The first of these is Affidavit No. 17, USA 562, by Ernst Rode, who was an SS Brigadefuehrer and Major General of the Police, and was a member of Himmler's personal command staff from 1943 to 1945:
"I, Ernst Rode, was formerly chief of the Command Staff of the Reichsfuehrer-SS, having taken over this position in the spring of 1943 as successor to former SS-Obergruppenfuehrer Kurt Knoblauch. My last rank was Generalmajor of Police and of the Waffen-SS. My function was to furnish the forces necessary for anti-partisan warfare to the higher SS and police leaders and to guarantee the support of army forces. This took place through personal discussions with the leading officers of the Operations Staff of the OKW and OKH, namely, with General Warlimont, General von Buttlar, Generaloberst Guderian, Generaloberst Zeitzler, General Heusinger, later General Wenk, Colonel Graf Koelmannsegg, and Colonel von Bonin. Since anti-partisan warfare also was under the sole command of the respective Army Commander-in-Chief in operations areas -- for instance, in the Central Army Group under Field Marshal Kluge and later Busch -- and since police troops for the most part could not be spared from the Reichscommissariats, the direction of this warfare lay practically always entirely in the hands of the army. In the same way orders were issued not by Himmler but by the OKH. SS and police troops transferred to operational areas from the Reichscommissariats to support the army groups were likewise under the latter's command. Such transfers often resulted in harm to anti-partisan warfare in the Reichscommissariats. According to a special agreement between Himmler and the OKH, the direction of individual operations lay in the hands of the troop leader who commanded the largest troop contingent. It was therefore possible that an army general could have SS and police under him, and, on the other hand, that army troops could be placed under a general of the SS and police. Anti-partisan warfare in operational areas could never be ordered by Himmler. I could merely request the OKH to order it, until 1944, mostly through the intervention of Generalquartiermeister Wagner, or through State Secretary Ganzenmueller.
The OKH then issued corresponding orders to the army groups concerned, for compliance.
"The severity and cruelty with which the intrinsically diabolical partisan warfare was conducted by the Russians had already resulted in Drakonian laws being issued by Hitler for its conduct. These orders, which were passed on to the troops through the OKW and OKH, were equally applicable to army troops as well as to those of the SS and police. There was absolutely no difference in the manner in which these two components carried on this warfare. Army soldiers were exactly as embittered against the enemy as those of the SS and police.
components, a thing which was also quite in keeping with Hitler's desires or As a result of this embitterment orders were ruthlessly carried out by both intentions.
As proof of this, the order of the OKW and OKH can be adduced which directed that all captured partisans, for instance, such as Jews, agents and political commissars, should without delay be handed over by the troops to the SD for special treatment. This order also contained the provision that in anti-partisan warfare no prisoners except the above-named be taken. That anti-partisan warfare was carried on by army troops mercilessly and to every extreme I know as the result of discussionswith army troop leaders, for instance with General Herzog, Commander of the 38th Army Corps, and with his chief of staff, Colonel Pamberg, in the General Staff, both of whom support my opinion. Today it is clear to me that anti-partisan warfare gradually became an excuse for the systematic annihilation of Jewry and Slavism."
Your Lordship, I am told that I misread and said "Hitler" instead of "Himmler". Himmler is the Commander of Staff.
I next wish to offer another and shorter statement by Rode, which shows the the SD-Einsatzgruppen were under Wehrmacht command. This is number 18, USA-563:
"As far as I know, the SD Combat Groups with the individual army groups were completely subordinate to them, that is to say tactically as well as in every other way. The commanders-in-chief were therefore thoroughly cognizant of the missions and operational methods of these units. They approved of these missions and operational methods because apparently they never opposed them. The fact that prisoners, such as Jews, agents and commissars who were handed over to the SD underwent the same cruel death as victims of so-called purifications, is a proof that the executions had their approval. This also corresponded with what the highest political and military authorities wanted. Frequent mention of these methods were naturally made in my presence at the OKW and OKH, and they were condemned by most SS and police officers, just as they were condemned by most army officers. On such occasions I always pointed out that it would have been quite within the scope of the authority of the commanders-in-chief of army groups to oppose such methods. I am of the firm conviction that an energetic and unified protest by all field marshals would have resulted in a change of those missions and methods. If they should ever commanders-in-chief, this, in my opinion, would be a foolish and even assert that they would then have been succeeded by even more ruthless cowardly dodge."
I would like next to read the final affidavit, number 24, in Document Book One.
THE PRESIDENT:Colonel Taylor, unless you are going to conclude this particular part, I think we had better recess now.
COLONEL TAILOR:I will conclude with two affidavits, Your Honor, but it will take probably ten minutes.
THE PRESIDENT:Very well, if that will conclude it, go on.
COLONEL TAYLOR:Firstly, Affidavit No. 24, which becomes USA-565. This is by Colonel Bogislav von Bonin, who, at the beginning of the Russian campaign, was a staff officer with the 17th Panzer Division:
"At the beginning of the Russian campaign I was the first General Staff officer of the 17th Panzer Division which had the mission of driving across the Bug north of Brest-Litovsk. Shortly before the beginning of the attack my division received, through channels from the OKW, a written order of the Fuehrer. This order directed that Russian commissars be shot upon capture, without judicial process, immediately and ruthlessly. This order extended to all units of the Eastern Army. Although the order was supposed to be relayed to companies, the Commanding General of the 37th Panzer Corps -General of Panzer Troops Lemelson -- forbade its being passed on to the troops because it appeared unacceptable to him from military and moral points of view That brings us to the final affidavit, number 20, USA.
564, which is by Adolf Heusinger.
THE PRESIDENT:What was the number?
COLONEL TAYLOR:It is number 20, Your Honor, USA 564, by Adolf Heusinger General-lieutenant in the German Army, and from 1940 to 1944 Chief of the Operations Section at OKH. I read:
"1. From the beginning of the war in 1939 until autumn 1940 I was I-a of the Operations Section of the OKH, and from autumn 1940 until 20 July 1944 I was chief of that section.
"When Hitler took over supreme command of the Army, he gave to the chief of the General Staff of the Army the function of advising him on all operation matters in the Russian theater.
"This made the chief of the General Staff of the Army responsible for all matters in the operational areas in the east, while the OKW was responsible for all matters outside the operational areas, for instance all troops-security units, SS units, police--stationed in the Reichscommissariates.
"All police and SS units in the Reichscommissariates were also subordinate to the Reichsfuehrer-SS. When it was necessary to transfer such units into operational areas, this had to be done by order of the chief of the OKW.
On the other hand, corresponding transfers from the front to the rear were ordered by the OKW with the concurrence of the chief of the General Staff of the Army.
"The high SS and police leaders normally had command of operations against partisans. If stronger army units were committed together with the SS and police units within operational areas, a high commander of the army could be designated commander of the operation.
1. "During anti-partisan operations within operational areas all forces committed for these operations were under the command of the respective commander-in-chief of the army group.
2. "Directives as to the manner and methods of carrying on counter-partisan operations were issued by the OKW-Keitel-- to the OKH upon orders from Hitler and after consultation with Himmler. The OKH was responsible merely for the transmission of these orders to army groups, for instance, such orders as those concerning the treatment to be accorded to commissars and communists, those concerning the manner of prosecuting by courts martial army personnel who had committed offenses against the population, as well as those establishing the basic principles governing reprisals against the inhabitants.
"3. The detailed working out of all matters involving the treatment of the local populace as well as anti-partisan warfare in operational areas, in pursuance of orders from the OKW, was the responsibility of the Generalquartiermeister of the OKH.
"4. It had always been my personal opinion that the treatment of the civilian population and the methods of anti-partisan warfare in operational areas presented the highest political and military leaders with a welcomed opportunity of carrying out their plans, namely, the systematic extermination of Slavism and Jewry. Entirely independent of this, I always regarded these cruel methods as military insanity, because they only helped to make combat against the enemy unnecessarily more difficult."
THE PRESIDENT: We will adjourn until a quarter past 2.
(Whereupon at 1300 hours the hearing of the Tribunal adjourned to reconvene at 1425 hours.)
OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT of the International Military Tribunal in the matter of The United States of America, The French Re public, The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics against Hermann Wilhelm Goering, et al.
, Defendants, sitting at Nurnberg, Germany, on 7 January 1946, 1400 to 1700 hours, Lord Justice Lawrence, pre siding.
COLONEL TAYLOR:Fill your Lordship swear the witness?
THE PRESIDENT:What is his name?
COLONEL TAYLOR:Erich Von Dem Bach-Zelewski. BY THE PRESIDENT:
QWhat is your name?
AErich Von Dem Bach-Zelewski.
QFill you take this oath? "I swear by God the Almighty and Omniscient that I will speak the pure truth and will withhold and add nothing."
AI swear by God the Almighty and Omniscient, that I will speak the pure truth and will withhold and add nothing.
QWill you spell your name slowly?
AE-r-i-c-h V-o-n D-e-m B-a-c-h-Z-e-l-e-w-s-k-y.
QIs this right -- B-a-c-h-Z-e-l-e-w-s-k-y?
AYes. BY COLONEL TAYLOR:
QMay I remind the witness to speak very slowly and to keep his answers as short as possible?
Can you hear me?
AYes.
QAre you a member of the SS?
AYes.
QWhat was the last rank you held in the SS?
A SSObergruppenfuehrer. 2nd General der Waffen SS.
QDid you serve in the 1914-to-1918 war?
AYes, from 1914 to 1918. I was at the front and was wounded twice and received the Iron Cross, first and second class.
QDid you remain in the army after the end of the last war?
AYes, I stayed in the 100,000 man army.
Q How long did you remain in the army?
ATill 1924, when I received my discharge.
QDid your military activities then stop?
ANo, I was leader of the Battalion in the border defense, and until the campaign against Poland I did my exercises with the Wehrmacht.
QDid you join the Nazi Party?
AYes.
QIn what year?
AIn the year 1930.
QWhat branch of the party did you join?
AThe Allgemeine SS.
QWhat were your activities in the SS prior to the outbreak of the war?
AI was with the General SS in the district of Schneidemuehl and Frankfurt on the Oder, and from 1934 I was Oberabschnittsfuehrer in East Prussia and afterwards in Sicilia.
QWere you a member of the Reichstag during this period?
AYes, I was a member of the Reichstag from 1932 right up to the end.
QDid you take any active part during this war before the campaign against the Soviet Union?
ANo, not before the campaign against Russia.
QThat was your rank at the beginning of the war?
AAt the beginning of the war I was SS Group leader and Lieutenant General.
QAnd when were you promoted?
AI was promoted on the 9th of November, 1941, to Obergruppenfuehrer and General of the Waffen SS.
QWhat was your position after the beginning of the campaign against the Soviet Union?
AWould you kindly repeat the question; it wasn't quite clear.
QWhat was your position, your function, at the beginning of the war against the Soviet Union?
AAt the beginning of the campaign against Russia, I was a member of the Higher SS and I was at the rear zone of the Army Group Center.
QWas there a similar SS official in the rear zone of each Army Group?
AYes, in every Army Group, North, Middle and South, there was a leader at that time.
QWho was the Commander-in-Chief of Army Group Center?
AThe Commander-in-Chief of Army Group Center was, at the beginning, Field Marshal von Bock, and later General Field Marshal Kluge.
QWho was the Armed Forces Commander in the rear zone of Army Group Center?
AGeneral of the Infantry von Schenkendorff.
QWas he directly subordinate to the Commander-in-Chief of the Army Group?
AYes.
QWho was your immediate superior in the SS?
AHeinrich Himmler.
QWho was your immediate superior in the rear zone in the Army Group?
AGeneral von Schenkendorff.
QThat was your principal task as Higher SS and Police Leader in Central Russia?
AMy principal activity was to fight the partisans.
QAre you generally familiar with the operations of the so-called Einsatzgruppen of the SD?
AYes.
QDid these units play any important part in large-scale antiRussian operations?
ANo.
QWhat was the principal task of the Einsatzgruppen?
AThe principal task of the Einsatzgruppen was to eliminate the Jews, gypsies and political commissars.
QThen, what forces were used for large-scale anti-partisan operations?
AFor anti-partisan activities, formations of the Waffen SS, of the Order Police, and mainly of the Wehrmacht were used.
Q Please describe the nature of these regular army units that were used for anti-partisan operations.
AThe units of the Wehrmacht were first of allused in a rear zone and were kind of holding divisions, so-called Schuetzen Battalions, which were put in independently under the commanders of Wehrmacht formations for the defense of certain objectives, such as railroads and so forth, and other military objectives.
Moreover, from 1942 or '43 there were certain alarm units who were taken from the base formations or the rear zones.
QUntil when did you remain Higher SS and Police Leader for Central Russia?
AI was Higher Police Leader for Central Russia, with interruptions, when I was put in the front, once when I was very ill for about six months; otherwise I was there until the end of 1942, when I was appointed Chief of the Anti-partisan Units.
QWasthis position, as Chief of Anti-partisan Units, created especially for you?
AYes.
QTo whom were you directly subordinate in this new capacity?
AHeinrich Himmler.
QWere your functions in this new capacity restricted to any particular part of the Eastern Front?
ANo, my task comprised the whole of the East.
QWhat was the general nature of your duties as Chief of Antipartisan Units?
AFirst of all, I was in Himmler's quarters. I had to establish a Central Office to which all notices came about the partisans, and in which all these notices were studied and passed on to the necessary authorities.
QIn the course of your duties, did you confer with the commanders of army groups and armies on the Eastern Front?
AIt was with the commanders-in-chief of army groups, but not of the armies, and with the Wehrmacht leaders.
QDid you advise those commanders with respect to the methods which should be employed to combat partisans?
A Yes.
QWill you name some of the commanders with whom you personally conferred.
AThe list would no doubt be exhaustive, but I will give them to you as well as I remember them: Wehrmacht Commanders Ostland, General of Cavalry Bremer; General Field Marshal Kuechler; Commander-in-Chief of the Army Group North; Commander-in-Chief of the Army Group Center, Kluege; Busch, the Wehrmacht Commander-in-Chief of the Ukraine; General of the Luftwaffe, Kitzinger; Generel Field Marshal Freiherr von Weichs, Commander-in-Chief in Serbia, such as Belgrade, and Commander-in-Chief in the area of Trieste.
QWhat proportion of Wehrmacht troops was used in anti-partisan operations as compared to police and SS troops?
AAs the number of troops of the police and SS was only very small, the anti-partisan activity was mainly undertaken by formations of the Wehrmacht.
QWere the anti-partisan troops usually commanded by Wehrmacht officers or by SS officers?
AFirst of all, it was according to the area; in the operation area, almost always the Wehrmacht, but there were orders that whatever formations, whether it was Wehrmacht or police, the formation which had the most troops was to lead.
QDid the highest military leaders issue instructions that antipartisan operations were to be conducted with severity?
AYes.
QDid the highest military authorities issue any detailed instructions as to the methods to be used in anti-partisan operations?
ANo.
QWhat was the result in the occupied territories of thislack of detailed directions from above?
AIn consequence, because there was not enough orders, there was a wild chaos in the anti-partisan activities.
AIn your opinion, were the measures taken in anti-partisan operations far more severe than the circumstances warranted, or were they not?
A As there were no orders and the lower commanders were obliged to act independently, the undertakings were carried out according to the character of the commander and according to the quality of the troops, and these varied greatly.
I am of the opinion that the operations were often carried out not only on purpose but they also shot far beyond the mark.
QDid these measures result in the unnecessary killing of large numbers of the civilian population?
AYes.
QDid you report these excessive measures to the commanders of the army groups and other Wehrmacht officers?
AThis consequence was generally known. There was no necessity to make a special report, because every operation was reported in any case in all its details, and was known to every responsible leader.
QWere any effective steps taken by the highest military authorities or by the commanders of army groups to stop these excesses?
AI remember that in particular General von Schenkendorff in this matter made a great many reports and discussed them with me, and afterwards passed them on through our service channels.
QDid these reports by General von Schenkendorff have any effect?
ANo.
QWhy not?
AThe Quartermaster General Wagner certainly tried to effect a change by being some at stricter, but he did not succeed in having this carried out.
QWas an order issued by the highest authorities that German soldier who committed offenses against the civilian population were not to be punished in the military courts?
AYes, an actual order was given.
QWas this order an obstacle to correcting the excesses of the troops?
AYes, in my opinion, this order presented the only proper way of fighting, because you can only educate troops if you have disciplinary powers and jurisdiction over them and can do something against excesses.
Q What decorations did you win during this war?
AIn this war I received the clusters to the Iron Cross I and II, the German Cross in gold, and the Knight's Cross to the Iron Cross.
COL. TAYLOR:Your Lordship, the witness is available for examination by others.
THE PRESIDENT:Does the Soviet prosecutor wish to ask any questions.
COL. POKROWSKI:If you will allow me, I wish to ask these several questions:
QWhich forces of the police and SS were at your disposal in 1941 and '42, when you were the Chief of the Police and SS in the rear zone of Central Army Group?
A. There were directly under my command in 1941 one police regiment of the Order Police, and in addition at times for about two or three months, one SS Cavalry Brigade.
Q.Was the Einsatzgruppe B under you, at the head of which was Nebe?
A.No.
Q.Did you receive the reports of Nebe or not?
A.Not directly, but I received them later, managed to get them Later.
Q.What do you know about the activities of the Group B/
A.The Einsatzgruppe B was in Smolensk, and it operated just like the other Einsatz Groups. We heard everywhere in conversations that the Jews were assembled and put into ghettos.
Q.Did you report to the commands of the operational groups the activities of the Einsatzgruppe B?
A.I heard about this activity of Einsatzgruppe B through Schenkendorff who was at the head of the Army Group Center.
Q.Do you know about the order of the Commander of the Sixth Army, General Reichenau about the partisan movement?
A.Would you be kind enough to repeat the name; was it General von Reichenau?
Q.Yes.
A.Yes, I know. I think it was in 1941, but it might have been in 1942; there was an order by General von Reichenau which was sent to all Wehrmacht commanders, and in this order he opposed the actions against th Jews and the partisans.
Q.In 1943, or later, were there under your command any troops which were especially fighting the partisan movement?
A.In 1943, as Chief of the Anti-partisan Movement, I was not direc ly in command, because I was Head of the Central Office, but when the jurisdiction of two commanders overlapped, I did lead some operations.
Q. Do you know anything about the existence of a special brigade which was formed from contrabandists and paochers and people released from prison?
A.From all these troops which were really qualified as antipartisans at the beginning of 1942, one battalion under the command of Duerrlewanger was put in as an anti-partisan unit in Army Group Center, and this battalion was gradually enlarged by some reserves, actually reaching the size of a regiment and later of a brigade. This was the Brigade Duerrlewanger, and it consisted for the most part of criminal elements, officially of poachers, but there were real criminals among the; who had committed robbery and even murder.
Q.Why was it that the command of the German Army so willingly strengthened and increased its forces, which were formed from the ranks of criminals and directed them for war against the partisans?
A.I am of the opinion that there was a close connection between the speech made by Heinrich Himmler at the beginning of 1941 before the campaign against Russia, when he spoke of the purpose of the Russian campaign, which was to decimate the Slav population by thirty million, and in order to be active in this direction, a troop of low characters would have to be formed.
Q.Did I understand you correctly that the character of people who were in charge of troops fighting the partisans had been given exact instructions as to how to act against the partisans and the civil population? I had in mind the direct destruction of the population.
A.I am of the opinion that for certain commanders and in certain formations this was the goal
Q.By which means and by what measures had the Wehrmacht taken to counteract the partisan attack? Did they have a plan, or did the actions change as the conditions required?
A.There was apparently not an absolutely certain plan, but big operations were introduced centrally and carried out. But mostly the active partisan operations were of an important character, because all the lower commanders were obliged to keep their own areas free from partisans, that is to say, to act on their own initiative.
Q.You have told us that in very many cases the generals and officers of theWehrmacht headed the movement, the fighting against the partisans. Can you name a few concrete facts and names of generals and officers who have taken part in it?
A.I do not quite understand the purpose of the question. The names of commanders?
Q.You have said that in not a few cases the operations directed against the partisans were directed by officers and generals of the Wehrmacht. I wish to know could you give us names of the officers and generals who have taken part.
A.I didn't quite understand. Names?--oh, yes, now I understand.
I have already named some of the generals. I remember Major General Hartmann. A large partisan operation was undertaken by General Reinhardt against partisan groups. There was no general in the rear zone who was not concerned with anti-partisan activity. If the names would be told me then I could remember either one or the other, if they participated or not.
Q.Perhaps you will tell us which great action was under General Ackmann.
A.I am afraid I can't remember.
Q.Were there any general orders relating to the prisoner-of-war populations or the partisan movement?
A There were, unfortunately, no commands which clearly stated how the partisans were to be treated or the population.
That is what I approached them with, that no commands were given,--what was to be done with the partisans or even who was to be looked upon as partisans. But if anything happened against the German Wehrmacht there were no commands which said clearly what was to be done by way of reprisals.
QAm I to understand you that in view of the fact that direct orders were absent there was a great possibility of actions, and any part of the command had the power to take any person and do with him whatever he liked?
AHe certainly had to act independently and could act independently. There was no possibility of exact control in individual cases, but the activity of all troops employed--it was quite clear to the commands, because in all reports these reprisals were exactly--it had to be reported how many partisans had fallen in the fight, how many partisans had been shot, how many partisans were shot on suspicion, and how many loses of troops they had. Every leader from above was quite able to see what had happened in any of the operations.
QWell, each commander has decided for himself whether there were any reasons to suspect anybody of being a partisan, and to kill him?
AYes.
QDo you know of any orders which contained the orders to burn the villages and to punish for helping the partisans?
ANo, I don't think that there were any such written orders, but that is what I consider wrong, that there just were no orders. It ought to have been ordered quite clearly how many were to be executed if one German soldier had been killed or ten German soldiers had been killed.
QAm I to understand you that if a commander has burned the village as a punishment of the local population for helping the partisans there, were the results of their personal decisions to take this measure?---I mean the personal decisions of the commander?
AYes. These steps were taken by the commander independently. His own superior officer could not do anything about it, because the highest order were expressly that if any damage was done to the civil population there was to be no disciplinary or judicial measures taken against them.
QThe same is to be understood as far as hostages are concerned?
AYes, I think that in connection with the anti-partisan activity I do not think hostages were taken at all. I don't think that the expression "hostages" was ever used in the anti-partisan activity.
QDo you know anything about transferring to Germany all persons of about fourteen to eighteen years.
AI don't remember that in detail, but when I was made chief of partisan activities I was protested against when I protested against reprisals when the order was given in the anti-partisan activity. Partisans who were arrested were no longer to be shot, but were to be sent for labor into the Reich for the organization Sauckel.
QIf I understood you correctly, your reply to questions given by the American prosecution--you have talked at that time that the fighting against partisan movements was to the destruction of the Slovenic and Jewish peoples?
AYes.
QWas the Wehrmacht aware of the methods of fighting against the partisans and for the destruction of Slavonic and Jewish races?
AThe methods were generally known, certainly by the military leaders. I do not of course know whether they knew about the plan mentioned by Himmler.
QDid you personally take part in any conferences with generals of the Wehrmacht during which it was clearly stated the methods of the war against partisans?
AThe methods of warfare as such were talked about in detail and were known, but at these discussions it was not said that such and such a number of persons were to be shot. That is not how the executions took place.
QYou have told that the Germans had in mind to destroy the Slav population by reducing the number of Slavs to thirty million. From where did you get this figure and this order?
ANot to kill; not to reduce to thirty million; but by thirty million. Himmler mentioned this in his speech.
QI do not quite understand. Did the Wehrmacht know at that time the Slav population--would you kindly repeat the question; I am not quite clear about it?