The Nizkor Project: Remembering the Holocaust (Shoah)

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                                                  [Page 298]

EIGHTEENTH DAY

WEDNESDAY, 12TH DECEMBER, 1945

THE PRESIDENT: The Tribunal will adjourn this morning at
12.30 for a closed session and sit again at 2 o'clock.

MR. DODD: May it please the Tribunal, I should like to
report to the Tribunal this morning with reference to the
questions which arose yesterday afternoon concerning three
documents.

After adjournment we found that Document 2220-PS was in the
defendants' Information Centre in photostatic form, and that
the two other documents, being respectively two entries from
the Frank diary, were also there but in a different form.
The Frank diary consists of some 40 odd volumes which we, of
course, were not able to photostat, so we had placed instead
in the defendants' room the excerpts. As a matter of fact,
we had placed the entire document book there.

DR. ALFRED SEIDL (Counsel for defendant Frank): Yesterday
the prosecution showed documents concerning the defendant
Frank. The documents concerned were 2233-PS-A and 2233-PS-B,
Exhibits USA 173 and 174. These are not ordinary documents,
but excerpts from the diary of Frank. Six weeks ago I
applied in writing to have this diary, which consists Of 42
heavy, thick volumes, submitted to me. I first made this
request on 2nd September, the second time on 16th November,
the third time on 18th November and the fourth time on 3rd
December.

In spite of this I have not received this diary, and I
should like to ask the Tribunal that this diary be submitted
to me as soon as possible, if for no other reason, because
evidence is involved which the defendant Frank before his
arrest  handed over to the officer who was to arrest him so
that it could be used as evidence for his defence.

I am not in a position to work through all this material in
a few days, and I should like to ask the Tribunal that this
diary be put at my disposal without delay.

In this connection I should like to call the attention of
the Tribunal to another point. The Tribunal has already
granted that the four long speeches delivered by defendant
Frank in Germany in 1942, which led to his dismissal from
his offices by Hitler, should be put at my disposal. The
General Secretary of the Tribunal gave me notice of this as
early as the 4th December. Unfortunately I have not received
copies of these speeches up to this day. I should be very
grateful therefore if the Tribunal will make certain that
decisions of the Tribunal are being carried out and that the
documents be submitted to me.

THE PRESIDENT: The Tribunal will look into these matters
with the General Secretary of the Tribunal, and doubtless it
will be able to arrange that you should have these documents
submitted to you in the defendants' counsel Information
Centre.

                                                  [Page 299]

DR. SEIDL: Thank you.

THE PRESIDENT: Yes, Mr. Dodd.

MR. DODD: May I refer briefly to the discussion that we were
engaged in yesterday in order to pick up the train of
thought.

I wish to remind the Tribunal that we were discussing or had
just completed a discussion of Document L-61, which had to
do with a letter written by the defendant Sauckel to the
residents of the "Landes" Employment Offices. I had read two
excerpts from that letter.

Referring to the letter, we say that the Nazi campaign of
force and terror and abduction was described in another
letter to the defendant Frank, which we wish to refer to as
Document 1526-PS.

THE PRESIDENT: Before you pass from that, Mr. Dodd, has
either the original or the photostatic copy been shown to
Sauckel's counsel?

MR. DODD: Oh, yes, sir. A photostatic copy was in the
defendants' Information Centre, and after adjournment
yesterday we got the original and handed it to him here in
this room.

THE PRESIDENT: And he saw it?

MR. DODD: Yes, sir.

THE PRESIDENT: Very well.

MR. DODD: This Document, 1526-PS, Exhibit USA 178, is a
letter written by the Chairman of the Ukrainian Main
Committee, at Cracow, in February, 1943. I wish to read from
the third page of the English text, beginning with the
second paragraph. The same passage in the German text at
Page 2, Paragraph 5. I quote:-

   "The general nervousness is still more enhanced by the
   wrong methods of finding labour which have been used
   more and more frequently in recent months.
   
   The wild and ruthless man-hunt as exercised everywhere
   in towns and country, in streets, squares, stations,
   even in churches, at night in houses, has badly shaken
   the feeling of security of the inhabitants. Everybody is
   exposed to the danger, to be seized anywhere and at any
   time by members of the police, suddenly and
   unexpectedly, and to be brought into an assembly camp.
   None of his relatives knows what has happened to him,
   and only months later one or the other gets news of his
   fate by a postcard."

I wish to turn to enclosure 5 on Page 8 of this document,
which I quote

   "In November of last year an inspection of all males of
   the age groups 1910 to 1920 was ordered in the area of
   Zaleschozyki (district of Czortkow). After the men had
   appeared for inspection, all those who were chosen were
   arrested at once, loaded into trains and sent to the
   Reich. Such recruiting of labourers for the Reich also
   took place in other areas of this district. Following
   some interventions the action was then stopped."

The resistance of the Polish people to this enslavement
programme and the necessity for increased force were
described by the defendant Sauckel's deputy, one Timm, at a
meeting of the Central Planning Board, which was, by the
way, Hitler's war-time planning agency. It was made up of
the defendant Speer, Field Marshal Milch and State Secretary
Korner. The

                                                  [Page 300]

Central Planning Board was the highest level economic
planning agency, exercising production controls by
allocating raw materials and labour to industrial users.

Now, Document R-124, Exhibit USA 179. This document consists
of excerpts from minutes of the meetings of this Central
Planning Board, and minutes of conferences between the
defendant Speer and Hitler. Only the excerpts, of course,
from these minutes upon which we rely are being offered in
evidence. I would say to the Tribunal, however, that the
balance of the minutes are available, or can or be made
available if the Tribunal so desires.

This deputy of Sauckel, his name being Timm, made a
statement at the 36th conference of the Central Planning
Board, and it appears on Page 14, Paragraph 2, of the
English text of Document R-124, and on Page 10, Paragraph 2,
of the German text:-

   "Especially in Poland the situation at the moment is
   extraordinarily serious. It is well known that violent
   battles occurred just because of these actions. The
   resistance against the administration established by us
   is very strong. Quite a number of our men have been
   exposed to increased dangers, and it was only in the
   last two or three weeks that some of them were shot
   dead, e.g., the head of the Labour Office of Warsaw who
   was shot in his office, and yesterday again, another
   man. This is how matters stand at present, and the
   recruiting itself, even if done with the best will,
   remains extremely difficult unless police reinforcements
   are at hand."

Deportation and enslavement of civilians reached
unprecedented levels in the so-called Eastern Occupied
Territories. These wholesale deportations resulted directly
from labour demands made by the defendant Sauckel on the
defendant Rosenberg, who was the Reich Minister for the
Eastern Occupied Territories, and his subordinates, and also
on the Armed Forces - a demand made directly on the Armed
Forces by the defendant Sauckel.

On the 5th October, 1942, for example, the defendant Sauckel
wrote to the defendant Rosenberg, stating that two million
foreign labourers were required, and that the majority of
these would have to be drafted from the recently Occupied
Eastern Territories and especially from the Ukraine.

I wish to refer at this point to Document 017-PS, which will
be Exhibit USA 180. This letter from the defendant Sauckel
to the defendant Rosenberg I wish to quote in full. It
begins by saying:-

   "The Fuehrer has worked out new and most urgent plans
   for the armament industry which require the quick
   mobilisation of two million more foreign labour forces.
   The Fuehrer therefore has granted me, for the execution
   of my decree Of 21st March, 1942, new powers for my new
   duties, and has especially authorised me to take
   whatever measures I think are necessary in the Reich,
   the Protectorate, the General Government, as well as in
   the occupied territories, in order to assure at all
   costs an orderly mobilisation of labour for the German
   armament industry. The additional labour forces required
   will have to be drafted for the majority from the
   recently Occupied Eastern Territories, especially from
   the Reichskommissariat Ukraine. Therefore, the
   Reichskommissariat Ukraine must furnish:-
   
       225,000 labour forces by 31st December, 1942, and
       225,000 more by 1st May, 1943.

                                                  [Page 301]

   I ask you to inform Reichskommissar, Gauleiter, Party
   Member Koch about the new situation and requirements and
   especially to see to it that he will support personally
   in any way possible the execution of this new
   requirement.
   
   I have the intention to visit Party Member Koch shortly
   and I would be grateful to you if you could inform me as
   to where and when I could meet him for a personal
   discussion. But I ask that the procurement be taken up
   at once with every possible pressure and the commitment
   of all powers, especially those of the experts of the
   labour offices. All the directives which had limited
   temporarily the procurement of Eastern labourers are
   annulled. The Reich procurement for the next months must
   be given priority over all other measures.
   
   I do not ignore the difficulties which exist for the
   execution of this new requirement, but I am convinced
   that with the ruthless commitment of all resources, and
   with the full co-operation of all those interested, the
   execution of the new demands can be accomplished by the
   fixed date. I have already communicated the new demands
   to the Reichskommissar Ukraine by mail. In reference to
   our long-distance phone call of today I will send you
   the text of the Fuehrer's decree at the beginning of
   next week."

I should like to remind the Tribunal that we referred
previously, yesterday afternoon, to this Reichskommissar,
Gauleiter, Party Member Koch, and we quoted him as stating,
the Tribunal will recall: "We are the master race. We must
be hard," and so forth.

On the 17th March, 1943, the defendant Sauckel wrote again
to the defendant Rosenberg, and on this occasion he demanded
the importation of another 1,000,000 men and women from the
Eastern territories within the following four months. I wish
to refer at this point to Document 019-PS, which will be
Exhibit USA 181. Quoting that letter in full:-

   "After a protracted illness my Deputy for Labour Supply
   in the occupied Eastern territories, State Councillor
   Peuckert, is going there to regulate the supply both for
   Germany and the territories themselves.
   
   I ask you sincerely, dear Party Member Rosenberg, to
   assist him to your utmost on account of the pressing
   urgency of his mission. I thank you for the hitherto
   good reception accorded to Peuckert. He himself has been
   charged by me with the absolute and completely
   unreserved co-operation with all bureaux of the Eastern
   territories. In particular the labour supply for German
   agriculture, and likewise for the most urgent armament
   production programmes ordered by the Fuehrer make the
   rapid importation of approximately one million men and
   women from the Eastern territories within the next four
   months imperative. Starting 15th March, the daily
   shipment must have reached 5,000 female and male workers
   respectively, while by the beginning of April this
   number has to be stepped up to 10,000. This is a
   requisite of the most urgent programmes, and the spring
   tillage and other agricultural tasks are not to suffer
   to the detriment of the nutrition and of the Armed
   Forces. I have foreseen the allotment of the draft
   quotas for the individual territories in agreement with
   your experts for the labour supply as follows:-
   
                                                  [Page 302]
   
   Daily quota starting 15th March, 1943 .....People
   
   General Commissariat White Ruthenia .... 500
   Economic Inspection Centre . . . .500
   Reichs Commissariat Ukraine . . . .3,000
   Economic Inspection South . . . . 1,000
   
   Total .............................5,000
   
   Starting 1st April, 1943, the daily quota is to be
   doubled, corresponding to the doubling of the entire
   quota. I hope to visit personally the Eastern
   territories towards the end of the month, and ask you
   once more for your kind support."

The defendant Sauckel did travel to the East. He travelled
to Kauen in Lithuania to press his demands. We offer in
evidence Document 204-PS, which will be Exhibit USA 182.
This document is a synopsis of a report of the City
Commissioner of Kauen and minutes of a meeting in which the
defendant Sauckel participated. I read from the second page
of the English text, beginning with the first paragraph. The
same passage appears in the German text at Page 5, Paragraph
2. Quoting directly as follows:-

   "In a lecture in which the Plenipotentiary for the
   Arbeitseinsatz, Gauleiter Sauckel, made on 18th July,
   1943, in Kauen, and in an official conference following
   it, between Gauleiter Sauckel and the General Commissar,
   the pool of labour in the Reich was again brought up
   urgently; Gauleiter Sauckel again demanded that
   Lithuanian labour be furnished in greater volume for the
   purpose of the Reich."

THE PRESIDENT: Who was the General Commissar, Rosenberg?

MR. DODD: The Plenipotentiary for the Arbeitseinsatz?

THE PRESIDENT: No, the General Commissar.

MR. DODD: His name is not known to us. He was apparently a
local functionary in the Party.

THE PRESIDENT: Very well.

MR. DODD: The defendant Sauckel also visited Riga, in
Latvia, to assert his demands, and the purpose of this visit
is described in Document 2280-PS, which will be Exhibit USA
183. This document is a letter from the Reich Commissar for
the Ostland to the Commissioner General in Riga and it is
dated 3rd May, 1943. I wish to read from Page 1 of the
English text, beginning with the first paragraph:-

   "Following the basic statements of the Plenipotentiary
   General for manpower, Gauleiter Sauckel, on the occasion
   of his visit to Riga, on 21st April, 1943, it was
   decided in view of the critical situation and in
   disregard of all adverse considerations, that a total of
   183,000 workers have to be supplied from the Eastern
   territories to the Reich territory. This task must
   definitely be accomplished within the next four months
   and at the latest must be completed by the end of
   August."

Here again we are not informed as to the name and identity
of the Reich Commissar for the Ostland.

Sauckel asked the German Army for assistance in the
recruitment and deportation of civilian labour from the
Eastern territories. We refer now to Document 3010-PS, which
will be Exhibit USA 184.

                                                  [Page 303]

THE PRESIDENT: Mr. Dodd, were you saying that it was not
known from whom that document emanated?

MR. DODD: No, sir. We say it is a letter from the
Reichskommissar for the Ostland to the Commissioner General
in Riga, but we do not know their names specifically at the
time of the writing of the letter.

THE PRESIDENT: You do not know who the Reichskommissar of
the Eastern territories was?

MR. DODD: We only know him by that title, "The
Reichskommissar for the Ostland."

THE PRESIDENT: Very well.

MR. DODD: Lohse, I am now informed, was his name. I
understood that we did not know it.

THE PRESIDENT: All right.

MR. DODD: Referring to this Document 3010-PS, it is a secret
organisation order of the Army Group South, dated 17th
August, 1943. I wish to read from the first page of the
English text, the first two paragraphs, as follows:-

   "The Plenipotentiary General for Labour Employment
   ordered the recruitment and employment of all born
   during the two years 1926 and 1927 for the whole of the
   newly occupied Eastern territory in Decree AZ. VI A
   5780.28 (Enclosure I), copy of which is enclosed.
   
   The Reich Minister for Armament and Munitions approved
   this order.
   
   According to this order by the Plenipotentiary General
   for Labour Employment (B.G.A.) you have to recruit and
   to transport to the Reich immediately all labour force
   in your territory born during 1926 and 1927. The decree
   relative to labour duty and labour employment in the
   theatre of operations of the newly occupied Eastern
   territory of 6th February, 1943, and the executive
   orders therefore are the authority for the execution of
   this measure. Enlistment must be completed by 30th
   September, 1943, at the latest."


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