Archive/File: holocaust/germany/nuremberg waffen-ss.001 Last-Modified: 1994/12/20 "Less amusing but no more credible than any other part of the SS case was the argument that the Waffen-SS should be excluded from any declaration of criminality. These fighting units of the SS which had included 18,000 men at the beginning of the war and 550,000 by the end, were described as purely military formations, under the command of the Armed Forces and subject to the SS only for administration, discipline and equipment. It was claimed they were increasingly conscripted, fully instructed in the Hague and Geneva Conventions and had fought as decent soldiers. Yet prosecution evidence suggested that the defense argument could be turned back on its head; far from the Waffen-SS being innocent because unconnected with other SS crimes, the SS as a whole was contaminated by the outrages of this section for which it was ultimately responsible. Evidence had certainly made it clear that there had been no rigid division between the Waffen-SS and the rest of the organization: members frequently rotated between branches; all units co-operated in the Einsatzgruppen, partisan warfare, the shooting of prisoners and hostages. No one denied that the Waffen-SS had provided many guards for extermination camps - their claim that this was at the end of the war and when the men were unfit for combat did not make their work any better. The witnesses began by vociferously pleading the innocence of the Waffen-SS and soon fell back defending themselves only. The prime example was SS General Hauser who was 'no longer in command' of the units which destroyed Lidice; he had 'not yet' taken command of those who massacred every inhabitant of Oradour; he was 'not actually in Yugoslavia when his division in a single action murdered families whose names took up three pages in a prosecution document; and he was 'surprised' to hear what an active part the Waffen-SS had played in the destruction of the Warsaw Ghetto - only at Nuremberg had he learnt it had in fact been destroyed. Given virtual admissions like these in widespread, constant criminal activity, let alone previous prosecution evidence, it is hardly surprising that the Tribunal refused to accept a United Nations War Crimes Commission report summarizing charges against Waffen-SS. The reason they gave was that it was being submitted too late. In fact it must have seemed merely cumulative." (Tusa, 434-5) Work Cited Tusa, Ann & John. The Nuremberg Trial. Birmingham, Alabama: The Notable Trials Library, Division of Gryphon Editions, Inc., 1990
Home ·
Site Map ·
What's New? ·
Search
Nizkor
© The Nizkor Project, 1991-2012
This site is intended for educational purposes to teach about the Holocaust and
to combat hatred.
Any statements or excerpts found on this site are for educational purposes only.
As part of these educational purposes, Nizkor may
include on this website materials, such as excerpts from the writings of racists and antisemites. Far from approving these writings, Nizkor condemns them and
provides them so that its readers can learn the nature and extent of hate and antisemitic discourse. Nizkor urges the readers of these pages to condemn racist
and hate speech in all of its forms and manifestations.