dtufail/nuremberg-trials-corpus huggingface dataset:
DR. MERKEL: The executive officials, numbering approximately 15,000 men, therefore constituted only 20 percent of the total strength. If we deduct from that the 5 or 6 thousand men belonging to the Counter-Intelligence and Frontier Police, there remain 9 or 10 thousand executives, or 12 to 13 percent of the total strength. I believe I have already advanced sufficient reasons as to why the Gestapo, as a subordinate part of the State organism, cannot be sentenced at all, for reasons which are based both on natural law and on the general national law of all peoples. But even if those legal objections did not exist, no sentence could be pronounced, as the characteristics of criminality as defined by Mr. Justice Jackson on 28 February,1946 do not appear in the case of the Gestapo. And even if this argument were not valid, I ask: Is it possible that, simply because some of its members may possibly be held responsible for the commission of crimes, an organization as such can be declared criminal, including also those members who certainly did not act in a criminal manner and had no knowledge of the criminal acts of others? I am referring to the summary of affidavits given by a large number of former members of the Gestapo who are at present in internment camps. I must also draw your attention to the numerous acts, sworn to in those affidavits, which aimed at sabotaging certain evil orders issued by the head of the State. If I turn now, in anticipation of an argument, to the question of a limited period of time, I can be more brief. The Gestapo cannot be described as being under unified leadership throughout the Reich; and hence of having a unified will-at least up to the time of Himmler's appointment as Deputy Chief of the Prussian Secret State Police, that is, up to the spring of 1934. In Prussia Ministerialrat Diels had acted, with one short interruption, as substitute head of the Secret State Police under G6ring. It is impossible to connect Diels with the illegal tendencies which became apparent after the outbreak of the National Socialist Revolution.
DR. MERKEL: I can refrain-and owing to pressure of time I must refrain-from pointing to those wh`6 were really guilty of those excesses; compare Affidavit Number 41. As a State institution the Gestapo had no part in the events of June 1934. In the following period up to 9 November 1938, the Gestapo did not play any role which could justify the charge of criminality. The arrest of 20,000 Jews which the Gestapo was ordered to carry out was, as-the witness Best testified, a matter outside the competency of the Police. It is therefore impossible to fix that date -as the beginning of the criminal activity of the Gestapo. It must be stated that up to the beginning of the war at least the criminal character of the Gestapo cannot be proven. Does the basis of judgment change for the period covered by the war? I have already stated that the activities of the Einsatzgruppen and Sipo offices in the occupied territories cannot be charged to the Gestapo, since leadership, organization,, personnel, and order of command of those offices do not permit discrimination against the Gestapo. There is not the slightest doubt that if the Gestapo is found guilty, considerable restrictions as to period of time must be taken into account. I have indicated briefly the almost insurmountable nature of the difficulties in the way of a time limitation. And with this, Gentlemen of the High Tribunal, I end my remarks on the Indictment of the Gestapo. I have not considered it my duty to excuse crimes and evil deeds or to whitewash those who disregarded the laws of humanity. But I desire to save those who are innocent; I desire to clear the way for a sentence which will dethrone the powers of darkness and reconstitute the moral order of the world. If we glance through the annals of European history in recent decades and centuries, we read again and again how might conquered right among the nations, -and how the spirit of revenge beclouded the perceptions of mankind. Peace was concluded only on paper; it was not accepted by the human heart. Solemn pacts were made-only to, be broken.
DR. MERKEL: Promises were given and not kept. We read, in this book of revolutions among the nations, of economic need and of unspeakable sorrow. The last pages of this book, however, are written in blood the blood of millions of innocent people. They portray unimaginable cruelties, utter disregard of the sacred laws of humanity, and mass murders which brought suffering to the peoples of Europe. With your judgment, Gentlemen of the High Tribunal, you will write the last chapter of this book-a chapter which must be the end and the beginning; the end because it closes the gruesome battle fought by the powers of darkness against the moral order of the world the beginning because it is to lead us to a new world of freedom and justice. This justice, I hope, will inspire the judgment with the spirit of the words engraved in golden letters on the floor of the Palace of Peace in The Hague: Sol justitiae illustra nos! Do not, therefore, make your judgment merely with the cold logic of your keen mind, but also with the warm love of a seeing heart. This applies especially to the judgment against the organizations; for a condemnation must be unjust, since among the millions whom it affects there are millions who are guiltless. They would all become victims of desperation; they would all be despised and damned, and would perhaps even deem those happy who now rest in their graves as victims of National Socialism. The present world needs peace-nothing but peace. To extend the consequences of a judgment to a large guiltless section of the German people would be to work against world peace, which, in any event, rests on an unstable basis, and would thereby mutatis mutandis repeat Hitler's idea of punishing a people-the Jewish people-collectively, and of exterminating them. Out of this injustice against the laws of God and of Nature was born the indignation of the creature thus tortured, and the right to have the evildoers called to account. Hitler and his regime proved the truth of the words: Hodie mihi, cras tibi.
DR. MERKEL: From the history of the Jews in the Old Testament we know that God would not have destroyed the city of Sodom, had but one just man lived there. Is not God's truth contained in these words-that a group may not be punished if even one member of the group is not deserving of punishment? Then, Gentlemen of the High Tribunal, place your signatures under a judgment which will bear the scrutiny of history and mankind; place your signature under a verdict which will be praised as the beginning of a new era of Justice and of Peace-and which will form a golden bridge leading to a better and a happier future! [The Tribunal adjourned until 26 August 1946 at 1000 hours.]
COL. POKROVSKY: Mr. President, would you allow me to inform the Tribunal that in conformity with the ruling given by the Tribunal during the morning session of 12 August 1946 concerning the witness Schreiber, this witness has been brought to Nuremberg and is here and can be examined today or at any other time, as the Tribunal may decide.
THE PRESIDENT: Colonel Pokrovsky, could he be examine6 now, at once?
COL. POKROVSKY: He could be examined at once, Mr. President.
THE PRESIDENT: I think that would be the most convenient, before we go on with the organizations' speeches.
COL. POKROVSKY: Very well, Mr. President; General Alexandrov will therefore examine him at once.
DR. LATERNSER: Mr. President, I object to the examination of this witness for the following reasons: for the trial of the organizations it was decided by the Court that all witnesses should first be examined before the Commission. What is valid for the Defense must, according to general legal principles, be valid for the Prosecution as well. For these reasons the examination of this witness is inadmissible.
THE PRESIDENT: I have before me the order of the Court o the 12th of August 1946, which is termed as follows: "With reference to the objection of Dr. Laternser to the use of the statement made by Major General Walter Schreiber, the Tribunal is not inclined to admit any evidence so late as this, or to reopen questions which have been gone into fully before the Tribunal; but, on the other hand, in view of the importance of the statement of Major General Schreiber and its particular relevance, not only to the case of certain of the individual defendants but also, to the case of the High Command, the Tribunal will allow Major General Schreiber to be heard as a witness if he is produced before the end of the hearing of the case. Otherwise no use can be made of this statement." Dr. Laternser's present objection is, therefore, overruled. [The witness Schreiber took the stand.]
THE PRESIDENT: Will you state your full name, please?
WALTE R. SCHREIBER (Witness): Walter Schreiber.
THE PRESIDENT: Will you repeat this oath after me: I swear by God-the Almighty and Omniscient-that I will speak the pure truth-and will withhold land add nothing. [The witness repeated the oath.]
THE PRESIDENT: You may sit down.
MAJOR GENERAL ALEXANDROV: Witness, will you kindly give the Tribunal some brief particulars about yourself, about your career, and about your scientific and educational activities?
SCHREIBER: I am 53 years of age. I was born in Berlin and am a Professor of Medicine. I studied medicine at the Universities of Berlin, Tubingen, and Greifswald. I passed the State medical examination at Greifswald in 1920. 1 received my degree and was made a Doctor of Medicine. In 1940 1 became teacher of Hygiene and Bacteriology at the University of Berlin and in 1942 Professor at the Military Medical Academy. I have been an active military physician since 1921. 1 have held various positions as a garrison physician, and have been a division physician since 1929, although I only did scientific work as a hygienist and bacteriologist. I carried out my work as a scientist and a professor at the Universities of Berlin and Freiburg in Breisgau. After 1929 1 was first in Freiburg, later hygienist at the Wehrkreiskommando, in Berlin, and finally during the second World War hygienist and bacteriologist at the headquarters of the High Command of the Army. I then became section chief in the High Command of the Army and was in charge of the science and health departments in the Army Medical Inspectorate and finally head of the Scientific Department, Group C, of the Military Medical Academy. In this capacity I was in charge of the scientific institutes of the Academy in Berlin.
MAJOR GENERAL ALEXANDROV: What was the last military rank you, held, and what position did you occupy in the German Army?
SCHREIBER: I was Generalarzt, that is Major General in the Medical Service. My last position was that of medical officer in charge of the military and civilian sector of Berlin, but only from 20 to 3,0 April 1945.
MAJOR GENERAL ALEXANDROV: When and in what circumstances were you taken prisoner by the Soviet Army?
SCHREIBER: On 30 April I was in the large hospital in the air-raid shelter of the Reichstag building in Berlin. Since most of the city of Berlin was already in the hands of the Russian troops, there was no more supervisory work for me to do. I therefore opened a large military hospital there and took care of several hundred wounded.
MAJOR GENERAL ALEXANDROV: You are now going to be shown your statement of 10 April 1946, which you addressed to the Soviet Government. [A document was handed to the witness.]
MAJOR GENERAL ALEXANDROV: Do you remember that statement?
SCHREIBER: Yes; that is a report ... THE PRESIDENT [Interposing]: Wait a minute. General Alexandrov, the Tribunal would prefer that you should get the evidence orally and not by a document. Therefore, if you question him upon the subjects which are contained in it ...
MAJOR GENERAL ALEXANDROV: Mr. President, that is -what ... THE PRESIDENT [Interposing]: Wait a moment.
MAJOR GENERAL ALEXANDROV: That is what I was going to do.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, General, the Tribunal would prefer that you get the evidence from the witness and do not use the document. Go on.
MAJOR GENERAL ALEXANDROV: That is what I intend to do, Mr. President, but I wish to have the witness tell us about a few circumstances, in connection with this document.
THE PRESIDENT: Very well.
MAJOR GENERAL ALEXANDROV: The substance will be obtained orally from the witness. [Turning to the witness.] Do you confirm the facts set forth in that statement?
SCHREIBER: Yes, I confirm them.
MAJOR GENERAL ALEXANDROV: What was the reason for your making the statement to the Soviet Government?
SCHREIBER: In the second World War things occurred on the German side which were against the unchangeable laws of medical ethics. In the interests of the German people, of medical science in Germany, and the training of the younger generation of physicians in the future, I consider it necessary that these things should be thoroughly cleared up. The matters in question are the preparations for bacteriological warfare, and they give rise to epidemics and experiments on human beings.
MAJOR GENERAL ALEXANDROV: Why did you make this statement only on 10 April 1946 and not before that date?
SCHREIBER: I had to wait and see whether this Court itself might not raise the question of bacteriological warfare. When I saw that it did not raise this question I decided in April to make this statement.
MAJOR GENERAL ALEXANDROV: Thus, as a prisoner of war, you had the opportunity of following the Trial at Nuremberg?
SCHREIBER: Yes, in the prison camp German newspapers were available in the club room. In addition, there was the Prisoner-of-War News printed in Soviet Russia, which reported regularly on the Trial.
MAJOR GENERAL ALEXANDROV: Witness, will you kindly tell us what you know about the preparations by the German High Command for bacteriological warfare?
SCHREIBER: In July 1943, the High Command of the Wehrmacht called a secret conference, in which I took part as representative of the Army Medical Inspectorate. This conference took place in the rooms of the General Wehrmacht Office in Berlin, in the Bendler Strasse, and was presided over by the Chief of Staff of the General Wehrmacht Office, a colonel. I do not remember the name of this colonel. The colonel said by way of introduction that as a result of the war situation the High Command authorities now had to take a different view of the question of the use of bacteria as a weapon in warfare from the one held up till now by the Army Medical Inspectorate. Consequently, the Fuehrer, Adolf Hitler, had charged Reich Marshal Hermann Goering to direct the carrying out of all preparations for bacteriological warfare, and had given him the necessary powers. A bacteriological warfare group was formed at this meeting. The members of this group were essentially the same gentlemen who had been taking part in the conference, that is, Ministerial Director Professor Schuhmann of the science section of the Army Armaments Office; Ministerial Councillor Stantin of the Army Armaments Office, Weapons Examination Section; Veterinary General Professor Richter, as representative of the Veterinary Inspectorate, and another younger veterinary officer of the Army Veterinary Inspectorate; and from the Army Medical Inspectorate, Chief Medical Officer Klieve; the latter only as an observer, however. In addition, there was a staff officer of the Luftwaffe as representative of the High Command of the Luftwaffe, a staff officer of the Armaments Office as its representative, a well-known zoologist, and a botanist. But I do not know the names of these gentlemen. At a secret conference it was decided that an institute should be created for the production of bacterial cultures on a large scale, and the carrying out of scientific experiments to examine the possibilities of using bacteria.
SCHREIBER: The institute was also to be used for experim6nting with pests which could be used against domestic animals and crops, and which were to be made available if they were found practicable. That is the substance of what was discussed at the conference in July 1943.
MAJOR GENERAL ALEXANDROV: And what was done after that? What do you know about that?
SCHREIBER: A few days later, I learned from the Chief of Staff of the Army Medical Inspectorate, Generalarzt Schmidt-Bruecken, who was my direct superior, that Reich Marshal Goering had appointed the Deputy Chief of the Reich Physicians' League, Blome, to carry out the work, and had told him to found the institute as quickly as possible in or near Posen. Among the people who worked at this institute in Posen were Ministerialdirektor Schuhmann, Ministerial Councillor Stantin, and a number of other doctors and scientists whom I do not know. I myself made a report of this secret conference on the same day to the Chief of Staff, and a few days later to the Army Medical Inspector, Generaloberstabsarzt Professor Handloser, since he was not in Berlin at the time. MAJOR GENERAL ALEXANDROV, And what do you know about the experiments which were being carried out for the purpose of bacteriological warfare?
SCHREIBER: Experiments were carried out at the institute in Posen. I do not know any details about them. I only know that aircraft were used for spraying tests with bacteria emulsion, and that insects harmful to plants, such as beetles, were experimented with, but I cannot give any details. I did not make experiments myself and do not know any details.
MAJOR GENERAL ALEXANDROV: You testified that the first secret conference devoted to these questions was presided over by a colonel belonging to the General Staff of the OKW. In whose name did he do so?
SCHREIBER: In the name of Field Marshal Keitel and the chief of- the General Wehrmacht Office, General Reinecke.
MAJOR GENERAL ALEXANDROV: Who ordered you to take part in this conference?
SCHREIBER: The Chief of Staff, Generalarzt Schmidt-Bruecken, commissioned me to attend. 2G AU9. 46
MAJOR GENERAL ALEXANDROV: Was the Army High Command informed about it and did they know about the preparations for bacteriological warfare?
SCHREIBER: I assume so, for Generaloberstabsarzt Handloser, the medical chief, to whom I had reported the results of the conference was, in his capacity as army physician, that is, as Chief Medical Officer of the Army, directly subordinate to the Chief of the General Staff of the Field Army and had to report to him about it.
MAJOR GENERAL ALEXANDROV: What do you know about the participation of the Defendant Jodl in the carrying out of these measures?
SCHREIBER: I know nothing about any co-operation by Generaloberst Jodl.
MAJOR GENERAL ALEXANDROV: Will you kindly tell us precisely what the reason was for the decision of the OKW to prepare for bacteriological warfare?
SCHREIBER: That was implied by the words of the president of the secret conference. The defeat at Stalingrad which, in contrast to the heavy fighting around Moscow in the winter of 1941 to 1942, was a severe blow for Germany, inevitably led to a reassessment of the situation, and consequently to new decisions. It was no doubt considered whether new weapons could be used which might still turn the tide of war in our favor.
MAJOR GENERAL ALEXANDROV: How do you explain that the German High Command did not put into effect these plans for the waging of bacteriological warfare?
SCHREIBER: The High Command probably did not carry out the plans for the following reasons: in March 1945, Professor Blome visited me at my office at the Military Medical Academy. He had come from Posen and was very excited. He asked me whether I could accommodate him and his men in the laboratories at Sachsenburg so that they could continue their work there; he had been forced out of his institute at Posen by the advance of the Red Army. He had had to flee from the institute and he had not even been able to blow it up. He was very worried at the f act that the installations for experiments on human beings at this institute, the purpose of which was obvious, might be easily recognized by the Russians for what they were. He had tried to have the institute destroyed by a Stuka bomb but that, too, was not possible. Therefore, he asked me to see to it that he be permitted to continue work at Sachsenburg on his plague cultures, which he had saved. I told Herr Blome that Sachsenburg was no longer under my command and for that reason I could not give him my consent, and I referred him to the Chief of the Army Medical Service, Generaloberstabsarzt Handloser. The next day Generaloberstabsarzt Handloser called me up and said that Blome had come to him and that he had an order from the Commander of the Reserve Army, Heinrich Himmler, and that on the strength of this order he was unfortunately compelled to give Blome a place in which to work at Sachsenburg. I took note of this but I had nothing more to do with it. Thus Blome had had to leave the Posen Institute. It is difficult to imagine what the work of such an institute entails. If one wants to cultivate plague bacteria on a large scale, one must have an adequate laboratory with appropriate precautionary measures. The personnel must be trained, for no German, not even an expert bacteriologist, has any experience with plague cultures. That takes time, and after its founding had been decreed a considerable interval elapsed before the institute at Posen began its work.
SCHREIBER: Now it had suffered a severe blow; it was to carry on at Sachsenburg. During his visit Blome told me that he could continue his work at an alternative laboratory in Thuringia, but that this was not yet completed. It would take a few days or even a few weeks to complete it, and that he had to have accommodation until then. He added that if the plague bacteria were to be used when the military operations were so near to the borders of Germany, when units of the Red Army were already on German soil, it would, of course, be necessary to provide special protection for the troops and the civilian population. A serum had to be produced. Here again time had been lost, and as a result of all these delays it had never been possible to put the idea into effect.
MAJOR GENERAL ALEXANDROV: Witness, will you kindly tell us now what you know about the illegal experiments carried out on human beings by German doctors?, I would ask you to testify very briefly as to, these questions, because they have already been sufficiently gone into in the Trial.
SCHREIBER: In the course of my duty I learned of a few things. In 1943, 1 believe it was in October, we had at the Military Medical Academy a scientific meeting of qualified doctors, so-called advisory doctors, and Obersturmbannfuehrer Dr. Ding lectured to the bacteriology section, which comprised about 30 gentlemen, on tests with typhus vaccine. The lecture showed that this Dr. Ding had inoculated prisoners with vaccines against typhus in the Buchenwald concentration camp, and that some while after, I do not know how long it was, he had artificially infected them with typhus by typhus-infected lice, and that according to whether these people contracted typhus or not, he based his conclusions on the protection which the vaccine had or had not given to the people in question. Since vaccines of various qualities had been given there were cases of death to be deplored.
MAJOR GENERAL ALEXANDROV: Now, what was the scientific value of the experiments carried out by this Dr. Ding?
SCHREIBER: In my opinion they had no scientific value at all. In the course of the war, we had gained much knowledge in this field by empirical means and collected a great deal of experience. We knew our vaccines very well, and there was no need for these further tests. A number of the vaccines with which Ding experimented were not used at all in the Wehrmacht and were rejected.
MAJOR GENERAL ALEXANDROV: Please continue your statements regarding this question.