dtufail/nuremberg-trials-corpus huggingface dataset:
M. FAURE: It is a matter of common knowledge that all the newspapers of the occupied countries were controlled by the Germans, and that most of these newspapers had been founded at their instigation by persons who were in their pay. As these facts are well known, I shall refrain from submitting documents on this point, and shall limit myself to the following remarks: Firstly, restrictive measures-censorship. Although all these newspapers were practically "their" papers, the Nazis nevertheless submitted them to a very strict censorship. I shall submit, as evidence of this, Document Number RF-1108, which is a report of a press conference held on 8 January 1943 in the course of which the new censorship orders and regime are defined. I point out to the Tribunal that this document and others of the same nature were found in the archives of the French Office Information, which was under German control. They have been deposited either in the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris or in the Document Library of the War Museum. These documents have been selected by us from the reports, either in the form of original documents, photostats, or from the French collection. I should like simply to point out, by means of this Document RF-1108, that the Germans were concerned with the institution of a more liberal regime of censorship. On reading the document, however, it becomes evident that almost all news items and articles are subject to censorship, with the exception of serial stories, reviews of films and plays, items of scientific or university news, radio programs, and a certain number of completely trivial subjects. The second aspect of the German interference, the positive aspect, appears in the directives given to the press; and these directives revere given by means of press conferences such as that which I have just described. I shall submit to the Tribunal, without reading them, a certain number of documents numbered RF-1109 to RF-1120.
M. FAURE: I produce these documents in evidence not for the sake of their contents, which are simply a repetition of German propaganda, but merely as proof of their existence, that is, continued pressure exerted on the press. I should like to say, however, how this was done. The press conferences were held either in the Propagandastaffel, Avenue des Champs-Elysees, or at the German Embassy. The representatives of the press were summoned by the competent Nazi officials who issued directives. After the conference, the substance of these directives was embodied in a dispatch from the French Office of Information. The Tribunal knows that agencies sent dispatches to the papers for their information. When a dispatch had been drawn up by the of lice it was submitted for checking to the German bureau, which affixed a seal to it. After that it could be distributed to the papers. I stated that I would not read anything on these press conferences or on the agency's minutes and notes which form Documents RF-1109 to RF-1120. I should like to read only a very brief document, which I submit as Document Number RF-1121, the minutes of a press conference held on 16 April 1943 in the Propagandaabteilung. I quote: "At the end of the conference the German commentator declared that on Tuesday, 20 April-the Fuehrer's birthday- the newspapers would consist of four pages instead of two, and on Wednesday, 21 April, they would consist of two pages instead of four. He asked the reporters present to stress the European orientation of the Fuehrer's political personality and to treat Franco-German relations very generously. A great deal of tact and reserve are necessary, however, in order not to give the newspapers the appearance of being no longer French, and in this way shocking public opinion." I am not forgetting the fact that we are participating in a criminal trial and that we must select from the extremely varied facts which we have to present those elements characteristic of the intention and realization of an act condemned by criminal law.
M. FAURE: In consideration of this, I quote Document Number RF-1124, which I am also presenting and which is an attempt to promote, by means of press and propaganda, the enlistment of Frenchmen in the enemy army. Article 75 of the French Criminal Code provides for this crime and I recall that in juridical theory proceedings can be taken even against enemy nationals for crimes of this kind. I read this document, which is extremely short: "At the end of the military conference, Dr. Eich announced that the O.F.I. would broadcast this afternoon an article devoted to the necessity of the inclusion of French sailors in the German Navy. He asked the newspapers to add commentaries to this text in which, for instance, the following theme might be treated: 'To be a sailor is to have a profession.' "The article broadcast by the O.F.I. must appear tomorrow-a four-page day-on the first page, or the beginning, at least, must appear on the first page." Finally, I must point out that, apart from the press conferences proper, there were so-called cultural conferences at which the German authorities gave their orders on all subjects. I should like to read a few very brief extracts from one of these cultural conferences in order to indicate the general oppression resulting from the interference of the Germans in every field without exception. I present these Documents RF-1125 and RF-1126; and I read two sentences on Page 1 of Document Number RF-1125, which is a report of the minutes of the conference held on 22 April: "Reproductions of paintings by Picasso have recently been made in spite of the directives to the contrary previously given. "Theater: Certain press publications have seen fit to praise the operetta Don Philippe to an extent belied by the reception given to this work by the general public. This goes beyond the bounds of the permissible." I shall read a little further, on the top of Page 2: "The press has lent an obviously exaggerated backing to jazz concerts, particularly those of Fred Jumbo..
M. FAURE: This shows a lack of tact which is all the more regrettable in that a very minor place has been accorded in general to concerts of real value." Finally, at the end of this document, there is a general note which is interesting: "The nationality of persons of standing in the world of science, art, et cetera, whose names occur in articles appearing in the press, is to be given as that of the Greater German Reich in the case of those born in any of the countries which have been restored to the Greater German Reich or incorporated into it." We thus see that even in what might seem to us the most fanciful connections we can find evidence of the will to enforce Germanization and of the criminal will to strip men of the nationality which they have the right to retain. I shall now say a few words about the cinema. The Germans, to do them justice, have never failed to understand the exceptional importance of the cinema as a means of propaganda. In France they devoted to this subject seven ordinances or decrees. You must know that, in the first place, the Germans prohibited the showing of films of which they disapproved...
THE PRESIDENT: M. Faure, don't you think that evidence that the Germans used the cinema as a method of propaganda is really somewhat cumulative? You have shown already that they forbade a great number of books which they considered hostile to their ideology, and that they controlled the press, and is it not almost cumulative and a matter of detail that they also controlled the cinema? Unless there is some evidence on behalf of the defendants contradicting the evidence which you have given, I think the Tribunal will be satisfied that the Germans did adopt all these methods of propaganda.
M. FAURE: When a brief is presented it sometimes does produce the impression that the arguments contained in it are cumulative, although that may not have been so apparent when the preparation was going on. I shall not speak, then, on the subject of the cinema. I wish simply to point this out to the Tribunal We thought that with regard to these questions of propaganda with which we are dealing in the abstract it would perhaps be Howell to provide concrete illustrations of a few of the themes of German propaganda, and to this end we propose presently, with the permission of the Tribunal, to project very briefly a few of the themes of German propaganda. I wish to point out that these themes are taken from archives which we found. On the other hand, we intend to present, for one minute each, two pictures taken from a German propaganda film produced by a Frenchman at the instigation and with the financial support of the German office. As we are now going to present these pictures, with the permission of the Tribunal I consider it indispensable to present just one document, Document RF-1141, since it is the interrogation of the producer of the film and establishes the fact that this film was made by order of the Germans and paid for by them. I therefore present in evidence this Document Number RF-1141, which is necessary for the presentation which we are about to make. Since it seems to me that sufficient evidence has already been advanced concerning the various methods of propaganda, I shall apply the same line of reasoning to the part anticipated for broadcasting. Here I merely wish to present a document which goes beyond the field of pure propaganda. This is Document Number RF-1146. I must point out, first of all, that as regards broadcasting, the Germans obviously encountered an obstacle which was not present to the same degree in other fields. This obstacle lay in the transmissions broadcast by the free radios which, as the Belgian witness said yesterday, were followed with the greatest enthusiasm by the inhabitants of the occupied countries.
M. FAURE: The German Command then had the idea of penalizing the persons who listened to these broadcasts. In the document which I am going to quote, the Military Command went to the length of asking the French authorities most urgently to institute the most stringent penalties, even going so far as to prescribe the death penalty for persons repeating news heard on the foreign radio service. I think it will be useful, if I deposit in evidence this document emanating from the Military Command and signed by Stulpnagel, which demonstrates the criminal intentions of the German staff I should like to read this document, RF-1146. I read from the beginning of the third paragraph: "The French law of 28 October 1941 does not provide for special sanctions for the broadcasting of news from foreign stations calculated to endanger order or public security, although this offense constitutes a particularly grave danger. It is indispensable that the dissemination of such news should be punished by hard labor and in particularly serious cases by the death penalty. It is immaterial whether the disseminator of the news was listening in himself or obtained knowledge by other means. "The possibility of legally prosecuting the mentioned offense by the state tribunal does not suffice to hinder the population from listening to the British radio and spreading the news. Since the law regarding the state tribunal does not mention listening to foreign stations there is no direct relation between listening in and dissemination on the one hand and punishment by hard labor or death sentence on the other. The population has, therefore, no idea that such acts are already punishable by hard labor or the death penalty. "For this reason I request a draft to be submitted, amending the law of 28 October 1941 with deadline 3 January 1943. "For your instruction I am adding, as an.
M. FAURE: appendix, a draft of the German decree relating to extraordinary measures about broadcasting, by which you may learn the details of the German regulation." I shall now submit a document bearing the Document Number RF-1147. I think this document may interest the Tribunal. It presents quite a different character from that of the documents which I have produced up to now. This document consists, firstly, of a letter from Berlin dated 27 October 1941, the subject of which is an agreement relating to collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I read this letter, which is very short, and which authenticates our document: "By authorization of the ministry, we enclose for your information, as a secret matter of the Reich, a copy of the agreement relating to collaboration, with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as a copy of the agreement of execution. The agreement itself is not confidential, but details of the contents must not be given." The document enclosed with this is the full text, which I shall not read, of the agreement made between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of the Reich for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda relating to collaboration between their respective branches. I think that this document is of some interest, and that is why I submit it. I shall simply point out to the Tribunal that it shows at once the extent of the hold which the Germans wished to make sure of possessing over the minds of the populations of occupied and even foreign countries and the way in which they organized this. Chapter I of this document is entitled, "Collaboration by Branches." Letter "a" concerns the cinema, the theater, music, and exhibitions. Letter "b" concerns publications. I think it might be interesting to read the first few lines of letter "b," for after expounding the propaganda from the point of view of the receivers, it is worth while looking at the question from the point of view of the persons who put out this propaganda.
M. FAURE: And, on the other hand, I think we must not lose the opportunity of observing the extraordinary variety and skill of the German methods. This quotation is very brief: "The Foreign Office and the Ministry of Propaganda are operating jointly a holding company, the Mundus A.G., of which they have equal shares and in which the publishing houses controlled by both ministries at home and abroad are combined, as far as they are concerned with the production of publications for abroad or their export to, and distribution in, foreign countries. All firms or partnerships which will be founded or acquired in future for this purpose by both ministries will be incorporated in this company." On Page 3, Paragraph 4, I should like also to read a sentence: "Both ministries participate in the drawing up of propaganda matter issued by them or upon their initiative, at home, but intended for distribution abroad." Finally, on Page 4, I shall read a sentence in the second last paragraph, and I quote: "In order to consolidate the broadcasting stations and the partnerships openly controlled by Germans, the Foreign Office and the Ministry of Propaganda are jointly operating a holding company, Interradio A.G., Berlin, each owning 50 percent." The Tribunal has noticed the phrase "openly owned by the Germans." This will be completed by a final quotation of a sentence on Page 5 at the beginning of Paragraph 2: "The camouflaged (not apparent) influence exercised upon the foreign broadcasting stations must not be mentioned in connection with the joint holding company." I should like, in concluding this brief on propaganda, to present Document Number RF-1148, which is a message circulated to all the propaganda offices. I think a very brief quotation from this document will be interesting for the definition of the very general use of propaganda as the tool of one of the most premeditated and most serious enterprises of Nazism, namely, the extermination of nationality and existence of a country. In this case Czech culture and tradition are involved.
M. FAURE: I quote from Paragraph 4: "The close relationship of the Czechs and European culture must always be pointed out in a positive manner. The fact of the far-reaching influence of German culture on Czech culture and even the latter's dependence on the former has to be stressed at every opportunity. The German cultural achievements in Bohemia and Moravia and their influence upon the cultural work of the Czechs are to be mentioned particularly. "Attention has always to be paid to the fact that although the Czechs speak a Slav language, they are subject to German culture by virtue of their living together for centuries with superior German peoples in German-directed states, and have scarcely anything in common with other Slav peoples "From the historical point of view, attention has always to be focused on the periods or personalities by which the Czechs sought and found contact with German culture: St. Wenceslas, the time of Charles IV, of Ferdinand I, Rudolf II, Bohemian baroque, et cetera." Finally, I submit, without reading it, Document Number RF-1149. I was anxious to include this document in our document book for. it constitutes a report of a year's propaganda activities in one of the occupied countries-Norway, to be exact. I have spoken at some length of this country, and that is why I do not wish now to quote the text of this document; but I do wish to mention that German propaganda formed the subject of extremely regular reports and that these reports touched on every subject: press, cinema, radio, culture, theater, schools, education. This propaganda, then, as I have already stated, is something which covers a much wider range than that previously ascribed to it. No aspect of our life is unknown to it; it respects none of the things that are precious to us; it can become a real penitentiary for the spirit, when even the idea of escape is imprisoned. If it please the Tribunal, may I suggest that the session be suspended now, so that the films may be shown immediately after this presentation.
M. FAURE: My only purpose in showing these films is to illustrate one of the most common and disagreeable features of life in the occupied countries, the fact that wherever we went we were always compelled to see before us the stupid and ugly German propaganda pictures.
THE PRESIDENT: The Court will adjourn for 15 minutes. [A recess was taken.]
THE PRESIDENT: With reference to the motion which was made before the adjournment by counsel for the General Staff, the opinion of the Tribunal is this: In the first place the Tribunal is not confined to direct evidence from eyewitnesses., because Article 19 provides that the Tribunal shall admit any evidence which it deems to have probative value. Secondly, there is nothing in Article 21 of the Charter which makes it improper to call the member of a governmental committee as a witness to give evidence with reference to the governmental committee's report. But the Tribunal considers that if such a witness is called the governmental committee's report must be put in evidence; as a matter of fact, the Counsel for the Prosecution have offered to put the committee's report in evidence in this case and not only to do that, but also to make available to Counsel for the Defense the affidavits of witnesses upon which that report proceeded. Thirdly, there were other matters upon which the witness, Mr. Van der Essen, gave evidence which was altogether outside the report or so it appeared to the Tribunal. As to the weight which is to be attached to the witness' evidence, that, of course, is a matter which will have to be considered by the Tribunal. It is open to the Defense to give evidence in answer to the evidence of Mr. Van der Essen and also to comment upon or criticize that evidence, and so far as his evidence consisted of his own conclusions drawn from facts which he had seen or evidence which he had heard, the correctness of those conclusions will be considered by the Tribunal, conclusions being matters for the final decision of the Tribunal. For these reasons the motion of counsel is denied. It is suggested to me that I did not in that statement say that the report was to be filed in evidence. I intended to say that. I thought that I had said so. The report must be filed in evidence and the affidavits, as they are to be made available to the defendants' counsel will, of course, also be made available to the Tribunal.
M.FAURE: If it please the Tribunal, M. Fuster is going to project the films of which I spoke just now.
M. SERGE FUSTER (Assistant Prosecutor for the French Republic): Mr. President, I am to show you a few examples of direct propaganda in the occupied countries. During the whole period of the occupation the inhabitants of the occupied countries had the walls of their houses covered with enormous posters, varying in color and text. There was very little paper in any of these countries, but there was always enough for propaganda; and this propaganda was carried on without regard for probability or moral considerations. If the Nazis thought any sort of campaign would prove effective, no matter in how small a degree, they immediately launched this campaign. In France, for instance, the most illustrious names in history appeared on posters and were. made to proclaim slogans against the enemies of Germany. Isolated sentences were taken from the works of Clemenceau, Montesquieu, and many others who in this way were made to utter sentiments in favor of Nazism. But German propaganda went beyond the adulteration of the works of the great historical geniuses of our nation. They also tried to pervert and cripple most sacred sentiments. We saw in France posters advertising work in Germany, which showed a mother saying to her children, "How happy we are now that father has gone to work in Germany." In this way, the family sentiment was made to further- the ends of Nazism. German propaganda tried also to attack the sentiment of national patriotism. We saw posters asking young men to serve in the German forces; and these existed in every country. M. Faure stated yesterday that these unfortunate wretches who had served in the various legions must, in spite of their guilt, be considered to a great extent as victims of the Nazi system. In this way, German propaganda, in attacking simultaneously the genius of a nation and the most intimate sentiments of its people, committed a crime against the spirit; and that is something which, according to the quotation used by M. Dubost in his peroration, cannot be pardoned. Publicity may be permitted, by all means, but publicity must remain within limits.
M. SERGE FUSTER (Assistant Prosecutor for the French Republic): It must have some respect for persons, laws, and morality. Guarantees for the protection of the individual exist in every country; there are laws against libel, against defamation; but in international matters, German propaganda had an unlimited field, without restrictions or penalties, at least until the day when this Tribunal was established to judge it. That is why it seemed to us a useful and necessary duty to submit to this Tribunal one or two practical illustrations. We did not choose the best-known examples, but rather those which were most genuinely characteristic of the excesses and extremes of this propaganda. First of all, we are going to show a very short extract from a very specialized film directed against Freemasonry, which was imposed by the Germans in the manner explained in the brief. The film in itself is of no interest, but it contains pictures illustrating the crude campaign of lies in which the Germans indulged in France. As it is a very short film and will be shown very rapidly-we cannot slow it down on account of technical difficulties-I should like before showing it to draw attention to the Tribunal to the two kinds of pictures which will follow one another without transition: First you will see a map of the world. This map will be rapidly covered by a color indicating the influence of the Jews and the Freemasons, except for the two victorious islands, the Nazi-fascist bloc in Europe, on the one hand, and Japan on the other. We give this picture to show the degree of crude simplicity arrived at by Nazi propaganda and how it submitted to the people the most stupid and misleading formulas. An even worse example of calumny follows the portrait of President Roosevelt with the heading, "Brother Roosevelt Wants War." This is all we have taken from the film. It will now be shown. Mr. Abbett, you can begin.