Seyss-Inquart of his governorship, a report dated 29 May to 19 June 1940, discovered by the Army of the United States, registered under the number 997-PS, which I submit before the Tribunal under No. 122. These are the chief extracts which I wish to read from this report:
"It is certain that in occupying the Netherlands it was necessary to take a considerable number of economic measures and even police measures, the first of which had astheir object the diminishing of the consumption of the population, on the one hand to put supplies and provisions at the disposal of the Reich, and on the other hand in order to assure an equal distribution of the remaining produce. Before the problem was considered it was necessary to see to it that all those measures should bear the signature of Netherlanders. This is why the Secretaries - General, with the consent of the Reichskommisar, were given the possibility of taking all the necessary measures by legal means. Indeed, until now all the instructions relative to the seizure and distribution of produce and supplies to the population, and all the decrees and ordinances relative to restrictions, have been published; but agreements on the transportation of a considerable number of supplies has also been achieved - agreements which bear the signature of Secretaries - Gernal of the Netherlands or of the chiefs responsible for economy, to the end that all these measures should present entirely the character of voluntary operations. On this occasion it is necessary to point out that in the course of the first interview the attention of the Secretaries - General was drawn to the fact that an open and frank collaboration was expected of them, but that, on the other hand, they had the right of withdrawing in case an occasion should arise in which it would seem to them impossible to guarantee their own responsibility. Until the present no Secretary-General has taken advantage of this right, and it may therefore be concluded that they voluntarily have given satisfaction to all the demands that have been presented to them. The gathering, collection, and the distribution of all the food supplies and textile produce have approximately been carried out.
In any case, all the instructions on the subject have been published and are in the course of execution. A series of instructions relative to the new direction of agriculture, a new direction that is prescribed by agriculture, has been published, and is in the course of being carried out, particularly those having to do with the utilization of feed, which is available, so that the greatest number of livestock, about 80 per cent of the number of hens and hogs, may be kept until the next campaign. A regulation and diminution were introduced into the domain of transports, and the matter of the principles of economic direction of fuel for the Reich were applied. The restrictions relative to the licensing in the realm of labor, as well as those relative to the renting of apartments, have been done away with in order to restrain and limit the liberal and capitalistic habits of the Netherland entrepreneurs and to avoid difficulties in the same order of ideas. For determined cases the due - date of debts have been remitted. persons having a hostile attitude towards the Reich and to Germany have been published under the signature of the Reichskommissar. On the basis of this ordinance an administrator for the royal fortune was named. The reserves of raw materials have been seized and distributed with the authorization of the Generalfeldmarschall, according to a plan intended to leave to the Dutch enough raw materials for six months, in order to allow them to maintain their economy. They thefore received the same quantity as Germany.
The same treatment was applied as concerns supplies in food. Considerable reserves of raw materials could thus be put at the disposal of the Reich; thus, for instance, 70 tons of industrial fats, which must present approximately half of the quantity which the Reich is lacking. A regulation on produce according to the system enforced in the Reich was promulgated.
of the Reich the means which the German administration might need in the Netherlands in order that those expenses should in no way hinder or embarrass the budget of the Reich. Sums in Florins were released to a value of 36 million to withdraw from circulation bills of the Reichskreditkasse. In addition, 100 millions were utilized for the needs of the army of occupation, and more especially, for the enlargement of air fields; in addition, 50 million for the purchase of raw materials to be transported to the Reich in so far as they have not the character of duty; and in addition, to assure the free transfer of savings which the Dutch workers in the Reich might send to their families. the OKH at one Florin for 1.5 Reichsmark, was brought back to its normal relation, that is, one Florin for 1.33 Reichsmark. But above all, it became possible to indure the president of the Netherlands bank, Trip, to adopt a measure that was proposed with the agreement of the Generalfeldmarschall by the Generalkommissar Fischboehle. This involved the reciprocal and unlimited acceptance of German and Netherlands stocks; that is to say, the Netherlands Bank was obliged to accept any sum in marks which the Reichsbank might deliver to it, and to give Florins in exchange at the rate of 1.33. In other words, one mark was equal to 75 cents. Only the Reichsbank had the right to control in the matter, but the Netherlands Bank was informed only in the case of certain specified transactions.
"This regulation exceeds any of these that had been carried out up to now with neighboring countries in the economic realm, even with the protectorates, and represents a step toward financial justification.
"In considering the importance of this agreement, which affects directly the independence of the Netherlands State, this admirable result was achieved, that is to say, that the president of the bank, Trip, well known in the financial and banking world of the East, 'freely' signed this contract.
"Signed: Seyss-Inquart." chiefly in the Netherlands that the Germans were to have the ingenuity of seizing control of the means of payment.
This spoliation will form the subject of a first chapter. We shall thereupon examine the use made by the occupant of these means of payment; in a second chapter we shall discuss the black market; in a third chapter we shall consider the accusations made only in appearance -- in a regular manner; a fourth chapter will be devoted to various kinds of spoliation. Finally we shall picture the chief consequences to the Netherlands of this economic pillaging. within what limit by virtue of the Hague Convention the occupying power may raise contributions in money for the maintenance of its army of occupation. I shall limit myself to reminding the Tribunal that these expenses which are charged to the occupied countries can include only costs of billeting and feeding and paying soldiers strictly necessary to the occupation of territories. The Germans knowingly ignored these principles by imposing upon the Netherlands the payment of an indemnity for the maintenance of troops which were out of proportion to the needs of the latter. According to the information furnished by the Netherlands Government, contained in three reports -- the Trip report, the Hirschenfeld report and the Ministry of Finance report -which I submit under No. 123, the following sums were exacted on the pretext of being an indemnity for the maintenance of occupation troops: on the pretext of the necessity of maintaining an army of occupation. Germany thus fraudulently violated the dispositions of the Hague Convention to seize a considerable mass of means of payment.
difficulties, declared a general moratorium on its previous commitments. Nevertheless, in order to be able to continue its external commercial operations, it had concluded with most of the other countries -- notably with Holland -- agreements making possible the regulation, the settling of commercial debts and to a certain extent of financial debts, on the basis of the compensation or clearing system. Before the war there existed in the Netherlands "clearing" -- an excess of imports from Germany; byt after the first months of occupation there was on the contract considerable excess of exports to Germany, while the receipts coming from this country very perceptibly dropped. declarations of foreign specie, gold, precious metals, papers of value, stocks and foreign credits, as is indicated in the ordinance of June 1940, under No..95. Moreover, the Dutch could by vitue of the same ordinance be obliged to sell their stocks to the Netherlands Bank. The German Kommissar of the Reich, Seyss-Inquart, exacted that the Netherlands Bank make advances in florins to assure the equilibrium of the clearing arrangement, since Germany could furnish no equivalent in merchandise. On the other hand, and moreover, it was decided that the clearing system should be utilized as well for the delivery of merchandise as for the payment of any debts. In point of fact the Germans could therefore buy merchandise and titles to moveable property in Holland without furnishing any equivalent. The credits in marks of the Netherlands sellers were blocked in the Dutch Bank, which for its part had beer obliged to make an equivalent advance on the clearing exchange. exchange, and to avoid the transfer by this means of florins or of transferable stock into Germany, on the 8th of October, 1940, the Secretary General of Netherlands Finance imposed a sizeable tax on the marks that were blocked on the clearing exchange. However, under date of the 31st of March, 1941, the credit of the Netherlands exceeded 400,000,000 florins, which in fact had been advanced by the Netherlands State.
At this point the occupants demanded first of all that a sum of 300,000,000 florins be raised on the balance of 400,000,000 and deposited in the German treasury under the heading of "Military Occupation Costs," outside of the Netherlands countries, and this independently of payments already made for the occupation costs that had been paid by this country. Second, by a decision of the Reich Kommissar under date of the 31st of March, 1941, reported in the Verordnungsblatt, No. 14, which I submit to the Tribunal under No. 124, the payment operations with the Reich were no longer to pass through the clearing exchange but to be operated directly from bank to bank, which would create direct credits of the Netherlands banks on the German banks at the imposed exchange of 100 marks for 75.36 florins. Third, by a decree of the same date, 31 March 1941, which I submit under No. 125, the tax on the blocked marks created on the 8th of October, 1940, by the Netherlands authorities was abolished. In the presence of this situation, particularly dangerous to the Netherlands treasury, Mr. Trip resigned his functions as Secretary-General for Finance and President of the Netherlands Bank. The Reich Kommissar replaced him with Rost von Tonninge a notorious collaborator who yielded to all the demands of the occupying power disadvantageous exchange, at the real parity of 100 marks in exchange for 75.36 florins, they transferred them to the Netherlands Bank. The credit account of the Emmission Institute on Germany through the operations made with this country rose very considerably, while the credit balance on the date of 1 April 1941 amounted to 235,000,000 florins. It was to rise by the 1st of May, 1945, to 4,488,000,000 florins. According to the information given by the Netherlands Government, this credit is accounted for by purchases made by the Germans in Holland of merchandise of all kinds, of transferable stock or other stock to regulation of service impositions, imposed upon the Netherlands enterprises in payment of wages deported to Germany and to the mortgaging of debts incurred by the occupant. and clearing, the Germans were to procure themselves recourses in a different way by imposing collective fines, and this in violation of the provisions of Article 50 of the Hague Convention.
by way of reprisal or indemnity, considerable fines upon the municipalities. These fines were to be paid by the inhabitants, with the exception of persons of German nationality, members of pro-Nazi associations and NSV, Waffen SS, and NSKK technical aid services of the Netherlands, and cultural supervisors, etc., and of persons working for the Germans. According to information which has been obtained up to the present, out of 62 municipalities, the total of fines thus imposed amounts to a minimum of 20,253,044 florins. This is based on testimony of the Netherlands Government, which I submit under No.126. discovered two copies of letters relative to these collective fines. According to the first of these copies, which is a letter of March 7, 1941, collective fines amounting to 18,500,000 florins had been raised at the beginning of the year 1941. From the second, we learn that Hitler had given the order to employ this sum for National Socialist propaganda in the Netherlands. The report -
THE PRESIDENT: Where are those letters?
M. GERTHOFER: These letters are intestimony, which I presented under No. 126 of the French documentation.
THE PRESIDENT: Will you read the passages which you consider material?
M. GERTHOFER: (reading) "Kommissar of the Reich, 1808 and from the 8341, the General Staff Liaison, General Staff in Berlin, for immediate transmission to the Reichsleiter, M. Bormann. The sum of 18,000,000 florins representing the contribution exacted from certain Dutch towns by way of reprisals will arrive in the next few days. The Reich Kommissar asks if the Fuehrer wishes to place this sum to a definite use or if it is to be utilized in the same manner as the Fuehrer had ordered on the occasion of the confiscation of enemy property. The Fuehrer had decided at this time that the sums should be placed at the disposal of the Netherlands for the needs of the country, not losing sight of the fact of the political principles. Hitler. Signed High Minister, General Commissioner."
"Reich. Hitler. M. Bormann"-
THE PRESIDENT: Some of the copies which you have just submitted to us don't seem to be accurate and the passage which you have just been reading is omitted from some of them.
Perhaps it would be best, if you haven't got other copies, I will pass this one along. two copies which have been handed up, and they appear to be wrongly copied in some way. I will hand them down again.
M. GERTHOFER: The document has possibly been improperly numbered. It should have been indicated 126-one and 126-two. The first one from the Netherlands representative certifies the exactness of the translation of the first copy, and in the second "126" document the same representative of the Netherlands Government certifies the existence of the copy of the answer of the General Staff of the Fuehrer.
THE PRESIDENT: Just hand up the document again, the one I have handed down, will you? (This was done) The first document is the one y ou have just read out. The second document begins with the words, "J'ai soumis aujourdhui." Is that the second document to which you are referring? Perhaps you had better look at it. Look at that and see whether that is it.
M. GERTHOFER: It is the second document.
THE PRESIDENT: Did you use the second document?
M. GERTHOFER: It is the second document.
THE PRESIDENT: It is the same one.
M. GERTHOFER: It is the second document.
THE PRESIDENT: Could we see the originals? (Handed up.)
They are two different documents, are they? But they both begin in exactly the sane way.
M. GERTHOFER: The two documents have been submitted by the Dutch Government, The person who reported them represents the Netherlands Government and certifies that these documents were found in the Netherlands among the German papers.
M. GERTHOFER: The Dutch Government was obliged to make important payments on the account of the Germans, and in the reports submitted under No. 123, it brings out notably, First:
The Germans exacted that a sum of 300,000,000 Florins which was inscribed to the credit of the Netherlands Bank, be used for the needs of its army of occupation outside the Netherlands and that a sum of 76,800,000 Florins be deposited in gold for the same use.
The total which the Netherlands had to pay on this pretext, in violation of the Hague Convention, was 376,800,000.
Second: From June 1941, on, the Netherlands were obliged to pay, to contribute to the expenses of the war against Russia, a monthly sum of 37,500 Florins, of which a part was payable in gold. The total of the sum that Germany raised under this heading is 1,696,000,000 Florins.
Third: The Netherlands Bank was obliged to assume the charge of the reimbursement of Reichskreditkasse notes to a sum of 133,600,000 Florins.
Fourth: The expenses of the German civil government in Holland was charged to this country and amounted to 173,800,000 Florins.
Fifth: The Dutch Treasury, was, moreover, obliged to pay 414,000,000 Florins for the account of the Reich, including diverse expenses, such as the wages of Netherland workers deported to Germany, the costs of evacuation of certain regions, demolition costs, costs of fortifications, so-called costs for the watching of railroads, the guarding of railroads, funds placed at the disposal of the Reichskommissar, and for various industries utilized by the Germans.
Sixth: The Germans, in July 1940, seized 816 bars of gold bullion belonging to the Netherlands Bank, which were in the wreck of a Dutch ship sunk in Rotterdam representing and including the costs of recovery, 21,100,000 Florins.
Finally, and seventh: The State of the Netherlands was obliged to bear annual expenses of 1,713,000 Florins to assure the financing of new administrative services imposed on Holland by the occupying power, this amounting to 8,565,000,000 Florins. The total including the raising of the gold from the sunken ship and the payments made for Germany, amounts to 11,380,800,000 Florins. If one adds these costs to the costs of occupation and of clearing, the total of the financial charges imposed on Holland during the occupation, amounts to the sum of 22,224,800,000 Florins. These operations had serious consequences for the Netherlands economy. Indeed, the gold supply which on April 1, 19400 amounted to 1,236,000,000 Florins, had by the 1st of April 1945, fallen to 932,000,000 Florins.
The second effect: The money circulation on the contrary had risen from 1,127,000,000 Florins on the 1st of April 1940, to 5,468,000,000 Florins on 1 April 1945.
Netherlands bank had been evacuated abroad; however, the Germans seized all the gold that was to be found in the bank under various pretexts. I will recall that under the heading of Indemnity Payment, Occupation Indemnity Payment, they collected 75,000,000 Florins in gold for the forced contribution of the Netherlands against Russia, and they altogether demanded 114,000,000 Florins in Gold. Netherlands Bank, named by the Germans, wrote on 18 December 1943, to the Reichskommissar, that there was no more gold in Holland since the month of March preceding. The copy of this letter is submitted under the number of 127 This results from a document discovered by the Army of the United States, liste under No. ECO-24, in which I submit under No. 128, a document which constituted a report to the Bank Kommissar, Belgium, of 12 June 1941, who also points out that the gold stock of the Netherlands Bank amounted on 12 June 1941, to 1,021,800 000 Florins, of which only 134,600,000 were in Holland, the rest being either in England or in South Africa or in the United States raised -- collected gold by means of payments in possession of the population. The occupying power obliged private individuals to deposit gold with them which was in their possession, with the Netherlands Bank and then they requisitioned this gold which they handed over to the Reichsbank. A sum of approximately 71,000,000 Florins was paid to the public in exchange for the gold which was thus requisitioned. foreign values to a sum of 13,224,000 Florins and Swedish public funds to a sum of 4,623,100 Florins. By the aid of important financial means which they had at their disposal, the Germans proceeded to make important acquisitions in Holland.
Such acquisitions made by means of funds which were obtained forcibly in the Netherlands, cannot be considered to have been in exchange of a real equivalent but only obtained by means of defective payments. The Germans, alongside a numerous number of cases of requisitions which were followed by no kind of settlement, proceeded to obtaining in a clandestine way on the black market and to make acquisitions also which were in appearance irregular. They thus obtained a quantity of things of all kinds, leaving to the population only a minimum of products and goods which were insufficient to insure their vital needs. purchases on the black market, and in a third chapter, the acquisitions that were carried out in apparently irregular ways. In the purchases on the black market, as in all the other occupied countries, the Germans in Holland seized considerable quantities of merchandise on the black market, in violation of the legislation on rationing which they themselves had imposed. to determine even approximately the quantities of objects of all kinds which the Germans seized by this dishonest method. However, the secret report of the German Colonel Veltjens, which I submitted this morning under No. 112, gives us for a period of five months from July to the end of November of the same year, some indications of the scope of the German acquisitions. beginning of the "action" against the ordinary flow of exchange in the banks.
Nonferrous metals, 6,700,744. Reichmarks.
Textiles, 55,285,000. " Wool, 753,378.
" Skins and furs, 4,723,130.
" Fuel-wood, 254,982.
" Furniture, 272,990.
" Food, 590,859.
" Chemical and food products, 152,191.
" Various rags, 543,416.
" Motor oils 52,824.
" Crude diamonds, 25,064.
Reichmarks.
Various products, 531,890. " A total for a period of five months, of 73,685,162 Reichmarks.
These purchases were regulated by manipulation of the banks. A large quantity of other merchandise which, it has been impossible to determine, was effected by cash purchases carried out with Florins coming from the so-called occupation indemnity.
THE PRESIDENT: We will adjourn now for ten minutes.
(Whereupon, at 1520 hours a ten-minute recess was called.) As to Chapter 3 which treats the economic plundering of the Netherlands, we will treat the question of acquisition of apparent regularity further as result of the requisition followed or not by an appreciative payment, or as a result of individual purchases, or by individual or official organizations, the Germans made considerable acquisitions.
Industrial production: The Germans utilized to their own profit the greater part of the industrial activity of the Netherlands. All important stocks which were in the factories were thus absorbed, and their value being not less than 8,000,000 florins. They proceeded to remove enormous machines, and in certain cases these requisitions were not even followed by fictitious settlements. It has not been possible to establish as yet a balance sheet of these spoilations which even included all the machine equipment of an industry. As for example, we may indicate that on a requisition order of 4 March 1943, coming from the Reichkommisar of the machine apparatus and technical equipment, including the drawings and blue prints, and all the work shops and accessories, of the smelting works, of an important factory, were removed without any indemnity, and transported to the vicinity of Brunswick for the benefit of the Hermann Goering Werks. This is manifest in document I submit under No. 130. organizations in charge of the pillaging of machines. They had given them the name of Bureau of Compansation for Machine Organizations, which were subordinate to the extension of armaments, which received the reports for machines of production for the German industry and up to then to satisfy these by levies in the occupied countries.
mantling and transporting the machines into Germany. The organization of these official detachments of pillagers can be learned from German documents which are being brought to your knowledge when the specific case of Belgium will be outlined to you, and before you. Military command, that the Bureau of Machine Compensation of the Hague, that there they were able to satisfy only a small proportion of the demands. Thus, under date of 1 January 1944, these demands totalled 677,000,000 Reichmarks, where as in the month of January only 61,000,000 marks worth of machines had been delivered as against new demands, amounting to 87,000,000, so that the total demand for machines amounted to 703,000,000 in Reichsmarks at the end of the month of January 1944. Before leaving the Netherlands the Germans effected large scale destructions with a strategic aim, as they said, but above all in the desire to cause damage. Then they destroyed the factories, they previously removed and transported to Germany the machinery which they could dismantle, as well as the raw materials. Thus, they acted in this manner, notably with respect to Phillips Factory, Eindhoven, Hilversum, Bussum, and all the oil dumps of Amsterdam and Pernes, at the armament factories of Breda, Tilburg, Bergen-op-Zoom, and Dordrecht. These facts are treated in the report of the economic officer attached to the Military Commander in Holland, under date 9 October 1944 which I submit under No. 132. The same report gives some confirmation of the organization of the specialized German looters far the removal of machines of which I give here an extract. The military interest attacked in spite of great difficulties lacked the explanation of specialized manpower, for theexploitation, or threat of the enemy tanks and absence of any direction in the exploitation resulting from the military situation, that it was possible to carry out the necessary preparations for the execution of the Zee measures before the arrival of the enemy, and to destroy this factory, one of the most important of the continent in the manufacturing of radios, tubes, electric lamps, and the production of telegraph supplies.
This destruction was carried out under the members of the FWI Kdo-7 that had proceeded to transfer of the most precious metals of the special machines. Aside from destruction carried out in the Phillips Factories, on the indication of FWI-O-, and with the authorization of the O-QU-WBM, the destruction of forty oil reservoirs were carried out on the Amsterdam Oil dumps, as well as the destruction of 800 Oil reservoirs of the dumps of Parnes near Rotterdam. This destruction by explosives were carried out by elements of the 18th German Battalion. towns of Breda, Tilburg, Bussum, Bergen-op-Zoom and Dordrecht, all preparations for the carrying out of the Zee measures were entirely completed, and thus, in the case of enemy attack, the destruction of these towns as the objectives of military interest could be destroyed as soon as the orders were given. needs of the troops. Inspector Tetar of the FWI Bureau, who was in charge of the A.O.K. 15, of these matters received the necessary assistance in providing these assistance. On 7 December a commando detachment transferred to the Reich by trucks important non-ferous metal, manganese copper, and relatively of very great value that were all found at the Phillips Factories. Moreover at the Phillips factory the FWI KDO-7 participated in the transfer of official products and half finished products as well as the machines after the occupation of Eindhoven by the enemy, and the transfer had to be interrupted. Bussum was undertaken. There it was possible to transfer wholly all the reserve in on-ferous metals, finished and half finished products, machines, and manufactured parts, and castings. At the same time commando gangs were organized in conjunction with each chief of the service attached to the general delegate of the Reichminister for armaments and war production in the Netherlands as instituted in each province. These commando units were organized to carry out the transfer of raw material, and valuable products, as well as the machines in conjunction with the aforementioned services, and the related civil service, and with the total and necessary recruiting of officers, and officials of the Sonderfuehrer, and number of crews, it was possible to transfer to the Reich a very considerable quantity of non-ferous metals or raw materials, and in a given number of cases the material available was placed at the disposal of the Army.
region of Netherland. The FWI Kdo-7 entrusted elements of the Army under the command of Captain Raeder to proceed to the removals and to the preparations dictated by the Arlz measures in the command contained in A.O.K.15, in collaboration with the: civilian services, and Section 4 of the A.O.K.15, and it was possible to carry out a successful piece of work on the transfer of raw materials, or rare products, as well as the machines. These operations began only at the end of the month of September 1944.
Section 2: Aside from the stocks located in the factories, the Germans acquired considerable quantities of raw materials in stock and manufactured goods, which economic total amounts to not less than one billion Florins, and these evaluation does not include the destruction through acts of war, which amounted to 300,000,000 Florins.
AGRICULTURE: The Germans proceeded to make requisitions and wholesale purchases of agriculture produce, and of livestock. These levies amounted to a minimum of 300,000,000 Florins, and it has not as yet been possible to make a final estimate. To give an idea of the magnitude of these levies, let's point out that at the end of the year of 1943 the Germans had seized 500,000 hogs, 275,000 cows, heads of cattle, 30,000 tons of preserved meats. The data does not include individual purchases, and shows up in the statistics given us by a representative of the Netherland Government, and which I submit under No.133.
Let's point out, although this question will be taken up again by my colleague, who will present for you the war crimes against persons, but on 12 April 1944 without any apparent strategic reason twenty hectar of cultivated lands were flooded at Berrige Mer.
4. Transports and Communications: The Germans made enormous levies, and it is not yet possible to draw up an exact inventory of them, and nevertheless the information given by the Netherland Government makes it possible to form an idea of the order of magnitude in these spoliations. I submit this document under No. 134. Information given by a representative of the Netherland Government as concerns transport and communication, here is a summary.
(A): Railways, 490 locomotives were levied out of a total of 890, they were levied out. 890 coaches were levied out of a total of 30,000. 1456 passenger coaches were levied out of a total of 1750. 215 electric trains out of a total of 300. Deisel electric trains, 36 out of 37. In general the little material that was left by the Germans was damaged, either by wear, or either in the regular act of sabotage. considerable quantities of rails, signals, cranes, turntables, and repair cars, etc.
(B): TRAMWAYS. The material of the towns of Hague and Rotterdam were removed to German towns. Thus, for example, some 50 carriages and 42 trailer were sent to Bremen and Hamburg. Considerable amount of rails, cables and other accessories were removed and transported to Germany.
The motor buses of the streetcar companies were likewise taken by the occupying power.
(C): Automobiles, motorcycles, bicycles, the Germans seized the greater part of the automobiles, motorcycles, and bicycles, for instance, a million, and they left the population only machines which were not in running condition.
(D): Navigation: The Germans seized a considerable number of bridges, and all river vessels, as well as a considerable proportion of the important part of the merchant navy, totalling about one million and a half tons.
(E): Post Office supplies: The Germans seized a great number of telephor and telegraph apparatus, the amount of which has not yet been possible to compute, but that it is in exactness 600,000 apparatuses were confiscated. the occupant, following that information given by the Netherlands Government, which I submit under No. 135, a great number of Netherland workers were obliged to work either in Holland, orin Germany. About 450,000 were deported into the Reich. This was to represent a considerable number of manhours of loss to the Netherland material productivity.
Plunder of the Royal Palaces: The furniture, private archives, stable carriages, and tools were stolen by the Germans. In particular the products, or tools of Morredinde were entirely looted, as well as the movable contents, including the furniture, linen, silverware, paintings, tapestries, art objects, and household utensils from the place. A great number of these things were removed, and were used for clinic for the attorney general. The archives of the Royal family were likewise stolen. This is manifest by a report given by the representative of the NetherlandGovernment, and which I submit under No. 136. mentioning in this present statement, there were many cases where entire towns were systematically plundered. In this manner the town of Arnhen was looted in October or November, 1944. The Germans had had minors come in from Essen and under military leadership they proceeded in specialized gangs to remove all the removable furniture as well as to remove very valuable objects to send to Germany. This is manifest in the attestation given by the representative of the Netherland Government, and which I submit under the number 137.
considerable. We shall just mention that the enormous decrees of the national capital will have as corollary a production very inferior to the needs of the country through many years to come yet. But the gravest consequence of rule is that which effects public health, seeing that it is not to be impaired. The excessive rationing for many years of food stuffs and fuel, which was ordered by the occupant so as to increase the extent of its spoliation has brought about a weakening of the population. The average of the calories consumed by the inhabitants, which varied between 2,800 and 3,000 went down in strong proportions, reaching about 1,800 calories to finally 400 calories in April, 1945. more precarious. The Kommissar of the Reich, Seyss-Inquart, forbade the transport of food stuffs between the southern and northern zones of the country. This measure, which was not justified by any military operation, seems only to have been dictated by hatred of the population so as to oppress them, intimidate them, weaken them, terrorize them. It is only around the end of March, 1944, that this inhuman measure was done away with, but it was too late. The famine had become general. The death rate in the towns of Amsterdam, The Hague, Leiden, Delft, and Gouda increased very considerably, passing from 198 to 60 per cent. Illnesses which had almost disappeared from these regions reappeared again. This situation will have an irreparable consequence on the future of the population. These facts are manifest in two reports which I submit under the numbers 139 and 140. By ordering such severe rationing measures to get for themselves products which were indispensable to the existence of the Netherlanders, which were contrary to all principles of International Law, I may say that the German loaders have committed one of their greatest crimes.
My explanations concerning Holland are finished. My colleague, Mr. Delpech, will now state the case for Belgium.
M. DELPECH: Mr. President, gentlemen, I have the honor of presenting to the Tribunal a statement on the economic plundering of Belgium. invading Belgium and Holland on the Northern fronts. They knew full well that they should find there the raw materials, equipment, and concerns which would enable them to increase their war potency. As soon as Belgium had been occupied, the German military administration did its best to get the maximum benefit from its occupation. To this aim the German loaders took a series of measures to block all the existing bridges and to seize all the means of payments. The important stocks which had been constituted in 1936 to 1938 became the object of requisition. The machines and equipment of numerous enterprises were moved and sent to Germany, bringing about the closing down of numerous factories and a close concentration in many sectors. authorities imposed a very heavy tribute upon the Belgian industries, but the agriculture was not spared either.
Chapter 3 treats with these measures. This will be sub- divided into four chapters. Chapter I treats with the German seizure on the means of payment. The second chapter will treat the secret purchases on the black market. Chapter 3 mil treat the acquisitions of regular appliances. The fourth chapter will concern the leaders of services. In the fifth chapter we will treat the acquisition of Belgian investments in foreign concerns and shall be presented to the Tribunal before we'll pass on to the conclusion attaching on the public health. Finally, a few observations will be presented concerning the conduct of the Germans after they had annexed the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.
Chapter 1: German seizure on the means of payment. To enslave the country from an economic point of view, the most simple method was to secure the possession of the majority of the means of payment and to make impossible the export of currency and the values of all kinds. There is an order of the 17th of June, 1940, which forbids the export of currency and the values of all kinds.
This order was published in the special Verordnungsblatt for Belgium and for Northern France and will hereafter be called "V.O.B.E.L.". This order was published as "V.O.B.E.L. NO.2" and is submitted under the number 98. In the V.O.B.E.L. of the same date appeared a notice dated the 9th of May, 1940. It regulated the issuing of notes of the Reichskreditkasse for supplying the troops of occupation with means of payment.