"The Niebergall affidavit, as I have mentioned before, is in substance the same as the Coogan affidavit which was accepted by the International Military Tribunal as sufficient authentication of documents used in the case before that Tribunal. However, in addition to these affidavits, the Prosecution in this case will attach to each document submitted in evidence, other than self-proving documents such as affidavits signed by the defendants, a certificate signed by an employee of the Evidence Division of the Office of Chief of Counsel for War Crimes, reading for example as follows:
'I, Donald Spencer, of the Evidence Division of the Office of Chief of Counsel for War Crimes, hereby certify that the attached document, consisting of one photostated page and entitled, 'Letter from John Doe to Richard Roe, dated 19 June 1943' is the original of a document which was delivered to me in my above capacity, in the usual course of official business, as a true copy of a document found in German archives, records and files captured by military forces under the command of the Supreme Commander, Allied Expeditionary Forces.
'To the best of my knowledge, information and belief, the original document is at the Berlin Document Center' or wherever it may be.
"At as early a date as possible, in all cases in which a photostatic copy was available, the Prosecution sent to the Defendants' Information Center one such copy of the documents which it intended to use in its case in chief. In addition, on 5 December 1946, the Prosecution consented to the furnishing of a German copy of all Central Planning Board Minutes. Thus, the bulk of the Prosecution's documents have been in the hands of the Defense Counsel for some time.
The Prosecution has prepared document books in both German and English of the documents on which it will rely during its case in chief. These are principally mimeographed copies and each book contains an index which sets out the document number, a short description, the page number and a space for writing in the index number of the document on its admission in evidence.
The books themselves and the documents within each book are arranged substantially in the order in which they will be presented.
The Prosecution will follow the rule which requires that one official copy in German of each document book be filed in the Defendant's Information Center at least 24. hours prior to the time of introduction in Court. In addition, the Defendant's Information Center will receive one unofficial copy in German and one photostatic copy in German of each document book used by the Prosecution. Six official copies of the German document books will be presented to the Tribunal, one for each of the justices and two for the Secretary General. Two of these will contain photostatic copies so that the Tribunal may be able to refer to the original. Copies will also be made available to the German interpreters and to the Court Reporters.
The English document books will contain certified translations of the documents in the German document books, numbered and indexed so as to correspond to the arrangement in the German document books. A copy of each English document book will be deposited in the Defendant's Information Center and sufficient copies will be distributed to the interpreters and Court Reporters.
The Secretary General's office will receive six copies of the English document books for the use of the Tribunal.
At various times, unintentionally or unavoidable, the Presecution may fail to observe the procedure outlined above, or may overlook some other rule of the Court. We respectfully request in advance that any such omissions may be ascribed to our inexperience in the presentation of a case in two languages, rather than to any lack of effort to comply with the Court's rule.
On occasions it may be necessary for us to introduce documents which are not in a book, the reasons being that matters of omission in processing or lateness of translation, or any one of a number of other causes, or were left out through some inadvertence. At that time we will advise the Court and comply with the rule by presenting the document sufficiently in advance to Dr. Bergold so there will be no question about it.
Just in passing - in the case this morning there were two or three documents which have been listed but which will be left out for the moment because adequate copies couldn't be obtained, or the stencils were bad and couldn't be read. At some later time we hope to produce them and insert them in the proper place in the record.
JUDGE PHILLIPS: Does Exhibit 1 comprise both Coogan's and Niebergall's affidavits?
MR. DENNEY: If your Honors please, we had indicated that Exhibit 1 would be Coogan's affidavit and Exhibit 2 Niebergall's Affidavit, unless your Honors would rather have it another way.
THE PRESIDENT: That is all right.
MR DENNEY: We come new to the first document which is in your Honors' Document Book. Beginning at page 1-1 actually is the 6th page but it is the first page after the index. This is Document Book 1-A that has the index. I believe there is no index in Document Book 1-B. The index continues over from 1-A for both books. I would like to offer this document in evidence, it being No. L 79, and we offer it as Prosecution exhibit No. 3. It is a secret copy of the minutes of a conference held 23 May 1939. The place in which the conference was held was Hitler's study in the New Reich Chancellery. The copy indicates that the Adjutant on duty, Lt. Col. Schmundt of the General Staff Corps, also made the notes. His signature appears on page 7. Present at the conference were Hitler; Field Marshal Goering, Commander in Chief of the Luftwaffe; Grand Admiral Raeder, at that time Commander in Chief of the Navy; Colonel General von Brauchitsch, later Field Marshal von Brauchitsch, at that time Commander in Chief of the Army; Colonel General Keitel, later Field Marshal Keitel, the Chief of Staff at the Oberkommando Wehrmacht, which was set up subsequent to this meeting; the defendant, then Colonel General Milch; in addition General of Artillery Halder; General Bodonschatz; Rear Admiral Schniewindt; Colonel Jeschennel; Colonel Warlimont; the afore mentioned Lt. Colonel Schmundt; Captain Angel, of the army; Lt. Commander Albrecht of the navy; and Captain von Below - the latter three acting as aides.
Your Honors will note that the subject of this is: Indoctrination on the political situation and future aims.
JUDGE PHILLIPS: Mr. Denney, what evidence do you have as to who was present?
MR. DENNEY: It is recited, if your Honors please, on the first page of the document. Now here we have Hitler calling to a conference, some few months prior to the time the invasion of Poland was started, which as the Court knows took place 1 September 1939, a group of some fourteen men to whom he was explaining the situation so far as the political aims of the Nazi party were concerned, and also its future aims so far as conduct of the war and various other necessarily allied elements. I don't think it is necessary to read in detail from the first two pages. However, it is worthy of note in passing that Lt. Colonel Schmund stated that the Fuehrer defines as the purpose of the conference: "1) Analysis of the situation. 2) Definition of the tasks for the armed Forces arising from the situation. 3) Exposition of the consequences of those tasks. 4) Ensuring the secrecy of all decisions and work resulting from these consequences. Secrecy is the first essential for success. It then follows that the Fuehrer's observations are given in systematized form below."
The first part has to do with the settlement of the well known question of lebenstraum for the German people and Hitler makes a short summary of the fact that 80 million people solved the ideological problems and then proceeds to state that the national policy is as of this month.
It is to be noted on page 2, 8 lines from the bottom. It states: "The population of non-German areas will perform no military service, and will be available as a source of labor."
Then on page 3 he goes into some more comments on the attack upon Poland. It is clearly indicated there that they mean to attack Poland even at this early date.
On page 4, art the top, he states "The war with England and France will be a life and death struggle. The idea that we can get off cheaply is dangerous; there is no such possibility. We must burn our boats, and it is no longer a question of justice or injustice, but of life or death for 80 milling human beings."
And then it is worthy of note in the next paragraph he states, "Every country's armed forces of government must aim at a short war. The government, however, must also be prepared for a war of 10-15 years duration."
I'm sorry; there were some notes I wanted to call the Court's attention to on the second page, again tending to show at this early date the magnitude of the problem that was facing the German people, at least as it was expressed by Hitler, and the fact that he had called these men here, which will be seen later in the document, to advise them that certain procedures were to be taken and that a special staff was to be set up for the conduct of this war.
At the top of page two it will be noted that:
"A mass of 80,000,000 people have solved the ideological problem; so, too, must the ecomonic. problem be solved. No German can evade the creation of the necessary economic conditions for him. The solution of the problems demands courage. The principle by which one evades solving the problems be adapting oneself to circumstances is enadmissible. Circumstances must, rather, be adapted to aims. This is impossible without invasion of foreign states or attack upon foreign property. Living space in proportion to the magnitude of the state is a basis of all power. One may refuse for a time to face the problem, but finally it is solved one way or the other. The choice is between advancement or decline. In 15 or 20 years' time we shall be compelled to find a solution. No German statesman can evade the question longer that that.
"We are at present in a state of patriotic fervour , which is shared by two other nations: Italy and Japan.
And then, dropping down and omitting the part where he speaks about Danzig and the Polish Corridor, there is one short note just below the point where he says, "There is no other possibility for Europe," speaking of colonies, he says:
"Beware of gifts of colonial territory. This does not solve the food problem. Remember -- blockade."
Then, going over to page 5, about the middle of the page -there is a Roman numeral I to the left with a parenthesis:
"The effort must be made to deal the enemy a significant or the final decisive blow right at the start. Considerations of right and wrong or treaties do not enter into the matter. This will only be possible if we are not involved in a war with England on account of Poland."
Again directing the Court's attention to the fact that throughout this speech he indicated that nothing mattered so long as Germany went ahead.
Then, the last of the five listed items under "Consequences" on the same page, he says, "Germany will not bleed to death on land."
Going over to the top of page 6, following Number 3, "The unrestricted use of all resources is essential.
"Once the army, in cooperation with the Air Force and Navy, has taken the most important positions, industrial production will cease to flow into the bottomless pit of the Army's battles and can be diverted to benefit the Air Force and Navy."
Dropping down about six lines, paragraph beginning with Number 5:
"This applies to gas, submarines and the Air Force. It would be true of the latter, for instance, as long as the English Fleet had not available counter-measures; it will no longer be the case in 1940 and 1941. Against Poland, for example, tanks will be effective, as the Polish Army possesses no counter-measures."
Then, again on the same page, to show that he is considering the various possibilities even at this early date:
"A correct estimate of weapons and their effectiveness: e.g., (a) Battleship or aircraft carrier, which is the more effective? Individually or considered as a whole?
"(b) Is air attack more important on a factory than on a battleship? Where are bottlenecks in production located?"
Then he goes on, down to the bottom of the page, where he speaks of the "Study of the enemy's weak points." This is of great importance because at this time was when Hitler first announced that he was taking away from the German General Staff what had prior to this time been their own particular functions and that he was going to set up this OKW, the Oberkommando Wehrmacht, and here, in substance, were the men who were to be spread throughout all of the German army, navy and Luftwaffe being taken into his confidence about this.
"A study of the enemy's weak points:
"These studies must not be left to the General Staff. Secrecy could no longer be guaranteed.
"The Fuehrer has therefore decided to to order the formation of a small planning staff as OKW.
It will keep the Fuehrer informed and report to him.
"The planning staff is responsible for the planning of operations on the highest level, and of the technical preparations and organization necessarily required by the decision taken.
"The purpose of certain regulations concerns no one outside the staff."
In other words, all they did was to tell them what they do, and they did it. Nobody told them why.
"However great are the increases in the armament of our adversaries, they must at some time come to the end of their resources, and ours will be greater."
Dropping down on page 7:
"Secrecy is the decisive requirement for success. Our object must be kept secret even from Italy or Japan. The break-through the Maginot line is still a possibility for Italy and must be studied. The Fuehrer considers that such a breakthrough is possible."
Then he goes on to state, "The close combination of the services, for the study of the problem in its entirety, is important.
"The Object:
"1. The study of the problem in its entirety.
"2. Study of the procedure.
"3. Study of the necessary requirements.
"4. Study of the necessary training."
Dropping down to the "Working Principles:
"No one must be admitted who is not concerned.
"No one may know more than it is necessary for him to know.
"When must the person concerned know, at latest? No one may know of a matter earlier than is necessary for him to know of it.
"At the request of Field Marshal Goering, the Fuehrer decrees that:
"The various services shall decide what construction is to be undertaken.
"There shall be no alterations in the shipbuilding program.
"The armaments program are to be considered with regards to 1943 or 41 a 1944."
It is signed by Lieutenant Colonel Schmundt.
It is apparent from this that at this early date, in May, 1939, they were even then preparing and that the defendant, at that time a Colonel General, not a Field Marshal, was certainly in as high a position as one could have been in Germany at the time. I think all the Court has to do is look at the list of those present to see what elite company he was traveling in.
We now come to the next document, which is PS-1375, which will be Exhibit 4. This is a letter of January 25, 1940 from Frank to Goering.
I might mention that these documents that are now being put in represent a screening of the slave laboe documents in the first trial. I do not want to burden Your Honors with all of them that were put in, but we went over them and we believe that the forty that we have clearly show the picture of the way slave labor was being brought into Germany and the way it was treated, and when we get into the Central Planning Board Minutes, which are in part -- or rather, all, in Document Book Number 2, then we can see what connection the defendant had with it.
This letter has to do with "The execution of the task of systematically placing the economic strength of the Generalgovernment of Poland within the framework of the Four Year Plan, in the service of the German defense industry," and Frank makes this report to Goering. I do not think that there is anything on the first page which needs to be read. However, on page two, Paragraph 2 (d), which is the first full paragraph, he says:
"Exploitation, if necessary also partial expansion, of the industrial capacity existing in the Generalgovernment, in order to execute as rapidly as possible the Wehrmacht orders to be placed by the Reich in the Generalgovernment while maintaining production of those products which are absolutely vital for the running of the economic machinery in the Generalgovernment even if the strictest standards are applied.
(e) Maintenance of the productive capacity of those plants to which Wehrmacht orders have not get been assigned but which are chosen as replace-
42 a ment plants for militarily vital factories which have been or will be evacuated in the Reich."
Skipping to (g):
"Supply and transportation of at least one million male and female agricultural and industrial workers to the Reich, among them at least 750,000 agricultural workers of which at least 50 per cent must be women, in order to guarantee agricultural production in the Reich and as replacement for industrial workers lacking in the Reich.
Then, skipping over to page 3, which is page 10 in Your Honor's Document Book, "f. that, in order to insure the necessary supply of Polish workers in the Reich, the labor offices harmonize the recruiting of labor requirements in the General Government. The shipping will take place early enough to be completed early in the course of April, that the transfer of savings of those workers who came to the Reich merely as migratory workers, then, passing over to page 11, page 4 of the document, "the collection of leather and old material, the gathering of scrap are to be pushed forward according to plan. In view of the social conditions in the General Government, Jewish dealers who can be freed for this purpose from forced service and so forth, may also be engaged."
We will, at this time, pass the next document because it is still in process, it being number 2233 PSA, and go to 2233 PFB, which is the fourth one listed in Your Honor's Document book, at page 13. This is an excerpt from the diary of the same Franck "who was Governor General of Poland, and who wrote the letter to Goering which is Exhibit 4.
PRESIDENT: What exhibit number would you give this, Mr. Denney
MR. DENNEY: Number 5, sir. If Your Honor please, I think it's better to keep them running along serially, and when we want to insert one we can give it a letter number, if that is agreeable to you. We can make the one ahead of 4, 4-A; otherwise we'll have gaps as we go along.
I'm just advised now that "B" is missing from the German book too, so, if Your Honor pleases, we'll leave out 2233 PS this time completely and go down to page 14 of Your Honor's book, and we'll call this Exhibit No. 3. This is a confidential report, signed by one "Kusher." We have not been able to identify him other than that. It was made in May of 1940. It has to do with the achievement of confiscations of Polish agricultural enterprises, for the purpose of transferring Poles to the old Reich and to employ them as agricultural workers. I think the particular parts of the document, which are of interest appear in the last several lines of the first page, beginning with the part that's underlined:
"The former owners of Polish farms, together with their families, will be transferred to the Old Reich by the 44 a employment agencies for employment as farm workers.
In this way many hundred Polish agricultural workers can be placed at the disposal of agriculture in the Old Reich, in the shortest and simplest manner. In this way, the most pressing shortage is removed, which is now, in a very disagreeable manner felt, especially in the root crop district. Besides, the shepherds who are still working in the confiscated and formerly settled enterprises and who are superfluous, are to be removed into the Old Reich, for until now they were only a burden for the respective enterprise, for they are too numerous. In this way, Polish agricultural workers can be made free to the Old Reich."
If Your Honor please, Dr. Bergold has just advised that the copy of Exhibit 5, which is in his document book in German, is so badly stenciled that he is unable to read it. So, with the Court's permission at this time, I shall withdraw the offer of Exhibit 5, until such time as we can get a German copy which is legible.
DR. BERGOLD: It is not a copy badly legible, but something is missing, several pages of this document are missing. But if the prosecutor just wanted to refer to these, it is just these missing pages which are needed. However, I do not want to detain proceedings; they can continue. It will be satisfactory if we obtain the missing pages subsequently.
PRESIDENT: I believe a proper copy has just been put on your desk. Let's wait just a minute to see if it is a proper copy. Mr. Denney, will you take a look at the copy which has just been given to Dr. Bergold?
MR. DENNEY: If Your Honor please, it seems that the document which is in the German Document Book has the same number, 1352 PS, and has to do with the same dates; there is also a document signed by a man named "Kusher" but it is not the same document as the 1352 PS we have in English, so, with Your Honor's permission, we will leave the number 5 to be assigned to this document at the time when we clear it up, but withdraw its offer at this time, subject to renewing the offer at a later time, when the German copy and the English copy can be made to coincide, one with the other.
PRESIDENT: Well then, Exhibit 5 is neither offered nor admitted in evidence at this time.
45 a
MR. DENNEY: Thank you, sir.
If Your Honor please, the next document which we offer as Number 6, is ED 68, which is the letter of March 6, 1941, being a confidential letter from the Ministry of Finance and Economy at Baden, containing directives on the treatment of Polish farm workers. Although this document is some two pages long, I should like to read it rather at length, to show what the treatment was of these people who were benefitting from the protection of the so-called Government General in inland. "Subject: Directives on the treatment of foreign farmworkers of Polish Nationality" "The agencies of the Reich Food Administration - State Peasant Association of Baden have received the result of the negotiations with the Higher SS and Police Officers in Stuttgart on 14 February 1941, with great satisfaction.
Appropriate memoranda have already been turned over to the District Peasants Associations. Below, I promulgate the individual regulations, as they have been laid down during the conference and how they are now to be applied accordingly."
In these, Your Honor, are the conditions under which laborers sent from Poland to Germany - Stuttgart and Baden - work.
"Fundamentally, farmworkers of Polish nationality no longer have the right to complain, and thus no complaints may be accepted any more by any official agency.
"The farmworkers of Polish nationality may not leave the localities in which they are employed, and have a curfew from 1 October to 31 March from 2000 hours to 0600 hours, and from 1 April to 30 September from 2100 hours to 0500 hours.
"The use of bicycles is strictly prohibited. Exceptions are possible, for riding to the place of work in the field, if a relative of the employer or the employer himself is present.
"The visit of churches, regardless of faith, is strictly prohibited, even when there is no service in progress. Individual spiritual care by clergymen outside of the church is permitted.
"Visits to theaters, motion pictures or other cultural entertainment are strictly prohibited for farmworkers of Polish nationality.
"The visit of restaurants is strictly prohibited to farmworkers of Polish nationality except for one restaurant in the village, which will be selected by the Rural Councillor's Office, and then only one day per week. The day, which is determined as the day to visit the restaurant, will also be determined by the Landratsamt. This regulation does not change the curfew regulation, mentioned above under no. 2.
"Sexual intercourse with women and girls is strictly prohibited, and wherever it is established, it must be reported.
"Gatherings of farmworkers of Polish nationality after work is prohibited, whether it is on other farms, in the stables or in the living quarters of the Poles.
"The use of railroads, buses or other public conveyances by farmworkers of Polish nationality is prohibited.
"Permits to leave the village may only be granted in very exceptional cases, by the local police authority. However, in no case may it be granted if he wants to visit a public agency on his own, whether it is a labor office or the District Peasants Association or whether he wants to change his place of employment.
"Arbitrary change of employment is strictly prohibited. The farmworkers of Polish nationality have to work daily so long as the interests, of the enterprise demands it, and as it is demanded by the employer. There are no time limits to the working time.
"Every employer has the right to give corporal punishment toward farmworkers of Polish nationality, if instructions and good words fail. The employer may not be held accountable in any such case by an official agency.
"Farmworkers of Polish nationality should if possible be removed from the community of the home, and they can be quartered in stables etc. No remorse whatever should restrict such action.
"Report to the authorities is compulsory in all cases, when crimes have been committed by farmworkers of Polish nationality, which are to sabotage the enterprise or slow down work, for instance unwillingness to work, impertinent behavior; it is compulsory even in minor cases.