Archive/File: imt/tgmwc/tgmwc-03-21.02
Last-Modified: 1998/06/03
                              
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I first offer in evidence Document EC-472, Exhibit USA 315.
This document is offered for the particular purpose of
showing the status and functions of the Economic Staff East,
Group LA. The exhibit which we shall next offer in evidence
was prepared by this organisation. Document EC-472 is a
directive issued by defendant Goering's office for "The
Operation of the Economy in the Newly-occupied Eastern
Territories." It is the second edition and it is dated
Berlin, July, 1941. The first edition was obviously
published some time before July, 1941. The document was
found among the captured O.K.W. files at Fechenheim.

Under this directive, defendant Goering established the
Economic Executive Staff East, which was directly
responsible to him, and under it created the Economic Staff
East. The Economic Staff East, in turn, was subdivided into
four groups: The Chief of the Economic Staff, Group LA,
Group W, and Group M. I now quote from Page 2, Lines 7-9 of
the English text; in the German text it is at Page 7, Lines
7-9. I quote:--

     "Group LA. (Functions of nutrition and agriculture, the
     economy of all agricultural products, provision of
     supplies for the Army, in co-operation with the army
     groups concerned.)"

I next offer in evidence Document EC-126, which is Exhibit
USA 316. This is a report dated 23rd May, 1941, which was
before the invasion of the Soviet Union. It was found among
the captured files of the O.K.W. It is entitled, "Economic
Policy Directives for Economic Organisation East,
Agricultural Group." It was prepared by the Economic Staff
East, Group LA, the Agricultural Group, which, as shown by
the exhibit introduced a moment ago, was an important part
of the organisation which defendant Goering established to
formulate plans for the economic administration of Russia.

The underscoring in the English text merely reflects the
underscoring in the original.

The document begins with a recitation of facts pertaining to
the production of agricultural products in the Soviet Union.
It states that the grain surplus of Russia is determined by
the level of domestic consumption and that this fact affords
the basis upon which the planners must predicate their
actions and economic policy. I now quote from the sixth and
seventh paragraphs of Page 2 of the English text. The German
text is the last three lines of Page 3, and the first five
lines of Page 4. I quote:--

     "The surplus territories are situated in the black soil
     district (that is in the South and South-East) and in
     the Caucasus. The deficit areas are principally located
     in the Forest Zone of the North.
     
     Therefore, an isolation of the black soil areas will in
     any case place greater or lesser surpluses in these
     regions at our disposal. The consequences will be
     cessation of supplies to the entire forest zone,
     including the essential industrial centres of Moscow
     and Leningrad."

Next, I quote from the last 11 lines of Page 2 and all of
Page 3 of the English text. The German text begins in the
middle of line 6 of Page 5 and continues through to line 29
of Page 6. I quote:

     "This -- the cessation of supplies -- means:

     1. All industry in the deficit area, particularly the
     manufacturing industries in the Moscow and Leningrad
     regions as absolute minimum necessary to supply the
     bare needs of the people in these particular regions,
     as well as the Ural industrial regions will be
     abandoned. It may be assumed that these regions today
     absorb an annual five to ten million tons from the food
     production zone.
     
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     2. The Trans-Caucasian oil district will have to be
     excepted, although it is a deficit area. This source of
     oil, cotton, manganese, copper, silk and tea must
     continue to be supplied with food in any case, for
     special political and economic reasons.
     
     3. No further exception with a view to preserving one
     or the other industrial region or industrial enterprise
     must be permitted.

     4. Industry can only be preserved insofar as it is
     located in the surplus region. This applies, apart from
     the above-mentioned oil field regions in the Caucasus,
     particularly to the heavy industries in the Donesz
     District (Ukraine). Only the future will show to what
     extent it will prove possible to maintain in full these
     industries, and in particular the Ukrainian
     manufacturing industries, after the withdrawal of the
     food surplus required by Germany.
     
The following consequences result from this situation, which
has received the approval of the highest authorities, since
it is in accord with the political tendencies (preservation
of the Little Russians, preservation of the Caucasus, of the
Baltic provinces, of White Russia, to the prejudice of the
Great Russians):
     
     "I. For the forest belt:
     
     (a) Production in the forest belt (the food-deficit
     area) will become 'naturalised,' similar to the events
     during the World War and the Communist tendencies of
     the war, etc., viz: agriculture in that territory will
     begin to become a mere 'home production.' The result
     will be that the planting of products destined for the
     market, such as, in particular, flax and hemp, will be
     discontinued, and the area used therefor will be taken
     over for products for the producer (grain, potatoes,
     etc.). Moreover, discontinuance of fodder deliveries to
     that area will lead to the collapse of the dairy
     production and of pig-producing in that territory.
     
     (b) Germany is not interested in the maintenance of the
     productive power of these territories, except for
     supplying the troops stationed there. The population,
     as in the old days, will utilise arable land for
     growing its own food. It is useless to expect grain or
     other surpluses to be produced. Only after many years
     can these extensive regions be intensified to an extent
     that they might produce genuine surpluses. The
     population of these areas, in particular the urban
     population, will have to face most serious distress
     from famine. It will be necessary to divert the
     population into the Siberian spaces. Since rail
     transport is out of the question, this too, will be an
     extremely difficult problem.

     (c) In this situation, Germany will only draw
     substantial advantages by quick, non-recurrent seizure,
     i.e., it will be vitally necessary to make the entire
     flax harvest available for German needs, not only the
     fibers but also the oleaginous seeds.
     
     It will also be necessary to utilise for German
     purposes the livestock which has no fodder base of its
     own, i.e., it will be necessary to seize livestock
     holdings immediately, and to make them available to the
     troops not only for the moment but in the long run, and
     also for exportation to Germany. Since fodder supplies
     will be cut off, pig and cattle holdings in these areas
     will of necessity drastically
     
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     decline in the near future. If they are not seized by
     the Germans at an early date, they will be slaughtered
     by the population for their own use, without Germany
     getting anything out of it."

That is the end of that particular quotation. Our next
quotation is from the first paragraph of Page 4 of the
English text. The German text is at Page 7, the last two
words of line 26 down to the beginning of line 31:--

     "It has been demanded by the Fuehrer that the reduction
     of the meat ration should be ended by the autumn. This
     can only be achieved by the most drastic seizures of
     Russian livestock holdings, particularly in areas which
     are in a favourable transport situation in relation to
     Germany."

In the interests of expedition, your Honour, I am omitting
some sections from this last exhibit, which I had originally
intended to quote.

I skip now to Line 29 of Page 4 of the English text,
beginning with the underscored words "in future", and quote
to Line 48. In the German text it is at Page 8, third line
from the bottom, continuing to Line 17 of Page 9.

     "In future, southern Russia must turn its face towards
     Europe. Its food surpluses, however, will only be paid
     for if it purchases its industrial consumer goods from
     Germany or Europe. Russian competition from the forest
     zone must, therefore, be abolished.
     
     It follows from all that has been said that the German
     administration in these territories may well attempt to
     mitigate the consequences of the famine which
     undoubtedly will take place, and to accelerate the
     return to primitive agricultural conditions. An attempt
     might be made to intensify cultivation in these areas
     by expanding the acreage under potatoes or other
     important food crops giving a high yield. However,
     these measures will not avert famine. Many tens of
     millions of people in this area will become redundant
     and will either die or have to emigrate to Siberia. Any
     attempt to save the population there from death by
     starvation by importing surpluses from the black soil
     zone would be at the expense of supplies to Europe. It
     would reduce Germany's staying power in the war and
     would undermine Germany's and Europe's power to resist
     the blockade. This must be clearly and absolutely
     understood."

I next quote from Page 5, Lines 18 to 30 of the English
text. The German text is at Page 12, Lines 1 to 11.

     "I. Supplies for the Army:
     
     Germany's food situation in the third year of war
     demands imperatively that the Wehrmacht, in all its
     provisioning, shall not live off Greater German
     territory or that of incorporated or friendly areas
     from which this territory receives imports. This
     minimum aim, the provisioning of the Wehrmacht from
     enemy territory in the third year, and if necessary in
     later years, must be attained at any price. This means
     that one-third of the Wehrmacht must be fully
     provisioned by French deliveries to the army of
     occupation. The remaining two-thirds (and even slightly
     more in view of the present size of the Wehrmacht) must
     without exception be provisioned from the Eastern
     territory."
     
I now quote from Page 8 of the English text, the last nine
lines. The German text is at Page 18, Lines 15 to 22:

     "Thus it is not important under any circumstances to
     preserve the status quo, but what matters is a
     deliberate turning away from the
     
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     existing situation and introducing Russian food
     resources into the European framework. This will
     inevitably result in an extinction of industry as well
     as a large part of the people in what so far have been
     the food-deficit areas."

     It is impossible to state this alternative in
     sufficiently hard and severe terms."

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