Read Ebook: Trial of the Major War Criminals Before the International Military Tribunal Nuremburg 14 November 1945-1 October 1946 Volume 04 by Various

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Twenty-first Day, Monday, 17 December 1945, Morning Session 1 Afternoon Session 29

Twenty-second Day, Tuesday, 18 December 1945, Morning Session 66 Afternoon Session 99

Twenty-third Day, Wednesday, 19 December 1945, Morning Session 132 Afternoon Session 161

Twenty-fourth Day, Thursday, 20 December 1945, Morning Session 194 Afternoon Session 228

Twenty-fifth Day, Wednesday, 2 January 1946, Morning Session 253 Afternoon Session 286

Twenty-sixth Day, Thursday, 3 January 1946, Morning Session 308 Afternoon Session 340

Twenty-seventh Day, Friday, 4 January 1946, Morning Session 374 Afternoon Session 407

Twenty-eighth Day, Monday, 7 January 1946, Morning Session 440 Afternoon Session 475

Twenty-ninth Day, Tuesday, 8 January 1946, Morning Session 506 Afternoon Session 539

TWENTY-FIRST DAY Monday, 17 December 1945

THE PRESIDENT : I have four announcements to make on behalf of the Tribunal. I will read those announcements now and they will be posted upon the board in the defendants' counsel's Information Center in German as soon as possible.

The first announcement is this:

The attention of the Tribunal has been drawn to publications in the press of what appear to have been interviews with some of the defendants in this case, given through the agency of their counsel. The Tribunal considers it necessary to state with the greatest emphasis that this is a procedure which cannot and will not be countenanced. Therefore, counsel are warned that they should observe the highest professional standards in such matters and should not use the opportunity afforded to them of conferring freely with their clients to act in any way as intermediaries between the defendants and the press, and they must exercise the greatest professional discretion in making any statement on their own behalf.

The Tribunal recognizes that in a trial of this kind, where the public interest is world-wide, it is in the highest degree important that all those who take part in the trial in any capacity whatever should be aware of their responsibility to see that nothing is done to detract from the proper conduct of the proceedings.

The press of the world is rendering a very great service in giving publicity to the proceedings of the Tribunal, and the Tribunal feels that it may properly ask for the co-operation of all concerned to avoid anything which might conflict with the impartial administration of justice.

The second announcement that I have to make is this:

The Tribunal understands that the counsel appointed under Article 9 of the Charter are in doubt whether they have been appointed to represent the groups and organizations charged in the Indictment as criminal or to represent individual applicants who have applied to be heard under the said article.

The Tribunal directs that counsel represent the groups and organizations charged, and not the applicants. As the Tribunal has already directed, counsel will be entitled to call as witnesses representative applicants and may also call other persons whose attendance may be ordered by the Tribunal. Application to call any witness must be made in the ordinary way. The evidence of such witnesses and the arguments of counsel must be confined to the question of the criminal nature of the group or organization. Counsel will not be entitled to call evidence or to discuss any question as to the individual responsibility of particular applicants, except in so far as this may bear upon the criminal character of the organizations. Counsel will be permitted, as far as possible, to communicate with applicants in order to decide what witnesses they wish to apply to call.

The third announcement is this:

The Chief Prosecutor for the United States has requested the Tribunal to make a change in its formal order which provided that only such portions of documents which are read in court would be admitted as evidence. In order to meet the needs, so far as possible, of the members of the Tribunal, of the Prosecution, and of counsel for the defendants to have before them all the evidence in the case, the Tribunal, having carefully considered the request, makes the following order:

All documents may be filed in court. The Tribunal shall only admit in evidence, however:

This does not apply to the documents of which the Court will take judicial notice, in accordance with Article 21 of the Charter; and the Prosecution and the defendants will be at liberty to read those documents or to refer to them without reading them.

Trial briefs and document books may be furnished to the Tribunal if sufficient copies thereof are, at the same time, filed for Defense Counsel in the Information Center. As far as possible, these should be furnished in advance of their introduction in court. In order to permit the Interpretation and Translation Division to make translations in time, it is suggested that all documents be submitted to the division at least 5 days before they are to be offered in evidence.

This is the fourth announcement:

The Tribunal has passed upon a number of applications for witnesses. Some of these have been granted, subject to their evidence being relevant. Some have been declined. And in some cases orders have been made that the witness be alerted; that is to say, that if he can be located, he be advised to hold himself in readiness to come here as a witness, if the application is granted.

It is the desire of the Tribunal to secure for the defendants those witnesses who are material and relevant to their defense. To prevent the unnecessary prolonging of the Trial, however, it is clear that the witnesses whose testimony is irrelevant or merely cumulative should not be summoned. At the conclusion of the Prosecution's testimony, the Tribunal shall hear from defendants' counsel as to which of the witnesses granted or alerted they think necessary to bring here to testify. At that time, the Tribunal may hear from them further as to any witnesses that have been declined, if in view of the case, it then appears to the Tribunal that the testimony of such witnesses is material and not cumulative.

Counsel appearing for any defendant may question any other defendant as to any relevant matter, and may interrogate him as a witness for that purpose. If the other defendant takes the stand in his own behalf, the right shall be exercised at the conclusion of his testimony.

Examination of witnesses called by other defendants: The same person has been asked as a witness by a number of defendants in some cases. It is only necessary that such witness be called to the stand once. He may then be interrogated by counsel for any defendant as to any material matter.

That is all.

I call on counsel for the United States.

CAPTAIN SAMUEL HARRIS : May it please the Tribunal, we are resuming the presentation of evidence of the conspirators' plans for Germanization and spoliation.

The next general subject upon which we propose to introduce evidence is the conspirators' plans for the spoliation and Germanization of the Soviet Union.

As Mr. Alderman has shown, the invasion of the Soviet Union was the culmination of plans meticulously laid by the conspirators. We wish now to introduce evidence upon the conspirators' plans for the exploitation and Germanization of the Soviet Union after their anticipated conquest. The Chief Prosecutor for the Soviet Union will demonstrate what the execution of these plans meant in terms of human suffering and misery. We submit that the few exhibits which we propose to offer at this time will show the following:

a. As indicated under point 1, products from the south and southeast of the Soviet Union, which ordinarily were sent to the industrial regions of the north, were to be forcibly diverted to Germany. Moreover, all livestock in the industrial regions was to be seized for use by the Wehrmacht and the German civilian population. The necessary consequence was that the population of the northern regions would be reduced to starvation.

b. They established the following order of priority in which food produced by the Russians would be allocated:

First, the combat troops; second, the remainder of troops in enemy territory; third, troops stationed in Germany; fourth, the German civilian population; and lastly, the population of the occupied countries.

Thus even Russians in the food surplus area of the Ukraine, who were not essential to the production of products for the German war machine, were to be systematically starved.

I now turn to the specific items of proof.

I first offer in evidence Document Number EC-472, Exhibit Number USA-315. This document is offered for the particular purpose of showing the status and functions of the Economic Staff East, Group La. The exhibit which we shall next offer in evidence was prepared by this organization. Document Number EC-472 is a directive issued by Defendant G?ring's office for "The Operation of the Economy in the Newly Occupied Eastern Territories." It is the second edition and it is dated Berlin, July 1941. The first edition was obviously published some time before July 1941. The document was found among the captured OKW files at Fechenheim.

Under this directive, Defendant G?ring established the Economic Executive Staff East, which was directly responsible to him, and under it created the Economic Staff East. The Economic Staff East, in turn, was subdivided into four groups: The Chief of the Economic Staff, Group La, Group W, and Group M. I now quote from Page 2, lines 7-9 of the English text; in the German text it is at Page 7, lines 7-9. I quote:

"Group La. Sections for nutrition and agriculture, allotment of all agricultural products, provision of food supplies for the Army, in accordance with the competent army services."

I next offer in evidence Document Number EC-126, which is Exhibit Number USA-316. This is a report dated 23 May 1941, which was before the invasion of the Soviet Union. It was found among the captured files of the OKW. It is entitled, "Economic Policy Directives for Economic Organization East, Agricultural Group." It was prepared by the Economic Staff East, Group La, the Agricultural Group, which as shown by the exhibit introduced a moment ago, was an important part of the organization which Defendant G?ring established to formulate plans for the economic administration of Russia.

The underscoring in the English text merely reflects the underscoring in the original.

The document begins by a recitation of facts pertaining to the production of agricultural products in the Soviet Union. It states that the grain surplus of Russia is determined by the level of domestic consumption and that this fact affords the basis upon which the planners must predicate their actions and economic policy. I now quote from the sixth and seventh paragraphs of Page 2 of the English text. The German text is the last three lines of Page 3 and the first five lines of Page 4. I quote:

Next, I quote from the last 11 lines of Page 2 and all of Page 3 of the English text. The German text begins in the middle of line 6 of Page 5 and continues through to line 29 of Page 6. I quote:

"This"--the cessation of supplies--"means:

"1. All industry in the deficit area, particularly the manufacturing industries in the Moscow and Leningrad regions as well as the Ural industrial regions will be abandoned. It may be assumed that these regions today absorb an annual 5 to 10 million tons from the food production zone.

"2. The Trans-Caucasian oil district will have to be excepted, although it is a deficit area. This source of oil, cotton, manganese, copper, silk, and tea must continue to be supplied with food in any case, for special political and economic reasons.

"3. No further exception, with a view to preserving one or the other industrial region or industrial enterprise, must be permitted.

"The following consequences result from this situation, which has received the approval of the highest authorities, since it is in accord with the political tendencies :

"b) Germany is not interested in the maintenance of the productive power of these territories, except for supplying the troops stationed there. The population, as in the old days, will utilize their land for growing their own food. It is useless to expect grain or other surpluses to be produced. Only after many years can these extensive regions be intensified to an extent that they might produce genuine surpluses. The population of these areas, in particular the urban population, will have to face most serious distress from famine. It will be necessary to divert the population into the Siberian spaces. Since rail transport is out of the question, this too, will be an extremely difficult problem.

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