Archive/File: imt/tgmwc/tgmwc-02/tgmwc-02-20.05
Last-Modified: 1999/09/18


The prosecution could offer this Tribunal a wealth of
evidence on the total number of Jews who died by Nazi hands,
but it is believed that cumulative evidence would not vary
the guilt of these defendants.

I do wish, however, to offer one document, a statement, to
establish the deaths of 4,000,000 Jews in camps and the
deaths Of 2,000,000 Jews at the hands of the State Police in
the East, making a total of 6,000,000, Document 2738-PS,
Exhibit USA 296. This is a statement - Adolph Eichmann,
Chief of the Jewish Section of the Gestapo, is the source of
the figures quoted - made by Dr. Wilhelm Hottl, Deputy Group
Leader of the Foreign Section of the Security Section, Amt.
VI of the R.S.H.A. Dr. Wilhelm Hottl, in affidavit form,
made the following statement, and I quote from Page 2:-

   "Approximately 4,000,000 Jews had been killed in the
   various concentration camps, while an additional
   2,000,000 met death in other ways, the major part of
   whom were shot by operational squads of the Security
   Police during the campaign against Russia."

May I, in conclusion, emphasise that the captured documents
in evidence are, almost without exception, from the official
sources of the Nazi Party.

THE PRESIDENT: You only read that one statement, but where
does the person who made the affidavits get his information
from?

MAJOR WALSH: I shall be pleased to read that in there, sir.
I made the statement that Eichmann was the source of the
information given to Dr. Wilhelm Hottl, one of his
assistants, and on Page 1 it says:-

                                                  [Page 418]

   "According to my knowledge Eichmann was at that time the
   leader of the Jewish Section of the Gestapo, and in
   addition he had been ordered by Himmler to get hold of
   the Jews in all the European countries and to transport
   them to Germany. Eichmann was then very much impressed
   with the fact that Roumania had withdrawn from the war
   in those days. Moreover, he had come to me to get
   information about the military situation which I
   received daily from the Hungarian Ministry of War and
   from the Commander of the Waffen S.S. in Hungary. He
   expressed his conviction that Germany had lost the war
   and that he personally had no further chance. He knew
   that he would be considered one of the main war
   criminals by the United Nations, since he had millions
   of Jewish lives on his conscience. I asked him how many
   that was, to which he answered that, although the number
   was a great Reich secret, he would tell me since I, as
   an historian, would be interested, and that he would
   probably not return anyhow from his command in Roumania.
   He had, shortly before that, made a report to Himmler,
   as the latter wanted to know the exact number of Jews
   who had been killed."

It was on that basis of this information, sir, that I read
the following quotation -

THE PRESIDENT: The Tribunal will adjourn now.

(A recess was taken until 1400 hours.)

THE PRESIDENT: The motion that was made this morning on
behalf of the defendant Kaltenbrunner is denied, and the
affidavit is admitted and will not be stricken from the
record. But the Tribunal wished me to say that it is open to
the defendants' counsel, in accordance with the Charter and
the Rules, to make a motion, in writing, if they wish to do
so, for the attendance of Pfaffenberger for cross-
examination and to state in that motion the reasons
therefor.

DR. KURT KAUFFMANN (Counsel for defendant Kaltenbrunner): I
am here in a similar position. The case in question is that
of Pfaffenberger, and I beg that the evidence given by Dr.
Hottl, which was incorporated into the record this morning,
be stricken from the record for two reasons. As far as I
know Dr. Hottl is here in Nuremberg.

THE PRESIDENT: One minute. Do you understand that the
Tribunal has just denied the motion that you made this
morning?

DR. KAUFFMANN: Yes, I understood that correctly.

THE PRESIDENT: What is your motion now?

DR. KAUFFMANN: I should like to ask that the evidence given
by Dr. Hottl be stricken from the record for a reason - and
several other reasons depend on it - which is different from
the one I gave this morning in the Pfaffenberger case.

As can be seen from the affidavit, Dr. Hottl was
interrogated on 26th November; that is but three weeks ago.
Moreover, I heard that Dr. Hottl is kept under arrest here
in Nuremberg. No delay would result if we ask that this
witness be brought before the Court.

This man held a significant position in the S.S. and,
therefore, I suggested some time ago, in writing, that he be
called as a witness. I am convinced that there is a large
amount of important evidence which he can reveal to the
Court. Dr. Hottl's disposition is infinitely important. The
death of millions of people is involved. His evidence is
based in the greater part on

                                                  [Page 419]

conclusions drawn by him, and he knew the facts described
only from hearsay. I am of the opinion that the case will
look entirely different and request that the Tribunal will
not direct me later on, after weeks or months, to bring this
witness into Court.

MAJOR WALSH: If the Court please: Dr. Hottl's affidavit,
Document 2738-PS, was read in part into the record this
morning for the sole purpose of showing the approximate
number of Jews, according to his estimates that had met
death at the hands of the German State. No other portion of
his testimony was referred to and the evidence offered was
for the sole purpose of establishing his estimate of the
number. His position in the Party and in the State, as well
as the position of Adolf Eichmann, the source of his
information, was also stated for the record.

I believe that Dr. Hottl, if he is desired for any other
purpose by the defence, may be called by the defence, but
the prosecution had no other purpose in utilising his
evidence.

THE PRESIDENT: Do you wish to add anything more?

MAJOR WALSH: That is all I have, sir.

THE PRESIDENT: The Tribunal makes the same ruling in this
case as in the case of Pfaffenberger, namely, that the
affidavit is admitted in evidence but that it is open to
defendants' counsel to make a motion, in writing, for the
attendance of the witness for cross-examination and to state
in that motion the reasons for it.

MAJOR WALSH: During the morning session the Court requested
certain information concerning documents that had been
offered and accepted in evidence. I refer to Document 1061-
PS, the report "The Warsaw Ghetto Is No More". This report,
I am told, was prepared for presentation at a meeting of the
S.S. Police Leaders to be held on 18th May, 1943. This is
indicated on Page 45 of the translation before the Court.

This document was captured by the Seventh United States Army
and delivered by them to the G-2 of the United States Forces
in the European theatre. In turn they were delivered to
Colonel Storey of the United States Prosecutors' Staff some
months ago.

THE PRESIDENT: Major Walsh, I think the Tribunal also wished
to know whether you could tell us to whom the report had
been made?

MAJOR WALSH: The report, sir, according to the teletypes,
the daily teletypes, sir, were addressed to the higher S.S.
and Police Fuehrer, S.S. Obergruppenfuehrer and General of
the Police Kruger, or his deputy.

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you.

MAJOR WALSH: The Court further inquired about Document L-53
and I have obtained some information concerning this
document. This document was captured by T-Force of the
Counter Intelligence Corps Detachment No. 220, found among
the German records at Weimar, Germany, some time prior to
10th May, 1945.

The Court further inquired concerning this document the
meaning of the letters "W.B." I regret that I have been
unable to obtain definite information as to the meaning of
"W.B." but it has been suggested to me that it might mean
West-Bund or Western Ally because it is used in connection
with the capture or the destruction of all prisoners, before
capture by either the W.B. or the Red Armies, and I presume
that it may mean West-Bund.

                                                  [Page 420]

The slaughter of the Jews in Europe cannot be expressed in
figures alone, for the impact of this slaughter is even more
tragic to the future of the Jewish people and mankind.
Ancient Jewish communities with their own rich, spiritual,
cultural and economic life, bound up for centuries with the
life of the nations in which they flourished, have been
completely obliterated. The contribution of the Jewish
people to civilisation, the arts, the sciences, industry and
culture, need not, I am sure, be elaborated before this
Tribunal. Their destruction, carried out continuously,
deliberately, intentionally and methodically by the Nazis,
represents a loss to civilisation of special qualities and
abilities that cannot possibly be restored.

I have not attempted to recount the multitudinous and
diabolical crimes committed against the Jewish people by the
State which these defendants ruled, because, with sober
regard for contemporary and historical truth, a detailed
description of some of these crimes would transcend the
utmost resources of the human faculty of expression. The
mind already recoils and shrinks from the acceptance of the
incredible facts already related. Rather is it my purpose to
elucidate the pattern, the successful and successive stages,
the sequence and concurrence of the crimes committed, the
predetermined means to a preordained end.

Yet, these cold, stark, brutal facts and figures, drawn
largely from the defendants' own sources, and submitted in
evidence before this Tribunal defy rebuttal.

From conception to execution, from Party Programme Of 1920
to the gloating declarations of Himmler and defendant Frank
in 1943 and 1944, the annihilation of the Jewish people in
Europe was man-made - made by the very men sitting in the
defendants' box, brought to judgment before this Tribunal.

Before closing, may I acknowledge with appreciation the
untiring services of that group of the Staff of the United
States Prosecution, through whose painstaking search,
analysis and study, this presentation of evidence was made
possible, Captain Seymour Krieger, Lt. Brady Bryson, Lt.
Frederick Felton, Sgt. Isaac Stone and Mr. Hans Nathan.

COLONEL STOREY: If the Tribunal please, the next
presentation, concerning Germanisation and spoliation in
occupied countries, will be presented by Captain Sam Harris.

CAPTAIN SAM HARRIS: May the Tribunal please. Documents
relating to the Nazi programme of Germanisation and
Spoliation have been assembled in a document book bearing
the letter "U". These document books are now being
distributed for the use of the members of the Tribunal. I
ask your Honours to note that the tabs on the side of the
document book are numbered 1 to 30. The index sheet at the
front of the book keys these numbers to the EC and PS
numbers.

For your Honours' convenience we have also numbered the
pages of each exhibit in pencil at the upper right-hand
corner.

The documents which we shall introduce were collected by Lt.
Kenyon, who sits at my right, and by Doctors Derenberg and
Jacoby. Without their untiring efforts, this presentation
would not have been possible.

Evidence has already been introduced by Mr. Alderman to
prove that the defendants conspired to wage aggressive war.
It has also been proved that the desire for "Lebensraum" was
one of the chief forces motivating the

                                                  [Page 421]

conspirators to plan, launch and wage their wars of
aggression. We propose, at this time, to present evidence
disclosing what the conspirators intended to do with
conquered territories, called by them "Lebensraum", after
they had succeeded in overpowering the victims of their
aggressions.

We have broadly divided this subject into two categories;
Germanisation and spoliation. When we speak of plans to
Germanise, we mean plans to assimilate conquered territories
politically, culturally, socially and economically into the
German Reich. Germanisation, we shall demonstrate, meant the
obliteration of the former national character of the
conquered territories and the extermination of all elements
which could not be reconciled with the Nazi ideology. By
spoliation, we mean the plunder of public and private
property and, in general, the exploitation of the people and
natural resources of occupied countries.

We propose, with the permission of your Honours, to
introduce at this time, in all, 30 documents. These
documents lay bare some of the secret plans of the
conspirators, to Germanise, to plunder, to despoil, and, to
destroy. They do not, of course, tell the whole story of all
the conspirators' plans in this field. In some instances
proof of the plan is derived from the acts committed by the
conspirators. But these few documents are particularly
illuminating with respect to their plans for Poland,
Czechoslovakia and Russia, and they indicate the outlines of
carefully conceived plans for the rest of Europe. Others who
follow will fill in this outline by showing a series of
outrages committed on so vast a scale that no doubts will
exist that they were committed according to plan.

Poland was, in a sense, the testing ground for the
conspirators' theories upon "Lebensraum", and I turn to that
country first.

The four Western provinces of Poland were purportedly
incorporated into Germany by an order of 8th October, 1939.
This order, which was signed by Hitler, Lammers and
defendants Goering, Frick and Hess, is set forth in
Reichsgesetzblatt, 1939, Part 1, Page 2042, and we ask the
Tribunal to take judicial notice thereof. These areas of
Poland are frequently referred to in correspondence between
the conspirators as "incorporated Eastern territories". The
remainder of Poland which was seized by the Nazi invaders
was established as the Government General of Poland by an
order of Hitler, dated 12th October, 1939. By that same
order defendant Hans Frank was named Governor General of the
newly created Government General, and defendant Seyss-
Inquart was named Deputy Governor General. This order is set
forth in Reichsgesetzblatt, 1939, Part 1, Page 2077, and we
ask the Tribunal also to take judicial notice of it.

The plans with respect to Poland were rather complicated and
I believe that the significance of specific items of proof
may be more readily apparent if, in advance of the
introduction of documents, I am permitted briefly to
indicate the broad pattern of those plans.

We submit that the documents we are about to introduce on
Poland show the following:-

First, the conspirators specifically planned to exploit the
people and material resources of the Government General of
Poland in order to strengthen the Nazi war machine, to
impoverish the Government General, and to reduce it to a
vassal State. At a later stage plans were

                                                  [Page 422]


formulated for creating islands of German settlements in the
more fertile regions of the Government General, in order to
engulf the native Polish population and accelerate the
process of Germanisation.

Secondly, the incorporated area of Poland, which was deemed
to be a part of the German Reich, was to be ruthlessly
Germanised. To that end, the conspirators planned:

   (a) To permit the retention of the productive facilities
   in the incorporated area, all, of which, of course,
   would be dedicated to the Nazi war machine.
   
   (b) They planned to deport to the Government General
   many hundreds of thousands of Jews, members of the
   Polish intelligentsia, and other non-compliant elements.
   We shall show that the Jews who, were deported to the
   Government General were doomed to speedy annihilation.
   Moreover, since the conspirators felt that members of
   the Polish intelligentsia could not be Germanised and
   might serve as a centre of resistance against their New
   Order, they too were to be eliminated.
   
   (c) They planned to deport all able-bodied Polish
   workers to Germany for work in the Nazi war machine.
   This served the two-fold purpose of helping to satisfy
   the labour requirements of the Nazi war machine and of
   preventing the propagation of a new generation of Poles.
   Mr. Dodd has already produced abundant proof on this
   topic, and I shall do no more than refer to it.
   
   (d) They planned to mould all persons in the
   incorporated area who were deemed to possess German
   blood into German subjects, who would religiously adhere
   to the principles of National Socialism. To that end,
   the conspirators set up an elaborate racial register.
   Those who resisted or refused to co-operate in this
   programme were sent to concentration camps.
   
   (e) They planned to bring thousands of German subjects
   into the incorporated area for purposes of settlement.
   Finally, they planned to confiscate the property -
   particularly the farms - of the Poles, the Jews and all
   dissident elements. The confiscation of the property of
   Jews was part of the conspirators' larger programme of
   extermination of the Jews. Confiscation likewise served
   three additional purposes:  (1) it provided land for the
   new German settlers and enabled the conspirators to
   reward their adherents; (2) dispossessed Polish property
   owners would be shipped to Germany for work in the
   production of implements of war; and (3) by the
   separation of Polish farmers from their wives furthered
   the plan to prevent the growth of a new generation of
   Poles.

We turn now to the specific items of proof.

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