THE PRESIDENT: The Tribunal is conscious of the rules of evidence to which counsel refers and we wish to state that we will give consideration only to facts presented and not to conclusions announced.
MR. DENNEY: l) When General von Schroeder subordinated the Battalion to the General Staff, Thurner protested so vehemently that a heated argument with the General developed who, thereupon, referred to the agreement of the Wehrmacht Commander Southeast to this subordination.
2) When I protested against the Operation Skela to Lieutenant Colonel Gravenhorst and at first requested an investigation, Gravenhorst expressly referred to the order of Chief of General Staff Southeast Foertsch. And it is submitted here that although an opinion is cited up above, this part clearly recites what the witness did.
5) In addition the General Staff of the Military Commander must report to the Military Commander Southeast regarding the employment of subordinate units. (These reports) also showed clearly how the Police Battalion was employed. The three occupation divisions transferred to Serbia were not subordinate to the Military Commander regarding training and command but to the so-called Corps Commander. And that is 69 in the English; that should be 65, under the command of army Lieutenant General Rader and the Chief of General Staff Colonel G.S.C. Kewisch. These were so-called Divisions of the 15th Wave; they were not assault divisions and were to be trained and equipped properly until they arrived in Serbia. As far as I can recall they were numbered 704, 714, and 717. The Division Generals I can recall were Brigadier General Hoffmann and his successor Brigadier General Hinghofer.
The staff of General Bader, like that of the Military Commander, was organized like the staff of a German Infantry Corps (Chief, 1a, 1c, 11a, 11b, 111, Intendant etc.).
THE PRESIDENT: Mr. Denney, pardon me. I take it that you will not be able to complete this document this afternoon?
MR. DENNEY: No, your Honor, there are still four pages.
THE TRIBUNAL: The Tribunal is personally conscious of the heat. Those associated with this Tribunal, I take it, are also conscious of that fact. That being the circumstances, we will-adjourn at this time until 9:30 Monday morning.
(The Tribunal adjourned until 28 July 1947 at 0930 hours.)
Official Transcript of the American Military Tribunal in the matter of the United States of America against Wilhelm List, et al, defendants, sitting at Nuernberg, Germany, on 28 July 1947, 0930, Justice Wennerstrum presiding.
THE MARSHAL: Persons in the courtroom will please find their seats.
The Honorable, the Judges of Military Tribunal 5. Military Tribunal 5 is now in session. God save the United States of America and this honorable Tribunal. There will be order in the court.
THE PRESIDENT: Mr. Marshal, you will ascertain if all the defendants are present in the courtroom.
THE MARSHAL: May it please Your Honors, all the defendants are present in the courtroom.
THE PRESIDENT: You may proceed, Mr. Denney.
MR. DENNEY: May it please Your Honors. On Friday, just prior to adjournment, we were considering the affidavit of George Kiessel, a former SS-Untersturmfuehrer, and this affidavit, if Your Honors will recall, is concerned with the organization and chain of command in the Southeast. There was one portion which I would like again to call to Your Honors' attention which we had just completed prior to the adjournment. That is on page 27 of the English, Document No. NOKW-1637, which is 100B-27, and is at page 77tt ("t" for tare). It appears opposite letter "2", and Kiessel is speaking here of a personal experience, although it appears to be an opinion, as pointed out by the defense counsel earlier. Nevertheless, at paragraph 2 he states:
"When I protested against the Operation Skela to Lieutenant Colonel Gravenhorst and at first requested an investigation, Gravenhorst expressly referred to the order of the Chief of the General Staff Southeast Foertsch.
And there we have a subordinate speaking of an order which he received from the Chief of Staff of the Wehrmacht Commander Southeast. Turning then to page 77uu, at the top of page 3 of the original:
"The staff of General Bader, like that of the Military Commander, was organized like the staff of a German infantry corps (Chief, Ia, Ic, IIa, IIb, III, Intendant, etc.)
. Only the Ib was lacking, i.e. the quartermaster branch which the Military Commander and the Corps Command had in common. It was the duty of the Corps Command to direct the management and training of the three divisions. Regarding commitment (of troops) General Bader had to take orders from the Military Commander in the latter's capacity as so-called Territorial Commander. However, the operational and tactical execution was exclusively his affair. Because of personal differences the connection was such a lax one that in practice General Bader and his General Staff regulated all measures pertaining to troop command and troop employment according to their own discretion. The immediate subordination of the Corps Command to Military Commander Southeast enabled General Bader of course to request direct orders from there personally. It was significant of the situation, for instance, that during the first visit of General Field Marshal List in 1941 List landed first in Nish asking General Bader but not the Military Commander to come there so that the General Field Marshal received his first local information from the Troop Commander and not from the Military Commander.
"Notwithstanding the report of General Field Marshal List 23 August 1941 in Belgrade - after Nedic had been appointed Prime Minister - the OKH sent Boehme, Lieutenant General of Mountain Troops, with the staff of the XVIII Mountain Corps, which was in Greece, to Belgrade with the mission to suppress the insurrection. Boehme bore the title of Commanding General and Commander in Serbia. This double title obviously was to show authoritatively that he was simultaneously the superior of Military Commander Dankelmann and of the troop commander Bader."
And it is submitted that this supports the earlier exhibits, which Your Honors will recall, where List, in September 1941, requested that Boehme be sent there, and then the OKW order, ordering Boehme there, and List of course sending him there, where he became the Supreme Commander for the area of Serbia, responsible only to List, and of course, subsequently too for the Armed Forces Commander Southeast. "Anything regarding military organization and units was subordinated to him."
That, of course, is speaking of the Commander General and Commander in Serbia.
"Chief of the General Staff was Pemsel, Colonel, GSC. Otherwise his staff was organized like a real corps staff (as above) which however was particularly suitable for combat. Genuine combat divisions put at his disposal were the 342nd Infantry Division, which, as far as I know, came from France, and the 113th Infantry Division. When Boehme had reported to the Wehrmacht Commander SE that the insurrection in Serbia had been suppressed and that peace had been restored, he was recalled with his entire staff. At the end of November or beginning of December he went to Salzburg with his entire staff...
"The office of the Wehrmacht Commander Southeast developed from the General Staff of Commander-in-Chief 12th Army General Field Marshal List. This event was a result of a political argument between the OKH and the OKW whereby the OKH was eliminated from the Balkan area in so far as command authority was concerned. The designation Wehrmacht Commander did not only designate the subordination of all troop units but the quality of territorial commander and bearer of the sovereignty of the Reich."
And this, of course, is submitted to show the vast powers which were held by the Armed Forces Commander Southeast, List, at that time, and his subordinate, or his follower, Kuntze, and then those who followed him.
"I am not acquainted with the detailed organization of the staff. Senior Military Administrative Councillor Dr. Parisius was with the Staff in charge of affairs of the Military Administration in its narrower meaning, that is to say, affairs of the Administrative Staff. Chief of General Staff was the later Brigadier General Foertsch. Colonel GSC Josef Kuebler was Ia up to November 1941 and he was followed by Brigadier General Macher. Lieutenant Colonel GSC Pfafferoth was the Ic. He later became Chief of the General Staff of Combat Group Bader. There was an extremely close connection between the General Staff of the Military Com mander in Serbia with the General Staff of the Wehrmacht Commander Southeast.
Gravenhorst repeatedly emphasized to me that he had daily telephone conversations with Foertsch."
And then, of course, this sets up the Command Staff connection between those units and the statement that there were daily telephone conversations with the defendant Foertsch.
"Colonel Kewitsch also had very close connections with Foertsch."
Of course, Gravenhorst is the Chief of Staff of the Military Commander, and Kewitsch is Chief of Staff to Bader.
"In addition regular reports of the General Staff and extra immediate reports in case of special events kept the General Staff of Wehrmacht Commander Southeast currently informed. A regular monthly report had to be made by the Administrative Staff regarding its activities which also had to be submitted to the Wehrmacht Commander. In turn the Wehrmacht Commander Southeast published a situation report in which it was stated literally several times that the Military Commander Serbia did not agree with the opinions of the Administrative Staff.
"The first reprisal measures which became know to me were carried out by order of General von Schroeder between 28 June 1941 and 10 July 1941 for an attempt to dynamite a grandstand. According to the statements of the General and of von Gravenhorst these orders had been approved by Wehrmacht Commander Southeast. During the many arguments I had with Gravenhorst during the following weeks he simply asserted that he had been empowered to request ten reprisal victims for one German victim."
Now, the Gravenhorst here is the same one, the Chief of Staff of the Military Commander Serbia, and here Kiessel is talking about Schroeder who was then the Military Commander Serbia; and he says that according to the statements of General Schroeder and Gravenhorst as Chief of Staff these orders for the execution of reprisal measures came from the Wehrmacht Commander Southeast, which at that time, in June and July 1941, was the defendant List.
"As I was told after returning from my father's funeral, fifteen persons had been hanged for this attempted plot. They had nothing at all to do with the affair but five of them, by the express order of von Schroeder, were reported to have been Jews. Before the start of the insurrection, i.e. before 22 June 1941, the General assigned the Belgrade population to guard duty liable with their own person because of several destructions of telegraph poles. At the time we had been successful in deterring him from seizing hostages in connection with that affair. Furthermore I know - through a report from Acimovic - of the shooting of hostages in and near Uzice after the attack on General Lontschar."
And Your Honors will recall the attack on General Lontschar, which has been the subject of discussion at earlier times.
"I immediately telephoned the Administrative Group Chief of SubArea Administrative Headquarters, Dr. Dietrich. But he told me that the operation, which was known to his office also, had been carried out by the troops because of the attack on the Regimental Commander and it was done without the participation of Administrative Sub-area Headquarters.
A further reprisal measure known to me is the case of the village of Skela. Arriving at my office on that morning I found a note by Gravenhorst asking to come to a conference. This conference was already underway. Some officers of the General Staff and 2 Police Officers participated. Gravenhorst was dictating strict orders to one of the police officers according to which a number of men, if I remember correctly, - about 50 were to be hanged in the village of Sjela and the village to be burned down. Thereupon I asked Gravenhorst to interrupt the conference and went outside with him to ask him what had happened. He explained that a 1st Lieutenant of the Police Battalion and 3 to 4 men returning from Sabac to Belgrade had been attacked near Skela and killed. Their bodies had been thrown into the Save. To my query as to whether an investigation had been conducted, I received a negative reply. The report sufficed him. This gave rise to an unusually vehement altercation between us and he defended himself with the explanation that the order had been issued and had to be carried out and that he had to explicit approval of the Chief of the General Staff Wehrmacht Commander Southeast Brigadier General Foertsch to proceed with such severe measures. I asked him why he had called me at all and he told me I was to inform the Serbian government of the impending measure. General Dankelmann, if my memory serves me right, did not play any part at all in the Skela events. All I can remember is that his name stood at the end of the subsequent proclamation to the population. Along with the severe orders which he brought to suppress the insurrection General Boehme also transmitted the order to the troops (Fuehrer Order) according to which 100 Serbs were to be shot to death for 1 dead German. The independent reprisal measures of the 342nd Infantry Division in the Macva and the incidents in Kragujevac and Kraljevo were a result of this. Boehme allegedly did not hear about this until later".............................
This Fuehrer order that they are talking about, it is submitted, is the Keitel order, Exhibit 53 of 16 September 1941 which is at page 67 in Document Book II, and the Boehms order of 10 October 1941 is Exhibit 8 which is at page 34 of Book III, and this whole thing shows the military in connection with the police and the SS people getting together and discussing this Skela operation, and then the chief of the military commander Serbia telling this affiant Kiessel that this reprisal measure for the attack on the Lieutenant of the Police Battalion and three to four men had been ordered by the Chief of the -- that is, that he had the explicit approval of the Chief of the General Staff of the Wehrmacht Commander Southeast, Brigadier General Foertsch, to proceed with these measures and that the order had been issued and had to be carried out.
And turning over to page 74 -- YY, "All orders of the OKW went by normal channels via Wehrmacht Commander Southeast to the Commander in Serbia," so it is submitted that that establishes the fact that the orders from OKW did not by-pass the Wehrmacht Commander Southeast and come down to the Plenipotentiary and Commanding General in Serbia as well as the Military Commander Serbia, but that they all came through the Wehrmacht Commander Southeast first.
"I know that in 1941 the Security Police frequently exchanged information with both General Staffs and that the Security Police participated in several operations. The Administrative Sub-area Headquarters also informed us of arrest actions carried out by order of the General Staff whereby the arrestees had to be transferred to the Security Police in Belgrade. When I say 'two Staffs' I refer to that of the Military Commander and that of General Bader."
Now here as early as 1941 the Security Police. Your Honors recall the reports of Security Police and SD have been issued from Berlin at various times beginning with October 1941 setting forth what has happened down here and here they have been exchanging information and the Security Police participating in operations and that the arrest actions were carried out by them by order of the General Staff, whereby the arrestees had to be transferred to the Security Police in Belgrade and the affidavit continues:
"The above has been read to me, it entirely corresponds to my own statement which I made voluntarily and without any compulsion. (Signed) George Kiessel." There follows then the certificate of Colonel Zvonimir Ostric, Delegate of the Government of the Federated Peoples Republic of Yugoslavia with the Office of Chief of Counsel for War Crimes.
That concludes this Exhibit, and now Mr. Fenstermacher will continue with a new book.
THE PRESIDENT: Mr. Fenstermacher, will you wait just a few minutes until we get our paper ready?
DR. LATERNSER: Your Honor, in consideration of the statement which has just been read, I would like to ask the Tribunal to ask the prosecution that this witness be called for cross-examination by the defense. The witness has as his own statement shows -- he has testified about matters which he cannot testify to. Your Honor, I would ask that the witness Kiessel, whose statement has just been read, be called.
THE PRESIDENT: Just a moment, please. There is trouble here in the translation.
(There was a short delay due to mechanical difficulties.)
DR. LATERNSER: Your Honor, I am repeating. I am asking that the prosecution make available to the defense the written statement of the witness Kiessel, that the witness Kiessel has dared to make statements which he cannot make, which he is not in a position to make; for it he could make them, he would have had to be present, for instance when he says that all orders by the OKW went via the Commander Southeast and the Commander Serbia. He can indeed only say that if he had been constantly with the Supreme Commander Southeast. However, he was never there really. I just like to point out this one item. Since the witness makes statements referring to important material matters and voices opinions, I believe that the defense is justified to ask that a witness who malies such important statements be put at the disposal for cross-examination.
The Tribunals in Nurnberg have up to now in similar cases given the prosecution the right to cross-examine such persons whose statements have been put before the Tribunal.
THE PRESIDENT: I thought you just stated that the right had been given to the prosecution. Did you not mean to say the defense?
DR. LATERNSER: The defense had been given the right to cross-examine witnesses in important cases whose statements had primarily been submitted in writing by the prosecution.
MR. FENSTERMACHER: If Your Honor, please, I have been informed by the Yugoslav delegate to the Office of the Chief of Counsel for War Crimes that George Kiessel has already been executed as a war criminal in Yugoslavia.
DR. LATERNSER: Your Honor, can this be proved by the Prosecution? For I would have to insist that this assertion be proved in such an important case?
MR. FENSTERMACHER: Your Honor, I think we can get a statement from the Yugoslav delegate to that effect for the defense.
THE PRESIDENT: Pending the receipt of this information the Tribunal will reserve ruling on this matter and the application made.
MR. FENSTERMACHER: If Your Honors, please, with the presentation of the documents in Document Book 10 we take up the period from January 1943 until August 1943. This is the second half of the period which the Prosecution calls the period of Foertsch and Geitner.
Your Honors will recall that as of January 1, 1943, the 12th Army goes put of existance and in its place we have the Army Group E as the Supreme Command authority in the Southeast Area.
The cast of characters with which we are concerned in this period from January 1943 until August 1943 is for the most part, the same as during the earlier portion of the period from August 1942 until January 1943. General Loehr is Commander -in-Chief of the Army Group E, and his Chief of Staff is the defendant Foertsch.
JUDGE BURKE: From what document are you reading?
MR. FENSTERMACHER: Your Honor, I am just interpolating very briefly before passing on to the documents.
Generals Loehr and Foertsch are in the Supreme Headquarters of Army Group E. In Serbia General Bader is commanding General and his Chief of Staff is as before, the defendant, Geitner. In Croatia, Generals Lueders is in charge of the German troops, and Horstenau is the liaison between the German Army and the Croatian Government, and finally in Greece, as Commander of Southern Greece we have the defendant Speidel.
Turning to the first document, page 1 of the English and page 1 of the German, NOKW-1132, which is offered as Prosecution Exhibit 243. This is an order of the Commanding General in Serbia, dated 16 January 1943, to the 704th Infantry Division. Its subject is "Daily Reports."
1) "The High Command of Army Group E demands that the daily reports be more precise than hitherto so that a more detailed report can be furnished to the OKW.
6) Especially important is the immediate notification of reprisal measures and counter-measures taken or planned in case these should result from the subject of the report according to the orders given. Also a report, that for instance counter-measures are not possible or not planned at the moment, by mentioning the reasons in code language if occasion arises, is indicated and necessary.
7) When arrests are made, the reason is to be given, Communists activities or suspected of having participated in a reported sabotage attempt. Here however I expressly refer to the Fuehrer decrees which deal with the combatting of bands and the treatment of Sabotage-groups."
If Your Honors, please, we believe that the reference treatment of the Sabotage groups is a reference to the Commander order of October 18, 1942.
"When, according to this order, the necessity of shooting arises one is, for instance, to add to the report: "Were Shot." In case by way of exception a shooting is not planned, the report is to read: "'Will not be shot at the moment, is useful for own reconnaissance reasons.".........
"The Fuehrer has banned the term "Partisans." It is however still used frequently. In the Southeastern area it is to be replaced by the word 'Communists' or 'Communist bands.'" The order is signed by the Commanding General and Commander in Serbia, the Chief of the General Staff and Your Honors will note on the original the initials of the defendant Geitner.
Next on page 3 of the English and page 3 of the German document book, document NOKW 1634, which is offered as Prosecution Exhibit No. 244, This is an order of the Commanding General in Serbia, dated 3 January 1942, which relates to the offensive against Partisan Groups in Croatia and various insignia worn by the partisans.
THE FIGHT AGAINST INSURGENTS IN CROATIA.
The Insurgents in the eastern part of Croatia have withdrawn to their Winter quarters (see the enclosed sketch). From these places they harass the Croatian Troops and continuously commit acts of sabotage. They advance more and more towards important arteries of traffic and towards the economically important works. For details see enclosure 1.
In order to stop these enemy activities the 342 Infantry Division and the 718 Infantry Division will attack the enemy on 15 January 1942 in the southeastern part of Croatia and will destroy him. The German troops shall be supported by Croatian troops. In order to make the 718 Division available for the duration of the operation, Croatian troops will take over the securities tasks which were fulfilled by the division up to now.
All German and Croatian troops employed in the mentioned operation are subordinated to the Commander of the 342. Infantry Division Brigadier General Hoffman as of 12 January 1942.
Then the various divisions which will be concerned in the operation are listed, and the document is signed "Bader, General of Artillery," and again the distribution list is given on the document.
At the bottom of page 4 of the English and page 4 of the German is the enclosure which was referred to in the body of the Order.
"Insurgents Groups in the Frontier Area Croatia," and then follows, the list of the Partisan units, political affiliation and strength and their intended activities, which we believe shows the precise knowledge the Germans had of Partisan affiliation along military lines, the size leadership and the various insignia which they wore.
I should like to read from the bottom of page 6 of the English and page 6 of the German:
"Romanija Mountains east of Sarajevo Strength : 3000 Armament:
2 Mountain Guns.
Commander: Cica (Nickname for Jew Weinert, engineer from Sarajevo) Tito, Commander in the General Staff of the Juvoslav Peoples Party of Liberation before the destruction of the units in West-Serbia end of November 1941.
Political Affiliation: Communists (numerous Moslems) Activities:
Continuous serious unrest in the area northeast of Pale, threatening of Pale and disturbance of communication from Sarajevo to Mokro and Pale.
8. Southeast of Sarajevo.
Strength: 250 Armament:
2 Mountain Guns.
Commander: None listed.
Political Affiliation: Presumably Cetniks.
Activities: Repeated attacks, in part successful, on water works Bistrica southeast of Sarajevo.
9. West of Visegrad Strength:
2500 Armament:
and Commander: Not listed Political Affiliation:
Communists, probably from Serbia.
Activities: Threatening of Visegrad from the south, beaten by Italians on the 30 December, subsequently crossing of the Drina in the area west of Visegrad.
Then on page 8 of the English and Page 8 of the German, are sketches of the Cap Insignia for the Croatian Wehrmacht, and Cap and collar insignia of the Croatian Ustascha Units. And reading again:
"The Croatian Wehrmacht and Croatian Units do not wear either Fur Caps or Cartridge belts (crossed over breast and back.)" This, the Prosecution believes, is a reference in a negative way to the manner in which the enemy was dressed.
If Your Honors will look on the original document you will note the map which shows the enemy situation and the various groups of the Partisans and where they are located. This we believe will show the precise knowledge which the Germans had of when and where the the various insurgent groups were located.
Turning next to page 9 of the English and page 9 of the German, NOKW-919, which is offered as Prosecution Exhibit 245 - these are two reports from the Commanding General in Serbia, General Bader, whose Chief of Staff was the defendant Geitner. The report is sent to the Wehrmacht Commander Southeast, who at this time, in January 1943, was General Loehr, and his Chief of Staff was the defendant Foertsch.
The first report is dated 1 January 1943 and, in addition to being sent to the Wehrmacht Commander Southeast, it was sent for information to the German Plenipotentiary in Zagreb, which was Gleise-Horstnau at this time, as well as for information to the Commander for the German Armed Forces in Croatia, General Lueters. The date of the report is January 1, 1943. Under "704th Infantry Division":
"During pursuit operation northeast of Petrovac sixteen Draja Mihajlovic suspects arrested. Arms and ammunition secured; farms in which these were found were burned down."
Then, under the "SS Division Prinz Eugen", of which we will hear much in the course of this trial:
"South of Pozega, of twelve suspects arrested eleven were shot while attempting to escape."
The report is signed "Commanding General and Commander in Serbia".
Then the next report is the Daily Report for 5 January 1943 which is on page 10 of the English, page 10 of the German:
"Belgrade city headquarters: Two arrests; ten Communist reprisal prisoners shot because of surprise attack on the community and railway station south of Mladenovac (see Daily Report for 25 December)."
And again this report, as the previous one, is signed: "Commanding General and Commander in Serbia" by his operations officer, the "Ia".
Turning now to page 11 of the English and page 11 of the German, Document NOKW-973, which becomes Prosecution Exhibit 246 - this is an order dated 5 January 1943 from the Commanding General and Commander in Serbia to Administrative Sub-Area Headquarters 809. The subject is "Reprisal Measures":
"The Deputy Commanding General, Major General Juppe, has approved the application of District Headquarters Leskovac of 89 December 1942 to shoot to death 35 hostages.
"Thus it is ordered:
"Of the hostages detained in the area of Administrative SubArea Headquarters 809, 35 hostages (D.M. followers or convicted Communists) are to be shot to death as far as possible in the villages in which the crimes have occurred.
"Ten hostages in D. Lokosnica for the murder of the village elder on 11 Dec 42.
"Ten hostages in Orasje for the murder of a Serbian border official on 13 Dec 42.
"Five hostages in Dzigolj for wounding the District Civil Servant on 20 Dec 42.
"Ten hostages in Balcak for the murder of the village elder on 21 Dec 42.
"Everything else is to be arranged directly with the SD Branch Office in Nish.
"The Senior SS and Police Leader is asked at the request of Administrative Sub-Area Headquarters 809 to set up the execution commandos from the police of the Serbian State Guard."
The order is signed: "For the Commanding General and Commander in Serbia, Chief of the General Staff," the defendant "von Geitner".
Your Honors will note the signature of the defendant Geitner on page 3 of the photostatic copy.
If Your Honors please, on page 11 of the English and also on page 11 of the German, I read that this order was dated 5 January 1943. The date appears on the English document book but does not appear on the German document book, so the defense counsel may correct their copies.
Continuing now on page 12 of the English and page 12 of the German, there is an order dated 6 January 1943 from the Commanding General and Commander in Serbia to the Administrative Sub-Area Headquarters 809.
Again the subject is "Reprisal Measures." The Deputy Commanding General, Major General Juppe, has ordered:
"In reprisal for the sabotage plot on the main railroad line Belgrade-Nish on 3 January 1943 near Luzane the six arrested guilty civilian guards are to be shot to death. Administrative Sub-Area Headquarters will attend to publication. Ten copies of the proclamation are to be sent to the Commanding General and Commander in Serbia. Report of completion of mission is to be submitted."
Again the order is signed: "For the Commanding General and Commander in Serbia, Chief of the General Staff," the defendant "von Geitner".
On page 13 of the English and page 12 of the German is a public proclamation. I think here again Your Honors might look at the original photostatic copy. You will note that on one side of the proclamation the language is written in the Jugoslav language and on the other side in the German language. I would like the Tribunal to see how Document NOKW-973--
JUDGE BURKE: You refer to page 13?
MR. FENSTERMACHER: That is on page 13 of the English and 12 of the German and I should like the Tribunal to note the original photostatic copy of the proclamation which is referred to on the page I am about to read. It's on page 8 of the photostatic copy, Your Honors. The proclamation reads as follows:
"On 9 January 1943, by order of the Commanding General and Commander in Serbia, the following six persons were shot to death in reprisal for the sabotage on the railroad line Belgrade-Nish on 5 January 1943 near Luzane: Elizabeth Andrejevic, Nish; Ivan Rakic, Mramor; Mihailo Ignjatevic, Nish; Draginja Ignjatovic, Nish; Ratornir Ignjatovic, Nish; Uros Dinic, Nish."
The proclamation is dated "Nish, 9 January 1943", signed "The Commander" by "Muller, Major".
Turning now to page 15 of the English and page 13 of the German document book, Document NOKW-1090, which is offered as Prosecution Exhibit 247, these are various excerpts from the War Diary of the Commanding General and Commander in Serbia for the month of January 1943.
Reading the extracts from page 16 of the English and page 13 of the German, the entry for 10 January 1943, Enclosure 28 to the War Diary:
"Notification of the shooting of 33 persons as reprisal measures for the murder of 3 Bulgarian soldiers near Dunis."
And the entry for the 18th of January 1943, Enclosure 60:
"Notification of the shooting of 30 persons as reprisal measures for the murder of the Serbian mayor of Gornja Lokosnica, of the mayor or Palcak, and of a Serbian rural police guard in Orasje."
Finally, the entry for 19 January 1943:
"Written agreement with the proposal of the Serbian Ministry of the Interior in connection with the shooting of 10 persons each for the murder of the community leader in Kramari and Vlaska. Report of execution has been ordered."
Next on page 17 of the English, page 14 of the German, Document NOKW-915, which becomes Prosecution Exhibit 248 - these are 8 series of orders by the Commanding General and Commander in Serbia to his various subordinate administration sub-area headquarters, the first dated 12 January 1943 and is to the Sub-Area Headquarters 809, subject: "Murder of Mayor of Turekovac":
"The application is approved.
"In reprisal for the murder of the mayor of Turekovac on 6 January 43, five DM followers and five Communists are to be executed by shooting. Administrative Sub-Area Headquarters 809 is to announce the execution in the Leskovac area. The execution is to be published in the garrisons of the headquarters Nish and Zajecar. Completion of mission is to be reported. Ten copies of the publication are to be submitted."
The order is signed "Bader, Commanding General and Commander in Serbia".
If Your Honors please, we have identified the initial which is listed on page 17 of the English and page 14 of the German as being illegible.