Nuremberg Trial Proceedings Volume 3

TWENTIETH DAY

Friday, 14 December 1945



Morning Session

DR. KAUFFMAN: May I bring up two points with regard to yesterday's and in future presentation of evidence on the section dealing with Crimes against Humanity.

Firstly, I request that the affidavit of the witness Pfaffenberger, which was submitted yesterday, be stricken from the record. The witness himself will later have to be cross-examined, since his affidavit is fragmentary in most important points. In many cases it does not appear whether his statements are based on personal observations or on hearsay, and therefore it is too easy to draw false conclusions. The witness did not mention that the Camp Commander Koch and his inhuman wife were condemned to death by an SS court, among other things, on account of these occurrences. It is, of course, possible to ascertain the complete facts by questioning the witness at a later stage of the Trial. But until then the Tribunal and all members of the Prosecution and the Defense must be continually influenced by such dreadful testimony.

The contents of this testimony are so horrifying and so degrading to the human mind that one would like to avert one's eyes and ears. In the meantime such statements make their way into the press of the whole world, and civilization is justly indignant. The consequences of such prejudiced statements are incalculable. The Prosecutor clearly recognized the significance of this testimony and exposed the sorry documents in yesterday's proceedings.

If weeks or months pass before such testimony is rectified, its initial effect can never be wholly eliminated; but truth suffers and justice is endangered thereby. Surely, Article 19 of the Charter does not envisage bringing about such a state of affairs.

Secondly, I should, therefore, like to suggest that at the present stage of the Trial the testimony of witnesses who live in Germany and whose appearance here in court is possible should not be read in the proceedings. For at this stage of the Trial the charges being made are even more terrible than those referring to wars of aggression, since the tortured lives and deaths of human beings are involved.

At the beginning of the Trial the Tribunal refused to admit testimony of the witness Schuschnigg, and it is my opinion that

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what was valid then should be all the more valid at this stage of the Trial.

I should like to emphasize my suggestion particularly with regard to the Defendant Dr. Kaltenbrunner himself, since it was not until the spring of 1943 that he became Chief of the Reich Security Main Office and since, in the opinion of the Defense, many, if not all, of his signatures were forged and the entire executive function attached to the concentration camps and the things connected with them lay exclusively in Himmler's hands. That I hope to prove at a later date. I mentioned it now in order to justify my suggestion.

THE PRESIDENT: The Tribunal would like to hear counsel for the Chief Prosecutor of the United States.

MR. JUSTICE JACKSON: May it please the Tribunal, Mr. Dodd, who had charge of the matter which is under discussion, left for the United States yesterday; and I shall have to substitute for him as best I can.

This Tribunal sits under a Charter which recognized the impossibility of covering a decade of time, a continent of space, a million acts, by ordinary rules of proof, and at the same time finishing this case within the lives of living men. We do not want to have a trial here that, like the trial of Warren Hastings, lasted 7 years. Therefore the Charter sets up only two standards by which any evidence, I submit, may be rejected. The first is that evidence must be relevant to the issue. The second is it must have some probative value. That was made mandatory upon this Tribunal in Article 19 because of the difficulty of ever trying this case if we used the technical rules of Common Law proof.

One of the reasons this was a military tribunal, instead of an ordinary court of law, was in order to avoid the precedent-creating erect of what is done here on our own law and the precedent control which would exist if this were an ordinary judicial body.

Article 19 provides that the Tribunal shall not be bound by technical rules of evidence. It shall adopt and apply to the greatest possible extent expeditious and non-technical procedure and shall admit any evidence which it deems to have probative value. That was made mandatory, that it shall admit any evidence which it deepens to have probative value. The purpose of that provision, Your Honors, I may say, was this: That the whole controversy in this case-and we have no doubt that there is room for controversy- should be centered upon the value of evidence and not on its admissibility.

We have no jury. There is no occasion for applying jury rules Therefore, when a piece of evidence is offered, there are two questions which arise: Does it have probative value? If it has no probative value, then it should not encumber the records, of course.

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The second is, does it have relevancy? If it has not, of course it should not come in.

The evidence in question has relevance; no one questions that. No one can say that an affidavit, duly sworn, does not have some probative value. What probative value it has, the weight of it, should be determined on the submission of the case. That is to say, if a witness has made a statement in an affidavit, and it is denied by Mr. Kaltenbrunner, and you believe that the denial has weight and credibility, of course, the affidavit should not be considered in the final consideration of the case. But we are dealing here with events that took place over great periods of time and great distances. We are dealing with witnesses widely scattered and a situation where communications are almost at a standstill.

If this affidavit stands at the end of this case undenied, unchallenged, it is not, then, beyond belief that you would give it value and weight. An affidavit might bear internal evidence that it lacked credibility, such as evidence where the witness was talking of something of which he had no personal knowledge. I do not say that every affidavit that comes along has probative value just because it is sworn to. But it seems to me that if we are to make progress with this case, this simple system envisioned by this Charter, which was the subject of long consideration, must be followed; that if, when a piece of evidence is presented, even though it does not comply with technical rules governing judicial procedures, it is something which has probative value in the ordinary daily concerns of life, it should be admitted. If it stands undenied at the close of the case, as many of these things will, then, of course, there is no issue about it; and it saves the calling of witnesses, which will take an indefinite period of time as we have already seen. I may say that the testimony of the witness Lahousen, which took nearly 2 days, could have been put in, in this Court, in 15 minutes in affidavit form, and all that was essential to it could have been placed before us; and if it were to be denied you could then have determined its weight.

We want to adhere to this Charter. I submit it is no reason for deviating from the Charter that an affidavit recites horrors. I should have thought that the world could not be more shocked by recitals of horrors in affidavits than it has been in the documents that have proceeded from sources of the enemy itself. There is no reason in that for departing from the plain principles of the Charter.

I think the question of orderly procedure and the question of time are both involved in this. I think that the Tribunal should receive affidavits, and we have prepared them-we hope carefully, we hope fairly-to present a great many things that would take days and days of proof. I may say that this ruing is more important

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in subsequent stages of this case than it is on this particular affidavit.

There is another reason, perhaps. We have some situations in which a member of an accused organization, who is directly hostile to our position because the accusation would reach him within the accused class, has made an affidavit or affidavits which constitute admissions against interest; but on some other issue he makes statements which we believe are untrue and incredible; and we do not wish to vouch for his general credibility by calling him as a witness, but we wish to avail ourselves of his admission. Those things we think since we have to make our proof largely from enemy sources. All this proof and every witness 8 months ago were in the hands of the enemy. We have to make our proof from them. God alone knows how much proof there is in this world that we have not been able to reach. We submit that the orderly procedure here is to abide by this Charter and admit these affidavits. If they stand unquestioned at the end of the case, there is no issue about them. If they are questioned, then the weight is a matter which you would determine on final submission.

THE PRESIDENT: Mr. Justice Jackson, I have three questions I should like to ask you. The first is: Where is Pfaffenberger?

MR. JUSTICE JACKSON: That I cannot answer at the moment, but I will get an answer as quickly as I can. It is unknown to us at the moment. If we are able to ascertain, I will inform you at the conclusion of the noon recess.

THE PRESIDENT: The second point to which I wish to draw your attention is Article 16(e) of the Charter, which contemplates cross-examination of witnesses by the defendants. The only reason why it is thought that witnesses who are available should not give evidence by affidavit is because it denies to the Defense the opportunity of cross-examining them.

MR. JUSTICE JACKSON: I think that this provision means just exactly what it says. If we call a witness, they have the right of cross-examination. If he is not called, they have the right to call him, if he is available, as their witness; but not, of course, the right of cross-examination. The provision itself, if Your Honor notices, reads that they have the right to cross-examine any witness caned by the Prosecution; but that does not abrogate or affect Article 19, that we may obtain and produce any probative evidence in such manner as will expedite the Trial.

THE PRESIDENT: Then the next point to which I wish to draw your attention is Article 17(a). As I understood it, you were arguing that it was mandatory upon the Tribunal to consider any evidence which was relevant. Therefore, I draw your attention to

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Article 17(a) which gives the Tribunal power to summon witnesses to the Trial.

MR. JUSTICE JACKSON: That is right. I think there is no conflict in that whatever. The power of the Tribunal to summon witnesses and to put questions to them was introduced into this Charter through the continental systems of jurisprudence. Usually there are not Tribunal witnesses in our procedure in the States. Witnesses are called only by one of the parties; but it was suggested by the continental scholars that in this kind of case, since we were utilizing a mixture of the two procedures, the Tribunal itself should have the right to do several things. One is to summon witnesses, to require their attendance, and to put questions to them. I submit that this witness, whose affidavit has been received, can be called, if we can find him, by the Tribunal and questioned.

The next provision-and it bears on the spirit of this-of Article 17 is that the Tribunal has the right to interrogate any defendant. Of course, under our system of jurisprudence the Tribunal would have no such right, because the defendant has the unqualified right to refrain from being a witness; but in deference again to the continental system, the Tribunal was given the right to interrogate any defendant, and his immunities, which he would have under the Constitution of the United States, if he were being tried under our system, were taken away.

I submit that the perfect consistency in those provisions empowers the Tribunal on its own motion (Article 17) to summon witnesses, to supplement anything that is offered, to put any questions to witnesses and to any defendant.

If any witness is called, the right of cross-examination cannot be denied; but that does not abrogate article 19, which was intended to enable us to put our case before the Tribunal so that the issue would then be drawn by the defendants and the weight of what we offer determined on final submission

THE PRESIDENT: Lastly, there is Article 17(e), which I suppose, in your submission, would entitle the Tribunal, if they thought right, after receiving the affidavit, to take the evidence of Pfaffenberger on commission.

MR. JUSTICE JACKSON: Yes, I think it would, Your Honor. I may say, in reference to that section-what, perhaps, may be surprising to those accustomed to our system of jurisprudence-that it was one of the most controversial issues we had in the framing of this Charter. We had in mind the authorization of what we call. "masters" to go into various localities, perhaps, and take testimony, not knowing what might be necessary. Our practice, however, of sending "masters in equity" to take testimony and make recommendations was not acceptable to the continental system, and we

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finally compromised or this provision which authorizes the taking of testimony by commissions.

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you.

GENERAL R. A. RUDENKO (Chief Prosecutor for the U.S.S.R.): Your Honors, I have come forward after my colleague, Mr. Jackson, to make my own statement, inasmuch as I think that the petition of the Defense is fundamentally wrong and should not be complied with.

We are submitting our objections for the Tribunal's consideration. I fully share the viewpoint held by the Chief Prosecutor of the U.S.A., Mr. Jackson, and in addition should like to point out the following: The Defense Counsel, in his petition, raises the question of whether the Prosecution should refer to, or make public, documents containing affidavits of persons residing in Germany. A statement of this sort is completely out of order since, as is known, the defendants committed the greater part of their atrocities in all countries of Europe and it will be readily understood that the witnesses of these atrocities live in different parts of these countries; it is essential that the Prosecution have recourse to the testimony of such persons, whether it be written or oral. Your Honors, we have entered a phase of the Trial in which we have to set forth the atrocities connected with so-called War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity, atrocities which were committed by the defendants over extensive areas. We shall submit as evidence documents originating from the defendants themselves or from persons who suffered at the hands of the war criminals; it would be impossible to summon all these witnesses to the Trial so that they could give their evidence orally. It is absolutely necessary to have affidavits and written testimonies from these witnesses.

As His Honor the President has already remarked, Article 17 provides for the right of summoning witnesses to the Trial. That is correct; but it is impossible to summon all the witnesses who could depose affidavits on the crimes committed by the defendants. I therefore refer to Article 19 of the Charter which reads:

"The Tribunal shall not be bound by technical rules of evidence. It shall adopt and apply to the greatest possible extent expeditious"-and I emphasize, Your Honor, expeditious -"and non-technical procedure and shall admit any evidence which it deems to have probative value."

I would ask the Tribunal to proceed according to this article which definitely admits written affidavits of witnesses as evidence. That is what I wished to say by way of a supplement to the statement of Mr. Jackson.

MR. ROBERTS: May it please the Tribunal, as far as the British Delegation is concerned, they desire to support what the American

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Chief Prosecutor has said, and we do not feel we can usefully add anything.

THE: PRESIDENT: [To M. Faure of the French Delegation.] Do you wish to add anything?

M. EDGAR FAURE (Deputy Chief Prosecutor for the French Republic): Mr. President, I wish simply to inform the Court that the French Prosecution is entirely in accord with the remarks of the American and Soviet Prosecutors.

I think, as the representative of the American Prosecution said, it is impossible to settle the question of evidence in this Trial solely by hearing oral testimony in the courtroom, for under those circumstances it might be opportune to call to the witness stand all the inhabitants of the territories involved, which is obviously impossible. The Defense wit have every opportunity of discussing the documents which have been presented by the Prosecution, including the written testimony.

THE PRESIDENT: I do not think that Counsel for Kaltenbrunner was suggesting that every witness must be called but that witnesses who were in Germany and available should be called and that their evidence should not be given by affidavit.

M. FAURE: The Defense has the right of calling them as witnesses if it so desires.

DR. KAUFFMANN: May I add a few more words to this important question? The replies which have just been given illustrate that one of the main principles of the proceedings is that the Trial should proceed speedily. That is also expressed in Article 19 of the Charter, and no one can hope more than we that this principle be followed; but it is nevertheless my opinion that another principle, the highest known to mankind, the principle of truth, should not thereby suffer. If there is a fear that truth will suffer through an over-hasty trial, then formal methods of procedure must take a secondary place. There are human principles which remain unspoken, which need not be spoken.

This spirit of truth is certainly contained in and governs Article 19; and the objections I raised to the testimony of this witness seem to me justified to such a degree that the important principle of speeding up the Trial should give way to the principle of truth. Humanity itself is in question here. We want to establish the truth for our own generation and for that of our children. But if such testimony remains untold for months, then a part of mankind might well despair of all humanity and the German people, in particular, would suffer.

DR. FRIEDRICH BERGOLD (Counsel for the Defendant Bormann): May it please the Tribunal, I should like to bring up one other point, which appears to me important, because it was

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apparently the real source of this discussion. According to our legal system it is the duty of the Prosecution to produce not only the incriminating evidence but also evidence for the defense of the accused. I can well understand that my colleague, Dr. Kauffmann, protests the Prosecution's failure to mention a very important point, namely, that the German authorities indicted this inhuman SS leader and his wife and condemned them to death. It is highly probable that the Prosecution knew of this and that these horrible exhibits of perverted human nature, which were presented to us, were found in the files of the German Court.

I believe the whole discussion would not have arisen if the Prosecution had mentioned, as part of the ghastly evidence, the fact that the German authorities themselves passed judgment on this inhuman man and condemned him to death.

We find ourselves in difficulties because, in contrast to our own procedure, the Prosecution for the most part simply presents incriminating evidence but omits to present the exculpating evidence which may form part of any document or part of the testimony of a witness. If the German procedure had been followed in the present case and if the Prosecution had stated that this man was condemned to death, then in the first place, the evidence against the Defendant Kaltenbrunner would not have appeared so weighty and secondly, public opinion would, on the whole, have been left with a different impression. My colleague Kauffmann could then have limited himself to proving at a later stage of the Trial that Kaltenbrunner had, in fact, nothing at all to do with this affair; and the inhuman character of the proceedings and the dreadful impression which it made on us would have been avoided.

THE PRESIDENT: Will you explain the part of the German law to which you were referring, where you say it is the duty of the Prosecution not only to produce evidence for the Prosecution but also to produce evidence for the Defense.

DR. BERGOLD: That is a general principle of German Jurisprudence, established in Paragraph 160 of the Reich Code of Penal Procedure. It is one of the basic principles of law in Germany to . . .

The: PRESIDENT: Give me that reference again.

DR. BERGOLD: Paragraph 160. German law incorporates this principle in order to enable an accused person to . . .

THE PRESIDENT: 160 of what?

DR. BERGOLD: Of the Reich Code of Penal Procedure. The same is true of Austria. In the Austrian Code of Penal Procedure there is a similar paragraph with which, however, I am not quite familiar. This principle is established to permit the whole truth of a case to be brought to light, since a defendant in custody is frequently

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not in a position to produce all the evidence in his favor. Therefore, under German law it is the Prosecution's duty to present the exculpating as well as the incriminating evidence in a particular case.

DR. KUBUSCHOK: The question arising out of Pfaffenberger's evidence does not specifically concern the Defendant Von Papen, because that part of the Indictment does not apply to his case. I am therefore speaking only of the principle behind it. I believe that in practice the effect of the different opinions expressed by the Prosecution and the Defense cannot be of very great importance. Justice Jackson agrees with us that every witness whose affidavit is presented can, if available, be called to the stand by the Defense. Thus, in all cases in whim the Defense holds that an affidavit is evidence of secondary value and as such insufficient and that direct examination of the witness is necessary-in all such cases there would be duplication of evidence, namely, the reading of the affidavit and then the examination and cross-examination of the witness. This would undoubtedly delay the proceedings of the Trial; and to prevent that the Tribunal would, in all such cases, rule against the reading of the affidavit. Consequently, it is futile for the Prosecution to present affidavits of witnesses who can be expected to appear in person later in the proceedings.

I do not think that the Prosecution should be worried about this. It is a matter of course that we-and we assume the same is true of the Prosecution-that we, the members of the Defense, want the Trial to be as speedy as possible but also want it to proceed cautiously to establish the full truth. But, it is obvious, if evidence is introduced which is a potential cause of completely unjust findings, that such evidence will have to be clarified in a more complicated and time-consuming way when the witness is called in person.

THE PRESIDENT: The Tribunal will consider the objection that has been raised when the Court adjourns.

MR. JUSTICE JACKSON: May I have one word?

THE PRESIDENT: Mr. Justice Jackson, it is unusual to hear counsel who opposes an objection a second time.

MR. JUSTICE JACKSON: I merely want to give you the answer to the question which you asked me as to the whereabouts of Pfaffenberger. My information is that these affidavits were taken by the American Army at the time it liberated the people in these concentration camps, at the same time the films were taken and the whole evidence that was available gathered. This witness was present at the concentration camp, and at that time his statements were taken. We do not know his present whereabouts, and I see

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no reasonable likelihood that we will be able to locate him within any short time. We will make an effort.

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you.

MR. ROBERTS: May it please the Tribunal, might I endeavor to assist? I think I have now obtained the German order to white the Defense Counsel referred, Paragraph 160. It is, My Lord, of course, in German. Perhaps I might hand it up, and the court translators will no doubt deal with the paragraph.

MR. JUSTICE JACKSON: I think one bit of additional information should be furnished in view of the statements made here that we have information that we are withholding. Kaltenbrunner has been interrogated. At no time has he made such a claim, so I am advised by our interrogators; and under the Charter our duty is to present the case for the Prosecution. I do not, in any instance, serve two masters.

THE PRESIDENT: Now, I call upon Major Walsh. Major Walsh, did you give a lettering to the document book with which you are dealing?

MAJOR WALSH: Yes. If Your Honor please, it is the letter "T." May it please the Tribunal, during the last session the Prosecution presented briefly the preliminary steps leading to the ultimate objective of the Nazi Party and the Nazi-controlled State, that is, the extermination of the Jews. Propaganda, decrees, the infamous Nuremberg Laws, boycotts, registration, and "ghettoization" were the initial measures in the program. I shall, with the Court's permission, continue with a discussion of the methods utilized for the annihilation of the Jewish people.

I would like first to discuss starvation. Policies were designed and adopted to deprive the Jews of the most elemental necessities of life. Again the Defendant Hans Frank, then Governor General of Poland, wrote in his diary that hunger rations were introduced in the Warsaw ghetto; and referring to the new food regulations in August 1942, he callously, and perhaps casually, noted that by these food regulations he virtually condemned more than 1 million Jews to death. I offer in evidence that part of Document 2233(e)-PS, diary of Hans Frank, "Conference Volume," 24 August 1942, Exhibit USA-283. And I quote:

"That we sentence 1,200,000 Jews to die of hunger should be noted only marginally. It is a matter of course that should the Jews not starve to death it would, we hope, result in a speeding up of the anti-Jewish measures."

Frank's diary was not the only guide to the deliberate policy of starvation of the Jews. They were prohibited from pursuing agricultural activities in order to cut them off from access to the

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source of food. I offer Document 1138-PS in evidence, Exhibit USA-284. I refer the Court to Page 4 of the translation, marked with numeral V, Paragraphs a and b. The document is entitled "Provisional Directive on the Treatment of Jews..." and it was issued by the Reich Commissioner for the Ostland. I read:

"Jews must be cleaned out from the countryside. The Jews are to be removed from all trades, especially from trade with agricultural products and other foodstuffs."

Jews were excluded from the purchase of basic food, such as wheat products, meat, eggs, and milk.

I offer in evidence Document 1347-PS, Exhibit USA-285, and I quote from Paragraph 2 on the first page of the translation before the Court. This is an original decree, dated 18 September 1942, from the Ministry of Agriculture. I quote:

"Jews will no longer receive the following foods, beginning with the 42d distribution period (19 October 1942): meat, meat products, eggs, wheat products (cake, white bread, wheat rolls, wheat Dour, et cetera), whole milk, fresh skimmed milk, as well as such food distributed not on food ration cards issued uniformly throughout the Reich but on local supply certificates or by special announcement of the nutrition office on extra coupons of the food cards. Jewish children and young people over 10 years of age will receive the bread ration of the normal consumer."

The sick, the old, and the pregnant mothers were excluded from the special food concessions allotted to non-Jews. Seizure by the State Police of food shipments to Jews from abroad was authorized, and the Jewish ration cards were distinctly marked with "Jew," in color, across the face of the cards, so that the storekeepers could readily identify and discriminate against Jewish purchasers.

The Czechoslovakian Government published in 1943 an official document entitled "Czechoslovakia Fights Back;." I offer this book in evidence, Document 1689-PS, Exhibit USA-286. To summarize the contents of Page 110, it states that the Jewish food purchases were confined to certain areas and to certain days and hours. As might be expected, the period permitted for the purchases was during the time when food stocks were likely to be exhausted.

By Special Order Number 44 for the Eastern Occupied Territories, dated 4 November 1991, the Jews were limited to rations as low as only one-half of the lowest basic category of other people; and the Ministry of Agriculture was empowered to exclude Jews entirely or partially from obtaining food, thus exposing the Jewish community to death by starvation.

I now offer in evidence Document L165.

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THE PRESIDENT: Did you read anything from 1689-PS?

MAJOR WALSH: to summarize, Sir, the contents of Page 110.

TO PRESIDENT: I see. Now you are offering L...

MAJOR WALSH: L-165, Your Honor, Exhibit USA-287. I refer the Court to the last half of the first paragraph of the translation. This is a press bullet-in Issued by the Polish Ministry of Formation, dated 15 November 1942. The Polish Ministry concludes that, upon the basis of the nature of the separate rationing and the amount of food available to Jews in the Warsaw and Krakow ghettos, the system was designed to bring about starvation; and from the quotation I read:

"In regard to food supplies they are brought under a completely separate system, which is obviously aimed at depriving them of the most elemental necessities of life."

I would now like to discuss annihilation within the ghettos. Justice Jackson in his opening address to the Tribunal made reference to Document 1061-PS, "The Warsaw Ghetto Is No More," marked Exhibit USA-275.

This finest example of ornate German craftsmanship, leather bound, profusely illustrated, typed on heavy bond paper, is the almost unbelievable recital of a proud accomplishment by Major General of the Police Stroop, who signed the report with a bold hand. General Stroop in this report first pays tribute to the bravery and heroism of the German forces who participated in the ruthless and merciless action against a helpless, defenseless group of Jews, numbering, to be exact, 56,065, including, of course, the infants and the women. In this document he proceeds to relate the day-by-day account of the ultimate accomplishment of his mission-to destroy and to obliterate the Warsaw ghetto.

According to this report, the ghetto, which was established in Warsaw in November 1940, was inhabited by about 400,000 Jews; and prior to the action for the destruction of this ghetto, some 316,000 had already been deported. The Court will note that this report is approximately 75 pages in length, and the Prosecution believes that the contents are of such striking evidentiary value that no part should be omitted from the permanent records of the Tribunal and that the Tribunal should consider the entire report in judging the guilt of these defendants.

The defendants were furnished with several photostatic copies of the entire document at least 20 days ago and have had ample time, I am sure, to scrutinize it in detail. If the Court, in the exercise of its judgment, determines that the entire report may be accepted in tote, the Prosecution believes that the reading of a

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portion of the summary, together with brief excerpts from the daily teletype reports, will suffice for the oral record. I would like the Court to examine it; and I present it to the Court, together with the duplicate original thereof, and ask that the Court rule that the entire document may be accepted.

THE PRESIDENT: Major Walsh, the Court will take that course, provided that the Prosecution supplies as soon as possible, both to the Soviet and to the French members of the Tribunal, copies in Russian and French of the whole document.

MAJOR WALSH: Yes, Sir; may I consult with . .

THE PRESIDENT: I do not say present immediately, but present as soon as possible.

MAJOR WALSH: Yes.

THE PRESIDENT: You are going to read the passages that you think necessary?

MAJOR WALSH: Yes. From Page 6 of the translation before the Court of Document 1061-PS I would like to read the boastful but nonetheless vivid account of some of this ruthless action within the Warsaw ghetto. I quote, second paragraph, Page 6:

"The resistance put up by the Jews and bandits could be broken only by the relentless and energetic use of our shocktroops by day and night. On 23 April 1943 the Reichsfuehrer SS issued through the Higher SS and Police Leader East at Krakow his order to complete the combing out of the Warsaw ghetto with the greatest severity and relentless tenacity. I therefore decided to destroy the entire Jewish residential area by setting every block on fire, including the blocks of residential buildings near the armament works. One building after the other was systematically evacuated and subsequently destroyed by fire. The Jews then emerged from their hiding places and dugouts in almost every case. Not infrequently the Jews stayed in the burning buildings until, because of the heat and the fear of being burned alive, they preferred to jump down from the upper floor after having thrown mattresses and other upholstered articles into the street from the burning buildings. With their bones broken they still tried to crawl across the street into blocks of buildings which had not yet been set on fire or were only partially in flames. Often the Jews changed their hiding places during the night by moving into the rooms of burnt-out buildings, taking refuge there until they were found by our patrols. Their stay in the sewers also ceased to be pleasant after the first week. Frequently from the street we could hear loud voices coming through the sewer shafts. Then the men of

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the Waffen-SS, the Police, or the Wehrmacht Engineers courageously climbed down the shafts to bring out the Jews and not infrequently they then stumbled over Jews already dead or were shot at. It was always necessary to use smoke candles to drive out the Jews Thus one day we opened 183 sewer entrance holes and at a fixed time lowered smoke candles into them, with the result that the bandits fled from what they believed to be gas into the center of the former ghetto, where they could then be pulled out of the sewer holes there. A great number of Jews who could not be counted were exterminated by blowing up sewers and dugouts. " The longer the resistance lasted, the tougher the men of the Waffen-SS, Police, and Wehrmacht became. They fulfilled their duty indefatigably in faithful comradeship and stood together as models and examples of soldiers. Their duty hours often lasted from early morning until late at night. At night search patrols, with rags wound around their feet, remained at the heels of the Jews and gave them no respite. Not infrequently they caught and killed Jews who used the night hours for supplementing their stores from abandoned dugouts and for contacting neighboring groups or exchanging news with then. "Considering that the greater part of the men of the Waffen-SS had only been trained for 3 to 4 weeks before being assigned to this action, high credit should be given to the pluck, courage, and devotion to duty which they showed. It must be stated that the Wehrmacht Engineers, too, executed the blowing up of dugouts, sewers, and concrete buildings with indefatigability and great devotion to duty. Officers and men of the Police, a large part of whom had already been at the front, again excelled by their dashing spirit. "Only through the continuous and untiring work of all involved did we succeed in catching a total of 56,065 Jews whose extermination can be proved. To this should be added the number of Jews who lost their lives In explosions or fires but whose number could not be ascertained."

THE PRESIDENT: Major Walsh, in the section that you are just upon now, ought you not to read the opening paragraphs of this document, which set out the amount of the losses of the German troops?

MAJOR WALSH: I will do so, Sir. On Page 1 of the translation, I quote. The title: "The Warsaw Ghetto is no more."

"For the Fuehrer and their country the following fell in the battle for the destruction of Jews and bandits in the former

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Jewish residential area of Warsaw."-Fifteen are thereafter listed. "Furthermore, the Polish Police Sergeant Julian Zielenski, born 13 November 1891, 8th Commissariat, fell on 19 April i943 while fulfilling his duty. They gave their utmost, their life. We shall never forget them. "The following were wounded...."

Then follow the names of 60 Waffen-SS personnel, 11 watchmen from training camps (probably Lithuanians), 12 Security Police officers in SS units, 5 men of the Polish Police, and 2 soldiers of the Wehrmacht Engineers.

Permit me to read some brief excerpts of the daily teletype reports. Page 13 of the translation, from the teletype message of 22 April 1943, I read:

"Our setting the block on fire achieved the result in the course of the night that those Jews whom we had not been able to find despite all our search operations left their hideouts under the roofs, in the cellars; and elsewhere and appeared on the outside of the building, trying to escape the flames anyhow. Masses of them-entire families were already aflame and jumped from the windows or endeavored to let themselves down by means of sheets tied together or the like. Steps had been taken so that these Jews as well as the remaining ones were liquidated at once."

And from Page 28 of the translation, the last part of the first paragraph, I read:

"When the blocks of buildings mentioned above were destroyed, 120 Jews were caught and numerous Jews were destroyed when they jumped from the attics to the inner courtyards, trying to escape the flames. Many more Jews perished in the flames or were destroyed when the dugouts and sewer entrances were blown up.'

And on Page 30, second half of the second paragraph, I read:

"Not unto the blocks of buildings were well aflame and were about to collapse did a considerable number of Jews emerge, forced to do so by the flames and the smoke. Time and again the Jews tried to escape even through burning buildings. Innumerable Jews whom we saw on the roofs during the conflagration perished in the flames. Others emerged from the upper stories in the last possible moment and were only able to escape death from the flames by jumping down Today we caught a total of 2,283 Jews of whom 204 were

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shot; and innumerable Jews were destroyed in dugouts and in the flames."

And from Page 34, the second paragraph, I read, beginning the second line:

"The Jews testify that they emerge at night to get fresh air, since it is unbearable to stay permanently within the dugouts owing to the long duration of the operation. On the average the raiding parties shoot 30 to 50 Jews each night. From these statements it was to be inferred that a considerable number of Jews are still underground in the ghetto. Today we blew up a concrete building which we had not been able to destroy by fire. In this operation we learned that the blowing up of a building is a very lengthy process and takes an enormous amount of explosives. The best and only method for destroying the Jews therefore still remains the setting of fires.''

And from Page 35, the last part of the second paragraph, I read:

"Some depositions speak of three to four thousand Jews still remaining in underground holes, sewers, and dugouts. The undersigned is resolved not to terminate the large-scale operation until the last Jew has been destroyed."

And from the teletype message of 15 May 1943 on Page 44, we gather that the operation is in its last stage. I read the end of the first paragraph on Page 44:

"A special unit once more searched the last block of buildings, which was still intact, in the ghetto and subsequently destroyed it. In the evening the chapel, mortuary, and all other buildings in the Jewish cemetery there blown up or destroyed by fire."

On 24 May 1943 the final figures have been compiled by Major General Stroop. He reports on Page 45, last paragraph:

"Of the total of 56,065 caught, about 7,000 were destroyed in the former Jewish residential area during large-scale operations; 6,929 Jews were destroyed by transporting them to T. II"-which we believe to be Treblinka, Camp Number 2, which will later be referred "the sum total of Jews destroyed is therefore 13,929. Beyond the number of 56,065 an estimated number of 5,000 to 6,000 Jews were destroyed by being blown up or by perishing in the flames."

The Court has noted within the report 1061-PS a number of photographs; and with the Court's permission I should like to show a few of these photographs, still pictures, on the screen, unless the Court believes that reference to the original text will be sufficient for the Court's purpose.

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THE PRESIDENT: No; if you want to put them on the screen, you may do so. Perhaps it would be convenient to adjourn now and you can put them on the screen afterwards.

[A Recess was taken.]

Still pictures were projected on the screen in the courtroom.7

MAJOR WALSH: This first picture [pointing to a picture on the screen] is shown on Page 27 of the photographs in Document 1061-PS. It is entitled "The Destruction of a Block of Buildings" The Court will recall those portions of the teletype messages that referred to the setting of fires for the purpose of driving out the Jews. This picture, taken from the record, portrays such a scene.

This picture [pointing to a picture on the screen] is from Page 21 of the photographs contained in the exhibit, and the caption is "Smoking out of the Jews and Bandits." Excerpts from the teletype messages read in the record relate to the use of smoke as a means of forcing Jews out of the hiding places.

This picture [pointing to a picture on the screen] is from Page 36 of the photographs in the exhibit and it is called "Fighting a Nest of Resistance." It is obviously a picture of an explosive blast being used to destroy one of the buildings, and the Court may recall the message of 7 May 1943 that related to the blowing up of buildings as a lengthy process requiring an enormous amount of explosive. The same message reported that the best method for destroying the Jews was the setting of fires.

This picture [pointing to a picture on the screen] is taken from Page 36 of the photographs. The Court's attention is invited to the figure of a man in mid-air who appears in the picture about halfway between the center and the upper right-hand corner. He has jumped from one of the upper floors of the burning building. A close examination of this picture by the Court in the original photograph will disclose other figures, in the upper floor windows, who apparently are about to follow him. The teletype message of 22 April reported that entire families jumped from burning buildings and were liquidated at once.

This picture [pointing to a picture on the screen] is from Page 39 of the photographs. It is entitled "The Leader of the Large-scale Action." The Nazi-appointed commander of this action was SS Major General Stroop, who probably is the central figure in this picture. I cannot refrain from commenting at this point on the smiting faces of the group shown there, in the midst of the violence and destruction.

THE PRESIDENT: Are you passing from that document now?

MAJOR WALSH: Yes, Sir.

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THE PRESIDENT: you tell the Tribunal where the document was found?

MAJ0R WALSH: It is a captured document, Sir. I do not have the history, but I shall be very pleased to submit the background and history to the Court at the beginning of the afternoon session.

THE PRESENT: The Tribunal, I think, would like to know where it was found and to whom it was submitted.

MAJOR WALSH: I have that. I believe that is contained in the document. The teletype messages, Sir, that are contained in this exhibit were all addressed to the Higher SS and Police Fuehrer, SS Obergruppenfuehrer and General of the Police Kruger or his deputy.

It was not always necessary, or perhaps desirable, first to place me Jews within the ghettos to eject the elimination. In the Baltic States a more direct course of action was followed. I refer to Document L-180, now in evidence, which is Exhibit USA-276. This is a report by SS Brigadefuehrer Stahlecker to Himmler, dated 15 October 1941, enabled "Action Group A," found in Himmler's private files. He reported that 135,567 persons, nearly all Jews, were murdered in accordance with basic orders directing the complete annihilation of the Jews. This voluminous document provides me with the following statement by the same SS Brigade Fuehrer, and from the translation at the bottom of Page 6, the second sentence of the last paragraph, I read:

"To our surprise it was not easy, at first, to set in motion an extensive pogrom against the Jews. Klimatis, the leader of the partisan unit. mentioned above, who was used for this purpose primarily, succeeded in starting a pogrom on the basis of advice given to him by a small advanced detachment acting in Kovno and in such a way that no German order or German instigation was noticed from the outside. During the first pogrom in the night from 25 to 26 June the Lithuanian partisans did away with more than 1,500 Jews, setting fire to several synagogues or destroying them by other means and burning down a Jewish dwelling district consisting of about 60 houses. During the following nights 2,300 Jews were eliminated in a similar way."

From the last part of Paragraph 3, Page 7, I read:

"It was possible, though, through similar influences on the Latvian auxiliary to set in motion a pogrom against the Jews also in Riga. During this pogrom all synagogues were destroyed and about 400 Jews were killed."

Nazi ingenuity reached a new high mark with the construction and operation of the gas van as a means of mass annihilation of

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the Jews. A description of these vehicles of horror and death and the operation of them is fully set forth in a captured top-secret document, dated 16 May 1942, addressed to SS Obersturmbannfuehrer Rauff, 8 Prinz-Albrecht-Strasse, Berlin, from Dr. Becker, SS Untersturmfuehrer. I offer this document, 501-PS;, Exhibit USA-288. I quote:

"The overhauling of vans by groups D and C is finished. While the vans in the first series can also be put into action if the weather is not too bad, the vans of the second series (Saurer) stop completely in rainy weather. If it has rained for instance for only one-half hour, the van cannot be used because it simply skids away. It can only be used in absolutely dry weather. It is a question now of whether the van can be used only when it stands at the place of execution. First the van has to be brought to that place, which is possible only in good weather. The place of execution is usually 10 to 15 kilometers away from the highway and is difficult of access because of its location; in damp or wet weather it is not accessible at all If the persons to be executed are driven or led to that place, then they realize immediately what is going on and get restless, which is to be avoided as far as possible. There is only one way left: to load them at the collecting point and to drive them to the spot. "I ordered the vans of group D to be camouflaged as house-trailers by putting one set of window shutters on each side of the small van and two on each side of the larger vans, such as one often sees on farm houses in the country. The vans became so well-known that not only the authorities but also the civilian population called the van 'death van' as soon as one of the vehicles appeared. It is my opinion the van cannot be kept secret for any length of time, not even camouflaged."

And then I read the fourth paragraph on this page:

"Because of the rough terrain and the indescribable road and highway conditions the caulkings and rivets loosen in the course of time. I was asked if in such cases the vans should not be brought to Berlin for repairs. Transportation to Berlin would be much too expensive and would demand too much fuel. In order to save these expenses I ordered them to have smaller leaks soldered and, if that should no longer be possible, to notify Berlin immediately by radio, that License Number . . . is out of order. Besides that I ordered that during application of gas all the men were to be kept as far away from the vans as possible, so that they should not suffer

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damage to their health by the gas which eventually would escape. I should like to take this opportunity to bring the following to your attention: Several commands have had the unloading, after the application of gas, done by their own men. I brought to the attention of the commanders of these special detachments concerned the immense psychological injury and damage to their health which that work can have for those men, even if not immediately, at least later on. The men complained to me about headaches which appeared after each unloading. Nevertheless they don't want to change the orders, because they are afraid prisoners called for that work could use an opportune moment to flee. To protect the men from such damage, I request orders be issued accordingly The application of gas usually is not undertaken correctly, In order to come to an end as fast as possible, the driver presses the accelerator to the fullest extent. By doing that the persons to be executed suffer death from suffocation and not death by dozing off as was planned. My directions now have proved that by correct adjustment of the levers death comes faster and the prisoners fall asleep peacefully. Distorted faces and excretions, such as could be seen before, are no longer noticed. "Today I shall continue my journey to group B. where I can be reached with further news. Signed, Doctor Becker; SS Untersturmfuehrer."

On Page 3 in Document 501-PS we find a letter signed by Hauptsturmfuehrer Truehess on the subject of S-Vans, addressed to the Reich Security Main Office, Room II-D-3-A, Berlin, marked "top secret." This letter establishes that the vans were used for the annihilation of the Jews. I read this top-secret message; subject, "S-Vans":

"A transport of Jews, which has to be treated in a special way, arrives weekly at the office of the commandant of the Security Police and the Security Service of White Ruthenia. "The three S-vans which are there are not sufficient for that purpose. I request assignment of another S-van (5 tons). At the same time I request the shipment of 20 gas hoses for the three S-vans on hand (two Diamond, one Saurer), since the ones on hand are legally already." Signed-"the Commandant of the Security Police and the Security Service, Ostland." It would appear from the documentary evidence that a certain amount of discord existed between the officials of the German Government as to the proper means and methods used in connection with the program of extermination. A secret report dated 18 June 1943, addressed to Defendant Rosenberg, complained that 5,000 Jews

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killed by the police and SS might have been used for forced labor and chided them for failing to bury the bodies of those liquidated. I offer in evidence this file, Document Number R-135, Exhibit USA-289.

THE PRESIDENT: Is it in these volumes, Major Walsh?

MAJOR WALSH: I think, Sir, that will be found in the assembly of the document book in our case; that has been placed in front of R-124. I quote from the letter referred to, addressed to the Reich Minister for the Occupied Eastern Territories, the first paragraph of the translation:

"The fact that Jews receive special treatment requires no further discussion. However, it appears hardly believable that this was done in the way described in the report of the General Commissioner of 1 June 1943. What is Katyn against that? Imagine only that these occurrences might become known to the other side and be exploited by them! Most likely such propaganda would have no effect, only because people who hear and read about it simply would not be ready to believe it."

The last part of Paragraph 3 on this page reads:

"To lock men, women, and children into barns and to set fire to them does not appear to be a suitable method for combatting bands, even if it is desired to exterminate the population. His method is not worthy of the German cause and hurts our reputation severely."

Gunther, the prison warden at Minsk, in a letter dated 31 May 1943, addressed to the General Commissioner for White Ruthenia, subject: "Action against Jews," was critical by implication. With the Court's permission I would like to read this entire letter, part of Document R-135, Page 5, subject: "Action Against Jews":

"On 13 April 1943 the former German dentist Ernst Israel Tichauer and his wife, Elisa Sara Tichauer, nee Rosenthal, were committed to the court prison by the Security Service.... Since that time all German and Russian Jews who were turned over to us had their gold bridgework, crowns, and fillings pulled or broken out. His happens always 1 to 2 hours before the respective action. "Since 13 April 1943, 516 German and Russian hews have been finished off. On the basis of a definite investigation gold was taken only in two actions on 14 April 1943, from 172, and on 27 April 1943, from 164 Jews. About 50 percent of the Jews had gold teeth, bridgework, or fillings. Hauptscharfuehrer Ruebe of the Security Service was always personally present, and he took the gold along, too.

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"before 13 April 1943 this was not done. Signed, Gunther, Prison Warden."

This letter was forwarded to the Defendant Rosenberg as Reich Minister for the Occupied Eastern Territories on 1 June 1943. I will read the covering letter, part of Document R-135, Page 4, to the Reich Minister of the Occupied Eastern Territories, Berlin, through the Reich Commissioner for the Ostland, Riga; Subject, "Actions against Jews in the Prison of Minsk":

"The enclosed official report from the warden of the prison in Minsk is submitted to the Reich Minister and the Reich Commissioner for Information."-Signed-"the General Commissioner in Minsk."

THE PRESIDENT: Does "respective action," as indicated in the letter dated the 31st of May 1943, mean execution?

MAJOR WALSH: Yes, Sir; we so interpret it. The Court will recall that the ridding of the Jews via gas vans ties in very closely with the second letter of the transport of Jews arriving for that purpose.

THE PRESIDENT: Was this document found in Rosenberg's file?

MAJOR WALSH: I am so informed, Sir. A further complaint is contained in a secret letter addressed to General of the Infantry Thomas, chief of the industrial armament department, dated 2 December 1941. It might be noted with interest that the apprehensive writer of this letter stated that he did not forward the communication through official channels. I offer in evidence captured Document 3257-PS; and I quote from the first paragraph. This is Exhibit USA-290:

"For the personal information of the chief of the industrial armament department, I am forwarding a total account of the present situation in the Reichskommissariat Ukraine in which the difficulties and tensions encountered so far and the problems which give rise to serious anxiety are stated with unmistakable clarity. "Intentionally I have desisted from submitting such a report through official channels or from making it known to other departments interested in it because I do not expect any results that way, but on the contrary am apprehensive that the difficulties and tensions and also the divergent opinions might only be increased due to the peculiarity of the situation." "Jewish problem"-Paragraph c, Page 1: "Regulation of the Jewish question in the Ukraine was a difficult problem because the Jews constituted a large part of the urban population. We therefore have to deal just as in the

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Government General-with a mass problem of policy concerning the population. Many cities had a percentage of Jews exceeding 50 percent. Only the rich Jews had fled from the German troops. The majority of Jews remained under German administration. The latter found the problem more complicated through the fact that these Jews represented almost entire trade and even a part of the manpower in small and medium industries, besides business, which had in part become superfluous as a direct or indirect result of the war. The elimination therefore necessarily had far-reaching economic consequences and even direct consequences for the armament industry (production for supplying the troops)." Paragraph 1 on Page 2: "The attitude of the Jewish population was anxious-obliging from the beginning. They tried to avoid everything that might displease the German administration. That they hated the German administration and army inwardly goes without saying and cannot be surprising. However, there is no proof that Jewry as a whole or even to a greater part was implicated in acts of sabotage.... Surely there were some terrorists or saboteurs among them, just as among the Ukrainians. But it cannot be said that the Jews as such represented a danger to the German Armed Forces. The output produced by Jews who, of course, were prompted by nothing but the feeling of fear, was satisfactory to the troops and the German administration. "The Jewish population remained temporarily unmolested shortly after the fighting. Only weeks, sometimes months later, specially detached formations of police executed a planned shooting of Jews. This action as a rule proceeded from east to west. It was done entirely in public with the use of the Ukrainian militia; and unfortunately, in many instances also with members of the Armed Forces taking part voluntarily. The way these actions, which included men and old men, women, and children of all ages, were carried out was horrible. The great masses executed make this action more gigantic than any similar measure taken so far in the Soviet union. So far about 150,000 to 200,000 Jews may have been executed in the part of the Ukraine belonging to the Reichskommissariat; no consideration was given to the interests of economy. "Summarizing, it can be said that the kind of solution of the Jewish problem applied to the Ukraine, which obviously was based on the ideological theories as a matter of principle, had the following results:

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"(a) Elimination of a part of partly superfluous eaters in the cities; "(b) Elimination of a part of the population which undoubtedly hated us; . "(c) Elimination of badly needed tradesmen who were in many instances indispensable even in the interests of the Armed Forces; "(d) Consequences as to foreign policy propaganda which are obvious; "(e) Bad effects on the troops which in any case get indirect contact with the execution; "(f) Brutalizing effect on the formations which carry out the execution-regular police."

Lest the Court be persuaded to the belief that these conditions related, existed only in the East, I invite attention to the official Netherlands Government report by the Commissioner for Repatriation as indicative of the treatment of the Jews in the West.

This document is a recital of the German measures taken in the Netherlands against the Dutch Jews. The decrees, the anti-Semitic demonstrations, the burning of synagogues, the purging of Jews from the economic life of their country, the food restrictions against them, forced labor, concentration camp confinement, deportation, and death-all follow the same pattern that was effected throughout Nazi-occupied Europe.

I now refer to Document 1726-PS, Exhibit USA-195, already in evidence. It is not intended to read this document in evidence, but it is deemed important to invite the Court's attention to that portion of the report relating to the deportation of Dutch Jews shown on Page 5 of the translation. There the Court will note that full Jews being liable to deportation number 140,000. The Court will also note that the total number of deportees was 117,000, representing more than 83 percent of all the Jews in the Netherlands. Of these 115,000 were deported to Poland for slave labor, according to the Netherlands report, and after departure all trace of them was lost. Regardless of victory or defeat to Germany, the Jew was doomed. It was the expressed intent of the Nazi State that, whatever the German fate might be, the Jew would not survive.

I offer in evidence Document 1~53, stamped "top secret," Exhibit USA-291. This message is from the Commandant of the Sipo and SD for the Radom District, addressed to SS Hauptsturmfuehrer Thiel on the subject, "Clearance of Prisons." I read the body of this message:

"I again stress the fact that the number of inmates of the Sipo and SD prisons must be kept as low as possible. In the present

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situation, particularly, those suspects handed over by the civil police need only be subjected to a short formal interrogation provided there are no serious grounds for suspicion. They are then to be sent by the quickest route to a concentration camp should no court-martial proceeding be necessary or should there be no question of discharge. Please keep the number of discharges very low. Should the situation at the front necessitate it, early preparations are to be made for the total clearance of prisons. Should the situation develop suddenly in such a way that it is impossible to evacuate the prisoners, the prison inmates are to be eliminated and their bodies disposed of as far as possible (burning, blowing up the building, et cetera). If necessary, Jews still' employed in the armament industry or on other work are to be dealt with in the same way. "The liberation of prisoners or Jews by the enemy-be it the WB or the Red Army-must be avoided under all circumstances, nor may they fall into their hands alive."

THE PRESIDENT: What is the WB?

MAJOR WALSH: I have inquired about the WB, Your Honor, from several sources and have not found an understanding or a statement of it. Perhaps before the afternoon session I may be able to enlighten the Court. I have not yet been able to find out.

THE PRESIDENT: Where was the document found?

MAJOR WALSH: It is a captured document, Sir.

THE PRESIDENT: Does it relate to prisoners of war, did you say?

MAJOR WALSH: No, Sir; including therein, of course, prisoners of war as well as all Jews. The history of the document, Sir, I will try to gather for the Court's information.

THE PRESIDENT: Yes. Did you tell us what the Sipo were?

MAJOR WALSH: Yes, Sir; I furnished the Court with that; that is the Security Police, Sir.

This presentation, if the Court please, would be incomplete without incorporating herein reference to the concentration camps insofar as they relate to the hundreds of thousands-millions-of Jews who died by mass shooting, gas, poison, starvation, and other means. The subject of concentration camps and all its horrors was shown to the Tribunal not only in the motion picture film but by the most able presentation by Mr. Dodd yesterday; and it is not intended, at this time, to refer to the camps - only in so far as they relate to the part played in the annihilation of the Jewish people. For example, in the camp at Auschwitz during July 1944 Jews were killed at the rate of 12,000 daily. This information is

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contained in Document L-161, Exhibit USA-292. The Document L-161 is an official Polish report on Auschwitz Concentration Camp. It is dated 31 May 1945. I have taken a short excerpt from this report on the original marked...

THE PRESIDENT: I think you made a mistake, did you not? It is not a Polish report; it is a British report.

MAJOR WALSH: I understand, Sir, it was compiled originally by the Polish Government and perhaps distributed from London.

THE PRESIDENT: I see. Very well.

MAJOR WALSH: I quote:

"During July 1944 Hungarian Jews were being liquidated at the rate of 12,000 daily; and as the crematoria could not deal with such numbers, many bodies were thrown into large pits and covered with quicklime."

I offer in evidence Document 3311-PS, Exhibit USA-293. This is an official Polish Government Commission report on the investigation of German crimes in Poland. The document describes the concentration camp at Treblinka; and from Page 1, Paragraph 3 and 4, I read as follows:

"In March 1942 the Germans began to erect another camp, Treblinka B. in the neighborhood of Treblinka A, intended to become a place of torment for Jews. "The erection of this camp was closely connected with the German plans aimed at a complete destruction of the Jewish population in Poland, which necessitated the creation of a machinery by means of which the Polish Jews could be killed in large numbers. Late in April 1942 erection was completed of the first chambers in which these general massacres were to be performed by means of steam. Somewhat later the erection of the real death building, which contains 10 death chambers, was finished. It was opened for wholesale murders early in autumn 1942."

And on Page 3 of this report, beginning with the second paragraph, the Polish Commission describes graphically the procedure for the extermination within the camp:

"The average number of Jews dealt with at the camp in the summer of 1942 was about two railway transports daily, but there were days of much higher efficiency. From autumn 1942 this number was faring. "After unloading in the siding, all victims were assembled in one place, where men were separated from women and children. In the first days of the existence of the camp the victims were made to believe that after a short stay in the camp, necessary for bathing and disinfection, they would be sent

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farther east for work. Explanations of this sort were given by SS men who assisted at the unloading of the transports, and further explanations could be read in notices stuck up on the walls of the barracks. But later, when more transports had to be dealt with, the Germans dropped all pretenses and only tried to accelerate the procedure. "All victims had to strip off their clothes and shoes, which were collected afterwards, whereupon all victims, women and children first, were driven into the death chambers. Those too slow or too weak to move quickly were driven in by rifle butts, by whipping and kicking, often by Saner himself. Many slipped and fell; the next victims pressed forward and stumbled over them. Small children were simply thrown inside. After being filled up to capacity, the chambers were hermetically closed and steam was let in. In a few minutes all was over. The Jewish menial workers had to remove the bodies from the platform and to bury them in mass graves. By and by, as new transports arrived, the cemetery grew, extending in an easterly direction. "From reports received it may be assumed that several hundred thousands of Jews have been exterminated in Treblinka."

I now offer in evidence the document identified by Number L-22, Exhibit USA-294. This is an official United States Government report issued by the Executive Office of the President of the United States, War Refugee Board, on the German camps at Auschwitz and Birkenau, dated 1944. On Page 33 of this report is set forth the number of Jews gassed in Birkenau in the 2-year period between April 1942 and April 1944. I have been assured that the figure printed in this report is not a typographical error. The number shown is 1,765,000.

I would now like to turn to the German bookkeeping and statistics for enlightenment on the extermination of Jews in Poland. Referring again to the diary of Hans Frank already in evidence, Document 2233-PS, Exhibit USA-281, I read briefly from the beginning of the fourth paragraph on Page 1:

"For us the Jews also represent extraordinarily malignant gluttons. "We have now approximately 2,500,000 of them in the Government General..."

THE PRESIDENT: Major Walsh, you have read this already yourself.

MAJOR WALSH: Yes, Sir, that is true. I just want to make reference to it again, Sir, for comparison with other figures.

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THE PRESIDENT: Very well.

MAJOR WALSH: ". . . perhaps with the Jewish mixtures, and everything that goes with it, 3,500,000 Jews."

Now this figure, if the Court please, was as of 16 December 1941. I now wish to turn to 25 January 1944, 3 years and 1 month later, and make reference to another excerpt from Frank's diary, 2233-PS, loose-leaf volume Exhibit USA-295. This volume covers the period from 1 January 1944 to 28 February 1944, and Page 5 of the original reads:

"At the present time we still have in the Government General perhaps 100,000 Jews."

In this period of 3 years, according to the records of the then Governor General of Occupied Poland, between 2,400,000 and 3,400,000 Jews had been eliminated.

The Prosecution could offer this Tribunal a wealth of evidence on the total number of Jews who died by Nazi hands, but it is believed that cumulative evidence would not vary the guilt of these defendants.

I do wish, however, to offer one document, a statement, to establish the deaths of 4 million Jews in camps and deaths of 2 million Jews by the State Police in the East, making a total of 6 million- Document 2738-PS, Exhibit USA-296. This is a statement-of Adolf Eichmann, Chief of the Jewish Section of the Gestapo, and the source of the figures quoted-made by Dr. Wilhelm Hoettl, Deputy Group Leader of the foreign section of the Security Police Amt IV of the RSHA. Dr. Wilhelm Hoettl, in affidavit form, made the following statement; and I quote from Page 2:

"Approximately 4 million Jews had been killed in the various concentration camps, while an additional 2 million met death in other ways, the major part of which were shot by operational squads of the Security Police during the campaign against Russia."

May I, in conclusion, emphasize that the captured documents in evidence are, almost without exception, from the official sources of the Nazi Party.

THE PRESIDENT: You only read that one statement, but where does the person who made the affidavit get his information from?

MAJOR WALSH: I shall be pleased to read that in there, Sir. I made a statement that Eichmann has been the source of the information given to Dr. Wilhelm Hoettl, one of his assistants, and on Page 1 it says:

"According to my knowledge, Eichmann was at the time a section leader in Amt IV (Gestapo) of RSHA; and in addition he had been ordered by Himmler to get hold of the

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Jews in all the European countries and to transport them to Germany. Eichmann was then very much impressed with the fact that Romania had withdrawn from the war in those days. Therefore, he had come to me to get information about the military situation, which I received daily from the Hungarian. . .Ministry of War and from the Commander of the Waffen-SS in Hungary. He expressed his conviction that Germany had lost the war and that he personally had no further chance. He knew that he would be considered one of the main war criminals by the United Nations, since he had minions of Jewish lives on his conscience. I asked him how many that was, to which he answered that although the number was a great Reich secret, he would tell me since I, as a historian too, would be interested and that probably he would not return anyhow from his command in Romania. He had, shortly before that, made a report to Himmler, as the latter wanted to know the exact number of Jews who had been killed."

It was on that basis of this information, Sir, that I read the following quotation.

THE PRESIDENT: The Tribunal will adjourn now.

[a recess was taken until 1400 hour.]

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Afternoon Session

THE PRESIDENT: The motion that was made this morning on behalf of the Defendant Kaltenbrunner is denied, and the affidavit is admitted and will not be stricken from the record. But the Tribunal wished me to say that it is open to the Defendants' Counsel, in accordance with the Charter and the Rules, to make a motion, in writing, if they wish to do so, for the attendance of Pfaffenberger for cross-examination and to state in that motion the reasons therefor.

DR. KAUFFMANN: May I now bring up a question similar, though in some respects different, from that of Pfaffenberger? I request that the evidence of Dr. Hoettl, which was read into the record this morning be stricken out again for the following two reasons. As far as I know, Dr. Hoettl is here in Nuremberg...

THE PRESIDENT: One minute. Do you understand that the Tribunal has just denied the motion that you made this morning?

DR. KAUFFMANN: Yes, I understood that perfectly.

THE PRESIDENT: What is your motion now?

DR. KAUFFMANN: I should like to ask that the evidence of Dr. Hoettl be stricken from the record. My reasons for this request are rather different from those given this morning in the Pfaffenberger case.

As can be seen from the affidavit, Dr. Hoettl was interrogated on the 26th of November hardly 3 weeks ago. Moreover I gather that Dr. Hoettl is kept in custody here in Nuremberg. No delay would therefore be involved if this witness were called to the stand.

This man held a significant position in the SS and for that reason I have already applied in writing that he be called as a witness. I am convinced that there is a large amount of important evidence which he can reveal to the Court. Dr. Hoettl's deposition is infinitely important. The death of millions of people is involved here. His affidavit is based largely on inferences, on hearsay; I believe that the facts are very different, and I would not like to apply later, after weeks or months, for the witness to be brought into Court.

MAJOR WALSH: If the Court please, excerpts from the affidavit of Dr. Wilhelm Hoettl were read into the record this morning for the purpose...

THE PRESIDENT: Wait-what was the number?

MAJOR WALSH: Document 2738-PS.

THE PRESIDENT: Yes, go on.

MAJOR WALSH: Dr. Hoettl's affidavit 2738 was in part read into the record this morning for the sole purpose of showing the

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approximate number of Jews, according to his estimates, that had met death at the hands of the German State. No other portion of his testimony was referred to and the evidence offered was only for the sole purpose of establishing his estimate of the number. His position in the Party and in the state, as well as the position of Adolf Eichmann, the source of his information, was also stated into the record.

I believe that Dr. Hoettl, if he is desired for any other purpose by the Defense, may be called by the Defense, but the Prosecution had no other purpose in utilizing his evidence.

THE PRESIDENT: Do you wish to add anything more?

MAJOR WALSH: That is all, Sir.

THE PRESIDENT: The Tribunal makes the same ruling in this case as in the case of Pfaffenberger, namely, that the affidavit is admitted in evidence but that it is open to Defendants' Counsel to make a motion, in writing, for the attendance of the witness for cross-examination and to state in that motion the reasons for it.

MAJOR WALSH: During the morning session the Court requested certain information concerning documents that had been offered and accepted in evidence. I refer to Document 1061-PS, the report "The Warsaw Ghetto Is No More." This report, I am told, was prepared for presentation at a meeting of the SS Police leaders to be held on 18 May 1943. That is indicated on Page 45 of the translation before the Court.

This document was captured by the 7th United States Army and delivered by them to the G-2 of the United States Forces in the European Theater. In turn they were delivered to Colonel Storey of the United States prosecutors stay, some months ago. The Court also ignored...

THE PRESIDENT: Major Walsh, I think the Tribunal also wished to know whether you could tell us to whom the report had been made?

MAJOR WALSH: The report, Sir, according to the teletypes- the daily teletypes, Six-was addressed to the Higher SS and Police Leader East, SS Obergruppenfuehrer and General of the Police Kruger, or his deputy.

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you.

MAJOR WALSH: The Court further inquired about Document L-53 and I have obtained some information concerning this document. This document was captured by T-Force of the Counter Intelligence Corps Detachment Number 220, found among the German records at Weimar, Germany, sometime prior to 10 May 1945.

The Court further inquired, concerning this document, the meaning of the letters "WB." I regret that I have been unable to

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obtain definite information as to the meaning of "WB" but it has been suggested to me that it might mean Westbund or Western Ally because it is used in connection with the capture-the destruction of all prisoners before capture by either the WB or the Red Armies, and I presume that it may mean Westbund.

The slaughter of the Jews in Europe cannot be expressed in figures alone, for the impact of this slaughter is even more tragic to the future of the Jewish people and mankind. Ancient Jewish communities with their own rich spiritual, cultural, and economic life, bound up for centuries with the life of the nations in which they flourished, have been completely obliterated. The contribution of the Jewish people to civilization, the arts, the sciences, industry, and culture, need not) I am sure, be elaborated upon before this Tribunal. Their destruction, carried out continuously, deliberately, intentionally, and methodically by the Nazis, represents a loss to civilization of special qualities and abilities that cannot possibly be recouped.

I have not attempted to recount the multitudinous and diabolical crimes committed against the Jewish people by the state which these defendants ruled, because, with sober regard for contemporary and historical truth, a detailed description of some of these crimes would transcend the utmost reaches of the human faculty of expression. The mind already recoils and shrinks from the acceptance of the incredible facts already related. Rather, it is my purpose to elucidate the pattern, the successful and successive stages, the sequence and concurrence of the crimes committed, the pre-determined means to a pre-ordained end.

Yet, these cold, stark, brutal facts and figures, drawn largely from the defendants' own sources and submitted in evidence before this Tribunal, defy rebuttal

From conception to execution, from the Party program of 1920 to the gloating declarations of Himmler and the Defendant Frank in 1943 and 1944, the annihilation of the Jewish people in Europe was man-made-made by the very men, sitting in the defendants' box, brought to judgment before this Tribunal.

Before closing may I acknowledge with appreciation the untiring services of the group of the staff of the United States' Prosecution, through whose painstaking search, analysis, and study, this presentation of evidence was made possible: Captain Seymour Krieger, Lieutenant Brady Bryson, Lieutenant Frederick Felton, Sergeant Isaac Stone, and Mr. Hans Nathan.

COL. STOREY: If the Tribunal please, the next presentation, concerning Germanization and spoliation in occupied countries, will be presented by Captain Sam Harris.

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CAPTAIN SAMUEL HARRIS (Assistant Trial Counsel for the United States): May the Tribunal please, documents relating to the Nazi program of Germanization and Spoilation have been assembled in a document book bearing the letter "U." These document books are now being distributed for the use of the members of the Tribunal. I ask Your Honors to note that the tabs on the side of the document book are numbered 1 to 30. The index sheet at the front of the book keys these numbers to the EC, PS, and R numbers of our exhibits.

For Your Honors' convenience we have also numbered the pages of each exhibit in pencil at the upper right-hand corner of each exhibit.

The documents which we shall introduce were collected by Lieutenant Kenyon, who sits at my right and by Doctors Derenberg and Jacoby. Without their untiring efforts, this presentation would not have been possible.

Evidence has already been introduced by Mr. Alderman to prove that the defendants conspired to wage aggressive war. It has also been proved that the desire for Lebensraum was one of the chief forces motivating the conspirators to plan, launch, and wage their wars of aggression. We propose at this time to present evidence disclosing what the conspirators intended to do with conquered territories, called by them Lebensraum, after they had succeeded in overpowering the victims of their aggressions.

We have broadly divided this subject into two categories: Germanization and spoliation. When we speak of plans to germanize, we mean plans to assimilate conquered territories politically, culturally, socially, and economically into the German Reich Germanization, we shall demonstrate, meant the obliteration of the former :national character of the conquered territories and the extermination of all elements which could not be reconciled with the Nazi ideology. By spoliation, we mean the plunder of public and private property and, in general, the exploitation of the people and the natural resources of occupied countries.

We propose, with the permission of Your Honors, to introduce at this time 30 documents in all. These documents lay bare some of the secret plans of the conspirators to germanize, to plunder, to despoil, and to destroy. They do not, of course, tell the whole story of all the conspirators' plans in this field. In some instances proof of the plan is derived from the acts committed by the conspirators. But these few documents are particularly illuminating with respect to the conspirators' plans for Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Russia; and they indicate the outlines of carefully conceived plans for the rest of Europe. Others who follow will fill in this outline by showing a series of outrages committed on so vast a scale that no doubts will exist that they were committed according to plan.

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Poland was, in a sense, the testing ground for the conspirators'. theories upon Lebensraum; and I turn to that country first.

The four western provinces of Poland were purportedly incorporated into Germany by an order of 8 October 1939. This order, which was signed by Hitler, Lammers, and Defendants Goering, Frick, and Hess, is set forth in Reichsgesetzblatt, 1939, Part I, Page 2042; and we ask the Tribunal to take judicial notice thereof. These areas of Poland are frequently referred to in correspondence among the conspirators as "incorporated Eastern Territories." The remainder of Poland, which was seized by the Nazi invaders, was established as the Government General of Poland by an order of Hitler dated 12 October 1939. By that same order Defendant Hans Frank was named Governor General of the newly created Government General; and Defendant Seyss-Inquart was named Deputy Governor General. This order is set forth in Reichsgesetzblatt, 1939, Part I, Page 2077; and we ask the Tribunal also to take judicial notice of it.

The plans with respect to Poland were rather complicated; and I believe that the significance of specific items of proof may be more readily apparent if, in advance of the introduction of the documents, I am permitted briefly to indicate the broad pattern of these plans.

We submit that the documents we are about to introduce on Poland show the following:

First: The conspirators specifically planned to exploit the people and material resources of the Government General of Poland in order to strengthen the Nazi war machine, to impoverish the, Government General, and to reduce it to a vassal state. At a later stage plans were formulated for creating islands of German settlements in the more fertile regions of the Government General in order to engulf the native Polish population and accelerate the process of Germanization.

Second: The incorporated area of Poland, which was deemed to be a part of the German Reich, was to be ruthlessly germanized. To that end, the conspirators planned:

(a) To permit the retention of the productive facilities in the incorporated area, all of which, of course, would be dedicated to the Nazi war machine.

(b) They planned to deport to the Government General many hundreds of thousands of Jews, members of the Polish intelligentsia, and other non-compliant elements. We shall show that the Jews who were deported to the Government General were doomed to speedy annihilation. Moreover, since the conspirators felt that members of the Polish intelligentsia could not be germanized and

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might serve as a center of resistance against their New Order, they too went be eliminated.

(c) They planned to deport all able-bodied Polish workers to Germany for work in the Nazi war machine. This served the twofold purpose of helping to satisfy the labor requirements of the Nazi war machine and preventing the propagation of a new generation of Poles. Mr. Dodd has already produced abundant proof on this topic, and I shall do no more than refer to it.

(d) They planned to mould all persons in the incorporated area who were deemed to possess German blood into German subjects who would religiously adhere to the principles of National Socialism. To that end the conspirators set up an elaborate racial register. Those who resisted or refused to co-operate in this program were sent to concentration camps.

(e) They planned to bring thousands of German subjects into the incorporated area for purposes of settlement.

(f) And finally, they planned to confiscate the property-particularly the fauns-of the Poles, the Jews, and all dissident elements. The confiscation of the property of Jews was part of the conspirators' larger program of extermination of the Jews. Confiscation likewise served three additional purposes: (1) It provided land for the new German settlers and enabled the conspirators to reward their adherents; (2) dispossessed Polish property owners could be shipped to Germany for work in the production of implements of war; and (3) the separation of Polish farmers from their wives furthered the plan to prevent the growth of a new generation of Poles.

We turn now to the specific items of proof.

I first offer in evidence Document Number EC-344 (16), which is Exhibit Number USA-297. This document is a report of an interview with Defendant Frank on 3 October 1939 and was found among the files of the OKW, which were assembled in bulk at the Fechenheim document center. This particular document was included in a large report prepared in the OKVV by one Captain Varain at the direction of General Thomas, then chief of the. military economic staff of the OEVV. I quote from the first 19 lines of Page 3 of the English text. The German text appears on Page 29, lines 25-36, and Page 30, lines 1-6. The report states, and I quote:

"In the first interview which the chief of the Central Division and the liaison officer between the Armament Department Upper East and the Chief Administrative Officer (subsequently Governor General) had with Reich Minister Frank on 3 October 1939 in Posen, Frank explained the instruction which had been entrusted to him by the Fuehrer and the economic political directives according to which he intended

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to administer Poland. According to these directives, Poland could be administered only by utilizing the country by of ruthless exploitation; removal of all supplies-raw materials, machines, factory installations, et cetera-which are important for the German war economy; availability of all workers for work within Germany; reduction of the entire Polish economy to the absolute minimum necessary for the bare existence of the population; closing of all institutions, especially technical schools and colleges in order to prevent the growth of a new Polish intelligentsia. Poland"-Defendant Frank stated-and this is an exact quotation-"Poland shall be treated as a colony; the Poles shall be the slaves of the Greater German World Empire."

I should like also to quote from the last six lines of the English text of this Exhibit. In the German text it is lines 18 to 23 of Page 30. Defendant Frank further stated, and I quote:

"By destroying Polish industry its subsequent reconstruction after the war would become more difficult, if not impossible, so that Poland would be reduced to its proper position as an agrarian country which would have to depend upon Germany for importation of industrial products."

As further proof of the defendant's plan to plunder and despoil the Government General of Poland, I next offer in evidence Document Number EC 410, which is Exhibit Number USA-298. In addition to the proof of the defendant's plans to plunder and despoil the Government General, this document demonstrates the difference in treatment which the conspirators planned for the incorporated area of Poland and the Government General. It is a copy of a directive issued and signed by Defendant Goering on 19 October 1939 and was likewise found among the captured OKW files. I quote from lines 1 to 19 on Page 1 of the English text. In the German text it is all of Page 1 and the first line of Page 2. Defendant Goering's directive states, and I quote:

"In the meeting of October 13th I have given detailed instructions for the economical administration of the occupied territories. I will repeat them here in short: "1. The task for the economic treatment of the various administrative regions is different, depending on whether a country which will be incorporated politically into the German Reich is involved or whether we deal with the Government General, which in all probability, will not be made a part of Germany. "In the first-mentioned territories the reconstruction and expansion of the economy, the safeguarding of all their production facilities and supplies must be aimed at, as well

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as a complete incorporation into the Greater German economic system at the earliest possible time. On the other hand, there must be removed from the territories of the Government General all raw materials, scrap materials, machines, et cetera which are of use for the German war economy. Enterprises which are not absolutely necessary for the meager maintenance of the naked existence of the population must be transferred to Germany, unless such transfer would require an unreasonably long period of time and would make it more practical to exploit those enterprises by giving them German orders to be executed at their present location."

Once the Government General had been stripped of its industrial potential, the defendants planned to leave the country desolate. Not even the war damage was to be repaired. This is the clear import of the documents previously introduced and is likewise made clear by Document Number EC-411, which. is Exhibit Number USA-299. I offer this document in evidence. This document is a copy of an order dated So November 1939, by Defendant Hess, in his capacity as Deputy Fuehrer. This document was also found in the captured OKW files. I quote the English and German teats in their entirety. Defendant Hess stated, and I quote:

. "I hear from Party members who came from the Government General that various agencies, as for instance, the Military Economic Staff, the Reich Ministry for Labor, et cetera, intend to reconstruct certain industrial enterprises in Warsaw. However, in accordance with a decision by Minister Dr. Frank approved by the Fuehrer, Warsaw shall not be rebuilt nor is it the intention of the Fuehrer to rebuild or reconstruct any industry in the Government General."

Turning from the defendants' program of economic spoliation in the Government General to their program of deportation and resettlement, I next offer in evidence Document Number 661-PS, which is Exhibit Number USA-300. This is a secret report, prepared by the Academy of German Law in January 1940, upon plans for the mass migration of Poles and Jews from incorporated areas of Poland to the Government General and for the forcible deportation of able-bodied Poles to Germany. This document was obtained from the ministerial collecting center at Kassel, Germany. The date does not appear in the English translation, but it is clearly set fort h on the cover page of the original document as January 1940. Before quoting from this document, I ask first that the Tribunal take judicial notice of the decree of 11 July 1934, embodied in the Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, Page 605, 11 July 1934, which provided that the Academy of German Law would be a public corporation

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of the Reich under the supervision of the Reich Ministers of Justice and the Interior, and that its task would be:

"To promote the reconstruction of German legal life and to realize, in constant close collaboration with the competent legislative organizations, the National Socialist program in the entire sphere of the law."

Second, before quoting from the aforementioned of the Academy of German Law, I should like to offer in evidence Document Number 2749-PS, which is Exhibit Number USA-301. This is the title page of the publication of the Academy of German Law for 1940. It is offered for the purpose of showing that Defendant Frank was the President of the Academy of German Law during the period that the above-mentioned secret report of the Academy was made. The document specifically states, and I quote:

"Reich Minister Dr. Hans Frank, President of the Academy for German Law, 7th year 1940."

Now, if I may ask Your Honors to turn to Document Number 661-PS, I should first like to quote Page 1, lines 6 to 24, of the English text. In the German text these extracts appear at Page 6, lines 6 to 10; and line 22, Page 6, to line 4, Page 7. I quote:

"A the carrying out of costly and long-term measures for the increase of agricultural production, the Government General can, at the most, absorb 1 to 1.5 million resettlers, as it is already over-populated m many cases.... By further absorption of 1.6 million resettlers the 1925 Reich census figure of 133 inhabitants per square kilometer would be reached, which practically, because of already existing rural over-population and lack of industry, would result in a double over-pressure. "This figure of 1.6 million will barely suffice for deportations from the Reich: "The Jews from the liberated East (over 600,000); groups of the remaining Jews, preferably the younger age groups from Germany proper, Austria, Sudetengau and the Protectorate (altogether over 1 million) "

Continuing the quotation, the report goes on with respect to transfers from the Reich, and I continue to quote:

"The Polish intelligentsia, who have been branded as politicians, and potential political leaders; the leading economic personalities, comprising owners of large estates, industrialists and businessmen, et cetera; the peasant population, so far as it has to be removed in order to carry out, by strips of German settlements, the encirclement of Polish territories in the East."

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Next I quote the last paragraph on Page 1 of the English text. The German text is at Page 8, lines 3-10:

"In order to relieve the living space of the Poles in the Government General as well as in the liberated East, one should temporarily remove cheap labor by the hundreds of thousands, employ them for a few years in the Old Reich, and thereby hamper their native biological propagation. (Their assimilation into the Old Reich must be prevented.)"

Finally, I quote from the last paragraph of Page 2 of the English text. In the German text it is the last 5 lines on Page 40:

"Strictest care is to be taken that secret documents, memoranda, and official correspondence which contain instructions detrimental to the Poles are kept steadily under lock and key, so that they will not some day fill the White Books printed in Paris or the U.S.A."

Your Honors will recall, from your own experiences, the vicious propaganda campaigns conducted by Nazi Germany to discredit the Polish books when they made their appearance in countries friendly to Poland. The last paragraph of this document which I have just read gives the lie to that whole Nazi propaganda campaign.

The plans for the deportation of thousands of innocent people, which are set forth in the document from which I have just quoted, were not mere theories spun by lawyers. They represented, as the next three documents to be offered in evidence will show, a program which was, in fact, ruthlessly executed.

I next offer in evidence Document Number 2233(g)-PS, the Frank diaries, 1939, from 25 October to 15 December, which is Exhibit Number USA-302. This document was obtained from the 7th Army document center at Heidelberg I quote from the last paragraph of Page 1, carrying over to the first two lines of Page 2 of the English text. In the German text the statements appear at Page 19, lines 19 to 28. Defendant Frank stated, and I quote:

"The Reichsfuehrer SS"-meaning Himmler-"wishes that all Jews be evacuated from the newly gained Reich territories. Up to February approximately 1 million people are to be brought in this way into the Government General. The families of good racial extraction present in the occupied Polish territory (approximately 4 million people) should be transferred into the Reich and individually housed, thereby being uprooted as a people."

I next offer in evidence Document Number EC-305, which is Exhibit Number USA-303. This exhibit is the top-secret minutes of a meeting held on 12 February 1940, under the chairmanship of Defendant Goering, on "Questions Concerning the East." The

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document was found in the captured OKW files. Himmler and Defendant Frank likewise were present at this meeting.

I initially quote from Page 1, lines 15 to 17, of the English text. These extracts are found in the front page, lines 1 to 8, of the German text. The minutes state, and I quote:

"By way of introduction the General Field Marshal"- meaning Defendant Goering-"explained that the strengthening of the war potential of the Reich must be the chief aim of all measures to be taken in the East."

I next quote the first two lines of the last paragraph on Page 1 of the English text. The German text appears at Page 2, lines 2 to 4.

"Agriculture: The task consists of obtaining the greatest possible agricultural production from the new eastern Gaue, disregarding questions of ownership."

I next quote from the second paragraph of Page 2 of the English text. This is at Page 3, lines 22-24, of the German text:

"Special questions concerning the Government General.... The Government General will have to receive the Jews who are ordered to emigrate from Germany and the new eastern Gaue."

Finally, I quote the paragraph numbered 2 under Roman numeral II of Page 2 of the English text, These statements appear in the German text at Page 4, lines 3-19:

"The following reported on the situation in the Eastern territories.... "2. Reichsstatthalter Gauleiter Forster"-who said-" 'The population of 