The Nizkor Project: Remembering the Holocaust (Shoah)

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                                                 [Page 120]

Similarly, secrecy was provided for in the order assigning a
Wehrmacht officer to the S.A. in January, 1934, to assist in
the S.A. training programme. This Document, 2823-PS, Exhibit
USA 429, which is a copy of a memorandum of S.A.
Headquarters dated  20th January, 1934, designates an
officer of the Wehrmacht to assist the military training of
S.A. members. and it goes on to provide, and I quote from
paragraph 7 of the English translation of Document 2823-PS:--

     "For the purpose of camouflage, Lt. Col. Auleb will
     wear S.A. uniform with the insignia of rank according
     to more detailed regulations of the Supreme S.A.
     Leaders."

The military training programme of the S.A. was for many
years conducted under the guise of a sports programme. This
plan was created by Hitler as early as 1920 by the founding
of what he called the Sports Programme. The fact that the 
so-called Sports Programme was in reality closely associated
with, and, in fact, a means of providing military training
for the German youth is shown by the following
characterisation it by Lutze, the Chief of Staff of the
S.A., in an article written in 1939. I now refer to Document
3215-PS, Exhibit USA 426, and I quote excerpts of the
English translation on Page 2:

     "This goal was also served by the decrees of the
     Fuehrer to the S.A. in 1935 regarding the renewing of,
     in 1936 regarding the charter of,  and in 1937
     regarding the yearly repetitive exercises required for
     the S.A. sport badge. Parallel to this decree of the
     Fuehrer for the betterment and military indoctrination,
     organisational and  training measures were taken within
     the S.A. Based on the conception that the preservation
     and intensification of the military power of our people
     must especially be promoted by military and physical
     exercises, a systematic training was carried out
     especially in these schools.

     In twenty-five `group schools' and in three
     `Reichsfuehrer' schools of the S.A., 22,000 to 25,000
     officers and non-coms have been trained yearly since
     1934 in special educational courses until they earned
     the education and examination certificates. In clearly
     outlined directives the training goal which had to be
     achieved yearly was stepped up, and at the same time
     annual Reich competitive contacts of the S.A. were
     established. Hand in hand with the training of the
     Fuehrer Corps and the organisations belonging to it
     went the training for the front on the broadest basis."

In connection with the military training of the sports
programme, I refer to Document 2354, Exhibit USA 430, which
demonstrates the tests and standards required for obtaining
the sports award, on Page 2 of the English translation. I am
not going read all of it, if your Honour pleases, but just
refer to a few of them:

     "Group II: Military sports; 25-kilometer march with
     pack;
     
                                                  [Page 121]
                                                            
     firing of small-caliber arms; aimed throwing of hand
     grenades, 200 meter cross-country race over four
     obstacles with gas masks; swimming or bicycling; basic
     knowledge of first aid in case of accidents--"

I will pass the others.

In 1939 the S.A. Sports Programme was formally recognised in
a decree issued by Hitler as a military training programme
and the S.A. was openly declared to be an agency for pre-and
post-military training, that is, for military training prior
to and following service in the Wehrmacht. I have Document
2383-PS----

THE PRESIDENT: Colonel Storey, you have just drawn our
attention to a Document 3215-PS, which shows that from 1934
onwards, 25,000 officers and non-commissioned officers were
trained by the S.A.

COLONEL STOREY: Yes, Sir.

THE PRESIDENT: Isn't that sufficient to show the military
nature of the organisation?

COLONEL STOREY: I think so. This was just the decree of
Hitler. May I just refer to it by reference for the record?
I will not read the decree.

THE PRESIDENT: Go on; what are you referring to?

COLONEL STOREY: Document 2383-PS, Page 11 of the English
translation contains a copy of the decree legalising the
training programme for pre-and post-military training.

It would have been one thing for the S.A. to conduct a
military training programme for its members, but the S.A.
programme was not confined to its members. The entire youth
of Germany was enlisted into a feverish programme of
military training.

I refer to a quotation in Document 2354-PS, from the same
organisation book, which is at Page 2 of the English
translation, in which the Chief of Staff Lutze said, and I
quote briefly:

     "In order to give expression to the fostering of a
     valiant spirit in all classes of the German people, I
     further decree that this S.A. Sports Insignia can also
     be earned by persons who are not members of the
     movement, provided they comply racially and
     ideologically with the National Socialist
     requirements."

Document 2168-PS shows that responsibility for conducting
the nation-wide programme was lodged in the operational main
office of the SA. Page 8 of the English translation says,
and I quote:

     "Prepare the physical military training of all Germans
     capable of bearing arms, and as a preparation therefor
     organise physical exercises and sports, so that the
     widest strata of the population are reached and will be
     kept in a militarily active condition both physically
     and spiritually, as well as in respect to character and
     ideology up until the last years of their lives."

I pass from that phase now.

Document 3215-PS is an excerpt from Das Archiv, and I refer
to Pages 2 to 3 of the English translation beginning at the
bottom of Page 2, and I quote:

     "Next to the companies of the S.A. were the S.A. Sport
     Badge Associations, in which all the militaristic
     nationals entered who were prepared to answer the call
     of the S.A. for the preservation of military
     proficiency. Up until now about 800,000 nationals
     outside the S.A.
     
                                                  [Page 122]
                                                            
     could successfully undergo the physical training as
     well as the political-military training of the S.A. on
     the basis of the S.A. sport badge."

The military programme of the S.A. was not that of a mere
marching and drill society. It embraced every phase of the
technique of modern warfare. This is particularly
demonstrated by consideration of the articles on military
training which appeared publicly throughout the issues of
the S.A.-Mann. I should like to refer to only a few of the
titles, and they are set out on Pages 8 and 10 of Document
3050. It is a very long list, and I will only refer to five
or six.

There is one of them, 17th February, 1934, Page 7, "Pistol
Shooting"; 21st April, 1934, Page 13, "What every S.A. man
must now about Aviation"; 19th May, 1934, Page 13, "Chemical
Warfare"; 2nd June, 1934, Page 14, "Modern Battle Methods in
the View of the S.A. Man"; 4th August, 1934, Page 13, "The
Significance of Tanks and Motors in the Modern War."

I will omit references to the remainder.

Similarly, the issues of the S.A.-Mann contain many
photographs and articles demonstrating and portraying S.A.
participation in military exercises, including forced
marching, battle maneuvers, obstacle runs, small-caliber
firing, and so on. I merely refer these to your Honour, and
they are shown on Pages 11 to 13 of Document 3050. Just one
or two titles: 24th August, 1935, Page 2, "The S.A. Is and
remains the Shock Troop of the Third Reich." Here is one
showing the connection with the Wehrmacht: 2nd September,
1938, Page 1, "The S.A. and the Wehrmacht," with pictures of
S.A. men on field maneuvers throwing hand grenades.

I will omit the rest of those.

Convincing evidence demonstrating the participation of the
S.A. in the conspiracy is found in the fact that care was
taken at all times to co-ordinate the military training of
the S.A. with the requirements of the Wehrmacht. This is
shown by Document 2821-PS, Exhibit USA 431, Page 1 of the
English translation, quoting:

     "Permanent liaison between the Reich Defence Ministry
     and the Supreme Commander of the S.A... has been
     assured."

Another document, 3215-PS, which is an excerpt from Das
Archiv, sets forth the co-operation and collaboration with
the Wehrmacht, and specialised military training, and it was
stated in a speech of the Chief of Staff of the S.A.,
Document 32l5-PS,  Page 2 of the English translation,
Exhibit USA 426:

     "In the course of this development also special
     missions for military betterment were set for the S.A.
     The Fuehrer charged the S.A. with the cavalry and motor
     training and appointed S.A. Obergruppenfuehrer Litzmann
     as Reich Inspector with the mission of securing,
     through the S.A., cavalry recruits for the requirements
     of the German Wehrmacht. In close co-operation with
     parts of the Wehrmacht, special certificates were
     created for the signal, engineer and medical units
     which, like the cavalry certificate of the S.A., are
     valued as a statement of preference for employment in
     these units."

Your Honour, we have two or three more quotations about co-
operation with the Wehrmacht, but I believe they would be
cumulative, and I will omit them. I will refer only to
Document 2383-PS, Exhibit USA 410. I will read a portion of
the decree:

                                                  [Page 123]
                                                            
     "The Fuehrer: In amplification of my decrees of 15th
     February, 1935, and of 18th March, 1937 regarding the
     award of the S.A. Sports Insignia and the yearly
     repetitive exercises, I raise the S.A. Sports Insignia
     to the S.A. Military Insignia and make it a basis for
     pre- and post-military training. I designate the S.A.
     as the Standard Bearer of this training."

I pass now to Page 48 for the record.

The specialised training given S.A. members, in accordance
with the requirements of the technical branches of the
Wehrmacht, is described in Document 2168 by S.A.
Sturmfuehrer Bayer, Exhibit USA 411, and it is Page 13 of
the English translation:

     "On the one hand, the young S.A. man who from his
     branch in the  S.A. enters the Armed Forces (Wehrmacht)
     already has many abilities which facilitate and speed
     up technical training; while on the other hand those
     very soldiers, who, having served their time in the
     Armed Forces return to the S.A., keep themselves, by
     constant training, physically and mentally fit, and
     impart their knowledge to their fellows.
     
     Thus they contribute a considerable portion to the
     increase of the armed strength and armed spirit of the
     German people."

And then passing down: "The S.A. each year is able to
furnish many thousands of trained young men to our
Wehrmacht." I will omit the rest of that.

I simply call attention now to Page 3 of an issue of Der
S.A.-Mann dated 3rd February, 1939, which contains a
photograph of Chief of Staff Lutze addressing a group of his
men. This photograph bears the caption, "We will be the
Bridge between the Party and the Wehrmacht."

The second reference shows a photograph of General
Brauchitsch and Chief of Staff Lutze reviewing an S.A. unit.

Now, I pass to Document 3214-PS, which is Exhibit USA 432.
There is only one page of it. Quoting:

     "It was announced that S.A. men and Hitler Youths
     liable to military service can fulfil their military
     duty in the S.A. Regiment `Feldherrnhalle,' the
     Commander of which is General Field Marshal, S.A.
     Obergruppenfuehrer Goering. The regiment for the first
     time was employed in the occupation of the Sudetenland
     as Regiment of the Luftwaffe, with special tasks under
     its Fuehrer and Regimental Commander, S.A.
     Gruppenfuehrer Reimann."

THE PRESIDENT: Up to now you have brought evidence to our
notice showing that the S.A. was voluntary. This shows it
was conscripted. When did it become conscripted?

COLONEL STOREY: As I understand it, your Honour, if you
joined the S.A. you got out of conscription, but once you
were in it they could use you as desired. In other words,
the S.A. was a voluntary organisation.

THE PRESIDENT: That is the evidence you have given up to
date.

COLONEL STOREY: Yes, Sir.

THE PRESIDENT: Well, when did it become liable to
conscription or used as a substitute for conscription?

COLONEL STOREY: May I ask Mr. Burdell, who has been working
on it,  to answer that question?

MR. BURDELL: If your Honour pleases, there never was
conscription

                                                  [Page 124]

in the S.A. As this document shows, document 3214, service
in the Feldherrnhalle Regiment of the S.A. took the place of
conscription. This first sentence in Document 3214, which
reads, "It was announced that S.A. men and Hitler Youths
liable to military service can fulfill their military
conscription in the S.A. Regiment `Feldherrnhalle,'" means,
as I understand it, that S.A. men who are conscripted, that
is S.A. men who are drafted after they have joined the S.A.,
may serve their conscription by remaining in the S.A. or by
transferring to the Feldherrnhalle Regiment of the S.A.

The next paragraph of Document 3214 designates the
requirements that must be fulfilled before the S.A. man can
join this Feldherrnhalle Regiment, but if he fulfills those
requirements he may join that regiment, and having done so,
that serves the purpose or serves the function of
conscription in the Wehrmacht.

I hope that answers your Honour's question.

COLONEL STOREY: In view of the above we would accept the
S.A. to have been used as a striking force in the first
steps of the aggressive war launched by Germany and as a
basis for so-called Commando Groups, and such was the case.
S.A. units were among the first Nazi military machine to
invade Austria in the spring of 1938, as was proudly
announced in an article appearing in Der S.A.-Mann, 19th
March, 1938, Page 10, the article entitled, "We Were There
First."

The S.A. participation in the occupation of the Sudetenland
is also shown by Document 3036, Exhibit USA 102, and that is
an affidavit by Gottlieb Berger, a former office holder in
the S.S., who was assigned to the Sudeten-German Free Corps.
I quote paragraphs 1 and 2 of the affidavit.

     "1. In the fall of 1938 I held the rank and title of
     Oberfuehrer in the S.S. In mid-September I was assigned
     as S.S. Liaison Officer with Konrad Henlein's Sudeten
     German Free Corps at their headquarters in the castle
     at Dorndorf outside Bayreuth. In this position I was
     responsible for all liaison between the Reichsfuehrer
     S.S. Himmler and Henlein" --  your Honour will recall
     Henlein was the leader in the Sudetenland -- "and in
     particular, I was delegated to select from the Sudeten
     Germans those who appeared to be eligible for
     membership in the S.S. or V.T. (Verfuegungstruppe). In
     addition to myself, Liaison Officers stationed with
     Henlein included an Obergruppenfuehrer from the
     N.S.K.K., whose name I have forgotten, and S.A.
     Obergruppenfuehrer Max Juettmer, from the S.A. In
     addition, Admiral Canaris, who was head of the O.K.W.
     Abwehr, appeared at Dorndorf nearly every two days and
     conferred with Henlein."

Your Honours will recall that the "Abwehr" was the
Intelligence Organisation.

     2. In the course of my official duties at Henlein's
     Headquarters I became familiar with the composition and
     activities of the Free Corps. Three groups were being
     formed under Henlein's direction: One in the Eisenstein
     area, Bavaria; one in the Bayreuth area; one in the
     Dresden area; and possibly a fourth in Silesia. These
     groups were supposedly composed of refugees from the
     Sudetenland who had crossed the border into Germany,
     but they contain Germans with previous service in the
     S.A. and the N.S.K.K. (Nazi Motor Corps) as well. These
     Germans formed the backbone of the Free Corps.
     
                                                  [Page 125]
                                                            
     On paper the Free Corps had a strength of 40,000 men.
     Part of the equipment furnished to Henlein, mostly
     haversacks, cooking utensils and blankets, was supplied
     by the S.A."

The adaptability of the S.A. to whatever purpose was
required of it is demonstrated by its activities subsequent
to the outbreak of the war. During the war the S.A.
continued to carry out its military training programme, but
it also engaged in other functions. Its wartime activities
are set out in Document 3219-PS, which is Exhibit USA 433,
and Document 3216-PS, Exhibit USA 434, which excerpts from
Das Archiv.

I quote first, briefly, from Document 3219, the whole text,
exclusive of the heading:

     "The Chief of Staff of the S.A., Wilhelm Schepmann,
     gave further orders to increase the employment of the
     S.A. in the homeland war areas, because of the
     requirements of total war employment. This was done in
     numerous conferences with leaders of the S.A.
     divisions.
     
     As a result of these conferences, as well as of
     measures already carried out earlier for the
     totalisation of the war employment, the S.A. has placed
     86 per cent. of its main professional Fuehrer Corps at
     the disposal of the Front, even though the war missions
     of the S.A. have increased in the fields of pre-
     military training, the S.A. penetration into new parts
     of the Reich, the air war employment, the State and
     national guard, etc., during wartime.
     
     The S.A. as a whole has given at present 70 per cent.
     of its some million members to the Wehrmacht."

I call the attention of your Honours to the statement of the
membership of 26th August, 1944. I quote briefly from
Document 3216, the English translation, just one sentence:

     "By order of the Chief of Staff of the S.A., the S.A.
     unit Government-General was established, the command of
     which was taken over by Governor General S.A.
     Obergruppenfuehrer Dr. Frank."

I next offer in evidence an affidavit, being Document 3232-
PS, Exhibit USA 435, by Walter Schellenberg:

     "From the beginning of 1944 the S.A. also participated
     in many of the functions which had previously been
     entrusted only to the S.S., the Sipo and Army; for
     instance, the guarding of concentration camps and of
     prisoner-of-war camps, the supervision of forced
     laborers in Germany and occupied territories. This co-
     operation of the S.A. was planned and arranged for by
     high officials in Berlin as early as the middle of
     1943."

This concludes my presentation of the principal points of
evidence concerning the participation of the S.A. in the
conspiracy, but before I leave the subject, I should like to
present to the Tribunal a few facts which establish the
participation in the conspiracy by defendant Goering, in his
capacity as an S.A. member or leader.


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