dtufail/nuremberg-trials-corpus huggingface dataset:
COL. POKROVSKY: You will find the special note on Page 19 of the document book: "If the ration for non-Soviet prisoners of war is reduced, the ration for Soviet prisoners of war must be lowered accordingly." But even these starvation rations, which could not sustain the life of an adult person, more often than not existed only on paper. I present another document to the Tribunal as Exhibit Number USSR-177 (Document Number USSR-177)...
THE PRESIDENT: Colonel Pokrovsky, I do not think it matters very much, but when you said "0 percent" in regard to meat, when you were dealing with the percentage, was that correct? Because in setting out the amount of food which they were allowed, or were supposed to be allowed, there was 400 grams of meat for ordinary men and 600 grams of meat for other men doing special work, and I do not see how 400 grams can be 0 percent of the ration allowed to other non-Soviet prisoners.
COL. POKROVSKY: You are quite right, Sir. I have the same figures here, but there is no contradiction here at all. I am reporting to the Tribunal now that there were several directives, and the first one appears to be the best for the Soviet prisoners of war. It states that 400 grams of meat was the ration. The next directive, which established the percentage of food supply for the Soviet prisoners of war and others, shows D percent. As far as I understand it, if there was not meat for all of the prisoners of war, the Soviet prisoners would not receive any meat at all.
THE PRESIDENT: I see. Then you say that the words '`on the basis of their own estimates" are referring to some estimates other than the estimate which you give. It does not matter about that, but I understand you to say that there are other estimates which show they did not give them anything. Please proceed.
COL. POKROVSKY: You are quite right, Sir. I present to the Tribunal one more document dealing with the same question. That is Exhibit Number USSR-177. You will find it on Page 21 of your document book. This is a record of a conference of the Reich Ministry of Food (REM) under the direction of State Secretary Backe and Ministerial Director Mortise. The document is dated 24 November 1941, 1630 hours. Among those who took part in the conference were representatives of various departments, in particular General Reinecke-probably the Tribunal will remember that it was Reinecke who headed that particular phase of the work dealing with the prisoners of war-and Ministerial Director Mansfeld. The subject under discussion was the supply of food to Russian prisoners of war and civilian workers. I quote-Page 21 of your document book: "1. Types of food. "Attempts to produce a special Russian bread have proved that a useful mixture consists of 50 percent rye bran, 20 percent residue of sugar beet, 20 percent cellulose flour and 10 percent flour made of straw or leaves. "Meat not usually employed for human consumption can never sufficiently satisfy a demand for meat. Russians must, therefore, be fed entirely on horse flesh and on the meat of animals which had not been adequately slaughtered and which, at present, is issued in double quantities on the ration cards. "With the present technique of fat production, inferior fats no longer exist; the Russian will, therefore, receive good edible fats." ~ These derisive words can scarcely pass unnoticed.
COL. POKROVSKY: Russian prisoners of war, who had been receiving "meat not usually employed for human consumption," were now receiving on their starvation rations only "meat which is today issued in double quantities on ration cards"; and instead of fats they were to get certain substances which can only be used for food because of "the present technique of the fat production." And these products are called "good edible fats." The second part of the document is entitled "Rations." I quote; the part being cited by me is on Pages 21 and 22 in your document book: "Since there is a great discrepancy among the estimates of the present experts of the Health Administration, the Reich Office of Public Health, and the Army Medical Inspectorate as to the necessary caloric requirements, a final decision concerning the ration will be made in the course of the week by a smaller circle of experts. Seven days of flour soup as a transition diet and cancellation of the words 'without work' are from now on decreed for such Russians as are at present in German camps. "III. me number of Russians whom the Reich Ministry of Supply can supply with food." I should note here that this sentence means, "The number of Russians whom the Reich Ministry of Food (REM) can provide has now been established." "State Secretary Backe was noncommittal in answer to persistent questioning by General Reinecke and Ministerial Director Mansfeld." It seems to me useful to point out that there is on the document a note in pencil to the effect that: "It is requested to follow up the matter of the rations because State Secretary Backe is, apparently, beginning to lose his nerve." The signature is illegible. It seems to me that this note vividly discloses the arguments that were going on over establishing a norm. Not by accident does it speak here of the wide discrepancy in the estimates concerning necessary caloric requirements of the experts of the Reich Health Administration and the Army Medical Inspectorate.
COL. POKROVSKY: As the Tribunal will remember, the witness Blaha testified in reply to my questions that almost all prisoners of war who died of starvation in the Dachau Camp were men of the Red Army. I shall submit evidence showing that the Dachau Camp was not an exception in that respect. On 27 April 1942 the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the U.S.S.R. was forced to submit a new note. I present this note in our exhibit under Number USSR-51 (Document Number USSR-51). You will find the place I am referring to on Page 13 in your document book where it is marked in red pencil for your convenience. I quote: "The Soviet Government now has at its disposal many hundreds of new documents confirming the bloody crimes committed against Soviet prisoners of war, dealt with in the note of the Government of the U.S.S.R. dated 25 November 1941. "It has been incontrovertibly established that the German Command, desiring to take revenge for the defeats inflicted on its army in the last few months, has everywhere introduced the practice of physical extermination of Soviet prisoners of war. "Along the entire length of the front, from the Arctic to the Black Sea, bodies of slain Soviet war prisoners and tortured war prisoners have been discovered. In almost every case these corpses bear traces of the horrible torture which precedes murder. In dugouts from which Red Army troops have driven the Germans, in fortifications, and also in populated centers, bodies of Soviet prisoners are found who have been murdered after savage torture. Facts like the following, recorded in affidavits signed by eye witnesses, are being uncovered with increasing 'frequency. "On 2 and 6 March 1942, on the Crimean front, in the Lilly region at 66.3, village of Jantora, the bodies of nine Red Army men who had been taken prisoner were found so - brutally tortured by the fascists that only two of the corpses could be identified.
COL. POKROVSKY: The nails had been drawn from the fingers of the tortured prisoners of war, their eyes had been gouged out and the right breast of one corpse had been completely cut out; there were traces of torture by fire, numerous knife wounds, and broken jaws. "In Theodosia scores of bodies of tortured Azerbaijanian Red Army men were found. Among them were Ismail-Zadch Jafarov, whose eyes had been gouged out and ears slashed off by the Hitlerites; Kuli-Zadch Alibekov, whose arms had been dislocated by the Hitlerites, after which he had been bayonetted; Corporal All Ogly Islom-Mahmed, whose stomach had been ripped open by the Hitlerites; Mustafa Ogly Asherov, who had been bound to a post with wire and died of his wounds in this position." And then, in the same note, is cited: "In the village of Krasnaperovo, (Smolensk region) attacking units of the Red Army found 29 dead and two naked bodies of captured Red Army men and officers, none of whom had a single bullet wound. All the prisoners had been knifed to death. In the same district, in the village of Babaevo, the Hitlerites placed 58 captive Red Army men and two women ambulance workers in a haystack and then set fire to the hay. When the people who had been doomed to death attempted to escape from the flames, the Germans shot them. "In the village of Kuleshovka, the Germans captured 16 severely wounded men and officers, stripped the prisoners, tore the dressings from their wounds, tormented them with hunger, stabbed them with bayonets, broke their arms, tore open their wounds, and subjected them to other tortures, after which those who were still alive were locked up in a house, which was then set on fire. "In the village of Strenevo of the Kalinin region, the Germans locked 50 wounded captive Red Army men in a school building and burnt them to death. "In the town of Volokolamsk the invaders forbade Red Army men who had been locked on the fifth floor of house Number 3/6 Proleterskaja Street to leave the house when a fire broke out. Those who attempted to leave or to jump from the windows were shot.
COL. POKROVSKY: Sixty prisoners perished in the flames or were killed by bullets. "In the village of Popovka (Tula region), the Germans drove 140 captive Red Army men into a barn and set fire to it. Ninety five perished in the flames. Six kilometers from Pegostye Station, in the Leningrad region, the Germans, in the course of their retreat, under pressure of the Red Army troops, used explosive bullets to kill over 150 Soviet war prisoners after frightful beatings and savage torture. On most of the bodies the ears had been slashed off, the eyes gouged out, and the fingers chopped off, while several had had one or both hands hacked off and their tongues torn out. Stars had been cut out on the backs of three Red Army men. Not long before the liberation of the town of Kondrovo, Smolensk region, by units of the Red Army in December 1941, the Germans executed over 200 Red Army prisoners of war whom they had taken through the city, naked and barefoot, to the outskirts, shooting on the spot those who were exhausted and unable to walk any further, as well as those local citizens who gave them bread on their way through the city."
THE PRESIDENT: We will adjourn now for 10 minutes. [A recess was taken.]
COL. POKROVSKY: In their desire to exterminate as many Soviet prisoners of war as possible, the Nazi conspirators excelled themselves by inventing newer and ever newer methods of extermination. The note states: "Of late a number of new cases have been established in which the German Command made use of Soviet war prisoners for clearing mine fields and for other hazardous work. Thus, in the district of the villages of Bolshaja and Malaja Vloya, for 4 days the Germans drove scores of prisoners lined up in close ranks, back and forth over a mine field. Every day several prisoners were blown to pieces by mines. Provision is made for this method of killing prisoners in the orders of the German Command. Order Number 109 to the 203rd Infantry Regiment states: " 'General Field Marshal Rundstedt, Commander-in-Chief of the Army, has ordered that apart from military operations, the search for mines and the clearing of mine fields be done by Russian prisoners, with a view to sparing German blood. This also refers to German mines.' " The marauding mentioned in the previous note is regarded not only as something possible, but is proclaimed as obligatory to all the soldiers of the German Army. The People's Commissar refers to the following documents issued by the German Command, in stressing the fact that this marauding, done in wintertime, doomed the Red Army men to freeze to death: "An order of the Staff of the 88th Regiment of the 34th German Infantry Division, headed 'Situation with Respect to Clothing,' imposed: 'Boots should be removed from Russian prisoners of war without hesitation.' "That this order is not an accidental one is seen from the fact that even before the perfidious attack on the U.S.S.R., the German Command provided for recourse to this system of supplying its troops.
COL. POKROVSKY: "Among the documents of the 234th Infantry Regiment of the 56th Division, a circular was found numbered 121/4 and dated 6 June 1941, bearing the heading, 'On the Principles of Supply in the Eastern Areas.' This circular states on Page 8: " 'You must not count on being furnished clothing. Therefore it is particularly important to remove serviceable boots from prisoners of war and to make immediate use of all suitable clothing, underwear, socks, et cetera.' " The note points out: "The Germans, with a view to exterminating Soviet prisoners of war, deprived them of food, condemned them to slow starvation and in some cases used a bad quality food. Soviet authorities have in their possession Order Number 202 of the Staff of the above mentioned 88th Regiment, which states: " 'Carcasses of Horses will serve as food for Russian prisoners of war. Such points where carcasses of horses have been dumped are designated by signs. They can be found along the highways in Malo-Yaroslavets and in the villages of Romanovo and Beloussovo.' "Order Number 166/41 to the 60th Motorized Infantry Division is quite outspoken in demanding the mass murder of Soviet prisoners of war. This order states: " 'Russian soldiers and noncommissioned officers are extremely courageous in battle. Even small isolated units are always ready to attack. Therefore no humane attitude towards the prisoners is permissible. The destruction of the enemy by fire or by cold steel must be continued until he is rendered completely harmless....' "The regulations issued by the German Command on the treatment of Soviet war prisoners, under Number 1/3058, contain the following instructions: " 'At the slightest sign of insubordination energetic and direct action must be taken. Arms must be used ruthlessly. Bludgeons, canes, and whips must not be used. Leniency, even towards obedient and hard-working prisoners only indicates weakness and must not be indulged in."'-from Point 2. " 'At work the distance to the prisoner must always be such as to permit of immediate recourse to arms.' "-from Point 3.
COL. POKROVSKY: "All this proved to be insufficient. The Order of the High Command of the German Army, dated 14 January 1942 and issued in the name of Hitler as Commander-in-Chief, states" -Paragraph 2: " 'All clemency or humaneness towards prisoners of war is strictly condemned. A German soldier must always make his prisoner feel his superiority.... Every delay in resorting to arms against a war prisoner harbors danger. The Commander-in-Chief of the Army hopes that these directions will be fully carried out ' "The Soviet Government continues to receive reliable information on the condition of captive Red Army men in the German-occupied territories of the U.S.S.R. as well as in the German rear, and in the German-occupied European countries. This information testifies to the further deterioration of the regime instituted for captive Red Army men, and that they are particularly bad off in comparison with the war prisoners of other countries. It further testifies to the mass dying of Soviet prisoners of war from starvation and illness, from foul indignities end broody cruelly systematically applied to the Red Army men by the Hitlerite authorities who have long since violated the most elementary requirements of international law and human ethics." The note specially stresses the fact that the inhuman atrocities and the cruelty perpetrated by the German fascist gangsters against the Soviet war prisoners exceed the atrocities of Genghis Dhenghis Khan, Baty, and Mamay. In spite of that the note, which you will find on Page 14 of the document book, states: ". . . In spite of all that, the Soviet Government, true to the principles of humanity and respect for its international obligations, has no intention, even in the given circumstances, of applying retaliatory repressive measures against German prisoners of war, and continues, as heretofore, to observe the obligations undertaken by the Soviet Union with regard to the regime for war prisoners specified by the Hague Convention of 1907, which.
COL. POKROVSKY: was likewise signed but so perfidiously violated in every one of its points by Germany." Later I shall quote a document written by a group of German prisoners of war. The authors of the document, on one hand, by a series of new facts, have added to the number of atrocities committed by the conspirators against the Soviet war prisoners; and on the other hand, they have confirmed that the Soviet Command is true to the principle of humanity in its attitude towards the German captives. The military victory of the democratic powers opened the innermost secrets of Hitler's archives. Along with a large number of documents that raise the curtain on the criminal plans of the conspirators, we have also obtained a wide opportunity of interrogating living witnesses. A whole series of questions become finally clear as, and when, the witnesses' depositions are being cross-checked with the documentary archives. Much new evidence has also been received by us on the subject of the crimes against the prisoners of war. Some information with regard to the criminal Hitlerite practice of exterminating the Soviet prisoners of war appeared as of 27 April 1942, in the official communication of V. M. Molotov, People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs in the U.S.S.R. I shall here prove that this crime was part of the general conspiracy and was planned in advance of the aggressive war against the Soviet Union. The Tribunal will see that the regime for war prisoners was really the sum total of diverse methods for their extermination. Let us turn to the testimony of the witnesses. The former Chief of Staff of the OKH, Franz Halder, interrogated on 31 October 1945, testified-I submit to the Tribunal an excerpt from this document, Exhibit Number USSR-341 (Document Number USSR-341): "Witness: 'Prior to the attack on Russia, the Fuehrer called a conference of all the commanders and persons connected with the Supreme Command on the question of the forthcoming attack on Russia. I cannot recall the exact date of this conference.
COL. POKROVSKY: I no longer know whether it took place before or after the invasion of Yugoslavia. At this conference the Fuehrer stated that the methods used in the war against the Russians will have to be different from those used in the war against the West.' " I beg your pardon, I have forgotten to tell you that the place which I quoted from was on Page 24 of your document book. "Investigating Officer: What else did he say?' "Witness: 'He said that the struggle between Russia and Germany is a Russian struggle. He stated that since the Russians were not signatories to the Hague Convention, the treatment of their prisoners of war does not have to follow the articles of the Convention.' "
DR. NELTE: Your Honor, Generaloberst Halder is in the military prison here at Nuremberg, and he is a very important witness not only to the testimony at hand but also in general And I believe, according to our principles, which have been formulated by the High Tribunal in connection with Article 21 of the Charter , it might be important to hear this witness personally rather than use written testimony; and I ask the Tribunal to decide this question.
THE PRESIDENT: Colonel Pokrovsky, did you wish to make any answer to Dr. Nelte's request?
COL. POKROVSKY: With the permission of the Tribunal, I will submit to him my consideration in this case. The testimony of Halder is of importance to us in one respect only, namely, that he states the fact of a special conference called by Hitler before the war; a conference at which the question of the treatment of Russian prisoners of war attracted particular attention. This fact also finds confirmation in other testimonies which were submitted by us to this Tribunal; and, therefore, I think that there is no reason and no need for examining this witness, since this interrogation may cause further delay as it will refer to this question only and the German Defense Counsel may ask unnecessary questions. In case the German Defense Counsel would consider it advisable to request the Tribunal to bring witness Halder here for cross-examination, it should be proper for the Defense to submit to the Tribunal, in accordance with established procedure, an application and explain for what reason it wants to cross-examine Witness Halder. The Tribunal would then have occasion to discuss this application and to grant it should they deem it proper to do so. That is all I wanted to point out concerning this question. [There was a pause in the proceedings while the Judges conferred.]
THE PRESIDENT: The Tribunal considers that if the interrogation of General Halder is to be used, and it has been used, that General Halder must be brought for cross-examination, provided it is true that he is in Nuremberg. When a witness is called he is liable to cross-examination and the only reason for allowing interrogations to be used is on account of the difficulty of bringing witnesses to Nuremberg. Therefore, if an interrogation is allowed to be used and the witness is in Nuremberg, the witness must be produced for cross-examination. I mean, of course, at a time which is convenient to Counsel. Colonel Pokrovsky, if this witness, General Halder, is in Nuremberg, you will have him brought here at a time which is convenient to you during the presentation of your case.
COL. POKROVSKY: With the permission of the Court, we will finally find out where Halder is at the present time and, if he is really in Nuremberg, he will be produced as a witness.
THE PRESIDENT: Very well.
COL. POKROVSKY: We must here note a common fascist lie. Hitler was intentionally misrepresenting facts. That the Soviet Union had pledged to follow the statutes of the Hague Convention is generally known. Even the criminal code of the Soviet Union provides for the defense of the rights of prisoners of war, in accordance with international law, and those guilty of violations are considered criminally responsible. The note of the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs in the U.S.S.R., Mr. V. M. Molotov, on 27 April 1942, once again mentions the obligations of the Hague Convention which the Soviet Union had pledged to follow. To that note I have already referred. Continuing, I shall again quote from Halder's deposition concerning Hitler's speech. You will find it on Page 24: "Furthermore, he"-Hitler-"said that in view of the political level of the Russian troops"-at this point several dots follow in the original-"to be brief-he said that the so-called commissars should not be considered prisoners of war." It is impossible not to remark here that, owing to the superior political consciousness of the Red Army soldiers, the Hitlerites saw a commissar or a communist in almost every prisoner of war. Then there is recorded the following question of the investigating officer and the reply to it: "Investigating Officer: 'Did the Fuehrer say anything about an order which should be issued on the subject?' "Witness: 'What I have just said was his order. He said that he wanted it carried out even if no written order followed.' " After Halder's deposition, in the document book on your table, there is an extract from the deposition of the former Deputy Chief of the Operations Section of OKW headquarters, General Warlimont, dated 12 November 1945. He teas testifying on oath before Lieutenant Colonel Hinkel of the American Army. This document is the result of work accomplished by our American colleagues. The American Prosecution has kindly placed this document at our disposal, which we in turn submit to the Tribunal as Exhibit Number USSR-263(a) (Document Number USSR-263(a)).