Nidda, Oberhaessen. 10 January 1947."
MR. McHANEY: Prosecution has no desire to be hypertechnical in these matters but since defense counsel chose to make such a large issue of this matter of sworn statements and the like during prosecution's case in chief, we are compelled to object to the admission of this document. No oath was administer in so far as it appears in this statement, nor is there anything which indicat that the certifying authority had the right to administer an oath, let alone that one was administered. We have offered several documents which were certified in exactly the same manner which were objected to and excluded on the same grounds I am now urging to the Tribunal.
DR. NELTE: It is correct that this document is not sworn. The heading above this document reads: "Affidavit". It continues, "Upon the request of Dr. Nelte, Defense Counsel of the former Generaloberstabsarzt Prof. Handloser, I make the following statement:" That is, in general, according to rules valid in Germany sufficient to designate the documents an affidavit. If the Court wishes that a further express statement he made in this form "I herewith declare upon oath" then I ask that this document be accepted temporarily and that a special statement from Dr. Schaefer is submitted later that he has made this statement expressly as an affidavit.
THE PRESIDENT: The Tribunal will accept the exhibit provisionally subject to it being later shown that the statement was sworn to or was made in lieu of oath under penalties of false swearing or pergery. It may be marked "provisionally admitted".
DR. NELTE: The document reads as follows:
JUDGE SEBRING: What is the exhibit number of this document?
DR. NELTE: Exhibit 19, Document Book II, page 66. Dr. Schaefer makes the following statement:
"1. The Army Fountain Medical School, which I commanded, was directly subordinate to the OKH/Army Medical Inspectorate. From its beginning Generaloberstabsarzt Prof.
Dr. Handloser was Army Medical Inspector until he was appointed Chief of the Wehrmacht Medical Service.
"2. He established this school and laid down its principles. It existed from January 1942 until the capitulation.
"3. Among its tasks was the scientific research concerning the effects of high altitude on human beings with the aim of preserving health and efficiency. These questions were studied by the Research......./..... Group of the school in the Mountain Physiological Institute by specialists in the field of physiology.
The head was the former Oberstabserzt Dr. med. habil. Hans-Dietrich Cremer.
"4. Each and every scientific problem resulting from the Mountain service was submitted by me to the Army Medical Inspectorate for approval. This made it impossible that any official connections to other research establishments could have existed without my knowledge as commander of the Army Mountain Medical School and therefore, without the knowledge of the Army Medical Inspect 5. A collaboration between the school I conducted and Dr. Rascher never existed.
Never did I issue order concerning the establisment of contacts to Dr. Rascher, whom I did not know. Any relations of Dr. Cremer to Dr. Rascher (Compare the file notes of Dr. Rascher)......"
This is the same document which Dr. Cremer mentions.
"therefore must have been of merely private nature. It is therefore impossible that any contacts between Handloser and Rascher could have been maintained through my school.
"6. Cold experiments were conducted at my school under scientifically correct, medically ethical conditions; they were performed with animal experimental subjects and physicians and medical personnel who had volunteered for that purpose. The method and the results of this research work were published in a special issue of the "Clinical Weekly Review" which came out in the Fall of 1944. I am in a position to name at any time a number of German scientists who can give information about the scientific, medical and ethical methods of this school which I conducted under the supervision of the Army Medical Inspector."
Now I submit this document as Exhibit 19. The next document I do not want to read. If the Prosecution agrees, it is the affidavit of Generalarzt Hartlebon who belonged to the Organizational Section of the Army Medical Inspector, Professor Handloser.
I asked Dr. Hartleben to speak about conditions at the Army Mountain Medical School and the connections between this school and the Medical Inspectorate. He does so in an affidavit, document HA-40, in Document Book II, page 60, which I submit as exhibit 20.
The question of malaria experiments was settled by our examination this morning. I should like to ask the Tribunal whether under those circumstances I may submit an affidavit which I obtained by way of precaution from Professor Rodenwaldt whom the defendant Professor Handloser mentioned several.times. He was his specialist on malaria questions and he stated in an affidavit that experiments in the field of immunization against and the treatment of malaria now drugs on and with human beings were not conducted. He goes into detail. This is in Document Book II on page 1. In this case I would have to ask that I may correct this to the form described by the Tribunal later. This affidavit was given at a time when the ruling of the Court had not yet been made known, at least not at the moment when I addressed Professor Rodenwaldt. I ask that I may be allowed to submit this as exhibit 21 provisionally and I will submit the now form later.
THE PRESIDENT: That is the proposed number of this exhibit. Counsel
DR. NELTE: Exhibit 21.
THE PRESIDENT: The exhibit may be provisionally admitted, subject to the form being later made to conform to the Tribunal's rule.
BY DR. NELTE:
Now we come to the Lost Gas experiments. I will show you Document Book 13. I refer to Document NO 097. I do not know the exhibit number. It is in Document Book No. 13, on page 19, Mr. President This is a report which Professor Hirt sent to the Ahnenerbe which Dr. Sievers presented to the Reichsfuehrer SS. (Page 20 in the English Document Book.) Do you knew Professor Hirt?
A. I never saw him and I never talked to him.
Q. This report, which I showed to you once before, NO 097, page 19 is a report which Professor Hirt makes about a report which he had previously made to an Army Agency and that latter report is the one I would to interested in, in connection with you. Do you know anything about such a report?
A. No. I cannot see here what the date of the report was.
Q. The report which you have before you is of the year 1942. Have you found it - NO 097 - it is the enclosure to a letter?
A. Yes, I have found it. Yes, "Secret Report about" etc.
Q. Yes. This report before you was made in the year 1942. This is shown by the letter which Dr. Sievers writes.
A. I do not know this report.
Q. In this report which you should look at, reference is made to a report which Hirt made in 1940 when he was still a Wehrmacht Medical Officer to a Generalarzt, a superior of his at that time, and he reports here about experiments which he performed on Lost in the year 1939 until about May 1940. He writes that in 1940 he had to interrupt this work because he was called to the front at the begin ning of the war against France. If you were to read this report you would see .... I do not believe, Mr. President, that it will be necessary for him actually to read this report.
I spoke of it in my opening statement but I pointed out that the report speaks only of animal experiments and experiments on 2 cadets at the military Medical Academy. The only thing important here is the following page 3 of the report; it says: "A transfer of these experiments to human-beings could not take place because I hod to return to my unit at the beginning of the Offensive against France. The Prosecution refers to this sentence and intends to prove with this that a medical office of the Army knew about medical experiments least gas experiments -- on human beings and instigated them or at least know of them. Will you please say what you have to say about this matter?
A. First I must say about this report that I did not know of the incident but since 2 cadets are mentioned and since he says that in 1939 or 1940 he was at the Academy, it is clear to me that he saw the experiments there which I might say were almost constantly conducted on our cadets, that is, the medical students, under an assignment by which the Academy had to find a method for treating Lost damage to the human skin. There were dozens, perhaps many dozens of cadets who volunteered for this experiment until, I don't knew whether it was 1942 or 1945, the desired ointment was finally discovered. I must conclude that if Dr. Hirt in 1939 and 1940, that is at a time when I did not yet have anything to do with the Academy, if he participated in such experiments on cadets or watched them, then the concluding sentence here that he was occupied with new experiments on rats and that he wanted to transfer such testing of treatment to human-beings, was again a question of volunteers, in any case with us in the Academy. Therefore I am not able to draw any conclusions from this sentence. I can only refer to the fact that the Academy conducted these experiments to discover a Lost ointment on volunteer students and that Hirt mentions these 2 cadets in the year 1939 or 1940.
Q The report made in 1940 -- you did not receive this report?
A I could not have received it because in 1940 I had nothing to do with the Academy.
Q It might be possible that the Generalarzt to whom the report was given in 1940 was your subordinate as Army Arzt -- you did not learn of it in that capacity either?
A No.
Q Now the Document NO 372, Document Book 13, Page 1, has been submitted by the Prosecution because there are no other documents in Document Book 13.
THE PRESIDENT: If Counsel can give the Tribunal the exhibit numbers of these documents which have already been admitted, it will be convenient.
DR. NELTE: No. 252. As I have already said, Document book 13.
Q In addition to the report already mentioned, which you did not know, there is also Document NO 372, an affidavit from the defendant Rudolf Brandt, who says that in addition to Karl Brandt and the other persons mentioned, Handloser and Rostock must have known of these experiments. I therefore ask you, did you learn of any Lost Gas experiments such as were the subject of the Prosecution's case here?
A No.
DR. NELTE: Mr. President, in this connection I submit an affidavit from Dr. Rudolf Brandt, Document HA-4 in Document Book 2, page 3, as Exhibit 22. Rudolf Brandt says:
"In my affidavit dated 14 October 1946 (Document NO-372) I testified to my alleged knowledge of the LOST (Mustard) gas experiments on human subjects. The last paragraph subsequent to this testimony reads as follows:
'In addition to Karl Brandt and the other persons mentioned above, Handloser and Rostock must have had knowledge of these experiments.'
"Concerning this I declare the following:
"My statement in this case is a mere assumption which I pronounced only in reply to a corresponding question of the interrogator. I can give no factual data for this assumption. I have never had any associations, neither official nor private, with Professor Handloser."
I ask that this affidavit be accepted as Exhibit 22.
Q Professor Handloser, in the various counts of the indictment it is repeatedly said, and again in the Lost Gas Experiments, that your responsibility can be deduced from the fact that the experiments were conducted in the interests of the Wehrmacht. I should like to ask you to say whether any experiments conducted here of which it is said they were conducted on behalf of the Wehrmacht, necessarily had any connection with the agencies of the Wehrmacht as instigators or as participants?
A I am considering what example one should give. One must realize that, for example, in the whole field of communicable diseases that the Wehrmacht particularly during the war was especially interested; but these are fields where even under normal circumstances and especially under the living conditions, which became constantly worse during such a large war, the whole state is equally interested. As I have already said, that not only the research workers of the Wehrmacht were interested, but every research worker who conscientiously took an interest in such things - and I should like to add that formerly Wehrmacht was predominately interested in the things and problems dealing with wounds, but in this war that was changed completely. Through the air raids, which had existed for years and were constantly increasing, which one could compare with a heavy barrage of gun-fire on the civilian population, the doctors at home were equally interested in wounds, injuries, and burns as the doctors at the front, so that finally one can say not only in the field of internal medicine and the field of communicative diseases, but also in the entire field of injuries the interest was definitely a common one and one can no longer specify Wehrmacht interest.
Q. You take as an example epidemics, which are probably especially convincing, but I should like to come back to your statement of this morning where you spoke of the group of people for whom you as chief of the Wehrmacht Medical Service and as Army Medical Inspector had to carry medically. You said that first they consisted of the soldiers, members of the army; 2, the relatives of the soldiers at home; 3, the occupied territories and the population and 4, Prisoners of And particularly in the charge against Professor Handlo ser, I want to prove that he, as Chief of the Wehrmacht Medical Service, was obligated to care for the Prisoners of War.
I have gathered the evidence for this and ask that it be accepted. It is first, Document HA-5, Document Book No. 1, Page 27. This is an excerpt from the War Medical Ordinance of the Army. It deals with the Medical service in Prisoner of War camps. I offer this as Exhibit No. 23.
Then, I submit Document HA-3-A in Document Book No. 1, page 29. This shows that the duty of the medical officers in the rear areas was to care for the civilian population and the Prisoners of War. I offer this Document as Exhibit No. 24.
I offer the affidavit of Generalarst Dr. Walter Penner, HA-6, Document Book No. 2, Page 4. It contains a general presentation of the observations of Generalarst Dr. Penner of the defendant Handloser. I do not want to offer that in this connection, but I should like to come back to the letter. The reason why I mention it now is the fact that Dr. Penner points out that Professor Handloser issued orders corresponding to humane treatment and dealing with the medical care to be given the population in be occupied territories. With the approval of the Prosecution, I should like to offer this Document as Exhibit 25 without reading it.
And now I have two special Documents, Documents of the Swedish Colonel, Dr. v. Erlach - HA-7 in Document Book 2, Page 7. This document I should not like to read in its entirety, but only insofar as it contains the question, which we have just dealt with, the treatment given the Prisoners of War and Professor Handloser's connection with this matter.
Dr. v. Erlach, who was chairman of the Medical Commission in Germany from the summer of 1940 until the late fall of 1944, knew conditions in Germany. He limits has testimony since he deals only with three nationalities and not the Russians.
He says:
"The medical care given to the prisoners of war in Gerran Prisoner of War Camps and hospitals for prisoners of war can generally be called good. The effects of the participation and use of 'enemy doctors' for taking care of the POW's was particularly beneficial. Cooperation between the German camp doctors and the enemy doctors was gratifying in general. In the course of the war, the German camp doctors and the enemy doctors was gratifying in general. In the course of the war, the German camp doctors were professionally used also outside the camps to take care of the civilian population, and had, therefore, became overburdened with work to such an extent that the prisoners of war were in many cases almost exclusively in the care of enemy doctors.
"Until the end, there were clear differences in the medical care given to the prisoners of war in the various Service Commands. This circumstance clearly showed how very much depended also in this case on the personality of the medical officer in charge of such a command, and of his assistant handling matters concerning Prisoners of War. Deficiences observed were regularly communicate to the representatives of the Armed Forces High Command, the prisoner of war organization, to the medical inspectorate, as well as to a representative of the Foreign Office, at the closing meeting of the mixed commission. The medical inspectorate, which subsequently because the Medical Services of the Armed Forces, often issued special instructions to the medical officers in charge of Service order ta remove the deficiencies which had been criticized at the closing meeting.
"It must, therefore, be stated that Generaloberstzbsarzt Prof. Dr. Handloser omitted, nothing to improve the medical care of the Prisoners of War during the World War - 1939 - 1945."
Then it goes on to say:
The second question: "Did the medical care -considering the possibilities existing in Germany - correspond to the provisions of the Geneva convention and to the principles of generally practiced medical treatment of human beings?"
The answer:
"As soon as the provisions of the Geneva Convention had becomes known to all German agencies concerned, the Medical care in Germany corresponded in general with the principles of the Geneva Convention.
"The chairman of the mixed medical commissions were able to state that good will prevailed and that efforts were made to observe the provisions of the Geneva Convention.
"The Generaloberstabsarzt Prof. Dr. Handloser always favored a medical humane treatment of the Prisoners of War. As a consequence of the development of the war in the direction of a 'total war' in particular, however after Prisoners of War questions came under Himmler's jurisdiction in July 1944, the fate of the Prisoners of War became considerably worse also in its medical - humane aspects. This applied in particular to members of enemy air forces. The x-raying of Prisoners of War was limited to a minimum owing to the shortage of x-ray films, in the same way, the supply of the Prisoners of War with artificial teeth broke down progressively.
"But I would like to state explicitly that this decided turn for the worse in the fate of the Prisoners of War occured completely outside Generaloberstabsarzt Professor Dr. Handloser's jurisdiction."
I will not read the answer to Number three, because it concerns the personality of Dr. Handloser; I will do that later. With reference to this Document, I offer this statement of Professor Dr. v. Erlach as Exhibit No. 26.
THE PRESIDENT: The Tribunal will now be in recess.
(A recess was taken.)
THE MARSHAL: The Tribunal is again in session.
DR. NELTE: I now want to offer to the Tribunal Document No. HA-46 in document book No. 2 on page 70, and I offer it as Exhibit 27. This is an answer to the questions to Colonel Brunner at Kuestnacht in Zurich, a physician who knows conditions in Germany as a result of his official task.
If the prosecution does not put any special emphasis on it, I do not want to read the answers, because in general the answers contain the same judgment which was also expressed by Dr. von Erlach and which I have alread; presented. The only thing of importance seems to be in question number 2 that the Medical care was in accordance with the Geneva convention and international law that human medical treatment was given. "In any case, as long as I worked in Germany as chairman of a medical commission from June, 1940 to 1942."
In this case also I would like to later on read the character judgment of professor Handloser, that is, when professor Handloser is not on the witness stand anymore. I now offer this document as Exhibit 27 and request that it be admitted in evidence.
BY DR. NELTE:
Q Professor Handloser, I am now handing to you document book number 10 about sulfanamide experiments. In this book in page 94 you will find Document NO-472 which is contained in document book number 10, Exhibit 234. In this document No. 472 on page 94 there is an affidavit by Dr. Fischer.
DR. NELTE: It is on page 96 of the English document book. Because of paragraph 7 of this affidavit, the Prosecution has presented it in the accusation and in the case against Handloser, and paragraph 7 states:
"When the sulfanilamide experiment started, I was told by Professor Gebhardt, my military and medical superior, that those experiments were carried out by order of the Chief of the Medical Office of the Wehrmacht and the Chief of the Medical Office of the State."
Q Did you as Chief of the Wehrmacht Medical Service or in any other capacity give such an order to Professor Gebhardt, or did you pass it on from a higher agency, according to which the experiments carried out by Dr. Gebhardt, Oberhauser and Fischer were ordered?
May it please the Tribunal, I am now presenting two affidavits by Dr. Gebhardt and Dr. Fischer. This is HA-8, in Document Book 2, page 12, and I offer it as Exhibit 28. Dr. Fritz Fischer states in this affidavit: "I have signed an affidavit which in the present trial has been submitted as evidence by the Prosecution." In paragraph 7 of this affidavit it is stated, and then follows what I have just read. And, I continue with the affidavit of Fischer: "This affidavit originated under circumstances which I am going to explain in detail when I shall be questioned on the witness stand. In reply to Professor Dr. Handloser's Defense Counsel, I declare that it is not correct to say in this affidavit Professor Dr. Gebhardt had told me that the experiments must be performed by order of the chief of the Medical office of the Armed Forces. Nor did I make such a statement. I must emphasize in this connection that the interrogation took place in the English language, and that the above affidavit dated 21st October 1946, represents a summary of a long interrogation record. This summary, which was drawn up by members of the Prosecution Staff, was submitted to me ready for signature. I, myself, don't master the English language sufficiently well to have myself noted, this misunderstanding, but since I have, myself, no knowledge of such an order of the chief of the Medical Services of the Armed Forces, Professor Dr. Handloser, I hereby rectify item seven of my affidavit, dated 21 October 1946."
I request that this Document be admitted as Exhibit 28.
In the affidavit, HA-9, Document Book 2, Page 14, which I am presenting as Exhibit 29, Dr. Gebhardt has states the following: "It is not true that I ever told Dr. Fritz Fischer that these experiments were being carried out by order of the Chief of the Medical Office of the Wehrmacht. In this connection Dr. Fischer must have made a mistake, or the affidavit dated 21 October 1946 must have been based upon a misunderstanding of the facts given by Dr. Fritz Fischer. At any rate, I am not aware of any such order from the Chief of the Medical Service of the Wehrmacht, Professor Dr. Handloser. Nor did I discuss it with Professor Dr. Handloser before the beginning of this experiment. The experiments for testing, the sulfonamides were carried out on Hitler's and Himmler's orders, upon direct instructions from the Reich Physician SS and police, Dr. Grawitz."
I request that this affidavit be admitted as Exhibit 29.
Q. What was Professor Gebhardt's connections to you?
A. Professor Gebhardt was a chief Hygienest for the Reich Physician SS. And, neither as Army Medical Inspector not as Chief of the Wehrmacht Medical service did he stand in any official connection with me.
Q. In an affidavit presented by the Prosecution, of Dr. Fischer, it is stated that you had participated in the ten years' anniversary at Hohenlychen: is that correct?
A. No, that is not correct. Dr. Fischer is making a mistake there. I have not participated at the ten years' anniversary celebration nor did I know anything about it. I never received any invitation to attend it.
Q. Did you ever have any official contact with nursing home at Hohenlychen?
A. I did not have any official contact; however, I must state here that the following incident occurred: It may probably have been in the year of 1942 when Conti or Gebhardt, I do not remember exactly any more, came to see me in my office at Berlin, and they requested to enter the Kuratorium of some nursing home at Hohenlychen. I would not be spending my time to much in any other way, but after the men had suggested Dr. Waldmann, since he had been in the Kuratorium; they also considered it desirable that I, as a successor, would also enter the group. I had no cause not to comply with the request, and there was no cause for any objection on my part.
Q. Did you participate in any section of the Kuratorium, this committee?
A. I have not participated in any discussion not have I over received an invitation to attend such a conference.
Q. The Prosecution has stated here, in connection with the Conference of Consulting Physicians in 1944, has described Hohenlychen here as the center of the SS. Can you state anything in connection with it?
A. Yes, I can make the following statement: I cannot understand this opinion because prior to the war Hohenlychen was a well known hospital center which, as far as I know, was also well known outside of Germany, and where from all circles of the population, patients were accepted there. And, where above all, surgery was practiced in special fields, and where special confidence was gained in this field. As far as I can remember and from my memory, I can state that we, in the Wehrmacht, sometimes were really glad that our officers, those included high officers, whose relatives if, for example, they were suffering from joint disease and where they needed operations, they did not go, into our hospitals; for example, in Berlin we had an excellent surgical specialist, but they believed they could only be helped at Hohenlychen.
This applied also to injuries occurred in sports, especially injuries to the joints of the knees. And, about, the center of the SS, I understand any institution which works a strictly according to the political practice of the SS, but which is not a hospital with three hundred civilian patients from all classes of the population and with three and four hundred wounded and sick soldiers of the Wehrmacht, and furthermore an additional three hundred injured and sick patients of the Waffen-SS are located. What I want to say is, that according to the whole constellation, I do not find any cause to see that the hospital at Hohenlychen was the center of the SS. In order to make this statement complete, I only want to add here that I have seen Hohenlychen for the first time; that I have visited several stations there on the occasion of the Conference of the Consulting Physicians in May 1944.
The facilities there, especially these for the subsequent treatment of severe injuries and where arms and legs were again restored to activity, were so impressive to me that later in 1944. I sent my son there. He had seen severely injured in the Caucasus and was severely hampered in breathing because of four or five operations in his chest. I also brought him to Hohenlichen because, I have later on repeated, I could not have found any better institution for that purpose; and I really would have had quite a number of hospitals at my disposal for my son.
Q. Why was Hohenlychen selected for the conference in May 1944?
A. It was selected for the following reasons. The previous conferences took place in the Military Medical Academy at Berlin; also the conference of May, 1943. Ever after the air attacks on Berlin in the fall of 1943, which increased to an enormous extent every month, the Military Medical Academy had suffered some sort of damage in everyone of the air attacks. After the severe attacks in the middle of February and in March and in April of the year 1944 the Academy had been damaged to such an extent that it could not be utilized at all any more. In addition to this, because of the constant air alarms, even if no actual attacks were taking place, there would have been no possibility in Berlin or in its vicinity to hold any meeting there where after all two hundred to three hundred physicians had to be billeted there for a period of two days.
Therefore, I was confronted by the problem when I came to Berlin on one occasion in April of actually not knowing where I should go for this conference whose preliminary work had already been concluded. At that time Prof. Gebhardt offered Hohenlychen to me; and I really was very glad to accept this offer which later on was confirmed by the Reichsfuehrer. Hohenlichen was about ninety kilometers from Berlin; and around the vicinity there, not only in the vicinity of the hospital but throughout the region, no bomb had ever been dropped; and we actually were able undisturbedly to carry on the conference from the 16th to the 22nd. That was the only reason why this conference took place at Hohenlichen.
Q. At the conference at Hohenlichen in 1944 how many reports were presented
A. Outside of the printed report, 168.
Q. How many of these were by SS physicians?
A. Three.
Q. On Page 96 of the document book you will find NO-619 about the meeting and conference at Hohenlichen. This is Exhibit 236. About this list of the participants Dr. Fischer states in one of his affidavits that the lists contained in Document 619 are representative lists of all these who participated in all four conferences. Is that correct?
A. No. In this case it was forty. In this case Fischer is mistaken. The participants in the four conferences were only in part the same; and probably it should not be a representative list but lists of those present.
Q. I think that it should be a Representative list; that these participants actually represent the conspirators in their entirety who regularly attended the conferences of the consulting physicians. Perhaps Dr. Fischer has not meant it in this way; but that is the way in which it was presented here.
A. Well, this is a completely out of the question because the participants in these conferences which took place participated for the following reasons. The Wehrmacht branches were able to express their wishes toward the subjects to he discussed as well as those who were making the speeches. Then these people who had to be there were selected by me either because they were to give a speech or because they were told to participate in discussions or because they were specialists in the particular field. Of the number which resulted then there were those who had to participate in an official capacity. There were a certain number of medical officers from the medical inspectorate of the accomodated; and this number was divided into army, Wehrmacht, Luftwaffe, the Waffen SS, the labor service; and then it was left to the branches of the Wehrmacht to send whom they wanted to the places which were put at their disposal.