On this occasion the surprising fact arose that we were every kind of hiding places; they had committed suicide by taking On page 20 of this document, the third paragraph I read:
"Despite the extraordinary burden heaped upon every single SS the last day."
without profit. The-author of this report on the 9th page of this translated copy stated, and I quote the last paragraph:
"Together with the evacuated action, we executed the confisca tion of Jewish property.
Very high amounts' were confiscated and paid over to the Special Staff "Reinhard". Apart from furniture, and turned over to Special Staff 'Reinhard."
and listed under this confiscation;
20.952 kilograms of gold wedding rings. and of the money confiscated, but the foregoing is cited to illustrate the thoroughness of the looting of a defenseless people, even to the 11.73 kilograms of gold teeth and inlays.
crowded into fifty-five localities, whereas before the German invasion there had been approximately 1,000 Jewish settlements within this same area. This is reported in the 1942 official gazette for the General Government, No. 94, page 665, 1 November 1942. furnished a reservoir for slave labor. It is believed pertinent at this time to point out the difference between the slave labor and labor duty. The latter group were entitled to reasonable compensation, stated work hours, medical care and attention, and other social security measures, while the former were granted none of these advantages, being in fact, on a level below a slave. Territories, set up within his organization a department which, among other things, was to seek a solution for the Jewish problem by means of forced labor. His plans are contained in another document, 1024PS, which I now offer in evidence, U. S. Exhibit 278. document entitled "General Organizations and tasks of cur Office for the General Handling of Problems in the Eastern Territory." This is dated 29 April 1941. This brief excerpt reads as follows:
"A general treatment is required for the Jewish problem for which a temporary solution will have to be determined (forced labor for the Jews, creation of Ghettos, etc.)."
should be effected and utilized for every manual labor, and I refer to document 212-PS, already in evidence, U.S. Exhibit No.272, from page 3 of this document, paragraph 5 and paragraph 7. I quote paragraph 7:
"The standing rule that Jewish labor employment in the complete and unyielding use of Jewish manpower regardless of age in the reconstruction of the occupied eastern territories," And from paragraph 7 of the same page I read:
"Violations against German measures, especially against the forced labor regulations, are to be punished by death to the Jews." concentration area. Here the usable Jews were screened from those considered worthless. For example, a contingent of 45,000 Jews would be expected to yield 10.000 to 15,000 usable laborers. My authority for this statement is contained in a RSHA telegram to Himmler, marked "urgent" and "secret", dated 16 December 1942.
I offer this document, 1472-PS, in evidence, U.S. Exhibit 279, and from the translation before the Court I read the last four lines:
"In the total of 45,000 are included physically handicapped and others (old Jews and children). In making a distribution for this purpose, at least 10,000 to 15,000 laborers will be available when the Jews arriving at Auschwitz are assigned." Police Katzmann to General of the Police East, Krueger, already in evidence, U.S. Exhibit 277, we find the clearly outlined nature of the forced labor situation for the'Jews. On page 2 of the translation, starting with paragraph 6, I read:
"The best remedy consisted of the formation, by the SS and Police Leader of Forced Labor Camps. The best opportunity for labor was offered by the necessity to complete the 'Dg.4' road which was extremely important and necessary for the whole of the southern part of the front, and which was in a catastrophically bad condition. On October 15th 1941, the establishment of camps along the road was commenced, and despite considerable difficulties "there existed, after a few weeks only, seven camps containing 4,000 Jews," From page 2, paragraph 7, I read:
"Soon more camps followed these first ones, so that after a very short time the completion of fifteen camps of this kind could be reported to the Superior leader of SS and Police. In the course of time about 20,000 Jewish laborers passed through these camps. Despite the hardly imaginable difficulties occurring at this work I can report today that about 160 kilometers of the road are completed."
And from page 2, paragraph 8, I read:
"At the same time ail other Jews fit for work were registered and distributed for useful work by the 'Labor agencies."
THE PRESIDENT: Don't you want the remainder of that paragraph on page 2?
MAJOR WALSH: It is such a lengthy document. I hesitated to burden the record with so much of it, and had extracted certain portions therefrom, but I shall be very glad to read it into the record.
THE PRESIDENT: "Then, for instance, the municipal Administration at Lwow had no success in their attempts to house the Jews within a closed district which would be inhabited only by Jews. This question, too, was solved quickly by the SS and Police Leaders through his subordinate officials."
MAJOR WALSH: That's right. With the Court's permission, I add that to the record.
Reading the last paragraph of page 2:
"When the Jews were marked by the Star of David, as well as when they were registered by the labor agencies, the first symptoms appeared in their attempts to dodge the order of the authorities. The measures which were introduced thereupon led to thousands of arrests. It became more and more apparent that the Civil Administration was not in a position to solve the Jewish problem in an approximately satisfactory manner. Then, for instance, the Municipal Administration at Lwow had no success in their attempts to house the Jews within a closed district which would be inhabited only by Jews.
This question, too, was solved quickly by the SS and Police Leaders through his subordinate officials. This measure became the more urgent as in the winter, 1941, big centers of spotted fever were noted in many parts of the town." 1, I read:
"During this removal of the Jews into a certain quarter of the town several sluices were erected at which all the work-shy and asocial Jewish rabble were caught during the screening and treated in a special way.
"Owing to the peculiar fact that almost 90% of artisans working in Galicia were Jews, the task to be solved could be fulfilled only step by step, since an immediate evacuation would not have served the interest of War Economy." with "cases were discovered":
"Cases were discovered where Jews, in order to acquire any certificate of labor, not only renounced all wages, but even paid money themselves. Moreover, the organizing of Jews for the benefit of their employers grew to such catastrophical extent that it was deemed necessary to interfere in the most energetic manner for the benefit of the German name.
"Since the Administration was not in a position and showed itself too weak to master this chaos, the SS and Police Leader simply took over the entire disposition of labor for Jews. The Jewish labor agencies, which were manned by hundreds of Jews, were dissolved. All certificates of labor given by firms or administrative offices were declared invalid, and the cards given to the Jews by the labor agencies were revalidated by the police offices by stamping them.
"In the course of this action, again, thousands of Jews were caught who were in possession of forged certificates or who had obtained, surreptitiously, certificates of labor by all kinds of pretexts. These Jews also were exposed to special treatment."
the showing of a very short motion picture, perhaps one of the most unusual exhibits that will be presented during the tria With the Court's permission I would like to call upon Commander Donovan to assist.
THE PRESIDENT: Need we adjourn for it or not?
MAJOR WALSH: No, sir. The movie itself is very, very short, sir.
THE PRESIDENT: Very well.
COMMANDER DONOVAN: May it please the Tribunal, the United States now offers in evidence Document No. 3052-PS, United States Exhibit No. 280, entitled, "Original German eight-millimeter Film of Atrocities against Jews." SS, and captured by the United States military forces in an SS barracks near Augsburg, Germany, as described in the affidavits now before the Tribunal. films were made, but we believe that to be immaterial. almost incredible brutality to Jewish people in the custody of the Nazis, including German military units. a ghetto by Gestapo agents, assisted by military units. And, as the other evidence to be presented by the Prosecution will indicate, the scene presented to the Tribunal is probably one which occurred a thousand tines all over Europe under the Nazi rule of terror.
This film was made on an eight-millimeter home camera. We have not wished even to reprint it, and so shall present the original, untouched film captured by our troops. The pictures obviously were taken by an amateur photographer. Because of this, because of the fact that part of it is burned, because of the fact that it runs for only one and one-half minutes, and because of the confusion on every hand shown on this film, we do not believe that the Tribunal can properly view the evidence if it is shown only once. We therefore ask the Tribunal's permission to project the film twice, which we did before defense counsel.
This is a silent film. The film has been made available to all defense counsel, and they have a copy of the supportingaffidavits, duly translated.
(Whereupon the film referred to was shown.) say that attached to the affidavits offered in evidence is a description of every picture shown in this film. And, with the Tribunal's permission, I wish to read a few selections from that at this time, before again projecting the film, in order to direct the Tribunal's attention to certain of the scenes.
Scene 2: A naked girl running across the courtyard.
Scene 3: An older woman being pushed past the camera, and a man in SS uniform standing at the right of the scene.
Number 5: A man with a skull cap and a woman are manhandled.
Number 14: A half-naked woman runs through the crowd.
Number 15: Another half-naked woman runs out of the house.
Number 16: Two men drag an old man out.
Number 18: A man in German military uniform, with his back to the camera, watches.
Number 24: A general shot of the street, showing fallen bodies and naked women running.
Number 32: A shot of the street, showing five fallen bodies.
Number 37: A man with a bleeding head is hit again.
Number 39: A soldier in German military uniform, with a rifle, stands by as a crowd centers on a man coming out of the house.
Number 44: A soldier with a rifle, in German military uniform, walks past a woman clinging to a torn blouse.
Number 45: A woman is dragged by her hair across the street.
(At this point the film referred to above was re-run). 8 mm. film.
MAJOR WILLIAM L. WALSH: It is difficult from this point to follow the thread of chronological order or a topical outline. So numerous are the documents and so appalling the contents that in this brief recital, the Prosecution will make no effort to itemize the criminal acts. Selected documents, however, will unfold the crimes infull detail. ultimate aim, that is, the extermination of the Jewish people, I now turn to that fertile source of evidence, the diary of Hans Frank, then Governor General of Occupied Poland.
In a cabinet session on Tuesday, 16 December 1941 in the Government Building at Cracow, the defendant Frank made a closing address to the session. I offer now in evidence that part of the document number 2233D-PS, USA Exhibit No. 281, identified CV 1941, October to December, and from Page 76, line 10 to page 77, line 33 of the original and of the entire translation before the Court, marked 2233D-PS. I quote:
"As far as the Jews are concerned, I want to tell you quite frankly that they must be done away with in one way or another. The Fuehrer said once: should united Jewry again succeed in provoking a world-war, the blood of not only the nations which have been forced into the war by them, will be shed, but the Jew will have found his end in Europe. I know that many of the measures carried out against the Jews in the Reich at present are being criticized. It is being tried intentionally, as is obvious from the reports on the morale, to talk about cruelty, harshness, etc. Before I continue, I want to beg you to agree with me on the following formula:
We will principally have pity on the German people only, and nobody else in the whole world. The others, too, had no pity on us. As an old National-Socialist, I must say: This war would only be a partial success if the whole lot of Jewry would survive it, while we would have shed our best blood in order to save Europe. My attitude towards the Jews will, therefore, be based only the expectation that they must disappear. They must be done away with. I have entered negotiations to have them deported to the East. A great discussion concerning that question will take place in Berlin in January, to which I am going to delegate the State - Secretary Dr. Buehler. That discussion is to take place in the Reich Security Main Office with SS-Lt. General Heydrich. A great Jewish migration will begin, in any case.
"But what should be done with the Jews? Do you think they will be settled down in the 'Ostland', in villages? This is what we were told in Berlin: Why all this bother? We can do nothing with them either in the 'Ostland' nor in the 'Reichkommissariat'. So liquidate them yourself.
"Gentlemen, I must ask you to rid yourself of all feeling of pity. We must annihilate the Jews, wherever we find them and wherever it is possible, in order to maintain there the structure of the Reich as a whole. This will, naturally, be achieved by other methods than those pointed out by Bureau Chief Dr. Hummel. Nor can the judges of the Special Courts be made responsible for it, because of the limitations of the frame work of the legal procedure. Such outdated views cannot be applied to such gigantic and unique events. We must find at any rate a way which leads to the goal, and my thoughts are working in that direction.
"The Jews represent for us also extraordinarily malignant gluttons. We have now approximately 2,500,000 of them in the general government, perhaps with the Jewish mixtures and everything that goes with it, 3,500,000 Jews. We cannot shoot or poison those 3,500,000 Jews, but we shall nevertheless be able to take measures, which will lead, somehow, to their annihilation, and this in connection with the gigantic measures to be determined in discussions from the Reich.
The General Government must become free of Jews, the same as the Reich. Where and how this is to be achieved is a matter for the offices which we must appoint and create here. Their activities will be brought to your attention in due course." of an individual, but is the expression of the official of the German State, the appointed Governor General of Occupied Poland. The methods used to accomplish the annihilation of the Jewish people were varied, and although not subtle, were highly successful. actions of the defendant Rosenberg as one of the leaders and policy makers of the Nazi Party and German State. It is perhaps reasonable to assume that the defendant Rosenberg will claim for many of his actions that he pursued them pursuant to superior orders. I have before me, however, a captured document, No. 001-PS, marked secret, dated 13 December 1941 entitled "Documentary Memorandum for the Fuehrer - Concerning: Jewish Possessions in France," USA Exhibit No. 282. I dare say that no document before this Tribunal will more clearly evidence the defendant Rosenberg's personal attitude, his temperament and convictions toward the Jews more strongly than this memorandum, wherein he, on his own initiative, urges plundering and death. I offer in evidence document number 001-PS. The body of the memorandum reads as follows:
"In compliance with the order of the Fuehrer for protection of Jewish, cultural possessions, a great number of Jewish dwellings remained unguarded. Consequently, many furnishings have disappeared because a guard could, naturally, not be posted. In the whole East the administration has found terrible conditions of living quarters, and the chances of procurement are so limited that it is not practical to procure any more. Therefore, I beg the Fuehrer to permit the seizure of all Jewish home furnishings of Jews in Paris, who have fled or will leave shortly, and that of Jews living in all parts of the occupied West, to relieve the shortage of furnishings in the administration in the East.
"2. A great number of leading Jews were, after a short examination in Paris, again released. The attempts on the lives of members of the armed forces have not stopped; on the contrary they continue. This reveals an unmistakable plan to disrupt the German-French cooperation, to force Germany to retaliate, and, with this, evoke a new defense on the part of the French against Germany. I suggest to the Fuehrer that, instead of executing 100 Frenchmen, we substitute 100 Jewish bankers, lawyers, etc. It is the Jews in London and Now York who incite the French communists to commit acts of violence, and it seems only fair that the members of this race should pay for this. It is not the little Jews, but the leading Jaws in France, who should be held responsible. That would tend to awaken the Anti-Jewish sentiment.
"/Signed/ A. Rosenberg."
THE PRESIDENT: May I ask you to speak slowly so that your application will come to me through the telephones correctly.
DR. THOMA (Defense Counsel for Rosenberg): I should like to take this opportunity, at this moment when the Prosecutor has been treating of my client, Rosenberg, I should like to bring an objection to the Commission. Document 212 PS, US Exhibit 272. The Prosecutor stated that this document was an instruction by the Eastern Minister. It begins with the words--
THE PRESIDENT: None of that has come through on the earphones. I don't understand you. You had hotter begin again.
DR. THOMA: The Prosecutor put in a document, No. 212 PS, US Exhibit 272, and stated that that was an instruction given by the Eastern Minister about the treatment of Jews. In this document, he had instructed that violations against German measures, only be punished by death.
This document has not been shown to my
THE PRESIDENT: More slowly, please.
DR. THOMA: This document was not given by the Defendant Rosenberg.
It bears neither his address nor his signature. I, therefore, object
THE PRESIDENT: Wait a minute. I don't think that Counsel for from Rosenberg.
I didn't so understand him.
DR. THOMA: I understood him to say that it was an instruction given by the Minister for the East.
If I'm not mistaken, he also said it was dated April, 1941.
At that time there was no Ministry for the East.
Rosenberg was not a party to it.
THE PRESIDENT: I'll ask the Counsel for the Prosecution.
MAJOR WILLIAM L. WALSH: It is my understanding, Sir, that that
DR. THOMA: That is true, but it was filed among the papers of
THE PRESIDENT: You see, Rosenberg, when he is called as a he has never seen the document before.
All that Counsel for the was found in Rosenberg's file.
You can say or prove by Rosenberg's saw the document.
Do you understand?
DR. THOMA: Yes.
THE PRESIDENT: It is five o'clock now, so we will adjourn.
(Whereupon at 17.00 hours the Hearing of the Tribunal adjourned to reconvene at 10.
00 hours on 14th December, 1945.)
Tribunal, in the matter of: The United States of
DR. KAUFFMANN (Counsel for the Defendant Kaltenbrunner):
I should be so bold as to present two points to the Court. In yesterday's and today's presentation of evidence in that section dealing with war crimes, I should like to strike from the record the affidavit of the witness Pfaffenberger. It is possible to summon this witness personally. His testimony is fragmentary in the following important points: It cannot be seen whether in many cases it is a matter of his personal observations, or of assertions from hearsay. From this it is all too easy to draw false conclusions. The witness did not say that the Lager Commandant Koch, along with his inhumane wife, were condemned to death by an SS court, and precisely for these reasons. It is not possible to communicate the complete truth of an event in that a witness can be heard later on in the trial. Until then every one, Judges, Defendants, and Prosecution, stand under the impression of such terrible testimony. the human spirit, that one would like to turn one's eyes and ears away from it. In the meantime, such statements make their way through the whole press of the world. Civilization is justifiably indignant. The consequences of such premature testimony are not to be calculated. The Prosecution well recognizes the significance of this testimony, and presented the documents yesterday in court. set aright, the previous effects of it can never be eliminated. Truth suffers and justice is endangered. According to the 19th Article in the Charter, such a condition should not have been brought about.
the trial, that we do not read the testimony of witnesses who live in Germany. Their appearance here is, therefore, possible because at this point in the trial it is a question of accusations, the subject of which is even more terrible than the subject of the accusations regarding the war of aggression, because it is a question here of the terrible living and death of human beings. the testimony of the witness Schuschnigg, and it is my opinion that what was valid then, should be all the more valid at this point in the trial. regards to the Defendant Kaltenbrunner himself. It was not until the spring of 1943 that he became Chief of the Reich Main Security Office, but according to the testimony of the Defense, many, if not all, of his signatures were forged, although the administration of the concentration camps and everything concerned with concentration camps, lay in his hands. I hope to be able to prove that. I have mentioned that in order to justify my second suggestion.
THE PRESIDENT: The Tribunal would like to hear Counsel for the Chief Prosecutor of the United States.
JUSTICE JACKSON: May it please the Tribunal, Mr. Dodd, who had charge of the matter, which is under discussion, left for the United States yesterday, and I shall have to substitute for him as best I may. impossibility of covering a decade of time, a continent of space, and a million acts, by ordinary rules of proof, and at the same time to finish this case within the lives of living men. We don't want to have a trial here, like the trial of Warren Hastings, that lasted seven years. Therefore, the Charter set up only two standards by which any evidence, I submit, may be accepted. The first is that evidence must be relevant to the issue. The second is that it must have some probative value.
That was made mandatory upon this Tribunal in Article 19 because of the difficulty of ever trying this case, if we used the technical rules of common law proof. ordinary court of law, was in order to avoid the precedent-creating effect of what is done here on our own law, and the precedent control, which would exist if this were an ordinary judicial body. technical rules of evidence. It shall adopt and apply, to the greatest possible extent, expeditious and non-technical procedure and shall admit any evidence, which it deems to have probative value. That was made mandatory, that it shall admit any evidence, which it deems to have probative value. The purpose of that provision, your Honors, I may say, was this: that the whole controversy in this case -- and we have no doubt there is room for controversy -- should be centered upon the value of evidence and not on its admissibility.
We have no jury. There is no occasion for applying jury rules. Therefore, when a piece of evidence is offered, there are two questions, which arise: Does it have probative value? If it has no probative value, then it should not encumber the records, of course. The second is, Does it have relevancy? If it hasn't, of course, it should not come in.
The evidence in question has relevance. No one questions that. No one can say that an affidavit duly sworn does not have some probative value. What probative value it has, the weight of it, should be determined on the submission of the case. That is to say, if a witness has made a statement in an affidavit, and it is denied by Mr. Kaltenbrunner, and you believe that the denial has weight and credibility, of course, the affidavit should not be considered in the final consideration of the case. But we are dealing here with events that took place over great periods of time and great distances. We are dealing with witnesses widely scattered and the situation where communications are almost at a standstill. unchallenged, it is not then beyond belief that you would give it value and weight.
An affidavit might lack credibility, such as had no personal knowledge.
I don't say that every affidavit that comes along has probative value just because it is sworn to.
But long consideration, must be followed; that if when a piece of should be admitted.
If it stands undenied at the close of the take an indefinite period of time as we have already seen.
I may it could have been placed before us; and if it were to be denied We want to adhere to this Charter.
I submit it is no reason time are both involved in this.
I think that the Tribunal should days and days of proof.
I may say that this ruling is more There is another reason perhaps.
We have some situations his admission.
We have to make our proof largely from enemy sources.
All this proof, and every witness, eight months ago were in the hands of the enemy.
We have to make our proof from them.
God alone knows how much proof there is in this world that we haven't been able to roach.
We submit that the orderly affidavits.
If they stand unquestioned at the end of the case, there is no issue about them.
If they are questioned, then the
THE PRESIDENT: Mr. Justice Jackson, I have three questions I should like to ask you.
The first is: where is Pfaffenberger?
JUSTICE JACKSON: That I cannot answer at the moment, but I will get an answer as quickly as I can.
It is unknown to us at the moment.
If we are able to ascertain, I will inform you at
THE PRESIDENT: The second point to which I wish to draw your attention is Article 16 (e) of the Charter, which contemplates cross-examination of witnesses by the Defendants.
The only point
JUSTICE JACKSON: I think that this provision means just exactly what it says.
If we call a witness, they have the right of cross-examination.
If he is not called, they have the right course, the right of cross-examination.
The provision itself,
THE PRESIDENT: Then the next point to which I wish to draw your attention is Article 17 (a). As I understood it, you were evidence which was relevant.
Therefore, I draw your attention to Article 17 (a) which gives the Tribunal the power to summon
JUSTICE JACKSON: That is right. I think there is no conflict in that whatever. The powers of the Tribunal to summon witnesses and to put questions to them was introduced into this Charter through the continental systems of jurisprudence. Usually there are not Tribunal witnesses in the States. Witnesses are called only by one of the parties, but it was suggested by the continental scholars that in this kind of a case, since we were utilizing a mixture of the two procedures, the Tribunal itself should have the right to do several things. One is to summon witnesses, to require their attendance, and to put questions to them. I submit that this witness, whose affidavit has been received, can be called, if we can find him, by the Tribunal and questioned. Article 17 is the Tribunal has the right to interrogate any defendant. Of course, under our system of jurisprudence, the Tribunal would have no such right, because the defendant has the unqualified right to refrain from being a witness; but in deference again to the continental system, the Tribunal was given the right to interrogate any defendant, and his immunities, which he would have under the Constitution of the United States, if he were being tried under our system, were taken away. power the Tribunal on its own motion (Article 17) to summon witnesses, to supplement anything that is offered, to put any questions to witnesses, and to any defendant. be denied, but that does not abrogate Article 19, which was intended to enable us to put our case before the Tribunal, so that the issue would then be drawn by the defendants, and the weight of what we offer determined on final submission.
THE PRESIDENT: Lastly, there is Article 17 (e), which I suppose, in your submission, would entitle the commission, if they thought right, after receiving the affidavit, to take the evidence on Pfaffenberger on commission.
JUSTICE JACKSON: Yes, I think it would, Your Honor. I may say, in reference to that section, that what perhaps would be surprising to those accustomed to our system of jurisprudence, that it was one of the most controversial issues we had in the framing of this Charter. We had in mind the authorization of what we call "Masters", to go into various localities, perhaps, and take testimony, not knowing what might be necessary; and our practice of appointing Masters in Equity to take testimony and make recommendations, was not acceptable to the continental system, and we finally compromised on this provision, which authorizes the taking of testimony by commissions. That was the extent of it.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you.
GENERAL RUDENKO: Mr. President, I am addressing you after my colleague, Mr. Jackson, so that I could come out with my own statement, inasmuch as the Defense motion, from my standpoint, is principally wrong, and it should be objected to by the Prosecution. Prosecutor of the United States, Mr. Justice Jackson. I also would like, Your Honors, to point out the following circumstances: The Defense Counsel, in his motion, put the question as to which the prosecution would refer and read to the public the documents of witnesses' testimony, testimony of those persons who live in Germany. Such a statement, from the standpoint of the Prosecution, is absolutely wrong, because inasmuch as it was known from the previous stages of the trial, we find that most of the atrocities were committed by the defendants in all parts of Europe. Therefore, it is clearly understood that those witnesses live in different parts of Europe, and the Prosecution, unavoidably, must use the testimony of those witnesses, both written and oral. will be relating the facts of atrocities, which pertain to military war crimes and crimes against humanity, the scope of which was enormous; and Your Honors, we shall present, as testimony or as evidence, documents originating from the defendants themselves, and also the victims of those crimes, crimes of a warlike nature, and it would be impossible to present to the Tribunal all of those witnesses, in order that they could give their oral testimony.