Archive/File: imt/tgmwc/tgmwc-07/tgmwc-07-68.01
Last-Modified: 1999/11/20

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SIXTY-EIGHTH DAYTUESDAY, 26TH FEBRUARY, 1946THE PRESIDENT: I
wanted to explain the Tribunal's decision with reference to
General Halder and General Warlimont.Would Dr. Nelte kindly
come to the lectern?

I wanted to ask you, Dr. Nelte, whether you were the only
one of the defendants' counsel who wished to call General
Halder and General Warlimont.

DR. NELTE (Counsel for defendant Keitel): No, besides
myself, so far as I  know, my colleagues Dr. Laternser,
Professor Kraus and Professor Exner, have called both
General Halder and General Warlimont.

THE PRESIDENT: Very well, I understand

Then the Tribunal's decision is this: the Tribunal ordered,
when the Soviet prosecutor wished to put in the affidavits
of these two generals, that if they were put in, the
witnesses must be produced for cross-examination; but in
view of the fact that defendants' counsel have asked to call
these witnesses themselves, the Tribunal is willing that the
defendants' counsel should decide whether they prefer that
these two generals should be produced now, during the
prosecution's case, for cross-examination, or should be
called hereafter during the defendants' case for examination
by the defendants, in which case, of course, they would be
liable to cross-examination on behalf of the prosecution.

It must, however, be clearly understood, in accordance with
the order which the Tribunal made the other day - either
yesterday or the. previous day, I forget which it was - that
these witnesses, like other witnesses, can only be called
once, and when they are called, each of the defendants'
counsel who wishes to put questions to them must do so at
that time.

Now, if there were any difference of opinion among
defendants' counsel, one defendant's counsel wishing to have
these two generals produced now during the prosecution's
case for cross-examination, and other defendants' counsel
wishing to have them called hereafter as witnesses on their
behalf during the course  of their case, then the Tribunal
consider that, in view of the order which they have already
made, Generals Halder and Warlimont ought to be produced and
called now, and the same rule would then apply. They could
be called once only, and any questions which the other
defendants' counsel wish to be put to them should be put to
them then, but the decision as to whether they should be
called now or whether they should be called during the
course of the defendants' case is accorded to defendants'
counsel.

Is that clear?

DR. NELTE: I request permission to give the decisions of the
various defence counsel at the beginning of the afternoon
session.

THE PRESIDENT: Yes, certainly; certainly, you can let us
know during the afternoon session, at the beginning of the
afternoon session, what the decision of defendants' counsel
is.

DR. NELTE: Thank you.

THE PRESIDENT: Yes, Colonel Smirnov.

COLONEL SMIRNOV: I continue the quotation of the "political
report" of Professor Paul Thompson, which was already
submitted at yesterday's afternoon session to the Tribunal.
Your Honours will find it on Page 116 of the document book.
I quote only two short excerpts from this political report:-
"I consider it is my duty, although I am here in the East
only on a specific
                                                  [Page 306]
scientific mission, to add a general political outline to my
actual reports. I must admit, openly and in all honesty,
that I return home with the most grievous impressions. In
this fateful hour of our nation every mistake we make may
result in the most disastrous consequences. A Polish or a
Czech problem can be solved, because the biological forces
of our people are sufficient for that purpose; remnants of
people like Esthonians, Lithuanians and Latvians have to
adapt themselves to us or they will perish, but things are
quite different in the immense Russian area, of vital
necessity to us as a basis for raw materials."Here I
interrupt my quotation and continue on Page 117 of the
document book, paragraphs 10 and 11:-

  "I do not dare to voice an opinion on the economic
  measures, such as, for instance, the abolition of the
  free market in Kiev, which has been a heavy blow to the
  population, since I am in no position to survey the
  entire situation, but the bullying sergeant-major
  attitude, the beatings up and shouting in the streets,
  and the senseless destruction of scientific institutions
  which are still going on in Dniepropetrovsk, to quote one
  instance, should cease immediately and be punished
  severely.
  
  Kiev, 19th October, 1942. Professor Dr. Paul Thompson."

The German fascist theory of "Germanisation", already well
known to the Tribunal, meant that not the people but the
territories were to be "Germanised."

I shall submit evidence to the Tribunal that a similar
Hitlerite crime was to have been committed in Yugoslavia;
but this crime could not be perpetrated because of the
Liberation movement which flared up all over that country.

I quote a short excerpt from the statement of the Yugoslav
Government, which is on Page 68, paragraph 7 in the document
book.

  "Immediately after the entry of the German troops into
  Slovenia, the Germans began to put into effect their long
  premeditated plan for the Germanisation of the 'annexed'
  regions of that country. It was perfectly clear to the
  leading fascist circles that a successful Germanisation
  of Slovenia could not be achieved unless the greater part
  of the nationally and socially conscious elements had
  previously been removed; and in order to weaken the
  resistance of the mass of the people towards the Nazi
  authorities engaged in the task of Germanisation, it
  would be essential to cut down their numbers and destroy
  them economically. The German plan foresaw the complete
  removal of all the Slovenes from certain regions of
  Slovenia, and their re-population by Germans (Germans
  from Bessarabia)."

I omit a passage and continue:-

  "A few days after the seizure of Slovenia, central
  offices were organised for control of deportation. The
  Headquarters Staff was established at Maribor (Marburg on
  the Drava) and Bled (Veldes).
  
  Further, on 22 April, 1941, a decree for the
  strengthening of the German national spirit was
  published. The immediate aim of this decree was the
  confiscation of the property of all persons and
  institutions 'antagonistically inclined towards the
  Reich'. Naturally, all those who, in accordance with the
  aforesaid plan, were to be deported from Slovenia, were
  included in this category.
  
  The Hitlerites proceeded to carry out this plan. They
  arrested a large number of persons registered for
  deportation to Serbia and Croatia. The treatment of the
  arrested persons was extremely cruel. Their entire
  property was confiscated in the interests of the Reich.
  Numerous assembly points were set up and practically
  turned into concentration camps, in Maribor, Zelle and
  other localities."

                                                  [Page 307]

As regards the treatment of arrested persons at these
points, the statement of the Yugoslav Government reads as
follows: (the members of the Tribunal will find this passage
on Page 69, paragraph 4, of the document book).

  "The internees were left without food; in unhygienic
  conditions; the personnel of the camp subjected them to
  bodily and mental torture. All the camp commanders and
  personnel belonged to the S.S. Among them were Germans
  from Carinthia and Styria who hated anything connected
  with Yugoslavia in general and Slovenia in particular.

The following sentence is typical:-
  
  "The members of the so-called 'Kulturbund' (Cultural
  Union) particularly distinguished themselves by their
  cruelty."

In corroboration of this Hitlerite crime, I submit to the
Tribunal, as Exhibit USSR 139, a letter from the German
Kommandantur in Smeredov, addressed to the Yugoslav
Quisling, Commissar Stefanovitch, ordering him to state what
were the possibilities of transferring to Serbia a large
number of Slovenes. Your Honours will find this document on
Page 119 of the document book.

In the report of the Yugoslav Government, Page 49 of the
Russian text, which corresponds to Page 59, paragraph 7, of
the document book of the Tribunal, it is stated that the
Germans primarily intended to transfer 260,000 Slovenes to
Serbia. However, the realisation of this plan met with a
number of difficulties. In this connection I should like to
quote a paragraph from the report of the Yugoslav
Government:-

  "But in view of the fact that the transportation to
  Serbia of such a very large number of Slovenes met with a
  great many difficulties, negotiations were opened shortly
  afterwards between the German authorities and the
  Quisling Oustachi administration in Zagreb, concerning
  the transportation of the deported Slovenes through
  Croatian territory, and the re-settling of a certain
  number of these Slovenes in Croatia proper, while the
  Serbs in Croatia were deported from the country."

I submit to the Tribunal, as Exhibit USSR 195, or Yu 88, the
minutes of a conference held on 4 June, 1941, at the German
Legation in Zagreb, and presided over by Obergruppenfuehrer
of the S.A., Siegfried Tasche, German Ambassador in Zagreb.
These minutes, in the Serbian translation, were seized in
the archives of the Refugee Commission of the so-called
"Government of Milan Neditch". They give the subject-matter
of the conference, i.e., "The Expulsion of the Slovenes from
Germany to Croatia and Serbia, as well as of the Serbs from
Croatia to Serbia". The Tribunal will find this document on
Page 120 of the document book. The passage in question reads
as follows:-

  "The conference was approved by the Reich Ministry for
  Foreign Affairs by telegram No. 389, dated 3 1 May. The
  Fuehrer's approval for the deportation was confirmed by
  telegram No. 344, dated 24 May."

We are thus able to prove that the direct responsibility for
this crime against humanity rests on the defendant von
Ribbentrop.

We gather, at the same time, from the report of the Yugoslav
Government, that the deportation of a considerable number of
Slovenes from Germany was put into effect. I quote a
paragraph from the report of the Yugoslav Government, which
your Honours will find on Page 70, last paragraph of the
document book:-

  "Shortly afterwards the deportation itself began. In the
  morning German lorries arrived in the villages. Soldiers
  and Gestapo men, armed with machine guns and rifles,
  broke into the houses and ordered the inhabitants to
  leave, each man being allowed to take with him only as
  much as he could carry. The unfortunate people were only
  given a few minutes in which to quit, and they were
  forced to leave all their property behind them. The
  
                                                  [Page 308]
  
  lorries drove them to the Roman Catholic Trappist
  monastery of Reichenberg, from which the transports
  started, each consisting of 600 to 1,200 persons to be
  taken to Germany. Bregiza was almost completely
  depopulated, and Krshko - up to 90 per cent., 56,000
  inhabitants being deported from these two districts. Over
  and above this 4,000 were deported from the communities
  of Zirkovsky and Ptuya."

I omit one paragraph and continue

  "They were forced to perform the very hardest tasks and
  to live under the most horrible conditions. The death
  rate assumed enormous proportions in consequence. The
  harshest penalties were applied for the slightest
  offence."

I shall not enumerate other passages in the report of the
Yugoslav Government in connection with the same subject. I
do not quote this document. I merely ask the Tribunal to
accept as evidence the supplementary official report of the
Yugoslav Government, which I am submitting as Exhibit USSR
357.

Similar crimes were committed by the German criminals on the
territory of occupied Poland. I quote a few excerpts from
the official report of the Polish Republic. Your Honours
will find the passage I wish to quote on Page 3, paragraph
3, of the document book. The passage is in sub-paragraph "A"
and is entitled " The
Germanisation of Poland": -

  "Clear indications concerning the programme are found in
  a publication distributed among members of the National
  Socialist Party in Germany in 1940. It contained the
  principles of German policy in the East. Here are some
  quotations from this document:-
  
  "In a military sense the Polish question has been
  settled, but from the point of view of national policy it
  is only now beginning for Germany. The national political
  conflict between Germans and Poles must be carried
  forward to a degree never yet seen in history.
  
  The aim which confronts German policy in the territory of
  the former Polish state is twofold: First, to see that a
  certain portion of space in this area is cleared of the
  alien population and colonised by German nationals;
  second, by imposing German leadership, in order to
  guarantee that in that area no fresh conflagrations
  should flare up against Germany. It is clear that this
  aim can never be achieved with the Poles, but only
  against them."

I interrupt this quotation and continue on Page 15 of the
report of the Polish Republic, which corresponds to Page 5,
paragraph 5, of the document book. This part is entitled
"The Colonisation of Poland by German Settlers":-

  "The policy in this respect was clearly expressed by the
  official German authorities. In the 'Ostdeutscher
  Beobachter " of 7 May, 1941, the following proclamation
  is printed:
  
  'For the first time in German history we can exploit our
  military victories in a political sense. Never again will
  even a centimetre of the earth which we have conquered
  belong to the Pole.'"

Such was the plan, and it was carried out as follows:-

  "Locality after locality, village after village, hamlets
  and cities in the incorporated territories were cleared
  of the Polish inhabitants. This began in October, 1939,
  when the district of Orlov was cleared of all the Poles
  who lived and worked there; then came the Polish port of
  Gdynia; and in February, 1940, about 40,000 persons were
  expelled from the city of Poznan. They were replaced by
  36,000 Baltic-Germans, families of soldiers and of German
  officials.
  
                                                  [Page 309]
  
  The Polish population was expelled from the following
  towns: Gnesdno, Helmno, Postian, Neshiva, Gonovrotzlau,
  as well as from many others.
  
  "The German newspaper 'Grenzzeitung' reported that in
  February, 1940, the entire centre of the city of Lodz was
  cleared of Poles and reserved for the use of future
  German settlers. By September, 1940, the total number of
  Poles deported from Lodz was estimated at 150,000.
  
  It was not, however, that the persons living in these
  places were merely ordered to leave: they were even
  forbidden to take their property with them; everything
  was to be left behind. The German new-comers took the
  place of the Poles evicted from their homes, business
  shops and estates, and by January, 1941, more than
  150,000 Germans had been settled in this manner."

I omit the next part of this report which I wished to quote
and I would request the Tribunal to pay attention only to
the part entitled "Germanisation of Polish children".
This is a short quotation. just two small paragraphs:-

  "Thousands of Polish children (between the ages of seven
  and fourteen) were ruthlessly torn from their parents and
  families and carried off to Germany. The purpose of this
  most brutal measure was explained by the Germans
  themselves in the 'Kolnische Zeitung' No. 1584, 1940,
  issue. We read: 'They will be taught German. They will be
  inculcated with the German spirit so that later they can
  be brought up as model German boys and girls.'"

In order to explain the methods adopted by the German
fascists in the execution of their cannibalistic plan for
the extermination of the Soviet people - peaceful citizens
of my Motherland, women, children and old people - I request
the Tribunal to call and question witness Jacob Grigoriev, a
peasant from the village of Pavlov, village soviet of
Shkvertovsk, region of Porkhovsk, district of Pskov. He has
arrived from the district of Pskov - a district near
Leningrad - and, according to my information, is now in the
Court House. I ask the permission of the Tribunal to examine
this witness.

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