that there could not in fact exist any serious doubt about the German desire for peace. These and many other passages are particularly significant in proving Fritzsche's good faith. He has expressed here his and the German nation's disappointment that this desire for peace, which Hitler emphasized repeatedly, proved to be a lie, even a fraud. If one examines the full text of all the other broadcasts by Fritzsche shortly before and during the Polish campaign, none of his statements can be interpreted as favoring that war of aggression. The official reasons given at that time convinced Fritzsche, as well as millions of other Germans, that right was on Germany's side. It was because Fritzsche had shared such a conviction, at that time, that he declared here on the witness stand that he, too, felt that he had been deceived by Hitler. It was no different in the case of Yugoslavia. Here likewise, Fritzsche was able to learn only what facts were given to him and the many editors by the Reich Press Chief, facts which Fritzsche had no opportunity to verify if only because of the speed with which these events were developing, even if the thought could have struck him during the course of events that maybe the press was being made use of to provoke warlike measures. The role of the press before the surprise attack on the Soviet Union was made particularly clear during this Trial.
DR. HEINZ FRITZ (Counsel for Defendant Fritzsche): For reasons of strategy alone the entire propaganda machine-also including Fritzsche, as head of the Home Press Division-was not permitted to know the slightest thing about it in advance. It was especially this same campaign which Goebbels cleverly kept secret by simulating an intended German invasion of England. At that time, Goebbels deliberately led even his closest assistants on that wrong track, as was stated here by the witness Von Schirrmeister. Fritzsche's statement that he did not know anything about the secret preparations through the formation of a so-called Eastern Ministry was not refuted by the so-called Rosenberg report, which was read to him during cross-examination (Document Number 1039-PS). This is a document which has also played a part in other connections because of the many names it contains. At the same time, it is the only document which includes the name of Fritzsche in connection with any secret plans. From that document, which according to established facts was drafted by Rosenberg and some of his associates sometime around 28 or 29 June 1941-thus, after the start of the campaign-it is impossible to draw the conclusion that Rosenberg spoke with the Defendant Fritzsche before the decisive date. The draft does not bear any date or signature. Besides, Fritzsche is mentioned in it by the title, of Ministerial Director which he was not given until the fall of 1942. This does not in any way appear to disprove Fritzsche's statement on the witness stand that he never had been informed by Rosenberg either about an impending war with the Soviet Union or about the intended formation of an Eastern Ministry. Not until after the beginning of that campaign, and after the official announcement that a new Ministry had been established, were Rosenberg's wishes with regard to the treatment of Eastern problems in the German press forwarded to him by the former's assistants.
DR. HEINZ FRITZ (Counsel for Defendant Fritzsche): Thus Fritzsche's deposition still holds, that in the case of the war against the Soviet Union, just as in the other cases, he did not learn anything until the moment when he was given the pertinent news for publication. You will grant that this does not permit the conclusion that he played the role of a conspirator who helped draw up the general plan, or at least knew of it. And it cannot properly be assumed that Fritzsche knew anything about the plans of the High Command of the Armed Forces in June 1941 (Document C-26), or even of the Bormann Protocol of 16 July 1941 (Document L-221)-both of which were submitted to him during his cross-examination. These negotiations show that actually they could have taken place only in the innermost circle. Moreover, the evidence which did not concern Fritzsche directly has shown that even military methods of deception had been used to conceal the plans. This has been stated by the witness Paulus and becomes clear from the report of the German military intelligence service (Document 1229-PS). The nature of all these things was such that they could well be withheld from a newspaper man. Even the witness Gisevius, who after all was always engaged in ferreting out secret ends, had to point out how much effort was required even within the High Command of the Armed Forces to obtain information, at any time, as to whether Hitler was planning a war or not (Session of 25 April 1946). Accordingly, I can state in conclusion that the emphatic assertion of the Prosecution that Fritzsche as Goebbels' accomplice helped the latter to plunge the world into a blood bath of wars of aggression (Session of 23 January 1946) is not justified. During my examination of Fritzsche he pointed out, in contrast to this, that whatever the facts may have been in individual cases, at every moment, from the advance into Austria to the invasion of Russia, he and the German public were given only such information as seemed to justify the necessity of the German actions.
DR. HEINZ FRITZ (Counsel for Defendant Fritzsche): Now, one could also conceive the charge of a crime against peace to be that Fritzsche constantly called on the German people to hold out during the conduct of a war of aggression. Naturally he did not spread any defeatist propaganda in the course of his radio speeches. I must, therefore, discuss the question whether this, or any sort of participation in a war of aggression, after the latter had broken out, should be considered as participation in the crime against peace and should be punished accordingly. The French Chief Prosecutor, M. de Menthon, tried to draw the conclusion-proceeding from a literal interpretation of Article 6, Paragraph 2 (a) of the Charter, without regard for the real meaning of this article-that the soldiers and other agents of the aggressor state could not undertake any military operations at all which could be justified by international law. However, he was obviously compelled to recognize that in practice this idea must lead to impossible consequences. Thus, for example, he recognized the Hague Convention for the Rules of Land Warfare as a law which not only obligates aggressor and attacked nations alike, but also gives them rights. He thereby let it be clearly recognized by implication that, in his opinion, this stipulation of the Charter is to be interpreted restrictively. In Article 6, Paragraph 2 (a) of the Charter the following are defined as Crimes against Peace: "The plan, the preparation, the introduction, and"-according to the German translation "Durchfiibrung"-"waging of a war of aggression." "Durchfuhrung" is the translation of the English word "waging." It would probably be more correct to translate it by "unternehmen" (undertaking). But in its natural sense, "unternehmen" means about the same as "beabsichtigen" (intending); whoever undertakes, pursues, intends something, has not executed it yet. The word "durchfuhren" could create the opinion that the crime against peace was not concluded with the outbreak of war, and therefore could extend over its entire duration.
DR. HEINZ FRITZ (Counsel for Defendant Fritzsche): The result of this conception would be that all persons who participated in war operations, as, for instance, the Army leaders, all members of the Armed Forces, and, besides that, all persons who supported the war in any way-even by deliveries of war material and through radio broadcasts-would be punishable according to this stipulation. They had thereby at least contributed support to the waging of war. These persons could even be criminals against the peace, if they had in no way participated in the planning or preparation of it before the outbreak of the war, and even if they had no idea that any aggression was involved. In reply to this, the following must be stated: Only those persons can be considered as waging a war of aggression who planned it themselves. They were just carrying out their common plan by starting the war, with or without a declaration of war. Thus "carrying out" is to be placed on the same level as "beginning." The accusation of a crime against peace can affect only those who also planned it. This is supported by the following reasons. The punishment is intended to protect the peace against wars of aggression-that is, against unlawful wars. At the moment that such unlawful wars start-are "unleashed," as the Indictment puts it- the rightful domain of peace has been violated; the crime against peace is consummated and accomplished. Therefore, no other meaning but "bring about," "proceed to execute the plan," can be attributed to the term `'carry out," or "undertake"-"waging." This interpretation is also consonant with the historical development of the concept of "crime against the peace" in international law. For years international law has made a distinction between war crime in the narrower sense and war guilt in the broader sense. War crimes are of lenses against the rules of warfare, which have been established by agreement or custom, against the customs of war and, going further, also of senses against humanity. War guilt means being guilty of having brought about war, in particular an unjustified war of aggression.
DR. HEINZ FRITZ (Counsel for Defendant Fritzsche): This distinction also made its appearance during the negotiations about the peace treaty after the first World War. This has found expression in Article 227 et sequentes of the Treaty of Versailles. There can be no doubt that the concept of a crime against the peace within the meaning of the Charter is intended to be the same as this war guilt in its previous sense in international law. Article 6, Paragraph 2 (a) is supposed to refer to war criminals- that is to say, those who bring about an unlawful war. The view that the subsequent support of a criminally instigated war was likewise a crime against peace necessarily led to entirely untenable consequences. In such a case, hardly one citizen of a country which had started a war of aggression would be guiltless. In its present-day form, war is no longer, as in former times, limited to an armed conflict between the armies. Just as both World" Wars have shown, it has been extended to include the belligerent nations in their entirety and all their spheres of life. It has grown into total war-total in the sense that everybody participates in it. Even the woman who is making screws in a factory is a participant in this total war. And, as Professor Exner so vividly explained in his final speech, in a war of aggression every capture of prisoners would mean a deprivation of liberty, every requisition a robbery, and every shot a murder. To want to make all members of a nation responsible as authors of crimes against peace would be absurd. Moreover, a classification as to the kind and degree of a person's contribution toward a war which had broken out would be impossible as a practical matter. Crimes against Peace, therefore, can only be committed by those who participated in breaking the peace-while the vast majority who did not participate in it could not be counted in this category. The point of view which has been developed here is, in my opinion, also represented in the Indictment. The latter views the crime of breaking the peace as realized by the act of "unleashing" (Entfesselung).
DR. HEINZ FRITZ (Counsel for Defendant Fritzsche): In no place has it even been hinted that the crime itself, or its continuation, is seen to consist in the participation in a war or in supporting it by furnishing services or supplies of any kind. Even according to the phrasing of the Indictment, from the moment of the beginning of war onward, only crimes of the second and third group come into question-that is to say, War Crimes in the narrower sense of international law, and Crimes against Humanity. In my opinion, Justice Jackson in his opening speech of 21 November 1945 also adopted the point of view which has been advanced here, whereupon Justice Biddle pointed out to him in the session of 1 March 1946 that, at that time, he had indicated that beginning the war was the essence of the crime and not actual waging of the war. That means, in other words, that with the beginning of the war of aggression, the Crime against Peace within the meaning of Article 6, Paragraph 2 (a) of the Charter, was consummated (breach of peace). From these statements it follows that any activity in furtherance of the war during the war cannot represent any criminal act, nor can Fritzsche's radio broadcasts which he made during the war.
THE PRESIDENT: The Tribunal will adjourn now. [The Tribunal adjourned until 25 July 1946 at 1000 hours.]
THE PRESIDENT: The Tribunal will sit on now until 1 o'clock without any interruption. I have an announcement to make. When counsel for the Defendant Hess first made his argument, the Tribunal directed that he should rewrite it and submit it for the Tribunal's consideration, as he had continually disregarded the Tribunal's directives that the alleged unfairness of the Versailles Treaty should not be argued. The argument as now rewritten by Dr. Seidl has been carefully considered by the Tribunal. It still contains many allusions to the unfairness of the Versailles Treaty, irrelevant material, quotations not authorized by the Tribunal, and other matters which have nothing to do with the issues before the Tribunal. The Tribunal have, therefore, deleted the objectionable passages and have directed the General Secretary to hand a marked copy containing the deletions to Dr. Seidl. That is all. The Tribunal direct Dr. Seidl to get in touch with the General Secretary's representative. He will then see the passages which the Tribunal consider objectionable. Now, Dr. Fritz.
DR. FRITZ: Mr. President, Gentlemen of the Tribunal: Yesterday afternoon I concluded my statement in response to the charge that the Defendant Fritzsche was guilty of a crime against peace. The next group of accusations leveled against the defendant is, for instance, characterized by such terms as incitement against Jews, incitement against foreign nations, instigating the exploitation of occupied territories, propaganda for the master race. On the witness stand, Fritzsche made a declaration which represents a summary of the knowledge he gained after the collapse and, above all, here in Court. It ran as follows: An ideology in whose name 5 million people were murdered must not be permitted to survive such a record. Now, to what extent did Fritzsche make propaganda for this anti-Semitism? Could he, by doing so, foresee the murder? Did he approve of it or at least accept it as inevitable? The Prosecution went very far in their assertions. They imputed that Streicher, as "the chief Jew baiter of all times," could hardly have surpassed Fritzsche in his defamation of Jews. Fritzsche defended himself against this accusation, and rightfully in my opinion. A mere comparison of the slogans from the "arsenal of anti-Semitism," which Sir Griffith-Jones read for hours from excerpts from Der Sturmer at the session of 10 January 1946, with Fritzsche's statements submitted here by the Prosecution, shows this very clearly. Fritzsche, supported by the affidavit of Scharping, dated 17 May 1946 (Document Number Fritzsche-2), was able to point out what actions he undertook against this paper. It must also be noted here that the language and arguments of Der Sturmer found no echo in any German newspaper or at a single broadcasting station even of the National Socialist regime. Before the war Fritzsche carried on no anti-Semitic propaganda of any kind. All utterances and statements of his submitted by the Prosecution originated during the war. They are, however, not directed against the Jews as a people or as a race, but are related only to the question of the origin of the war.
DR. FRITZ: They were merely casual, polemical remarks on the Jewish question in the propaganda battle which was fought in this war alongside the battle of arms. This explains the fact that the radio addresses submitted by the Prosecution never contain more than casual remarks, and never speak of the Jews alone. Every one of his radio speeches may be examined in this respect. Nor does there exist a speech by him which dealt exclusively with the so-called Jewish problem. He never undertook to talk on such a subject. Fritzsche always spoke, at the same time, of "plutocrats," "bolshevists," "democrats," and used other such phrases by means of which the propaganda of the Third Reich felt obliged to conduct its fight. During his interrogation he dealt in detail with each of the radio addresses submitted in the Trial and discussed the reason he had each time for making his merely incidental remarks on this subject. An examination of all of his statements over the radio would show that of all the fundamental propaganda subjects of Nazi ideology, Fritzsche mentioned and advocated anti-Semitism least of all. This takes all foundation from the conclusion of the Prosecution. For there cannot be any connection between such occasional remarks on the part of Fritzsche and the murder order given by Hitler. I therefore expressly protest against the accusation that Fritzsche be considered more guilty than those men who carried out the shootings (Session of 23 January 1946). In the course of this Trial we have heard much testimony as to what secret and ultrasecret means and methods were used by the really guilty ones to carry out this horrible murder. So many statements cannot be put aside as irrelevant and unreliable. In contrast with former assumptions, this Trial should have made it clear that there existed only a small group of instigators and abettors. It has not been proved, in the least, that a man like Fritzsche belonged to this closest circle of Hitler's despotism.
DR. FRITZ: The Trial has even shown that he made the acquaintance of the majority of his codefendants only here in the dock. To draw such far-reaching conclusions against Fritzsche would necessarily lead to the assumption that everybody who took a public stand for anti-Semitism as such-if only with reservations-bears the same criminal guilt. The extent of the moral guilt is much greater. But we are concerned with it only insofar as the moral guilt is identical with the criminal guilt. And, therefore, there is no need to discuss here how far a mere error- even a political one-may at the same time become immoral. The accusation, however, of being coresponsible for these murders, was an especially deep blow to Fritzsche. With regard to this it might be objected that, although Fritzsche did not maintain very close relations with his chief Goebbels and the other heads of the news service, he was yet one of those persons who had access to the foreign press and radio news. This is perhaps the reason why Fritzsche is accused of having had knowledge of almost everything that happened during Hitler's rule. Fritzsche was able to state in the witness stand, while giving many details, that even with this opportunity his good faith was not shaken in the decisive-perhaps also moral-questions. Just as little as his profession as journalist gave him the opportunity to follow rumors up on his own, just so little in this way would he realize what was actually happening. The barriers which had been erected around the misdeeds, however, could not be broken down by him through these means. With regard to foreign reports on atrocities and other misdeeds, Fritzsche, as well as Von Schirrmeister and, especially, Dr. Scharping, have stated that the examination by the office "Schnelldienst"- express news service-which was carried out in all cases, resulted time and again in official replies which eliminated doubts as to the inaccuracy of such statements from abroad.