Archive/File: imt/tgmwc/tgmwc-03-22.01
Last-Modified: 1998/07/24

                      TWENTY-SECOND DAY
                TUESDAY, 18TH DECEMBER, 1945

                                                   [Page 52]

COLONEL STOREY: If the Tribunal please, before adjourning
yesterday afternoon, your Honour properly asked a question
or two about Documents 3051 and 3063, to which I think I
have an answer that will help the Tribunal. Your Honour will
recall, with reference to Document 3051-PS... I believe it
might be of assistance to turn to that document.

THE PRESIDENT: Yes.

COLONEL STOREY. Your Honour asked yesterday afternoon, since
this had to do with the S.D. and the S.S., how the Party was
involved. And I should like to quote paragraph Number I on
Page 2 of the English translation, which answers this
question, and I am quoting:

     "The Chiefs of the State Police, or their deputies,
     must get in contact by telephone with the Political
     Leaders (Gauleitung oder Kreisleitung) who have
     jurisdiction over their districts and have to arrange a
     joint meeting with the appropriate inspector or
     commander of the Order Police to discuss the
     organisation of the demonstration. At these discussions
     the Political Leaders  are to be informed that the
     German Police have received from the Reichsfuehrer S.S.
     and Chief of the German Police the following
     instructions, in accordance with which the Political
     Leaders  should adjust their own measures."

That had to do with the preparation for the general anti-
Jewish uprisings.

Now, with reference to Document 3063, which follows just one
or two documents below...

THE PRESIDENT: What was the document?

COLONEL STOREY: Number 3063 was the next, just below that
one, if your Honour pleases.

THE PRESIDENT: Very well.

COLONEL STOREY: That, if you recall, your Honour, was a
report from the Supreme Party Court Justice Buch to the
defendant Goering, concerning punishment for the uprisings
that followed the 9th and 10th of November demonstration. I
should like to quote the portion signed by the defendant
Goering. It is, I believe, the second page of the English
translation.

It is dated:  "Berlin, 2nd February, 1939."

     "Dear Party Member Buch:
     
     I thank you for forwarding the report of your special
     senate about the proceedings which were taken in regard
     to the excesses on the occasion of the anti-Jewish
     operations of  the 9th and 10th of November, 1938, of
     which I have taken cognisance.
     
     Heil Hitler!
     yours,
     Goering."
     
And then, passing, your Honour, to page number I,
immediately following, of the English translation, I think
the next two paragraphs will answer your Honour's question.
I quote:

     "On the evening of 9th November, 1938, the Reich
     Propaganda Director
     
                                                   [Page 53]
     
     Party Member Dr. Goebbels told the Party Leaders
     assembled at a social evening in the old town hall in
     Munich that in the districts (Gauen) of Kurhessen and
     Magdeburg-Anhalt it had come to hostile Jewish
     demonstrations, during which Jewish shops were
     demolished and synagogues were set on fire. The
     Fuehrer, at Goebbels' suggestion, had decided that such
     demonstrations were not to be prepared or organised by
     the Party; but so far as they originated spontaneously,
     they were not to be discouraged either. In other
     respects, Party Member Dr. Goebbels carried out the
     purport of what was prescribed in  the teletype of the
     Reich Propaganda Administration of 10th November, 1938.
     
     It was probably understood by all the Party leaders
     present."

PRESIDENT: What does "12:30 to 1 o'clock" mean there?

COLONEL STOREY: That is the time of the teletype message, I
assume, your Honour.

THE PRESIDENT: Yes.

COLONEL STOREY: "It was probably understood by all the Party
leaders present, on the basis of the oral instructions of
the Reich Propaganda Director, that the Party should not
appear outwardly as the originator of the demonstrations but
in reality should organise and execute them. Instructions to
this end were telephoned immediately" -- thus a considerable
time before transmission of the first teletype -- "to the
bureaux of their districts (Gauen) by a large part of the
Party members present."

Now, your Honour properly asked, yesterday afternoon, how
the "Blockleiter" would be affected. Your Honour will recall
that, in the instructions to the "Blockleiter" defining his
offices, it was stated that his instructions would be
received orally and they would be transmitted orally, and
writing was never to be used except in extreme cases.
Therefore I say that these quoted portions clearly indicate
that the Party was in fact used in connection with these
famous anti-Jewish demonstrations of 9th and 10th November,
1938.

Now, reverting to the text where I left off yesterday
afternoon:

The Leadership Corps of the Nazi Party participated in the
confiscation of church and religious property.

I offer in evidence Document 072-PS, which is Exhibit USA
357, which is a letter, dated 19th April, 1941, from
Reichsleiter Bormann to Reichsleiter Rosenberg. This letter
exposes the participation of the "Gauleiter" in measures
relating to the confiscation of religious property.

I now quote from the last paragraph of Page 1 of the English
translation of Document 072-PS, which reads:

     "The libraries and art treasures of the monasteries
     confiscated in the Reich were to remain for the time
     being in their monasteries in so far as the `Gauleiter'
     had not determined otherwise."

On 21st February, 1940, the Chief of the Security Police and
S.D. Heydrich, wrote a letter to Reichsfuehrer S.S. Himmler,
proposing that certain listed churches and monasteries be
confiscated for the accommodation of so-called "racial
Germans".

The Tribunal, of course, will recall Himmler's position.

After pointing out that, on political grounds, outright
expropriation of religious property would not be feasible at
the time, Heydrich suggested

                                                   [Page 54]
                                                            
certain specious interim actions with respect to the church
properties in question, to be followed progressively by
outright confiscation.

I now offer in evidence R-101A -- it is right towards the
end of your Honour's Exhibits -- as Exhibit USA 358.

If your Honour pleases, there are several of those documents
under R-101, and at the bottom you will notice they are
labeled "A", "B", and "C". The first one is R-101A, and I
quote the first five paragraphs on Page 2 of the English
translation:

     "Enclosed is a list of church possessions which might
     be available for the accommodation of racial Germans.
     The list, which I beg you to return, is supplemented by
     correspondence and illustrated material pertinent to
     the subject.
     
     For political reasons, expropriation without indemnity
     of the entire property of the churches and religious
     orders will hardly be possible at this time.
     
     Expropriation with indemnity or in return for
     assignment of other lands and grounds will be even less
     possible.
     
     It is therefore suggested that the respective
     authorities of the Orders be instructed that they make
     available the monasteries concerned, for the
     accommodation of racial Germans, and remove their own
     members to other less populous monasteries."

There is a marginal note opposite this paragraph that,
translated means "very good."

     "The final expropriation of these properties thus
     placed at our disposal can then be carried out step by
     step in the course of time."

On 5th April, 1940, the Security Police and Security Service
S.S. sent a letter to the Reich Commissar for the
Consolidation of Germandom, enclosing a copy of the
foregoing letter from Heydrich to Himmler of 21st February,
1940, proposing the confiscation of Church properties. The
letter of 5th April, 1940, is included in the Document R-
101A, just introduced in evidence; and I quote from this
second sentence of the first paragraph thereof, on Page 1 of
the English translation of that document. It is the first
paragraph of Page I:

     "The Reich Leader S.S. has agreed to the proposals made
     in the enclosed letter and has ordered the matter to be
     dealt with by collaboration between the Chief of the
     Security Police and Security Service and your office."

If your Honour pleases, I believe it is on Pare 1 of the
document. It is from the second sentence of the first
paragraph. It is on the same one as the tab, your Honour.

THE PRESIDENT: Yes, I have it.

COLONEL STOREY: I now offer in evidence Document R-101C,
Exhibit USA 358. This is a letter dated 30th July, 1941,
written by an S.S. Standartenfuehrer, whose signature is
illegible, to the Reich Leader of the S.S. The letter
supplies further evidence of the participation of the
"Gauleiter" in the seizure of church property. I quote from
the first three paragraphs of the English translation of
Document R-101C:

     "In accordance with  the report of 30th May, 1941, this
     office considers it its duty to call the Reich Leader's
     attention to the development which is taking place in
     the incorporated Eastern Countries with regard to
     seizure and confiscation of Church property.
     
                                                   [Page 55]
                                                            
     As soon as the Reich laws on expropriation had been
     introduced, the Reich Governor and `Gauleiter' in the
     Wartheland adopts the practice of expropriating real
     estate  belonging to churches for use as dwellings. He
     grants compensation to the extent of the assessed
     value, and pays the equivalent amount into blocked
     accounts.
     
     Moreover, the East German Estate Administration,
     Limited, reports that in the `Warthegau' all real
     estate owned by the churches is being claimed by the
     local `Gau' administration."

I next offer in evidence Document R-101D, which immediately
follows Exhibit USA 358, already in evidence. This is a
letter from the Chief Of Staff of the Main Office to
Himmler, dated 30th March, 1942, dealing with the
confiscation of church property. The letter evidences the
active participation of the Party Chancellery in the
confiscation of religious property.

In this letter the Chief of Staff, Main Office, reports to
Himmler concerning the policy of the S.S. in suspending all
payment of rent to monasteries and other church institutions
whose property had expropriated. The letter discusses a
proposal made by the Reich Minister of the Interior, in
which the Party Chancellery prominently participated, to the
effect that the church institutions should be paid amounts
corresponding to current mortgage charges on the premises,
without realising any profit. The writer further suggests
that such payments should never be made directly to the
ecclesiastical institutions but rather should be made to the
creditors of the institutions:

I now quote from the fourth sentence on Page 3 of that
document:

     "Such an arrangement would be in line with the basic
     idea of the settlement originally worked out between
     the Party Chancellery and the Reich Minister of the
     Interior."

I understand the Reich Minister of Interior for 1933-1944
was the defendant Frick.

The Leadership Corps of the Nazi Party participated in the
suppression of religious publications and interfered with
free religious education.

In a letter dated 27th September, 1940, Reichsleiter and
Deputy of the Fuehrer Bormann transmitted to the defendant
Rosenberg a photostatic copy of a letter from Gauleiter
Florian, dated 23rd September, 1940, which expresses the
Gauleiter's intense disapproval, on Nazi ideological
grounds, of a religious pamphlet entitled, "The Spirit and
Soul of the Soldiers," written by a Major General von
Rabenau.

I now offer in evidence Document 064-PS, Exhibit USA 359. It
is an original letter signed by Rosenberg attaching the copy
of that matter. It contains defendant Bormann's letter to
Rosenberg, dated 27th September, 1940, transmitting the
Gauleiter's letter of 23rd September, 1940, to the defendant
Hess, in which the Gauleiter urges that the religious
writings of General von Rabenau be suppressed. In his letter
to the defendant Hess, Gauleiter Florian discusses a
conversation he had with General von Rabenau at the close of
a lecture delivered by the General to a group of younger
Army officers at Aachen. This conversation illumines the
hostile attitude of the Leadership Corps of the Nazi Party
towards the Christian churches. I quote from the second
sentence of the second paragraph of the second page of the
Gauleiter's letter to the defendant Hess, which appears on
Page 2 of the English translation -- the second paragraph:

     "After he had affirmed the necessity of the churches,
     Rabenau said, with emphasised self-assurance, something
     like the following:
     
                                                   [Page 56]
     
     `Dear Gauleiter, the Party is making mistake after
     mistake in the treatment of the churches. Obtain for me
     the necessary powers from the Fuehrer and I guarantee
     that I shall succeed in a few months in establishing
     peace with the churches for all time.'
     
     After this catastrophic ignorance, I gave up the
     conversation.

     Dear Party Member Hess, the reading of von Rabenau's
     pamphlet `Spirit and Soul of the Soldiers' has reminded
     me again of this. In this brochure Rabenau affirms the
     necessity of the Church straight-forwardly and clearly,
     even though he is prudently careful. He writes on Page
     28: `There could be more examples; they would suffice
     to show that a soldier in this world can scarcely get
     along without thoughts about the next one.'
     
     Because von Rabenau has a false spiritual basis, I
     consider his activities as an educator in spiritual
     affairs to be dangerous, and I am of the opinion that
     his educational writings are to be dispensed with
     absolutely and that the publication section of the
     N.S.D.A.P. can and must renounce these writings. The
     churches with their Christianity constitute that danger
     against which the struggle must always be carried on."

That the Party Chancellery shared with the Gauleiter this
hostility to the Christian Churches is further revealed by
the defendant Bormann's instruction to the defendant
Rosenberg, set forth in Bormann's letter of transmittal,
that Rosenberg "take action" on the Gauleiter's
recommendation that the General's writings be suppressed.

I now offer in evidence Document 089-PS, Exhibit USA 360,
which is a letter from the defendant Bormann, as Deputy of
the Fuehrer, to the defendant Rosenberg, dated 8th March,
1940, enclosing a copy of Bormann's letter of the same date
to Reichsleiter Amann. Amann was a top member of the
Leadership Corps by virtue of his position as Reichsleiter
for the Press and Leader Of the Party Publishing Company. In
this letter to Amann Bormann expresses his dismay and
dissatisfaction that only 10 per cent of the 3,000
Protestant periodicals in Germany have ceased publication,
for what are described as "paper saving" reasons. Bormann
then advises Reichsleiter Amann that "the distribution of
any paper whatsoever for such periodicals is barred."

I now refer to this Document 089-PS, and I quote the second
paragraph of Bormann's letter to Amann, which appears on the
first page -- the second paragraph -- of the English
translation:

     "I urge you to see to it, in any redistribution of
     paper to be considered later, that the confessional
     writing, which, according to experiences so far
     gathered, possesses very doubtful value for
     strengthening the power of resistance on the part of
     the people toward the external foe, receive still
     sharper restrictions in favour of literature
     politically and ideologically more valuable."

I next offer in evidence Document 101-PS, Exhibit USA 361,
which is a letter from the defendant Bormann, again, to
Reichsleiter Rosenberg, dated the 17th January, 1940,
expressing the Party's opposition to the circulation of
religious literature to the members of the German Armed
Forces. Among the soldiers of the United Nations, the
proposition that there are no atheists in the fox-holes
received a wide and reverent acceptation. However, in

                                                   [Page 57]
                                                            
this document there is a contrary meaning, and I quote from
Page 1 of the English translation, which reads:

     "Nearly all the districts" -- (that is Gauen) --
     "report to me regularly that the churches of both
     confessions are administering spiritually to members of
     the Armed Forces. This administration finds its
     expression especially in the fact that soldiers are
     being sent religious publications by the spiritual
     leaders of their home congregations. These publications
     are, in part, very cleverly composed. I have repeated
     reports that these publications are being read by the
     troops and thereby exercise a certain influence on the
     morale.
     
     I have, in the past, by sounding out  at once the
     General Field Marshal, the High Command of the Armed
     Forces, and fellow Party Member Reich Director Amann,
     sought to restrict considerably the production and
     shipment of publications of this type. The result of
     these efforts remained unsatisfactory. As Reichsleiter
     Amann has repeatedly informed me, the restriction of
     these pamphlets by means of the paper rationing cannot
     be achieved because the paper used for the pamphlets is
     being purchased on the open market.
     
     If the influencing of the soldiers by the church is to
     be effectively combated, this will only be accomplished
     only by producing many good publications in the
     shortest possible time under the supervision of the
     Party.
     
     At the last meeting of the Deputy Gauleiters, comments
     were made on this matter to the effect that no
     considerable quantity of such publications is
     available.
     
     I maintain that it is necessary that in the near future
     we transmit to the Party Service Offices down to the
     Ortsgruppenleiter a list of additional publications of
     this sort which should be sent to our soldiers by the
     Ortsgruppen..."

The Leadership Corps also participated in measures leading
to the closing and dissolution of theological schools and
other religious institutions. I now offer in evidence
Document 122-PS, Exhibit USA 362, which, again, is a letter
from the defendant Bormann to the defendant Rosenberg in his
capacity as the Fuehrer's Representative for the Supervision
of Spiritual and Ideological Schooling and Education of the
N.S.D.A.P. This letter is dated  17th April, 1939, and
transmits to Rosenberg an enclosed photostatic copy of a
plan suggested by the Reich Minister for Science, Education
and Training for the combining and closing of certain
specially listed theological faculties. In his letter of
transmittal the defendant Bormann requested Reichsleiter
Rosenberg, to take "cognizance and prompt action" with
respect to proposed suppression of religious institutions. I
now quote from the next to the last paragraph of Page 2 of
the English translation, in which the plan to suppress the
religious institutions is summarised, and which reads:

     "To recapitulate, this plan would mean, in addition to
     the closing of the theological faculties at Innsbruck,
     Salzburg and Munich, which has already taken place, and
     the contemplated transfer of the faculty of Graz to
     Vienna -- that is the disappearance of four Catholic
     theological faculties:
     
     (a) The closing of three more Catholic theological
     faculties or higher
     
                                                   [Page 58]
                                                            
     schools and of four Evangelical theological faculties
     in the Winter Semester 1939/1940;
     
     (b) the closing of one more Catholic and of three more
     Evangelical theological faculties in the near future."

From the foregoing evidence the inference is irresistible,
that the Leadership Corps of the Nazi Party shares a
responsibility for the measures taken to subvert the
Christian Churches and persecute the Christian clergy, both
in Germany and in German-occupied territories of Europe. The
evidence just offered, together with that previously
presented by the prosecution, demonstrates that there was a
general participation by the Leadership Corps, ranging from
the Reichsleiter to the Gauleiter, adhered to by the rank
and file, in the deliberate programme undertaken to
undermine Christian religion. We stress the significance of
the appointment of the defendant Rosenberg, whose anti-
Christian views are open and notorious, as the Fuehrers
"delegate" or "representative" for the whole spiritual and
philosophical education of the Nazi Party. It was precisely
this position which gave Rosenberg his seat in the
Reichsleitung, the general staff of the Party, comprising
all the Reichsleiter. But emphasis is placed not merely upon
the fact that anti-Christs, such as the defendants Bormann
and Rosenberg, held directive positions in the Leadership
Corps but also upon the fact that their directives and
orders were passed down the chain of command of to the
Leadership Corps and caused the participation of its
membership in acts subversive to the Christian Church.

In Document D-75, which I believe has been previously
introduced -- and I am just going to quote one line from it
-- the defendant Bormann stated:

     "Nazism and Christianity are irreconcilable concepts."

The defendant was never more right, but he erred grievously
by his prophecy as to which of the two would first pass
away.

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