Afternoon Session
MR. DODD: May it please the Tribunal, we had just completed the reading of the affidavit executed by Dr. Wilhelm Jäger at the noon recess. The conditions which were described in this affidavit were not confined to the Krupp factories alone but existed throughout Germany; and we turn to a report of the Polish Main Committee made to the Administration of the General Government of Poland, Document Number R-103, Exhibit Number USA-204. This document is dated the 17th of May 1944 and describes the situation of the Polish workers in Germany, and I wish to refer particularly to Page 2 of the English translation, starting with Paragraph 2; in the German text it appears at Page 2, Paragraph 2 also. In quoting from the document, it reads:
“The state of cleanliness of many overcrowded camp rooms is contrary to the most elementary requirements. Often there is no opportunity to obtain warm water for washing; therefore, the cleanest parents are unable to maintain even the most primitive standard of hygiene for their children or often even to wash their only set of underclothing. A consequence of this is the spreading of scabies which cannot be eradicated . . . .
“We receive imploring letters from the camps of Eastern Workers and their prolific families beseeching us for food. The quantity and quality of camp rations mentioned therein—the so-called class 4—is absolutely insufficient to compensate the energy spent in heavy work. Three and one half kilograms of bread weekly and a thin soup at lunch time, cooked with kohlrabi or other vegetables without any meat or fat, with a meager addition of potatoes now and then, is a starvation ration for a heavy worker.
“When, on top of that, starvation is sometimes inflicted as punishment—for refusal to wear the badge ‘East’, for example—the result is that workers faint at their work (Klosterteich Camp, Grünheim, Saxony). The consequence is complete exhaustion, an ailing state of health, and tuberculosis. The spreading of tuberculosis among the Polish factory workers is due to the deficient food rations meted out in the community camps which are insufficient to restore the energy spent in heavy work . . . .
“The call for help which reaches us brings to light privation and hunger, severe stomach and intestinal trouble, especially in the case of children, resulting from the insufficiency of food which does not take into consideration the needs of children. Proper medical treatment or care for the sick is not available in the mass camps.”
We now refer to Page 3 of this same document and particularly to the first paragraph. In the German text it appears at Page 5, Paragraph 1:
“In addition to these bad conditions, there is lack of systematic occupation for and supervision of these hosts of children which affects the life of prolific families in the camps. The children, left to themselves without schooling or religious care, must run wild and grow up illiterate. Idleness in rough surroundings may and will create undesirable results in these children . . . . An indication of what these awful conditions may lead to is given by the fact that in the camps for Eastern Workers (‘Waldlust,’ Lauf, post office, Pegnitz) there are cases of 8-year-old, delicate, and undernourished children put to forced labor and perishing from such treatment . . . .
“The fact that these bad conditions dangerously affect the state of health and the vitality of the workers is proved by the many cases of tuberculosis found in very young people returning from the Reich to the General Government as unfit for work. Their state of health is usually so bad that recovery is out of the question. The reason is that a state of exhaustion resulting from overwork and a starvation diet is not recognized as an ailment until the illness betrays itself by high fever and fainting spells.
“Although some hostels for unfit workers have been provided as a precautionary measure, one can only go there when recovery may no longer be expected (Neumarkt in Bavaria). Even there the incurables waste away slowly, and nothing is done even to alleviate the state of the sick by suitable food and medicines. There are children there with tuberculosis whose cure would not be hopeless and men in their prime who, if sent home in time to their families in rural districts, might still be able to recover . . . . No less suffering is caused by the separation of families when wives and mothers of small children are away from their families and sent to the Reich for forced labor.”
And finally, from Page 4 of the same document, starting with the first paragraph—in the German text it appears at Page 7, Paragraph 4:
“If, under these conditions, there is no moral support such as is normally based on regular family life, then at least such moral support which the religious feelings of the Polish population require should be maintained and increased. The elimination of religious services, religious practices, and religious care from the life of the Polish workers, the prohibition of church attendance when there is a religious service for other people, and other measures show a certain contempt for the influence of religion on the feelings and opinions of the workers.”
THE PRESIDENT: Can you tell us who the Polish Central Committee were—or, I mean, how they were founded?
MR. DODD: Well, insofar as we are aware, it was a committee apparently set up by the Nazi State when it occupied Poland to work in some sort of co-operation with it during the days of the occupation. We don’t know the names of the members, and we haven’t any more specific information.
THE PRESIDENT: Is it a captured document?
MR. DODD: It is a captured document, yes, Sir. All of the documents that I am presenting in connection with this case are, excepting the Netherlands Government’s report and one or two other official reports, the Deuss affidavit and such other matters, are captured documents. That particular document, it has just been called to my attention, was captured by the United States 3rd Army.
Particularly harsh and brutal treatment was reserved for workers imported from the conquered Eastern territories. As we have illustrated, they did indeed live in bondage, and they were subjected to almost every form of degradation, quartered in stables with animals, denied the right of free worship and the ordinary pleasures of human society.
Illustrative of this treatment is Document EC-68, bearing Exhibit Number USA-205. This document, EC-68, bears the title, “Directives on the Treatment of Foreign Farm Workers of Polish Nationality,” issued by the Minister for Finance and Economy of Baden, Germany, on the 6th of March 1941. And we don’t know his name, nor have we been able to ascertain it.
Quoting from the English text of this document from the beginning:
“The agencies of the Baden State Peasant Association of the Reich Food Administration, have received the result of the negotiations with the Higher SS and Police Führer in Stuttgart on 14 February 1941 with great satisfaction. Appropriate memoranda have already been turned over to the District Peasants Associations. Below I promulgate the individual regulations as they have been laid down during the conference and the manner in which they are now to be applied:
“1. On principle, farm workers of Polish nationality are no longer granted the right to complain, and thus no complaints may be accepted by any official agency.
“2. The farm workers of Polish nationality may no longer leave the localities in which they are employed, and have a curfew from 1 October to 31 March from 2000 hours to 0600 hours and from 1 April to 30 September from 2100 hours to 0500 hours.
“3. The use of bicycles is strictly prohibited. Exceptions are possible for riding to the place of work in the field if a relative of the employer or the employer himself is present.
“4. The visit to churches, regardless of faith, is strictly prohibited, even when there is no service in progress. Individual spiritual care by clergymen outside of the church is permitted.
“5. Visits to theaters, motion pictures, or other cultural entertainment are strictly prohibited for farm workers of Polish nationality.
“6. The visit to restaurants is strictly prohibited to farm workers of Polish nationality, except for one restaurant in the village, which will be selected by the Regional Commissioner’s Office”—Landratsamt—“and then only 1 day per week. The day which is allowed for visiting the restaurant will also be determined by the Landratsamt. This regulation does not change the curfew regulation mentioned above under ‘2’.
“7. Sexual intercourse with women and girls is strictly prohibited; and wherever it is discovered, it must be reported.
“8. Gatherings of farm workers of Polish nationality after work is prohibited, whether it is on other farms, in the stables, or in the living quarters of the Poles.
“9. The use of railroads, buses, or other public conveyances by farm workers of Polish nationality is prohibited.
“10. Permits to leave the village may be granted only in very exceptional cases by the local police authority (mayor’s office). However, in no case may it be granted if a Pole wishes to visit a public agency on his own authority, whether it is a labor office or the District Peasants Association, or if he wants to change his place of employment.
“11. Unauthorized change of employment is strictly prohibited. The farm workers of Polish nationality have to work daily as long as it is to the interests of the enterprise and is demanded by the employer. There are no limits to the working hours.
“12. Every employer has the right to give corporal punishment to farm workers of Polish nationality if persuasion and reprimand fail. The employer may not be held accountable in any such case by an official agency.
“13. Farm workers of Polish nationality should, if possible, be removed from the household; and they can be quartered in stables et cetera. No consideration whatever should restrict such action.
“14. Report to the authorities of all crimes committed by farm workers of Polish nationality which sabotage industry or slow down work—for instance, unwillingness to work, impertinent behavior—is compulsory even in minor cases. An employer who loses a Pole sentenced to a long prison sentence because of such a compulsory report will upon request, have preference for the assignment of another Pole from the competent labor office.
“15. In all other cases, only the State Police is still competent. For the employer himself, severe punishment is provided if it is established that the necessary distance has not been kept from farm workers of Polish nationality. The same applies to women and girls. Extra rations are strictly prohibited. Noncompliance with the Reich tariffs for farm workers of Polish nationality will be punished by the competent labor office by the taking away of the workers.”
The women of the conquered territories were led away against their will to serve as domestics, and the Defendant Sauckel described this program in his own words, which appear in Document Number 016-PS, already offered in evidence as Exhibit USA-168, 016-PS, and particularly Page 7, fourth paragraph of the English text. In the German text it appears on Page 10, Paragraph 1, and I quote directly:
“In order to relieve considerably the German housewife, especially the mother with many children and the extremely busy farmwoman, and in order to avoid any further danger to their health, the Führer also has charged me with the procurement of 400,000 to 500,000 selected, healthy, and strong girls from the territories of the East for Germany.”
Once captured, once forced to become laborers in Germany, or workers in Germany, these Eastern women, by order of the slavemaster, Defendant Sauckel, were bound to the household to which they were assigned, permitted at the most 3 hours of freedom a week, and denied the right to return to their homes.
I now refer to Document Number 3044(b)-PS. That is Exhibit Number USA-206. The document is a decree issued by the Defendant Sauckel containing instructions for housewives concerning Eastern household workers; and I ask that the Court take judicial notice of the original decree which appears on Pages 592 and 593 of the second volume of a publication of the Zentralverlag of the NSDAP, entitled Verfügungen, Anordnungen und Bekanntgaben, and I quote from the first paragraph of the English translation of a portion of the decree as follows:
“There is no claim for free time. Female domestic workers from the East may, on principle, leave the household only to take care of domestic tasks. As a reward for good work, however, they may be given the opportunity to stay outside the home without work for 3 hours once a week. This leave must end with the onset of darkness, at the latest at 2000 hours. It is prohibited to enter restaurants, movies or other theaters, and similar establishments provided for German or foreign workers. Attending church is also prohibited. Special events may be arranged for Eastern domestics in urban homes by the German Workers’ Front, for Eastern domestics in rural homes by the Reich Food Administration in cooperation with the German Women’s League. Outside the home, the Eastern domestic must always carry her work card as a personal pass.
“Vacations and return to homes are not granted as yet. The recruiting of Eastern domestics is for an indefinite period.”
Always over these enslaved workers was the shadow of the Gestapo and the concentration camps. Like other major programs of the Nazi conspirators, the guards of the SS and Himmler’s methods of dealing with people were the instruments employed for enforcement.
On the subject of the slave laborers, a secret order dated 20 February 1942 issued by Reichsführer SS Himmler to SD and Security Police officers concerning Eastern Workers spells out the violence which was applied against them. It is our Document 3040-PS, which is Exhibit Number USA-207, and I ask this Court to take judicial notice of the original order, which is published in the Allgemeine Erlass-Sammlung Part II, Section 2-A, III, f, Pages 15 to 24. I wish to quote from Page 3 of the English text, starting with Paragraph III—in the German text it appears in Section 2-A, III, f, at Page 19 of the publication—as follows:
“III. Combatting violations against discipline. (1) In keeping with the equal status of laborers from the original Soviet Russian territory with prisoners of war, a strict discipline must be maintained in quarters and in workshops. Violations against discipline, including refusal to work and loafing at work, will be dealt with exclusively by the secret state police. The less serious cases will be settled by the leader of the guard according to instructions from the state police headquarters with measures as provided for in the appendix. To break acute resistance, the guards shall be permitted to use also physical compulsion against the laborers. But this may be done only for a cogent reason. The laborers should always be informed that they will be treated decently when conducting themselves with discipline and accomplishing good work. In serious cases, that is, in such cases where the measures at the disposal of the leader of the guard do not suffice, the state police is to step in. In such instances, as a rule, severe measures will be taken, that is, transfer to a concentration camp or special treatment. The transfer to a concentration camp is made in the usual manner. In especially serious cases special treatment is to be recommended at the Reich Security Main Office; personal data and the exact facts must be given. Special treatment is hanging. It should not take place in the immediate vicinity of the camp. A certain number of laborers from the original Soviet Russian territory should attend the special treatment; at that time they are to be advised of the circumstances which lead to this special treatment. Should special treatment be required within the camp for exceptional reasons of camp discipline, this must be applied for.”
And I turn now to Page 4 of the text, Paragraph VI; in the German text it appears at Section 2-A, III, f, on Page 20:
“VI. Sexual intercourse. Sexual intercourse is forbidden to laborers of the original Soviet Russian territory. Owing to their closely confined quarters they have no opportunity for it . . . For every case of sexual intercourse with German men or women application for special treatment is to be made for male labor from the original Soviet Russian territory, transfer to a concentration camp for female labor.”
And finally from Page 5 of the same document, Paragraph VIII; and in the German text it appears at Section 2-A, III, f, at Page 21:
“VIII. Search. Fugitive workers from the original Soviet Russian territory are to be announced on principle in the German search book. Furthermore, search measures are to be decreed locally. When caught the fugitive must in principle be proposed for special treatment.”
We have said to this Tribunal more than once that the primary purpose of the entire slave labor program was, of course, to compel the people of the occupied countries to work for the German war economy. The decree by which Defendant Sauckel was appointed Plenipotentiary General for the Allocation of Labor reveals that the purpose of the appointment was to facilitate acquisition of the manpower required for German war industries, and in particular the armaments industry, by centralizing under Sauckel responsibility for the recruitment and allocation of foreign labor and prisoners of war in these industries. I refer to the document bearing our Number 1666-PS—Exhibit USA-208. This document is a decree signed by Hitler, Lammers, and the Defendant Keitel—and it is dated 21 March 1942—appointing the Defendant Sauckel the Plenipotentiary General for the Allocation of Labor. I ask that the Court take judicial notice of the original decree, which is published at Page 179, Part I, of the 1942 Reichsgesetzblatt; referring to the English text starting at Paragraph 1, as follows, and quoting directly:
“In order to secure the manpower requisite for war industries as a whole and particularly for armaments, it is necessary that the utilization of all available manpower, including that of workers recruited abroad and of prisoners of war, should be subject to a uniform control directed in a manner appropriate to the requirements of war industry, and further that all still incompletely utilized manpower in the Greater German Reich, including the Protectorate as well as in the Government General and in the Occupied Territories, should be mobilized. Reichsstatthalter and Gauleiter Fritz Sauckel will carry out this task within the framework of the Four Year Plan, as Plenipotentiary General for the Allocation of Labor. In that capacity he will be directly responsible to the Delegate for the Four Year Plan. Section III (Wages) and Section V (Utilization of Labor) of the Reich Labor Ministry together with their subordinate authorities, will be placed at the disposal of the Plenipotentiary General for the accomplishment of his task.”
Sauckel’s success can be measured from a letter which he himself wrote to Hitler on 15 April 1943 and which contained his report on 1 year of his activities. We refer to the Document as Number 407(VI)-PS, which bears Exhibit Number USA-209. I wish to quote from Paragraphs 6 and 9 on Page 1 of the English text; in the German text it appears at Page 2, Paragraphs 1 and 2:
“After 1 year’s activity as Plenipotentiary for the Allocation of Labor, I can report that 3,638,056 new foreign workers were given to the German war economy from 1 April of last year to 31 March of this year . . . .
“The 3,638,056 are distributed amongst the following branches of the German war economy: Armament, 1,568,801 . . . .”
Still further evidence of this steady use of enslaved foreign labor is found again in a report of the Central Planning Board, to which we have referred so many times this morning and yesterday. Another meeting of this Central Planning Board was held on the 16th day of February 1944; and I refer to our Document Number R-124, which contains the minutes of this meeting of the Central Planning Board and which has been offered in evidence already as Exhibit Number USA-179. And I want, to refer particularly to Page 26, Paragraph 1 of the English text of Document Number R-124. It is at Page 16, in Paragraph 2, of the German text:
“The armament industry employs foreign workmen to a large extent; according to the latest figures—40 percent.”
Moreover, our Document Number 2520-PS, which is in evidence as Exhibit Number USA-197, records that, according to Speer Ministry tabulations, as of 31 December 1944, approximately 2 million civilian foreign workers were employed directly in the manufacture of armaments and munitions (finished products or parts). That, the bulk of these workers had been forced to come to Germany against their will is made clear by Sauckel’s statement, which I previously quoted from Paragraph 3 of Page 11 of Document Number R-124. We quoted it this morning, the statement being that of 5 million foreign workers only 200,000, or less than 200,000, came voluntarily.
The Defendants Sauckel, Speer, and Keitel succeeded in forcing foreign labor to construct military fortifications. Thus, citizens of France, Holland, and Belgium were compelled against their will to engage in the construction of the “Atlantic Wall”; and we refer to our Document Number 556(2)-PS, which is Exhibit Number USA-194. This is a Hitler order dated the 8th of September 1942, and it is initialled by the Defendant Keitel. Quoting the order directly:
“The extensive coastal fortifications which I have ordered to be erected in the area of Army Group West make it necessary that in the occupied territory all available workers be assigned and give the fullest extent of their productive capacities to this task. The previous allotment of workers originating from these countries is insufficient. In order to increase it I order the introduction of compulsory labor and the prohibition of changing the place of employment without permission of the authorities in the occupied territories. Furthermore, the distribution of food and clothing ration cards to those subject to labor draft should in the future depend on the possession of a certificate of employment. Refusal to accept an assigned job, as well as leaving the place of work without the consent of the authorities in charge, will result in the withdrawal of the food and clothing ration cards. The GBA”—Deputy General for Arbeitseinsatz—“in agreement with the military commander, as well as the Reich Commissioner, will issue the appropriate decrees.”
Indeed, the Defendant Sauckel boasted to Hitler concerning the contribution of the forced labor program to the construction of the Atlantic Wall by the Defendant Speer’s Organization Todt. And we refer to Document 407(VIII)-PS, which is Exhibit Number USA-210. This document is a letter from the Defendant Sauckel to Hitler, dated the 17th day of May 1943. And I refer to the second and last paragraph:
“In addition to the labor allotted to the total German economy by the Arbeitseinsatz since I took office, the Organization Todt was supplied with new labor continually . . . . Thus the Arbeitseinsatz has done everything to help make possible the completion of the Atlantic Wall.”
Similarly, Russian civilians were forced into labor battalions and compelled to build fortifications to be used against their own countrymen. In Document 031-PS, in evidence as Exhibit Number USA-171, which is a memorandum of the Rosenberg Ministry, it is stated in Paragraph 1 at Page 1 of that document:
“The men and women in the theaters of operations have been and will be conscripted into labor battalions to be used in the construction of fortifications.”
In addition, the conspirators compelled prisoners of war to engage in operations of war against their own country and its allies. At a meeting of the Central Planning Board, again held on February 19, 1943, attended by the Defendant Speer and the Defendant Sauckel and Field Marshal Milch, the following conversation occurred and is recorded in our Document R-124, at Page 32, Paragraph 5, of the English text. It is Page 20, the last paragraph, of the German text. And I quote it, the Defendant Sauckel speaking:
“Sauckel: ‘If any prisoners are taken, they will be needed there.’
“Milch: ‘We have made a request for an order that a certain percentage of men in the antiaircraft artillery must be Russians. Fifty thousand will be taken altogether, thirty thousand are already employed as gunners. It is an amusing thing that Russians must work the guns.’ ”
We refer now to Documents Numbers 3027-PS and 3028-PS. They are, respectively, Exhibit USA-211 for 3027 and USA-212 for 3028. They will be found at the very back, I believe, of the document book, in a separate manila folder. They are official German Army photographs; and, if Your Honors will examine Document 3027-PS, the caption states that Russian prisoners of war are acting as ammunition bearers during the attack upon Tschedowo. Document 3028-PS consists of a series of official German Army photographs taken in July and August 1941 showing Russian prisoners of war in Latvia and the Ukraine being compelled to load and unload ammunition trains and trucks and being required to stack ammunition, all, we say, in flagrant disregard of the rules of international law, particularly Article 6 of the regulations annexed to the Hague Convention Number IV of 1907, which provides that the tasks of prisoners of war shall have no connection with the operations of war. The use of prisoners of war in the German armament industry was as widespread and as extensive almost as the use of the forced foreign civilian labor. We refer to Document Number 3005-PS, which is Exhibit USA-213. This document is a secret letter from the Reich Minister of Labor to the presidents of the regional labor exchange offices, which refers to an order of the Defendant Göring to the effect that—I quote now from Paragraph 1 of that document—I am quoting it directly:
“Upon personal order of the Reich Marshal, 100,000 men are to be taken from among the French prisoners of war not yet employed in armament industry and are to be assigned to the armament industry (airplane industry). Gaps in manpower supply resulting therefrom will be filled by Soviet prisoners of war. The transfer of the above-named French prisoners of war is to be accomplished by 1 October.”
The Reich Marshal referred to in that quotation is of course the Defendant Göring.
A similar policy was followed with respect to Russian prisoners of war. The Defendant Keitel directed the execution of Hitler’s order to use prisoners of war in the German war economy. And I now make reference to our Document EC-194, which has Exhibit Number USA-214. This document is also a secret memorandum, according to its label, issued from Hitler’s headquarters on the 31st of October 1941; and I read from Page 1, Paragraphs 1 and 2, quoting it directly as follows:
“The lack of workers is becoming an increasingly dangerous hindrance for the future German war and armament industry. The expected relief through releases from the Armed Forces is uncertain as to the extent and date; its probable extent will by no means correspond to expectations and requirements in view of the great demand.
“The Führer has now ordered that even the manpower of the Russian prisoners of war should be utilized to a large extent by large-scale assignments for the requirements of the war industry. The prerequisite for production is adequate nourishment. Also very small wages to provide a few every-day necessities must be offered with additional premiums for special effort, as the case may be.”
And quoting now from the same document, Paragraph 2, II and III—I am quoting directly:
“II. Construction and armament industry.
“(a) Work units for construction of all kinds, particularly for the fortification of coastal defenses (concrete workers, unloading units for essential war plants).
“(b) Suitable armament factories which are to be selected in such a way that their personnel will consist in the majority of prisoners of war under guidance and supervision (upon withdrawal and other employment of the German workers).
“III. Other war industries.
“(a) Mining as under II (b).
“(b) Railroad construction units for building tracks, et cetera.
“(c) Agriculture and forestry in closed units. The utilization of Russian prisoners of war is to be regulated on the basis of the above examples:
“To I. The Armed Forces.
“To II. The Reich Minister for Armament and Munitions and the Inspector General for the German Road System in agreement with the Reich Minister for Labor and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces (Economic Armament Office). Deputies of the Reich Minister for Armament and Munitions are to be admitted to the prisoner-of-war camps to assist in the selection of skilled workers.”
The Defendant Göring, at a conference at the Air Ministry on the 7th day of November 1941, also discussed the use of prisoners of war in the armament industry. And we refer now to our Document Number 1206-PS, which bears Exhibit Number USA-215. This document consists of top-secret notes on Göring’s instructions as to the employment and treatment of prisoners of war in many phases of the German war industry. And I wish to quote from Paragraph 1 of Page 1 and Paragraph 4 of Page 2 of the English text and from Paragraph 1, Page 1, and Paragraph 1, Page 3 of the German text, as follows:
“The Führer’s point of view as to employment of prisoners of war in war industries has changed basically. So far a total of 5 million prisoners of war—employed so far 2 million.”
And on Page 2:
“In the interior and the Protectorate it would be ideal if entire factories could be manned by Russian prisoners of war except the employees necessary for directing. For employment in the interior and the Protectorate the following are to have priority:
“(a) At the top, the coal mining industry. Order by the Führer to investigate all mines as to suitability for employment of Russians, in some instances manning the entire plant with Russian laborers.
“(b) Transportation (construction of locomotives and cars, repair shops, et cetera). Railroad-repair and factory workers are to be sought out from the prisoners of war. Rail is the most important means of transportation in the East.
“(c) Armament industries. Preferably factories of armor and guns. Possibly also construction of parts for aircraft engines. Suitable complete sections of factories to be manned exclusively by Russians if possible. For the remainder, employment in groups. Use in factories of tool machinery, production of farm tractors, generators, et cetera. In emergency, erect in some places barracks for casual workers who are used in unloading units and for similar purposes. (Reich Minister of the Interior through communal authorities.)
“OKW/AWA is competent for procuring Russian prisoners of war. Employment through Planning Board for employment of all prisoners of war. If necessary, offices of Reich commissariats.
“No employment where danger to men or supply exists, that is, factories exposed to explosives, waterworks, powerworks, et cetera. No contact with German population, especially no ‘solidarity.’ German worker as a rule is foreman of Russians.
“Food is a matter of the Four Year Plan. Procurement of special food (cats, horses, et cetera).
“Clothes, billeting, messing somewhat better than at home where part of the people live in caves.
“Supply of shoes for Russians; as a rule wooden shoes, if necessary install Russian shoe repair shops.
“Examination of physical fitness in order to avoid importation of diseases.
“Clearing of mines as a rule by Russians; if possible by selected Russian engineer troops.”
The Defendant Göring was not the only one of these defendants who sponsored and applied the policy of using prisoners of war in the armament industry. The Defendant Speer also sponsored and applied this same policy of using prisoners of war in the armament industry. And we refer to the document bearing our Number 1435-PS, which also carries Exhibit Number USA-216. This document is a speech to the Nazi Gauleiter delivered by the Defendant Speer on the 24th day of February of 1942, and I wish to read from Paragraph 2 of that document, and I quote as follows:
“I therefore proposed to the Führer at the end of December that all my labor force, including specialists, be released for mass employment in the East. Subsequently the remaining prisoners of war, about 10,000, were put at the disposal of the armament industry by me.”
He also reported at the 36th meeting of the Central Planning Board, held on the 22d day of April 1943, that only 30 percent of the Russian prisoners of war were engaged in the armament industry. This the Defendant Speer found unsatisfactory. And referring again to Document R-124, the minutes of the Central Planning Board, and particularly to Page 17 of that document, Paragraph 10 of the English text, and Page 14, Paragraph 7 of the German text, we find this statement by the Defendant Speer, quoting directly:
“There is a detailed statement showing in what sectors the Russian prisoners of war have been distributed. This statement is quite interesting. It shows that the armaments industry received only 30 percent. I constantly complained about this.”
And at Page 20 of the same document, R-124—Paragraph 1 on Page 20 of the English text and Page 14, the last paragraph of the German text—the Defendant Speer stated, and I quote from the paragraph directly:
“The 90,000 Russian prisoners of war employed in the whole of the armament industry are for the greatest part skilled men.”
The Defendant Sauckel, who was appointed Plenipotentiary General for the utilization of labor for the express purpose, among others, of integrating prisoners of war into the German war industry, made it plain that prisoners of war were to be compelled to serve the German armament industry. His labor mobilization program, which is Document 016-PS, already marked Exhibit USA-168, contains this statement on Page 6, Paragraph 10 of the English text and Page 9, Paragraph 1, of the German text:
“All prisoners of war now in Germany, from the territories of the West as well as of the East, must be completely incorporated into the German armament and food industries. Their production must be brought to the highest possible level.”
I wish to turn now from the exploitation of foreign labor in general to a rather special point of the Nazi program which appears to us to have combined the brutality and the purposes of the slave labor program with those of the concentration camp. The Nazis placed all Allied nationals in concentration camps and forced them, along with the other inmates of the concentration camps, to work under conditions which were set actually to exterminate them. This was what we call the Nazi program of extermination through work.
In the spring of 1942 these conspirators turned to the concentration camps as a further source of slave labor for the armament industry. I refer to a new Document Number R-129, bearing Exhibit Number USA-217. This document is a letter to Himmler, the Reichsführer SS—and it is dated the 30th day of April 1942—from one of his subordinates, an individual named Pohl, SS Obergruppenführer and General of the Waffen-SS; and I wish to quote from the first page of that document. Quoting directly:
“Today I report about the present situation of the concentration camps and about measures I have taken to carry out your order of the 3rd of March 1942.”
Then moving on from paragraphs numbered 1, 2, and 3 on Page 2 of the English text and at Page 1 of the German text, I quote as follows:
“1. The war has brought about a marked change in the structure of the concentration camps and has changed their duties fundamentally with regard to the employment of the prisoners. The custody of prisoners for the sole reasons of security, education, or as a preventive measure is no longer the main consideration. The importance now lies in the economic side. The mobilization of all prisoner labor for purposes of the war (increase of armament) now, and for purposes of construction in the forthcoming peace, is coming more and more to the foreground.
“2. From this knowledge necessary measures result which require a gradual transformation of the concentration camps from their former one-sided political character into an organization adapted to economic tasks.
“3. For this reason I called together all the leaders of the former inspectorate of concentration camps, all camp commanders, and all managers and supervisors of work, on the 23rd and 24th of April 1942 and explained personally to them this new development. I have compiled, in the order attached, the essential points which have to be brought into effect with the utmost urgency if the commencement of work for the purposes of the armament industry is not to be delayed.”
Now the order referred to in that third paragraph set the framework for a program of relentless exploitation, providing in part as follows—and I now refer to the enclosure appended to the quoted letter which is also a part of Document R-129, found at Page 3, Paragraphs numbered 4, 5, and 6 of the English text, and Page 3 of the German text:
“4. The camp commander alone is responsible for the utilization of the manpower available. This utilization must be, in the true meaning of the word, complete, in order to obtain the greatest measure of performance. Work is allotted only centrally and by the Chief of the Department D. The camp commanders themselves may not accept on their own initiative work offered by third parties and may not negotiate about it.
“5. There is no limit to working hours. Their duration depends on the kind of working establishments in the camps and the kind of work to be done. They are fixed by the camp commanders alone.
“6. Any circumstances which may result in a shortening of working hours (for example, meals, roll-calls, et cetera), have therefore to be restricted to an irreducible minimum. Time-wasting walks and noon intervals, only for the purpose of taking meals, are forbidden.”
The armament production program we have just described was not merely a scheme for mobilizing the manpower potential of the camps. It actually was integrated directly into the larger Nazi program of extermination; and I wish to refer, at this point, to our document bearing Number 654-PS and Exhibit Number USA-218.
THE PRESIDENT: Do you think it will be convenient to break off now for a few minutes?
MR. DODD: Very well.
[A recess was taken.]
MR. DODD: At the recess time I had made reference to Document Number 654-PS, which has the Exhibit Number USA-218. This document is a memorandum of an agreement between Himmler, Reichsführer SS, and the Minister of Justice, Thierack. It is dated the 18th of September 1942. The concept of extermination to which I referred shortly before the recess was embodied in this document and I wish to quote from Page 1, Paragraph 2:
“2. Transfer of asocial elements from prison to the Reichsführer SS for extermination through work. To be transferred without exception are persons under protective arrest, Jews, Gypsies, Russians and Ukrainians, Poles with more than 3-year sentences, Czechs, and Germans with more than 8-year sentences, according to the decision of the Reich Minister for Justice. First of all the worst asocial elements amongst those just mentioned are to be handed over. I shall inform the Führer of this through Reichsleiter Bormann.”
Now this agreement further provided, in Paragraph 12 on Page 2 of the English text and Page 3, Paragraph 14, of the German text, as follows:
“14. It is agreed that, in consideration of the intended aims of the Government for the clearing up of the Eastern problems, in the future, Jews, Poles, Gypsies, Russians, and Ukrainians are no longer to be tried by the ordinary courts, so far as punishable offenses are concerned; but are to be dealt with by the Reichsführer SS. This does not apply to civil lawsuits, nor to Poles whose names are reported or entered in the German racial lists.”
Now, in September of 1942, the Defendant Speer made arrangements to bring this new source of labor within his jurisdiction. Speer convinced Hitler that significant production could be obtained only if the concentration camp prisoners were employed in factories under the technical control of the Speer Ministry instead of the control in the camps. In fact, without Defendant Speer’s cooperation, we say it would have been most difficult to utilize the prisoners on any large scale for war production, since he would not allocate to Himmler the machine tools and other necessary equipment. Accordingly, it was agreed that the prisoners were to be exploited in factories under the Defendant Speer’s control. To compensate Himmler for surrendering this jurisdiction to Speer, the Defendant Speer proposed and Hitler agreed, that Himmler would receive a share of the armaments output, fixed in relation to the man-hours contributed by his prisoners. In the minutes of the Defendant Speer’s conference with Hitler on the 20th, 21st, and the 22d September 1942—Document Number R-124, which is Exhibit Number USA-179—I wish to refer particularly to Page 34 of the English text. These are the Defendant Speer’s minutes on this conference. I am quoting from Page 34, Paragraph 36, beginning at the middle of the page; and it is at the top of Page 26 in the German text:
“I pointed out to the Führer that, apart from an insignificant amount of work, no possibility exists of organizing armament production in the concentration camps, because: (1) the machine tools required are missing; (2) there are no suitable premises. Both these assets would be available in the armament industry, if use could be made of them by a second shift.
“The Führer agrees to my proposal that the numerous factories set up outside towns for reasons of air raid protection should release their workers to supplement the second shift in town factories and should in return be supplied with labor from the concentration camps—also two shifts.
“I pointed out to the Führer the difficulties which I expect to encounter if Reichsführer SS Himmler should be able, as he requests, to exercise authoritative influence over these factories. The Führer, too, does not consider such an influence necessary.
“The Führer, however, agrees that Reichsführer SS Himmler should derive advantage from making his prisoners available; he should get equipment for his division.
“I suggest giving him a share in kind (war equipment) in ratio to the man-hours contributed by his prisoners. A 3 to 5 percent share is being discussed, the equipment also being calculated according to man-hours. The Führer would agree to such a solution.
“The Führer is prepared to order the additional allocation of this equipment and weapons to the SS, upon submission of a list.”
After a demand for concentration-camp labor had been created and after a mechanism had been set up by the Defendant Speer for exploiting this labor in armament factories, measures were evolved for increasing the supply of victims for extermination through work. A steady flow was assured by an agreement between Himmler and the Minister of Justice mentioned above, which was implemented by such programs as the following—and I refer to Document L-61, Exhibit Number USA-177; and I wish to quote from Paragraph 3. That document, the Tribunal will recall, is the Defendant Sauckel’s letter, dated the 26th of November 1942, to the presidents of the Länder employment offices; and I wish to quote from Paragraph 3 of that letter:
“The Poles who are to be evacuated as a result of this measure will be put into concentration camps and put to work insofar as they are criminal or asocial elements.”
General measures were supplemented by special drives for persons who would not otherwise have been sent to concentration camps.
THE PRESIDENT: Didn’t you read that this morning?
MR. DODD: Yes, I did, Your Honor. I was reading it again with particular reference to this feature of the proof.
For example, for “reasons of war necessity” Himmler ordered that at least 35,000 prisoners qualified for work should be transferred to concentration camps. I now offer in evidence Document Number 1063(d)-PS, which is Exhibit Number USA-219. This document is a Himmler order dated the 17th of December 1942. The order provides, and I quote in part, beginning with the first paragraph of that document:
“For reasons of war necessity not to be discussed further here, the Reichsführer SS and Chief of the German Police, on the 14th of December 1942, has ordered that by the end of January 1943 at least 35,000 prisoners fit for work are to be sent to the concentration camps. In order to reach this number, the following measures are required:
“(1) As of now, to begin with, until 1 February 1943, all Eastern Workers or foreign workers who have been fugitives or who have broken contracts and who do not belong to allied, friendly, or neutral states . . . are to be brought by the quickest means to the nearest concentration camps . . . .
“(2) The commanders and the commandants of the Security Police and the Security Service, and the chiefs of the state police headquarters will check immediately on the basis of a close and strict rule: (a) the prisons, and (b) the labor reformatory camps.
“All prisoners fit for work, if it is practically and humanly possible, will be committed at once to the nearest concentration camp, according to the following instructions, even for example, those who are about to be brought to trial. Only such prisoners can be left there who, in the interest of further investigations, are to remain absolutely in solitary confinement.
“Every single laborer counts!”
Measures were also adopted to insure that this extermination through work was practiced with maximum efficiency. Subsidiary concentration camps were established near important war plants. The Defendant Speer has admitted that he personally toured Upper Austria and selected sites for concentration camps near various munitions factories in the area. I am about to refer to the transcript of an interrogation under oath of the Defendant Albert Speer.
THE PRESIDENT: Mr. Dodd, do you understand the last document you read, 1063-PS, to refer to prisoners of war, or prisoners in ordinary prisons, or what?
MR. DODD: We understood it to refer to prisoners in ordinary prisons.
In view of the Tribunal’s ruling this morning, I think I should state that, with respect to this interrogation of Defendant Speer, we had provided the defendants’ counsel with the entire text in German. It happens to be a brief interrogation, and so we were able to complete that translation, and it has been placed in their Information Center.
DR. HANS FLÄCHSNER (Counsel for Defendant Speer): In reference to the transcript of the interrogation, the reading of which the prosecutor has just announced, I should like to say the following:
It is true that we have received the German transcript of the English protocol, if one may call it a protocol. A comparison of the English text with the German transcript shows that there are, both in the English text and in the German transcript, mistakes which change the meaning and which I believe are to be attributed to misunderstandings on the part of the certifying interpreter. I believe, therefore, that the so-called protocol and the English text do not actually give the contents of what Defendant Speer tried to express during the interrogation. It would, therefore, not further the establishment of the truth should this protocol ever be used.
THE PRESIDENT: Mr. Dodd, when was the German translation given to counsel for the defendant?
MR. DODD: About 4 days ago, Your Honor.
THE PRESIDENT: Mr. Dodd, is there any certification by the interrogator as to the English translation?
MR. DODD: There is, Your Honor. There is a certification at the end of the interrogation by the interrogator and by the interpreter and by the reporter as well. There are three certifications.
THE PRESIDENT: I think the best course will be, in these circumstances, to receive the interrogation now. You will have an opportunity, by calling the defendant, to show in what way he alleges, or you allege, that the interrogation is inaccurately translated.
DR. FLÄCHSNER: Thank you, Sir.
MR. DODD: May I respectfully refer, Your Honor, to the last document in the document book, 4 pages from the end?
THE PRESIDENT: Which page do you refer to?
MR. DODD: I refer to the page bearing the Number 16 of the English text of the transcript of the interrogation and Page 21 of the German text. The answer quoted is:
“The fact was that we were anxious to use workers from concentration camps in factories and to establish small concentration camps near factories, in order to use the manpower that was then available there. But it did not come up only in connection with this trip . . . .”
That is, Speer’s trip to Austria. (Exhibit USA-220)
THE PRESIDENT: I think I ought to say to defendant’s counsel that if he had waited until he heard that piece of evidence read, he would have seen that it was quite unnecessary to make any objection.
MR. DODD: Defendant Göring endorsed this use of concentration camp labor and asked for more. We refer to our Document 1584-PS, Part 1, which is Exhibit Number USA-221. This document is a teletype message from Göring to Himmler, dated 14th of February 1944. I quote from the document beginning with the second sentence:
“At the same time, I ask you to put at my disposal as great a number of KZ”—concentration-camp—“convicts as possible for air armament, as this kind of manpower proved to be very useful according to previous experience. The situation of the air war makes subterranean transfer of industry necessary. For work of this kind KZ convicts can be especially well concentrated at work and in the camp.”
Defendant Speer subsequently assumed responsibility for this program; and Hitler promised Speer that if the necessary labor for the program could not be obtained, a hundred thousand Hungarian Jews would be brought in by the SS.
Speer recorded his conferences with Hitler on April 6 and April 7, 1944 in Document R-124, which is Exhibit Number USA-179, already in evidence. I quote from Page 36 of the English text, Page 29 of the German text as follows:
“Suggested to the Führer that, due to lack of builders and equipment, the second big building project should not be set up in German territory but in close vicinity to the border on a suitable site (preferably on gravel base and with transport facilities) in French, Belgian, or Dutch territory. The Führer agrees to this suggestion if the works could be set up behind a fortified zone. The strongest argument for setting up this plant in French territory is the fact that it would be much easier to procure the necessary workers. Nevertheless, the Führer asks that an attempt be made to set up the second factory in a safer area, namely the Protectorate. If it should prove impossible there, too, to get hold of the necessary workers, the Führer himself will contact the Reichsführer SS and will give an order that the required 100,000 men are to be made available by bringing in Jews from Hungary. Stressing the fact that in the case of the Industriegemeinschaft Schlesien the building organization was a failure, the Führer demands that these works must be built by the OT exclusively, and that the workers should be made available by the Reichsführer SS. He wants to hold a meeting shortly in order to discuss details with all the men concerned.”
The unspeakably brutal, inhumane, and degrading treatment inflicted on Allied nationals and other victims of concentration camps, while they were indeed being literally worked to death, is described in Document L-159, which is not in the document book. It is an official report prepared by a U.S. Congressional committee, U.S. Senate Document Number 47. This Congressional committee had inspected the liberated camps at the request of General Eisenhower. It bears Exhibit Number USA-222. I would like to quote from the document briefly, first from Page 14, the last paragraph, and from Page 15, the first two paragraphs, of the English text:
“The treatment accorded to these prisoners in the concentration camps was generally as follows: They were herded together in some wooden barracks not large enough for one-tenth of their number. They were forced to sleep on wooden frames covered with wooden boards in tiers of two, three, and even four, sometimes with no covering, sometimes with a bundle of dirty rags serving both as pallet and coverlet.
“Their food consisted generally of about one-half of a pound of black bread per day and a bowl of watery soup for noon and night, and not always that. Owing to the great numbers crowded into a small space and to the lack of adequate sustenance, lice and vermin multiplied, disease became rampant, and those who did not soon die of disease or torture began the long, slow process of starvation. Notwithstanding the deliberate starvation program inflicted upon these prisoners by lack of adequate food, we found no evidence that the people of Germany, as a whole, were suffering from any lack of sufficient food or clothing. The contrast was so striking that the only conclusion which we could reach was that the starvation of the inmates of these camps was deliberate.
“Upon entrance into these camps, newcomers were forced to work either at an adjoining war factory or were placed ‘in commando’ on various jobs in the vicinity, being returned each night to their stall in the barracks. Generally a German criminal was placed in charge of each ‘block’ or shed in which the prisoners slept. Periodically he would choose the one prisoner of his block who seemed the most alert or intelligent or showed most leadership qualities. These would report to the guards’ room and would never be heard from again. The generally accepted belief of the prisoners was that these were shot or gassed or hanged and then cremated. A refusal to work or an infraction of the rules usually meant flogging and other types of torture, such as having the fingernails pulled out, and in each case usually ended in death after extensive suffering. The policies herein described constituted a calculated and diabolical program of planned torture and extermination on the part of those who were in control of the German Government . . . .”
I quote next from Page 11 of the English text beginning with the second sentence of Paragraph 2, a description of Camp Dora at Nordhausen, Page 12, Paragraph 1 of the German text, quoting as follows:
“On the whole, we found this camp to have been operated and administered much in the same manner as Buchenwald had been operated and managed. When the efficiency of the workers decreased as a result of the conditions under which they were required to live, their rations were decreased as punishment. This brought about a vicious circle in which the weak became weaker and were ultimately exterminated.”
Such was the cycle of work, torture, starvation, and death for concentration-camp labor—labor which the Defendant Göring, while requesting that more of it be placed at his disposal, said had proved very useful; labor which the Defendant Speer was “anxious” to use in the factories under his control.
The policy underlying this program, the manner in which it was executed, and the responsibility of the conspirators in connection with it has been dwelt upon at length. Therefore, we should like, at this point, to discuss the special responsibility of the Defendant Sauckel.
The Defendant Sauckel’s appointment as Plenipotentiary General for manpower is explained probably first of all by his having been an old and trusted Nazi. He certified in Document 2974-PS, dated 17 November 1945, which is already in evidence before this Tribunal as Exhibit Number USA-15, that he held the following positions:
Starting with his membership in the NSDAP, he was thereafter a member of the Reichstag; he was Gauleiter of Thuringia; he was a member of the Thuringian legislature; he was Minister of Interior and head of the Thuringian State Ministry; he was Reichsstatthalter for Thuringia; he was an SA Obergruppenführer; he was SS Obergruppenführer; he was administrator for the Berlin-Suhler Waffen and Fahrzeugwerke in 1935; he was head of the Gustloff Werke Nationalsozialistische Industrie-Stiftung, 1936, and the honorary head of the Foundation. And from the 21st of March 1942 until 1945, he was the Plenipotentiary General for Labor Allocation.
Sauckel’s official responsibilities are borne out by evidence. His appointment as Plenipotentiary General for manpower was effected by a decree of the 21st of March 1942, which we have read and which was signed by Hitler, Lammers, and the Defendant Keitel. And by that decree Sauckel was given authority, as well as responsibility, subordinate only to that of Hitler and Göring, who was the head of the Four Year Plan—subordinate only to those two for all matters relating to recruitment, allocation, and handling of foreign and domestic manpower.
The Defendant Göring, to whom Sauckel was directly responsible, abolished the recruitment and allocation agencies of his Four Year Plan and delegated their powers to the Defendant Sauckel and placed his far-reaching authority as deputy for the Four Year Plan at Sauckel’s disposal.
In Document 1666-PS, a second 1666-PS but of another date, the 27th of March 1942—I ask the Tribunal to take judicial notice of this original decree, which is published in the 1942 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, at Page 180:
“In pursuance of the Führer’s decree of 21st of March 1942, I decree as follows:
“1. My manpower sections are hereby abolished (circular letter of 22d of October 1936). Their duties (recruitment and allocation of manpower, regulation of labor conditions) are taken over by the Plenipotentiary General for Allocation of Labor, who is directly under me.
“2. The Plenipotentiary General for Allocation of Labor will be responsible for regulating the conditions of labor (wage policy) employed in the Reich territory, having regard to the requirements of labor allocation.
“3. The Plenipotentiary General for Allocation of Labor is part of the Four Year Plan. In cases where new legislation is required or existing laws need to be modified; he will submit appropriate proposals to me.
“4. The Plenipotentiary General for Allocation of Labor will have at his disposal for the performance of his task the right delegated to me by the Führer for issuing instructions to the highest Reich authorities and their subordinate offices, as well as the Party offices and their sections and their affiliated organizations, also to the Reich Protector, the Governor General, the military commanders, and heads of the civil administrations. In the case of ordinances and instructions of fundamental importance, a report is to be submitted to me in advance.”
Document Number 1903-PS is a Hitler decree of the 30th of September 1942 giving the Defendant Sauckel extraordinary powers over the civil and military authority of the territories occupied by Germany. We ask that judicial notice be taken by this Tribunal of the original decree, which is published in Volume II, Page 510, of the Verfügungen, Anordnungen, und Bekanntgaben, published by the Party Chancellery. This decree states as follows:
“I herewith authorize the Plenipotentiary General for Allocation of Labor, Reich Governor and Gauleiter Fritz Sauckel to take all necessary measures for the enforcement of my decree of 21 March 1942, concerning a Plenipotentiary General for Allocation of Labor (Reichsgesetzblatt I, Page 179), according to his own judgment, in the Greater German Reich, in the Protectorate, and in the Government General, as well as in the Occupied Territories—measures which will safeguard under all circumstances the regulated deployment of labor for the German war economy. For this purpose he may appoint commissioners to the bureaus of the military and civilian administration. These are responsible directly to the Plenipotentiary General for Allocation of Labor. In order to carry out their tasks, they are entitled to issue directives to the competent military and civilian authorities in charge of labor allocation and of wage policy.
“More detailed directives will be issued by the Plenipotentiary General for Allocation of Labor.
“Führer headquarters, 30 September 1942. The Führer,”—signed—“Adolf Hitler.”
Within 1 month after his appointment, the Defendant Sauckel sent Defendant Rosenberg his “Labor Mobilization Program”. This program, Document Number 016-PS, already in evidence as Exhibit USA-168, envisaged a recruitment by force and the maximum exploitation of the entire labor resources of the conquered areas and of prisoners of war in the interests of the Nazi war machine at the lowest conceivable degree of expenditure to the German State.
The Defendant Sauckel states—and I refer now to the bottom of Page 6 of the English text of that document. It is Page 9, Paragraph 2, of the German text, and I quote as follows:
“It must be emphasized, however, that an additional tremendous number of foreign laborers has to be found for the Reich. The greatest pool for that purpose is the occupied territories of the East. Consequently, it is an imperative necessity to use the human reserves of the conquered Soviet territory to the fullest extent. Should we not succeed in obtaining the necessary amount of labor on a voluntary basis, we must immediately institute conscription of forced labor.
“Apart from the prisoners of war still in the occupied territories, we must, therefore, requisition skilled or unskilled male and female labor from the Soviet territory from the age of 15 up, for the German allocation of labor.”
Passing to Page 11 of the English text, first paragraph and Page 17, Paragraph 4, of the German text, I quote, as follows directly:
“The complete employment of all prisoners of war as well as the use of a gigantic number of new foreign civilian workers, men and women, has become an indisputable necessity for the solution of the problem of the allocation of labor in this war.”
The Defendant Sauckel proceeded to implement this plan, which he submitted, with certain basic directives. He provided that if voluntary recruitment of foreign workers was unsuccessful compulsory service should be instituted.
Document Number 3044-PS is the Defendant Sauckel’s Regulation Number 4, dated the 7th of May 1942. And we ask that the Tribunal take judicial notice of the original regulation published in Volume II, Pages 516 to 527 of the Verfügungen, Anordnungen, und Bekanntgaben, to which I have previously referred. Reading from Page 1, Paragraph 3, of the English text:
“The recruitment of foreign labor will be done on principle on a volunteer basis. Where, however, in the occupied territories the appeal for volunteers does not suffice, obligatory service and drafting must, under all circumstances, be resorted to. This is an indisputable requirement of our labor situation.”
Sauckel provided also for the allocation of foreign labor in the order of its importance to the Nazi war machine. We refer to Document Number 3044(a)-PS, which is the Defendant Sauckel’s Regulation Number 10, and ask that the Court take judicial notice of the original regulation, published in Volume II, Verfügungen, Anordnungen, und Bekanntgaben, at Pages 531 to 533. Paragraph 3 of this regulation I quote as follows:
“The resources of manpower that are available in the occupied territories are to be employed primarily to satisfy the requirements of importance for the war in Germany itself. In allocating the said labor resources in the Occupied Territories, the following order of priority will be observed:
“(a) Labor required for the troops, the occupation authorities, and the civil authorities;
“(b) Labor required for German armament;
“(c) Labor required for food and agriculture;
“(d) Labor required for industrial work in the interests of Germany, other than armaments;
“(e) Labor required for industrial work in the interests of the population of the territory in question.”
The Defendant Sauckel, and agencies subordinate to him, exercised exclusive authority over the recruitment of workers from every area in Europe occupied by, controlled by, or friendly to, the German nation. He affirmed, himself—the Defendant Sauckel did—this authority in a decree, Document Number 3044-PS, already in evidence as Exhibit Number USA-206. I refer to Paragraph 5 on Page 1 of the English text of that document, and I am quoting it directly:
“The recruitment of labor in the areas occupied by Germany will be carried out exclusively by the labor allocation offices of the German military or civil administration in these areas.”
THE PRESIDENT: Haven’t you read that already?
MR. DODD: No, I have not, if Your Honor pleases. We have referred to that decree before, but we have not referred to this portion of it.
I am passing to Paragraph II, 1-a on Page 2, and quoting again directly:
“For the carrying out of recruitment in allied, friendly, or neutral foreign countries, my commissioners are solely responsible.”
In addition, the following defendants, who were informed by Sauckel of the quotas of foreign laborers which he required, collaborated with Sauckel and his agents in filling these quotas: The Defendant Keitel, Chief of the OKW—which was the Supreme Command—who collaborated with Sauckel.
We refer to Document Number 3012(1)-PS, which is Exhibit Number USA-190. This document is the record of a telephone conversation of the Chief of the Economic Staff East of the German Army, and it is dated March 11, 1943. I wish to quote from the first two paragraphs of the document as follows:
“The Plenipotentiary General for Allocation of Labor, Gauleiter Sauckel, points out to me in an urgent teletype that the allocation of labor in German agriculture, as well as all the most urgent armament programs ordered by the Führer, make the most rapid procurement of approximately 1 million women and men from the newly occupied Eastern Territories within the next 4 months an imperative necessity. For this purpose, Gauleiter Sauckel demands the shipment of 5,000 workers daily beginning 15 March; 10,000 workers, male and female, beginning 1 April, from the newly occupied Eastern Territories.”
I am passing down to the next paragraph:
“In consideration of the extraordinary losses of workers which occurred in German war industry because of the developments of the past months, it is now necessary that the recruiting of workers be taken up again everywhere with all vigor. The tendency momentarily noticeable in that territory, to limit and/or entirely stop the Reich recruiting program, is absolutely not bearable in view of this state of affairs. Gauleiter Sauckel, who is informed about these events, because of this applied directly to General Field Marshal Keitel on 10 March 1943, in a teletype, and emphasized on this occasion that, as in all other occupied territories, where all other methods fail, a certain pressure must be used, by order of the Führer.”
At this point we were prepared to offer a transcript of an interrogation under oath of the Defendant Sauckel. Only the English of the transcript of the interrogation has been seen by the Counsel for the Defendant Sauckel. He has had it, however, for some time; and the excerpts on which we intended to rely were furnished to him as well in German.
If I understood the ruling of the Tribunal correctly, it would be necessary for us to have furnished the entire record in German.
THE PRESIDENT: I think you might use this interrogation, as the excerpts have been submitted in German.
MR. DODD: Yes, they have, Your Honor, and the entire English text as, well.
THE PRESIDENT: Very well.
MR. DODD: I refer to a transcript of an interrogation under oath of the Defendant Sauckel, held on the morning of the 5th of October 1945 (Exhibit USA-224). That is the very last document in the document book. I wish to quote from the bottom of Page 1 of the English text and Page 1, Paragraph 11, of the German text, as follows:
“Q: ‘Was it necessary, in order to accomplish the completion of the quotas given, to have liaison with the OKW?’
“A: ‘I remember that the Führer had given directives to Marshal Keitel, telling him that my task was a very important one; and I, too, have often conferred with Keitel after such discussions with the Führer, when I asked him for his support.’
“Q: ‘It was his task to supervise the proper performance of the military commanders in the occupied countries in carrying but their assigned mission, was it not?’
“A: ‘Yes, the Führer had told me that he would inform the Chief of the OKW and the Chief of the Reich Chancellery as to these matters. The same applies to the Foreign Minister.’ ”
We are also prepared to offer the transcript of an interrogation of the Defendant Alfred Rosenberg. There is this distinction insofar as this record is concerned. While we have supplied the counsel with the German translation of those parts of it which we propose to use, we have not had an opportunity to supply the whole text to counsel. However, they have been supplied with the German of the parts which we propose to use and to offer to this Tribunal.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, you are prepared to do it hereafter, I suppose?
MR. DODD: Yes, we will, Your Honor, as soon as we can get these papers down to the Information Center.
THE PRESIDENT: Good.
MR. DODD: The next document is rather lengthy, and I wonder what the Tribunal’s pleasure is. Do I understand that I may proceed with the interrogation?
THE PRESIDENT: Yes.
MR. DODD: I wish to refer to the Defendant Alfred Rosenberg, the Reich Minister for Eastern Occupied Territories, as one who also collaborated with the Defendant Sauckel, and specifically, to refer to a transcript of an interrogation under oath of the Defendant Rosenberg, on the afternoon of the 6th of October 1945 (Exhibit USA-187). That record may be found about the third from the last of the interrogation records in the document book, and I wish to read from Page 1 of the transcript:
“Q: ‘Isn’t it a fact that Sauckel would allocate to the various areas under your jurisdiction the number of persons to be obtained for labor purposes?’
“A: ‘Yes.’
“Q: ‘And that thereafter your agents would obtain that labor in order to meet the quota which had been given. Is that right?’
“A: ‘Sauckel, normally, had very far-reaching desires, which one could not fulfil unless one looked very closely into the matter.’
“Q: ‘Never mind about Sauckel’s desires being far-reaching or not being far-reaching. That has nothing to do with it. You were given quotas for the areas over which you had jurisdiction, and it was up to you to meet that quota?’
“A: ‘Yes. It was the responsibility of the administrative officials to receive this quota and to distribute the allotments over the districts in such a way, according to number and according to the age groups, that they would be most reasonably met.’
“Q: ‘These administrative officials were part of your organization, isn’t that right?’
“A: ‘They were functionaries or officials of the Reich Commissioner for the Ukraine; but, as such, they were placed in their office by the Ministry for the Eastern Occupied Territories.’
“Q: ‘You recognized, did you not, that the quotas set by Sauckel could not be filled by voluntary labor; and you did not disapprove of the impressment of forced labor. Isn’t that right?’
“A: ‘I regretted that the demands of Sauckel were so urgent that they could not be met by a continuation of voluntary recruitments, and thus I submitted to the necessity of forced impressment.’ ”
Then, passing a little further down on that page:
“Q: ‘The letters that we have already seen between you and Sauckel do not indicate, do they, any disagreement on your part with the principle of recruiting workers against their will? They indicate, as I remember, that you were opposed to the treatment that was later accorded these workers, but you did not oppose their initial impressment.’ ”
THE PRESIDENT: Mr. Dodd, I think you ought to read the next two answers in fairness to the Defendant Rosenberg, after the one where he said he submitted to the necessity of forced impressment.
MR. DODD: Very well, I shall read those, Your Honor.
THE PRESIDENT: “ ‘Did you ever argue with Sauckel . . .’ ”
MR. DODD: Yes.
“Q: ‘Did you ever argue with Sauckel that perhaps in view of the fact that the quotas could not be met by voluntary labor, the labor recruiting program be abandoned, except for what recruits could be voluntarily enrolled?’
“A: ‘I could not do that because the numbers or allotments that Sauckel had received from the Führer to meet were absolutely binding for him, and I couldn’t do anything about that.’ ”
And then, referring again to the question which I had just read, the answer is as follows:
“ ‘That is right. In those matters I mostly discussed the possibility of finding the least harsh methods of handling the matter, whereas in no way did I place myself in opposition to the orders that he was carrying out for the Führer.’ ”
THE PRESIDENT: I think the Tribunal might adjourn now.
MR. DODD: Very well, Your Honor.