Archive/File: imt/tgmwc/tgmwc-04/tgmwc-04-35.09
Last-Modified: 1999/09/28

Finally, I want to say a few words about the responsibility
of this defendant for the systematic terror practised
against the inhabitants of the occupied territory by the
Nazis throughout the occupation. Referring again to the
collected speeches in Document 3430-PS, on 29th January,
1943, the defendant left little doubt of his point of view.
He said, and I quote:

  "It is also clear, now more than ever, that every
  resistance which is directed against this fight for
  existence must be suppressed. Some time ago the
  representatives of the Churches had written to the
  Wehrmacht Commander and to me, and they presented their
  ideas in regard to the execution of death sentences which
  the Wehrmacht Commander announced in the meantime. To
  this I can say only the following: At the moment in which
  our men, fathers and sons with iron determination, look
  towards their fate in the East, and unflinchingly and
  steadfastly perform their highest pledge, it is
  unbearable to tolerate conspiracies whose goal is to
  weaken the rear of this Eastern front. Whoever dares this
  must be annihilated. We must be severe and become even
  more severe against our opponents. This is the command of
  a relentless sequence of events and for us, perhaps,
  unhumanly hard but our holy duty. We remain human because
  we do not torture our opponents. We must remain hard in
  annihilating them."

I do not offer any evidence of the commission of these
crimes, because that is to be done by Prosecutors of the
French Republic. But the position of the

                                                  [Page 327]

defendant Seyss-Inquart as Reich Commissar, the control
which he exercised, which has been shown, particularly over
the S.S. and Police, and the attitude of the man himself
will make clear his authorisation and participation in the
crimes to be proved and are a further indication of his part
in the Common Plan.

Seyss-Inquart supported the Nazi Party as early as 1931. He
was a traitor to the government to which he owed allegiance
and in which he held high office. With full knowledge of the
ultimate purposes of the conspirators he bent every effort
to integrate Austria into the Reich and to make its
resources and manpower, as well as its strategic position,
available for the Nazi war machine. He performed these tasks
with such ruthless efficiency that he was chosen thereafter
for key positions in the enslavement of Poland and the
Netherlands - the positions which he filled with such
satisfaction to his superiors, that ultimately he came to be
one of the foremost and most detested leaders in this Common
Plan. As such, under Article 6 of the Charter, he is
responsible for all acts performed by any persons in the
execution of that plan. As such he is guilty of the crimes
charged to him under Counts 1 and 2 of the Indictment.

I wish to introduce to the Tribunal at this time Dr. Robert
M. W. Kempner, who will represent the prosecution in the
next phase of the case dealing with the defendant Frick.

DR. KEMPNER: May it please the Tribunal: There have been
distributed to the Tribunal and to all defence counsel trial
briefs and documents relating to the defendant Frick. The
trial brief prepared by my colleague Karl Lachmann sets
forth in great detail evidence, in the form of both
documents and decrees, against the defendant Wilhelm Frick,
English translations of the evidentiary material referred to
in the trial brief are included in the document book
prepared by my colleague, Lt. Felton. This book has been
marked "LL."

Defendant Frick's great contribution to the Nazi conspiracy
was in the field of governmental administration. He was the
administrative brain which devised the machinery of State
for Nazism, who geared that machinery for aggressive war.

In the course of his active participation in the Nazi
conspiracy, from 1923 to 1945, the defendant Frick occupied
a number of important positions. Document 2978-PS, which has
previously been introduced as Exhibit USA 8, lists the
positions in detail. The original was signed by the
defendant Frick on 14th October, 1945. I do not repeat these
positions; they are known to the Court. Frick's past
activity on behalf of the Nazi conspirators was his
participation in promoting their rise to power. Frick
betrayed, in his capacity as law enforcement official of the
Bavarian Government, his own Bavarian Government, by
participating in the Munich Beer Hall Putsch of 8th
November,, 1923. Frick was tried and sentenced, together
with Hitler, on a charge of complicity in treason. His
position in the Putsch is described in a record of the
proceeding called "The Hitler Trial before the Peoples'
Court in Munich," published in Munich in 1924.

I will ask this Tribunal to take judicial notice of this
record of these proceedings. Hitler's appreciation of
Frick's assistance is evidenced by the fact that he honoured
Frick by mentioning his name in "Mein Kampf." Only two other
defendants in this proceeding share this honour; namely,
Hess and Streicher. I ask the Tribunal to take judicial
notice of the favourable mentioning of defendant Frick in
"Mein Kampf," German edition, 1933, Page 403.

During the period after the Putsch, Frick made further
contributions to the Nazi conspiracy. I should like to refer
briefly to Document 2513-PS, an excerpt on Pages 36 and 38
from a Report entitled "The National Socialist Workers Party
as an Association Hostile to the State and to the Republican
Form of Government and Guilty of Treasonable Activity." This
Report has been previously introduced as Document 2513-PS,
Exhibit USA 235. It is an

                                                  [Page 328]

official report of the criminal activities of Hitler, Frick
and other Nazis prepared by the Prussian Ministry of the
Interior in 1930. It states that Frick, next to Hitler, can
be regarded as the most influential representative of the
Nazi Party at that time. This document reported that at the
1927 Party Congress in Nuremberg, Frick said that the
Reichstag would first be misused by the Nazi Party, would
then be, abolished, and that its abolition would, open, the
way for racial dictatorship. The document also reported that
Frick stated in a speech in 1929 at Pyritz that "this
fateful struggle will first be taken up with the ballot, but
this cannot continue indefinitely, for history has taught,
us that in battle blood must be shed and iron broken."

Back in 1927 Frick's prominent role in helping to bring the
Nazis to power was recognised when, on 23rd January, 1930,
he was appointed Minister of the Interior and Education in
the State of Thuringia.

THE PRESIDENT: Are you passing from that document now? I
thought you were reading from 2513.

DR. KEMPNER: No, this is an introduction of the next
document.

THE PRESIDENT: I see, Dr. Kempner.

DR. KEMPNER: I just started to refer to the fact that Adolf
Hitler at this time, when Frick was Minister of the Interior
in the State of Thuringia, was an undesirable alien, not a
German citizen. In his capacity as Minister of Thuringia the
defendant Frick began his manipulations to provide Adolf
Hitler, the undesirable alien, with German citizenship, an
essential step towards the realisation of the Nazi
conspiracy.

This lack of German citizenship was highly detrimental to
the cause of the Nazi Party because, as an alien, Hitler
could not become a candidate for the Reich Presidency in
Germany.

It was the defendant Frick who solved this problem by an
administrative manoeuvre. We now introduce in evidence
Document 3564-PS, Exhibit USA 709. This document is an
affidavit by Otto Meissner of 27th December, 1945. Meissner
was former State secretary and chief of Hitler's
Presidential Chancellery. The last two sentences of this
affidavit read as follows:

   "Frick also, in collaboration with Klagges, Minister of
   Brunswick, succeeded in naturalising Hitler as a German
   citizen in 1932, by having him appointed a Brunswick
   government official (Ministerialrat). This was done in
   order to make it possible for Hitler to run as a
   candidate for the office of President in the Reich."

When Hitler came to power on 30th January, 1933, Frick was
duly awarded a prominent post in the new regime as Reich
Minister of the Interior. In this capacity he became
responsible for the establishment of totalitarian control
over Germany, an indispensable prerequisite for the
preparation of aggressive warfare. Frick assumed
responsibility for the realisation of a large part of the
Nazi conspirators' programme, through both administration
and legislation.

I must explain very briefly the significance of the Ministry
of the Interior in the Nazi State to show the contribution
made by Frick to the conspiracy. I offer, as evidence of
Frick's extensive jurisdiction as Minister of the Interior,
Document 3475-PS, Exhibit USA 710, which is part of the
official German manual for administrative officials, dated
1943. I ask the Tribunal to take judicial notice of Frick's
jurisdiction mentioned in this document. The names of the
men who, according to this document, worked under Frick's
supervision, and I stress this point "worked under Frick's
supervision" are symbolic. They are listed on Page 1 of the
English translation. Here we find among the subordinates of
Frick "Reich Health Leader Dr. Conti," "Reichsfuehrer S.S.
and Chief of the German Police Heinrich Himmler" and "Reich
Labour Service Leader Hierl." This document shows Frick as
supreme commander of three important pillars of the Nazi
State: the Nazi Health Service, the Nazi Police System and
the Nazi Labour Service.

                                                  [Page 329]

The wide variety of Frick's activities as Reich- Minister of
the Interior can be judged from the following catalogue of
his functions, enumerated in the following pages of the
manual. He had final authority over constitutional
questions, drafted legislation, had jurisdiction over
governmental administration and civil defence and was final
arbiter in all questions concerning race and citizenship.
The manual also lists sections of the ministry concerned
with administrative problems for the occupied territories
and annexed territories, the New Order in the Southeast, the
Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia and the New Order in the
East. He also had full jurisdiction in the field of civil
service, including such matters as appointment, tenure,
promotion and dismissal.

The defendant Frick used his wide powers as Reichsminister
of the Interior to advance the cause of the Nazi conspiracy.
To accomplish this purpose, he drafted and signed the laws
and decrees which abolished the autonomous State
governments, the autonomous local governments, and the
political, parties in Germany other than the Nazi Party.

In 1933 and 1934, the first two years of the Nazi regime,
Frick signed about 235 laws or decrees, all of which are
published in the "Reichsgesetzblatt." I should like to refer
briefly to a few of the more important laws and decrees,
such as the law of 14th July, 1933, outlawing all political
parties other than the Nazi Party, Reichsgesetzblatt, 1933,
Part 1, Page 479 (Document 1388A-PS); then the law of 1st
December, 1933, securing the unity of party and State,
Reichsgesetzblatt, 1933, Part 1, Page 1016 (Document 1395-
PS); the law of 30th January, 1934, transferring the
sovereignty of the German States to the Reich,
Reichsgesetzblatt, 1934, Part 1, Page 75 (Document 3068-PS);
the German Municipality Act of 30th January, 1935, which
gave Frick's Ministry of the Interior final authority to
appoint and dismiss all mayors of municipalities throughout
Germany, Reichsgesetzblatt, 1935, Part 1, Page 49 (Document
2008-PS); and, finally, the Nazi Civil Service Act of 7th
April, 1933, which provided that all civil servants must be
trustworthy as defined by Nazi standards and also must meet
the Nazi racial requirements, published in
Reichsgesetzblatt, 1933, Part 1, Page 175 (Document 1397-
PS).

One category of Frick's activities, however, deserves
special notice; that is, the crushing of opposition by
legally camouflaged police terror. This is shown by the
book, "Dr. Wilhelm Frick and His Ministry," our Document
3119-PS, which is in evidence as Exhibit USA 711, written by
Frick's under-secretary and co-conspirator, Hans Pfundtner,
apparently written to establish Frick's eternal contribution
to the creation of the Nazi's Thousand Year Reich. It
states, and I quote briefly from Page 4, paragraph 4, of the
English translation:

   "While Marxism in Prussia was crushed by the hard fist
   of the Prussian Prime Minister, Hermann Goering, and a
   gigantic wave of propaganda was initiated for the
   Reichstag elections of 5th March, 1933, Dr. Frick
   prepared the complete seizure of power in all States of
   the Reich. All at once the political opposition
   disappeared. All at once the Main (River) line was
   eliminated - from this time on only one will and one
   leadership reigned in the German Reich."

How was this done? On 28th February, 1933, the day after the
Reichstag fire, civil rights in Germany were abolished. This
decree was published in the Reichsgesetzblatt, 1933, Page
83, and an English translation of it appears in the document
book as 1390-PS. I refer to this decree at this time because
it carries the signature of the Reich Minister of the
Interior Frick. And, now something important. It is stated
at the beginning of the decree, which was published on the
morning after the Reichstag fire, that the suspension of
civil rights is decreed as a defence measure against
Communist acts of violence endangering the State. At the
time of publication of this decree, the Nazi Government
announced that a thorough investigation had proven that the

                                                  [Page 330]
                                                            
Communists had set fire to the Reichstag building. I do not
intend to go into the controversial issue of who set fire to
the Reichstag, but I should like to offer proof that the
official Nazi statement, that the Communists were
responsible for the fire, was issued without any
investigation, and that the preamble of the decree which had
Frick's signature was a mere subterfuge.

I offer in evidence a very short excerpt of an interrogation
of defendant Goering, dated 13th October, 1945, our Document
3593-PS, Exhibit USA 712, and I should like to read the
following brief portion, beginning on Page 4:

   My question to Goering: "How could you tell your Press
   agent, one hour after the Reichstag caught fire, that
   the Communists did it, without investigation?"
   
   Goering's answer: "Did the Public Relations Officer say
   that at that time?"
   
   My answer: "Yes. He said you said it."
   
   Goering: "Is it possible when I came to the Reichstag,
   the Fuehrer and his gentlemen were there. I was doubtful
   at that time, but it was their opinion that the
   Communists had started the fire."
   
   My question: "But you were the highest law enforcement
   official in a certain sense. Daluege was your
   subordinate. Looking back at it now, and not in the
   excitement that existed there at the time, was it not
   too early to say without any investigation that the
   Communists had started the fire?"
   
   Goering: "Yes, that is possible, but the Fuehrer wanted
   it this way."
   
   Question: "Why did the Fuehrer want to issue at once a
   statement that the Communists had started the fire?"
   
   Answer: "He was convinced of it."
   
   Question: "Is it right when I say he was convinced
   without having any evidence or any proof of that at this
   moment?"
   
   Goering: "That is right, but you must take into account
   that at that time the Communist activity was extremely
   strong, that our new government as such was not very
   secure."

THE PRESIDENT: Dr. Kempner, what has that got to do with
Frick?

DR. KEMPNER: He signed the decree, as I said before,
abolishing civil liberties, on the morning after, pointing
out that there was a Communist danger. On the other side,
this Communist danger was a mere subterfuge and was one of
the things which finally led to the second World War.

The defendant Frick not only abolished civil liberties
within Germany, but he also became the organiser of the huge
police network of the Nazi Reich.

Parenthetically, I may state that before this time there was
no unified Reich police system; the individual German States
had police forces of their own.

I ask the Tribunal to take judicial notice of the decree of
17th June, 1936, signed by Frick and published in the
Reichsgesetzblatt, 1936, Page 487. An English translation of
this decree is in the document book as Document 2073-PS.

Section I of this Frick decree reads as follows:

   "For the unification of police duties in the Reich, a
   Chief of German Police is instituted in the German
   Ministry of the Interior, to whom is assigned the
   direction and conduct of all police affairs."

And from Section 2 we learn that it was the defendant Frick
and Hitler, the signers of the decree, who appointed Himmler
as Chief of the German Police.

Paragraph 2 of Section 2 of the decree states that Himmler
was, and I quote, "subordinated individually and directly to
the Reich and Prussian Minister of the Interior." And, of
course, that is Frick.

The official chart of the German police system, Document
1852-PS, which has already been introduced into evidence as
Exhibit USA 449, clearly shows

                                                  [Page 331]

the position of the Reich Minister of the Interior, Frick,
as the supreme commander of the entire German police system,
including the notorious R.S.H.A., of which the defendant
Kaltenbrunner became chief, under Frick, in January, 1943.

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