[Page 352]

A. Yes.

Q. Can you give us a description of how that incident occurred?

A. Well, Herr Streicher left the inn after dinner. I cannot remember the exact words any more but I am going to try to describe it as well as possible. Streicher left the inn, and as he went out that man approached Streicher in an - may I say - improper manner. Streicher continued on his way and was speechless at first. He asked the people around him, myself also, whether we knew that man. Nobody knew him.

Then Streicher sent his son, Lothar, back into the room again to speak to the man and to ask him what the reason was for such behaviour. Lothar Streicher came out and said that the man had behaved just in the same manner again.

Q. Will you please be more brief? You should only tell us how that incident

[Page 353]

A. You mean his behaviour?

Q. Yes. What happened then?

A. Streicher asked for a room, and in that room Streicher spoke to the man personally. There again the man made offensive remarks, and then it came to blows, first with Lothar Streicher. The man was strong, and of course all of us helped to get him down.

Q. All right.

DR. MARX: I have finished the questioning of this witness, Mr. President.

THE PRESIDENT: Do any of the defence counsel want to ask any questions?

Do any of the prosecution counsel wish to cross-examine? Then the witness can retire.

(The witness retired.)

DR. MARX: Then I should like to call the witness Wurzbacher, if he is available ... Is he not? I don't know which one of the witnesses is still in the witness room. Is there anyone? Wurzbacher? Hiemer?

THE MARSHAL: Frau Streicher is available.

THE PRESIDENT: Is not the witness Wurzbacher here?

THE MARSHAL: I will see, sir. He was not here a while ago. He was not called for.

THE PRESIDENT: What other witnesses have you got, Dr. Marx?

DR. MARX: The wife of the defendant could be called as a witness, now.

THE PRESIDENT: Very well, let her be called, then.

THE MARSHAL: The witness Strobel is available now.

THE PRESIDENT: Dr. Marx wants to call Frau Streicher.

DR. MARX: Excuse me, Mr. President. If it is rather difficult to call Frau Streicher, then the witness -

ADELE STREICHER, a witness, took the stand and testified as follows:-

BY THE PRESIDENT:

Q. Will you give me your full name?

A. Adele Streicher.

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.

DIRECT EXAMINATION

BY DR. MARX:

Q. Your maiden name is Tappe, and you were born in Magdeburg?

A. Yes.

Q. Were you a member of the N.S.D.A.P. or of the Frauenschaft?

A. No.

Q. When did you become Herr Streicher's secretary and for how long were you in that job?

A. On 7 June, 1940, I became Julius Streicher's secretary and I remained in that job until the end of the war.

Q. And during that period, you were continuously on his farm?

A. Yes, I was always with him.

Q. Were you in charge of all the correspondence for Herr Streicher?

A. Yes.

Q. What did that correspondence mainly consist of?

A. Mainly letters to his sons and to relatives.

Q. What were Streicher's activities during that period of five years?

[Page 354]

Q. During those five years, was he at any time absent from the farm?

A. During the first few years of his stay there Julius Streicher did not leave the farm at all, except to pay a visit in the neighbourhood. His longest absence did not extend to more than a day and never a whole night.

Q. Did you know that it was prohibited for individuals of the Party to visit Streicher?

A. Yes, there was such an order.

Q. How did you know that?

A. From conversations. Then, too, I myself remember when Dr. Goebbels visited the farm, that Julius Streicher said to him, "Doctor, you dare to come here? Don't you know that it is prohibited by the Party to visit me?"

Q. When did the visit of Dr. Ley and Dr. Goebbels occur?

A. Dr. Ley came to the farm on 7 May, 1944. The visit of Dr. Goebbels occurred on 4 June, 1944.

Q. Would you please describe the character of these visits and what was the subject of the conversations?

A. Both visits were of a definitely unofficial character. Dr. Ley wanted mainly to know how Julius Streicher was faring personally. No political questions were raised. Ley only said, "Streicher, the Fuehrer is waiting for you."

Q. And what did Streicher say to that?

A. Streicher answered that he had become accustomed to his solitude - that he was happy as a farmer and Ley should tell the Fuehrer that he, Streicher, wanted nothing more. At the visit of Dr. Goebbels the subject of the conversation dealt mainly with Julius Streicher's dismissal from his office as Gauleiter, and Dr. Goebbels was of the opinion that Streicher should return into the circle of old Party members, but he gave him the same answer, "Tell the Fuehrer I wish for nothing."

Q. Were you always present during these conversations?

A. Yes.

Q. Was not the Jewish question a subject of these conversations?

A. No, they never spoke about the Jewish question.

Q. Did they not speak about the happenings in the Eastern Territories or in the concentration camps?

A. No, that matter never was raised again.

Q. Did not Streicher speak to you about the articles he intended to write for "Der Sturmer," and didn't he also speak about what he considered to be the solution of the Jewish problem?

A. From all conversations with Julius Streicher I could see with certainty that he did not think of the solution of the Jewish question in terms of violence, but hoped for the emigration of Jews from Europe and their settlement in territories outside Europe,

Q. Was Herr Streicher in correspondence with leading personalities of the Party or of the State?

A. No, neither personally nor by correspondence was there any such connection.

Q. I will now mention several names, of whom I want you to tell me whether they had any connection with him: Himmler, Heydrich, Bormann, or other leading men of the police or the S.S. or the Gestapo.

A. No, I know nothing of any of these men. With the exception of one letter from Herr Himmler there was never any mail.

Q. What was the reason for that letter?

A. In that letter Himmler complained about the fact that the prisoners of war who were employed on our Pleickershof farm were treated too well.

[Page 355]

A. On the Pleickershof Farm eight French prisoners of war, one Polish girl and one Slovene girl were employed. They were all treated very well and very humanely. The service for which Julius Streicher asked, the work for which he asked personally, was especially rewarded with tobacco, pastry, fruit, or even money. Such a friendly relationship developed with some of the Frenchmen during the years that they were there, that they assured us with tears in their eyes at their departure that they would visit Julius Streicher after the war with their families.

Q. Did not Streicher finally receive reliable information about these mass executions in the East?

A. I believe he found out about it through Swiss newspapers in 1944. We were never informed about it officially.

Q. But it is asserted that he already had knowledge before that.

A. No.

Q. You do not know anything about it?

A. I only know about the Swiss newspapers.

Q. Very well. You once mentioned the fact that in Magdeburg, from 9 to 10 November, 1938, you witnessed the demonstration against the Jews and that you felt the greatest aversion toward it. Is that true?

A. Yes, I spoke about it and said that I was shocked at this action. Julius Streicher got very excited during that conversation and said "Such nonsensical acts occurred in Nuremberg also. That is not anti-Semitism; that is just great stupidity."

Q. Is it correct that Streicher was hardly interested in the financial affairs of the publishing firm and left these things to the manager?

A. Julius Streicher never bothered about financial affairs, neither in the house nor in the firm. The gentlemen of the firm were always disappointed when they wanted to report about annual balances or the like and Streicher would tell them: "Do not worry me with business matters. There are other things that are more important than money."

Q. How did he take care of the household expenses, then?

A. I received 1,000 marks every month from the firm. That provided for the household, presents, and so on.

Q. Do you know that he is supposed to have acquired shares through illegal pressure against a Jewish banker?

A. That is out of the question. I consider it quite impossible that Julius Streicher acquired shares that way. I believe that he doesn't even know what a share certificate looks like.

Q. Did he not tell you anything about it?

A. I only heard that he never received shares.

Q. How did it come about that you and the defendant were married as late as April, 1945?

Did you understand the question?

A. Yes, Julius Streicher wanted to take part in the fighting in Nuremberg. I wanted to accompany him, so he married me before we went. We wanted to die together.

Q. Then you left the Pleickershof with him, and where did you go from there?

A. First we wanted to go to Nuremberg, and that was refused for fear of difficulties with the authorities. So we drove in the direction of Munich. In Munich we were told to continue in the direction of Passau. From Passau they sent us to Berchtesgaden; from Berchtesgaden they sent us to Kitzbuehl.

Q. How did it happen that the original intention to die together was not followed up? What caused him to change his mind?

A. The cause for that was a conversation with three young soldiers.

[Page 356]

THE PRESIDENT: I do not think you should go into that, Dr. Marx.

BY DR. MARX:

Q. Well, then. I will forgo the question. Only one more question.

Is it correct that Streicher gave the managers of his publishing firm a written power of attorney which meant that they could dispose of the money as they saw fit?

A. Yes, Julius Streicher gave the power of attorney to whoever happened to be manager of the firm and thereby gave him his full confidence without any restrictions.

DR. MARX: Mr. President, I have no more questions.

THE PRESIDENT: Do any of the defendants' counsel want to ask any questions? Does the prosecution wish to ask any questions?

SIR DAVID MAXWELL FYFE: No.

THE PRESIDENT: Then the witness can retire, and the Tribunal will adjourn until 9.30 tomorrow morning.

(The Tribunal adjourned until 30 April, 1946, at 09.30 hours.)

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