Twenty-First Day: Monday, 17th December, 1945
The power of Hoheitstraeger to call upon other Party formations.
The Hoheitstraeger among the Leadership Corps were entitled
to call upon and utilise the various Party formations as
necessary for the execution of the Nazi Party policies.
The Party Manual provides with respect to the power and
authority of the Hoheitstraeger to requisition the services
of the S.A.; and I quote from Page 11 of this same Document
1893-PS:--
Should the Hoheitstraeger need more S.A. for the
execution of a political mission than is locally
available, he then applies to the next higher office of
sovereignty which, in turn, requests the S.A. from the
S.A. office in his sector." [Page 26]
With respect to the authority of the Hoheitstraeger to call
upon the services of the Hitler Jugend, the Party Manual
states -- and I quote from Page 11, the last paragraph of
that translation:--
In appointing leaders of the H.J. and the D.J., the
office of the H.J. must procure the approval of the
Hoheitstraeger of his zone. This means that the
Hoheitstraeger can prevent the appointment of leaders
unsuited for the leadership of youth. If his approval
has not been procured an appointment may be cancelled
if he so requests."
The Gauleiter is to proceed with his measures on a
basis of the closest understanding with the competent
Regional Factory Cell Director." [Page 27]
With reference to the meetings and conferences among the
Hoheitstraeger of the Leadership Corps, it is the contention
of the prosecution that the members of the Leadership Corps
constituted a distinctive and identifiable group or
organisation. It is strongly supported by the fact that the
various Hoheitstraeger were under an absolute obligation to
meet and confer periodically, not only with the staff
officers on their own staffs, but with the political leaders
and staff officers immediately subordinate to them. For
example, the Gauleiter was bound to confer with his staff
officers (such as his deputy and so forth, which included
the school leader, propaganda leader, Press leader, his Gau
Party Judge, etc.) every 8 to 14 days. Furthermore, the
Gauleiter was obligated to meet with the various Gauleiter
subordinate to him once every 3 months for a three-day
convention, for the purpose of discussing and clarifying
Nazi policies and directives, for hearing basic lectures on
Party policy, and for the mutual exchange of information
pertinent to the Party's current programme. The Gauleiter
was also obliged to meet at least once a month with the
leaders of the Party formations and affiliated organisations
within his Gau area, such as the leaders of the S.A., and
S.S., Hitler Jugend and others. In support of these
statements, I quote from Page 8 of Document 1893-PS. I don't
think it is necessary to read all of that.
A. District Leaders.", Page 8.
The clear consequence of such regular and compulsory
conferences and meetings by all the Hoheitstraeger, both
with their own staff officers and with
[Page 28]
If I may digress from my text and call attention to this
chart, You will see the dotted lines connecting down from
the Party level, Gau level, to similar offices in the lower
level.
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(Part 9 of 16)
[COLONEL STOREY continues]
"The Hoheitstraeger is responsible for the entire
political appearance of the Movement within this zone.
The S.A. leader of that zone is tied to the directives
of the Hoheitstraeger in that respect. The
Hoheitstraeger is the ranking representative of the
Party to include all organisations within his zone. He
may requisition the S.A. located within his zone from
the respective S.A. leaders if they are needed for the
execution of a political mission. The Hoheitstraeger
will then assign the mission to the S.A.
"The Political Leader has the right to requisition the
H.J. -- that is the Hitler Jugend -- in the same manner
as the S.A. for the execution of a political action.
An example of the use of the Party formations at the call of
the Leadership Corps of the Party is provided by the action
taken by the Reichsleiter for Party Organisation of the
National Socialist Party, Dr. Robert Ley, leading to the
deliberate dissolution of the Free Trade Unions on 2nd May,
1933. I quote from Document 392-PS, Exhibit USA 326, which
is a copy of the directive issued by the defendant Ley on
21st April, 1933, reproduced on Pages 51-52 of the 'Social
Life in New Germany' by Professor Mueller. In this directive
the late defendant Ley directed the employment of the S.A.
and the S.S. in the occupation of trade union properties and
for taking trade union leaders into protective custody. I
now quote from Paragraph 6 of Page 1 of Document 392-PS. It
is the third or fourth paragraph from the bottom of the
page:--
"S.A. as well as S.S. are to be employed for the
occupation of trade union properties and for the taking
of the parties concerned into protective custody.
I also quote from the second paragraph of Page 2 of that
same document:--
"The following are to be taken into protective custody:
All Trade Union Chairmen, the District Secretaries and
the Branch Directors of the 'Bank for Workers,
Employees and Officials, Inc.'"
I now offer in evidence Document 2474-PS, Exhibit USA 327,
which is a copy of a decree issued by the defendant Hess as
Deputy of the Fuehrer, dated 25th October, 1934, which under
the authority of the Hoheitstraeger with respect to Party
formations. I quote from the numbered Paragraphs 1, 5 and 6
of Page 1 of Document 2474-PS which reads as follows (Page 1
of the English translation):--
"The Political leadership within the Party and its
political representation towards all offices, State or
others, which are outside of the Party, lie solely and
exclusively with the Hoheitstraeger (Bearers of
Sovereignty) that is to say with me, the Gauleiter,
Kreisleiter, and Ortsgruppenleiter. The departmental
workers of the Party organisations, Reichsleiter,
office directors, etc., as well as the leaders of the
S.A., S.S., H.J., and the subordinate affiliations, may
not enter into binding agreements of a political nature
with State and other offices except when so authorised
by their Hoheitstraeger.
In places where the territories of the units of the
S.A., S.S., H.J. and the subordinate affiliations do
not coincide with the zones of the Hoheitstraeger, the
Hoheitstraeger will give his political directives to
the ranking leader of each unit within his zone of
sovereignty."
It was the official policy of the Leadership Corps to
establish close and co-operative relations with the Gestapo.
The Tribunal will recall that the head of the German Police
and S.S., Himmler, was a Reichsleiter on the top level of
the Leadership Corps. Without offering in evidence a decree
issued by the defendant Bormann as Chief of Staff, Deputy
of the Fuehrer, dated 26th June, 1935, I ask the Court to
take judicial knowledge; and I quote:--
"In order to effect a closer contact between the
offices of the Party and its organisations with the
Directors of the Secret State Police (Gestapo), the
Deputy of the Fuehrer requests that the Directors of
the Gestapo be invited to attend all the larger
official rallies of the Party and its organisations."
That is from the 1937 edition, Page 143, dated the 26th
June, 1937, "The Decrees of the Deputy of the Fuehrer."
"Leader conferences in the district:
If your Honour pleases, with your permission I will omit the
reading of that, because it was really summarised in my
previous statement. I will quote Subparagraph (d):--
"(d) The bearer of sovereignty will meet at least once
a month with the leaders of the S.A., S.S., N.S.K.K.,
H.J., as well as the R.A.D. and the N.S.F.K. who are
within the zone, for the purpose of mutual
orientation."
The Organisation Book of the Party imposes a similar
requirement of regular and periodical conferences and
meetings upon all the other Hoheitstraeger, including the
Kreisleiter, Ortsgruppenleiter, Zellenleiter and
Blockleiter.