unveil the political plan of the General Staff which prescribed these executions -- plans of terror, plans that were intended to accentuate the division between Frenchmen, or more generally, between citizens of the occupied countries. You will find in your document book a brief quoted -- F-133, which I submit under No. 288. This is called "Posters of the Paris Region," Document F-133. At the head of the page you will read, "Pariser Zeitung." This document reproduces a few of the very numerous posters and bills, some of the numerous notices inserted in the press from 1940 to 1945, and announcing the arrest of hostages in Paris in the Region of Paris and France. I shall read only one of these documents which you will find on the second page. It is the one entitled No. 6, 19 September 1941. You will see in it an appeal to informing to reason; you will see means of corruption called for, means systematically applied to all the countries of the West for years. These means have tended -all of them -- to an equal extent to demoralize the population:
"21 August. Appeal to the population of occupied territories. On the 21st of August cowardly murderers attacking from behind opened fire on a German soldier and killed him. In have in consequence on 23 August ordered that hostages be taken. I have threatened to have a certain number of them shot, in case such assault should be repeated. New crimes have obliged me to put this threat into effect. In spite of this, new assaults have taken place. I recognize that the population in a great majority is conscious of its duties, which are to help the authorities in their unremitting effort to maintain calm and order in the country, in the very interest of this population.
This is the appeal to denunciation. But among you there are agents paid by the enemy powers of Germany, Communist criminal elements who have only one aim, which is to sow discord between the occupying power and the French population. These elements are completely indifferent to the consequences which result from their activity for the entire population. I don't want the lives of German soldiers to be any longer threatened by these assassins. I shall stop at no measure in order to fulfill my duty, however stringent it might be; but it is likewise my duty to make the totality of the population responsible for the fact that up to the present it has not been possible to put our hands on the cowardly murderers and to impose upon them the penalty which they deserve. That is why I have found it necessary for Paris, first of all, to take measures which unfortunately will create differences for the entire population and hinder its every-day life. Frenchmen, it belongs to you. It is your responsibility. If I should have to increase the severity of these measures.
I appeal to you all, to your administration and to your police, to cooperate through your extreme vigilance and your active personal intervention in the arrest of the guilty.
It is necessary, by anticipating and denouncing the criminal activities, to avoid the creation of a critical situation which would plunge the country into misfortune. He who fires from behind on German soldiers who are here doing only their duty and who are safeguarding the maintenance of a normal life, is not a patriot -- he is a cowardly assassin and the enemy of all respectable men. Frenchmen, I count on you to understand these measures which I am taking, which are taken also in your own interests. Signed von Stuelpnagel."
Under No. 8 on the following page you will find a list of twelve names among which are three of the best known lawyers of the Parisian Bar, who are characterized as militant Communists -- Pitard, Hajje, Rolnikas.
In File 21, submitted by my colleagus M. Gerthofer, in the course of his economic presentation, you will find a few notices which are similar, published in the official German newspaper "Vobi". September, relating the assassination of M. Pitard and his companions, that the murderers hadneither the courage nor the honesty to say that these were Parisian lawyers. Is it through a mistake? I think that it is a calculated lie, for at this time it was necessary to handle the Elite gently. The occupying power still hoped to separate them from the others. hearts of the French in the course of the month of October 1941, and which have remained present in the memory of all my compatriots, those which are known under the name of "executions of Chateaubriant and of Bordeaux". They are related in Document 415 in your document book, which I submit under number 285 before the Tribunal. and in Bordeaux a few days later, the German Army decided to set an example. You will find, on page 21 of Document 415, a copy of the notice put in a newspaper on the 22nd of October, 1941. This is the newspaper "Le Phare".
"Notice. Cowardly criminals in the pay of England and of Moscow have killed with shots in the back the Feldkommandant of Nantes on the morning of the 20th of October 1941.
Up to now the assassins have not been arrested. In expiation of this crime I have ordered that 50 hostages be shot to begin with. Because of the gravity of the crime, 50 more hostages will be shot in case the guilty should not be arrested between now and 23rd of October 1941 at midnight." to be related in detail. the Ministry of the Interior to designate prisoners. These prisoners were to be selected among the Communists who were considered the most dangerous. These are the terms of the letter of Stuelpnagel. A list of 60 Frenchmen was furnished by the Minister of the Interior. This was Puches. He has since been tried by my compatriots, sentenced to death and executed. Subprefect of Chateaubriant to the Commandatur of Chateaubraint, after the order which he received from the Minister of the Interior:
"After our conversation of today, I have the honor of confirming to you that the Minister of the Interior has communicated today with General von Stuelpnagel in order to designate to him the most dangerous Communist prisoners among those who are now held at Chateaubriant. You will find enclosed herewith the list of 60 individuals who have been handed over on this day."
On the following page is the German order:
"Because of the assassination of the Feldkommandant of Nantes, Lt. Col. Hotz, on 20 October 1941, the following Frenchmen, who were already imprisoned as hostages in execution of my publication of 22 August 1941, and of my decree to the Chief of the French Government of September 1941, are to be shot." of all the men who were shot on that day. I leave out the reading of the list in order to abbreviate the debate.
On page 16 you will find a list of 48 names. On page 13 you will find the list of those who were shot, in Nantes.
On page 12 you will find the list of those who were shot in Chateaubriant. On these two lists you will observe that the bodies were sent out to all the communities. buried after having been shot. On page 3 of this document you will find the note of M. Dumenil concerning the executions of the 21st of October 1941, which was drawn up the day after these executions. The second paragraph reads:
"The Abbe Fontaine was called at 11:30 to theprison of La Fayet. An officer, probably of the GFP, told him that he was charged with announcing to certain prisoners that they were going to be shot. The priest then went into a room with the three hostages who were at the prison. The other three, who were at Rochettes, were interviewed by Abbe Theon, professor at the College Stanislas.
"The Abbe Fontaine said to the condemned, 'Gentlemen, you must understand, alas, what my presence means.' He spoke then with the prisoners collectively and individually for the two hours which the officers had said would be granted to arrage the personal affairs of the condemned and to write their last wills to their families. The execution had been set for 2 o'clock in the afternoon, half an hour having been allowed for the trip, but the two hours passed by, another hour passed, and still another hour before the condemned were fetched. Certain ones, who were naturally optimistic, like M. Fourny, hoped already that a countermanding order would be given, in which the priest himself did not at all believe.
"The condemned were all very brave. It was the two youngest, Gloux and Grolleau, who were students, who constantly encouraged the others, saying that it was better to die in this way than to perish uselessly in an accident.
"At the moment of leaving, the priest, for reasons which were not explained to him, was not authorized to accompany the hostages to the place of execution. He went down the stairs of the prison with them as far as to the car. Two were chained together. The third had on handcuffs. Once they were in the truck, Gloux and Grolleau made another motion of goodby to him, smiling and waving their hands that were chained together."
It is signed "Dumenil, Counsellor attached to the Cabinet."
Sixteen were shot in Nantes. Twenty-seven were shot in Chateaubriant. Five were shot outside the department. For those who were shot in Chateaubriant, we know what their last moments were like. The Abbe Moyon, who was present, wrote on the 22nd of October 1941, page 17 of your document, the account of this execution. This is the third paragraph, page 17.
"It was on a beautiful autumn day. The temperature was mild. The lovely sun had shown since morning. Each one in the town was going about his usual business.
There was gread animation within the town since it was Wednesday, which was market day. The population knew from the newspapers and from the information it had received from Nantes that a superior officer had been killed in a street of Nantes, but they refused to believe the such ferocious and extensive reprisals would be applied.
"At the camp of Choisel, the German authorities had, for some days, put into special quarters certain number of men who were to serve as hostages in case of special difficulties. It was from among these men that those who were to be shot on this evening of 22 October 1941 were chosen.
"The Cure of Bere was finishing his lunch when M. Moreau presented himself. M. Moreau was Chief of the Camp of Choisel. In a few words, the latter explained to him the object of his visit, that, having been delegated by M. Lecornu, the Subprefect of Chateaubriant, he came to inform him that 27 men selected among the political prisoners of Choisel were going to be executed is the court in the afternoon, and he asked Monsieur le Cure to go immediately to see them and to be with them.
"The priest said he was ready to accomplish this mission, and he went to the prisoners without delay. When the priest appeared to carry out his missing the Subprefect was already among the condemned. He came to announce to them the horrible fate which was awaiting them, asking them to write their letters of farewell to their families without delay. It was under these circumstance that the priest presented himself at the entrance of the quarters."
You will find on page 19 the departure for the execution, paragraph 4:
"Suddenly there was the sound of automobile engines. The door, which I had shut at the beginning so that we might be more by ourselves, opened. A German officer appeared. He was actually a military priest. He said to me, 'Monsieur Cure, your mission has been accomplished and you must withdraw immediately.'" At the bottom of the page, the last paragraph:
"The quarry where the execution took place was forbidden of access to al Frenchmen. I know only that the condemned were executed in three groups of nine men, that all the men who were shot refused to have their eyes bound, that the young Mocquet fell, having lost consciousness, and that the last cry that sprang from the lips of all of them was an ardent 'Vive la France'". Officer Roussel.
It also is worth reading:
"The 22nd of October 1941, at about 3:30 in the afternoon, -- as I was, on the 11th of November, in Chateaubriant -- I saw coming from the Camp of Choisel four or five German trucks, without being able to tell exactly, preceded by an automobile, a sedan, in which was a German officer. Several civilians with handcuffs were in the trucks and were singing patriotic songs, the Marseillaise, the Chant du Depart, and so forth. One of the trucks was filled with armed German soldiers.
"I learned subsequently that these were hostages who had just been taken from the camp of Choisel to be led to the quarry of Sabliere on the Soudan Road to be shot in reprisal for the murder in Nantes of the German Colonel Hotz.
"About two hours later, these same trucks came back from the quarry and entered the court of the Chateau of Chateaubriant, where the bodies of the men who had been shot were deposited in a cellar of the chateau, awaiting disposition.
"On coming back from the quarry, the trucks were covered and one heard no noise, but a stream of blood escaped from the latter and left a mark on the road from the quarry to the castle.
"The following day, on the 23rd of October, the bodies of the men who had been shot were put into coffins without any French persons being present, the entrances to the chateau having been guarded by German sentinals, and these were taken to cemeteries of the surrounding communities, that is, three coffins per community. The Germans were careful to choose communities where there was no regular transport service, presumably to avoid the population's going en masse to the tombs of these martyrs.
"I was not present at the departure of the hostages from the camp nor at the shooting in the quarry of Sabliere, as the approaches to it were quarded by German soldiers armed with machine guns."
there were others who were to be added, those of Bordeaux. You will find in your document book, under No. F-400, documents which have been communicated to us by the Prefecture of Gironde, which we submit to the Tribunal under No. 286. Affairs, dated 22 October 1941, marked F-400-C, at the bottom of which you will read -- the last paragraphs "In the course of the conference which took place last night at the Feldkommandatur of Bordeaux, the German authorities asked me to proceed immediately to the arrist of 100 individuals known for their sympathy for the Communist Party or the Gaullist movement, who will be considered as hostages, and to a great number of house searches.
"These operations have been in process since this morning. So far no interesting result has been called to my attention. In addition, this morning at 11 o'clock the German authorities have made known the reprisal measures which they had decided to take towards the population." These reprisal measures you will find set forth on page "A" of the same document in a letter addressed by General von Faber Du Faur, Chief of the Regional Administration of Bordeaux, to the Prefect of Gironde. I quote:
"Bordeaux, 23 October 1941.
"To the Prefect of Gironde:
"Following upon the cowardly murder of the Councilor of War, Reimers, the High Military Command in France has ordered fifty hostages to be executed The execution will take place to-morrow. In case the murderers should not be arrested in the very near future, other measures will be taken as in the case of Nantes.
"I have the honor of making known this decision to you.
"Chief of the Military Regional Administration "von Faber Du Faur" And all of these men were executed.
of pilgrimage for the French since our liberation. This is the Fort of Romainville. During the occupation the Germans subsequently formed this fort into a hostage depot where they put their victims when they wanted to make an example of a patriotic demonstration. It is from Romainville that Professors Jacques Solomon, Decourtemanche, Georges Politzer, Dr. Boer, and six other Frenchmen went forth.
They had been arrested in March, month of May, 1942.
On the 19th of August, 1942, 96 hostages went out from this fort; among them Monsieur Le Gall, Municipal Councillor of Paris.
All were taken to Romainville and executed.
under letter "B"--at 402 B. This notice was written in these "As a result of assaults committed by Communist agents and civilians have been killed or wounded.
By way of reprisal against by confessions.
In addition, severe measures of repression have planned by the Communists for 20 September, 1942.
I ordered the "From Saturday, 19 September, 1942, at 3 o'clock in the Seine, Seine-et-Oise, Seine-et-Marne; all public demonstrations, "From Sunday, 20 September, 1942, from 3 o'clock in the of the Seine, the Seine-et-Oise and the Seine-et-Marne.
The only exceptions are persons representing official services, etc."
that 46 of these hostages in the list of 116 were chosen. The Command.
It is, therefore, through the newspapers that the squad.
All lived during the day in expectation of the call that would be made that evening.
Those who were called knew their fate beforehand.
All died innocent of the crimes for which they were the Rex theatre were subsequently arrested.
It was in Bordeaux that 1943, in Paris.
You will find in this same file, 402-C, a people the reprisals against terroristic acts.
The assaults and acts of sabotage have multiplied in France in recent days.
For this 1943, on the order of the Higher SS and the Polizeifuehrer.
All of our collaborators.
You will find this testimony under letter "A" submitted under number 287.
That is number 402 A at the bottom of the page number 1. You will read:
"There were 70 of us, among whom the Professors Jacques Solomon, Decourtemanche, Goerges Politzer, Dr. Boer, Mrs.
Engros, in Paris.
We were questioned in turn by a Gestapo officer in the quarters of the rue des Saussaies.
Certain of us, more particularly "In questioning me the Gestapo officer confirmed this to me.
"'Rabate, you will have to speak. Professor Langevin's son-in-law came in here arrogant.
He went out crawling.'
"This is how the occupying power treated our intellectuals.
"After a period of five months in the prison of Cherche Midi, we were.
On the doors of our cells was written, 'Alles Verboten" (Everything is Forbidden). We received only the strict food ration and two hundred drams of black bread per day.
The crackers sent an expression corresponding to the "NN", Nacht und Nebel, which we have heard of in Germany."
THE PRESIDENT: M. Dubost, the Tribunal thinks that, unless who were put to death and they think that it really doesn't add to
M. DUBOST: I thought, Mr. President, that I had not spoken to German Army.
I thought that it was my duty to enlighten the
THE PRESIDENT: If there are matters of that sort which you summarize.
But if there are particular atrocities which you wish
M. DUBOST: This was what I had thought I should do. I give
THE PRESIDENT: Go on.
M. DUBOST: In the region of the North of France, which was practised.
You will find document RF-123, submitted under No. 288, arrests or executions or deportations.
Certain of these posters to those which I read to you in connection with France.
Perhaps it France, we have a very great number of eases.
You will find in Tournai on 18 September 1941 of twenty-five inhabitants as hostages, on which it specifies the condition under which certain ones of them will be shot if the guilty are not discovered.
But you will find, especially, under No.680, a remarkable document because it comes from the German authorities themselves, which is the secret report of the German Chief of Police in Belgium under date of 13 September 1944; that is to say, when Belgium was totally liberated and this German official was summarizing for his chiefs his service during the occupation of Belgium. This document will be deposited under No. 290. On the first page of this document you will find the following passage, which is taken from it:
"The growing excitement of the population by the radio and the press of the enemy which urge them to acts of terrorism and sabotage" -- this is applied to Belgium -- "the passive attitude to the population and, in particular, to the Belgian administration, the complete failure of the public ministries, the prosecutions of the judges and of the judicial police in discouraging and preventing terrorist acts have at last led to preventive and repressive measures of the most rigorous kind, that is to say, to the execution of persons closely related to the groups which have committed guilty acts.
"Already, on the 19th of October 1941, on the occasion of the murder of two police officials in Tournai, the military commander-in-chief declared by an announcement appearing in the press that all the political prisoners in Belgium would be considered as hostages, effective immediately. In provinces of the north of France, subject to the jurisdiction of the same military commander-in-chief, this ordinance went into effect on the 26th of August 1941. Through repeated notices appearing in the press the civilian population has been informed that political prisoners taken as hostages will be executed if the murders continue to be perpetrated.
"Consequent upon the assassination of Mr. Teughels, Rexist Mayor of Charleroi, and other attempts at assassination against public officials, the military commander-in-chief has been obliged to order for the first time in Belgium the execution of eight terrorists. The date of the execution is 27 November 1942."
order under date of 22 April 1944, secret, sent by the military commander in Belgium and in the north of France, having as its subject, "Measures of Expiation." For the murder of two Wallons SS, five hostages were shot on that day. On the following page nine hostages are added to these five, and a tenth still on the following page. Then five others on the following page. You will find, finally, on the next to the last page of the document, a projected list of persons to be shot in expiation of the murder of SS men. Compare the dates, and judge the ferocity with which the execution of these two Wallon traitors were expiated. patriots who were thus murdered.
THE PRESIDENT: Which page did you say?
M. DUBOST: The last page, page 6, the last document reproduced, on the last page. I have not read it not to lengthen the case, but I shall read it, if you will.
"Nouveau Journal" -- the New Paper notice -- "25 April 1944.
"Measures of expiation for the murder of the fighters of Tcherkassy. The German authority communicates: the author, the perpetrators of the attempted assassination, perpetrated on 6 of April against members of the SS Sturmbrigade Wallonie, and fighters of Tcherkassy Hubert Stassen and Francois Musch -- M-u-s-c-h -- have not been apprehended until up to now. In consequence, and in accordance with the communication dated 10 April 1944, the 20 terrorists whose names follow have been executed:
"Renatuo Dierick of Louvain; Antoine Smets of Louvain; Jacques van Tilt of Holsbeck; Emilien van Tilt of Holsbeck; Franciscus Aerts of Herent; Jean Van der Elst of Herent; Gustave Morren of Louvain; Eugene Hupin of Chapelle-lez-Herlaimont; Pierre Leroy of Boussois; Leon Hermann of Montigny-sur-Sambre; Felix Trousson of Chaudfontaine; Joseph Grab of Tirlemont; Octave Wintgens of Baelen-Hontem; Stanislaw Mrozowski of Grace-Berleur; Marcel Boeur of Athus; Marcel Dehon of Ghlin; Andre Croquebois de Pont-des-Briques b. Boulogne; Gustave Hos of Mons; and Walter Kriss of Herent."
THE PRESIDENT: We will adjourn now for ten minutes.
(Whereupon at 1540 hours a short recess was taken)
M. DUBOST: As far as the other Western countries are concerned, as Holland, Norway, we have received documents which we submit under the number F-228. We submit this document as Document 291. Page 2 of the document 224 in the French text you will find a long list of civilians who were executed. And on pages 4 and 5 you will find a report of the chief of the criminal police, Munt, in connection with these executions, and you will observe that Munt tries to prove his own innocence without succeeding, I believe. was present in Holland, and the result of the discovery of numerous bodies -
THE PRESIDENT: I am not following this. Did you say 224? Which document is it you are on?
M. DUBOST: 224.
THE PRESIDENT: I see the list of names, and then what was it you were referring to at the end of it? You said page 6. I have only got page 5.
M. DUBOST: Document 224-A in your document book, which was submitted under the number 277.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, I have 6 now.
M. DUBOST: On this page you will find, page 6, the account of an investigation relative to mass executions which the Germans carried out in Holland. I don't think it is necessary to read this investigation. It brings no new factual element and simply emphasizes the thesis that I have been presenting since this morning: that in all the Western countries systematically the German military authorities carried out executions of hostages in reprisal.
was given to shot eighty prisoners, and the authority who gave this order said: "I don't care where you get the prisoners" -- execution without any designation of age or profession or origin. attained -- that is on line 6 and 7. for a murder committed against an SS soldier, a house was destroyed and several Dutchmen were executed and, in addition, two other houses were destroyed. Under Number 2, several others were executed, and under number 3, fourteen. In total, three thousand Dutchmen were executed under these conditions, according to the testimony of this document, which was established by the War Crimes Commission, signed by the Chief of the Dutch Delegation to the International Military Tribunal. region by region. The Tribunal will excuse me if I do not read this page, it seems unnecessary. Holland without drawing the attention of the Tribunal to Document 224B, which gives a long list of hostages, prisoners or those who are dead, arrested by the Germans in Holland. The Tribunal will observe that most of these hostages were intellectuals or very highly placed personages in Holland. We note therein, names of assemblymen, lawyers, senators, Protestant clergymen, judges, and amongst them we find a former Minister of Justice. The arrests were made systematically among the intellectual elite of the country. submitted under Number 292, a short report as to the executions which the Germans carried out in that country. two Norwegian patriots, were killed on an island on the west coast of Norway. In order to avenge this, four days later eighteen young boys were shot without trial. All these eighteen Norwegians had been in prison since the 22 of February of the same yaar and therefore had nothing to do with this affair.
and which is page 22 of the Norwegian original, it states that on the 6 of October, 1942 ten Norwegian citizens were executed in reprisal for various attempts at sabotage. shot without trial. They had all been taken from a concentration camp. The reason for this is unknown. were found in graves. All had been shot and we do not know the reason for their execution; it has never been published, and we do not believe they were tried. The executions were effected by a shot through the back of the neck or a revolver bullet through the ear, the hands of the victims being tied back. This information, as given, comes from the Royal Government of Norway and was sent to this Tribunal. by Terboven, which is relative to the execution of eighteen Norwegians who were prisoners, who tried in an illegal fashion to reach England. countries citizens were executed without trial, in reprisal for acts in which they never participated. It does not seem necessary to me to multiply these examples. Each of these examples inculpates each individual and some individuals who are not within the competency of this Tribunal. The examples are only of interest in the measure that they show that the orders of the defendants were carried out and notably the orders of Keitel. I believe that I have amply proved this. It is incontestable that in every case the German Army was concerned with these executions and it was not done by the police or the SS.
It did not achieve the desired results. Far from reducing the number of crimes, it increased them. Each attempt was followed by an execution of hostages. Every shooting of hostages occasioned more attempts on lives. In a general way, new executions of hostages plunged the country out of a sort of stupor and forced every citizen to become conscious of the fate of the country, despite the efforts of the German propaganda. Before this terroristic policy we might believe that the defendants might have modified their practice.