Archive/File: imt/tgmwc/tgmwc-06/tgmwc-06-55.01
Last-Modified: 1997/12/17

                            FIFTY-FIFTH DAY

                     SATURDAY, 9TH FEBRUARY, 1946

                                                            [Page 209]

COLONEL POKROVSKY: May I continue with my Statement?

THE PRESIDENT: Yes, please.

COLONEL POKROVSKY: The end of the session prevented me yesterday from
quoting a brief excerpt from a very secret, a very important, State
document, dated 22nd September, 1938. I propose to begin to-day's work
as from this point, and to read into the record the first six lines of
the document, submitted as Exhibit USSR 267, which you will find, Your
Honours, in Part 1, Page 202, of your document book.

I quote the first six lines from notes made after a telephone
conversation which took place in Berlin, between one of the leaders of
the so-called Volksdeutsche Centre and the Government in Berlin, at
19.00 hours, on 22nd September, 1938. Permit me to read these six
lines into the record:

     "Mr. Schmidt, from the Volksdeutsche Centre, telephoned at 19.00
     as follows:
     
     The Command of the Sudetendeutsche Freikorps has just
     communicated the following:
     
     1st. Lt. Kochling transmitted the following Fuehrer Order:
     Freikorps has to carry out the occupation of regions evacuated by
     the Czechs. Large-scale operations, however, may be executed only
     with the Fuehrer's personal approval."
     
The rest of this document, signed by von Stechow, is of no interest
and I will not read it into the record.

As far as I can judge, the minutes of Hitler's reception of the Czech
Minister for Foreign Affairs, Chvalkovsky, on 21st January, 1939,
i.e., shortly before the complete occupation of Czechoslovakia -- are
of great interest. Hitler's mendacious and pompous statements
concerning his respect for the independence of small nations,
statements recorded in the document I am about to quote, are
characteristic of his perfidious tactics.

The document which I am going to read into the record as Exhibit USSR
266 you will find, Your Honours, on Page 203, Part 1 of Volume I of
our document book: I

     "Chvalkovsky began by thanking the Fuehrer for having done his
     country the honour of receiving the Minister for Foreign Affairs
     twice within three months. He had come here to inform the Fuehrer
     that he had strictly fulfilled the promise made to him on 14th
     October, although this had put him to a very great deal of
     trouble.
     
     The Fuehrer thanked him for the fulfillment of his promises,
     saying that the foreign policy of a State is determined by its
     home policy. It is quite impossible to carry out a foreign policy
     of type 'A' and at the same time a home policy of type 'B.' It
     could succeed only for a short time. From the very beginning the
     development of events in Czechoslovakia was bound to lead to a
     catastrophe. This catastrophe had been averted, thanks to
     Germany.

     Had Germany not followed the National Socialist principles, which
     do not permit of territorial annexations -- the fate of
     Czechoslovakia would have
     
                                                            [Page 210]
                                                                      
     followed another course. Whatever remains to-day of
     Czechoslovakia has been rescued, not by Benes, but by these
     National Socialist tendencies."
     
I omit a few sentences and continue:

     "For instance, the strength of the Dutch and Danish armies rests
     not in themselves alone, but in realising the fact that the whole
     world was convinced of the absolute neutrality of these states.
     When war broke out, it was well known that the problem of
     neutrality was one of extreme importance to these countries. The
     case of Belgium was somewhat different, as that country had an
     agreement with the French General Staff. In this particular case
     Germany was compelled to forestall possible eventualities. These
     small countries were defended not by their armies but by the
     trust shown in their neutrality...."
     
You will find a further part of this quotation on Page 207:

     "Chvalkovsky, backed by Mastny, again spoke about the situation
     in Czechoslovakia and about the total No. of peasants. Before the
     crisis, the people did not know what to expect of Germany. But
     when they saw that they would not be exterminated, and that the
     Germany wished to lead the Czech people along with her, they
     heaved a sigh of relief. World propaganda, against which the
     Fuehrer had been struggling for so long a time, was now focused
     on tiny Czechoslovakia. Chvalkovsky begged the Fuehrer to
     address, from time to time, a few kind words to the Czech people.
     That might work miracles. The Fuehrer is unaware of the great
     value attached to his words by the Czech people. If he would only
     openly declare that he intended to collaborate with the Czech
     people -- and with the people itself (not with the Minister for
     Foreign Affairs) -- all foreign propaganda would be utterly
     defeated.
     
     The Fuehrer concluded the conversation by expressing his belief
     in a promising future."
     
These notes are signed by Hegel.

It would now be opportune to refer once again to a document which has
already been mentioned in the Tribunal. I mean a so-called "Document
for Superior Officers only" of 30th May, 1938. It bears the No. OKW
42/38, and under Document 388-PS has already been presented to the
Tribunal by my honourable colleagues of the United states delegation.
The chief prosecutor of the U.S.S.R. likewise referred to this
document in his opening Statement.

Leading up to the Fascist conspiracy against Czechoslovakia, Hitler
announced that it was his irrevocable decision to defeat
Czechoslovakia in the immediate future and by one single military
operation.

He divides his task into two parts; political and military. Then, with
his characteristic and unbounded cynicism, he declares (this quotation
is to be found on Page 209 of Volume I of the document book):

     "The most favourable move, both from the political and military
     standpoint, would be a lightning blow, to be delivered under the
     pretext of some incident which will provoke Germany to abrupt
     action."
     
The document bears Hitler's signature. Such was the authentic
programme of Hitler and his accomplices, concerning Czechoslovakia,
drawn up for a long time in advance of the day when Chvalkovsky
requested that criminal "to address from time to time a few kind words
to the Czech people."

Even if, in his public utterances, Hitler sometimes used what
Chvalkovsky called "kind words," the line of the actual relations was
developing along entirely different lines. But even this is not all.
We shall describe the set-up of the provocative incident in detail.

I would like, at this moment, to present to the Tribunal the "Notes to
the Report" on Plan "Gruen" of 24th August, 1938, the greater part of
which has

                                                            [Page 211]
                                                                      
already been read into the record as Document 388-PS. Here are two
paragraphs which your Honours will find on Page 214 of Volume I of the
document book:

     "The realisation of Plan "Gruen" will start with the creation of
     an incident in Czechoslovakia which will give Germany a pretext
     for military intervention.
     
     It is of the greatest importance to fix the exact day and hour
     for staging the incident. This incident must be provoked under
     weather conditions favourable for our superior Air Force to carry
     out the operation, and it should be timed in such a way that the
     respective notification should authentically reach us by mid-day
     of X-l day. This will enable us to follow it up immediately by
     issuing the order X, on X-1 Day, at 14.00 hours."
     
The document concluded as follows (see Page 215 of your document
book):

     "The purpose of these statements is to show how greatly
     interested the Armed Forces are in the incident, and that they
     should know well in advance the intentions of the Fuehrer,
     inasmuch as the organisation of the incident will be entrusted,
     in any case, to the Abwehr."
     
The document is signed by Jodl. These are not mere words. This is a
plan of infamous provocation; a plan which, as we already know, was
carried into effect.

Document  388-PS has already been accepted by you as evidence
presented by the delegation of the United states. I would like only to
stress one point: The murderers and invaders not evolved the plans of
their crimes, but were also anxious to put them into effect under
conditions the most advantageous possible for themselves. They needed
fine weather and at least 24 hours for the final preparation.
Moreover, they need an incident, provoked by themselves, to justify
their foul crimes in the "eyes of at least some part of the world
community."

This latter fact demonstrates that the Hitlerites themselves were
perfectly aware of the criminality of their actions.

In passing, I wish to draw your attention to one point: O.K.W. bears
direct responsibility for the criminal character of these actions.
They cannot plead, "We know not what we did." The "agents
provocateurs" and aggressors, in the uniform of the highest ranks of
the German Army, were the first to name themselves aggressors and
"agents provocateurs."

Finally, I have to inform the Tribunal that one of the ultimate aims
of the Fascist invasion of Czechoslovakia was the liquidation of this
historically constituted Slav State.

On Page 36 of the official report of the Czechoslovak Government, the
original of which was submitted to you yesterday, we can read the
following quotation from a Statement made by Hitler in the summer of
1932, in the presence of Darre, Rauschning, and other high Fascist
officials. I will quote this excerpt, which is on Page 38 of Volume I,
Part 1 of your document book:

     "The Bohemian-Moravian Basin will be colonised by German
     peasants. We shall transplant the Czechs to Siberia or the
     Volhynian district. They must get out of Central Europe."
     
This same Statement by Hitler is quoted in the Czechoslovak report
from Rauschning's book "Hitler Speaks," Page 46.

I consider it necessary to read into the record a passage from the
Czechoslovak report, which immediately follows the above-mentioned
quotation (Page 36 of the Russian translation, the last paragraph at
the end of the page). You will find this quotation on Page 39, Volume
I, Part 1 of the document book, in the last paragraph of this page.

                                                            [Page 212]
                                                                      
     "This criminal plan was approved by Karl Hermann Frank, Secretary
     of State of the Reich Protector in Prague from 17th March, 1939,
     and Minister of State in Prague from 1943, known to the world as
     the `Butcher of Lidice.'
     
Interrogated on this point by Colonel Ecer, in Wiesbaden on 29th May,
1945, Frank declared:

     "The plan for the evacuation of the Czech people to the East, as
     mentioned above and discussed in Party circles, roughly coincides
     with the passage quoted."
     
The defendant Neurath was Reichsprotektor for Bohemia and Moravia from
17th March, 1939, to 28th September, 1941. He did much to destroy
Czechoslovakia as a State entity.

Appendix 1 to the Report of the Czechoslovak Government reads as
follows (you will find this extract on Page 167 of Volume II, Part 1,
of the document book):

     "The Reich Protector was superior to all other Reich authorities,
     agencies and officials in the Protectorate."
     
The defendant Neurath must not escape responsibility for these crimes.

My colleagues of the Soviet delegation will submit evidence to show to
the Tribunal the upheaval in the life of the hardworking Czech people,
from the moment that the Fascist aggressors began to put into practice
their plan for the destruction of Czechoslovakia as a State entity.

When we turn to the material concerning the aggression against Poland,
we find there many features in common with the crimes of the
conspirators directed against Czechoslovakia. I have in mind the
systematic violation of treaties and solemn declarations, false
assurances, the creation of a paid Fifth Column, organised on a
military footing, and the sudden infliction of a treacherous blow.
This can be proved by a whole series of documents.

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