at Yale Law School at Yale Law SchoolI have the honour to submit a final report on the hearing of witnesses for Organizations alleged to be criminal in accordance with Paragraph 4 of the Tribunal's Order of March 13th, under which I was appointed Commissioner.
My thanks are due to the following gentlemen who acted as Assistant Commissioners in the hearing of witnesses:
The report is divided as follows:
Part One: Administrative. The carrying out of the Order of March 13th.
Part Two: Summary of evidence of the witnesses heard on Commission.
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In October 1945 the Tribunal ordered that notice be given to members of indicted Organizations of their right to apply to be heard by the Tribunal under Article 9 of the Charter. This notice was published in all four zones of occupation. It was distributed in internment camps and published in the German language over the wireless, in newspapers, and in the form of notices posted by Military Government authorities.
As a result of the publication of the notice, the General Secretary's Office received a total of 47,114 applications to be heard by the 8th of February. An analysis of these applications and the camps and areas from which they came is to be found in a report issued by the Office of the General Secretary, dated the 8th of February.
The majority of these applications came from prisoner of war camps in the American zone in Germany. By the 26th of April, when a further report was issued, the total number of applications to be heard had reached the figure of 81,433. Members of the SS alone sent in a total of 58,597. The total number received up to the present date is estimated to be more than 110,000. These applications were acknowledged by the General Secretary's Office and forwarded to Defense Counsel. The large majority of them consisted of personal statements by members of organizations to the effect that they had committed no crimes. Many of them were in collective form and consisted of petitions signed by hundreds of inmates of internment camps.
On the 21st of November the Tribunal appointed Defense Counsel for the SS, the Gestapo and the SA, and at a later date for the General Staff, Reich Cabinet and Corps of Political Leaders. In February it was decided that the SD, which was indicted as part of the SS but whose interests appeared to conflict with those of the SS and GESTAPO, should be represented by a special counsel. At the time of the hearings on Commission the organizations were represented by 8 Counsel and 23 Assistants.
The provisions of the Tribunal's Order of the 13th of March which lays down the procedure for the selection and hearing of witnesses, were carried out as follows:
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1. In accordance with Paragraph 1 of the Order, the General Secretary's Office arranged for Defense Counsel to visit internment camps in all the four zones in order to interview the inmates and to select prospective witnesses. During the months of March and April special tours were organized with the assistance of the Military authorities, when the Counsel were accompanied by escorting officers whose duties were to facilitate their entry into the camps for free consultation with members of Organizations. After these tours had been organized Defense Counsel were permitted to continue their visits. The total number of individual camps visited by Defense Counsel is 80.
The Tribunal decided in March not to limit witnesses to those who had sent in applications and that any person who was available could be called as a witness whether he was technically a member of the Organization or not.
As a result of these visits and in accordance with Paragraphs I and 2 of the Order, 603 persons were brought to Nurnberg for consultation and selection as witnesses.
2. The Commission established in accordance with Paragraph 4 of the Order began work on the 20th of May. Applications for witnesses selected by Defense Counsel from persons brought to Nurnberg were first discussed with the Commissioners who made decisions as to whether their evidence could be considered relevant in accordance with Paragraph 6.
Progress was at first slow, a number of administrative difficulties being encountered. The Commission were unable to employ the microphone system of interpreting and in consequence the hearing of witnesses took considerably longer.
It must also be realized that it was understood to be the object of the Commission that these witnesses should be heard as fully as possible and that they should cover a wide field. It was thought that as a result the Tribunal would be able to decide on the most important witnesses to be heard in Court when the time came for their selection. Every effort was made by the Commissioners to see that the witnesses selected represented as many aspects of the Organization as possible and that opportunity was given to refute the charges of the Prosecution. How far this was done can be judged from the lists of the witnesses included in the Summaries of evidence which follow.
3. On the 13th of June a second Commission was set up and as a result, the number of witnesses heard was greatly increased. When the Commission ceased its work by order of the Tribunal on the
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3rd of August, the total number heard was 101. The number heard for each Organization was as follows:
| Reich Cabinet | 1 |
| Political Leaders | 22 |
| SS | 29 |
| SD | 6 |
| Gestapo | 13 |
| SA | 17 |
| General Staff | 13 |
4. Paragraph 5 of the Order states that after the examination of witnesses, Counsel may apply to the Tribunal to call selected oral witnesses and to offer the evidence of the persons examined on Commission. Defense Counsel applied to the Tribunal for 31 witnesses and 22 of them were granted. The numbers allowed for each Organization were as follows:
| Reich Cabinet | 1 |
| Political Leaders | 5 |
| SS | 5 |
| SD | 2 |
| Gestapo | 2 |
| SA | 4 |
| General Staff | 3 |
All the witnesses subsequently heard in Court were with but one exception people who had already been heard on Commission. The Tribunal had ruled on the 17th of April that all persons appearing for the Defense of Organizations should first be heard by the Commissioners.
5. By order of the Tribunal, Defense Counsel were permitted to take affidavits and issue interrogatories to witnesses in appropriate cases. As a result a gigantic number of affidavits from members of organizations interned in camps was collected. These affidavits which were largely cumulative in nature were summarized by the Defense Counsel or by prisoners with legal qualifications in the Nurnberg jail where special facilities were provided. These affidavits are referred to as "collective" affidavits.
There were, however, a considerable number of affidavits taken from prospective witnesses brought to Nurnberg who were not selected for hearing on Commission. By an order dated July the 5th it was decided that such affidavits should be submitted to the Commissioners before being offered as evidence to the Tribunal. Special hearings of the Commission were arranged at which Defense Counsel read summaries of affidavits into the transcript and the
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Prosecution were entitled to comment or object. If the Commissioners decided that the affidavit was relevant, it was given a number and filed with the General Secretary. 1809 affidavits were submitted to the Commissioners. Of these about 90 were ordered to be fully translated. Summaries of the rest are to be found in the transcript of the Commission proceedings, or, in the case of the General Staff, in a special report prepared by Defense Counsel.
The total number of affidavits submitted to the Commission for each organization was:
| Reich Cabinet | 4 |
| Political Leaders | 100 |
| SS | 123 |
| SD | 69 |
| Gestapo | 92 |
| SA | 89 |
| General Staff | 1,200 |
It is not known at the time of writing how many of these affidavits will actually be presented or discussed in open court.
As for the collective affidavits mentioned above, six separate reports were submitted by the Defense. The Reich Cabinet did not submit a report, having submitted only 3 affidavits to the Commissioners).
When the time limit for affidavits was reached on August 5th, the total number of collective affidavits submitted was 313,213. The total for each organization was as follows:
| Political Leaders | 155,000 |
| SS | 136,213 |
| SD | 7,000 |
| Gestapo | 2,000 |
| SA | 10,000 |
| General Staff | 3,000 |
6. In carrying out an administrative task of such magnitude, particularly in the bringing of witnesses to Nurnberg from all parts of Germany, the Commissioners were greatly assisted by the General Secretary's Office, Headquarters Command IMT, and 6850th Internal Security Detachment, U.S. Army, and by Military authorities in all the four zones of Occupation. The thanks of the Commission are also due to all those who contributed to giving as wide a selection of representative witnesses to the defense as was possible in the circumstances.
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PART TWOThe definition of the evidence considered to be relevant when hearing witnesses for the organizations is to be found in Paragraph 6 of the Order of March the 13th.
In complying with this paragraph the Commissioners encountered a number of problems. In some cases it was possible for them to rule that the evidence given was irrelevant since it was clearly not within the wording of the Order. In cases of serious doubt they made certain comments but allowed the hearing to continue so that the argument which ensued of the Defense or Prosecution could be read in the transcripts. It was considered that the hearings should be as full as possible so that the Tribunal could decide when they came to the hearing of witnesses in Court what matters they thought had been sufficiently covered and what new questions should be discussed.
The Commissioners, therefore, allowed the witnesses to continue in many cases where the evidence was of doubtful relevancy but where it was thought that the Tribunal should read a full report of the questions discussed.
In general, the order worked quite satisfactorily and was not difficult to interpret. There were, however, certain phrases such as "physical compulsion" and "open and notorious or otherwise generally known to the members" which required a good deal of definition. It may be convenient to consider the various paragraphs of the Order. Paragraph 6 a (1) reads:
"Whether the organization or group charged consisted substantially of an aggregation of persons sharing a general common purpose to engage in activities defined as criminal under Article 6 of the Charter and in this connection what the aims, tasks, activities, methods, structure and component parts of the Organization were."
The Defense Counsel seemed to be in some doubt as to the meaning of this paragraph. A great deal of evidence which, was given concerning the structure and component parts of the organization did not strictly fall within this paragraph and the Commissioners were constantly obliged to draw the attention of Defense Counsel to this fact.
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The paragraph indicates that the question to be decided is whether the Organization was designed to commit crimes mentioned in Article 6 of the Charter and in this connection what its activities, etc., were. The words "In this connection" were frequently overlooked by the Defense Counsel. As a result, an exhaustive description of practically all the departments concerned has been given in very great detail and while this is of considerable interest to the historian, in the opinion of the Commissioners it is largely irrelevant.
The point made by the Commissioners was that it was not the intention that the structure of the organization as such should be given. It was intended that the details of the organization should only be described insofar as they were intended to refute the particular crimes alleged under Article 6 of the Charter. It was, for instance, considered quite relevant to show that disciplinary action was taken against people who committed atrocities in concentration camps and what was the practice of the SS Court in dealing with these because these were crimes mentioned in the Charter.
The Commission, however, stopped the examination of a witness on proceedings taken against individual members of an Organization for fraud and embezzlement since this was considered to relate only to a matter of internal discipline. It was, however, considered that the Organization should be allowed to call representative witnesses to give a clear general picture of the Organization as a whole. For this reason the witnesses were allowed to describe local branches in different parts of Germany though they all said substantially the same thing. They did, however, manage to add "local color" to evidence which otherwise would have been regarded as cumulative. As a result, it is believed as complete as possible a description has been given.
The Commissioners had no difficulty in deciding that the Defense should be allowed to describe the structure of the Organization in order to show that the charts submitted by the Prosecution were incorrect. The majority of charts submitted by the Prosecution in the case against the SS and General Staff have been challenged on the grounds that they were liable to misunderstanding and would create a false impression of the duties and chain of command in the mind of the Tribunal.
Another purpose of the Defense in describing structural details was to show that ' the Organizations were not united groups. They claim that they aid not function as complete units, e.g., the various sections of the SS operated entirely independently of each other
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and the General Staff was a mere loose association of Staff Officers and Commanders who received orders from the top but never functioned as a Council of War.
It appears to be the contention of the Defense that if they can show that a majority of the members were innocent or ignorant of crimes mentioned in Article 6 of the Charter, the Organization as a whole should not be declared criminal. They have, therefore, tried to dissect the Organization into different groups which had no relation to each other and to show that the actual criminals were a very limited number of people who kept their activities secret. This is particularly true of the SS, the GESTAPO and the SD, all of whom claim that there were thousands of subordinate or even honorary members of those organizations who did not belong to the inner executive circle.
The next point to be considered is paragraph 6 a (2); whether membership in the organization was generally voluntary or the result of physical compulsion or legal decree. Here, as in other cases, it has been very necessary to ensure that the evidence given does give a clear general picture of the conditions of membership. As far as possible, individual stories have been ruled out except insofar as the witness concerned might be said to be speaking for a considerable number of people. His evidence was also allowed if he was the head of a department which controlled recruiting and statistics since it was within the scope of his duty to have knowledge of such things.
Evidence, for instance, that all civil servants were compelled to join the Organization by legal decree was clearly admissible, particularly if the evidence was given by a witness who was responsible for the administration of the civil service. Evidence, however, that particular individuals were placed at a disadvantage by not belonging to the Organization was only allowed insofar as the matter related to a general practice in Germany. Evidence that a father strongly advised his son to join an Organization because it was considered to have high ideals was not allowed.
The question of "physical compulsion" was from the first the subject of considerable argument. Before the Commission actually began its proceedings an attempt was made to come to some decision as to the interpretation of this phrase through a meeting by the Prosecution and Defense at which the Commissioners heard their views. The Defense stated that in their opinion "economic" compulsion should be included. By this they meant the fear of business or social disadvantage as a result of refusal to join the Organization. They also wished to include what they called
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44 psychological compulsion. That is to say, the general fear pervading the people of Germany that they might be punished or be declared outcasts if they were not members.
This idea of psychological compulsion was objected to by the Prosecution who considered that the order meant what it said and that the compulsion described involved the threat of actual physical force.
As to what might be considered economic compulsion, no formal decision was made. The Commissioners felt that' it was not necessary to make any final ruling but to adhere as closely as possible to the wording of the order, but they agreed that physical compulsion as a rule should include the threat of disciplinary measures or imprisonment. It was thought that the vital point to decide was what the actual consequences of refusal would have been. Perhaps more important was the question whether there was any evidence of such consequences having ensued in actual cases.
A considerable amount of evidence was given that disciplinary measures or even internment in concentration camps might have followed but there was no evidence that any actual refusal occurred. (See evidence for the Order Police who allege that some of their members joined the SS under pressure).
The reasons for the contention of the Defense that the term "physical compulsion" should be enlarged to include pressure of other kinds seems to be as follows:
It has already been said that it is their contention that if it could be proved that a large majority of members were innocent of any actual crime the Organization as a whole cannot be declared criminal. According to the same reasoning, therefore, they wish to show that as large as possible a number of members joined the Organization unwillingly and also that they demonstrated their unwillingness.
This is particularly to be seen in the evidence for the Stahlhelm, an ex-servicemen's organization which was transferred by decree to the SA in the spring of 1934. The members of this organization numbered at least one million at the time of their transfer. They claim that they were not consulted about it and that they were so indignant that they remained in opposition to the principles of the SA for the next eleven years, i.e. until 1945. If they were asked why they did not resign, they said this was impossible or that they were under some form of compulsion which might involve them in disciplinary measures or financial loss.
Another example of this alleged involuntary membership is a claim on behalf of the thousands of young students who were not
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permitted to continue their studies in the universities without furnishing evidence of their membership in the SA or in other organizations.
The Defense, therefore, considered it in their interest to widen the interpretation of the word "compulsion" as much as they possibly could, in order to bring in the greatest number of members.
The Prosecution have continued to declare "mental coercion" as immaterial. They consider that the nature of the coercion must be such as is normally recognized by law. Threats of political or economic consequences should not be valid. The Defense's reply to this is that the fact that a large number of members were involuntary members is of such decisive importance for the declaration of criminality that mental coercion must be included. They concede, however, that an organization in the sense of Article 6 of the Charter could be considered criminal even if all the members had been subjected to such pressure. They say, however, this could only be done from a "formal juridical standpoint", on the grounds that according to Anglo-Saxon law, an organization is accountable for crimes committed within it even without the knowledge and against the will of the members.
They protest that in this trial conditions are quite different.
We come now to the question of knowledge of criminal activities on the part of the members. Mr. Justice Jackson has stated that the nature of the criminal aims and methods must be such that they "generally" known. This is substantially the wording of the order which includes the expression "open and notorious". Similarly Sir David Maxwell-Fyfe has said "The nature of the criminal aims or methods must have been such that a reasonable person must have had knowledge of the purposes pursued by the organizations which he joined, i.e., he must have known what kind of an organization it was."
Here again the Commissioners considered it their duty to try and limit the evidence to what appeared to have been the general situation in Germany at the time.
The Prosecution has frequently alleged that the "whole world" knew about these crimes and so why did not the members? This was attacked by the Defense as being entirely untrue. It is their claim that under the HITLER regime the reading of foreign, newspapers or listening to foreign broadcasts was prohibited except for a very small circle of officials of the Government. In consequence it was impossible for the average person to have knowledge of such atrocities even though they were being published all over the world.
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The Defense furthermore contended that it was the policy of the GESTAPO and other security organizations to conceal their activities from the public. They make this claim particularly in respect of the alleged crimes by the GESTAPO, the EICHMANN Group, the SD and the Einsatzgruppen. The implication is that these groups consisted of a small number of elite and specially trained people who were sworn to secrecy. For special tasks like the fabrication of frontier incidents on the Polish Border in 1939, HEYDRICH employed special SD men whom he considered reliable. These so-called SD men, claimed the Defense, were not actually members of the SD but merely those whom HEYDRICH or HIMMLER trusted. It is the main contention of the Defense that the so-called "dirty jobs" were carried out by a few selected gangsters who formed a minority in the organization.
This suppression of information by the GESTAPO and other organizations played some part in the evidence regarding the extermination of the Jews. Where it could be shown that the GESTAPO deliberately prevented information from reaching any large number of members of the population this was considered relevant. A mere statement, however, by a witness who asked the GESTAPO for information as to whether the atrocities alleged in Auschwitz were actually occurring and received a negative answer, was declared inadmissible. There appeared to be no evidence that this information was passed on to the public as a whole, nor in this particular case, did it appear to relate to the organization (the SS) for which he had sworn an affidavit.
For the same reason evidence by a witness that his own brother had been an inmate of Belsen concentration camp and told him that there were no atrocities going on, was declared irrelevant to the question of whether the atrocities were generally known to the SS Similarly, evidence was also declared irrelevant which relates only to the guilt or innocence of a particular person.
The summary of evidence which follows will perhaps serve to illustrate further problems concerning the Order of March 13th that have arisen during the hearings.
The report on the evidence heard on Commission which follows has been compiled from the official transcripts and from summaries made of the testimony of individual witnesses.
It is primarily intended to be an account of evidence given for the Defense. It does not purport to be more than an attempt to set down the main points which it would appear that the Defense wish to establish.
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Matters raised by the Prosecution in cross-examination have also been included to give as full as possible an account of the hearings, but only in so far as some clear contradiction or admission is shown.
It has already been announced by the Tribunal that these summaries have no value as evidence and do not form any part of the record.
Since the numerous affidavits submitted have been summarized on Commission, it is not intended to write a separate report on their contents. The evidence contained in them is not, therefore, dealt with in this summary.
The following witnesses gave evidence on Commission for the CORPS OF POLITICAL LEADERS:
KARL WAHL Gauleiter in Schwaben (Bavaria) 1928-1945
KARL OTTO KURT KAUFFMANN Gauleiter of Hamburg 1928-1945
ALBERT HOFFMANN Gauleiter of Southern Westphalia 1943-1945
EDUARD KUEHL Kreisleiter in Hanover 1943-1945
EWALD SCHLEICKER Kreisleiter in Coblentz 1937-1945
EDWARD WILLY MEYER WENDEBORN Kreisleiter in Kloppenburg 1934-1945
HANS WEGSCHEIDER Ortsgruppenleiter in Allgau 1933-1945
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ERNST HIRT Blockleiter in Nurnberg 1942-1945
RUDOLF KUEHN Blockleiter in Berlin 1935-1945
HANS SCHNEIDER Zellenleiter in Augsburg 1936-1942
PAUL WOLF Zellenleiter in Saarbruecken 1941-1945
A second group of witnesses was drawn from the officials of the Gau and Kreis Staffs and of organizations affiliated to the NSDAP:
BRUNO BIEDERMANN Gaupersonalamtsleiter (personnel)
ELSE PAUL Reichsfrauenschaft (women)
ERNA WESTERNACHER Frauenschaftsleiterin (women)
ANTON SCHUELLER NSV (Welfare)
JOHANN MOHR Agrarpolitisches Amt (Agriculture)
PAUL KOPPE Office of "Community Policy" (Local Government Affairs)
THEO HUPFAUER DAF (German labor front)
KARL ENGELBERT Kreiswirtschaftsberater (Kreis economic adviser)
PROFESSOR FRANZ KARL CHUDOBA Student Organizations
GRAF VON ROEDERN Auslandsorganisation (Foreign Organization of the Party)
RICHARD MUELLER Central Administration of the Party (The Treasury)
The total number of witnesses heard, therefore was 21.
From examination of the transcripts of the evidence, it would appear that the Defense are seeking to establish:
1. That the POLITICAL LEADERS and their staffs were not as a group involved in a conspiracy to commit crimes under the Charter.
2. That the main responsibility for political and party affairs lay with the Gauleiters and Kreisleiters who received their directives from the Central Party Organization through HITLER, HESS, BORMANN or the Reichsleiter in the Central Party Organization.
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3. That the political responsibility of the Ortsgruppenleiter was unimportant.
4. That the Block and Zellen Leiters only performed social and welfare duties. They had no real political responsibility.
5. That the official description of the Block and Zellen Leiters as "Hoheitstraeger" is a misnomer. They had none of the privileges or responsibilities of this title. They did not act as spies or informers on the population.
6. That there was no direct link with the SS, SA or GESTAPO except an unofficial liaison on the Gau level.
7. That none of the categories of POLITICAL LEADERS were responsible for ill treatment of foreign workers or Jews in their districts. They were not concerned with and never entered concentration camps. They were forbidden to involve themselves in Church questions.
8. That the POLITICAL LEADERS played no part in the Jewish pogrom of November, 1938.
9. That the Staffs of the Gauleiters and Kreisleiters had no political functions. They were only concerned with administration, welfare or technical matters.
10. That the Labor Front Women's Organizations and student groups were non-political.
11. That the Foreign Organization (Auslandsorganization) of the Party was not an espionage service.
It will be convenient to describe first: the organization and duties of the various political leaders, their staffs and the labor and welfare organizations attached to them. In the second part of this Summary is described the defense of the POLITICAL LEADERS against the charges of the Prosecution that they committed crimes specified in Article 6 of the Charter. Part III refers to knowledge and Part IV to conditions of membership and the holding of office.
All the witnesses from Gauleiter down to Blockleiter gave evidence on the Organization Book of the Party. They said that this was a "theoretical" document which inaccurately described the
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structure of the Party. Gauleiter WAHL said that nobody in the Reich ever read the book. Its large circulation could be attributed only to the fact that everyone down to Ortsgruppenleiter was compelled to buy it. It was known as the "organizational nonsense of Dr. LEY". Even HITLER himself appeared to disapprove of it.
According to HIRT neither Block nor Zellen Leiters were familiar with its contents.
The Defense are here presumably trying to show that in relying on the Organization Book of the Party, the Prosecution have drawn an incorrect inference as to the structure and functions of the POLITICAL LEADERS.
BIEDERMANN, representing the Gauleiters Staff, said that the Organization Book of the Party could not be considered as a directive to Party Leaders in a comparable sense with an Army field instruction book. He knew of no one who actually studied it and used it in their work.
MEYER-WENDEBORN, Kreisleiter, explained that the regulations prescribed were followed in a general sense but it was impossible to require local POLITICAL LEADERS to adhere strictly to this manual. He regarded the book as a general basis on which political work should be carried out but did not believe it had any official significance beyond this.
The term "Hoheitstraeger" or "bearer of Sovereignty" signifies a POLITICAL LEADER who held a position of special responsibility in the carrying out of the party programme. It was an invention of Dr. LEY. Gauleiter WAHL alleged that the POLITICAL LEADERS refused to use the term. They never felt that they were "Sovereigns" but only "humble servants of the population."
Although the Organization Book includes Blockleiters and Zellenleiters as "Hoheitstraeger", in practice only the Gau, Kreis and Ortsgruppen Leiters belonged to this category.
For the witness SCHNEIDER, a Zellenleiter, it was & title without meaning and conferred no special privileges on the recipient.
There was a publication known as "Der Hoheitstraeger". This ,vas not distributed below the rank of Ortsgruppenleiter. (For further reference to the claim that the Block and Zellen Leiters were not in reality "Hoheitstraeger", see the description of their functions below).
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The Gauleiters were the principal provincial representatives of the Party, who were subordinate to the Central Party Organization and the Reichsleiters. There were 42 Gaus in Germany. The Prosecution's contention that the total number of Hoheitstraeger including Blockleiters and Zellenleiters was about 600,000 appeared too small to the witness WAHL. He thought that the increase in POLITICAL LEADERS between 1930 and 1945 was probably
greater than this. He estimated that in his Gau there were about 12,000 to 25,000 POLITICAL LEADERS. (If his Gau is to be taken as average in size, the total number would therefore be about 650,000).
Gauleiter KAUFFMANN declared that a well organized and disciplined party organization was necessary to insure freedom of activity, particularly in the sphere of propaganda. This was because the party originated at a time when there was violent and even armed opposition to its programme.
The control of Party affairs consisted in meetings with Kreis and Ortsgruppenleiters, oral instructions and circulars issued by HITLER and the Reich leaders. It was the function of the Gauleiter to interpret these directives and to issue them to lower formations. The Kreisleiter had a certain discretion in the interpretation of orders but the Ortsgruppenleiters were given definite instructions. The Block and Zellen Leiters were merely executive subordinates of the Ortsgruppenleiters.
The meetings of the Reichsleiters, Gauleiters and Kreisleiters were at first open discussions known as "Tagung". During the last ten years, however, these discussions were less free and gradually developed into meetings at which orders and directives were issued. They were not secret and were attended by the Press. The subjects discussed varied, but matters mentioned in the Indictment, such as plans for aggressive war, were never referred to.
WAHL said that HITLER'S decrees by which no one had a right to know more about policy than was necessary for the execution of the orders which he received was literally carried out.
During the war a number of Gauleiters; also held the position of Reichs Defense Commissioner. Gauleiter HOFFMANN who was Gauleiter and Reichs Commissioner for Defense in Southern Westphalia, states that these two functions were separate. Thus in his Gau, he tried to ensure that the work of the Kreisleiter and Ortsgruppenleiter did not conflict with that of the municipal officials
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concerned with defense and air raid precautions. As Reichs Commissioner he was in charge of all air raid precautions and was even permitted to decorate persons who had shown gallantry during air raids.
This Gauleiter had previously been an official on the staff of the Deputy of the Fuehrer HESS. He denied that while holding this position he learned anything concerning the planning of outrages against the Jews in 1938. Had this been done by the Higher Political Leaders he would certainly have known.
The Kreisleiters were next in rank to the Gauleiter and as already described, they had some discretion with regard to orders received from the Deputy of the Fuehrer or the Reichsleiter. They had weekly discussions with members of their staff and with the local administration. Every four to six weeks they had discussions with the Mayor and Ortsgruppenleiter. At these meetings officials from the Welfare Organization, German Labor Front and Propaganda Department, together with other local officials, were present. The meetings were open to the public.
The witness KUEHL attended a large number of meetings of Kreisleiters and Ortsgruppenleiters in the Hanover District from 1939 onwards. He declared that none of the meetings were secret and that no matters relating to crimes mentioned in Article 6 of the Charter were discussed there.
It appears that important business of the district was transacted through orders or directives sent to the Kreis authorities in written form. In general, written instructions never went lower than Ortsgruppenleiter. Instructions to officials below that rank were delivered orally, sometimes by means of public meetings.
MEYER-WENDEBORN said that he and other Kreisleiters met every six or eight weeks to exchange information. He described three types of subordinate offices within the Party organization. These were firstly "leadership office' which were composed of Departments for administration, propaganda, personnel and training. Secondly, there were personnel offices which included the DAF (labor front), peasants' department, civil servants department, education office, the NS Frauenschaft (women) and legal branches.
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Thirdly there were the welfare offices; the NSV or national welfare organization, the NSKOV, which was the veterans' organization, the public health office, municipal departments, industrial and technical sections.
The chiefs of these offices were not responsible for the political training of the people. They did, however, take part in the Gau, Kreis and Ortsgruppen Leiter conferences. Their functions are further described below (See second part of this).
Kreisleiter SCHLEICKER said that the office for local government affairs was known as "the office for community policy". He included also in the Gau and Kreis staffs the Volkstum office for racial policy and a Press section. There were in practice two spheres within which these offices attached to the Kreis carried out their duties. Those who carried out the most important functions, such as finance, propaganda and training, formed the inner department of the Kreis staff, the remainder formed an "outer circle". The structure of the offices at Gau and Kreis levels was exactly the same.
In the district supervised by HANS WEGSCHEIDER the organization of the Ortsgruppenleiter staff consisted of a Kassenleiter (treasurer), an organization leiter, a training leiter, two Zellenleiters: and 8 Blockleiters. The Ortsgruppenleiter relied on the Zellen and Block Leiters to collect subscriptions and to distribute party directives. The Zellenleiters: were responsible for delivering instructions to the Blockleiters. The Ortsgruppenleiter kept files recording subscriptions to the party funds but in the witness' district there were no files on the political views of individuals. The Ortsgruppenleiter had no authority in police matters and could not call upon the SS or the SA for any purpose.
The witness held three large meetings of a communal nature between 1933 and 1939. There were other meetings ordered by the Kreisleiter. These meetings were usually held in the spring and autumn of the year and were open to the public. Gau and Kreis representatives lectured on the principles of National Socialism and discussed agricultural problems. The Ortsgruppenleiter held meetings with his subordinate leaders about every six months. The witness' 'district was largely agricultural and the object of these meetings was to, ascertain the reaction of the inhabitants to
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the directives of the Government on farming. The Block and Zellen Leiters did not have meetings or conferences among themselves.
Twice or three times a year the witness attended a conference with the Kreisleiter. At these meetings representatives of the Reichsleiter were present and gave lectures on such subjects as the NSV (welfare), the DAF (labor front) or peasant questions. The meeting usually included a general discussion, after which the Kreisleiter gave a closing address.
WEGSCHEIDER was emphatic that at none of these meetings were measures or plans discussed that could be regarded as criminal. In 1934 his Kreisleiter laid down as a basic principle of the POLITICAL LEADERS that they should not govern the people but lead them. Witness said he was especially directed that if persons criticised the State or its measures, the reason for their criticism should first be ascertained in order to see that no injustice was being done. The witness instructed his Block and Zellen Leiters to pursue this course of action. He also instructed them that if it was necessary to report a member of the public, a signed statement should first be submitted to him certifying that the facts were, correct. During the whole period that he was Ortsgruppenleiter he received only one complaint. This was the result of a disagreement between two members of the party.
Cross-examined by the Prosecution, MEYER-WENDEBORN said that the Ortsgruppenleiters had propaganda assistants called the Ortsgruppen Propaganda leaders. These men had the task of advertising meetings. Political education was under a so-called Schulungsleiter who was supervised by the Ortsgruppenleiter but was actually within the jurisdiction of the Gauleiter. The reading of "Mein Kampf" was ordered by higher authority but the majority of witnesses from Gauleiter downwards denied that they had ever thoroughly read the book. MEYER-WENDEBORN admitted, however, that according to 1893-PS ) USA Exhibit 323, it was customary for extracts from "Mein Kampf" to be read at meetings held by the Zellenleiters.
The Ortsgruppenleiters received the publication "Der Hoheitstraeger". This journal is not correct in saying that persons termed "Hoheitstraeger" have the right to order the assistance of the; SA and the SS in certain cases. It was admitted, however, that there
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were exceptions to this rule and that the POLITICAL LEADERS could call upon the SA or SS to distribute propaganda. As to employment of the SA by POLITICAL LEADERS, see summary of evidence for the SA).
Document 43-D was put to Kreisleiter KUEHL. This was an instruction from a Kreisleiter in Bremen in May, 1936, ordering his Ortsgruppenleiter to make a report on civil servants who did not vote. The document stated that such reports had been ordered by the Minister of the Interior FRICK. KUEHL said that. this must have been a mistake and he thought that no such instructions were ever given in Bremen.
The position of the Block and Zellen Leiters was, according to all the witnesses, one of no political significance. It has already been stated that they received their instructions orally from the Ortsgruppenleiter. They were the assistants of the Ortsgruppenleiter for the collection of subscriptions and other administrative matters (testimony of MEYER-WENDEBORN).
The Zellenleiters were responsible for four blocks in WEGSCHEIDER's district where there were eight Blockleiters and two Zellenleiters. The duties of the Zellenleiters consisted principally of acting as intermediaries between the Blockleiters and the Ortsgruppenleiter and his Staff. They received money collected by the Blockleiter from members and handed it over to the Kassenleiter (treasurer) on the Ortsgruppenleiter's staff. They performed a similar function with respect to relief work, lotteries and tickets for meetings. They passed on to the Blockleiters pamphlets, training notes and propaganda material which they received from the Orts Propaganda Leiter. They kept the Blockleiters informed of conferences at which their attendance was required. They had no staff and no assistants. The witness SCHNEIDER observed that one cannot speak of a staff on any level lower than that of Ortsgruppenleiter. The fact that the staffs of Ortsgruppenleiter appear to have been excluded by the Prosecution is unsatisfactory. The Blockleiters and Zellenleiters were greatly inferior in authority and political responsibility to the members of the staff of the Ortsgruppenleiter. The situation results that the subordinate officials have been indicted and those who had more authority have been excluded. (Evidence of ERNST HIRT and of SCHNEIDER).
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Conferences of Block and Zellen Leiters with the Ortsgruppenleiter, in fact, took place only as required. As a result of the war both Block and Zellen Leiters acquired new functions. The principal addition to their work was the supervision of air raid precautions and the organization of relief measures.
The witness HIRT said that during the war the Blockleiter had the following principal duties: The collection of dues, the maintenance of a card index of his block, the distribution of proclamations and pamphlets and various social and relief tasks. Air raid precaution duties included the finding of billets for bombed-out persons.
HIRT denied the existence of any Blockleiter staff such as is described in the diagram on Page 101 of Document 1893-PS. There were assistants or substitutes for the Blockleiters known as Block Helfers but these were comparatively rare. The Blockleiter did not supervise the work of the Block foreman, the Block women's leader or the Block administrator as alleged on Page 103 of the above document and they did not come under his disciplinary authority. The Blockleiter's contact with the Zellenleiter was confined to the checking of receipts of money from subscribers and the receiving of instructions. There was no contact between the Blockleiter and higher political authorities such as the Kreisleiter and Gauleiter. The Blockleiters were in no sense "Hoheitstraeger". Blockleiters had no authority to give orders to the residents of their block.
During the examination of HIRT, it was stated by Defense Counsel that the Political Leadership within the Party rests solely and only in the "Hoheitstraeger", which is to say the Reichsleiter, the Gauleiter, Kreisleiter and Ortsgruppenleiter. Witness agreed that this was the proper definition of "Hoheitstraeger". He confirmed that the publication "Der Hoheitstraeger" was never distributed to Block and Zellen Leiters although they constituted 93% of the political leadership corps.
Asked in cross-examination on Document 2958-PS, USA-325, why page one of the February, 1939 edition of "Der Hoheitstraeger" states that the book is to be received by "the following Hoheitstraeger down to Ortsgruppenleiter", witness said he could see no particular significance in the word "following".
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(The purpose of this question was apparently to find out why if the POLITICAL LEADERS who were included in the distribution list constituted all the "Hoheitstraeger", it was necessary to insert these words and whether the fact of doing so implied that there were other "Hoheitstraeger" than the various leiters down to Ortsgruppenleiter.)
He was then referred to 1893-PS (Page 3) which enumerates Zellen and Block ' Leiters among the "Hoheitstraeger". He had no explanation to offer for this, though he admitted that he was speaking on the basis of a comparatively narrow personal knowledge of Blockleiters and Zellenleiters before the War.
At this point the Defense submitted in evidence an affidavit sworn by one KARL HEDERICH, Chairman of the Commission for National Socialist publications from 1934 to 1945. This affidavit states that there was confusion and uncertainty within the high party ranks as to the exact concept of "Hoheitstraeger", and if the Block and Zellen Leiters were included within this term, it was merely a matter of form. HEDERICH denied that they had in fact the necessary authority.
The two main charges preferred by the Prosecution against the Block and Zellen Leiters are firstly that they were "little Caesars" who terrorized the population and secondly, that they were spies and informers. All the witnesses denied the charge that Blockleiters were "little Caesars" or minor dictators, in view of their lack of political responsibility. One Blockleiter was of the opinion that the maintenance of their families and performance of their tasks as Blockleiters absorbed all their time so that they could not have terrorized the population. He did not think that the great majority of Block and Zellen Leiters should be held responsible for the conduct of a few fanatics. It was in fact most essential, particularly during the war when they were concerned with air raid precautions, that the Blockleiters should be as polite as possible to people in the performance of their duties. They had no legal authority to confiscate property, to make arrests, or to use the SA or SS for that purpose.
The charge that the Block and Zellen Leiters were spies and informers on the population brought a veritable storm of protest from all the witnesses. It was denied that there ever existed any
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party spy system. The existence of such a thing would have defeated the purpose of the party organization. It was necessary that the Blockleiters retain the confidence of those among whom they lived.
Kreisleiter KUEHL explained a circular from the Gau organization office of Cologne-Aachen of May 31, 1941 which directed that Block and Zellenleiters were to maintain a filing system of households, as meaning that the files were to be kept primarily for the welfare organization of the party. The inclusion on the file cards referred to in this ,document of information regarding possession of radio receiving sets, which newspapers were read or political opinions held by the inhabitants, went far beyond the original intention of the system. KUEHL said that in Hanover heads of households themselves filled out the cards and no political information was put on them.
Other witnesses say that far from Block and Zellen Leiters being given instructions to spy on the population, they were warned against prying into other people's business. That this is true, they say, is to be seen in Document 2639-PS, a regulation in which the subordinate party leaders are warned against measures which are liable to make them lose the confidence of the people.
It was the intention of the party that people who had grievances should take them to the Block and Zellen Leiters, and in practice aggrieved persons might go to the Block or Zellen Leiter for his advice; if he thought fit he could pass the matter on to the Ortsgruppenleiter.
Similar evidence that the Block and Zellen Leiters were not spies and minor dictators was given by other witnesses. It was denied that any Blockleiters were aware of the existence of the SD, although on cross-examination this transpired to mean that they were uninformed as to the scope of its activities.
HIRT disagreed with Page 101 of the Organization Book which stated that Blockleiters were supposed to find the propagators of harmful rumors and report them to the Ortsgruppenleiter. This was not the specific task of a Blockleiter, but it was true that all Germans were supposed to report anyone who spread rumors. He had never heard anything of Blockleiters sending in morale reports
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on individual citizens, although he did recall hearing his Ortsgruppenleiter say he had to submit reports to the Kreis and Gau Leiters on the general morale of the population.
In further cross-examination on this subject, reference was again made to Document43-D, dated May 26, 1936, wherein Reichs Minister of the Interior Frick sent instructions to all the Gaus requiring that reports be made on all officials who had not fulfilled their duty in voting in the election of March 29, 1936.
MEYER-WENDEBORN, could not explain why such reports were necessary if the election were a free election, nor could he explain why there were instructions that the order should be destroyed. He did not agree that the Ortsgruppenleiter would have required the assistance of Block and Zellen Leiters to gather the information necessary for this report. He thought that the Block and Zellen Leiters had no information or knowledge of voting qualifications nor did they have files on persons opposed to the Party.
The next part of this Summary of evidence is devoted to the duties of officials of the Staff of Gau, Kreis and Ortsgruppen Leiter and to affiliated welfare and labor organizations. It was declared by the Defense that none of these groups performed essentially political duties. It is not proposed to describe these in great detail.
BRUNO BIEDERMANN who held the office of Chief of the Gau Personnel Section in Thuringia stated that although all tasks of the party were to a certain extent of a political nature, staff and personnel officers were only concerned with administration. It was, however, true to say that the propaganda offices on the staffs of the Hoheitstraeger were engaged in "spreading the Gospel" to the people. He described, in reference to the Organization Book, Fourth Edition (Page 93), a distinction between a "call to office" and an appointment to office". He explained that a party member was usually appointed to an office for a probationary period of six months and if his services were considered satisfactory his appointment was confirmed. He did not ' hold the necessary rank until this confirmation had taken place. If, therefore, the Prosecution used the term POLITICAL LEADERS in the sense that the Nazi Party used it, all those holding office without being expressly appointed should be excluded.
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ELSE PAUL was a member of the Reichsfrauenschaft from 1943 to 1945 and served as Deputy to Reichsfrau Scholtz-Klink who was the head of all women's organizations in the Reich. She said that in 1938 the Frauenschaft had approximately two million members. Its organization was separate from the POLITICAL LEADERS. Women were forbidden to be active in politics, or to make speeches. The Frauenschaft did not intervene in religious controversies or the persecution of the Jews. The witness, however, recalled one instance where members of the Frauenschaft were detached to "instruct Jewish youths in sewing".
In cross-examination she admitted that the Frauenschaft supported the party and its principles. Shown Document 884-D , pertaining to regulations concerning the pregnancy of foreign women workers, she admitted that the Frauenschaft were on the distribution list.
ERNA WESTERNACHER, a member of the Frauenschaft in Frankfurt, gave similar evidence. She admitted having attended conferences with the Gauleiter who, she said, was only too happy if he could have nothing to do with Frauenschaft questions. She said that the Frauenschaft leaders were available to the competent Hoheitstraeger as expert advisers, but the Hoheitstraeger had no right to issue orders to them nor had they any disciplinary authority over them.
ANTON SCHUELLER stated that he was a Kreisamtsleiter of the People's Welfare Association known as the NSV. The purpose of calling him was to show that the NSV agents had no political functions on the staff of the Kreisleiter. They were merely expert advisers working under the direction of the main welfare organization. This situation applied to the staff of any Hoheitstraeger. They were responsible for all measures of welfare or relief in the district without discrimination as to race or politics.
The NSV was a registered association founded in 1933. The term "registered" in this case meant that the employees of the NSV belonged exclusively to that association and were not employees of the Party. Employment was on the basis of a private contract of service within the German civil code. He said that it was fair to say that all instructions pertaining to his work came from the
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NSV headquarters and not from the party, although admittedly the Kreisleiter held regular staff conferences which the NSV attended. They attended, however, only as part of the "outer circle" of the Kreisleiter's staff. (See description of the Staff of the Kreisleiters). It was strictly forbidden for NSV representatives to mix in politics.
In cross-examination the witness denied that it was part of the duty of the NSV to assist in destroying the influence of the Church and Church schools.
The witness who gave evidence concerning this department was JOHANN MOHR, who was prominent in farming affairs within the party organization from 1932 to 1945. He was an important farming official in Munich. The offices which he described were the Agrarpolitischer Apparat in the Reichsamt (Council for Farmers' affairs), its successor, the Amt fur das Landvolk (Farmers' Office), and the Reichsnaehrstand. This last organization was created in 1933 as a public corporation.
Prior to 1933 there had been a number of other farmers' associations of a semi-political character. The Agrarpolitischer Apparat was set up by DARRE, later Minister for Agriculture, and consisted of a number of advisers in the offices of the Hoheitstraeger. It was their task to advise the Hoheitstraeger on all farming problems and to inform the farmers of the Party policy.
On the formation of the Reichsnaehrstand these functions were transferred and officials of the Reichsnaehrstand held the title of Landesbauemfuehrer in the Gau, Keisbauernfuehrer in the Kreis and Ortsbauernfuehrer in the Ortsgruppen.
The Agrarpolitischer Apparat continued to exist until DARRE's resignation in 1942. BORMANN created the Amt fur das Landvolk (the office of farmers) but the basic organization 'of the Reichsnaehrstand was not changed, and maintained an independent position in opposition to his policy.
MOHR said that in no sense could the farmers' advisers to the Hoheitstraeger be termed staff officers of the Kreis or Gau Leiters since they had no official functions.
The Organization Book of the party shows the Agrarpolitischer Apparat as consisting of a number of main offices concerned with the following subjects: press and propaganda, farmer's "culture",
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racial questions among the farmers, training, agriculture, economics and personnel. There was also a department for legal problems. These offices, however, were largely nominal.
PAUL KOPPE said he was an official on the staff of the Gauleiter and dealt with what was known as "community" policy. This translation is not clear but it seems to mean an office for local government or municipal affairs. The office was divided up into a Gauamtsleiter and five assistants. It administered settlement and emigration, legal matters, culture, training, relief workers and civil servants. In disciplinary matters it was subordinate to the Gauleiter. Instructions, however, were not received from the Gauleiter but from the Reichsleiter in the main office for "community policy".
On the Kreis level there was a Kreisamtsleiter for the same purpose who in disciplinary matters was also subordinate to the Reichsleiter but received his directions from the Gauleiter. There was no office of this description on the Ortsgruppen level.
Described in more detail, the activities of the Gauamtsleiter for community policy included buildings, settlements, legal matters, the theater, music, professional training, civil servants and economic questions.
Defense Counsel examined the witness on the use of the word "policy" with regard to the title of this office and whether it indicated that the office had any influence on politics. KOPPE said that a much better description would have been the "office for community problems" since it was merely a "professional office" and non-political. There were similar offices like the office for education and students' organizations.
Cross-examined as to what matters connected with local Government required the advice of his department, the witness said that the Gauleiter had the right to suggest names for leading municipal offices, such as the Mayor. Pressed on this point by the Prosecution he admitted that the Gauleiters were given considerable influence on local government by law. He admitted that the Gauleiter appointed candidates who were favorable to the Party. He also said that pressure was almost always brought to bear on Blockleiters and Zellenleiters to fill such posts and that refusal would involve expulsion from the Party and other penalties.
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THEO HUPFAUER who was a member of the DAF and later chief of the central office of the Reichs Ministry of Armament and war production, gave interesting evidence as to the independence of this organization from the political leadership of the party. HUPFAUER served in the DAF as an administrative officer from 1936 until 1944. The DAF was an adopted organization of the Party. It was part of the party organization but as far as personnel and appointments were concerned it was autonomous.
On the Reichs level there was a foreign office of the DAF; on the Gau level a Gau administration, and similar organizations on the Kreis and Ortsgruppen levels.
Within the various regional districts there were subordinate offices for public health, education, etc. The main connection between the DAF and the POLITICAL LEADERS was that the higher leaders of the DAF, such as the Gau, Kreis and Ortsgruppen directors, held positions of equal rank within the POLITICAL LEADERSHIP CORPS. For instance, the leader of the DAF was a Reichs organization leader of the party. Not all the officials of the DAF were political leaders and in the central office those required to be so had to apply to the Party. It frequently resulted that of two people who filled the same functions, one was a Political Leader and the other was not. For instance, an assistant in a particular department could be a Political Leader but not his chief. Consequently some officials in the DAF fall within the charges preferred against the Political Leaders and others do not.
In his position as Chief of the Section of Social administration of the DAF, the witness was charged with securing the cooperation of employers and employees on labor matters. He operated through workers commissions and sponsored social activities. He also administered problems of wages, working hours, prevention of accidents, labor law and general working conditions.
The directives that he received came from the leader of the DAF, Dr. LEY, who in such cases was acting in his capacity as head of the DAF rather than according to his title of Reichs Leader. The witness said that the only conferences in which leaders of the DAF took part were with LEY. They did not participate in regular Party conferences.
Asked whether membership in the DAF was forced upon the German workers, the witness said that this was not correct. It carried out recommendations made by the different associations to
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assist the workers in matters of wages, incapacity and insurance. It took over all problems resulting from the dissolution of the trade unions.
On cross-examination witness stated that on the staff of each Gauleiter, Kreisleiter and Ortsgruppenleiter there was a representative (Betriebsobmann) of the DAF whose duty it was to assist the Political Leader in his contacts with the DAF.
KARL ENGELBERT said that he filled the position of economic adviser to a Kreisleiter in Cologne from 1937 to 1945. The Kreis economic advisers were selected from industry and trade. Some were civil servants concerned with economic matters. The office was under the jurisdiction of the Kreisleiter, and directives were received from a Gau economic adviser on the Staff of the Gauleiter. He in his turn received instructions from either the Gauleiter or the deputy of the Fuehrer.
The duty of the official in question was to act as counsellor to the Kreisleiter and his fellow citizens in all economic matters. People came to him for information regarding taxes. Monthly economic conferences were held with the ministers of industry, trade and the DAF. The witness did not participate in the monthly conferences which the Kreisleiter held with his political advisers. In fact, his only connection with the Kreisleiter was to advise those who were sent to him by the Kreisleiter and inform him on economic matters. Other than that he received no orders from the Kreisleiter.
It was not correct to call Kreiswirtschaftsberater political leaders in the full sense of the word. They had no concern with political questions. He agreed, however, that it was true that any such office holder was called a political leader in the terminology used by the Party.
The witness on this subject was DR. FRANZ KARL CHUDOBA. He was until the end of the war Rector of the Friedrich Wilhelm University at Bonn. He was a member of the Party.
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He said that before 1933 there were various student organizations and associations of University professors and lecturers. From 1926 there had been a National Socialist student organization, the Deutscher Studentenbund. Another university organization within the framework of the party was the Dozentenschaftsbund. There were officials of these organizations in each university town. For instance, there was a local student fuehrer and a local Dozentenschaft fuehrer (lecturers' leader). These officials, however, belonged in no way to the leadership of the Party. If there was more than one university in the Gau there were Gau student leaders and lecturers' leaders and at the head there was a Reich leader. There was no organizational link between the Gau teachers and the Hoheitstraeger, (i. e. the Gauleiter) and in no sense could these persons be called staff officers of the Gauleiter.
Witness admitted that the students organizations were shown in the Organization Book of the Party as being attached to the staff of the Gauleiter, He said, however, that the Organization Book does not indicate these organizations in bold type, implying that they did not hold office on the staff of the Gauleiter. They were, however, subject to the Gauleiter from a disciplinary point of view, otherwise they were entirely independent.
Witness denied that there was any training done by student groups, although the Organization Book, Page 260, stated that it was the task of the NS Dozentenbund (teachers association) to train university professors and lecturers in National Socialist philosophy. He said that there was a discrepancy between the Organization Book and the facts.
Cross-examined, Professor Chudoba said that the representative of a teachers association was requested to report to the Gauleiter on the political and scientific views and qualifications of the student body. He also advised what appointments should be made. This was in accordance with paragraph 26 of the civil service law and not a party matter at all. Candidates for offices had to be approved by either a state or political office. Pressed as to whether the question was not really one of the political views of the candidates, witness would only admit that as Rector of the university he reported whether people were party members or not.
The witness called by the Defense on the subject was GRAF VON ROEDERN, formerly personal assistant to Gauleiter BOHLE
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who was chief of the foreign organization from 1943 to November, 1944. Since the Auslandsorganisation is fully described in evidence given before the Tribunal by BOHLE, it is not proposed to describe VON ROEDERN'S evidence in detail here.
He said BOHLE had repeatedly asked that Political Leaders belonging to this organization should not be used for counterintelligence work. BOHLE made arrangements with CANARIS, Chief of the counter-intelligence department, that those taking part in counter-intelligence should be dismissed from the political service.
Asked in cross-examination why if the Auslandsorganisation was perfectly harmless, it was closed down in Holland, dissolved in America and had its representatives deported from England, the witness said that he thought the respective governments of these countries expected that the organization would become an espionage service. He admitted that some members of it were in the service of the SD and in the counter-intelligence service.
The witness RICHARD MUELLER held office in the Central Bureau of the Party. He said that the chart contained in the Reich Organization Book, Page 1893, was not in accordance with the facts. He referred in particular to the treasurer of the Party. He said that the Party administration was an organization on its own within the structure of the Party and its competence included associate organizations. The treasurer of the party was, therefore, the chief not only of the finance offices of Political Leaders but also of the so-called "militant" organizations. By this he meant the SA, the ALLGEMEINE SS, the NSKK and the HJ.
There were finance offices on the Gau, Kreis and Ortsgruppen levels. The persons who held these offices were professionally trained individuals from industry or the civil service. Several positions were held by people who were not party members. People employed within the treasurer's office were usually unpaid and honorary workers but witness was unable to state the percentage.
He denied that the treasury officials had any political responsibility, although they were given the rank of Political Leaders.
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All the witnesses stated that within their districts POLITICAL LEADERS enjoyed complete freedom of conscience and worship. It was admitted that there was a conflict between religious and political organizations but steps were taken by the POLITICAL LEADERS to lessen this conflict.
MEYER-WENDEBORN stated that he strenuously opposed the 1936 decree requiring the removal of religious emblems from schoolrooms. He also opposed the decree of the Reich Security
Main Office which forbade the saying of early Mass on mornings after air raids. As a result of his efforts these prohibitions were lifted.
It was admitted by VON ROEDERN that a number of party leaders were hostile to the Church, but he denied that the higher leaders of the party decided on a complete elimination of the Church and the substitution of Nazi principles for spiritual ideals.
Gauleiter BOHLE, chief of the foreign organization, issued an order forbidding political leaders and Germans living abroad to discuss church problems.
MOHR said that DARRE issued an order to the effect that farmers' leaders were not permitted to leave the Church without resigning from their party offices first. In 1940, however, he issued a further secret order suspending this. In this connection witness denied knowledge of Document 75-D, a letter from the Chief of the Party Chancellery to the Gauleiters, instructing them to "eliminate the church from German Society".
KUEHL, referred to Document 901-D by the Prosecution, said that the area of Germany referred to was one where the
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religious movements were sharply critical of Nazi measures. This document mentioned that when a person leaves the church he has different taxes imposed on him and that a pastor "should receive a rap on the knuckles". Witness explained that when a person resigned from the church some taxes were remitted.
Another case was referred to where the Kreisleiter had reported a clergyman to the SD who had attacked the Nazi system from the pulpit. Witness emphasized that any ordinary citizen would have been at liberty to make a report to the GESTAPO or SD of what he had heard at a church service.
Witnesses denied knowledge of Document 071-PS, USA-371, requiring that crucifixes be removed from the churches and the elimination of morning and evening prayers.
According to Gauleiter WAHL concentration camps were established by the SS who provided supplies for the prisoners interned. The POLITICAL LEADERS had no part in their administration and as a general practice were not allowed to visit them except by special permission of HIMMLER. This witness claimed to have opposed the maintenance of concentration camps and expressed this view to HITLER himself.
The witnesses, including the Ortsgruppenleiters, denied receiving directives regarding the detention of political opponents. There were cases, however, in which POLITICAL LEADERS obtained the release of prisoners from the camps.
Questioned with respect to Point 4 of the Party Program dealing with Jews and anti-semitism, under which no one could be part of the German Volk who was not entirely of Aryan blood, HIRT admitted that this was unfair discrimination against the Jews. He claimed that the decent elements among the German people did not want any part in such discrimination. However,
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after HITLER came into power no individual had any power to resist this policy. Such resistance would have meant they would have been thrown into a concentration camp.
He denied that Gauleiters: participated in the measures against the Jews or carried out instructions that they should wear yellow badges and have their property confiscated. KUEHL said that Political Leaders in his district did not know of any of the intentions of the Reich Leaders with respect to the solution of the Jewish problem. On the basis of the Party program they believed this problem could be solved legally by emigration. He had never heard of the term "final solution". The Party Leaders were in no sense responsible for the deportation of Jews.
ENGELBERT was asked whether he knew of Document 3051-PS, USA- 520 dated November 10, 1938. This was a telegram to all state police officers in which it was ordered that GESTAPO officials cooperate with Political Leaders in arranging the anti-Jewish demonstrations at that time. He and other witnesses denied that any advance notice of the demonstrations was given to local Political Leaders.
With regard to HEYDRICH's order on the same subject to the Chiefs of the State Police that they were to contact all local Gauleiters and Kreisleiters for a joint organization of demonstrations, MEYER-WENDEBORN said that he did not believe HEYDRICH had any power to order the Gauleiters to do such things. He could offer no explanation as to why the Police should contact the Political Leaders. The Document referred to is 3051-PS, USA-520.
Other witnesses denied the existence of any organized Jewbaiting by Political Leaders. They said that they had not heard of a letter dated June 3, 1933 from the Gauleiter of Coblenz addressed to the Kreisleiters which ordered them to set up a committee for such activities, and that the Ortsgruppenleiter should set up secret sub-committees. It was alleged that these committees were to report the names of anyone who bought goods from the Jews.
Gauleiter WAHL admitted to having received orders from BORMANN, GOEBBELS and HIMMLER on the treatment of Allied airmen This directive provided that participants in lynchings of Allied flyers should not be punished. He said he did not transfer or execute these orders. It was generally believed by most decent people that Allied airmen should be well treated since
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they were soldiers. WAHL said that his district was heavily attacked but he knew of no case of ill-treatment of Allied airmen.
Gauleiter KAUFFMANN of Hamburg claimed also to have issued counter-orders in his Gau to the BORMANN directive.
Various documents were put in by the Prosecution showing that decrees were sent to the Political Leaders relative to the harsh treatment of foreign laborers. WAHL said he knew of certain decrees regarding the harsh treatment of Polish laborers, but generally they were not treated any differently than other foreign workers. In fact SAUCKEL issued innumerable orders that they were to be well treated. A letter dated in 1944 from the Gaustabsamtleiter of Baden regarding abortions to be carried out on foreign women workers was also introduced. All the witnesses deplored this order and denied having carried it out.
MOHR claimed that the allotment of foreign labor was handled by the Reich manpower office and their living arrangements by an official of the Reichsnaehrstand. He said he heard complaints from both sides but in proportion to the immense number of persons employed, they were very few. He said that where foreign workers were employed on farms they were practically always accepted with the farmer's family and were treated like any other employee. He knew of instructions which prohibited foreign laborers from entering restaurants and which gave the employers the right to punish them but most of the time these orders were not passed on by his office because he knew quite well they would not be observed in farm districts. Other witnesses said that similar directives were ignored in their districts.
WEGSCHEIDER said that he received a directive from the Ortsgruppenleiter to the effect that foreign workers were to eat at separate tables and were not to use bicycles. This directive was also ignored. The main contention of the defense seems to be that it was not practicable to carry out orders for harsh treatment. WAHL said that officials were attached to his staff whose job was to report bad conditions.
HIRT, a Blockleiter of Nurnberg, was questioned at some length regarding the Nazi party program. He said that no right-thinking German could have any idea that Point 1, the union of the
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German people into one nation, would be obtained by criminal means.,
With regard to Point 2, the Versailles Treaty, he said that the Blockleiters believed it was natural for a vanquished people to try to ease the harshness of a peace treaty.
Point 3 of the program relating to Lebensraum. he interpreted as a demand for colonies which had belonged to Germany prior to the First World War. He thought there was nothing aggressive about this claim.
He was also asked for the view of the Blockleiters of HITLER's action with regard to Poland and his declared intention (Document 221-L USA-317) to incorporate into the Reich the Crimea, the Baltic States and other eastern territory. He remarked that the Block and Zellen Leiters had been informed that the struggle of the German people was for their very existence. They had no thought of conquest or settlement in foreign territories. Block and Zellen Leiters had no idea of any plan for aggression or conquest and the war was represented to them as being defensive.
Various witnesses stated that they were acquainted with HITLER's order that each individual should only learn as much information as was necessary for the fulfilment of his particular function.
The Kreisleiters, for instance, testified that on the basis of this order a Political Leader on the Kreis level could not possibly have had any knowledge of preparation for the war. None of them entered concentration camps and the subject was never discussed at their meetings. The Army was directly responsible for prisoners of war questions and did not involve the Political Leaders.
The witnesses admitted that they knew of the existence of Document 884-D referred to, concerning the abortions practised on foreign female laborers. KUEHL, however, said that such abortions were permitted only if the woman herself signed an application for one. It was agreed that party officials received information copies of this directive. Far from persecuting or illtreating foreign workers, the witness as Kreisleiter and Ortsgruppenleiter received. directives from SAUCKEL which requested decent treatment and rations for foreign labor and he was active
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in enforcing such regulations. KUEHL said that he knew of cases where policemen and other persons were punished for cruelties towards foreign workers. (See paragraph on foreign workers above)
Witnesses for the Political Leaders denied any knowledge of euthanasia or "mercy killings". They had not heard of the order given by HITLER to Reichsleiter Buehler and Dr. Brandt which allowed a certain group of doctors to carry out "mercy killings".
Witness WAHL said there was a decree of 1941 or 1942 which provided that party members who refused to take over a party office were to be subject to trial by a party tribunal This witness testified that he thoroughly disapproved of the party leadership's attitude and was often on the verge of resigning his office. He felt, however, compelled to retain his office for fear of the consequences.
SCHNEIDER said that he was appointed to the position of Zellenleiter by his Ortsgruppenleiter without having been given any previous notice and without consultation as to whether he wanted the position.
Every party member was obliged to cooperate in this manner. If a man, for instance, who had a good job in the civil service or in private employment refused to serve in the party, his action would have been considered sabotage against the State.
WOLF said that it was permissible for civil servants in certain cases to resign from the Party but this would of course have meant that a civil servant would lose his job.
With regard to the DAF, HUPFAUER said that membership in the Political Leaders Corps on the part of DAF officers was contingent on an application made to the party chancellery on their behalf. This was usually made by the higher DAF officers. Members did not join the party of their own free will. The same rules applied to the Foreign Organization and to other affiliated organizations.
In contrast to what has been stated above, MEYER-WENDEBORN said that most Political Leaders occupied their offices voluntarily, particularly the Blockleiters and Zellenleiters. These
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were appointed by the Ortsgruppenleiter after discussion with his staff. If, however, a person considered himself unable to perform the duties he could decline. Thus there was no question as to whether acceptance of office by Zellenleiters and Blockleiters was compulsory or not.
In complete contradiction to what had been said by other witnesses, MEYER-WENDEBORN went on to say that if a man could say he was unable to take care of his profession or his family as a result of the cares of office, he could request release from his Party duties. This was usually granted. The question of resignation was really one of the sense of responsibility of the official concerned.
The Defense called 12 witnesses who may be divided into four groups. The first group gave evidence regarding the structure and activities of the GESTAPO in Germany itself and in occupied territory. They also described the alleged legal basis of the GESTAPO. The evidence of the witness KNOCHEN for the SD should also be studied in regard to GESTAPO activities in occupied territory. These witnesses were:
DR. WERNER BEST, who was from 1936 to 1940 Ministerial Director of the Security Police in the Reich Ministry of the Interior and later Reich Plenipotentiary in Denmark. He was the author of the book "The German Police", frequently referred to by the Prosecution.
KARL HEINZ HOFFMANN, who was in charge of the division of the GESTAPO concerned with Western European questions and after 1943 Chief of Amt IV of the Security Police in Denmark.
FRANZ STRAUB, who was commander of the Security Police in Belgium from 1940 to 1943 and afterwards criminal director there until the German retreat in September, 1944.
The next group of witnesses gave evidence as to the activities of GESTAPO branch offices in different districts of Germany:
WALTER ALBATH, Chief of the GESTAPO in Konigsberg from 1941 to 1943 and later Inspector of the Security Police and SD in Wehrkreis (Dusseldorf) until the end of the war.
LUDWIG OLDACH, Chief of the GESTAPO in the Mecklenburg District from 1933 to 1945.
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The third group gave evidence on the closing by the GESTAPO of unauthorized concentration camps belonging to the SS and the SA and other disciplinary matters. They also described the connection of the GESTAPO with the events of November, 1938 and the so-called "Action Zeppelin"' (segregation of Russian PW's).
GUENTHER JOEL of the Reich Ministry of Justice from 1933 to 1943 and later attorney general of Westphalia.
HEINRICH VITZDMANN, Chief of Police and GESTAPO in Konigsberg from 1936 to 1939 and later Police President.
WILHELM GRUENWALD, who was from 1943 personal representative of the Inspector of Security Police and SD in Braunschweig.
The fourth group gave evidence concerning the transfer of subsidiary organization into the GESTAPO, the compulsory character of membership in the GESTAPO and the status of administrative personnel within the organization.
JOHANN HEDEL of the Technical Information Bureau of the GESTAPO in Munich.
OTTO SOMANN, Chief of the Security Police in Wiesbaden, 1943 to 1945.
WILHELM JOHANN KIRCHBAUM, Chief of the Military Police in Obersalzberg, 1940 to 1945.
HANS TESMER, Attorney of the Gestapo in Berlin from 1936 to 1945.
From statements made by Counsel it would appear that in calling these 12 witnesses, the Defense seek to prove:
1. The GESTAPO was a State police organization similar to the police systems to be found in other countries.
2. Its activities were based on legal decree. It acted within the German penal code to prevent political crimes and to maintain the security of the State.
3. The GESTAPO had disciplinary authority over the Party. It suppressed illegal concentration camps and other abuses. It endeavored to maintain order during the events of November, 1938.
4. The Border Police and the Security Meld Police and other subsidiary groups were compulsorily transferred to the GESTAPO together with a number of civil servants and administrative officials. Administrative personnel had no executive powers and none of these groups could have protested against their transfer without fear of disciplinary action.
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5. Knowledge of the activities of the EINSATZGRUPPEN, conditions in concentration camps and other alleged atrocities was limited to a very small circle of GESTAPO officials.
The following is a summary of the evidence taken on behalf of the GESTAPO. It may be convenient to consider it under the following heads:
A. Activities Relating to Article 6 of the Charter.
I. Origin and Development of the GESTAPO from 1933.
II. Its Activities and Organization in Germany.
III. Its Activities and Organization in Occupied Territory.
IV. Its Connection with Concentration Camps.
V. Its Defense against the Charge of Third Degree Interrogations and Brutality.
VI. Its Connection with the Deportations and Liquidation of Jews.
VII. Its Defense Against the Charge of Persecuting the Church.
B. Evidence of Voluntary or Compulsory Membership.
I. Transfer of Civil Servants and Administrative Officials to the GESTAPO.
II. Compulsory transfer of the Field Police to the GESTAPO.
III. Compulsory transfer of the Border Police to the GESTAPO.
IV. Other Organizations Affiliated to the GESTAPO.
C. Knowledge of Criminal Activities.
1. Knowledge of the work of the EINSATZGRUPPEN and of Conditions in Concentration Camps.
Most of the evidence on this subject was given by DR. WERNER BEST, until the end of the war German Plenipotentiary in Denmark. He published in 1940 a book called "The German Police" which described the organization of the Security Police. BEST, who was a lawyer and professional civil servant, held various positions
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in the Reich Ministry of Justice and the GESTAPO office in Berlin. He claims to, be an authority on the subject of the position of the GESTAPO within the German police system, though his accuracy on some points is disputed by witnesses for both the GESTAPO and SD.
Examined by Defense Counsel on the subject of his book, he said that in 1933 it became necessary to organize a political police force. Prior to 1933 there had been political departments attached to each police headquarters but no unified police authority. Before the Party came into power, the uniformed police had frequently been employed against the Nazis, and to protect them from reprisals witness organized in his district of Hesse a combined state and political police. This procedure was followed elsewhere. These new police departments were declared to be part of the National Socialist system. They were given authority with respect to members of the Party. This permitted employment of many professional policemen who would otherwise have been disqualified from belonging to the Party.
The legal basis of the police system of the National Socialist State was laid down by a decree of the Reich President dated 26 February 1933. The witness emphasized that the National Socialist idea of the State was purely authoritarian. This can be gathered from the laws of the 24th of March 1934 which gave the Reich Government power to issue laws. The morality of prosecuting political enemies must be considered in this light.
The political police of the newly formed GESTAPO were employed to prosecute party members, and to avoid criticism were equipped with SS uniforms. From 1933 onwards they were used to discipline the Party. According to the witness JOEL members of the party were pardoned by GOERING only for offenses committed in connection with the seizure of power by the Nazis. A special department was set up in the Ministry of Justice to deal with crimes committed by party members. These were mainly offenses of a purely criminal nature. The GESTAPO, however, were used for political crimes such as the case which led to the removal of Gauleiter and GESTAPO Chief STREICHER in Nurnberg.
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The reason for the formation of the RSHA or Reich Security Main Office was that HEYDRICH, the Chief of the Security Police, desired that different organizations attached to him should be amalgamated. After this amalgamation took place, the different departments, according to witness, remained the same and carried out the same functions.
1. According to DR. BEST the functions of the GESTAPO can be defined as (a) administrative, and (b) executive. The executive part included what might be called a "political" executive. This did counter-intelligence work as carried out by the Reich Security Police.
The administrative officials belonged to a category separate from the executive officials. They were engaged only in office work and dealt with expenditure, accounting and other forms of administration. Further reference to their position is made by the witness TESMER in Paragraph B III of this report.
The description of the counter-intelligence section of the GESTAPO by DR. BEST is somewhat confused. It appears that originally the ordinary uniformed police had a counter-intelligence division attached to them. This work was carried out by specially assigned officials in the different provinces. After 1933 these officials were taken over by the GESTAPO. There was also a military counter-intelligence organization (Abwehr) which was independent. The GESTAPO organization dealt with individual cases of espionage while the military counter-intelligence ascertained the purposes of the enemy. These institutions kept each other informed of current developments. BEST estimated there were about 2,000 to 3,000 people in the original counter-intelligence police. He stated that up till 1940 every charge of treason against the State was transferred to the courts for trial.
The witness ALBATH said that protective custody measures were employed under authority given in an order of the 28th of
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February 1933. In the beginning the GESTAPO did not carry out protective custody on its own initiative but only after complaint from the population, from the police, from state and Party officials or from the SD. After 1941 orders were issued allowing the GESTAPO to employ protective custody measures on its own initiative. The GESTAPO was instructed to take care of families of people Who were taken into custody.
BEST also discussed the question of protective custody at some length. He said that there was an appeal against protective custody orders to superior authority such as the Fuehrer or the Minister President of Prussia. At the beginning of the war the GESTAPO had plans for a full examination of the question but this was never carried out. Both he and the witness JOEL confirmed that protective custody was based on decree. In principle the GESTAPO acted for the Ministry of Justice within the penal code and its actions were thus not arbitrary.
BEST summed up the position of the GESTAPO with regard to protective custody by saying that it was the duty of the GESTAPO to act as assistants to the state prosecutors to prevent political crimes. Protective custody was not the only police measure, nor was it the one most frequently applied.
Both BEST and JOEL were cross-examined on their claims as to the legality of protective custody. BEST in an article dated 1937 had stated that all attempts dangerous to the State were the responsibility of the political police. The expression "dangerous to the State" included situations which were considered a menace to the State, even though no overt act had been carried out. He was asked whether he would consider it criminal to put 20,000 people into concentration camps just because they were Jews. He evaded the question first by answering that this was a "non-police matter". He then stated that in a moral sense it was a crime but its criminality would depend on whether the orders of the Government that they should be arrested could be said to have the force of law or not. He insisted that so far as the executive departments of the GESTAPO were concerned, members of the Organization had no opportunity to avoid the execution of such orders.
JOEL admitted that there were cases in which the GESTAPO exceeded their functions in a manner that was not within the scope of the penal code. The offenders, however, were punished (see Document 3751-PS).
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BEST stated that as time went on, the GESTAPO or individual members of it were ordered to take certain executive measure outside of their police duties. Such measures were for purely political purposes. As an example he quoted the employment of the GESTAPO to arrest the 20,000 Jews (previously referred to) in 1938. There were many similar orders given to the GESTAPO later on.
In cross-examination on this point, BEST was asked whether it was true that the basis of the GESTAPO's authority was the throwing of people into, concentration camps without judicial proceedings and the use of third degree interrogation. He repeated that actions like the arrests of Jews were not police functions at all. He admitted in reference to an article that he wrote in 193 that as long as the activities of the GESTAPO were consistent with maintaining HITLER in power, the GESTAPO had a free hand in matters of political security. He insisted, however, that all such actions were based on orders and directives from the Government
He was also reminded of a statement in his book that as Ion as the police carried out the will of the Government, it was actin legally. He replied that an order that did not come within the sphere of police work would not be included in this statement.
The attention of the witness BEST was called to a quotation on Page 109 of his book which states that members of the GESTAPO were trained in National Socialism and SS ideology. He replied that this was done to the same extent as in other state and civic service schools in Germany. He denied that training of the police was handled by the SS. He said that fully one half of the GESTAPO organization was composed of older officers who never receive such ideological training although it had been HIMMLER's wish that the GESTAPO should receive instruction from the SS.
The activities of local GESTAPO offices were described by the witnesses ALBATH and OLDACH. ALBATH said that in 1934 h became inspector of the Security Police and SD of Wehrkreis
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which comprised six districts: Aachen, Cologne, Dusseldorf, Arnsberg, Munster and Minden. These districts were later reduced to four.
The tasks of witness as Inspector of the Security Police and SD comprised inspection of the offices of the GESTAPO, Criminal Police, Security Police and SD. In general the witness was charged with seeing that the decrees of the Reich Security Main Office were carried out and he also investigated alleged illegal activities among members of the GESTAPO. He tried to coordinate the work of the GESTAPO and SD. It was HEYDRICH's idea that the SD should be the General Staff and the GESTAPO should be the fighting troops of the Security Police. (Witnesses for the SD deny that the SD performed this function).
There was considerable friction' between the SD and the GESTAPO. The witness stated that he was responsible to the Higher SS and Police Leader of Wehrkreis 6. He received no orders from the Gauleiters, but as Reich Defense Commissioners they were entitled to issue orders to the GESTAPO.
On the subject of protective custody he said that it was possible for the arrested person to appeal to the Chief of the Security Police and SD of the district. Witness had several persons released that way. In the case of an appeal direct to the RSHA, the RSHA made the decision and where they themselves had originally ordered protective custody the appeal went to them. GESTAPO officials were required to investigate every three months whether or not persons arrested on protective custody should be released. In the case of persons in concentration camps, the camp commander was asked to write a report to the RSHA regarding the behavior of the inmates. The GESTAPO frequently recommended the release of individuals but their recommendations were ignored by the RSHA.
The witness OLDACH also gave a description of the functions of a local branch of the GESTAPO. OLDACH was in charge of both the GESTAPO and Criminal Police in Mecklenburg from 1933 until the end of the war. He had 15 civil servants employed in his department, all of whom were formerly with the State Police. Only four of the fifteen civil servants were party members prior to 1932
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and a few joined the Party after that time. The administrative section of the Department was drawn from the Criminal Police, Regular Police and Gendarmerie.
He asserted that the transfer to a political police department was purely an administrative step so far as the civil service employees were concerned.
As Chief of the GESTAPO witness said it was his duty to discover and investigate organizations or factions hostile to the State. His investigations included the possible criminal activity of the State and Party officials. He made reports both to the State and the Party on all major political matters. His department included the SD and was divided into sections which gathered information concerning (a) Socialists and Communists; (b) opposition to the National Socialist movement and other hostile activities; (c) Criminal activities of party members, freemasons, Jews and the Church; (d) Counter-espionage and foreign intelligence.
His orders came from the RSHA through the Gauleiter who also happened to be Statthalter of the Reichs Security Office. The Gauleiter received an oral report from him every two weeks. Typical subjects on which he was asked to report were espionage; the smuggling of foreign currency by high Party members; attempts by the landed aristocracy to establish a reactionary government; the anti-social conduct of estate owners, and alleged Communists.
The witness stated that the GESTAPO employed no information agents of its own but acted mostly on reports from local police leaders, the Party and the SD. The SD was, however, quite independent of his department. Relations with political groups and party leaders were not satisfactory. There were numerous cases of lawlessness among members of the Party. He gave instances of the prosecution of high SA leaders for embezzlement and of proceedings against SA-men for assault.
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The GESTAPO had no prisons of their own in his area. Prisoners arrested by them were brought to prisons run by the local police. Interrogations took place within the GESTAPO building or at the offices of the local police. Witness denied that any tortures or abuses occurred during the interrogations. Persons arrested were permitted to protest to the RSHA and in some cases these protests brought results.
During the occupation the witness FRANZ STRAUB was commander of the Security Police and criminal director in Belgium from June 13, 1940 until the retirement of the Germans in September, 1944.
In Belgium and Northern France police matters were first dealt with by a police group on the staff of the military commander. The executive work was carried out by the secret military police who were subordinate to, the High Command. In July, 1940 HEYDRICH at the request of the military commander sent 250 men to Belgium to form the office of the Deputy of the Chief of Security Police. In this office there were 90 members of the Security Police, 50 or 60 members of the SD together with other auxiliary personnel. The office of the Higher SS and Police Leader was instituted in Brussels in May, 1942 as the Supreme Police authority.
The office of the Security Police and SD took over the secret military police and as a result contained eight groups of 100 men each. It remained, however, under the jurisdiction of the military commander. Its functions were to make reports to Amts 4 and 6 of the RSHA. Orders of the RSHA were, according to the witness' opinion, first discussed with the military commander before being passed on to the Security. Police. In cross-examination STRAUB stated that at first the secret field police (military) were used to carry out arrests and the Security Police confined their activities to counter-intelligence. Later the secret field police became too busy and the Security Police gradually gained executive powers so
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that by 1944 it was contemplated that they should have fun authority under a Higher SS and Police Leader.
The departments in the office of the Deputy Chief of the Security Police corresponded to similar departments within the RSHA. In Belgium and Northern France the Belgian and French police force worked in liaison with the Security Police through liaison offices.
Witness claimed that there was a general confusion in the minds of the public as to the nature of different GESTAPO organizations. Whenever a German police organization was referred to, it was usually called the GESTAPO which was held responsible for everything that happened. This confusion was aggravated by the fact that some illegal organizations used the name of the GESTAPO to carry out arrests and commit abuses.
The GESTAPO in Northern France and Belgium was not concerned with the recruiting of foreign laborers. This was handled by the deputy of SAUCKEL.
There were no prisoner of war camps in Belgium or Northern France. The "Nacht und Nebel" decree was carried out by the military courts and deportations under this decree were performed by the frontier police. In cross-examination the witness said that the "Nacht und Nebel" decree was only sent to the GESTAPO for information.
A long description of conditions in prisons in Belgium during the period of occupation was given by this witness. In brief, he stated that the GESTAPO carried out no executions. These were ordered and carried out by the military. Third degree interrogations had to be specially authorized by his office and according to the witness, the Security Police only carried out 50 such interrogations while he was in Belgium. The most severe measures authorized were manacling or beating with a stick. The number of strokes administered was limited and if more than ten were given, a physician had to be present. The allegation of torture cells attached to the security police offices is unfounded. The witness explained various French documents alleging torture by saying that there was no GESTAPO office at any of the towns mentioned. (See Document F-560, RF-305, Pages 15, 19,
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Document P-571, RF-307, Page 27, Document UK-76, RF-329, Chapter 2). Witness firmly denied the charge made in the latter document, "we can actually say that no one arrested by the GESTAPO has escaped ill treatment". Witness asserted that the GESTAPO were professional policemen and that such excesses were quite outside their conception of police work.
Evidence as to the functions of the GESTAPO in Paris was given by KNOCHEN (see report on the SD). In Paris the composition of the office of the Security Police and SD was substantially the same as that in Brussels, various departments, of the RSHA having opposite numbers in occupied territory.
KNOCHEN was asked about GESTAPO prisons and claimed that the GESTAPO had no prisons of their own in France. He also claimed that decrees like the "Bullet" decree and the Commando order were not carried out by the GESTAPO but by the Armed Forces. It was admitted that the GESTAPO were concerned in the preparation of lists of hostages in Paris.
DR. BEST was from 1942 Reich Plenipotentiary in Denmark. His evidence, however, is for the most part, confined to a description of the structure and development of the GESTAPO as set forth in his book, "The German Police". (1940).
Formation of the Office of the Chief Of Security Police
The witness HOFFMANN was made Chief of the State Police in Denmark in 1943 and took over the GESTAPO office (Amt 4). He said that the GESTAPO played no part in any of the preliminary operations involving the occupation of Denmark. The German Plenipotentiary, DR. BEST, added about 10 or 15 men from the criminal and state police to his staff who had neither executive powers nor carried out intelligence work. These officials co-operated with the Danish police and the Danish Army continued to exist.
As a result of the increase in acts of sabotage GESTAPO personnel were increased to 40. In 1943 martial law was declared and the Danish Army was disbanded. Three hundred Danish nationals were arrested and the deportation of Jews was started.
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The highest police official in Denmark was the Higher SS and Police Leader who controlled the Order Police, the Security Police, the WAFFEN-SS and Danish SS formations. He had equal rank with the military commander and the Reich plenipotentiary. The office of the Chief of. Security Police was organized in Denmark in 1943 and as in other occupied territories its departments corresponded to the different Amts of the RSHA. The GESTAPO received orders from the Higher SS and Police Leader through the RSHA and the Reich Plenipotentiary. The purpose of Department 4 (GESTAPO) of the Security Police was to protect the German Army and to prevent espionage regarding German military activity in Denmark. As chief of this department the witness had to cooperate with the Danish police.
Efforts were made to use the Danish police in combatting sabotage and it was the practice of the German police to hand over Danish people to be tried by Danish courts.
The Danish police, however, proved untrustworthy and in December, 1943 the Higher SS and Police Leader dissolved them. It had been found that they were directly implicated in the resistance movement. A large number of policemen were deported to Germany. In order to avoid further bitterness engendered by this action, the GESTAPO managed to save Danish policemen over 55 years of age from deportation. They also arranged for the welfare of the families of arrested men and for the sending of Red Cross parcels to concentration camps.
THE GESTAPO also protested to the RSHA regarding counterespionage measures which they thought were too severe and calculated to intensify the resistance movement. As a result the GESTAPO was excluded from enforcing these measures. HOFFMANN also claimed that the combined efforts of the GESTAPO persuaded the Reichsfuehrer SS not to deport the Danish Army to Germany.
The organization of the Security Police in Norway and the Netherlands at the beginning of the occupation was under the Chief
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of the Security Police whose office was divided into departments corresponding to the Amts of the RSHA. In Norway there were special commandos of the Security Police and SD. The Security Police was, as in other countries, under the jurisdiction of the Higher SS and Police Leader of the RSHA and of the Reich Commissars for Norway and the Netherlands. The amalgamation of the different offices was carried out in Norway and the Netherlands in a fashion similar to that described in Denmark and their functions were about the same, namely to keep order and protect the German Army and its interests.
In cross-examination regarding GESTAPO activities in Denmark, Norway and Netherlands, the witness was not willing to concede that the burning of houses as a reprisal for sabotage actions was criminal. He thought it was "inefficient police work" and he maintained that the GESTAPO shared the view that only persons who bad been proved guilty should be shot. When pressed he admitted that the shooting of hostages was criminal but maintained that was the type of thing which "we were fighting against".
His department opposed the Reich Commissar of Norway, Terboven, in his policy of torture and deportation. He said that the GESTAPO could not prevent the carrying out of an order saying that for every German killed a Dane should be killed or for every plant producing for Germany sabotaged, one which produced for Denmark should be destroyed. These measures were not carried out by the GESTAPO. They emanated direct from HITLER as a result of a conference on the 30th of December 1943.
Confronted with statements concerning ill-treatment and brutality shown towards members of the resistance, he said that he thought third degree interrogation was justified in a case where a resistance leader had organized the shooting of 50 German soldiers in the back. The case referred to was that of Colonel TIMROTH. He agreed, however, that the official who carried out the interrogation had gone beyond the prescribed limits in this case.
In Holland witness said that he knew that in 1942 and 1943 hostages were shot. Berlin protested against this shooting and no further hostages were shot. Witness was not then in Holland.
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All the witnesses denied that the GESTAPO had anything to do with atrocities committed in concentration camps. The witness ALBATH in cross-examination denied that the GESTAPO carried out any mass executions. He did not know of HEYDRICH's secret orders No. 14 and No. 8 (14 - USSR). These exhibits were shown to him to demonstrate that these orders were sent to all GESTAPO offices and that they were directed to carry out mass executions. Before carrying out executions EINSATZCOMMANDO leaders were to confer with the GESTAPO chiefs and executions were to, be held outside the limits of camps "as quietly as possible".
This witness also denied hearing of the Prussian order entitled "The GESTAPO Administers the State Concentration Camps". He said he was sure that this order was never carried out.
BEST was shown Document PS-210 9, a law of the 10th of February 1936 which also attributed the administration of the State Concentration Camps to the GESTAPO offices. He said that this reflected HEYDRICH's wishes but was never put into effect because HIMMLER wanted to keep the concentration camp organization as it was, that is, immediately under himself. After 1937 concentration camps contained criminals who were sent there by the criminal police as well as individuals taken into protective custody by the GESTAPO. At the outbreak of war, the concentration camps held approximately 20,000 inmates, not over half of whom were political prisoners. BEST estimated that the total number of prisoners imprisoned in jails in Germany at that time was approximately 300,000, one tenth of whom had been sentenced for political crimes. According to his calculations, three times as many people had been sentenced for political crimes by the courts as had been incarcerated by the GESTAPO.
In cross-examination BEST admitted that it was a common practice to put hardened criminals into concentration camps
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together with political prisoners. He denied any knowledge of the allegation that hardened criminals maintained discipline in the camps by means of brute force.
Describing conditions in the Mecklenburg area, OLDACH stated that in 1944 there were complaints that inmates of Ravensbruck camp who were working in factories were better fed than German workers. On investigation this was found to be true.
Questioned regarding the so-called Kugel or "bullet" decree, they explained that it provided for three groups in concentration camps: (1) unimportant persons who could be improved; (2) people who could be improved after local arrests; (3) hardened criminals who were completely anti-social Witness understood the words "bullet decree" to mean that persons in Group 3 could receive a "chain and ball".
The witness WILHELM GRUENWALD was interrogated concerning the so-called "Action Zeppelin". This was a project concerning the segregation of Russian prisoners of War. The witness was transferred to a section of Amt 6 of the RSHA called "Zeppelin" for this purpose. He never saw any written orders but he thought that the purpose of the operation was to get volunteer Russians to work as spies behind the Russian lines. At Buchenwald prisoners were screened by teams working in the various camps. During the time that witness was at Buchenwald between 1500 and 2,000 prisoners were examined. The Russians who volunteered for this work received special treatment and extra food.
The witness denied that the real intention was to execute these prisoners. He said that the great secrecy prevailing with regard to their training might have given rise to the rumors that they were executed. He expressed the opinion that the statement contained in Document 2542-PS, USA-482, that there were GESTAPO groups charged with selecting prisoners of war for execution, in reality referred to the field teams of "Action Zeppelin". These teams were made up of SD personnel as well as men from the GESTAPO. He said that the only connection of Amt 4 of the Reich Security Office with "Action Zeppelin" was that some men of Amt 4 were transferred to Amt 6 for the carrying out of the project.
Considerable controversy arose during the hearing of the Commission as to whether LINDOW, the author of the statement in
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2542-PS, USA-482 (Paragraph 4 previously referred to) was confusing the segregation of prisoners of war for counter-intelligence purposes under Amt IV with the work of GESTAPO personnel attached to Amt VI in segregating prisoners of war for execution.
In Denmark the GESTAPO received an order from Berlin requesting the deportation of arrested people to concentration camps in Germany. This was interpreted by the GESTAPO as applying only to those who under the existing regulations were to serve long terms in prison or who were guilty of capital offenses. The Security Police took part in the deportation of Communists but these persons had been arrested by the Danish police at the outbreak of the German-Russian war.
HOFFMANN claimed that in 1944 the increased death rate in concentration camps forced the GESTAPO to draw the conclusion that conditions in German camps could no longer be considered satisfactory. As a result the GESTAPO tried to avoid sending people to concentration camps and established its own camps at Froslev. There were no concentration camps in Denmark.
On cross-examination witness admitted that the Danish report that a total of 6,104 Danes had been sent to concentration camps or prisons in Germany was probably accurate.
The witness STRAUB gave evidence concerning the camp at Breendonk, Belgium. This camp was administered and guarded by a special commando staff of the Military Government; it was not administered by the GESTAPO. On cross-examination he admitted that the GESTAPO visited the camp when there were inmates there whom they wished to interrogate. The capacity of the camp was not more than 500 people and compulsory labor was required of those who were fit to work.
During the winter of 1941 complaints reached the Military Government of ill-treatment, and conditions in the camp were in-
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vestigated. The Security Police never interfered with its administration. The camp was used for the temporary detention of people who had committed crimes against the occupying power and people who were sent there for short terms of protective custody. Witness denied any knowledge of deaths from starvation, shooting, hanging and brutality in the camp.
The witness JOEL and the witness VITZDMANN both gave evidence concerning the part played by the GESTAPO in the closing of unauthorized concentration camps. It appears that such camps were set up by the SA and the SS. The SA camp was at Wuppertal and the SS camp was at Stettin. Both these concentration camps were closed by order of the Ministry of Justice. JOEL said that acting on behalf of the Ministry he took part in their dissolution.
People were sent to these camps merely on the grounds of hostility to the Party. They were not given a trial and they were ill-treated. The local Gauleiters participated in the installation of the camps. Those responsible for the Stettin atrocities received a sentence of ten years hard labor. The whole affair shocked the Ministry of Justice, since executions of which they had not heard were reported in the newspapers. Witness did not know the nature of the accusations but had the impression that they were not such as would warrant the death penalty.
The witness VITZDMANN also claimed to have played an important part in the closing of the Stettin concentration camp. In 1934 he complained to Berlin of the conduct of his superior ENGEL who was Chief of Police in Stettin and SS Oberfuehrer in Pomerania. ENGEL had established an unauthorized concentration camp at Vulken Werft. The complaint was made on the basis of reports of the maltreatment of prisoners, especially Jews who had been imprisoned by ENGEL for refusing to hand over their money and property to him. The matter was brought to the attention of GOERING who was then Chief of the GESTAPO in Prussia. GOERING initiated an inquiry as a result of which ENGEL was removed and made Director of Garbage Disposal in Berlin.
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VITZDMANN said that the persons convicted of ill-treatment in these concentration camps were first sentenced to penal servitude and later executed on GOERING's orders on the 30th of June, 1934.
The GESTAPO incurred considerable displeasure in political circles for its protests against unauthorized concentration camps. All the GESTAPO officials who had made these complaints were transferred to other posts. VITZDMANN himself was transferred and refused membership in the Party.
On cross-examination VITZDMANN admitted that the Stettin camp personnel were executed in co