dtufail/nuremberg-trials-corpus huggingface dataset:
essays. Some of these essays are adaptations of factual "trial briefs" prepared by the staff of OCC. Some of these "trial briefs" were handed to the Tribunal for its assistance, while others were used only for the guidance of trial counsel. Others of the essays have been adapted from the oral presentation and summary of counsel in court. Their difference in origin explains their difference in form. It must be borne in mind that each of these essays, which were originally prepared for the purpose of convincing the Tribunal of the legal guilt of the defendants, has been submitted to a process of editing and revision in order to serve a quite different purpose-to give the general reader a general and coherent conception of the subject matter. These essays bear the marks of haste and are not offered as in any sense definitive or exhaustive. The task of translation from German into English was a formidable one, and in many instances translations of documents could be made available to the briefwriters only a few days before the briefs were scheduled to be presented in court. In other instances it was utterly impossible, with the constantly overburdened translating staff available, to translate in full all the material known to be of value if the prosecution was to be ready on the date set for trial. The diary of Hans Frank, for example (2233-PS) consisted of 42 volumes, of which only a few outstanding excerpts, chosen by German-reading analysts, were translated. Similarly, large portions of the 250 volumes of the Rosenberg correspondence remain still untranslated and unused. Books, decrees, and lengthy reports were not translated in full, and only salient excerpts were utilized. Approximately 1,500 documents in the possession of OCC have not yet been translated and more are being received daily. It is expected that they will be used for purposes of cross-examination and rebuttal, and may later be published. It must also be remembered that these documents are, in the main, translations from the original German. The magnitude of the task, coupled with a sense of the hastening on of time, naturally resulted in imperfections. However, an attempt has been made to preserve the format of the original documents in the printed
remembered that these documents are, in the main, translations from the original German. The magnitude of the task, coupled with a sense of the hastening on of time, naturally resulted in imperfections. However, an attempt has been made to preserve the format of the original documents in the printed translations. Italics represent underlining in the original documents and editorial additions have been enclosed in brackets. The reader may notice occasional variations between the English wording of documents quoted in the essays, and the full text of the document itself. This divergence is explained by the fact that translations of the same documents were sometimes made by two different persons. Variations in the exact means of expression were of course to be expected in such an event, yet both translations are of equal authenticity. Certain passages of some documents may strike the reader as confused or incomplete, and occasionally this is the result of hasty work. More frequently, however the jumble of language accurately reflects the chaos of the original German, for the language of National Socialists was often merely a turgid and mystical aggregation of words signifying nothing, to which the German language easily lends itself. The accuracy of the translations is attested to in Maj. Coogan's affidavit (001-A-PS). If the case had not been set down for trial until 1948, a complete and satisfactory preparation would have been possible. A perfect case could not have been made in less time. But the Allied governments and public opinion were understandably impatient of delay for whatever reason, and they had to be respected. The nature of the difficulties caused by the pressure for speed were stated in Justice Jackson's address opening the American case: "In justice to the nations and the men associated in this prosecution, I must remind you of certain difficulties which may leave their mark on this case. Never before in legal history has an effort been made to bring within the scope of a single litigation the developments of a decade, covering a whole Continent, and involving a score of nations, countless individuals, and innumerable events. Despite the magnitude of the task, the world has demanded immediate action. This demand has
history has an effort been made to bring within the scope of a single litigation the developments of a decade, covering a whole Continent, and involving a score of nations, countless individuals, and innumerable events. Despite the magnitude of the task, the world has demanded immediate action. This demand has had to be met, though perhaps at the cost of finished craftsmanship. In my country, established courts, following familiar procedures, applying well thumbed precedents, and dealing with the legal consequences of local and limited events, seldom commence a trial within a year of the event in litigation. Yet less than eight months ago today the courtroom in which you sit was an enemy fortress in the hands of German SS troops. Less than eight months ago nearly all our witnesses and documents were in enemy hands. The law had not been codified, no procedures had been established, no Tribunal was in existence, no usable courthouse stood here, none of the hundreds of tons of official German documents had been examined, no prosecuting staff had been assembled, nearly all the present defendants were at large, and the four prosecuting powers had not yet joined in common cause to try them. I should be the last to deny that the case may well suffer from incomplete researches and quite likely will not be the example of professional work which any of the prosecuting nations would normally wish to sponsor. It is, however, a completely adequate case to the judgment we shall ask you to render, and its full development we shall be obliged to leave to historians." V No work in a specialized field would be complete without its own occult paraphernalia, and the curious reader may desire and explanation of the strange wizardry behind the document classification symbols. The documents in the American series are classified under the cryptic categories of "L," "R," "PS," "EC," "ECH," "ECR," and "C." The letter "L" was used as an abbreviation for "London," and designates those documents either obtained from American and British sources in London or processed in the London Office of the OCC, under the direction of Col. Murray C. Bernays and Col. Leonard Wheeler. Jr. The letter "R" stands for "Rothschild," and indicates the documents obtained through the screening
"London," and designates those documents either obtained from American and British sources in London or processed in the London Office of the OCC, under the direction of Col. Murray C. Bernays and Col. Leonard Wheeler. Jr. The letter "R" stands for "Rothschild," and indicates the documents obtained through the screening activities of Lt. Walter Rothschild of the London branch of OSS. The origins of the "PS" symbol are more mysterious, but the letters are an abbreviation of the amalgam, "Paris-Storey." The "PS" symbol, accordingly, denotes those documents which, although obtained in Germany, were processed by Col. Storey's division of the OCC in Paris, as well as those documents later processed by the same division after headquarters were established in Nurnberg. The "EC" symbol stands for "Economic Case" and designates those documents which were obtained and processed by the Economic Section of OCC under Mr. Francis M. Shea, with field headquarters at Frankfurt. The "ECH" variant denotes those which were screened at Heidelberg. The letter "C," which is an abbreviation for "Crimes," indicates a collection of German Navy documents which were jointly processed by British and American teams, with Lt. Comdr. John Bracken representing the OCC. The British documents hence include some in the joint Anglo-American "C" series. The remainder of the British documents are marked with the symbols "TC," "UK," "D," and "M." The symbol "TC" is an abbreviation of "Treaty Committee" and signifies the documents selected by a Foreign Office Committee which assisted the British prosecution. "UK" is the abbreviation for "United Kingdom" and indicates documents collected from another source. No especial significance lurks in the letters "D," and "M," which were apparently the result of accident, possibly caprice, rather than design. As a matter of record, however, "M" stands for the first name of the British assistant prosecutor. Finally, "D" is merely an humble filing reference, which may have had some obscure connection with the word "document." The reader will note that there are numerous and often lengthy gaps in the numbering of documents within a given series, and the documents are not numbered in any apparent order. This anomaly is accounted for by several
merely an humble filing reference, which may have had some obscure connection with the word "document." The reader will note that there are numerous and often lengthy gaps in the numbering of documents within a given series, and the documents are not numbered in any apparent order. This anomaly is accounted for by several different factors. As the documents avalanched into the OCC offices they were catalogued and numbered in the order received without examination. Upon subsequent analysis it was frequently found that an earlier document was superseded in quality by a later acquisition, and the earlier one was accordingly omitted. Others were withdrawn because of lack of proof of their authenticity. Occasionally it was discovered that two copies of the same document had been received from different sources, and one of them was accordingly stricken from the list. In other cases blocks of numbers were assigned to field collecting teams, which failed to exhaust all the numbers allotted. In all these cases no change was made in the original numbers because of the delay and confusion which would accompany renumbering. Nor has renumbering been attempted in this publication, and the original gaps remain. This is because the documents introduced into evidence carried their originally assigned numbers, and students of the trial who use these volumes in conjunction with the official record will therefore be able to refer rapidly from citations in the record of the proceedings to the text of the documents cited. VI It only remains to acknowledge the toil and devotion of the members of the OCC staff who were responsible for the original preparation of the materials contained in these volumes. Mention must first be made of Mr. Gordon Dean, who was responsible in large part for the conception of this undertaking, and of Lt. Comdr. Charles A. Horsky, USCGR (T) who set in motion the governmental machinery necessary to publication. The material in Chapter VI on the Organization of the Nazi Party and State was originally prepared by Mr. Ralph G. Albrecht. The essays in Chapter VII on the Means Used by the Nazi Conspirators in Gaining Control of the German State were originally prepared by Col. Leonard Wheeler, Jr.,
publication. The material in Chapter VI on the Organization of the Nazi Party and State was originally prepared by Mr. Ralph G. Albrecht. The essays in Chapter VII on the Means Used by the Nazi Conspirators in Gaining Control of the German State were originally prepared by Col. Leonard Wheeler, Jr., Lt. Col. Benjamin Kaplan, Maj. Frank B. Wallis, Dr. Edmund A. Walsh, Maj. Seymour M. Peyser, Maj. J. Hartley Murray, Lt. Paul Johnston, USNR, Lt. Comdr. Morton E. Rome, USNR, Capt. D. A. Sprecher, Lt. Samuel E. Sharp, Lt. (jg) A. R. Martin, USNR, Lt. Henry V. Atherton, and Lt. William E. Miller. The materials on the Economic Aspects of the Conspiracy, contained in Chapter VIII, on Slave Labor, contained in Chapter X, and on Germanization and Spoliation, contained in Chapter XIII, were prepared by Mr. Francis M. Shea, Mr. Benedict Deinard, Lt. Col. Murray I. Gurfein, Lt. Comdr. W. S. Emmet, USNR, Lt. Thomas L. Karsten, USNR, Capt. Sam Harris, Capt. James H. Mathias, Capt. Melvin Siegel, Capt. Edward H. Kenyon, Lt. (jg) Bernard Meltzer, USNR, Lt. (jg) Brady O. Bryson, USNR, Lt. Raymond Ickes, USMCR, Mr. Jan Charmatz, Mr. Walter Derenberg, Mr. Sidney Jacoby, Mr. Werner Peiser, Mr. Edgar Bodenheimer, and Mr. Leon Frechtel. The materials contained in Chapter IX on Aggressive War, (except those relating to Aggression as a Basic Nazi Idea, the Violation of Treaties, and Aggression against Poland, Danzig, England and France, Norway and Denmark, the Low Countries, and the Balkans) were prepared by Mr. Sidney S. Alderman, Comdr. Sidney J. Kaplan, USCGR, Lt. Col. Herbert Krucker, Maj. Lacey Hinely, Maj. Joseph Dainow, Lt. Comdr. Harold Leventhal, USCGR, Lt. John M. Woolsey, Jr., USNR, Lt. James A. Gorrell, and Lt. Roy H. Steyer, USNR. The materials contained in Chapter XII, on Persecution of the Jews, in Chapter XI on Concentration Camps, and in Chapter XIV on Plunder of Art Treasures, were prepared by Col. Hardy Hollers, Maj. William F. Walsh, Mr. Thomas J. Dodd, Capt. Seymour Krieger, Lt. Frederick Felton, USNR, Lt. (jg) Brady O. Bryson, USNR, Mr. Hans Nathan, Mr. Isaac Stone, Lt. Daniel F. Margolies, Capt. Edgar Boedeker, Lt. (jg) Bernard Meltzer, USNR, Lt. Nicholas Doman, and Mr. Walter W. Brudno. The materials contained in Chapter XVI on the responsibility of
Walsh, Mr. Thomas J. Dodd, Capt. Seymour Krieger, Lt. Frederick Felton, USNR, Lt. (jg) Brady O. Bryson, USNR, Mr. Hans Nathan, Mr. Isaac Stone, Lt. Daniel F. Margolies, Capt. Edgar Boedeker, Lt. (jg) Bernard Meltzer, USNR, Lt. Nicholas Doman, and Mr. Walter W. Brudno. The materials contained in Chapter XVI on the responsibility of the Individual Defendants were prepared by Col. Howard Brundage, Mr. Ralph G. Albrecht, Dr. Robert M. W. Kempner, Lt. Col. William H. Baldwin, Maj. Seymour M. Peyser, Maj. Joseph D. Bryan, Capt. D. A. Sprecher, Capt. Norman Stoll, Capt. Robert Clagett, Capt. John Auchincloss, Capt. Seymour Krieger, Lt. Whitney R. Harris, USNR, Lt. Frederick Felton, USNR, Lt. Henry V. Atherton, Lt. Richard Heller, USNR, Mr. Henry Kellerman, Mr. Frank Patton, Mr. Karl Lachmann, Mr. Bert Heilpern, Mr. Walter Menke, Mr. Joseph Michel, Mr. Walter W. Brudno, Mrs. Katherine Walch, Miss Harriet Zetterberg, Lt. (jg) Brady O. Bryson, USNR, and Capt. Sam Harris. The materials contained in the first six sections of Chapter XV on the Criminal Organizations were prepared by Lt. Col. George E. Seay, Maj. Warren F. Farr, Lt. Comdr. Wm. S. Kaplan, USNR, Lt. Whitney R. Harris, USNR, Miss Katherine Fite, Maj. Robert G. Stephens, Lt. Thomas F. Lambert, Jr., USNR, and Mr. Charles S. Burdell. The materials contained in Section 7 of Chapter XV on the General Staff and High Command were prepared on behalf of the American delegation by Col. Telford Taylor, Maj. Loftus Becker, Maj. Paul Neuland, Capt. Walter Rapp, Capt. Seymour Krieger, and Mr. Charles Kruszeawski; with the assistance of a British staff made jointly available to both the American and British delegations, consisting of W/Cdr. Peter Calvocoressi, RAFVR, Maj. Oliver Berthoud, IC, Lt. Michael Reade, RNVR, F/Lt. George Sayers, RAFVR, S/O Barbara Pinion, WAAF, W/O Mary Carter, WAAF, and Miss Elizabeth Stewart. The charts reproduced are among those introduced by the prosecution, and were designed and executed by presentation specialists assigned to OCC by the Office of Strategic Services, and headed by David Zablodousky under the direction of Comdr. James B. Donovan, USNR. Acknowledgment must also be made of the very effective labors of the British delegation in preparing those materials in Chapter IX on Aggressive War
specialists assigned to OCC by the Office of Strategic Services, and headed by David Zablodousky under the direction of Comdr. James B. Donovan, USNR. Acknowledgment must also be made of the very effective labors of the British delegation in preparing those materials in Chapter IX on Aggressive War relating to Aggression as a Basic Nazi Idea, the Violation of Treaties, and the Aggressions against Poland, Danzig, England and France, Norway and Denmark, the Low Countries, and the Balkans, as well as the materials in sections on Individual Defendants relating to Streicher, Raeder, Doenitz, Neurath, and Ribbentrop. This share of the common task was borne by Sir David Maxwell-Fyfe, K.C., M.P., Mr. Geoffrey D. Roberts, K.C., Lt. Col. J. M. G. Griffith-Jones, M.C., Col. Harry J. Phillimore, O.B.E., and Maj. Elwyn Jones, M.P. The British opening address was delivered by the Attorney General and chief of the British delegation, Sir Hartley Shawcross, K.C., M.P. Recognition is also due to Maj. F. Jay Nimitz, Miss Alma Soller, and Miss Mary Burns, for their loyal and capable assistance in all the harassing details of compiling, editing and indexing these numerous papers. One final word should be said in recognition of the financial burden assumed by the State and War Departments, which have generously joined in allocating from their budgets the very considerable funds required to make this publication possible. Roger W. Barrett, Captain, JAGD William E. Jackson, Lieutenant (jg), USNR Editors Approved: Robert H. Jackson Chief of Counsel Nurnberg, 20 January 1946. Contents Chapter 4
USA v. Pohl et. al - Opening Statements of the Prosecution and Defense III. Opening Statements of the Prosecution and Defense: A. Extracts From the Opening Statement of the Prosecution: MR. MCHANEY: May it please the Tribunal, today marks the opening of the first proceeding in Nuernberg devoted exclusively to the trial of persons active in the SS. On 30 September 1946, the International Military Tribunal found the SS to have been a criminal organization. Since that date, four indictments, other than the one in this case, have been filed with the Military Tribunals by the Chief of Counsel for War Crimes acting on behalf of the United States of America. The defendants range from doctors and officials in the German medical services to a field marshal in the Luftwaffe, from officials of the judicial system of the Third Reich to the directors of an industrial combine. Yet without exception each of these cases deal in large measure with crimes to which the SS was a party. In all but one of these cases, the SS is represented among the defendants. Indeed, in the trial before the International Military Tribunal no less than eleven of the defendants were members of the SS. This points up the tremendous power and influence wielded by the SS in the Third Reich. Even now, nearly two years after the termination of hostilities, the SS is too often regarded as a mere collection of racial fanatics, well-drilled fighting men, or concentration camp thugs. Let there be no mistake about that Himmler was eminently successful in making the SS an all-powerful elite. Its members were represented in the personal entourage of Hitler in the Reich ministries, in the Wehrmacht, in the provincial and municipal governments, in industry and finance, in the press, in occupied territories, and in the spheres of education and culture. It has been said with considerable truth that the SS was a state within a state. It is therefore a matter of importance to investigate the workings of this SS state and to fix the responsibility for its manifold crimes on those men in high positions who kept the monstrous machinery running. Justice could not tolerate the trial of sadistic concentration camp commanders and guards, or even industrialists who ran their factories with slave labor,
of this SS state and to fix the responsibility for its manifold crimes on those men in high positions who kept the monstrous machinery running. Justice could not tolerate the trial of sadistic concentration camp commanders and guards, or even industrialists who ran their factories with slave labor, without bringing to account those men of the SS who made such things possible. In this dock sit the principal surviving leaders of the SS Economic and Administrative Main Office (SS Wirtschafts- und Verwaltungshauptamt), commonly called the WVHA. It was they who procured the material, money, and slaves to support the SS state. It was they who supervised the lawless jungles which were concentration camps. It was they who were the greatest users of slave labor. As Eugen Kogon has said, "No super-Jew of Streicher's ever accomplished what SS Obergruppenfuehrer Pohl succeeded in doing the rationalization of turning corpses into money on a mass basis." The crimes which are the subject of this trial run the gamut of "man's inhumanity to man" the systematic commission of atrocities in concentration camps; the utilization of slave labor under brutal and inhumane conditions; the extermination of the Jews, and so-called "useless eaters"; criminal medical experimentation on concentration camp inmates; the destruction of the Warsaw ghetto; and the confiscation of property on a gigantic scale. The defendant Pohl and his collaborators in the WVHA were parties to all of these crimes and many more. Since this case is concerned with the criminal activities of one of the Main Offices of the SS, it is necessary to understand something of the history and organization of the SS in general and the WVHA in particular. To assist the Tribunal in this regard, the prosecution has prepared and delivered to the Tribunal a brief containing basic information on the SS and the WVHA. This has also been made available to defense counsel in both German and English. It includes a glossary of German words and expressions which will be used frequently in the course of the trial, a table of equivalent ranks of the American Army and the German Wehrmacht and the SS, and two charts showing the organization of the SS and the WVHA. The Schutzstaffeln or
English. It includes a glossary of German words and expressions which will be used frequently in the course of the trial, a table of equivalent ranks of the American Army and the German Wehrmacht and the SS, and two charts showing the organization of the SS and the WVHA. The Schutzstaffeln or SS was the protective guard of the National Socialist Party (NSDAP). It was formed in 1925 to protect leaders and speakers at Party meetings and above all to protect the person of the Fuehrer. As the "Fuehrer" or leader of the Nazi Party, Hitler was the "Oberst Fuehrer" or Supreme Leader of the SS. In January 1929 Heinrich Himmler was appointed Reich Leader SS. As such, he was the commander of the SS and subordinated directly to Hitler as head of the Nazi Party. At that time, the SS numbered only about 280 men and was much less important than the Sturmabteilung or SA, which was a Nazi pari-military unit under the ambitious Captain Ernst Roehm. Patiently and unobtrusively, Himmler set about creating out of the SS an aristocracy within the Nazi Party. He called this aristocracy the German Order of Men (Deutscher Maennerorden). Selection for membership in the SS was based on the doctrine of "race and blood. Himmler once said: "I am a convinced supporter of the idea that what matters in the world ultimately is only good blood * * *. I have approached my task from this angle. It means that actually the only good blood, according to our reading of history, is the leading creative element in every state, and in particular, the blood engaged in military activity and, above all, Nordic blood." At the time of the seizure of power by the Nazi Party in January 1933, this self-proclaimed "racial elite" was 52,000 strong. Not, however, until the Roehm purge of 30 June 1934 did the SS become the ruling caste within the Party. On that bloody "Night of the Long Knives," it was the brutalized and ever obedient SS which murdered Roehm and his important collaborators in the SA who were said to be dissident elements in the Party. Thenceforth, the SS assumed the duty of ensuring the continued power of the Nazi regime or, as it was officially stated, of "protecting the internal security of the Reich." The subsequent development of the SS was based