One-Hundred-and-Thirteenth Day:
Wednesday, 24th April, 1946 [Page 187]
DR. SEIDL: Mr. President, Gentlemen of the Tribunal, I left
off yesterday at the last document of Volume 1. It is the
affidavit of the witness Ernst von Palizieux, and I ask the
Tribunal to take judicial notice of it. The affidavit is
given the number Frank 9, and that completes the first
volume.
THE PRESIDENT: The first volume, what page?
DR. SEIDL: That was Page 92 of the first volume, Exhibit
Frank 9.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes. That is the end of the first volume,
isn't it?
DR. SEIDL: Yes, that is the end of the first volume. Volumes
II, III and IV of the document book comprise extracts from
the diary of the defendant, Dr. Frank, I do not propose to
number all these extracts individually, but I ask the
Tribunal to accept the whole diary as Exhibit 10, and I
propose to quote only a few short extracts. For example,
Pages 1 to 27, Mr. President, are extracts from the diary
which have already been submitted by the prosecution. I have
put the extracts submitted by the prosecution in a longer
collection and by quoting the entire passages I have
attempted to prove that some of these extracts do not
represent the true and essential content of the diary. Those
are Exhibits USA 173, on Page 1 of the document book, USSR
223 on Page 3, USA 271 on Page 8, and USA 611 on Page 11. On
Page 14 there appears to be a misprint. The USA number is
not 016 but 613. That is Page 14 of the document book.
THE PRESIDENT: It begins on Page 13 in my copy, doesn't it?
DR. SEIDL: No, it is on Page 14. It is an entry dated 25
January, 1943.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, the document that I have got and which
I think you are referring to is Document 2233-PS, Exhibit
USA 613. That is on Page 13. I don't think it makes any
difference.
DR. SEIDL: In that case it must bean error by the
Translation Department. At any rate I don't think it is
important - I mean this quotation.
I now turn to Page 20 of the document book, a quotation by
the Soviet Prosecution. On Page 22 there is a quotation by
the Soviet Prosecution. Page 24 contains a quotation by the
prosecution both of the United States and the Soviet Union,
Exhibit USA 295. Perhaps I may point out that these extracts
are only a few examples, merely to show that in a number of
cases the impression must be a different one, if one either
reads the entire speech or at least a considerable portion
of it.
I then turn to Page 31 of the document book, an entry dated
10 October, 1939, in which the defendant, Dr. Frank, gives
instructions to negotiate with the Reich Food Ministry
regarding the delivery of five thousand tons of grain per
week, continuing on Page 32.
On Page 34, there is an entry of 8 March, 1940, and I quote
the first three lines:
[Page 188]
DR. SEIDL: The last quotation which I read was dated 19
February, 1940. I now turn to a quotation, that is, an entry
of 26 February, 1940:
THE PRESIDENT: Page 40 in ours.
DR. SEIDL:
THE PRESIDENT: Wait a moment. You mean the first of
September, do you?
DR. SEIDL: The 12 of September - no, it should be 12 March,
there is obviously a misprint; 12 March, 1940, Page 197 of
the diary.
[Page 189]
The next quotation is on Page 95 of the document book, an
entry dated 9 October, 1940, from the speech of the Governor
General on the occasion of the opening of the autumn trade
fair at Radom. I quote line 5:
DR. SEIDL: The date is 9 October, Pages 966-967 of the
diary. I quote line 6:
THE PRESIDENT: The translation in our book of that sentence
is:
THE PRESIDENT: In which translation, in the one I have just
read out?
DR. SEIDL: In the English translation. I shall now quote
literally:-
THE PRESIDENT: That is what I read. Well, it is right in our
book anyhow.
DR. SEIDL: The Governor General wished to say that we did
not want to deprive the Poles of their national character
and that we did not intend to make them into Germans.
I now turn to Page 101, an entry dated 27 October, 1940,
Pages 1026 to 1027 of Volume IV of the diary. A conference
with the Reich Foreign Minister. Line 7 reads:-
[Page 190]
The next quotation is dated 25 February, 1940. It deals with
a labour conference of the departmental chiefs, prefects and
heads of State in the district of Radom. I quote Page 13:-
1. The Government General comprises that part of the
occupied Polish territory which is not an integral part
of the German Reich.
2. This territory has primarily been designated by the
Fuehrer as the homestead of the Polish people. In Berlin
the Fuehrer, as well as Field Marshal Goering, emphasised
to me again and again that this territory would not be
germanised. It was to be set aside as the national
territory of the Polish people; in the name of the German
people it was to be placed at the disposal of the Polish
nation as their reservation."
The speech of the Governor General ends two pages further. I
quote the last paragraph:-
I now come to Volume 111, and I ask the Tribunal to refer to
a quotation on Page 17 in my document book. It is an entry
following a Government meeting of 18 October, 1941. 1 quote
the eighth line from the bottom; it is a statement of the
Governor General:-
[Page 191] [
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(Part 1 of 9)
"The Governor General states: In close connection
therewith is the actual governing of Poland. The Fuehrer
has ordered me to regard the Government General as the
home of the Polish people. Accordingly, no Germanisation
policy of any kind is possible."
I now pass on to Page 41 of the document book; an entry
dated 19 January, 1940. I quote the first five lines:
"Dr. Walbaum: (Chief of the Health Department): The state
of health in the Government General is satisfactory. Much
has already been accomplished in this field. In Warsaw
alone 7000,000 typhus injections
have been given. This is a huge total, even for German
standards; it is actually a record."
The next quotation is on Page 50 of the document book, an
entry dated 19 February, 1940.
"The Governor General is further of the opinion that the
need for the official interpretation of Polish law will
become greater. We should probably have to reach some
form of Polish government or regency, and the head of the
Polish legal system would then be responsible for such a
task."
THE PRESIDENT: I am afraid there seems to have been some
slight difference in the paging and therefore if you would
give us carefully and somewhat more slowly the actual date
of the document we should be able to find it perhaps for
ourselves. The pages do not seem to correspond.
"In this connection ... the Governor General expresses ..."
This is on Page 51 in my book. The entry is of 26 February,
1940.
"In this connection the Governor General expresses the
wish of Field Marshal General Goering to establish the
German administration in such a way that the Polish way
of living, as such, is secured. It should not give the
impression that Warsaw is a city which is becoming
Germanised but rather that, according to the Fuehrer's
will, it will be one of the cities which, within the
framework of the constitution intended for Poland, will
continue to exist as a Polish community in the reduced
Polish State."
A further entry, dated 26 February, 1940, deals with the
question of higher education.
"The Governor General points out in this connection that
the universities and high schools have been closed.
However, in the long run it would be an impossible state
of affairs to discontinue medical education. The Polish
commercial school system should also be revived."
The next quotation is on Page 56 of my document book. An
entry of 1 March, 1940.
"The Governor General announces in this connection that
the directive has now been issued to give free rein to
Polish development, as far as possible within the
interests of the German Reich. The present attitude is
that the Government General is the home of the Polish
people."
A further entry deals with the question of workers in the
Reich territory. Page 60 of my book, entry of 19 September,
1940 - I beg your pardon, 12 September, 1940.
"The Governor General, Dr. Frank, emphasises that,
although one could collect an adequate number of workers
by force by following the methods of the slave trade, by
using a sufficient number of police and by procuring
sufficient means of transportation, the use of
propaganda, for a number of reasons, deserves preference
under all circumstances."
The next quotation is on Page 68 in my document book; an
entry of 23 April, 1940. I quote the last five lines:
"The Governor General states: The Government General is
merely attempting to offer the Polish nation protection
in an economic respect as well. He would almost be
willing to assume that one could achieve better results
with Poles than with autocratic trustees."
"We do not wish to carry on a war of extermination here
against a people. The protection of the Polish people by
the Reich in the German zone of interest gives you the
possibility of continuing your development according to
your national traditions."
I turn to Page 77 of my document book, an entry from Volume
III, July to September, Page 692. I quote:
"The Governor General then spoke of the food
difficulties still existing in the Government General" -
(he was speaking to Major General Kuechler) - "and asked
the general to see to it that the provisioning and other
requirements of newly arrived troops should be as light
a burden as possible on the food situation of the
Government General. Above all, every kind of
confiscation should cease."
I turn to Pages 85 and 86, entries in Volume III, July to
September, 1940, Page 819 of the diary. This entry deals
with the establishment of the Medical Academy which was
planned by the Governor General. I ask the Tribunal to take
judicial notice of this fact.
"It is clear that we ... "
THE PRESIDENT: Dr. Seidl, the important things for us are
the page in the diary and the date. We seem to have the
pages in the diary and the dates, so if you will tell us
them that will be of the greatest help to us.
"It is clear that we do not wish to denationalise nor
shall we germanise."
The next quotation-
"It is clear that we neither want to denationalise nor de-
germanise."
DR. SEIDL: That is apparently an error in the translation.
"It is clear that we wish neither to denationalise nor to
germanise."
The other makes no sense.
"He, the Governor General, had complained to the Fuehrer
that the wages of Polish agricultural labourers had been
reduced by fifty per cent. and that, in addition, their
wages had for the most part been used for purposes
contrary to the spirit of this exchange of workers."
The next quotation is dated 29 October, 1940. It is on Page
1085, in Volume IV:-
"Professor Watzke further states that Reichsleiter
Rosenberg's office was attempting to confiscate the so-
called Polish library in Paris, for inclusion in the
ancestral heritage in Berlin. The Department of Schools
was of the opinion that the property of this Polish
library belonged to the State Library in Warsaw, since
17,000 volumes were already in that city.
The Governor General ordered that this Polish library
should be transferred from Paris to Warsaw without
delay."
I ask the Tribunal to take judicial notice of the next
entry, dated June 6 and 7, 1940, which refers to an economic
conference. I shall not read from that entry.
"Thereupon the Governor General spoke, and made the
following
statements."
It goes on from Page 13:-
"I shall, therefore, summarise all the points.
End of the quotation.
"There is one thing I should like to tell you: The
Fuehrer has urged me to guarantee the self-
administration of the Poles as far as possible. Under
all circumstances they must be granted the right to
choose the Woits and the minor mayors and village
magistrates from among the Poles. This would be to our
interest as well."
I now turn to the entry of 4 March, 1940. From the volume,
"Labour Conferences, February, 1940, to November, 1940."
Page 8.
"The Governor General submits for consideration the
question of whether a slight pressure could not be
exerted through proper use of the Compulsory Labour
Order. He refuses to ask Berlin for the promulgation of a
new decree defining special measures for the application
of force and threats. Measures which might lead to unrest
should be avoided. The shipping of people by force has
nothing in its favour."
The last quotation in my document book is on Page 143. It is
an entry dated January 27, 1941, Volume 1, Page 115. A
conference with State Secretary Dr. Buehler, and the Reich
Finance Minister, Count Schwerin von Krosigk. I quote the
last paragraph:-
"It is due to the efforts of all personnel employed in
the Government General that, after surmounting
extraordinary difficulties of a specific nature, a
general improvement in the economic situation can now be
noted. The Government General, from the day of its birth,
has most conscientiously met the demands of the Reich for
strengthening the German war potential. It is, therefore,
permissible to ask that in the future, in order that a
sound and planned economy be maintained in the Government
General which, in turn, would prove of benefit to the
Reich, no excessive demands be made on the Government
General."
That completes Volume 11 of the document book.
"I shall occasionally complain, when replying to these
demands of the Reich, that our strength has been
exhausted and that we can no longer
assume responsibility toward the Fuehrer. No
instructions, orders, threats, etc., can induce me to
answer anything but an emphatic 'no' to demands which,
even under the stress of war-time conditions, are no
longer tolerable. I will not permit a situation to arise
such as you, Herr Naumann, expressly indicated, such, for
example, as placing large areas of the disposal of the
troops for manoeuvres and thus completely disrupting the
food supply which is already utterly insufficient."
The next quotation is on Pages 36 and 37 of my document
book. It is an entry, dated 16 January, 1942, and the
quotation to which I am referring is on Pages 65 and 66 of
the diary:-
"Later on a short discussion took place in the King's
Hall of the Castle."
It was with the Chief of the Ukrainian Committee. I quote:-
"The Governor General desires a larger employment of
Ukrainians in the administration of the Government
General. In all offices in which Poles are employed there
should also be a number of Ukrainians in proportion to
the figure of their population. He asked Professor ...