Twenty-Second Day: Tuesday, 18th December, 1945
[Page 52]
THE PRESIDENT: Yes.
COLONEL STOREY. Your Honour asked yesterday afternoon, since
this had to do with the S.D. and the S.S., how the Party was
involved. And I should like to quote paragraph Number I on
Page 2 of the English translation, which answers this
question, and I am quoting:
Now, with reference to Document 3063, which follows just one
or two documents below...
THE PRESIDENT: What was the document?
COLONEL STOREY: Number 3063 was the next, just below that
one, if your Honour pleases.
THE PRESIDENT: Very well.
COLONEL STOREY: That, if you recall, your Honour, was a
report from the Supreme Party Court Justice Buch to the
defendant Goering, concerning punishment for the uprisings
that followed the 9th and 10th of November demonstration. I
should like to quote the portion signed by the defendant
Goering. It is, I believe, the second page of the English
translation.
It is dated: "Berlin, 2nd February, 1939."
I thank you for forwarding the report of your special
senate about the proceedings which were taken in regard
to the excesses on the occasion of the anti-Jewish
operations of the 9th and 10th of November, 1938, of
which I have taken cognisance.
Heil Hitler! [Page 53]
It was probably understood by all the Party leaders
present."
COLONEL STOREY: That is the time of the teletype message, I
assume, your Honour.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes.
COLONEL STOREY: "It was probably understood by all the Party
leaders present, on the basis of the oral instructions of
the Reich Propaganda Director, that the Party should not
appear outwardly as the originator of the demonstrations but
in reality should organise and execute them. Instructions to
this end were telephoned immediately" -- thus a considerable
time before transmission of the first teletype -- "to the
bureaux of their districts (Gauen) by a large part of the
Party members present."
Now, your Honour properly asked, yesterday afternoon, how
the "Blockleiter" would be affected. Your Honour will recall
that, in the instructions to the "Blockleiter" defining his
offices, it was stated that his instructions would be
received orally and they would be transmitted orally, and
writing was never to be used except in extreme cases.
Therefore I say that these quoted portions clearly indicate
that the Party was in fact used in connection with these
famous anti-Jewish demonstrations of 9th and 10th November,
1938.
Now, reverting to the text where I left off yesterday
afternoon:
The Leadership Corps of the Nazi Party participated in the
confiscation of church and religious property.
I offer in evidence Document 072-PS, which is Exhibit USA
357, which is a letter, dated 19th April, 1941, from
Reichsleiter Bormann to Reichsleiter Rosenberg. This letter
exposes the participation of the "Gauleiter" in measures
relating to the confiscation of religious property.
I now quote from the last paragraph of Page 1 of the English
translation of Document 072-PS, which reads:
The Tribunal, of course, will recall Himmler's position.
After pointing out that, on political grounds, outright
expropriation of religious property would not be feasible at
the time, Heydrich suggested
[Page 54]
I now offer in evidence R-101A -- it is right towards the
end of your Honour's Exhibits -- as Exhibit USA 358.
If your Honour pleases, there are several of those documents
under R-101, and at the bottom you will notice they are
labeled "A", "B", and "C". The first one is R-101A, and I
quote the first five paragraphs on Page 2 of the English
translation:
For political reasons, expropriation without indemnity
of the entire property of the churches and religious
orders will hardly be possible at this time.
Expropriation with indemnity or in return for
assignment of other lands and grounds will be even less
possible.
It is therefore suggested that the respective
authorities of the Orders be instructed that they make
available the monasteries concerned, for the
accommodation of racial Germans, and remove their own
members to other less populous monasteries."
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, I have it.
COLONEL STOREY: I now offer in evidence Document R-101C,
Exhibit USA 358. This is a letter dated 30th July, 1941,
written by an S.S. Standartenfuehrer, whose signature is
illegible, to the Reich Leader of the S.S. The letter
supplies further evidence of the participation of the
"Gauleiter" in the seizure of church property. I quote from
the first three paragraphs of the English translation of
Document R-101C:
[Page 55]
Moreover, the East German Estate Administration,
Limited, reports that in the 'Warthegau' all real
estate owned by the churches is being claimed by the
local 'Gau' administration."
In this letter the Chief of Staff, Main Office, reports to
Himmler concerning the policy of the S.S. in suspending all
payment of rent to monasteries and other church institutions
whose property had expropriated. The letter discusses a
proposal made by the Reich Minister of the Interior, in
which the Party Chancellery prominently participated, to the
effect that the church institutions should be paid amounts
corresponding to current mortgage charges on the premises,
without realising any profit. The writer further suggests
that such payments should never be made directly to the
ecclesiastical institutions but rather should be made to the
creditors of the institutions:
I now quote from the fourth sentence on Page 3 of that
document:
The Leadership Corps of the Nazi Party participated in the
suppression of religious publications and interfered with
free religious education.
In a letter dated 27th September, 1940, Reichsleiter and
Deputy of the Fuehrer Bormann transmitted to the defendant
Rosenberg a photostatic copy of a letter from Gauleiter
Florian, dated 23rd September, 1940, which expresses the
Gauleiter's intense disapproval, on Nazi ideological
grounds, of a religious pamphlet entitled, "The Spirit and
Soul of the Soldiers," written by a Major General von
Rabenau.
I now offer in evidence Document 064-PS, Exhibit USA 359. It
is an original letter signed by Rosenberg attaching the copy
of that matter. It contains defendant Bormann's letter to
Rosenberg, dated 27th September, 1940, transmitting the
Gauleiter's letter of 23rd September, 1940, to the defendant
Hess, in which the Gauleiter urges that the religious
writings of General von Rabenau be suppressed. In his letter
to the defendant Hess, Gauleiter Florian discusses a
conversation he had with General von Rabenau at the close of
a lecture delivered by the General to a group of younger
Army officers at Aachen. This conversation illumines the
hostile attitude of the Leadership Corps of the Nazi Party
towards the Christian churches. I quote from the second
sentence of the second paragraph of the second page of the
Gauleiter's letter to the defendant Hess, which appears on
Page 2 of the English translation -- the second paragraph:
[Page 56]
After this catastrophic ignorance, I gave up the
conversation.
Dear Party Member Hess, the reading of von Rabenau's
pamphlet 'Spirit and Soul of the Soldiers' has reminded
me again of this. In this brochure Rabenau affirms the
necessity of the Church straight-forwardly and clearly,
even though he is prudently careful. He writes on Page
28: `There could be more examples; they would suffice
to show that a soldier in this world can scarcely get
along without thoughts about the next one.'
Because von Rabenau has a false spiritual basis, I
consider his activities as an educator in spiritual
affairs to be dangerous, and I am of the opinion that
his educational writings are to be dispensed with
absolutely and that the publication section of the
N.S.D.A.P. can and must renounce these writings. The
churches with their Christianity constitute that danger
against which the struggle must always be carried on."
I now offer in evidence Document 089-PS, Exhibit USA 360,
which is a letter from the defendant Bormann, as Deputy of
the Fuehrer, to the defendant Rosenberg, dated 8th March,
1940, enclosing a copy of Bormann's letter of the same date
to Reichsleiter Amann. Amann was a top member of the
Leadership Corps by virtue of his position as Reichsleiter
for the Press and Leader Of the Party Publishing Company. In
this letter to Amann Bormann expresses his dismay and
dissatisfaction that only 10 per cent of the 3,000
Protestant periodicals in Germany have ceased publication,
for what are described as "paper saving" reasons. Bormann
then advises Reichsleiter Amann that "the distribution of
any paper whatsoever for such periodicals is barred."
I now refer to this Document 089-PS, and I quote the second
paragraph of Bormann's letter to Amann, which appears on the
first page -- the second paragraph -- of the English
translation:
[Page 57]
I have, in the past, by sounding out at once the
General Field Marshal, the High Command of the Armed
Forces, and fellow Party Member Reich Director Amann,
sought to restrict considerably the production and
shipment of publications of this type. The result of
these efforts remained unsatisfactory. As Reichsleiter
Amann has repeatedly informed me, the restriction of
these pamphlets by means of the paper rationing cannot
be achieved because the paper used for the pamphlets is
being purchased on the open market.
If the influencing of the soldiers by the church is to
be effectively combated, this will only be accomplished
only by producing many good publications in the
shortest possible time under the supervision of the
Party.
At the last meeting of the Deputy Gauleiters, comments
were made on this matter to the effect that no
considerable quantity of such publications is
available.
I maintain that it is necessary that in the near future
we transmit to the Party Service Offices down to the
Ortsgruppenleiter a list of additional publications of
this sort which should be sent to our soldiers by the
Ortsgruppen..."
(a) The closing of three more Catholic theological
faculties or higher [Page 58]
(b) the closing of one more Catholic and of three more
Evangelical theological faculties in the near future."
We stress the significance of
the appointment of the defendant Rosenberg, whose anti-
Christian views are open and notorious, as the Fuehrers
"delegate" or "representative" for the whole spiritual and
philosophical education of the Nazi Party. It was precisely
this position which gave Rosenberg his seat in the
Reichsleitung, the general staff of the Party, comprising
all the Reichsleiter. But emphasis is placed not merely upon
the fact that anti-Christs, such as the defendants Bormann
and Rosenberg, held directive positions in the Leadership
Corps but also upon the fact that their directives and
orders were passed down the chain of command of to the
Leadership Corps and caused the participation of its
membership in acts subversive to the Christian Church.
In Document D-75, which I believe has been previously
introduced -- and I am just going to quote one line from it
-- the defendant Bormann stated:
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Nizkor
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This site is intended for educational purposes to teach about the Holocaust and
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(Part 1 of 8)
"The Chiefs of the State Police, or their deputies,
must get in contact by telephone with the Political
Leaders (Gauleitung oder Kreisleitung) who have
jurisdiction over their districts and have to arrange a
joint meeting with the appropriate inspector or
commander of the Order Police to discuss the
organisation of the demonstration. At these discussions
the Political Leaders are to be informed that the
German Police have received from the Reichsfuehrer S.S.
and Chief of the German Police the following
instructions, in accordance with which the Political
Leaders should adjust their own measures."
That had to do with the preparation for the general anti-
Jewish uprisings.
"Dear Party Member Buch:
And then, passing, your Honour, to page number I,
immediately following, of the English translation, I think
the next two paragraphs will answer your Honour's question.
I quote:
yours,
Goering." "On the evening of 9th November, 1938, the Reich
Propaganda Director
Party Member Dr. Goebbels told the Party Leaders
assembled at a social evening in the old town hall in
Munich that in the districts (Gauen) of Kurhessen and
Magdeburg-Anhalt it had come to hostile Jewish
demonstrations, during which Jewish shops were
demolished and synagogues were set on fire. The
Fuehrer, at Goebbels' suggestion, had decided that such
demonstrations were not to be prepared or organised by
the Party; but so far as they originated spontaneously,
they were not to be discouraged either. In other
respects, Party Member Dr. Goebbels carried out the
purport of what was prescribed in the teletype of the
Reich Propaganda Administration of 10th November, 1938.
PRESIDENT: What does "12:30 to 1 o'clock" mean there?
"The libraries and art treasures of the monasteries
confiscated in the Reich were to remain for the time
being in their monasteries in so far as the 'Gauleiter'
had not determined otherwise."
On 21st February, 1940, the Chief of the Security Police and
S.D. Heydrich, wrote a letter to Reichsfuehrer S.S. Himmler,
proposing that certain listed churches and monasteries be
confiscated for the accommodation of so-called "racial
Germans".
"Enclosed is a list of church possessions which might
be available for the accommodation of racial Germans.
The list, which I beg you to return, is supplemented by
correspondence and illustrated material pertinent to
the subject.
There is a marginal note opposite this paragraph that,
translated means "very good."
"The final expropriation of these properties thus
placed at our disposal can then be carried out step by
step in the course of time."
On 5th April, 1940, the Security Police and Security Service
S.S. sent a letter to the Reich Commissar for the
Consolidation of Germandom, enclosing a copy of the
foregoing letter from Heydrich to Himmler of 21st February,
1940, proposing the confiscation of Church properties. The
letter of 5th April, 1940, is included in the Document R-
101A, just introduced in evidence; and I quote from this
second sentence of the first paragraph thereof, on Page 1 of
the English translation of that document. It is the first
paragraph of Page I:
"The Reich Leader S.S. has agreed to the proposals made
in the enclosed letter and has ordered the matter to be
dealt with by collaboration between the Chief of the
Security Police and Security Service and your office."
If your Honour pleases, I believe it is on Pare 1 of the
document. It is from the second sentence of the first
paragraph. It is on the same one as the tab, your Honour.
"In accordance with the report of 30th May, 1941, this
office considers it its duty to call the Reich Leader's
attention to the development which is taking place in
the incorporated Eastern Countries with regard to
seizure and confiscation of Church property.
As soon as the Reich laws on expropriation had been
introduced, the Reich Governor and `Gauleiter' in the
Wartheland adopts the practice of expropriating real
estate belonging to churches for use as dwellings. He
grants compensation to the extent of the assessed
value, and pays the equivalent amount into blocked
accounts.
I next offer in evidence Document R-101D, which immediately
follows Exhibit USA 358, already in evidence. This is a
letter from the Chief Of Staff of the Main Office to
Himmler, dated 30th March, 1942, dealing with the
confiscation of church property. The letter evidences the
active participation of the Party Chancellery in the
confiscation of religious property.
"Such an arrangement would be in line with the basic
idea of the settlement originally worked out between
the Party Chancellery and the Reich Minister of the
Interior."
I understand the Reich Minister of Interior for 1933-1944
was the defendant Frick.
"After he had affirmed the necessity of the churches,
Rabenau said, with emphasised self-assurance, something
like the following:
'Dear Gauleiter, the Party is making mistake after
mistake in the treatment of the churches. Obtain for me
the necessary powers from the Fuehrer and I guarantee
that I shall succeed in a few months in establishing
peace with the churches for all time.'
That the Party Chancellery shared with the Gauleiter this
hostility to the Christian Churches is further revealed by
the defendant Bormann's instruction to the defendant
Rosenberg, set forth in Bormann's letter of transmittal,
that Rosenberg "take action" on the Gauleiter's
recommendation that the General's writings be suppressed.
"I urge you to see to it, in any redistribution of
paper to be considered later, that the confessional
writing, which, according to experiences so far
gathered, possesses very doubtful value for
strengthening the power of resistance on the part of
the people toward the external foe, receive still
sharper restrictions in favour of literature
politically and ideologically more valuable."
I next offer in evidence Document 101-PS, Exhibit USA 361,
which is a letter from the defendant Bormann, again, to
Reichsleiter Rosenberg, dated the 17th January, 1940,
expressing the Party's opposition to the circulation of
religious literature to the members of the German Armed
Forces. Among the soldiers of the United Nations, the
proposition that there are no atheists in the fox-holes
received a wide and reverent acceptation. However, in
"Nearly all the districts" -- (that is Gauen) --
"report to me regularly that the churches of both
confessions are administering spiritually to members of
the Armed Forces. This administration finds its
expression especially in the fact that soldiers are
being sent religious publications by the spiritual
leaders of their home congregations. These publications
are, in part, very cleverly composed. I have repeated
reports that these publications are being read by the
troops and thereby exercise a certain influence on the
morale.
The Leadership Corps also participated in measures leading
to the closing and dissolution of theological schools and
other religious institutions. I now offer in evidence
Document 122-PS, Exhibit USA 362, which, again, is a letter
from the defendant Bormann to the defendant Rosenberg in his
capacity as the Fuehrer's Representative for the Supervision
of Spiritual and Ideological Schooling and Education of the
N.S.D.A.P. This letter is dated 17th April, 1939, and
transmits to Rosenberg an enclosed photostatic copy of a
plan suggested by the Reich Minister for Science, Education
and Training for the combining and closing of certain
specially listed theological faculties. In his letter of
transmittal the defendant Bormann requested Reichsleiter
Rosenberg, to take "cognizance and prompt action" with
respect to proposed suppression of religious institutions. I
now quote from the next to the last paragraph of Page 2 of
the English translation, in which the plan to suppress the
religious institutions is summarised, and which reads:
"To recapitulate, this plan would mean, in addition to
the closing of the theological faculties at Innsbruck,
Salzburg and Munich, which has already taken place, and
the contemplated transfer of the faculty of Graz to
Vienna -- that is the disappearance of four Catholic
theological faculties:
schools and of four Evangelical theological faculties
in the Winter Semester 1939/1940;
From the foregoing evidence the inference is irresistible,
that the Leadership Corps of the Nazi Party shares a
responsibility for the measures taken to subvert the
Christian Churches and persecute the Christian clergy, both
in Germany and in German-occupied territories of Europe. The
evidence just offered, together with that previously
presented by the prosecution, demonstrates that there was a
general participation by the Leadership Corps, ranging from
the Reichsleiter to the Gauleiter, adhered to by the rank
and file, in the deliberate programme undertaken to
undermine Christian religion.
"Nazism and Christianity are irreconcilable concepts."
The defendant was never more right, but he erred grievously
by his prophecy as to which of the two would first pass
away.