Archive/File: imt/tgmwc/tgmwc-06/tgmwc-06-54.18
Last-Modified: 1998/01/04


                                                            [Page 201]
                                                                      
COLONEL Y. V. POKROVSKY: Mr. President. The opening statements of the
Chief Prosecutors have enlightened us as to how Fascist Germany
pursued the ideological preparation for aggressive war.

The connection between Hitlerite propaganda and acts of aggression
against peace was also revealed in the statement of the U.S.S.R. chief
of counsel. Therefore, may I be allowed to quote just one short
extract from Horst von Metzsch's book entitled "Krieg als Saat" (War
as Seed), which was published in Breslau in 1934. It reads as follows:

     "It is impossible to conceive of the National Socialist movement
     without war: German martial glory is its father; its finest
     musketeer is its leader; and war's hardy spirit is its soul."
     
That is not just a phrase dropped by a garrulous Fascist penman; that
is a programme which is blurted out. War, and only war, was considered
by the Hitlerite conspirators as the most effective means of attaining
the objectives of their foreign policy. It is, therefore, only natural
that Germany was turned into an armed camp and became a constant
menace to her neighbours after the Fascists had seized power in the
country.

The East was the first objective of the Fascist conspirators.

I am now going to quote a passage from "Mein Kampf." This passage can
be found in Volume I, Page 1, of the document book now being handed to
the Tribunal, and is marked in red. Hitler wrote, as far back as 1930,
in "Mein Kampf":

     "The movement Eastwards is continuing, even though Russia must be
     erased from the list of European powers." (Page 732 of "Mein
     Kampf," 1930 edition).
     
Hypocritically proclaiming her love of peace and giving her neighbours
assurances of her intention to live in peace with them, Hitlerite
Germany merely strove to conceal her real, her ever-present aggressive
intentions.

The conspirators gladly concluded any agreement on arbitration, non-
aggression, etc. They did it, not because they were really striving
for peace, but with the sole intention of waiting for a suitable
moment to strike the next treacherous blow and of lulling to the
nations of the world into a sense of false security. Having committed
one of their scheduled aggressive acts, they strove with still greater
energy to convince everybody that from now on they had no further
aggressive plans. A combination of hypocrisy and fraud, of treason and
aggression, ruled the entire system of German foreign policy.

With incredible insolence the Fascist conspirators violated any of
their international obligations or agreements, including those which
directly prohibited the use of war as a solution of international
disputes. Not one of the wars provided by the Hitlerites can be
classified under the concept of "defensive wars." In every instance
the German Fascists acted as aggressors. They admitted, themselves,
that they did not hesitate to resort to provocation in order to have
an excuse for attacking their next victim at the most propitious
moment.

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