In their opinion their very existence depended solely on the fact that it assured cheap man-power for the Fascist "masters."
THE PRESIDENT: Would that be a convenient time to break off?
(The Tribunal adjourned until 11 February, 1946, at 10.
00 hours.)
Official transcript of the International Military-
Tribunal in the matter of The United States of America, the French Republic, 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 11 February, 1946, 1000-1245, Lord Justice Lawrence, presiding.
COL. POKROVSKY:The Tribunal has at its disposal diaries by defendant Frank.
In the volume marked "Diary 1943, V, on pages 1070 - 1072 we find an important entry; in the Russian translation it is to be found on p. 5 of the additions to the "Excerpts from Frank's Diaries," and is marked in pencil and on page 321 of the Document Book.
"Cracow 23 October 1943.
"The Governor-General delivered an address at the Administrative Academy on the principle of leadership in government. From the point of view of State law and of the law of nations, the Government-General, as an appendage to Greater Germany, constitutes a part of the territory over which the power of Greater Germany in Europe extends. The Sovereignty over this territory belongs to the Fuehrer of Greater Germany and on his behalf it is exercised by the Governor-General who, as the deputy of the Fuehrer, possesses all his powers."
I would like to call the attention of Your Honors to two more documents of a strictly official nature.
In the Reichsgesetzblatt for 1939, page 2077, in your Book of Document it is page 333, USSR 296, is published the "Fuehrer's and Reich Chancellor's decree on the administration of the occupied Polish territory", dated October 12, 1939.
I shall read paragraph 2 of this decree:
"Paragraph 2 "1. I appoint Reich Minister Dr. Frank as Governor-General of the occupied Polish territories.
"2. I appoint Reich Minister Dr. Seyss-Inquart as deputy GovernorGeneral."
In the same Reichsgesetzblatt but for 1940, Part I, page 399, there is published a "Decree regarding the power to grant pardons in the occupied Polish territories". It is registered on page 336 in the Document Book.
It reads:
"In the occupied Polish Territories I delegate to the Governor-General of Occupied Polish Territories the power to confirm death sentences as well as pardons or to reject applications for pardons, with the right to further delegate his powers."
In Poland occupied by the Hitlerites the power over life and death, the perogative of a sovereign was given to the defendant Frank.
It is not superfluous to call to mind that it was the very same Hitler who had said that he would show, by the concrete example of the relationship between the Polish and the German peoples, that a form of intercourse had been found "which would serve usefully both the cause of peace and the wellfare of both nations."
I have shown above the kind of "example" which was intended and what the "well-being" was which was referred to.
The 6th of April 1941 was marked by a new crime planned and carefully prepared beforehand on the part of the Fascist conspirators.
Without any warning or declaration of war, they attacked Yugoslavia.
The attack on Yugoslavia was a flagrant breach of Article 3 of the Hague Convention of 18 October 1907 and of the Kellogg-Briand Pact of 27 August 1928.
The Delegations of Great Britain and of the U.S.A. have already submitted to the Tribunal a considerable number of documents referring to the subject of the treacherous attack on Yugoslavia. I have only to submit a few new proofs and to establish a correlation between these new documents and those already presented to the court.
The Official German documents enable us to reconstitute events with exceptional vividness. Here German pedantry turns against the authors of the criminal plan.
On 27 March 1941, Adolf Hitler held a special conference regarding the situation in Yugoslavia. On the same day he signed a top secret directive 025, "for higher commanders only." Both documents, filed under No. 1746-PS, are amongst the evidence already accepted by the Tribunal.
The Chief Prosecutor for the USSR, has already quoted in full paragraph 2 of Directive 025.
The first paragraph of this document was also read on 7 December 1945. I wish to add a few more lines.
I quote from paragraph 3. This quotation is on page 337 of the Document Book. It states as follows:
" a) as soon as the concentration of sufficient forces is concluded and meteorological conditions permit, all Yugoslav surface installations and Belgrade must be annihilated by continuous day and night air attacks."
" b) If possible, simultaneously, but under no circumstances prior to the operation "Marita" must be started, with the limited objective at first, to seize the harbor of Salonica and the Dios mountains."
I believe that three points should be stressed here:
1) The desire to carry out the total destruction of the capital of a state.
2) The correlation between the aggression against Yugoslavia and the aggression against another country - Greece; the aggression against Greece being known under the code-name, operation "Marita".
3) The necessity to complete the concentration of German forces as well as meteorological conditions were the factors that determined the timelimits for the attack.
As in all previous cases of criminal Fascist aggression, the same features recur in this case too; namely the criminal intentions of a predatory invader, treachery, and cold calculation.
Preparations for the criminal act that was just one item in a long list, were made a long time in advance and followed the usual Hitler routine, which has already been disclosed by the prosecutors: fifth column activities, clever manipulation with slogans playing up the defense of the German minority, deceitful practice of declaring his love for peace, combined with unceasing preparations for invasion.
On 27 March 1941, on the very day when Directive No. 025 was signed by Hitler, the latter conducted personally, in Berlin, a conference on the situation in Yugoslavia. The minutes of this conference were presented by the American Prosecution on 4 December 1945 as document 1746-PS.
Other documents relating to this conference also have been registered under the same number. At this conference, the objectives were determined with absolute precision and a plan of action was presented. You will find the quote referred to page 349. Hitler declared:
"Not to take into consideration any possible declarations of its loyalty by the new Government, but to carry but all preparations for destruction of Yugoslav armed forces and of Yugoslavia itself as a national unit. It is especially important from the political point of view that the blow against Yugoslavia should be carried out with utmost violence and that its military destruction should be effected with lightning speed." And a little further:
"No diplomatic inquiries will be made and no ultimatum presented.... The attack will start as soon as necessary supplies and formations (means and troops) are ready."
Thus Hitler was not at all interested in the actual attitude of one or another Yugoslav Government towards Germany, but in the practical destruction of Yugoslavia as a state, and he strove to make this destruction cruel and quick as lightning.
The operational staff of the OKW meticulously followed Hitler's directive, regarding the cruel and lightning-like destruction of Yugoslavia and speedily worked out a detailed plan for coordinated operations of German and Italian armies. It was issued as an official operational order dated 28 March 1941. I believe it necessary to read once again three lines of this document which has already been submitted to the Tribunal, under the same No. 1746-PS. You will find it on page 352 of the Document Book.
I quote paragraph I of this document:
"The task of the Germans will consist in attacking Yugoslavia with the greatest possible concentration of forces smashing its army and destroying it as a state."
I cannot but remind the Tribunal of the terminology used by Hitler and the other Fascist conspirators. Said he:
"There can be no question of sparing Poland."
He demanded that:
"Yugoslavia be virtually eliminated as a state ruthlessly and with lightning speed."
Mercilessness, ruthlessness, extermination of peoples and states, such was the style and the import of the actions of the Fascist conspirators.
The aggression against Czechoslovakia, the attack on Poland, the desire to destroy Yugoslavia, all these were links in the same chain. But the chain does not end with these links.
If it please the Tribunal, the task of the next representative of the USSR Prosecution will be to show that the basic aim of these criminals, the main link which was in the center of all of Hitler's thoughts was the attack on the USSR.
The documents exposing the crimes against Yugoslavia will prove that, in attacking that country, the fascist conspirators were strictly following their customary methods. Even in detail they repeated their earlier crimes perpetrated against Poland, Austria and Czechoslovakia. Even in case we did not knew who actually organized the attack on Yugoslavia, the very character of the facts, the sequence of events, the manner in which the crimes were committed, would unmistakably point to the culprits.
I turn to document USSR-36, under which number I offer in evidence the Official Report of the Yugoslav Government.
The first section, entitled "The planned preparation of the conspiracy for the enslavement and the destruction of Yugoslavia", contains a collection of valuable information. I will quote paragraph 1 on page 3 of the Russian text (the 3rd paragraph from the top), the following quotation:
"The Government of the Third Reich and the Hitlerite party secretly organized the German minority.
The Germans who had been settled in Yugoslavia by the Austrian emperors over a century ago, enjoyed full rights, as brothers, and a cultural autonomy.
They had their own schools, as well as representatives in parliaments and in the local Government.
They numbered million (i.e. represented about 3% of the population)."From 1920 onwards they had their mass organization - the Swabian-German cultural union (called the "cultural Union" for short).Out of this very organization and through it, as well as out of all the Germans in Yugoslavia, the Fascist party created a political and military organ for the destruction of the country."
I shall skip several lines and quote further:
"In Yugoslavia, Fascist 'Gaue' were secretly formed and 'Gauleiters' had been appointed. Under the guise of various physical training and sport associations, were organized Hitlerite units half a million strong. Numerous 'toursists', 'commercial travellers' and 'relatives' came from the Reich-in reality Fascist instructors and organizers."
I skip a number of details which can be disregarded, and pass to the second paragraph of the same section on page 4, that is page 336 in the Document Book, where the manner is described in which the Fifth Column was further strengthened. I now will read into the record beginning with the second sub-paragraph of paragraph 2:
"...The Hitlerites drew into their orbit all the separatist and chauvinistic elements, as, for instance, Pavelich's "Ustashi", the "Sbor", a movement headed by Lyotich, the VMRO (the Macedonian Fascist movement), hea ded by Vancha Mikhailovich, and terrorist organizations with headquarters in Berlin.
On the other hand, acting through their agents, Prince Paul, Stoyadinovitch, Cvetcovich and Cincar-Marcovich, they attracted the pan-Serbian centralists and turned them into a terrorist group which, from the vantage points of governmental auth ority, was 'peacefully' to deliver Yugoslavia into slavery by adhering to the Tripartite pact."
Further, the report emphasizes the fact that, while organizing numerous branches of the Fifth Column, the Hitlerites continually gave new perfidious assurances about their ostensibly friendly intentions with regard to Yugoslavia. This is discussed in paragraph 3 on page 5 of the Russian text; in your Document Book it is on page 357:
"3. While both the Hitlerite government and the party were so thoroughly and with such versatility carrying out their conspiracy, Hitler used every opportunity to declare to the 'whole world, on behalf of the government, the party, and the whole of Germany, that Yugoslavia could count on them as devoted friends."
On 17 January 1935, i.e. some weeks before the occupation of Austria, Hitler had a conference with the then Prime Minister of Yugoslavia. The defendants Goering and von Neurath were present at that conference. The original document from which I will quote certain excerpts was submitted to the Tribunal as TC-92. The extract which I will quote you will find on page 411 of the Document Book.
THE PRESIDENT:Colonel Pokrovsky, for the sake of accuracy, I think you read, and it certainly came through to us as, "On 17 January 1935, that is, some weeks before the occupation of Austria, Hitler had a conference with the then Prime minister of Yugoslavia."
Whould that not be 1938 Possibly you may have said 1938 but it came through to us as 1935.
COLONEL POKROVSKY:I beg your pardon, it is evidently a mistake in the translation because on my text it is 1938.
On 4 December 1945, a printed collection of German documents concerning the conflict with Yugoslavia and Greece was offered in evidence. In the listing of documents it is referred to as TC-92.
On page 68, and you will find it on page 411 in your Document Book as document No. 28 of that collection, we have a transcript of the conversations which took place during the conference of 17 January 1938.
There is no need to read into the record the entire document. I will limit myself to the following three utterances made by Hitler on that occasion:
"As regards Yugoslavia, Germany is interested in the existence of a strong Yugoslavia."
And somewhat later in the course of the same conversation:
"Whatever may happen there, Yugoslavia's present boundary will remain as inviolable as the Brenner Pass is today."
Still further Hitler professed to know:
"that the German population of Yugoslavia was loyal to the Yugoslav Government."
On 30th January 1939 - some weeks before the occupation of the Czechoslovak Republic, Hitler made the following declaration about Yugoslavia in his speech before the Reichstag: (This quotation is to be found on page 412 in your Document Book) "A state which since the Great War has more and more attracted the attention of our people is Yugoslavia.
"The deep respect which the German soldier once felt for that courageous people has since become ever stronger and developed into sincere friendship".
The Fascist conspirators considered it useful to include this speech as document No. 32 on page 71 of the collection from which I just have quoted, TC-92.
On the 1st of June 1939, i.e., before the fascist attack on Poland, Prince Paul of Yugoslavia, whom the official report of the Yugoslav Government calls a Hitlerite agent, paid a visit to Hitler. On this occasion, Hitler stated in Berlin: (You will find this on page 413 in your Document Book).
"Germany's friendship with the Yugoslav nation is not spontaneous.
It was deepened and strengthened in the tragic confusion of the World War."
Then after having made a few more statements, which are of no interest to the Tribunal, he continued:
"I am all the more confident that now when, as a result of the historic events, we have become neighbors with common frontiers established forever, the friendly relations between Germany and Yugoslavia, trustful and steadfast, will not only secure lasting peace between both our peoples, but, moreover, will serve as a pacifying element for our nervous continent."
I quoted from this book No. TC 92, GB 114.
In his next regular speech after the defeat of Poland, before the Reichstag, on 6 October Hitler again assured Yugoslavia of his love of peace and of his friendly attitude in following words:
"After the annexation had taken place, I assured Yugoslavia in the same manner that the frontier with this country shall be regarded as inviolable by Germany from this moment on, and that we want to live in peace and friendship with her."
I am now going to read a few paragraphs from the 2nd article of the first section of the report of the Yugoslav State Commission for the investigation of the crimes perpetrated by the aggressors.
The excerpts that I shall read begin with paragraph 3 on page 6 of the Russian text and are marked for your convenience with a red line:
"Thus Hitler regularly gave assurances about friendly relations with Yugoslavia and about the inviolability of her boundaries, while at the same time his band of conspirators and enslavers were already tightening the ring of war around Yugoslavia.
When Yugoslavia was completely sur rounded by Hitler's armored divisions, and when the government of the Centralis 5th Column of Prince Paul, Cvetcovich and Machek was ready to joint the Tripartite Pact on the 25th March 1941, i.e. 10 days before the attack on Yugoslavia, the defendant Ribbentrop stated as follows:"
(On page 413 of your Document Book you will find Document PS 2450).
"Germany herself - and I solemnly state this - has neither terri torial nor political interests in that region.
..."
I shall hand to the Tribunal a certified extract from document No. 72 of the above mentioned German book.
An official note from the Reich Government of the same date runs as follows;
(You will find this on page 414 of the Document Book).
"Mr. Prime Minister! On behalf and on the direction of the German Government, I have the honour to report to your Excellency as follows:
"In connection with today's adherence of Yugoslavia to the Tripartite Pact, the German Government affirms its resolution to respect at all times the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Yugoslavia.
...
"Signed Joachim von Ribbentrop". (See document 2450-PS).
The culminating point in the execution of the breach of faith cunningly prepared by fascists is the following statement made by Hitler on April 6, 1941, that is, at the moment when the perfidious and trecherous attack on Yugoslavia had already begun. It is under Document TC-92 in the book of documents on pages 414.
"The German people feel no hatred toward the Serbian people. Above all, the German people see no reason to start a war against Croates and Slovens; they want nothing from them."
I submit to the Tribunal certified excerpts from the documents of the German book already quoted on pages 1 and 4.
At the same time he was speaking in this manner, the occupation, annexation, and dismemberment of the Yugoslav state was taking place; and before long there began the bombing of undefended cities and other settlements, forcible evictions, deportations to camps, punitive expeditions, and hundreds of other acts that were a part of the planned extermination of the peoples of Yugoslavia, which brought about the death of 1,650,000 Yugoslav men, women, and children!
On the question of the preparation for the attack on Yugoslavia and the personalities who directly supervised and executed this crime, we present two very valuable testimonies by witnesses.
The first is the testimony of the German General, Leer. Before and at the time of the aggression against Yugoslavia, he was in command of the 4th Air Army. It was his air groups which carried out the air raids on Belgrad He is undoubtedly a man well acquanted with the course of operations and its leaders.
On May 24, 1945, General Leer was taken prisoner by the Yugoslav forces.
During interrogations to which he was subjected between May 24 and June 6, 1945, he stated -- you will find the respective passge on page 415, and it is our number 253. His statement:
"I and my staff want on March 26 to Sofia as the campaign against Greece was about to begin.
"On the following day, March 27, 1941, the coup d' etat took place in Yugoslavia. I was called unexpectedly to Berlin, where I received orders from Reichsmarshal Goering to prepare for air operations against Yugoslavia.
"After this, preparations against Yugoslavia were begun. At my first meeting with Goering I was not told of the date of the war against Yugoslavia, but was to begin soon afterwards at Vienna, I received a written order in which the commencement of the operations was fixed for April 6."
Without readily the rest of the record, I am submitting to the Tribunal a certified copy thereof, which is our number USSR-253, and I am going to read excerpts from the record of the interrogation of the former Field Marshal of the German Army, Friedrich Paulus. Friedrich Paulus was interrogated on January 12, 1946, by the chief prosecutor for the USSR. I am now going to read part of his testimony. My colleagues in the Soviet Delegation will probably return to this document in connection with further issues. I shall only quote what refers to the preparations for the attack on Yugoslavia:
"It was clear to both German and Hungarian officers that these mili tary preparations must have been based on the preparation of military collaboration between Germany and Hungary."
THE PRESIDENT.Colonel Porkovsky, the Tribunal understands that the firs interrogatory to which you refer, General Leer's, which is contained in USSR-253, is an official document.
COLONEL POKROVSKY:Yes.
THE PRESIDENT:The official document of your government. The other interrogatory to which you refer, of Field Marshal Paulus, is not an official document, is it?
COLONEL POKROVSKY:The record of the interrogation is written up in compliance with all regulations approved for such interrogation. He is told to tell the truth, in accordance with paragraph ninety-two and ninety-five of our Penal Code, and it represents an official document which has full probative value for the court.
Could you tell us where the interrogatory was made?
COLONEL POKROVSKY:He was interrogated, Friedrich Paulus, directly in Moscow on January 12, 1946. This should be pointed out at the beginning of the document.
THE PRESIDENT:The date is on the document, but not the place. Go on, Colonel.
COLONEL POKROVSKY:If the Court permits, I will continue my quotation of the interrogation, the record of Field Marshal Paulus.
It was clear to the Hungarians that Germany's assistance was in order to prepare the Hungarian Army intentionally and in advance for future combined military operations, thus incorporating an ally inits ranks. With the attack on Yugoslavia which followed this there was no need for special explanations as to the object of these military preparations.
"It was clear that armed forces were neing made ready for war with the USSR, as the attack on Yugoslavia was part of the operational plan for the att ck on the USSR.
"With the defeat of Yugoslavia, the right flank, which was to be formed at the commencement of military operations against Russia, was secured."
I will leave out oje paragraph which deals with another subject, and continue to quotes "The preparation of the combined German-Hungarian attack on Yugoslavia was entrusted to me.
On March 27 or 28, 1941, I was called before Hitler at the Reich Chancellory where, besides Hitler, were present Keitel, Jodl, Halder, and Bruachitsch. Halder met me with the following words :
'The Fuehrer has decided to attack Yugoslavia in order to eliminate the threat to the flank during the offensive against Greece and to seize the main Belgrade-Nish railway line which runs in a southerly direction; but the main objective of the attack on Yugoslavia is to have our right flank secure when later on the "Barbarossa" plan will be carried out.'
' Your task is to goto Vienna immediately in my special train, and to transmit the orders and explain the situation to Field Marshal List (12th Army Group), General von Kleist (armoured group), and Colonel von Witzleben (chief of staff of the 2nd Army), who have been called there.
' 'From Vienna, you are to proceed to Budapest and there to co-ordinate with the Hungarian General Staff the strategic deployment of the German forces on Hungarian territory and the participation of the Hungarian forces in the invasion of Yugoslavia.
'."
The participation of Hitlerite generals of the highest rank in the treacherous attack on Yugoslavia can in no way come within the scope of the execution of purely military tasks.
I will read into the records a further document, number 1195-PS. You will find it in your document book on page 423.
On January 9, 1946, four lines were read from the second section of this document. The time has now come to read it in full. "Supreme Command of the Armed Forces Operational Staff /Section L (IV/Qu) No. 00630/41 Top Secret, Commanders only.
Fuehrer's HqS, 12.4.1941 Reference: OKW/L (IV/Qu) Nr. 4434/41 Top Secret Commanders only, of 3 April 1941.
Provisional Directives for the Partition of Yugoslavia.
"The Fuehrer has issued the following directives for the partition of Yugoslavia:
1) Former territory of Styria and Carinthia.
The territory of the former Styria, enlarged towards the South by a strip of about 90 Kilometers breadth and 10 to 15 kilometers depth, will go to Gau Styria.
The Northern part of Carinthia, with a border line which runs south only as far as the river Sava but north of Ljubljana, according to the attached OKH map, belongs to Carinthia.
The territory occupied by the High Command of the Army will be handed over by it to the Gauleiters concerned and by the district administration, as far as the pacification of the country permits.
The handing over of the territory occupied by the Italians will be prepared by letter from the Fuehrer to the Duce, and carried out under direct orders from the Foreign Office. Until that time no measures whatever are to be taken from the German end. (Telegram OKH-General Headquarters, Master Department A, Secret, No. 801/41, Secret, is hereby dealt with as well).
2). The territory beyond the river Mur (Uebermur-Gebiet):
The territory beyond the river Mur borders closely upon Hungary conforming with the historic boundary, A later transfer of the German population in the northeastern part of this territory must be taken into consideration. The handing over of this territory to the Hungarians will be regulated by tie High Command of the Army,
3.) Banat:
The territory from the point where the River Drava cute the Hungarian boundary to the entry of the river Tisa into the Danube will be at first under German protection, as will the territory south of the Danube and east ofthe general line -- mouth of the River Morava - Danube - Pozarevac Petrovac - Boljavac - Knjazavec - Kalina. This territory includes the Bor copper mines and the adjoining coal district in the southeast. The above line is considered as the basis and provisional demarcation line. At first, German Military Government under the High Command of the Army, is to be established, under the order of OKH.
4 ). Southern Serbia.
The territory inhabited by Bulgarian Macedonians goes to Bulgaria, in conformity with the ethnographical boundary. preliminary delimitation of the frontier, from the military view point, will be carried out by the High Command of the Army, which will prepare the handing over to Bulgaria.
5.) Old Serbia.
The territory of Old Serbia will be placed under German military administration under the High Command of the Army.
6.) Croatia:
Croatia becomes an independent state within its ethnographical boundaries There will be no interference on the part of Germany with its internal policy.
7.) Remaining territories including Bosnia and Montenegro:
The political organization of these territories will be left to Italy. Here also the restroation of an independent state of Montenegro can be considered.
II. The drawing up of boundaries
1) Where the drawing up of boundaries has not been laid down in Part I above it will be carried out through the Supreme Command of the Armed Forces in agreement with the Foreign Office, the plenipotentiary for the Four Year Plan, and the Reich Minister of the Interior.
The Operational Staff of the Armed Forces (L IV Headquarters) is the executive organ for the Supreme Command of the Armed Forces.
2) The High Command of the army will forward as soon as possible to the Supreme Command ofthe Armed Forces its military recommendations relative to the drawing up of boundaries outside the territory of the protectorate south of the Danube where this has not been already laid down by the Fuehrer.
3) The War Production Board of the OKW will forward as soon as possible to the Operational Staff (Section L) its recommendations regarding the boundaries of the territory of the protectorate south of the Danube (part I, para. 3).
4) As far as the Italians are concerned, tactical boundaries between the armies are valid, of course, for consideration."
The document is signed by Keitel.
This document, signed by the defendant Keitel, smashes to pieces the mendacious varsion, according t o which the OKW had nothing to do with the political aspects of the Fascist plan or conspiracy.
The German generals as a body were not merely an obedient tool in Hitler's hands. The OKW, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Gestapo were interwoven into one entity. This is borne out also by the following document:
General Neditch, ex-Prime Minister of the quisling Yugoslav Government, in his depositions gives some interesting information relating to this question. Before quoting a few excerpts from his deposition, I must say a few words concerning four Germans, whom Neditch mentions by name. He speaks of Kraus, Turner, Kiesel, and Kronholz.
Dr. Kraus was chief of the Gestapo "South East," which had its central office in Belgrade. Dr. Turner was chief of staff of the civil administration department of the German military command in Serbia. Dr. Kiesel was Dr. Turner's deputy.
Kronholz did not held any official post. He had lived in Yugoslavia before the war, and was a director of the German transport business "Schenker Ltd" (Schenker Aktiengesellschaft). He subsequently turned out to be an important German intelligence agent.
This information is certified by the Yugoslav Extraordinary Commission for the investigation of German atrocities. With this explanation, I shall now quote a short excerpt from the evidence of the Serbian quisling, general Neditch. The copy of the interrogation is registered by us under No. USSR 288. I will submit to you, for instruction, the original of this protocal. I am not in a position to give you this entirely, because it refers to a case which has not been finished yet, but the quotations from it are at your disposal.
THE PRESIDENT: Colonel Pokrowvky, the Tribunal understands that you wish to put this document in as evidence and the to withdraw it for the purlose of its being used in some other case; is that right?
COLONEL POKROVSKY:I would like to submit to you as evidence in this case excerpts from these minutes which have been certified by the Yugoslav Commission. These are the original minutes and must be returned to Belgrade., as it represents a document which has to be used in another case which has not yet been finished in Belgrade.
THE PRESIDENT:It that is so, we must ask you to deposit with this Tribunal a photostatic copy of this document, because, of course, all the documents which are put in evidence, or photostatic copies, must be deposited with the General Secretary of this Tribunal. So if you will undertake to have a photostatic copy made of this document and left with the General Secretary I think the Tribunal is agreed that you may do so, that you may use this document.
COLONEL POKROVSKY:Is it sufficient for the Tribunal if in this case the certified photostatic copy would be submitted later in this case as well as excerpts from this document?
THE PRESIDENT:Yes.
COLONEL POKROVSKY:Yes.
"I came to knwo Kronholz during the occupation period, before I became Prime Minister. As far as I can remember, he was brought to me by the Chief of the Gestapo, Dr. Kraus. Then Kronholz insisted that 1 should accept the proposed post. Turner received me in the presence of Dr. Kiesel and said that he authorized me, through General Dankelmann, the German Military commander in Serbia, to form an authoritarian government". I skip a few sentences.
"Almost simultaneously with the creation of my government the Germans established contact with a group of Tchetniks under the command of Petchanatz, who had until then been hiding in the forests. The contact was also established through the Chief of the Gestapo, Dr. Draus. Shortly after this, Petchanatz arrived in Belgrade, called to see me, and offered his services. That is how my government came to form its first armed units."
A little further, Neditch continued:
"As soon as the formation of my government had been proclaimed in the beginning of September 1941, a delegation called on me with authority from Draje Mikhailovitch, to start negotiations." Neditch enumerates the terms, which are of no interest to us, and then said:
"I, for my part, accepted all these terms and offers. Draje received money and the Germans permitted it." This is the end of the quotation. Still another part of this record seems of importance to me; it concerns Neditch's visit to Hitler and Ribbentrop. Neditch stated:
"I noticed that at the meeting with Ribbentrop a demand was made that I should place all the spiritual and material resources of Serbia at the disposal of the German Reich for the prosecution of the war."
Speaking of his meeting with Hitler, Neditch stated:
"He shouted at me, emphasizing that the order concerning one hundred for one was too lenient; that it should have been increased to one thousand for one. He added also that he was prepared to exterminate the entire population if the Serbians continued to act like rebels."
The head of Fascist Germany wanted to handle the Slav countries as if they were his own personal property. In this he received the wholehearted assistance of generals, diplomats, industrialists, and intelligence officers. All aggressive action was prepared and carried out with their direct participation.
I repeat: the German generals as a body were not merely an obedient tool in Hitler's hands. The defendants Keitel, Jodl, and Goering personally participated in the planning, preparation, and perpetration of crimes against peoples and states.
Document 1195-PS added yet another proof of this fact. The above-named defendants, together with Neurath and Frick, Schirach and Frank, Seyss-lnquart, and Ribbentrop, bear direct responsibility for the gravest crimes, which I denounced before the Tribunal.
"National-Socialism cannot be separated from the idea of war". This is acknowledged, by the Hitlerites themselves. In other words, Hitlerism and aggressive war are one and the same thing.
And if it is not always the military leaders alone who plan wars, it is always they who conduct them.
The full weight of responsibility for aggression, for aggressive war, for the death of millions of people, for atrocities, for the destruction of cultural treasures and material wealth, must be borne by all the major war criminals who are sitting in the dock.
THE PRESIDENT:We will adjourn now.
(A recess was taken)
DR.NELTE (Counsel for defendant Keitel): I would like to ask the Tribunal, in a general question of proof, to make a decision. The Soviet Delegation has presented books which contain explanations and statements by generals and statesmen. We doubt that these statements by the Soviet authorities have been accompanied by an official remark or an official authorization.
The documents which have been given to me today -- USSR 149, 150, and 249 -- all three of them are only photostats of handwritten letters. They contain neither remarks where you could qualify them as affidavits, nor are they testimony before a Soviet official or officer, now are they official or government declarations or statements.
I would be grateful to the Tribunal if it would consider this question according to point 21 of the Statute, because the opinion of the defense is that such statements could only have the value of a personal representation by the prosecution but no probative value.
THE PRESIDENT:May I see the documents?
(The documents were submitted to the Tribunal)
The Tribunal have no objection to the course taken by Dr. Nelte in drawint their attention to these documents at this stage. However, they think it will be better for them to wait until the documents are actually offered in evidence before they consider whether or not they will admit them. If and when the documents are offered in evidence, they will then consider whether they will admit them or not.
COLONEL POKROVSKY:With the permission of the Tribunal, I wish to present General Zorya, who will make the presentation of materials concerning the question of aggression against the Soviet Union.