dtufail/nuremberg-trials-corpus huggingface dataset:
M. DUBOST: This report, Mr. President, comes from the Surete Nationale. You can verify that by examining the second sheet of the copy which you have in your hand, at the top to the left: Direction Generale de la Surete Nationale. Commissariat Special de Saint Gingolph. Testimony of witnesses.
THE PRESIDENT: May we see the original document?
M. DUBOST: This document was submitted to the Secretary of the Tribunal- The Secretary has only to bring that document to you.
THE PRESIDENT: Very well. Is this a certified copy?
M. DUBOST: It is a copy certified by the Director of the Cabinet of the 'Ministry of Justice.
THE PRESIDENT: M. Dubost, I am told that the French Prosecutors have all the original documents and are not depositing them in the way it is done by the other prosecutors. Is that so?
M. DUBOST: The French Prosecutors submitted the originals of yesterday's session, and they were handed over this morning to Mr. Martin.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, we wish to see the original document. We understand it is in the hands of the French Secretary. We should like to see it.
M. DUBOST: I have sent for it, Mr. President. This document is a certified copy of the original, which is preserved in the archives of the French Office for Inquiry into War Crimes. This certification was made, on the one hand, by the French Delegate of the Prosecution-you will see the signature of M. de Menthon on the document you have-on the other, by the Director of the Cabinet of the Minister of Justice, M. Zambeaux, with the official seal of the French Ministry of Justice.
THE PRESIDENT: It does appear to be a governmental document. It is the document of a committee set up by France for the investigation of war crimes, is it not?
M. DUBOST: Mr. President, it is a document which comes from the Office of National Security (Direction Generale de la Surete Nationale), which was set up in connection with an investigation of War Crimes as prescribed by our French Office for Inquiry into War Crimes. The original remains in Paris at the War Crimes office, but the certified copy which you have was signed by the Director of the Cabinet of the Ministry of Justice in Paris.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, M. Dubost, I was not upon the question of whether it was a true document or not; the question I was upon was whether or not it was, within Article 21 , either a governmental document or a report of the United Nations, or a document of a committee set up in France for the investigation of War Crimes; and I was asking whether it is, and it appears to be so. It is, is it not?
M. DUBOST: Yes, Your Honor.
THE PRESIDENT: Do you wish to add anything to what you have said?
M. DUBOST: No, I have nothing to add.
THE PRESIDENT: Now, Dr. Merkel, you may speak.
DR. MERKEL: I should only like to stress briefly that these statements which are presented here are not statements of an official government agency and cannot be considered as governmental records. Rather, they are only minutes which have been taken in police offices and thus can in no way be authentic declarations of a government or of an investigating committee. I emphasize once more that these declarations, which have certainly been taken partially at least-in minor police precincts, have not been made under oath and do not represent sworn statements; and I have to protest firmly against their being considered as evidence here.
THE PRESIDENT: Do you wish to add anything?
DR. MERKEL: No.
THE PRESIDENT: Who is M. Binaud?
M. DUBOST: He is the Police Inspector of the Special Police, who was attached to the Special Commissariat of Saint Gingolph. I must correct an error made by the Defense Counsel, who said this was a minor police office. This was a frontier post. The Special Commissariats at frontier posts are all important offices even though they are located in very small towns. I think that is the same in all countries.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, M. Dubost, you understand what the problem is? It is a question of the interpretation of Article 21 .
M. DUBOST: I understand.
THE PRESIDENT: The Tribunal requires your assistance upon that interpretation, as to whether this document does come under the terms of Article 21 . If you have anything to say upon that subject we will be glad to hear it.
M. DUBOST: Mr. President, it seems to me impossible that the Tribunal should rule out this and similar documents which I am going to present, for all these documents bear, for authentication, not only the signature of the French representative at this Tribunal but that of the Delegate of the Minister of Justice to the War Crimes Commission as well. Examine the stamp beside the second signature. It is the seal.
THE PRESIDENT: Do not go too fast; tell us where the signatures are. M. DUBOST [Indicating on the document.]: Here, Your Honors, is a notation of the release of this document by the Office for Inquiry into War Crimes to the French Prosecutor as an element of proof and below, the signature of the Director of the Cabinet of the French Minister of Justice, the Keeper of the Seals, and in addition, over this signature, the seal of the Minister of Justice. You may read: "Office for Inquiry into War Crimes."
THE PRESIDENT: Is this the substance of the matter: That this was an inquiry by the police into these facts; and that police inquiry was recorded; and then the Minister of Justice, for the purposes of this Trial, adopted that police report? Is that the substance of it?
M. DUBOST: That is correct, Mr. President. I think that we agree. The Office for Inquiry into War Crimes in France is directly attached to, the Ministry of Justice. It carries out investigations. These Investigations are made by the police authorities, such as M. Binaud, Inspector of Special Police, attached to the Special Commissariat of Saint Gingolph.
THE PRESIDENT: The Tribunal would like to know when the service of inquiry into War Crimes was established.
M. DUBOST: I cannot give you the- exact date from memory, but this service was set up in France the day after the liberation. It began to function in October 1944.
THE PRESIDENT: Was this service established after the police report was made?
M. DUBOST: In the month of September or October.
THE PRESIDENT: September of what year?
M. DUBOST: In September 1944 this Office for Inquiry into War Crimes in France was established, and this service functioned as soon as the Provisional Government was set up in France.
THE PRESIDENT: Then the police inquiry was held under the service? You see, the police report is dated the 9th of October, and therefore the police report appears to have been made after the service had been set up. Is that right?
M. DUBOST: You have the evidence, Mr. President. If you look at the top of the second page at the left, it shows the beginning of the record and you read: "Purpose: Investigation of atrocities committed by Germans against the civilian population." These investigations were prescribed by the Office for Inquiry into War Crimes.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes. That would appear to be so if the service was really established in September and this police investigation is dated the 9th of October. The Tribunal will adjourn for consideration of this question. [A recess was taken.]
THE PRESIDENT: The Tribunal has considered the arguments which have been addressed to it and is of the opinion that the document offered by counsel for France is a document of a committee set up for the investigation of War Crimes within the meaning of Article 21 of the Charter . The fact that it is not upon oath does not prevent it being such a document within Article 21 , of which the Tribunal is directed to take judicial notice. The question of its probative value would of course be considered under Article 19 of the Charter and therefore, in accordance with Article 19 and Article 21 of the Charter, the document will be admitted in evidence; and the objection of Counsel for the Gestapo is denied. The Tribunal would wish that all original documents should be filed with the General Secretary of the Tribunal and that when they are being discussed in Court, the original documents should be present in Court at the time.
HERR LUDWIG BABEL (Counsel for the SS and SD): I have been informed that General Giraud and his family were probably deported to Germany upon the orders of Himmler, but that they were treated very well and that they were billeted in a villa; that they were brought back to France in good health; that things went well with them and that they are still well today. I do not see ...
THE PRESIDENT: Counsel, forgive me for interrupting you, but the Tribunal are not now considering the case of General Giraud and his family, Are you unable to hear? What I was saying was that you were making some application in connection with the deportation of General Giraud and were stating facts to us-what you allege to be facts-as to that deportation. The Tribunal is not considering that matter. The Tribunal has already ruled that it cannot take judicial notice of the facts as to General Giraud's deportation.
HERR BABEL: I was of the opinion that what I had to say might bring about an explanation by the Prosecution and might expedite the trial in that respect. That was the purpose of my inquiry.
THE PRESIDENT: I am merely pointing out to you that we are not now considering General Giraud's case.
M. DUBOST: If the Tribunal will permit me to continue? It seems to me necessary to come back to the proof which I propose to submit. I have to show that, through uniformity of methods, the tortures which were inflicted in each bureau of the German Police,...
THE PRESIDENT: Have you finished the document we have just admitted?
M. DUBOST: Yes, Mr. President; I have completed this and I will now read from other documents. But first I would like to sum up the proofs which I have to submit this morning through the reading of these documents. I said that I was going to demonstrate how through the uniformity of ill-treatment inflicted by all branches of the German Police upon prisoners under interrogation, we are able to trace a common will for which we cannot give you direct proof-as we did yesterday, regarding hostages, by bringing you papers signed in particular by Keitel-but we shall arrive at it by a way just as certain, for this identity of method implies a uniformity of win which we can place only at the very head of the police, that is to say, the German Government, to which the defendants belonged. This document, Number F-555, Exhibit Number RF-302, from which I have just read, refers to the ill-treatment of prisoners at Fort Montluc in Lyons. I pass to Document Number F-556, which we shall submit as Exhibit Number RF-303, which relates to the prison regime at Marseilles. The Tribunal will note that this is an official record drawn up by the military security service of Vaucluse concerning the atrocities committed by Germans upon political prisoners and that this record includes the written deposition of M. Mousson, chief of an intelligence service, who was arrested on 16 August 1943 and then transferred on 30 August 1943 to St. Pierre prison at Marseilles. At the last paragraph of the first page of this document we read: "Transferred to Marseilles, St. Pierre prison, on 30 August 1943, placed in room P, 25 meters long, 5 meters wide. We are crammed up 75 and often 80. Two straw mattresses for three. Repulsive hygienic conditions: lice, fleas, bed-bugs, tainted food. For no reason at all comrades are beaten and put in cells for 2 or 3 days without food." Following page, fourth paragraph: "Taken into custody again 15 May in a rather brutal way"this is the 4th paragraph-"I was imprisoned in the prison of Ste. Anne and..." 5th paragraph: "Living conditions in Ste.
M. DUBOST: Anne: deplorable hygiene; food supplied by National Relief." Next page, second paragraph: "Living conditions in Petites Beaumettes: Food, just enough to keep one alive; no packages; Red Cross gives many, but we receive few." This concerns, I repeat, prisons entirely under control of the Germans. Regarding conditions at the prison of Poitiers, we submit Document Number F-558, Exhibit Number RF-304. A report is attached from the Press Section of the American Information Service in Paris, dated 18 October 1944. The Tribunal should know that all these reports were included with the documents which were presented by the French Office for Inquiry into War Crimes. We read under number two: "M. Claeys was arrested 14 December 1943 by the Gestapo and Imprisoned in the Pierre Levee Prison until 26 August 1944... "While in prison he asked for a mattress, as he had been wounded in the war. He was told that he would get it if he confessed. He had to sleep on 1 inch of straw on the ground. Seven men in one room 4 meters long, 2 meters wide, and 2.8 meters in height.... For 20 days did not go out of cell. WC was a great discomfort to him because of wounds. The Germans refused to do anything about it." Paragraph 4(b). "Another prisoner weighed 120 kilograms and lost 30 kilograms in a month. Was in isolation cell for a month. Was tortured there and died of gangrene of legs due to wounds caused by torture. Died after 10 days of agony alone and without help." Paragraph 5. "Methods of torture: "(a) Victim was kept bent up by hands attached around right leg. Was then thrown on the ground and flogged for 20 minutes. If he fainted, they would throw a pail of water in his face. This was to make him speak. "Mr. Francheteau was flogged like that four days out of six. In some cases, -subject was not tied. If he fell they would pick him up by his hair, and go on. "At other times the victim was put naked in a special punishment cell; his hands were tied to an iron grill above his head. He was then beaten until made to talk. "(b) Beating as above was not common, but M.
M. DUBOST: Claeys has friends who have seen electric tortures. One electric wire was attached to the foot and another wire placed at different points on the body." Paragraph 6. "The tortures were all the more horrible because the Germans in many cases had no clear idea of what information they wanted and just tortured haphazard." And at the very end, the live last lines. "One torture consisted in hanging up the victims by the hands, which were tied behind the back, until the shoulders were completely dislocated. Afterwards, the soles of the feet were cut with razor blades and then the victims were made to walk on salt." Concerning the prisons of the north, I submit Document Number F-560, Exhibit Number RF-305. It also comes from the American War Crimes Commission. On Page 1, under the letter "A" you will find a general report of Professor Paucot on the atrocities committed by the Germans in Northern France and-in Belgium. The report covers the activities of the German police in France, at Arras, Bethune, Lille, Valenciennes, Malo les Bains, La Madeleine, Quincy, and Loos; in Belgium, at Saint Gilles, Fort de Huy, and Camp de Belveroo. This report is accompanied by 73 depositions of victims. From examination of these testimonies the fact emerges that the brutality, the barbarity of methods used during the interrogations was the same in the various places cited. This synthesis which I have just mentioned is from the American report. It seems to me unnecessary to stress this as it is confirmed on the first page. The Tribunal can read further on Pages 4, 5, 6, and 7 a detailed description of the atrocities, systematic and all identical, which the German police inflicted to force confessions. On Page 5, the fifth paragraph, I quote: "A prisoner captured while trying to escape was delivered in his cell to the fury of police dogs who tore him to pieces." On Page 17, second paragraph, of the German text (Page 14 of the French text) there is the report of M. Prouille, which, by exception, I shall read because of the nature of the facts.
M. DUBOST: I quote: "Condemned by the German Tribunal to 18 months of imprisonment for possessing arms and after having been in the prisons of Arras, Bethune and Loos, I was sent to Germany. "As a result of ill-treatment in eastern Prussia I was obliged to have my eyes looked after. Having been taken to an infirmary, a German doctor put drops in- my eyes. A few hours later, after great suffering, I became blind. After spending several days in the prison of Fresnes, I was sent to the clinic of Quinze-Vingts in Paris. Professor Guillamat, who examined me, certified that my eyes had been burned by a corrosive agent." Under the Number F-561 I shall read a document from the American War Crimes Commission, which we submit as Exhibit Number RF-306. The Tribunal will find on Page 2 the proof that M. Herrera was present at tortures inflicted on numerous persons, and saw a Pole, by the name of Riptz, have the soles of his feet burned. Then his head was split open with a spanner. After the wound had healed he was shot. I quote: "Commander Grandier, who had had a leg fractured in the war of 1914, was threatened by those who conducted the interrogations with having his other leg broken and this was actually done. When he had half revived, as a result of a hypodermic injection, the Germans did away with him." We do not want to use more of your time than is necessary, but the Tribunal should know these American official documents in entirety, all of which show in a very exact way the tortures carried out by the various German police services in numerous regions of France, and give evidence of the similarity of the methods used. The following document is Number F-571, which we submit as Exhibit Number RF-307, and of which we shall read only one four line paragraph: "M. Robert Vanassche, from Tourcoing, states: 'I was arrested the 22 February 1944 at Mouscron in Belgium by men belonging to the Gestapo who were dressed in civilian clothing. During the interrogation they were wearing uniforms .... I skip a paragraph.
M. DUBOST: "'I was interrogated for the second time at C and in the main German prison, where I remained 31 days. There I was locked up for 2 or 3 hours in a sort of wooden coffin where one could breathe only through three holes in the top.' Further, the same document: "M. Remy, residing at Armentieres, states: 'Arrested 2 May 1944 at Armentieres I I arrived at the Gestapo, 18 Rue Francois Debatz at La Madelaine about 3 o'clock the same day. I was subjected to interrogation on two different occasions. The first lasted for about an hour. I had to lie on my stomach and was given about 120 lashes. The second interrogation lasted a little longer. I was lashed again, lying on my stomach. As I would not talk, they stripped me and put me in the bath tub. The 5th of May I was subjected to a new interrogation at Loos. That day they hung me up by my feet and rained blows all over my body. As I refused to speak, they untied me and put me again on my stomach. When pain made me cry out, they kicked me in the face with their boots. As a result I lost 17 lower teeth...."' The names of two of the torturers follow, but are of no concern to us here. We are merely trying to show that the torturers everywhere used the same methods. This could have been done only in execution of orders given by their chiefs. I will further quote the testimony of M. Guerin: ". . . as I would not admit anything, one of the interrogators put my scarf around my mouth to stifle my cries. Another German policeman took my head between his legs and two others, one on each side of me, beat me with clubs over the loins. Each of them struck me 25 times.:.. This lasted over two hours. The next morning they began again and it lasted as long as the day before. These tortures were inflicted upon me because, on 11 November, I with my comrades of the resistance had taken part in a demonstration by placing a wreath on the monument to the dead of the 1914-18 war...." I now quote the report of Mr. Alfred Deudon. Here is the ill-treatment to which he was subjected: "18 August, sensitive parts were struck with a hammer.
M. DUBOST: 19 August, was held under water; 20 August, my head was squeezed with an iron band; 21 and 24 August, I was chained day and night; 26 August, I was chained again day and night; and at one time hung up by the arms." I will now read an extract from the report of M. Delltombe, arrested by the Gestapo 14 June 1944: "Thursday, 15 June, at 8 o'clock in the morning, I was taken to the torture cellar. There they demanded that I should confess to the sabotage which I had carried out with my groups and denounce my comrades as well as name my hiding places. Because I did not answer quickly enough, the torture commenced. They made me put my hands behind my back. They put on special handcuffs and hung me up by my wrists. Then they flogged me, principally on the loins, and in the face. That day the torture lasted 3 hours. "Friday, 16 June, the same thing took place; but only for an hour and a half, for I could not stand it any longer; and they took me back to my cell on a stretcher. "Saturday the tortures began again with even more severity. Then I was obliged to confess my sabotage, for the brutes stuck needles in my arms. After that they left me alone until 10 August; then they had me called to the office and told me I was condemned to death. I was put on a train of deportees going to Brussels, from which I was freed on 3 September by Brussels patriots. "...women were subjected to the same treatment as men. To the physical pain, the sadism of the torturers added the moral anguish, especially mortifying for a woman or a young girl, of being stripped nude by her torturers. Pregnancy did not save them from lashes. When brutality brought about a miscarriage, they were left without any care, exposed to all the hazards and complications of these criminal abortions.'' This is the text of the summary drawn up by the American officer who carried out this investigation. Here is the report of Madame Sindemans, who was arrested in Paris 24 February 1944: "...by four soldiers, each armed with a submachine gun, and two other Germans in civilian clothes holding revolvers.
M. DUBOST: "Having looked into my handbag, they found three identification cards. Then they searched my room and discovered the pads and stamp of the Kommandantur and some German passes and employment cards which I had succeeded in stealing from them the day before .... "Immediately, they placed handcuffs upon me and took me to be interrogated. When I gave no reply, they slapped me in the face with such force that I fell from my chair. Then they struck me with a rubber ring across the face. This interrogation began at 10 o'clock in the morning and ended at 11 o'clock that night. I must tell you that I had been pregnant for 3 months." We shall submit now Documents F-563 and 564 under the one number Exhibit Number RF-308. It is a report concerning the atrocities committed by the Gestapo in Bourges. We shall read a part of this report.
THE PRESIDENT: M. Dubost, how do you establish what this document is? It appears to be the report of M. Marc Toledano.