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A. OUTLINE OF THE PROCEEDINGS
1. THE INDICTMENT
The accused named in the Indictment were the following : Ulrich
Greifelt, Rudolf Creutz, Konrad Meyer-Hetling, Otto Schwarzenberger,
Herbert Huebner, Werner Lorenz, Heinz Brueckner, Otto Hofmann, Richard
Hild-brandt, Fritz Schwalm, Max Sollmann, Gregor Ebner, Guenther
Tesch and Inge Viemetz. Their official positions are described elsewhere.
The Indictment submitted against them contained three counts.
The first two charged the commission of crimes against humanity
and war crimes respectively, as defined in
Law No. 10 of the Allied Control Council for Germany (Footnote
1: Regarding this Law and other rules relating to United States
Military Tribunals, see Vol III of this series,
pp. 113-120), including “ murders, brutalities, cruelties,
tortures, atrocities, deportation, enslavement, plunder of property,
persecutions and other inhumane acts.” The third count charged membership
of criminal organ-isations under the terms of the same law and in
consequence of the declarations made by the Nuremberg International
Military Tribunal.
Count One charged the commission of Crimes against Humanity in
respect of “ civilian populations, including German civilians and
nationals of other countries, and against prisoners of war.” It
was couched in the following terms :
“ 1. Between September, 1939, and April, 1945, all the
defendants herein committed Crimes against Humanity as defined
by Control Council Law No. 10, in that they were principals in,
accessories to, ordered, abetted, took a consenting part in, were
connected with plans and enterprises involving, and were members
of organisations or groups connected with : atrocities and offenses,
including but not limited to murder, extermination, enslavement,
deportation, imprisonment, torture, persecutions on political,
racial and religious grounds, and other inhumane and criminal
acts against civilian populations, including German civilians
and nationals of other countries, and against prisoners of war.
“
2. 
The acts, conduct, plans and enterprises charged in Paragraph
1 of this Count were carried out as part of a systematic program
of genocide, aimed at the destruction of foreign nations and ethnic
groups, in part by murderous extermination, and in part by elimination
and suppression of national characteristics. The object of this
program was to strengthen the German nation and the so-called
‘ Aryan ’ race at the expense of
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such other nations and groups by imposing Nazi and German
characteristics upon individuals selected therefrom (such imposition
being hereinafter called ‘ Germanization ‘) ; and by the extermination
of ‘ undesirable ’ racial elements. This program was carried out
in part by
(a)
Kidnapping the children of foreign nationals in order to select
for Germanization those who were considered of ‘ racial value
’ ;
(b) Encouraging and compelling abortions on Eastern workers
for the purposes of preserving their working capacity as slave
labour and weakening Eastern nations ;
(c) Taking
away, for the purpose of exterminating or Germanization, infants
born to Eastern workers in Germany ;
(d) Executing, imprisoning in concentration camps, or Germanizing
Eastern workers and prisoners of war who had had sexual intercourse
with Germans, and imprisoning the Germans involved ;
(e) Preventing marriages and hampering reproduction of enemy
nationals ;
(f) Evacuating enemy populations from their native lands by
force and resettling so-called ‘ ethnic Germans ’ (Volksdeutsche)
on such lands ;
(g) Compelling nationals of other countries to perform
work in Germany, to become members of the German community, to
accept German citizenship, and to join the German Armed Forces,
the Waffen-SS, the Reich Labour Service and similar organisations.
(h) Plundering public and private property in Germany and in
the incorporated and occupied territories, e.g., taking church
property, real estate, hospital apartments, goods of all kinds,
and even personal effects of concentration camp inmates, and
(i) Participating in the persecution and extermination of Jews.”
Count Two dealt with War Crimes committed against “ prisoners
of war and civilian populations of countries and territories under
the belligerent occupation of, or otherwise controlled by, Germany.”
It reads :
“ Between September 1939 and April 1945, all the defendants
herein committed War Crimes, as defined by Control Council Law
No. 10, in that they were principals in, accessories to, ordered,
abetted, took a consenting part in, were connected with plans
and enterprises involving, and were members of organisations or
groups connected with : atrocities and offenses against persons
and property constituting violations of the laws and customs of
war, including but not limited to, plunder of public and private
property, murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation, imprisonment,
torture, and ill-treatment of and other inhumane acts against
thousands of persons. These crimes embraced, but were not limited
to, the particulars set out in Paragraphs 11-21, inclusive, of
this Indictment, which are incorporated herein by reference, and
were committed against prisoners of war and civilian populations
of countries and territories under the belligerent occupation
of, or otherwise controlled by, Germany.
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“ The acts and conduct of the defendants set forth in this Count
were committed unlawfully, wilfully, and knowingly, and constitute
violations of international conventions, including the Articles
of the Hague Regulations,
1907, and of the Prisoner
of War Convention (Geneva, 1929), enumerated in Paragraph
23 of this Indictment, of the laws and customs of war, of the
general principles of criminal law as derived from the criminal
laws of all civilised nations, of the internal penal laws of the
countries in which such crimes were committed, and of Article
II of Control Council Law No. 10.”
Count Three charged the accused with membership of criminal organisations
in the following terms :
“ All the defendants herein except defendant Viermetz,
are charged with membership, subsequent to September 1, 1939,
in the Schutzstaffeln der Nationalsozialistischen Deutschen Arbeiterpartei
(commonly known as the ‘ SS ‘), declared to be criminal by the
International Military Tribunal and Paragraph 1 (d) of Article
II of Control Council Law No. 10.” .
2. THE EVIDENCE BEFORE THE TRIBUNAL
(i) Organisations Involved and Official Positions of the accused
The evidence brought before the Tribunal showed that all the accused
were officials of the four organisations described in the Indictment,
and that the offences proved against them were committed by them
in the above capacities.
The Main Staff Office of the Reichscommissioner for the Strengthening
of Germanism was the relevant directing body. It operated under
the supervision of Heinrich Himmler, Reichsfuehrer of the S.S. and
Chief of the Nazi Police. It was responsible for, among other things,
bringing “ ethnic Germans ” into Germany, evacuating non-Germans
from desirable areas in foreign lands, and establishing new settlements
of Germans and “ ethnic Germans ” in such areas. These activities
involved transfer of populations, Germanisation of citizens of other
countries, deportation of Eastern workers, deportation to slave
labour of members of other countries eligible for Germanization,
kidnapping
of so-called “ racially valuable ” children for Germanization, participation
in the performance of abortions on Eastern workers, murder and plunder
of property. The chief defendant, Greifelt, was head of the Main
Staff Office and in personal charge of one of its branches, Amstgruppe
B. The latter consisted of offices for economy, agriculture and
finance. He held the ranks of Obergruppenfuhrer of the S.S. and
of Lt.-General of the Police. The other accused who held high positions
in the Main Staff Office as heads of various branches, were : Crauz,
Oberfuehrer S.S. (Senior Colonel), Deputy to Greifelt, chief of
Amstgruppe A, which consisted of the Central Office and the offices
for resettlement of folkdom and labour and in personal charge of
Amt Z (Central Office) ; Meyer-Hetling, Oberfuehrer S.S., Chief
of Amstgruppe C, which consisted of the Central Land Office and
the offices for planning and construction, in personal charge of
Amt VI (Planning) ; Schwarzenberger, Oberfuehrer S.S., Chief of
Amt V (Finance) ; Huelman, Standartenfuehrer S.S. (Colonel), Chief
of the Branch Office at Posen.
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The leading position of the Main Staff Office was established
by the Tribunal in the following terms : “ The Main Staff Office
was actually the directing head of the whole Germanization program,
co-ordinating the activities of the other organizations. Before
the end of the war, the activities of the Main Staff Office involved,
among other things, the expulsion and deportation of whole populations
; the Germanization of foreign nationals ; the deportation of foreigners
to Germany as slave labor ;
the kidnapping of children ; and the plundering and confiscation
of property of enemy nations.”
The office for Repatriation of Ethnic Germans (VOMI) was responsible
for, among other things, the selection of “ ethnic Germans,” their
evacuation from their native country, their transportation into
“ VOMI ” camps, their care in these camps including temporary employment
as well as ideological training, and their indoctrination after
final employment or resettlement. It took large amounts of personal
effects of concentration camp inmates and of real estate, for the
use of resettlers. It also played a leading part in the compulsory
conscription of enemy nationals into the Armed Forces, Waffen-SS,
Police and similar organisations. In addition, it participated in
the compulsory Germanization of “ ethnic Germans ” and people of
German descent, in the forcing into slave labour of individuals
considered eligible for Germanization, and
in the kidnapping of foreign children. Werner Lorenz was the Chief
of VOMI ; and Heinz Brueckner was Chief of Amt VI (Safeguarding
of German Folkdom in the Reich-Reichsicherung deutschen Volkstums
in Reich).
The S.S. Main Race and Settlement Office (RUSHA) was responsible
for racial examinations. It was an advisory and executive office
for all questions of racial selection. Racial examinations were
carried out by RUS leaders (Rasse und Siedlungs Fuehrers) or their
staff members, called racial examiners (Eignungspruefer), in connection
with : cases where sexual intercourse between workers and prisoners
of war of the Eastern nations and Germans had occurred ; pregnancy
of Eastern workers ; children born to Eastern workers ; classification
of people of German descent ; selection of enemy nationals, particularly
Poles and Slovenes, for slave labour and Germanization ;
kidnapping of children eligible for Germanization ; transfers of
populations ; and persecution and extermination of Jews. Otto Hofmann
was the Chief of RUSHA from 1940 to 1943 ; Richard Hildebrandt was
the Chief of RUSHA from 1943 to 1945 ; Fritz Schwalm was Chief of
Staff of RUSHA ; and Herbert Huebner was the RUS leader for the
Warthegau, Poland.
The “ Lebensborn ” Society existed long before the war and was
primarily concerned with running a maternity home. It was contended
by the prosecution that, within the racial scheme for annihilating
nations under German rule,
it was responsible for kidnapping of foreign children for the purpose
of Germanization. Max Sollmann was the Chief of Lebensborn and in
personal charge of Main Department A, which consisted of offices
for reception into homes, guardianship, foster homes and adoptions,
statistics, and registration ; Gregor Ebner was the Chief of the
Main Health Department ; Guenther Tesch was the Chief of the Main
Legal Department ; and Inge Viermetz was Deputy Chief of Main Department
A.
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In regard to these organizations and their leading officials,
the Tribunal made the following finding : “ Each organization had
certain well-defined tasks, which after 1939 were modified or expanded
as the recent war progressed. The organizations worked in close
harmony and co-operation, as will later be shown in this judgment,
for one primary purpose in effecting the ideology and program of
Hitler, which may be summed up in one phrase : The twofold objective
of weakening and eventually destroying other nations while at the
same time strengthening Germany, territorially and biologically,
at the expense of conquered nations.”
The same objective was stressed by the Prosecution in the following
terms :
“ The fundamental purpose of the four organisations
. . . was to proclaim . . . and safeguard the supposed superiority
of ‘ Nordic ’ blood, and to exterminate and suppress all sources
which might ‘ dilute ’ or ‘ taint ’ it. The underlying objective
was to assure Nazi dominance over Germany and German domination
over Europe in perpetuity.”
(ii) The Master Scheme : Genocide
As already mentioned, in the Indictment the prosecution had charged
that crimes against humanity perpetrated by the accused were carried
out as part of a “ systematic programme of genocide,” that is of
the “ destruction of foreign nations and ethnic groups.”
The evidence produced showed that this programme had been devised
by the top ranking Nazi leaders in pursuance of their racial policy
of establishing the German nation as a master race and to this end
exterminate or otherwise uproot the population of other nations.
The programme was laid down in a series of documents.
As early as a few days after the aggression against Poland, on
7th October, 1939, Hitler issued a Decree appointing Himmler as
head of the above described racial policy, in which the following
general directives were laid down :
“ The consequences which Versailles had on Europe have
been removed. As a result, the Greater German Reich is able to
accept and settle within its space German people, who up to the
present had to live in foreign lands, and to arrange the settlement
of national groups within its spheres of interest in such a way
that better dividing lines between them are attained. I commission
the Reichsfuehrer-SS with the Execution of this task in accordance
with the following instructions :
Pursuant to my directions the Reichsfuehrer-SS is called upon
:
(1) to bring back those German citizens and racial Germans abroad
who are eligible for permanent return into the Reich ;
(2) to eliminate the harmful influence of such alien parts of
the population as constitute a danger to the Reich and the German
community ;
(3) to create new German colonies by resettlement, and
especially by the resettlement of German citizens and racial Germans
coming back from abroad.”
These directives were first implemented in the occupied territories
of Poland. On 25th November, 1939, Himmler received a document prepared
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by the Racial-Political Office of the Nazi Party and entitled
“ The Problem of the Manner of Dealing with the Population of the
Former Polish Territories on the Basis of Racial-Political Aspects.”
This document contained a general statement on the goals of Nazi
racial policy in Eastern Europe, which was couched in the following
terms :
“ The aim of the German policy in the new Reich territory
in the East must be the creation of a racial and therefore . .
. uniform German population. This results in ruthless elimination
of all elements not suitable for Germanization. “
"This aim consists of three interwoven tasks :
First, the complete and final Germanization of the population
which seems to be suitable for it.
Second, deportation of all foreign groups which are not
suitable for I Germanization, and
Third, the resettlement by Germans.”
The document then contained the following elaborate programme
regarding the selection of Polish citizens of German stock to be
re-incorporated into the Reich and the forcible Germanizations of
the purely Polish population :
“ All Germans, beyond doubt established as German nationals,
are to be registered in a German People’s List. They receive the
German citizenship. Only these Germans have the right to be Reich
citizens.
“ All other persons are not entitled to the right to be Reich
citizens and therefore have no political rights.
“ In the future Germans are to carry exclusively German names
; that is, family names which in their root and etymology are
of German origin. Names which are only Germanized in the written
form, but show their Slavonic origin, cannot be regarded to be
German names. They too are to be changed.
“ The official language of all authorities, including courts,
is exclusively German.
“ Poles cannot be business owners. The real estates, also the
farms they possessed up to now, are being expropriated. Poles
are not permitted to exercise an independent trade and cannot
be masters of a trade ; all existing apprentice contracts are
annulled ; promising Polish apprentices can be taken to Germany
proper as apprentices.
“ As to the treatment of the population remaining in the Eastern
territories-mainly of the Polish and the German-Polish mixed population-it
is constantly to be born in mind, that all measures of the legislature
and administration have but one purpose, namely, to achieve a
Germanization of the non-German population by all means and as
quickly as possible. For this reason a continuation of a national
Polish cultural life is definitely out of question. The Polish
orientated population, in as far as it cannot be assimilated,
is to be deported, the remainder to be Germanized. Therefore,
a basis for a national and cultural autonomous life must no longer
exist. In future there will be no Polish schools in the Eastern
territories. In general there will be
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only German schools with emphasis on National Socialist racial
teachings. Poles and members of the German-Polish mixed population
who are not yet completely Germanized are not permitted to attend
German universities, trade schools or high and secondary schools.
Children of the members of this part of the population are only
admitted if they are members of the Hitler Youth and are reported
by it.
“ Any religious service in Polish is to be discontinued. The
Catholic and even the Protestant religious service are only to
be held by especially selected German-conscious German priests
and only in German. Considering the political importance and the
danger of the Catholic-Polish church connected with it, one could
get the idea to outlaw the Catholic church entirely. However,
one has to keep in mind that the population is strongly attached
to the church and that such a measure could perhaps result in
the opposite of Germanization. Specially selected, German-minded
Catholic priests could probably gain not unimportant a success
for the Germanization by a clever influence on the Catholic-Polish
part of the population. The probability that especially Catholics
of German extraction who were Polonized in the past centuries,
could, with the help of suitable German priests, be brought back
to the German people, is very great. In case of the Protestant
Church the priests, who during the Polish time, especially during
the last year, tried to betray the German people in a hatefulness
which can hardly be described (under the leadership of their bishop
Bursche), are ruthlessly to be removed as enemies of any national
conviction and of National Socialism. Polish church holidays are
to be abrogated. Only the holidays of both denominations permitted
in the Reich are to be observed.
“ In order to prevent any cultural or economic life, Polish
corporations, associations and clubs cease to exist ; Polish church
unions are also to be dissolved.
“ Polish restaurants and cafes as centres of the Polish national
life are to be closed down. Poles are not permitted to visit German
theatres, variety shows, or cinemas. Polish theatres, cinemas
and other places of cultural life are to be closed down. There
will be no Polish newspapers, nor printing of Polish books nor
the publishing of Polish magazines. For the same reasons Poles
must not have radios and should not possess a phonograph.
“ Our Germanization policy has the aim to extract the Nordic
groups from the remaining population and to Germanize them, and,
on the other hand, to keep the racially foreign Polish strata
on a low cultural level and to deport them from time to time to
Central Poland.”
A special programme was devised in the same document regarding
the treatment of the Jews and of the mixed population, that is of
families set up by marriages between Poles and Germans. It dealt
in particular with the treatment of children of such mixed marriages
:
“ Treatment of the mixed population.
“ These thoughts make it most recommendable to transfer those
persons, who were not included in the German People’s List but
who
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live in a racial mixed marriage with Poles or who are of mixed
German-Polish descent, to Germany proper, if they are not especially
active for the Polish ideology. The final Germanization can be
achieved in Germany proper. Children from such German-Polish racial
mixed marriages have, whenever possible, to be educated in Germany
proper and in German surroundings (educational institutions).
The influence of the Polish parent must be excluded to the greatest
possible extent.
“ Probably only a small part of the Polish population
within the new Reich territory can be Germanized ; the easiest
way will be to transfer them, and especially their children, to
Germany proper, where, as a matter of course, a collective employment
or settlement is completely out of question.
“
Special treatment of racially valuable children.
“ A considerable part of the racially valuable groups
of the Polish people, who, on account of national reasons are
not suitable for Germanization, will have to be deported to the
rest of Poland. But here it has to be tried to exclude racially
valuable children from the re-settlement and to educate them in
suitable educational institutions, probably like the former military
orphanage at Potsdam, or in a German family. The children suitable
for this are not to be over 8 to 10 years of age because, as a
rule, a genuine ethnic transformation, that is, a final Germanization,
is possible only up to this age. The first condition for this
is a complete prevention of all connections with their Polish
relatives. The children receive German names which etymologically
are of accentuated teutonic origin, their descendant certificate
will be kept by a special department. All racially valuable children
whose parents died during the war or later, will be taken over
in German orphanages without any special regulation. For this
reason a decree prohibiting the adoption of such children by Poles
is to be issued.
“ Any keeping of biologically healthy children in church institutions
is prohibited.
“
Children of such institutions, if not older than approximately
10 years, are to be transferred to German educational institutions.
“ Poles with a neutral attitude, who are willing to send their
children to German educational institutions, do not need to be
deported to the rest of Poland.
“ As already related, the final aim must be the
complete elimination of the Polish national spirit. These Poles
who cannot be Germanized must be deported to the remaining Polish
territory.
“
In all cases of eviction of classes which are racially
equivalent to us and valuable, the possibility of a retention
of the children and their special education is to be considered.
“ If the Eastern territories are to be Germanized it is necessary
that all the land, including land which was handed down from generation
to generation by its Polish owners, be expropriated in favor of
the German settlers. Thereby the Polish peasant loses the basis
of his existence and is therefore to be deported to the remainder
of Poland, if he cannot be Germanized .
p.10
“ Jews, regardless whether they are Jews by creed or baptized,
are to be deported to the remainder of Polish territory by cancellation
of all their obligations, ruthlessly and as soon as possible.
“ Persons of mixed Polish-Jewish blood, regardless of their
degree, are to be placed on the same level, without any exceptions
and under all circumstances, as Poles and Jews who are to be deported."
The following further lines of action were laid down in regard
to Poles and Jews :
“ Independent of the not yet published future solution of the
problem regarding the legal State structure of the remainder of
Poland, one must start from the fact that the remainder of Poland
will also in future be under the ruling intluence of the Reich.
“ The population of this territory is composed of Poles and
Jews and in addition of a large number of Polish-Jewish half breeds.
A part of the population must be considered as definitely of alien
blood from a racial point of view, at any rate as unsuitable for
assimilation. Under the circumstances it must be stated in principle
that the German Reich is in no way interested in raising the Polish
and Jewish parts of the population of the remainder of Poland
to a higher racial and cultural level, or in their education.
“ The inhabitants of the remainder of Poland must be
given their citizenship. However, they are not to have any independent
political parties, and associations which might provide a possible
nucleus for a future national concentration must be forbidden.
Non-political clubs should not be allowed either, or only from
very special points of view. Cultural associations, for instance,
vocal societies, clubs for the study of the home-country, gymnastic
and sports clubs, social clubs, etc., can by no means be regarded
without misgivings, as they can easily promote nationalism amongst
their members. In particular, the gymnastic and sport clubs also
lead to a physical strength of the population, in which we are
not interested.
“ Medical care on our part should be confined to preventing
epidemics from spreading to the Reich territory.
“ All measures serving birth control are to be admitted or to
be encouraged. Abortion must not be punishable in the remaining
territory. Abortives and contraceptives may be publicly offered
for sale in every form without any police measures being taken.
Homosexuality is to be declared not punishable. Institutes and
persons who make a business of performing abortions should not
be prosecuted by the police. Hygienic measures from a racial point
of view should not be encouraged in any way.
“ It will be the task of the German administration to
play up the Poles and Jews against each other.”
The above programme was later developed by Himmler. In a directive
entitled “ Reflections on the Treatment of Peoples of Alien Race
in the East,” he spoke of the necessity to bring about the extinction
of alien races, and issued the following instructions regarding
the treatment of children :
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“ A basic issue in the solution of all these problems is the
question of schooling and thus the question of sifting and selecting
the young. For the non-German population of the East there must
be no higher school than the fourth-grade elementary school.
“ The sole goal of this school is to be :
Simple arithmetic up to 500 at the most ; writing of one’s name
; the doctrine that it is a divine law to obey the Germans and
to be honest, industrious and good. I don’t think that reading
should be required.
“
Apart from this school there are to be no schools at all
in the East. Parents, who from the beginning want to give their
children better schooling in the elementary school as well as
later on in a higher school must make an application to the Higher
SS and the police leaders. The first consideration in dealing
with this application will be whether the child is racially perfect
and conforming to our conditions. If we acknowledge such a child
to be as of our blood, the parents will be notified that the child
will be sent to a school in Germany and that it will permanently
remain in Germany.
“
The parents of such children of good blood will be given the choice
of either giving away their child ; they will then probably produce
no more children so that the danger of this subhuman people of
the East obtaining a class of leaders which, since it would be
equal to us, would also be dangerous for us, will disappear ;
or else the parents pledge themselves to go to Germany and to
become loyal citizens there. The love towards their children whose
future and education depends on the loyalty of the parents will
be a strong weapon in dealing with them.
“
Apart from examining the applications made by parents for better
schooling of their children, there will be an annual sifting of
all children of the General Government between the ages of six
and ten in order to separate the racially valuable and non-valuable.
The ones who are considered racially valuable will be treated
in the same way as the children who are admitted on the basis
of the approved application of their parents. "
This programme was approved by Hitler on 25th May, 1940, and orders
were given for its execution in complete secrecy. Greifelt was one
of those initiated from the outset. Similar instructions were issued
for dispossessing the victims of this programme of national extinction
of their property by means of confiscation. On 16th December, 1939,
Himmler issued the following orders :
I
“ To strengthen Germanism and in the interest of the defence of
the Reich, all articles mentioned in section II of this decree
are hereby confiscated. This applies to all articles located in
the territories annexed by the Fuehrer’s and Reich Chancellor’s
decree of 12.10.39 and in the General Government for the occupied
Polish territories. They are confiscated for the benefit of the
German Reich and are at the disposal of the Reich Commissioner
for the Strengthening of Germanism. Provided always that this
does not apply to articles which are fully or
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for more than 75% the property of German citizens or persons
of German race. In particular are confiscated all articles mentioned
in section II which are in archives, museums, public collections
or in the private possession of Poles and Jews if their protection
and expert safekeeping is in German interest.
II
“ (1) Historical and pre-historical articles, documents, books,
which are of interest for questions of cultural value and of public
life, specially for the question of the German share in the historical,
cultural and economic development of the country, and documents
which are relevant for the history of present events.
“ (2) Articles of art of cultural value,. e.g., pictures, sculptures,
furniture, carpets, crystal, books, etc.
“ (3) Furnishings and jewelry made of precious metal.
IV
“ All confiscations made before this decree by authorities of
the Reichfuehrer SS and Chief of German Police and the Reichcom-missioner
for the Strengthening of Germanism are hereby confirmed. They
are to be regarded as made for the benefit of the German Reich
and are at the disposal of the Reichcommissioner for the Strengthening
of Germanism.”
Further evidence submitted to the Tribunal showed that all the
general directions and instructions set out above were strictly
implemented. They resulted in the undertaking of a series of criminal
measures which are described in more detail below.
(iii)
Kidnapping of Alien Children
One
of, the measures undertaken by the accused in order to carry out
the programme of Genocide, consisted in forcibly removing from occupied
territories children regarded as racially fit to be Germanized.
This policy was defined by Himmler in a letter of 18th June, 1941,
where, speaking of Polish children, he said the following :
“
I would consider it right if small children, of Polish families,
who show especially good racial characteristics were apprehended
and educated by us in special children’s institutions and children’s
homes which must not be too large. The apprehension of the children
would have to be explained with endangered health . . .
“
After half a year the genealogical tree and documents of descent
of those children who prove to be acceptable should be procured.
After altogether one year it should be considered to give such
children as foster children to childless families of good race.
. . .”
Later, in 1943, Himmler formulated this policy in the following
terms :
“ I consider that in dealing with members of a foreign country,
especially some Slav nationality, we must not start from German
points of view and we must not endow these people with decent
German thoughts and logical conclusions of which they are not
capable, but we must take them as they really are.”
p.13
“
Obviously in such a mixture of peoples there will always be some
racially good types. Therefore I think that it is our duty to
take their children with us, to remove them from their environment,
if necessary by robbing or stealing them. . . . Either we win
over any good blood that we can for ourselves and give it a place
in our people or . . . we destroy this blood. . . .”
Pursuant to this scheme Greifelt issued appropriate orders, known
as “ Regulation 67/1,” where he instructed RKFDV and RUSHA officials
in the following terms :
“
In order to be able to regain for German Folkdom those children,
whose racial appearance indicates nordic parents, it is necessary
that the children who are in former Polish orphanages and with
Polish foster-parents, are subjected to a racial and psychological
process of selection. These children, who are considered to be
racially valuable to German Folkdom, shall be Germanized. . .
.”
The decree further provided, in great detail, for the registration
of the children, their racial examination by RUSHA, a medical examination
and their subsequent treatment. Particular care was taken to keep
as a secret that the children involved were of Polish stock :
“ Special attention is to be given that the expression ‘ Polish
children suitable for Germanization ’ may not reach the public
to the detriment of the children. The children are rather to be
designated as German orphans. from the regained Eastern Territories.”
At
the same time orders were issued by Himmler and carried out by the
Main Staff Office, RKFDV, regarding the treatment of children of
unsuitable parents. Children of politically unreliable parents on
account of their having shown hostile feelings towards Polish citizens
of German stock, were to be segregated from their parents. They
were to be put in local German public schools and included in the
Hitler Youth organisation. Higher education was prohibited. Evidence
was produced to the effect that, in handling this matter, a steady
correspondence developed between Himmler’s office, RUSHA, VOMI and
the Main Staff Office, involving the accused. It was proved that,
among others, Hofmann and Hildebrandt as heads of RUSHA, were acquainted
with all the details in the summer of 1941, and took part in the
kidnapping. Schwalm was another direct participant. Of the officials
of VOMI evidence showed that Lorenz and Brueckner were also active
in numerous cases.
(iv) Abortions on Eastern Workers
Another method applied was to prevent the birth of children by
women of the Eastern occupied territories, Poland and the U.S.S.R.
Abortions were prescribed wherever pregnancy had occurred as a result
of sexual intercourse between members of the Nazi occupying authorities
and local women. These instructions were issued by Himmler in March,
1943 :
“ Where pregnancy is caused by sexual intercourse between a
member of the SS or the Police and a non-German woman, residing
in the occupied Eastern territories, an interruption of pregnancy
is to be carried out positively by the competent physician of
the SS or the
p.14
Police, unless that woman is of good stock, which is to be ascertained
in advance in every case.
“ The Russian physicians or the Russian Medical Association,
which must not be informed of this order, are to be told in individual
cases, that the pregnancy is being interrupted for reasons of
social distress, It must be explained in such a way, that no conclusions
to the existence of a definite order may be drawn.”
This order was later extended to women working in the Reich as
slave labour. The organisation RUSHA took an active part in the
carrying out of the above-described orders, chiefly through its
heads Hofmann and Hildebrandt. Its role consisted mainly in conducting
racial examinations of the pregnant women, under the following specific
instructions :
“ . . . If it is found by this racial examination that a racially
valuable is to be expected, then the consent for abortion is to
be denied. If on the basis of the racial examination the offspring
is expected not to be racially valuable, the consent for abortion
is to be granted.
“ The racial examination is to be carried out rapidly. Further
directives concerning the carrying out of the racial examination
and the treatment of the cases in which the consent for abortion
is to be denied are issued by the Reichsfuehrer SS and Chief of
the German Police, or by the RIB-Main Office SS. . . . ”
It is on the basis of such examinations that decisions regarding
abortions were taken.
The fate of the children allowed to be born was that of complete
Germanization from the cradle ; this was shown in a letter from
Himmler’s office to RUSHA :
“
The reception into the care of the NSV or of Lebensborn of the
child of good racial stock will necessitate in most cases its
separation from the mother who remains at her working place. Particularly
for this reason the reception into that care of the child of good
racial stock is only possible with the mother’s consent. She has
to be made to consent to it through interpretations by the caretaking
office which set forth the advantages but not the ends of this
procedure. . . .”
The Tribunal took note of the fact that the mother was “ to be
made to consent.”
(v)
Taking away of Infants of Eastern Workers
As
distinct from the kidnapping of grown up children for Germanization,
the accused were involved in a programme of stealing newly born
infants of Eastern workers brought to Germany as forced or slave
labourers in factories and agriculture. This was done in connection
with the abortion policy, in cases where pregnancy was not discovered
until it was too late to perform an abortion or the child was born
before pregnancy was discovered. The following instructions were
given in a Decree of 27th July, 1943 :
“ After giving birth the foreign working women have to resume
work as soon as possible according to the instructions of the
Plenipotentiary for the assignment of labor. . , ,
p.15
“
The children born by the foreign working women may in no case
be attended by German institutions, be taken into German children’s
homes, or else be reared and educated together with German children.
Therefore, special infant-attendance-institutions of the simplest
kind, so-called ‘ Foreigners’ children’s nursing homes,’ have
been erected within the billets where these children of foreigners
are attended to by female members of the respective nationality.
. . . It is therefore important that the children of foreigners
who, partly, are of a similar race and bearers of German blood
and may therefore be considered as valuable are not assigned to
the ‘ Foreigners’ children’s nursing home,’ but if possible, they
are to be saved for the German nationality and to be educated
as German children.
“ For this reason an examination of the racial characteristics
of the father and mother has to be carried out in cases where
the father of a foreigner’s child is of German or of kindred race
(Germanic) . . .”
Racial examinations were conducted by RUSHA and these examinations
determined whether or not the infants were to be taken away from
their mothers. Children considered to be racially impure were also
to be taken away and put in separate assembly centres, completely
segregated from German and other children. A confidential report
made to Himmler disclosed the treatment to which such “ impure ”
infants were subjected :
“ I found that all of the babies located in this home were undernourished.
As I was told by SS-Oberfuehrer Langoth only 1/2 liter
milk and 11/2 cubes of sugar per baby per day are furnished
to the home on the basis of a decision of the Land Food Office.
With this ration the babies must perish from undernourishment
in a few months. I was informed that this agreement exists concerning
the raising of these babies. . . .
“ There exists only one way or the other. Either one does not
wish that these children remain alive-then one should not let
them starve to death slowly and take away so many liters of milk
from the general food supply ; there are means by which this can
be accomplished without torture and pain. Or one intends to raise
these children in order to utilise them later on as labor. In
this case they must be fed in such a manner that they will be
fully usable as workers . . .”
Those more particularly involved in the carrying out of this policy
were RUSHA’s heads Hofmann and Hildebrandt. The Tribunal dismissed,
for lack of evidence, the prosecution’s contentions that, in addition
to RUSHA, Lebensborn and its members were also implicated in the
taking away of infants.
(vi) Punishment for Sexual Intercourse with Germans
In pursuance of the same racial policy, workers from occupied
countries in Germany were subjected to still more drastic measures
involving their personal security and their lives. With the advent
of foreign workers in Germany there followed incidents of sexual
intercourse between them and Germans ; the Nazis issued decrees
outwardly meant to protect the German race, and by doing so they
ordered and provoked the murder of numerous inhabitants of occupied
countries.
p.16
On 3rd July, 1940, Pancke, then chief of RUSHA, sent a report
to Himmler’s deputy, Bormann, suggesting the first measures to be
taken. He said :
“ At present, there are hundreds of thousands of prisoners in
Germany of all nationalities and degrees, partly in camps, but
for the most part, however, as workers.
“ . . . The dangers of inter-mixing and bastardizing of our
people are extraordinarily grave. They lie to a great extent in
the almost unlimited lack of knowledge throughout our nation of
the problems of blood.”
As a result, the Reich Main Security Office, Reichssicherheitshauptamt
(RSHA), which was the top Gestapo Office, promulgated decrees which
provided that if a foreigner had sexual intercourse with a German
woman, he should be arrested and examined by a racial examiner of
RUSHA. The fate of the arrestee depended entirely on RUSHA’s findings.
Those considered to be racially inferior were subject to “ special
treatment,” that is to death, or to seclusion in a concentration
camp. Those found to be racially valuable were subject to Germanization.
The “ Special treatment ” was prescribed in the following terms
:
“ Special treatment is hanging . . .
“ Sexual intercourse is forbidden to the manpower of the original
Soviet Russian territory.
“ For every case of sexual intercourse with German countrymen
or women, special treatment is to be requested for male manpower
from the original Soviet Russian territory, transfer to a concentration
camp for female manpower.
“ When exercising sexual intercourse with other foreign workers,
the conduct of the manpower from the original Soviet Russian territory
is to be punished as a severe violation of discipline with transfer
to a concentration camp.
“ The intercourse between other foreign workers employed in
the Reich and the manpower from the original Soviet Russian territory
also brings great dangers to be dealt with by the security police,
therefore, it should also be fought with measures against the
foreign workers. . . .”
These instructions were subsequently extended to subjects of other
nations, such as Czechs. The complicity of RUSHA and its leading
members in carrying out the instructions was proved by numerous
documents. Thus, for instance, Hofmann made the following orders
:
“ With regard to illicit sexual intercourse of labourers of
foreign stock the following ordinances are in force :
“ All serious offences such as assault and sexual offences and
sexual intercourse with German women and girls are to be reported
at once to the Security Service (Security Police) ; as a matter
of principle the department of justice will not be contacted in
the beginning. As a rule both parties will be arrested.
p.17
“ After being investigated as to his nationality the party of
foreign race is subject to a racial evaluation by the competent
RuS Field Leader ; a potential suitability toward Germanization
is to be explored.
“ When a case of sexual intercourse is detected, the Amtsarzt
(official physician) has to ascertain whether the participating
German woman is pregnant. It is to be stated how far the pregnancy
is advanced and whether another and what person beside the one
of foreign stock in question might have fathered the prospective
child (this investigation to be made by the Youth Office). If
the person of foreign stock is fit for Germanization and if both
parties are evaluated favourably under the racial viewpoint, marriage
is possible under certain conditions ; however, marriage between
laborers from Serbia, or other Eastern labourers, and German girls
are not permitted for the time being. A female worker of foreign
stock, caused by the German man (in abuse of his position) to
submit to sexual intercourse, will be taken into protective custody
for a brief period, thereafter assigned to a different job. In
other cases the female worker of foreign race is to be confined
to a concentration camp for women. Pregnant women are to be sent
to a concentration camp only after they have given birth and stilled
the baby.”
Similar orders were issued by Hildebrandt.
(vii) Impeding the Reproduction of Enemy Nationals
Measures, concerning mainly inhabitants of Poland, were taken
to prevent their reproduction and thus.contribute to the destruction
of non-German races. They took the form of various decrees, and
were chiefly aimed at drastically curtailing marriages.
They were taken in close connection with yet another measure,
the so-called German People’s List (Deutsche Volksliste). This list
was introduced for Poland and was later extended to other foreign
nationals. It classified Polish citizens into four groups. Group
1 included so-called ethnic Germans who had taken an active part
in the struggle for the Germanization of Poland ; Group 2 included
those ethnic Germans who had not taken such an active part, but
had “ preserved ” their German characteristics ; Group 3 comprised
individuals of alleged German stock who had become “ Polonized,”
but who it was believed, could be won back to Germany, and also
persons of non-German descent married to Germans or members of non-Polish
groups, who were considered desirable so far as their political
attitude and racial characteristics were concerned. Finally, Group
4 comprised persons of German stock who had become politically merged
with the Poles. After registration in the List, individuals from
Groups 1 and 2 became automatically German citizens. Those from
Group 3 acquired German citizenship subject to revocation, and those
from Group 4 received German citizenship through naturalization
proceedings. Persons ineligible for the List were classified as
stateless, and all Poles from the occupied territory, that is from
the Government General of Poland, as distinct from the incorporated
territory, were classified as non-protected.
By a decree of 25th April, 1943, classes protected under the List
were allowed to marry among themselves subject to restrictive measures.
Re-
p.18
strictions were imposed by Himmler, who raised the marriageable
age to 28 for men and 25 for women. According to the decree of 25th
April, 1943, persons protected and persons non-protected were prohibited
from intermarrying without special permission from the Main Staff
Office.
An earlier decree of 9th February, 1942, provided that persons
from Group 3 were prohibited from marrying persons from Group 4,
persons of alien race, or Germans holding citizenship subject to
revocation who were not classified in Group 3. And there were further
restrictions of a similar nature.
According to a memorandum issued by the Prague office of RUSHA
on 6th August, 1944, persons of Polish and Ukrainian descent were
to be prevented “ as a matter of principle ” from marrying each
other.
It soon became apparent that in spite of all the above decrees,
the measures undertaken were not bringing forth the desired results.
As recorded at a conference between members of RUSHA and VOMI it
was established that “ because of the raising of the marriage age
for Poles the number of legitimate children was reduced, resulting
in an increase of the number of illegitimate children.” The conference
recommended the following measures to discourage the birth of illegitimate
children :
“ With regard to the question of reducing the number of illegitimate
children, it was the general concensus of opinion to allow the
unwed Polish mothers a minimum subsistence for the care of the
child, the subsistence to be paid for by the Polish fathers and
to be paid out only if the care of the child is not assured by
either the unwed mother or her family. This was to prevent any
negligence. Here it must be the primary principle not to spend
one German penny for Polish welfare. This method of putting the
illegitimate, racially undesirable Polish child at a definite
disadvantage, even though it will not, in general, reduce the
number of illegitimate children, will at least not encourage a
rise in the number of illegitimate children. The Main Race and
Settlement Office suggested that the father of the illegitimate
child be required to make especially large payments, but that
the money become part of a general fund from which the necessary
sums might then be paid out. In cases where the paternity cannot
be established, all potential fathers will be equally liable to
payment. This measure is not likely to increase the pleasure of
having an illegitimate child ; all surplus money might be turned
over to German youth welfare. . . .”
More far-reaching measures were undertaken concerning the prevention
of births to foreign women working on farms in Germany, as a result
of sexual intercourse with foreign workers. The following measures
were introduced :
“ Comprehensive sterilization of such men and women of alien
blood in German agriculture who, on the basis of our race laws-to
be applied even more strictly in these cases-have been declared
inferior with regard to their physical, spiritual and character
traits.
" A ruthless but skillful propaganda among farm workers of alien
blood, to the effect that neither they nor their children, produced
on the soil of the German people, could expect much good, in other
words
p.19
immediate separation between parents and children, eventually
complete estrangement ; sterilization of children afflicted with
hereditary disease . . .”
“ An inconspicuous distribution of contraceptives among farm
workers of alien blood.
“ General and strictest compliance with the principle of taking
away for good from their mothers all newly born children of female
farm workers of alien blood as well as children of German women
if the father is of alien race, at the latest 4 weeks after their
birth, and then sending them to geographically remote homes. .
. .” The evidence showed that those involved in the execution
of these measures were the members of RUSHA, VOMI and the Main
Staff Office. Representatives of the first two made suggestions
concerning measures to be enacted, and requested and obtained
the right to have individual cases decided by Higher SS and Police
Leaders, which resulted in decisive intervention on the part of
the Main Staff Office. The latter prepared the decrees concerning
marriages. Greifelt signed several of them. Lorenz, as Chief of
RUSHA, and Brueckner as Chief of Amt VI (RUSHA’s office safeguarding
the German race in the Reich), were responsible for the actual
crimes committed pursuant to the above programme. VOMI was also
involved, and Hofmann and Hildebrandt had, here again, full knowledge
of the programme and actively took part in its execution.
(viii) Forced Evacuations, Resettlement and Germanization of
inhabitants of occupied territories
By far the most important in scope and consequences was the method
of imposing Germanism by forcibly evacuating and resettling inhabitants
of occupied countries, and subjecting them to Germanization and
slave labour.
Evacuations and resettlement were conducted in connection with
the classification of the populations affected under the scheme
of the German People’s List. In addition to the four groups previously
explained, a subdivision was made within each group which included
three categories of cases. ‘ C ’ cases concerned those regarded
to be racially and politically reliable ; ‘ A ’ cases concerned
those considered to be less politically reliable, but still of racial
value ; ‘ S ’ cases comprised the remainder, that is individuals
found to be of alien blood and of no racial value. Generally, ‘
C ’ cases were transferred from their country of origin to the Eastern
territories incorporated to the Reich, it being assumed that they
would speed up Germanization of these territories. As being less
reliable, ‘ A ’ cases were transferred to Germany proper in order
to be more easily absorbed. The remainder, i.e., ‘ S ’ cases, were
either evacuated to the Government General of Poland or else confined
in concentration camps and/or used as slave labour.
Evacuations of local inhabitants took place in all territories
designated to become German by the bringing in of German resettlers.
They affected in the first place Poles, but were soon followed by
Yugoslavs from Slovenia and Frenchmen from Luxembourg, Alsace and
Lorraine. German re-settlers came to take their place from many
other countries, including Russia, Poland and Greece. One way in
which this was implemented can be illus-
p.20
trated by a directive issued by Greifelt regarding the resettlement
of the Yugoslav population from Slovenia (Southern Corinthia) :
“ The Slovenian intelligentia will be submitted to a racial
examination. The racially valuable elements (groups I and II)
will not be evacuated to Serbia but will be transferred to Germany
proper to be Germanized.
“ The above change does not affect the ordinance to the effect
that a sharp selection will be made from among the native population
of Southern Corinthia and that the undesirable population must
be evacuated in accordance with existing directives.”
The whole scheme was operated by coercion with the constant use
of intimidation, deceit or mere force. Most of those affected, both
evacuees and resettlers, were compelled to pass through the German
People’s List procedure and then to leave their native land. By
January, 1944, nearly 3 million Poles alone had been registered
under the List procedure, and hundreds of thousands had been deported
to the Government General or to the Reich as slave labour. A corresponding
number of resettlers were transferred from their countries and resettled
on the Polish property left behind by those evacuated.
All these forcible transfers of populations were carried out in
most inhumane conditions. Shortly after Poland was conquered, the
German Commander-in-Chief in the East made the following descriptions
of the existing state of affairs in a draft report :
“ The resettlement scheme is causing particular and steadily
increasing alarm in the country. It is quite obvious that the
starving population, struggling for its very existence, can regard
the wholly destitute masses of evacuees, who were torn from their
homes over night, as it were, naked and hungry, and who are begging
shelter from them, only with the greatest anxiety. It is only
too understandable that these feelings are intensified to immense
hatred by the numerous children starved to death on each transport
and the train loads of people frozen to death . . .”
Himmler himself, in a speech to Party comrades, acknowledged that
during evacuations people froze to death on transport trains in
the East, but he said : “ I imagine that we have to be ruthless
in our settlement, for these provinces must become Germanic, blond
provinces of Germany.”
Strict instructions were issued to apply ruthless methods. The
Nazi Governor-General of Poland, Frank, submitted the following
report to Hitler on 25th May, 1943, on the deteriorating position
in Poland :
“ According to my own conviction, the reason for the complete
destruction of public order is to be found exclusively in the
fact that the expelled persons were in some cases given only 10
minutes and in no case more than 2 hours, to scrape together their
most necessary belongings to take with them. Men, women, children
and old people were brought into mass camps, frequently without
any clothing or equipment ; there they were sorted into groups
of people fit for work, less fit for work and unfit for work (especially
children and aged persons), without regard to possible family
ties. All connections between the members of families were thus
severed, so that the fate of one group remained
p.21
unknown to the other. It will be understood that these measures
caused an indescribable panic among the population affected by
the expulsion, and led to it that approximately half of the population,
earmarked for expulsion, fled. They fled, in their despair, from
the expulsion district and have thus contributed considerably
to the increase of the groups of bandits which existed for some
time in the Lublin district and which act with continuously increasing
audacity and force.”
The evidence examined by the Tribunal disclosed the implication
in the above policy of Germanization of the Main Staff Office of
RKFDV, involving in particular, Greifelt and Creuz as Higher SS
and Police leaders and Himmler’s deputies, and also of VOMI and
RUSHA and their leading staff. A decree of Himmler of 9th May, 1940,
contained by implication the following general reference to the
above accused :
“ Among the people of alien (not German) nationality in the
annexed Eastern districts as well as in the Government General,
there are often such who are eligible for Germanization on the
basis of their racial suitability. I therefore ordered that a
selection of the racially most valuable families of nordic nature
be made, according to directives issued by me, and I intend to
put them into plants in the old Reich. Since this is not a question
of utilization of labor in the ordinary sense, but an extremely
important national-political task, the accommodation of this group
of persons cannot be done in the usual way through the labor offices.
“ For this reason 1 entrust the Higher SS and Police Leaders
in their capacity as my deputies for the Strengthening of Germanism
with this task of the distribution of people and at the same time
with the utilization of this group of persons. . . . It should
be endeavoured to accommodate able-bodied sons and daughters,
who are not necessarily needed in the same plant, in other, more
distant places.”
Other documentary evidence showed the part taken by Greifelt and
the Main Staff Office. Thus, apart from his already quoted directive
concerning Slovenes from Yugoslavia, in a letter to Himmler of 22nd
September, 1941, regarding racial examinations of inmates of Baltic
refugee camps, Greifelt reported that 70 per cent. were “ fit for
immediate labour service ” ; that 28.5 per cent. were “ foreign
elements which should be brought back to their land of origin ”
; and that 1.5 per cent. were “ considered as politically incriminated
or suspected or asocial ” and were “ as such to be handed to the
Chief of the Security Police for commitment to a concentration camp.”
In another report to Himmler of 19th November, 1941, concerning
the settlement of Lithuanian Germans, Greifelt suggested a complete
resettlement scheme, including the disposal of property of those
deported. He also issued express instructions regarding the slave
labour of persons deported from Alsace, Lorraine and Luxembourg.
It was shown that Creuz, Greifelt’s deputy, had similarly been responsible
for plans and orders. In the matter of the use of undesirable inhabitants
as slave labour, he outlined the entire re-Germanization programme
in a report of 25th March, 1943, in the following terms :
“ The selection of the persons is made by the Branch office
of the SS Main Race and Settlement Office, Litzmannstadt.
p.22
“ The persons found suitable for being Germanized will be turned
over to the individual Higher SS and Police Leaders in Germany
proper according to the plannings to be drawn up by the Main Staff
Office.
“ The Higher SS and Police Leaders are competent for the selection
of the work assignments . . . ; the definite decision, . . . is
theirs exclusively. . . .
“ Until 31st January, 1943, 14,592 persons from the former Polish
territories have been selected by the Branch Office of the SS
Main Race and Settlement Office and were transferred into Germany
proper. . . .
“ It is emphasised that the care of the persons suitable for
re-Germanization shall not degenerate into an exaggerated kind
of welfare. It was also often necessary to discipline some obstinate
persons in the harshest manner and to keep them in line through
the use of compulsory measures.
“ If there still exists, as is understandable, a lack of willingness
for re-Germanization, it is nevertheless to be expected that the
next generation, on account of its racial orientation, will have
almost completely merged with Germanism. The case and education
of juveniles is therefore considered the main task in the procedure
of re-Germanization.”
Slave labour included also the use of young girls as domestic
workers in German households. In a decree of 9th October, 1941,
Himmler ordered as follows :
“ One of the greatest calamities is at present the shortage
of female domestic help, especially in families with many children.
“ I therefore order that girls of Polish and Ukrainian descent,
who meet the requirements of the racial evaluation groups I and
II shall be selected by the racial examiners of the Main Race
and Settlement Office and shall be brought into the Reich territory.
The selection is not to be limited only to those persons who are
to be evacuated, but, as far as possible, to all available girls.
In this connection not only the Warthegau but also the other incorporated
Eastern Territories, the General Government and, after prior understanding
is reached with locally competent offices, the former Esthonian,
Latvian and Lithuanian territories are to be considered.
“ Assignments may only be made to households of families with
many children who are firm in their ideology and fit for training
such girls.”
Domestic servants thus forcibly brought to Germany were also subjected
to Germanization. In a report to Himmler of 20th February, 1942,
Creutz stated the following :
“ Regarding the status of the allocation of female domestic
help eligible for re-Germanization I wish to report as follows
:
“ 521 female domestics suitable for re-Germanization were allocated
to non-farming households until 31st December, 1941 (total number
of allocated persons including children : 10,520).
p.23
“ The selection of the persons eligible for re-Germanization
is made by the Field-Office of the Main Race and Settlement Office
in Litzmannstadt. The allocation in the Reich is carried out by
the locally competent Higher SS and Police Leaders.
“ The Field Office of the SS-Main Race and Settlement Office
makes its selections primarily from among the evacuated Poles.
In addition, pursuant to the personal order of the Reichsfuehrer-SS,
it has the responsibility of removing qualified female domestics,
eligible for re-Germanization, from the reincorporated Eastern
territories (especially from the Warthegau), and of transferring
them to the Reich proper. It receives the names of girls in the
Warthegau through my deputy. Furthermore, it contacted the local
employment offices and welfare offices in the allocation of the
girls.”
The evidence regarding RUSHA disclosed that it took part in the
entire scheme of resettling and Germanizing foreign populations
and using them as slave labour. In all three of these closely connected
operations RUSHA carried out its usual task of selecting and racially
evaluating the so-called ethnic Germans and foreigners. The treatment
of all these persons depended on RUSHA’s findings and recommendations.
RUSHA’s responsibility for racial examinations in this sphere as
well is stressed in the following draft instructions for the Immigration
Centre :
“ The Race and Settlement Office (RUS) determine the racial
suitability of the resettler according to general directions by
the Reichsfuehrer- SS. The results are listed in a card index.
This race and settlement card index is also centrally stored in
Litzmannstadt and is consulted when determining the final settlement.”
The examinations took place after the resettlers had been brought
to VOMI camps. On the basis of ‘ A,’ ‘ C ’ and ‘ S ’ classifications
some resettlers were allowed to settle down in the Eastern territories,
some were taken to Germany as labourers and some were sent to the
Government General of Poland. Those chiefly responsible for these
activities were Hofmann, Hildebrandt and Schwalm. Numerous documents
were pro-duced in evidence to this effect.
VOMI was implicated in the scheme in that it provided camps for
the resettlers and was in charge of the latter at this particular
stage. It operated some 1,500 to 1,800 camps and at the end of the
war there were still hundreds of thousands of persons confined in
these camps as resettlers, evacuees and slave labourers. Lorenz
and Bueckner, as heads of VOMI bore full re-sponsibility for the
carrying out of this part of the scheme. The treatment of the inmates
in the care of VOMI was illustrated by the following instructions
issued to Lorenz by Himmler on 21st September, 1941 :
“ The escape of a Slovene is to be reported immediately by the
Camp Commander of the VOMI to the Gestapo. The Getapo, in turn,
will notify immediately, the Higher SS and Police Leader Alpenland.
“ The family of the escapee as well as his relatives will be
removed immediately from the camp and be taken to a concentration
camp. Their children will be taken away from them and sent to
a home.
“ At once investigation has to be made in the camp in order
to determine who knew of the proposed escape and aided it. All
men
p.24
who knew about the escape and lent a helping hand will be hanged
in the camp.”
(ix) Compulsory Conscription of Enemy Nationals into the Armed
Forces
The racial policy of the Nazis was carried out also by forcibly
drafting into the German armed forces foreign subjects of real or
alleged German stock. The evidence disclosed that tens of thousands
of such foreign nationals, after having been registered in the German
People’s List procedure, were conscripted into the Waffen-SS, or
into the regular armed forces. Thus, for instance, the following
facts were discovered in an information bulletin of 28th September,
1943 :
“ The first more extensive recruiting of ethnic Germans for
the Waffen-SS took place in Rumania in 1940. This was done,under
the pretence of recruiting labor for the Reich. In a later, second
action, a thousand men belonging to this ethnic German group in
Rumania were recruited. At that time these recruitments were not
made for the purpose of strengthening the German army but with
the idea-strongly backed by the Repatriation Office for Ethnic
Germans (VOMI) and the present SS-Obergruppenfuehrer Berger, that
the participation of the ethnic Germans in the war within the
ranks of the Waffen-SS would cause a still closer union between
these ethnic German groups and the German people, and, especially
after the war, in territories settled by ethnic Germans, lead
to the development of a veteran’s generation like those in the
German Reich. . . .
“ The political situation in the Serbian Banat made it possible,
after the dissolution of the Jugoslav state, to collect the ethnic
Germans living there into a unit, called the SS-division ‘ Prinz
Eugen.’ Above and beyond this all further available men of the
ethnic German group in the Banat fit for service, were drafted
into the police forces or served as temporary policemen in the
Banat. Of the ethnic German group in the Banat and Serbia, counting
approximately 150,000 ethnic Germans, 22,500 are serving in the
aforementioned units, that is to say, more than 14% of this whole
number.”
The same bulletin gave a list, country by country, of the “ allotment
of German ethnic groups,” enumerating the total number of persons
in the Waffen-SS and Wehrmacht. The following two entries are ‘typical
examples : “ Rumania, Waffen-SS, 54,000 ; Slovakia, Waffen-SS, 5,590,
Wehrmacht 257.”
Orders were issued to carry out enlistments with the use of compulsory
measures and to punish the recalcitrants. This fact was stressed
in a letter to the SS-Main Office of 12th July, 1943 :
“ . . . the SS and police court in Belgrade reported on 14th
August, 1942, that the E.g. volunteer division Prince Eugen no
longer was an organisation of volunteers, that on the contrary,
the ethnic Germans from the Serbian Banat were drafted to a large
extent under threat of punishment by the local German leadership,
and later by the replacement agency.”
One of the punishments was the confinement to a concentration
camp, and towards the end of the war they also included executions.
This latter fact
p.25
was proved by a letter dated 28th September, 1944, from the Higher
SS and Police Leader, Southeast, to deputies of the RKFDV :
“ In the individual case of a member of group 3 who refused
acceptance of the German People’s List identification card in
order to avoid being drafted into the army, the Reichsfuehrer
has decided that in this and similar cases firm action will have
to be taken and has ordered the execution of the individual in
question.
“ If, in spite of having been properly instructed, persons enrolled
in the German People’s List should refuse acceptance of their
German People’s List identification cards a motion for special
treatment will have to be submitted in future.”
It will be remembered that “ special treatment ” meant death by
hanging.
Those of the accused charged specifically for this type of offence
were Lorenz and Brueckner. The Tribunal was satisfied with the evidence
concerning Lorenz’s guilt, but found that the evidence submitted
against Brueckner was “ insufficient ” to establish his culpability.
(x) Plunder of Public and Private Property
The execution of the racial programme in the sphere of forcible
resettlement lead to extensive plunder’of private and public property
by the Office for the Strengthening of Germanism and the associated
organisations.
In August, 1942, Greifelt submitted a report to Himmler concerning
the incorporated territories in Poland. The report revealed that,
in four Eastern “ Gaus ” only, the total number of confiscated farms
and estates amounted to 626,642 with an approximate total area of
14 million acres.
No compensation was ever paid for the land confiscated, and the
only compensation envisaged at one time, without ever being made,
was that concerning the land in the Government General of Poland.
This was shown in a memorandum of Greifelt concerning a conference
held with Hitler on 12th May, 1943 :
“ The Reichsfuehrer SS has pointed out that the property in
question in the incorporated Eastern territories was formerly
German property which was robbed in 1918 and for which no one
can demand compensation. On the other hand, the situation in the
Government General is different since the Poles there are still
owners of their property. In so far as this property will be utilised
for German resettlement measures, one could, therefore, consider
a compensation for the previous owner.”
With regard to property confiscated from Jewish owners no compensation
at all was contemplated. This was disclosed in another memorandum
of Greifelt’s, written in December, 1942, where it was stated that
“ the Reichsfuehrer SS (Himmler) had signed a general directive
whereby the entire Jewish real estate was to be placed at the disposal
of the Office for the Strengthening of Germanism.”
The fact that confiscations were carried out in order to Germanize
the territories affected, was stressed by Greifelt in a letter to
Himmler of 23rd February, 1941 :
“ After having issued your carrying-out decree concerning the
treatment of the population in the Eastern occupied countries
of 12.9.1940,
p.26
you will find it necessary to issue instructions concerning
the treatment of the property belonging to persons included in
Groups III and IV of the ‘ List for the Repatriation of German
ethnic Groups ’ and this for the agricultural as well as for the
trade sections. . . .
“ In the interest of Germanizing the country as fast and as
effectively as possible and of separating from both these groups
their property located in the occupied Eastern territories as
soon as feasible, my office is of the opinion that real estate
situated in the Annexed Eastern areas, and belonging to members
of Groups III and IV of the List should be expropriated. . . .
“ My office proposes to expropriate the property of these persons
under the law concerning the treatment of property belonging to
nationals of the former Polish State. . . .”
Confiscations were carried out in such a ruthless and indiscriminate
manner that it caused the Reich Minister of Justice to enter a protest
against the extent of confiscation of Polish property. In a letter
to Hitler of 22nd May, 1942, the Minister reported the following
:
“ During the execution of this order . . . the Poles were robbed
not only of their technical appliances but also of their food
and personal articles and clothes.
“ The Polish inhabitant who has been left practically without
means after the extent of the confiscation, has become very agitated,
which might result in further expressions of hate and acts of
sabotage against Germans. The action will also have bad effects
as far as nutrition policies are concerned.”
To this Greifelt replied on 8th July, 1942, in the following terms
:
“ Since these Poles began to steal the fodder for their animals
after they had lost their agricultural enterprises, and furthermore
because the resettlers were in want of the missing live and dead
stock which belonged to the farms, it became necessary for economic
reasons to confiscate this stock and to return it to the now German
farms, to which it belonged .”
In addition to ruthlessness special care was taken to carry out
confiscations in the utmost secrecy and hide them from public opinion
at large. Opposing a loan plan which had been suggested by the Reich
Minister of Finance, Greifelt wrote to Himmler on 21st October,
1943 :
“ On the basis of this figure it would be possible for everybody
in foreign countries to calculate that the entire Polish house
property without exceptions has been confiscated. The reasons
for hesitation dictated by international law and foreign policy
which in 1940 were conclusive for formulating the ordinance concerning
Polish property in such a way that it could not be realised by
any uninitiated person that actually all Polish property was supposed
to be confiscated, would thus be thrown overboard.”
VOMI was directly connected with this policy of plunder. The evidence
showed that many confiscations took place for the purpose of using
the property for the housing of resettlers. Such confiscations were
carried out by Lorenz under the guise of requisitions. Greifelt
gave the following account
p.27
of VOMI’s activities in this respect in a letter to Himmler dated
17th December, 1940 :
“ Realising the impossibility of providing temporary housing
accommodation for the resettlers by normal lawful means the Office
for the Repatriation of Racial Germans was empowered by an authorisation
issued by the Reichsfuehrer on 30th December, 1939, to requisition
lodging space suitable for the communal housing of Racial German
resettlers.
“ On the strength of this authority the Office for the Repatriation
of Racial Germans has requisitioned a large number of inns, hospitals,
sanatoria, old people’s homes and especially convents. To a large
extent this requisitioning was done with full collaboration of
the minor administrative authorities.”
Lorenz spoke openly of confiscations for Germanization purposes
in a letter to Himmler’s secretary, Brandt, of June, 1943 :
" . . . Another reason for the maintenance of the camps . .
. is the following :
“ The buildings confiscated there for the accommodation of resettlers
mainly come from former church property. An unrestricted surrender
of this property to the Wehrmacht, the National Socialist Public
Welfare Organisation, etc., undoubtedly would result in this property
gradually returning to the hands of the previous clerical owners.
In order to prevent such a development, which is undesirable to
the Reichsfuehrer-SS, I have so far, persistently opposed the
surrender of these camps.”
The allegation of the prosecution that “ Lebensborn,” and more
particularly its leading members Sollmann, Ebner, Tesch and Viermetz,
were also involved in the plunder of property, was dismissed by
the Tribunal on the following grounds :
“ While it appears from the evidence that Lebensborn utilised
certain property formerly belonging to Jews, such as several hospitals,
old people’s homes, and children’s homes, it further appears that
these properties had already been confiscated by other agencies
and were empty at the time Lebensborn took them over. . . . While
there is evidence to the effect that in isolated instances Lebensborn
also utilised a small amount of personal property for the welfare
and maintenance of children under Lebensbom care, it has not been
established beyond a reasonable doubt that Lebensborn actually
confiscated such property without payment ; nor has it been established
that any defendant connected with Lebensbom was connected with
any plan or programme to plunder occupied territories.”
(xi) The Charge of Euthanasia
One of the accused, Hildebrandt, was charged “ with special responsibility
for and participation in the extermination of thousands of German
nationals pursuant to the so-called ‘ euthanasia programme’ of the
Third Reich.” The evidence submitted by the prosecution was that
a unit under him killed thousands of insane Germans in the area
of Danzig, which the Nazis treated as incurable and doomed to die
of their illness.
p.28
The Tribunal dismissed this charge on the grounds that the administration
of death under Nazi legislation against citizens of the Third Reich
only, did not constitute a crime against humanity.(Footnote 1: For
more details, see pp. 33-34, below. See also Trial of Erhard Milch,
Vol. VII of this Series, pp. 51-52)
(xii) Persecution and Extermination of the Jews
The Tribunal decided that charges brought against the defendants
under this count had been established and proved in the parts dealing
with punishments for sexual intercourse with Germans, deportations
of foreign nationals, and plunder of property, as the victims in
all these instances included Jews.
3. THE JUDGMENT OF THE TRIBUNAL
(i) Individual Guilt of the Accused
Thirteen accused were found guilty on one or more counts, and
one was acquitted. Some were found guilty of only membership in
criminal organisations. The counts referred to by the Tribunal were
the following : Count 1, crimes against humanity ; Count 2, war
crimes ; Count 3, membership in a criminal organisation.
Those found guilty were the following and for the following reasons
:
ULRICH GREIFELT
“ The defendant Ulrich Greifelt, as Chief of the Main Staff Office
and deputy to Himmler, was, with the exception of Himmler, the main
driving force in the entire Germanization program. By an abundance
of evidence it is established beyond a reasonable doubt, as heretofore
detailed in this judgment, that the defendant Greifelt is criminally
responsible for the following actions :
kidnapping of alien children ; hampering the reproduction of enemy
nationals ; forced evacuations and resettlement of populations ;
forced Germanization of enemy nationals ; the utilisation of enemy
nationals as slave labor ; and the plunder of public and private
property.
“ The evidence submitted is insufficient to establish beyond a
reasonable doubt the defendant Greifelt’s guilt upon the following
specific charges : Abortions on Eastern workers ; taking away infants
of Eastern workers ; and the punishment of foreign nationals for
sexual intercourse with Germans.
“ The defendant Greifelt is found guilty upon Counts I and 2 of
the indictment. “ The Tribunal finds that the defendant Greifelt
was a member of a criminal organisation ; that is, the SS, under
the conditions defined and specified by the Judgment of the International
Military Tribunal, and he is, therefore, guilty under Count 3 of
the indictment.”
RUDOLF CREUTZ
“ Rudolf Creutz, as deputy to Greifelt, was an active participant
in certain phases of the Germanization program, as has heretofore
been set forth in detail in this judgment ; and it has been established
beyond any reasonable doubt that the defendant Creutz is criminally
responsible for, and implicated
p.29
in, the following criminal activities :
the kidnapping of alien children ; the forced evacuation and resettlement
of populations ; the forced Germanization of enemy nationals ; and
the utilisation of foreign nationals as slave labor.
“ Upon the following specific charges the evidence is insufficient
to justify a conclusion of guilt : Abortions on Eastern workers
; taking away infants of Eastern workers ; punishment of foreign
nationals for sexual intercourse with Germans ; and hampering the
reproduction of enemy nationals.
“ The defendant Creutz is found guilty upon Counts 1 and 2 of
the indictment.
“ The Tribunal finds that the defendant Creutz was a member of
a criminal organization ; that is, the SS, under the conditions
defined and specified by the judgment of the International Military
Tribunal, and he is, therefore, guilty under Count 3 of the indictment.”
KONRAD MEYER-HETLING
“ Konrad Meyer-Hetling was Chief of the Planning Office within
the Main Staff OfFice. During his entire period of service in this
position, he was a part-time worker only, still retaining a professorship
at the university of Berlin. Meyer-Hetling is a scientist of considerable
world renown-an agricultural expert.
“ The prosecution’s case rests principally upon the ‘ General
Plan East,’ a survey and proposed plan for the ‘ reconstruction
of the East,’ prepared by Meyer-Hetling at Himmler’s request and
submitted to Himmler on 28th May, 1942. It is the contention of
the prosecution that this plan formed the basis for the measures
taken in the incorporated Eastern territories and other occupied
territories.
“ A consideration of General Plan East, as well as correspondence
dealing with this plan, reveals nothing of an incriminatory nature.
This plan, as contended by the defendant, envisaged the orderly
reconstruction of the East -and particularly village and country-after
the war. The plan plainly stated : ‘ According to plan, the achievement
of the work of reconstruction will be spread over five periods of
five years each, totalling 25 years.’ There is nothing in the plan
concerning evacuations and other drastic measures which were actually
adopted and carried out in the Germanization program. As a matter
of fact, it is made quite plain by the evidence, as the defendant
contended, that this General Plan East was never adopted and no
effort was made to carry out its proposals. Actually, Himmler, instead
of an orderly reconstruction, decided upon and pursued a drastic
plan which in all its cruel aspects sought the reconversion of the
East into a Germanic stronghold practically overnight. Of course,
Meyer-Hetling is not responsible for these measures which he did
not suggest.
“ Simply by virtue of his position as chief of planning, the prosecution
would have the Tribunal assume that Meyer-Hetling was the person
responsible for all planning and, consequently, the drastic actions
taken must have had their origin in his planning. The difficulty
with such an assumption is that there is no proof to support it.
He is charged, for instance, with such
p.30
criminal activities as
kidnapping alien children, abortions on Eastern workers, and hampering
the reproduction of enemy nationals. Yet in thousands of pages of
documentary and oral evidence, there is not a single syllable of
evidence even remotely connecting him with any of these activities.
“ Upon the evidence submitted, the defendant Meyer-Hetling is
found not guilty on Counts I and 2 of the indictment.
“ The Tribunal finds that the defendant Meyer-Hetling was a member
of a criminal organization ; that is, the SS, under the conditions
defined and specified by the judgment of the International Military
Tribunal, and he is, therefore, guilty under Count 3 of the indictment.
OTTO SCHWARZENBERGER
“ Otto Schwarzenberger was Chief of Finance in the Main Staff
Office, As such, he dealt with the operational finances and expenses
of all organizations charged in the indictment with participation
in the Germanization program. He also handled operational finances
of other organizations, such as DUT, DAG, EWZ, and UWZ.
“ Schwarzenberger has contended throughout the trial that, as
Chief of Finance, his duties consisted almost entirely of paying
out funds on lump sum requisitions submitted to him by various organizations,
and that, as Chief of Finance, he had no power to approve or disapprove
requisitions for funds, which was a duty resting solely with the
Reich Minister of Finance, He contends, furthermore, that not even
in the requisitions and bills submitted to his office was there
anything indicating the purpose for which the funds were to be used
or had been used, and he never had knowledge of the purposes for
which these funds were being dispersed. Schwarzenberger’s contentions
are supported by an abundance of evidence. It would appear from
the evidence that Schwarzenberger’s principal task was to submit
to the Reich Minister of Finance a budget containing the estimated
operational needs of the various departments ; and upon approval
by the Reich Minister of Finance, the funds were deposited with
Schwarzenberger’s office for payment to the various organizations.
“ Volumes of documents have been introduced by the prosecution
in this case-hundreds pertaining to the various organizations involved-and
Schwarzenberger’s name is conspicuous in its absence among these
documents. No documentary evidence of any incriminatory nature has
been offered against this defendant ; yet the prosecution would
have the Tribunal assume, as it is argued, that he held numerous
conferences with all departments with reference to all financial
matters and was intimately acquainted with all activities of the
various departments. This is an assumption which the prosecution
bases wholly upon the position held by the defendant and which is
not supported by proof.
“ Upon the evidence submitted, the defendant Schwarzenberger is
found not guilty on Counts 1 and 2 of the indictment.
“ The Tribunal finds that the defendant Schwarzenberger was a
member of a criminal organisation ; that is, the SS, under the conditions
defined and specified by the judgment of the International Military
Tribunal, and he is, therefore, guilty under Count 3 of the indictment.”
p.31
HERBERT HUEBNER
“ As Chief of Labor Staffs and the Resettlement Staff in Posen,
Herbert Huebner was concerned in the forcible evacuation and resettlement
actions as well as the slave labor program. Within the area under
his jurisdiction and supervision, these actions were carried out
on a large scale. One document, written by him, suffices to show
his connection with these actions. Huebner, on 29th August, 1941,
wrote to the SS Settlement Staff at Lodz and Posen as follows :
‘ According to the newest order of the Reich-Governor, the Poles
who will have to be displaced in the course of the settlement
must under no condition leave the Warthegau,--e.g., in order to
be allocated for labor in Germany proper via the employment offices,-since
the Poles will probably be needed later on as manpower (in this
area). The Landraete (Chiefs of District Administration) will
have to provide emergency work for them until large-scale projects
will provide the possibility to make use of all available Polish
manpower.
‘ The Reich Governor will instruct the Landraete tomorrow by
circular letter to make all provisions to prevent the displaced
Poles from leaving the Gau. The Landraete also were again urged
to support the displacement measures in every way.
‘ I request you to comply with this order under all conditions
and, where necessary, to instruct the Landraete to provide housing
for the Poles to be displaced. In all cases they are to be informed
in time of any planned displacement measures.’
“ It has been established by the evidence beyond a reasonable
doubt that the defendant Huebner actively participated in the forced
evacuation and resettlement of foreign populations and the use of
foreign nationals as slave labor.
“ The evidence is insufficient to authorise a conclusion of guilt
on the part of Huebner with regard to the other specifications of
the indictment.
“ The defendant Huebner is found guilty on Counts 1 and 2 of the
indicment.
“ The Tribunal finds that the defendant Huebner was a member of
a criminal organization ; that is, the SS, under the conditions
defined and specified by the Judgment of the International Military
Tribunal, and he is, therefore, guilty under Count 3 of the indictment.”
WERNER LORENZ
“ The defendant Werner Lorenz, as chief of VOMI, was an active
participant in practically every phase of the Germanization program,
as has heretofore been set forth in detail in this judgment. The
evidence establishes beyond any reasonable doubt that Lorenz is
criminally responsible for and implicated in the following criminal
activities :
the kidnapping of alien children ; hampering the reproduction of
enemy nationals ; the forced evacuation and resettlement of foreign
populations ; the forced Germanization of enemy nationals ; the
utilisation of enemy nationals as slave labor ; the forced conscription
of non-Germans into the SS and armed forces ;
p.32
and the plunder of public and private property. The evidence is
insufficient to authorise a conclusion of guilt with regard to forcible
abortions on Eastern workers.
“ The defendant Lorenz is found guilty upon Counts 1 and 2 of
the indictment .
” The Tribunal finds that the defendant Lorenz was a member of
a criminal organisation ; that is, the SS, under the conditions
defined and specified by the Judgment of the International Military
Tribunal, and he is, therefore, guilty under Count 3 of the indictment.
HEINZ BRUECKNER
” Heinz Brueckner, as head of the Amt VI of VOMI, actively participated
in certain phases of the Germanization program, as has heretofore
been set forth in detail in this judgment. It has been established
beyond a reasonable doubt that this defendant is criminally responsible
for and implicated in the following criminal activities :
the kidnapping of alien children ; hampering the reproduction of
enemy nationals ; the forced evacuation and resettlement of foreign
populations ; the forced Germanization of enemy nationals ; and
the utilisation of enemy nationals as slave labor.
“ The evidence is insufficient to authorise a conclusion of guilt
on the part of Brueckner with regard to the other specifications
of the indictment.
“ The defendant Brueckner is found guilty upon Counts I and 2
of the indictment.
“ The Tribunal finds that the defendant Brueckner was a member
of a criminal organization ; that is, the SS, under the conditions
defined and specified by the judgment of the International Military
Tribunal, and he is therefore, guilty upon Count 3 of the indictment.
OTTO HOFMANN
“ Otto Hofmann, as chief of RUSHA from 1940 to 1943, actively
participated in the measures adopted and carried out in the furtherance
of the Germanization program, as has heretofore been set forth in
detail in this judgment. The evidence establishes beyond any reasonable
doubt Hofmann’s guilt and criminal responsibility for the following
criminal activities pursued in the furtherance of the Germanization
program :
the kidnapping of alien children ; forcible abortions on Eastern
workers ;
taking away infants of Eastern workers ; the illegal and unjust
punishment of foreign nationals for sexual intercourse with Germans
; hampering the reproduction of enemy nationals ; the forced evacuation
and resettlement of foreign populations ; the forced Germanization
of enemy nationals ; and the utilization of enemy nationals as slave
labor.
" The evidence is insufficient to prove this defendant’s guilt
with regard to the plunder of public and private property. “ The
defendant Hofmann is found guilty upon Counts 1 and 2 ‘of the indictment.
p.33.
“ The Tribunal finds that the defendant Hofmann was a member of
a criminal organization ; that is, the SS, under the conditions
defined and specified by the judgment of the International Military
Tribunal, and he is, therefore, guilty under Count 3 of the indictment.”
RICHARD HILDEBRANDT
“ Richard Hildebrandt was Higher SS and Police Leader at Danzig-West
Prussia, from October, 1939, to February, 1943, and simultaneously
he was Leader of the Administration District Danzig-West Prussia
of the Allgemeine SS and Deputy of the RKFDV. From 20th April, 1943,
to the end of the war, he was chief of RUSHA. From 1939 to 1945,
while serving in these capacities, he was deeply implicated in many
measures put into force in the furtherance of the Germanization
program, as has heretofore been set forth in detail in this judgment.
By an abundance of evidence, it has been established beyond a reasonable
doubt that the defendant Hildebrandt actively participated in and
is criminally responsible for, the following criminal activities
: the
kidnapping of alien children ; forcible abortions on Eastern workers
; taking
away infants of Eastern workers ; the illegal and unjust punishment
of foreign nationals for sexual intercourse with Germans ; hampering
the reproduction of enemy nationals ; the forced evacuation and
resettlement of populations ; the forced Germanization of enemy
nationals ; and the utilisation of enemy nationals as slave labor.
” On the charge of euthanasia the Tribunal, while finding Hildebrandt
not guilty within the scope of its jurisdiction, made the following
statement concerning the criminal nature of euthanasia :
” Hildebrandt, as the sole defendant, is charged with special
responsibility for and participation in the extermination of thousands
of German nationals pursuant to the so-called ‘ Euthanasia program.’
It is not contended, that this program, insofar as Hildebrandt might
have been connected with it, was extended to foreign nationals.
It is urged by the prosecution, however, that notwithstanding this
fact, the extermination of German nationals under such a program
constitutes a crime against humanity ; and in support of this argument
the prosecution cites the judgment of the International Military
Tribunal as well as the judgment in the case of the United States
of America vs. Brandt, Cast [should be Case-Ed.] No. 1. Neither
decision substantiated the contention of the prosecution. For instance,
in holding defendants guilty in the Brandt judgment, the Tribunal
expressly pointed out that the defendants, in participating in this
program, were responsible for exterminating foreign nationals. The
Tribunal expressly stated :
‘ Whether or not a state may validly enact legislation which
imposes euthanasia upon certain classes of its citizens, is likewise
a question which does not enter into the issues. Assuming that
it may do so, the Family of Nations is not obliged to give recognition
to such legislation when it manifestly gives legality to plain
murder and torture of defenceless and powerless human beings of
other nations.
‘The evidence is conclusive that persons were included in the
program who were non-German nationals. The dereliction of the
defendant Brandt contributed to their extermination. That is enough
to require this Tribunal to find that he is criminally responsible
in the program.’
p.34
“ It is our view that euthanasia, when carried out under state
legislation against citizens of the state only, does not constitute
a crime against humanity. Accordingly the defendant Hildebrandt
is found not to be criminally responsible with regard to this specification
of the indictment.
“ The evidence is insufficient to implicate this defendant on
the specification regarding the plunder of public and private property.
“ The defendant Hildebrandt is found guilty upon Counts 1 and
2 of the indictment.
“ The tribunal finds that the defendant Hildebrandt was a member
of a criminal organization ; that is, the SS, under the conditions
defined and specified by the judgment of the International Military
Tribunal, and he is, therefore, guilty under Count 3 of the indictment.
FRITZ SCHWALM
“ The defendant Fritz Schwalm was an active participant in certain
phases of the Germanization program, as has heretofore been set
forth in detail in this judgment. It has been established by the
evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that this defendant is criminally
responsible for and implicated in the following criminal activities
conducted in the furtherance of this program :
kidnapping of alien children ; the forced evacuation and resettlement
of populations ; the forced Germanization of enemy nationals ; and
the utilisation of enemy nationals as slave labor.
“ Upon the other specifications of the indictment the evidence
is insufficient to justify a conclusion of guilt on the part of
this defendant.
“ The defendant Schwalm is found guilty upon Counts I and 2 of
the indictment.
“ The Tribunal finds that the defendant Schwalm was a member of
a criminal organisation ; that is, the SS, under the conditions
defined and specified by the judgment of the International Military
Tribunal, and he is, therefore, guilty under Count 3 of the indictment.”
MAX SOLLMANN
“ The defendant Max Sollmann, as chief of Lebensborn-together
with that institution-is charged with criminal responsibility in
three specifications of the indictment, namely,
the kidnapping of alien children,
taking away infants of Eastern workers, and the plunder of public
and private property. With two of these specifications we have already
dealt. We now consider the charge concerning the kidnapping of alien
children.
“ It is quite clear from the evidence that the Lebensborn Society,
which existed long prior to the war, was a welfare institution,
and primarily a maternity home. From the beginning, it cared for
mothers, both married and unmarried, and children, both legitimate
and illegitimate.
“
The Prosecution has failed to prove with the requisite certainty
the participation of Lebensborn, and the defendants connected therewith,
in the kidnapping program conducted by the Nazis. While the evidence
has disclosed that thousands upon thousands of children were unquestionably
p.35 kidnapped by other agencies or organisations and brought
into Germany, the evidence has further disclosed that only a small
percentage of the total number ever found their way into Lebensborn.
And of this number only in isolated instances did Lebensborn take
children who had a living parent. The majority of these children
in any way connected with Lebensborn were orphans of ethnic Germans.
As a matter of fact, it is quite clear from the evidence that Lebensborn
sought to avoid taking into its homes, children who had family ties
; and Lebensborn went to the extent of making extensive investigations
where the records were inadequate, to establish the identity of
a child and whether it had family ties. When it was discovered that
the child had a living parent, Lebensborn did not proceed with an
adoption, as in the case of orphans, but simply allowed the child
to be placed in a German home, after an investigation of the German
family for the purpose of determining the good character of the
family and the suitability of the family to care for and raise the
child.
“ Lebensborn made no practice of selecting and examining foreign
children. In all instances where foreign children were handed over
to Lebensborn by other organizations after a selection and examination,
the children were given the best of care and never ill-treated in
any manner.
“ It is quite clear from the evidence that of the numerous organizations
operating in Germany who were connected with foreign children brought
into Germany, Lebensborn was the one organization which did everything
in its power to adequately provide for the children and protect
the legal interests of the children placed in its care.
“ Upon the evidence submitted, the defendant Sollmann is found
not guilty on Counts 1 and 2 of the indictment.
“ The Tribunal finds that the defendant Sollmann was a member
of a criminal organization ; that is, the SS, under the conditions
defined and specified by the judgment of the International Military
Tribunal, and he is, therefore, guilty under Count 3 of the indictment.”
GREGOR EBNER
” Upon the evidence submitted, the defendant Gregor Ebner is found
not guilty upon Counts 1 and 2 of the indictment.
“ The Tribunal finds that the defendant Gregor Ebner was a member
of a criminal organization ; that is, the SS, under the conditions
defined and specified by the judgment of the International Military
Tribunal, and he is, therefore, guilty under Count 3 of the indictment.
GUENTHER TESCH
“ Upon the evidence submitted, the defendant Guenther Tesch is
found not guilty upon Counts 1 and 2 of the indictment.
“ The Tribunal finds that the defendant Guenther Tesch was a member
of a criminal organization ; that is, the SS, under the conditions
defined and specified by the judgment of the International Military
Tribunal, and he is, therefore, guilty under Count 3 of the indictment.”
p.36
INGE VIERMETZ
“ Inge Viermetz was found not guilty on all counts and acquitted.”
(ii) The Sentences
The five accused found guilty of membership in a criminal organisation
only, that is Meyer-Hetling, Schwarzenberger, Sollmann, Ebner and
Tesch, were sentenced to a term of imprisonment equivalent to the
time already spent in custody as suspects and accused persons. This
amounted to various terms of less than 3 years in each case. The
others were convicted as follows:
| Griefelt |
Imprisonment for life |
| Crautz |
15 Years |
| Huebner |
15 " |
| Lorenz |
20 " |
| Brueckner |
15 " |
| Hofmann |
25 " |
| Hildebrandt |
25 " |
| Schwalm |
10 " |
At the time of going to press these sentences had not been confirmed.
|
NOTE : relevant excerpts on child abduction, boycott
of access, forced alienation and Germanisation are indicated
with the info symbol 
HINWEIS : Relevante Auszüge zu Kindesentführung,
Umgangsboykott, aufgezwungener Entfremdung und Germanisierung
sind mit dem Info-Symbol