The Nizkor Project: Remembering the Holocaust (Shoah)

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Last-Modified: 2000/11/08

CROSS-EXAMINATION

BY COLONEL SMIRNOV:

Q. As I understood you, witness, you were very surprised
when you learned about the killings in the concentration
camps?

A. Yes.

Q. And you contend that the Waffen SS did not participate in
the killings in the concentration camps?

                                                  [Page 290]

A. I said that. I and countless comrades of the Waffen SS
knew nothing about them. The defence counsel told me that
killings were carried out. I did not deny it.

Q. Will you tell us, please, who was in charge of the
Kommandantur within the concentration camp? Was it not the
Waffen SS?

A. No, they were not Kommandanturen of the Waffen SS.
Certain members of the nominal Waffen SS were in the
Kommandanturen; but there is a clear order of the High
Command of the Waffen SS which I have already mentioned. It
is included in the army circular of December, 1940, and
stated that members of the Totenkopf (Death's Head) units do
not do any military service in the sense of the SS. Members
of the Totenkopf units -

Q. I would like to ask you to be more concise. So you
contend that the Kommandanturen in concentration camps were
Waffen SS Kommandanturen?

A. The Kommandanturen were not under the command of the
Waffen SS; but members of the Waffen SS were in the
Kommandanturen. There is a distinction.

Q. But these Kommandanturen were Waffen SS Kommandanturen?_

A. No, they were not Kommandanturen of the Waffen SS.

Q. Another question, before I refresh your memory on these
matters. Is it not the staff of the Waffen SS who are
responsible for the most terrible crimes committed in the
concentration camps?

A. The inspectorate of the concentration camps was the
supreme authority for the guards, personnel, and for the
Kommandanturen of the concentration camps; and this
inspectorate was responsible, as far as I know, for all
concentration camps.

Q. What was the rank of Gluecks? Do you know that name?

A. Gluecks was the commander or Kommandant of the
inspectorate of the concentration camps.

Q. I am asking you about his military rank. Was he a general
of the Waffen SS?

A. I believe he was a lieutenant-general of the Waffen SS.

COLONEL SMIRNOV: Sir, please allow me in order to refute the
words of the witness to present a document which, although
it is a private document, has an exceptional evidential
value and without which the material of the proceedings
would be incomplete. I am speaking now of a circular letter
of the General Major of the Waffen SS, Gluecks, about the
utilization of human hair in the concentration camps. If the
Tribunal please, while evidence was presented concerning the
Auschwitz concentration camps, we mentioned that seven tons
of hair cut off from 740,000 women's heads had been found
there. W e did not know till now what was the aim of the
utilization of this hair; but now we have an original
document which describes this purpose and which I am
submitting. This document has been found in the archives
.... I will quote the whole document with your permission:

  "Secret. SS-General Economical and Administrative
  Department, Department D., Concentration Camp,
  Oranienburg, 6th August, 1942. Copy Number 13. Re:
  Utilization of cut hair. To: Concentration Camp
  Kommandants." And then thirteen concentration camps are
  mentioned. I omit their names.
  
  "The Chief of the Central Economical and Administrative
  Department of the SS, on the basis of a report submitted
  to him, orders that all human hair cut in concentration
  camps be appropriately utilised. Human hair is to be spun
  into industrial felt and yarn. Out of combed and cut hair
  of women, hair-yarn stockings for U-boat crews are to be
  made, as well as hair-felt stockings for employees of the
  Reich railways.
  
  Therefore, I order that the hair of women prisoners after
  due disinfection be collected. Cut hair of male prisoners
  can only be utilised of at least twenty millimetres in
  length."

                                                  [Page 291]

  SS-Obergruppenfuehrer Pohl, therefore, gave his consent
  that by way of experiment the hair of male prisoners
  should be cut only when it reached a length of twenty
  millimetres.
  
  In order to avoid facilitating escape through the
  increase in length of hair, in all cases where the
  Kommandant finds it necessary to earmark the prisoners, a
  strip of hair should be clipped by means of a narrow
  clipper right over the middle of the head.
  
  The hair gathered in all the camps will be utilised by
  creating a special production unit in one of the
  concentration camps.
  
  More detailed instructions as to the delivery of stores
  of hair will be given separately.
  
  Reports on amount of hair gathered each month, male and
  female recorded separately, must be submitted on the 5th
  of each month, beginning with 5th September, 1942.
  
  Signed: Gluecks, SS-Brigadefuehrer and General Major of
  the Waffen SS."

Q. Now, I would like you to look at the stamp. Do you see
this stamp; it says: Waffen SS Kommandantur, Sachsenhausen.
Do you still assert that the Kommandanturen of the
concentration camps were not on the budget of the Waffen SS?

A. Yes. I will explain that. The Kommandanturen of the
Waffen SS, the Kommandanturen of the concentration camps,
were officially on the budget of the Waffen SS, as it was
necessary to have all economic -

Q. So they were on the budget of the Waffen SS, were they
not?

A. I said they were on the budget of the Waffen SS; but it
was necessary for economic reasons to mention, so to speak,
an organization of the Kommandanturen which had the
possibility of working with Reich funds and with the Reich
authorities.

COLONEL SMIRNOV: To clarify this question, my Lord, may I
draw your attention to the stamp where it is said,
"Kommandantur K.L., Sachsenhausen, Waffen SS." This proves
that the Waffen SS was in charge of the Kommandantur. I have
no further questions.

THE PRESIDENT: Do you want to re-examine?

DR. PELCKMANN: I will ask the witness one final question.

BY DR. PELCKMANN:

Q. Did you ever hear the expression "Nominal Waffen SS"?

A. Yes. The expression "Nominal Waffen SS" was used by us
for the guards, personnel, and Kommandanturen of the Waffen
SS, inasmuch as these Kommandanturen were in the Waffen SS
at all. Within the Waffen SS, as I already explained on the
regulation for replacement, we had the Waffen SS proper,
that is, the troops; and then on the economic budget of the
Waffen SS, we had various formations, which, at the order of
Himmler, were put there so that they could enjoy the
advantages of the Waffen SS in regard to dealings of an
economic nature, etc., with the authorities.

Q. Then it was a technical expression which was known
everywhere, the Nominal Waffen SS?

A. Yes. The Waffen SS proper, that is the troops, were under
a Kommando Amt of the Waffen SS unless they were at the
front and thus under the army. And this inspectorate of the
concentration camps was not under the Kommandant of the
Waffen SS and received no orders from this side. The
inspectorate of the concentration camps, Gluecks's office,
had its own channel of command. As far as I know, it
received its mail independently, and so forth; and as far as
I know, it did not even come into closer contact with the
WVHA, of which it was an Amtsgruppe.

DR. PELCKMANN: Thank you.

                                                  [Page 292]

BY THE TRIBUNAL (Mr. Biddle):

Q. Witness, you said that the Kommandanturen were within the
budget of the Waffen SS. Did you mean on the budget of the
Waffen SS?

A. On the budget.

Q. Of the Waffen SS?

A. On the budget of the Waffen SS, as far as I know.

THE PRESIDENT: And was the inspectorate of concentration
camps also on the budget of the Waffen SS?

A. I cannot definitely say that.

Q. How were the Waffen SS paid in the first place? Were they
paid in the same manner as the Wehrmacht?

A. Yes.

Q. Were they paid the same amounts?

A. Yes.

Q. And was their budget in the budget of the Wehrmacht or
was there a separate budget?

A. Yes.

Q. What do you mean, "yes"? Was it in the budget of the
Wehrmacht, or was it a separate budget?

A. We were paid according to the rank pay order section of
the army, that is, from the budget of the Wehrmacht.

Q. So in all respects as far as pay went, you were part of
the regular army, is that right?

A. Yes, that is right.

Q. Why, then, did you keep this separate designation of
Waffen SS if you were part of the Wehrmacht?

A. I assumed that Himmler and particularly Hitler wanted it
that way. He wanted a Waffen SS, a special troop.

Q. You had separate uniforms, did you not? You had different
uniforms from the Wehrmacht?

A. We had the same uniforms, only different insignia. That
is, we had the same shoulder insignia, only in addition we
had stars and stripes which the Wehrmacht did not have.

Q. To what extent, after you joined the army, were you still
subject to Himmler's command?

A. We were not under Himmler's orders at all. Up to 1939 we
were as SS Verfugungstruppe under Hitler's orders; and then
the Waffen SS was also under the orders of Hitler as
commander-in-Chief of the Wehrmacht.

Q. Did Himmler have anything to do with the Waffen SS?

A. Yes. For example, Himmler had the right to inspection; he
had the right to make promotions; and on administration and
care of the troops, and also, as far as I know, on legal
matters, Himmler, i.e., his main office, had an influence.

THE PRESIDENT: The witness can retire.

DR. PELCKMANN: Your Lordship, to clear up the question which
the Tribunal has just asked, I consider it necessary to call
the head of WVHA, Amtsgruppe D, the witness Pohl.

THE PRESIDENT: Is he one of the witnesses that have been
allowed to you?

DR. PELCKMANN: He is not one of those witnesses. I only want
to prepare orally for my written application which I shall
hand in.

THE PRESIDENT: The Tribunal thinks you had better call your
next witness, Dr. Pelckmann.

                                                  [Page 293]

DR. PELCKMANN: The next witness will testify on the
questions that were asked the last witness. I shall give my
suggestion for the cross-examination of the witness Pohl in
writing.

I call the witness Hauser.

PAUL HAUSER, a witness, took the stand and testified as
follows:

BY THE PRESIDENT:

Q. Will you state your full name, please?

A. Paul Hauser.

Q. Will you repeat this oath after me?

I swear by God, the Almighty and Omniscient, that I will
speak the pure truth and will withhold and add nothing.

(The witness repeated the oath.)

THE PRESIDENT: You may sit down.

BY DR. PELCKMANN:

Q. When were you born?

A. I was born on 7th October, 1880.

Q. You were a professional soldier?

A. Yes.

Q. When did you leave the Wehrmacht?

A. On 1st February, 1932, I left the Reichswehr as a
lieutenant-general.

Q. How did you come to the SS?

A. In 1933, as a non-party member, I joined the Stahlhelm -

Q. Please speak more slowly, witness.

A. ... and with this organization I was transferred to the
SA reserve in 1934 After the events in the summer of 1934 I
was asked by Heinrich Himmler whether I would be willing to
take over the establishment and direction of an officer-
candidate school. I accepted this assignment, and in
November, 1934, I joined the Verfugungstruppe.

Q. At what time and 1n what position did you acquire the
knowledge which enabled you to appear here and testify as a
witness for the SS?

A. From Easter, 1935, to the summer of 1936, I directed the
school. Then I was inspector of the Verfugungstruppe from
1936 to 1939. During the war, for two years in each
capacity, I led an SS division and an SS Panzer Corps, and
then, from 1944 on, I was again in the army, as commander-in-
chief of an army group.

I am in a position to give information on the
Verfugungstruppe in peace time and on the Waffen SS during
the war, as far as I became acquainted with them personally,
and as far as they were under my orders. I do not know the
General SS. During the war I was not employed at any central
office.

Q. What was your last rank in the Waffen SS?

A. I was General (Generaloberst) of the Waffen SS.

Q. What was your last position?

A. At the beginning of 1945 I was commander-in-chief of Army
Group D, on the southern flank of the Western front.

Q. About how many divisions were under you at that time?

A. This army group had twenty to thirty divisions, only two
of which belonged to the Waffen SS.

Q. How did you as General of the Waffen SS get a leading
position in the army?

A. That was a result of the close co-operation between the
army and the Waffen SS. My employment in that capacity was
suggested on the basis of my previous experience with the
army.


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