Morning Session
MARSHAL: The Defendant Hess will be absent from today’s session on account of illness.
GEN. RUDENKO: I would like to inform Your Honor that in accordance with the plan of the Soviet Prosecution presented to the Tribunal and with the permission of the Tribunal, we shall start presenting evidence on that section entitled, “The Destruction and Plunder of Cultural and Scientific Treasures, Cultural Institutions, Monasteries, Churches, and Other Religious Institutions, as well as the Destruction of Cities and Villages.”
The evidence on this section will be presented by State Counsellor of Justice of the Second Class, Raginsky.
STATE COUNSELLOR OF JUSTICE OF THE SECOND CLASS M. Y. RAGINSKY (Assistant Prosecutor for the U.S.S.R.): May it please Your Honors, among the numerous and grievous war crimes committed by the Hitlerite conspirators—crimes enumerated in detail in Count Three of the Indictment—crimes against culture occupy a definite place of their own. These crimes expressed all the abomination and vandalism of German fascism.
The Hitlerite conspirators considered culture of the mind and of humanity as an obstacle to the fulfillment of their monstrous designs against mankind, and they removed this obstacle with their own typical cruelty. In working out their insane plans for world domination, the Hitlerite conspirators, side by side with the initiation and prosecution of predatory wars, prepared a campaign against world culture. They dreamed of turning Europe back to the days of her domination by the Huns and Teutons. They tried to set mankind back.
It is unnecessary to quote the numerous pronouncements of the fascist ringleaders on this subject. I shall permit myself merely to refer to one pronouncement of Hitler’s quoted on Page 80 of Rauschning’s book, and already presented to the Tribunal by the Soviet Prosecution. “We,” said Hitler, “are barbarians and we wish to be barbarians. It is an honorable calling.”
On behalf of the Soviet Prosecution, I shall present to the Tribunal evidence of how the defendants put into practice these orders of Hitler, which found concrete expression in the wrecking of cultural institutions, the looting and destruction of cultural treasures, and the suffocation of the national cultural life of the peoples in the territories temporarily occupied by the German armies, that is, the territories of the U.S.S.R., Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia.
I shall present to the Tribunal evidence of the Hitlerites’ preparations and planning for the looting of cultural treasures; how, long before the treacherous attack on the U.S.S.R., the so-called Einsatzstab Rosenberg prepared for pillage, how the predatory activity of the Defendant Rosenberg was co-ordinated with Göring, Heydrich, and the Supreme Command, and how this pillage was disguised.
It is now generally known to what monstrous lies and provocations the Hitlerites resorted in the camouflaging of their crimes. While annihilating millions of people in the extermination camps they had set up, they spoke, in their orders, of “filtration” and “cleansing.” While destroying and plundering cultural treasures, the fascist vandals sought shelter behind the terms “collection of materials” and the “study of problems,” and shamelessly referred to themselves as “bearers of culture.”
The Hitlerite conspirators endeavored to change into serfs, bereft of all their rights, the peoples of the territories seized; and, for this purpose, they destroyed the national culture of these peoples.
The destruction of the national culture of the Slav peoples and particularly of the Russian, Ukrainian, and Bielorussian cultures, the destruction of national monuments, schools, literature, and the compulsory Germanization of the population, followed the German occupation everywhere, in obedience to the same criminal principle which governed the ensuing pillage, rape, arson, and mass murders.
I omit, Mr. President, the end of Page 3 and Page 4 of my presentation, and I proceed to the presentation of Section 2, Page 5.
As I have already indicated, the destruction of the national culture of the peoples in the occupied territories was a fundamental part of the general plan for world domination established by Hitler’s conspirators. It is difficult to determine whether destruction or plunder was the prevalent factor in these plans. But there is no disputing the fact that both plunder and destruction were aimed at one goal only—extermination; and this extermination was carried out everywhere, in all the territories occupied by the Germans, and on an enormous scale.
Article 56 of the 1907 Hague Convention laid down, I quote:
“The property of municipalities, of Church institutions and establishments dedicated to charity and education, arts and sciences, even when belonging to the State, shall be considered as private property. All premeditated seizure of, and destruction or damage to, institutions of this character, to historic monuments, works of art and science, is forbidden and should be made the subject of legal proceedings.”
The Hitlerites consciously and systematically scoffed at the principles and demands laid down in Article 56. All the conspirators are guilty of this, and the Defendant Rosenberg in the first place.
Rosenberg had an organization with widespread ramifications for the plunder of cultural treasures and with numerous staffs and representatives. The Einsatzstab Rosenberg and Rosenberg’s chief of staff, Utikal, were the central point of the network co-ordinating the criminal activities of many predatory organizations inspired and directed by the Hitlerite Government together with the German Supreme Command. Rosenberg was officially placed in charge of plundering the cultural treasures in the occupied territories by a decree of Hitler of 1 March 1942.
I have in mind Document Number 149-PS presented to the Tribunal on 18 December of last year by the United States Prosecution and accepted by the Tribunal as Exhibit Number USA-369. With your permission, Mr. President, I shall quote only two paragraphs of this document. You will find this document on Page 3 of your document book. I quote:
“His”—Rosenberg’s—“Einsatzstab for the occupied territories has the right to investigate libraries, archives, and every other kind of cultural establishment for corresponding materials, and to confiscate these materials for the realization of the ideological aims of the National Socialist Party. . . .”
I omit one paragraph and quote the last paragraph of this document:
“The regulations for the co-operation with the Armed Forces are issued by the Chief of the Supreme Command of the Armed Forces in agreement with Reichsleiter Rosenberg.
“The necessary measures for the eastern territories under German administration will be taken by Reichsleiter Rosenberg in his capacity as Reich Minister for the Occupied Eastern Territories.”
This decree of Hitler’s was issued, as is clear from the document quoted, to all departments of the Armed Forces, the Party, and the Government.
But it is not 1 March 1942 which should be considered as the beginning of Rosenberg’s predatory activities. I shall submit several excerpts from a letter of Rosenberg to Reichsleiter Bormann in confirmation. The letter is dated 23 April 1941. This document was presented to the Tribunal on 18 December 1945 by the United States Prosecution, and it was accepted by the Tribunal as Exhibit Number USA-371 (Document Number 071-PS).
This document—which Your Honors will find on Page 4 of your document book—is interesting also for the fact that the plunder, referred to as “confiscation” in the letter, was carried out by the Defendant Rosenberg in close collaboration and contact, based on a written agreement, between the departments of Rosenberg and Himmler. I cite extracts from Page 1 of the Russian translation of this letter:
“I have”—wrote Rosenberg—“transmitted to you a photostatic copy of my agreement with the Security Police (SD), concluded with the express approval of Gruppenführer Heydrich.”
And further—you will find this on Page 5 in your document book:
“Questions bearing on works of art”—as stated in this letter—“were considered of secondary importance. Of primary importance was the Führer’s directive regarding the twice-issued order from the Chief of the Supreme Command of the Armed Forces, for the occupied territories of the West, to the effect that all archives and all scientific property belonging to our ideological opponents, be placed at my disposal. This, too, was carried out on a wide scale and in close co-operation with the SD and the military leaders.”
The importance attached by the Hitlerite conspirators to Rosenberg’s predatory staffs is shown in Göring’s special circular of 1 May 1941, addressed to all Party, Government, and military institutions, which had been ordered to co-operate with the Einsatzstab Rosenberg. This document was presented by our American colleagues on 18 December of last year and accepted by the Tribunal as Exhibit Number USA-384 (Document Number 1117-PS).
Even at that time the scale on which the pillage was conducted was already enormous. As Rosenberg stated in his letter of 23 April 1941, at that time, that is, in April 1941, 7,000 cases of looted works of art had already been dispatched to Germany.
To conclude with this document I shall, with your permission, read one further brief quotation into the record. It consists of one paragraph only. You will find this paragraph on Page 6 of the document book:
“And thus”—wrote Rosenberg—“these problems practically solved themselves and the work has followed its own course. Here I would like to ask for a confirmation that these decisions, already adopted in the West, should, in the present circumstances, be rendered valid in the other occupied territories, or in those which are to be occupied.”
This document, in which pillage is referred to as “work,” proves that Rosenberg’s criminal activities were carried out in close contact with the Supreme Command of the Armed Forces; and, finally, that as early as April 1941 plans were being made for plundering the territories about to be occupied.
The speech of the Chief Prosecutor for the U.S.S.R., General Rudenko, and the speech of the representative of the United States Prosecution, Mr. Alderman, defined what Rosenberg meant in his letter by “territories about to be occupied” at that time. That was the period of the practical realization of the evil Hitlerite schemes, planned in the so-called Plan Barbarossa, the period when the German fascist hordes were hurled against the frontiers of the Soviet Union, the period of the attack on the U.S.S.R.
Lastly, it is necessary to point out that, in April 1941, the Defendant Rosenberg placed Utikal at the head of all operational staffs, “the creation of which may become necessary during the course of this war.” In this connection Rosenberg referred to the “successful work” and to the “experience gained” by his operational staff in the western occupied territories and in the Netherlands.
This fact is confirmed by a certificate issued to Utikal, dated 1 April 1941, and signed by Rosenberg. The authenticity of this document—which bears Document Number 143-PS—was confirmed by Rosenberg at his interrogation on 26 September 1945. I present this document to the Tribunal as Exhibit Number USSR-371.
In reporting on the organization for the looting and destruction of cultural treasures, it is necessary to indicate yet another department which combined diplomacy with pillage. I have in mind the German Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
The Chief Prosecutor for the U.S.S.R., General Rudenko, in his opening speech pointed out that the general pillage in the occupied regions of the U.S.S.R., carried out on the direct orders of the German Government, was directed not only by the Defendants Göring and Rosenberg and by the various “staffs” and “commands” subordinated to them; the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, headed by the Defendant Ribbentrop, also participated through a “special formation.”
The creation of such a formation—the so-called “Ribbentrop Battalion”—and its practical activities in the looting of cultural treasures in the territory of the U.S.S.R. are testified to in a written statement of 10 November 1942 by Obersturmführer Dr. Förster, who was captured by Red Army units in the region of Mosdok. In this statement Förster likewise indicated the task of Rosenberg’s staff in the plunder or, as he expressed it, in the “withdrawal” of museum treasures and antiques. A certified photostat of this statement I present to the Tribunal as Exhibit Number USSR-157 (Document Number USSR-157).
It is stated in Förster’s statement, I read:
“In August 1941 while in Berlin, I, with the assistance of my old acquaintance from the University of Berlin, Dr. Focke, then employed in the press section of the Foreign Office, was transferred from the 87th Tank Destroyer Division to the special purpose battalion attached to the Foreign Office. This battalion had been created on the initiative of the Reich Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ribbentrop, and was under his direction. The officer commanding the battalion is Major of the Waffen-SS, Von Künsberg.
“The task of the special purpose battalion was to seize and to secure, immediately after the fall of large cities, their cultural treasures and all objects of great historic value, to select valuable books and films, and finally to dispatch them all to Germany.
“The special purpose battalion consists of four companies. The first company is attached to the German Expeditionary Corps in Africa, the second company to Army Group North, the third to Army Group Center, and the fourth to Army Group South. The first company is located at present in Italy, in Naples, awaiting possible deployment to Africa. Battalion staff headquarters are in Berlin, Hermann Göring Strasse, Number 104. The confiscated material is stored in the premises of the Adler firm, in the Hardenbergstrasse.
“Prior to our departure for Russia, Major Von Künsberg transmitted to us Ribbentrop’s order, thoroughly to ‘comb out’ all scientific establishments, institutions, libraries, and all the palaces, to search all the archives, and to lay our hands on anything of a definite value.
“I heard from my comrades that the second company of our battalion had removed valuable objects from the palaces in the Leningrad suburbs. I myself was not there at the time. At Zarskoje Selo the company seized and secured the property belonging to the palace-museum of the Empress Catherine. The Chinese silk draperies and the carved gilt ornaments were torn from the walls. The floor of artistic ornaments was dismantled and taken away. From the palace of the Emperor Alexander antique furniture and a large library containing some 6,000 to 7,000 volumes in French and over 5,000 volumes and manuscripts in Russian, were removed.
“The fourth company, to which I was attached, confiscated the Kiev laboratory of the Medical and Scientific Research Institute. The entire equipment, as well as scientific material, documents and books, was shipped to Germany.
“We reaped a rich harvest in the library of the Ukrainian Academy of Science, treasuring the rarest manuscripts of Persian, Abyssinian, and Chinese literature, Russian and Ukrainian chronicles, the first edition books printed by the first Russian printer, Ivan Fjodorov, and rare editions of the works of Shevtchenko, Mickiewicz, and Ivan Franko.
“From the Kiev museums of Ukrainian art, Russian art, Western and Eastern art and from the central Shevtchenko museum numerous exhibits which still remained there, including paintings, portraits by Repin, canvases by Vereschagin, Fedotoff, Goe, sculptures by Antokolsky and other masterpieces of Russian and Ukrainian painters and sculptors were dispatched to Berlin.
“In Kharkov several thousand valuable books in de luxe editions were seized from the Korolenko library and sent to Berlin. The remaining books were destroyed. From the Kharkov picture gallery several hundred pictures were secured, including 14 pictures by Aivasovsky, works by Repin and many paintings by Polienov, Schischkin, and others. Antique sculptures and the entire scientific archive of the museum were also taken away. Embroideries, carpets, Gobelin tapestries, and other exhibits were appropriated by the German soldiers.
“I also knew”—testified Dr. Förster in his statement—“that the staff of Alfred Rosenberg used special kommandos for the confiscation of valuable antique and museum pieces in the occupied countries of Europe and in the territories of the East. Civilian experts were in charge of these kommandos.
“After the occupation of any big city, the leaders of these kommandos arrive, accompanied by various art experts. They inspect museums, picture galleries, exhibitions, and institutions of art and culture, they determine their condition and confiscate everything of value.”
I omit the last paragraph of this statement.
With your permission, Your Honors, I shall read two more excerpts into the record from a letter of the Reich Minister for the Occupied Territories, dated 7 April 1942, and signed by order of the Minister, by Laibrandt, closest assistant of the Defendant Rosenberg. This letter, Your Honors, is in your document book, on Pages 12 and 13, and was submitted on 18 December last year by the United States Prosecution as Exhibit Number USSR-408 (Document Number USSR-408).
This document is very revealing in that it indicates the scale of the projected pillage and disguises this pillage which, in the document, is shamelessly referred to as “the preservation of objects of culture, research material, and of scientific institutions in the Occupied Eastern Territories.”
This document is also characteristic in that Rosenberg, fearing that he might miss some of the booty, established his own monopoly to plunder and only made concessions to the quartermaster general of the Army, in conjunction with whom—as the letter reveals—Operational Staff Rosenberg carried on its “work.”
I read the first excerpt of this letter. I quote:
“I have entrusted the Einsatzstab Rosenberg for the Occupied Territories with the listing and detailed handling of all cultural valuables, research materials, and scientific work in libraries, archives, research institutions, museums, et cetera, found in public and religious establishments, as well as in private houses. The Einsatzstab, instructed once again by the Führer’s order of 1 March 1942, begins its work jointly with the quartermaster general of the Army immediately after the occupation of the territories by combat troops and executes this work after the establishment of civil government, in co-operation with the competent Reich Commissioner, until such time as the task is completed. I request all the authorities of my department to support, as far as possible, the representatives of the Einsatzstab in the execution of these measures and to supply them with all essential information, especially in connection with the registration of objects in the occupied territories, whether or not they have been removed, and if so, where this material is located at the present time.”
As you see, Your Honors, the looting of libraries, archives, scientific research institutes, museums—both public and private—and even of church treasures, was already being planned.
The fact that this is not a question of preserving cultural treasures, but of plunder, is revealed by the following excerpt from the letter mentioned. You will find it on Page 12 of your document book. I quote:
“Insofar as seizures or transports have already taken place contrary to these provisions . . . Reichsleiter Rosenberg’s Einsatzstab, Berlin-Charlottenburg (2), Bismarckstrasse 1, must be informed without delay.”
I shall not burden you by enumerating the many addresses to whom copies of this letter were sent. I shall merely name some of them: OKH, the Reich Minister of Economics, the Plenipotentiary for the Four Year Plan, the Reich Commissioners for the Baltic regions, the Ukraine, et cetera. Thus this document reconfirms that both Göring and Funk, as well as the representatives of the OKH, actively participated in this pillage.
The priceless works of art plundered in the occupied countries were removed to Germany, now transformed by the Hitlerites into a robber’s den.
The Extraordinary State Commission of the Soviet Union established that, in January 1943, the Commander of the 1st Tank Army, Cavalry General Mackensen, in the presence of the head of the propaganda department of the 1st Tank Army, Müller, removed from the Rostov Museum of Pictorial and Plastic Art, which had been evacuated to the town of Piatigorsk and which was then on the premises of the Lermontov Museum, the most valuable canvases of Ribera, Rubens, Murillo, Jordaens, Vereshtshagin, Korovine, Kramskoy, Polenov, Repin, Lagorio, Aivasovsky, and Shishkin, sculptures by Donatello, and other exhibits.
This statement, Your Honors, has already been presented to the Tribunal as Exhibit Number USSR-37 (Document Number USSR-37). With your permission I should like to read into the record only one paragraph on Page 5 of this document. The quotation is on Page 18 of your document book. I quote:
“The Rostov Museum of Pictorial Art had been looted and its contents carried off into Germany by the commander of the 1st Tank Army, Cavalry General Mackensen, and by the chief of the propaganda section of the 1st Tank Army, Müller.”
From the affidavit of the Plenipotentiary of the Polish Government, Stefan Kurovsky, it has been established that the Defendant Frank, in looting the cultural treasures of the Polish State, was also striving after his own personal gain. Pictures, porcelain, and other works of art from the plundered museums of Warsaw and Kraków, particularly from Vavel Castle, were transferred to the estate of the Defendant Frank.
The affidavit to which I referred is an appendix to the report of the Polish Government and is presented to the Tribunal as Exhibit Number USSR-302 (Document Number USSR-302). This document, Your Honors, is to be found on Pages 19-20 of your document book.
In this document registered under Document Number 055-PS, which is a letter from the head of the Political Leadership Group P4 of the Reich Ministry for the Eastern Occupied Territories, dated 14 September 1944, there are indications as to where the looted treasures were taken and stored. This letter, addressed to the “Reich Minister through the Chief of the Political Leadership Staff” is headed, “Objects of Art Evacuated from the Ukraine.” This letter is to be found in your document book on Page 21. I present this letter as documentary evidence and, submit it as Exhibit Number USSR-372 and I quote the text. I read:
“The Reich Commissioner for the Ukraine has stored the objects of art and the pictures evacuated from Kiev and Kharkov, in the following shelters in East Prussia: 1. The Richau family estate, near Wehlau; 2. Wildenhoff Manor (owner, Count Schwerin).”
I read further from the text of this letter:
“There are 65 cases, the exact contents of which are enumerated on the attached list. As to the other 20 cases, 57 portfolios, and one roll of engravings, their inventory has not been taken to date. Among the pictures there are a great number of very ancient icons, works by famous masters of the German, Italian, and Dutch schools of the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries, as well as the works of the best Russian masters of the 18th and 19th centuries. On the whole, this property consists of extremely valuable works of art, which had been removed from public Ukrainian museums and whose value, even at a rough estimate, amounts to a sum of many millions. In addition, this is the sole collection of such international value on German territory. . . .”
I omit the last paragraph of this letter since it has no material bearing on the subject, and will continue by quoting an excerpt from Page 2 of Rosenberg’s letter, of which I have already read one quotation earlier in the day. You will, Your Honors, find it on Page 5 of the document book. I quote. Rosenberg wrote:
“In the process of these confiscations we have, of course, found also many other works of art. Among them there are some of great value and, in order to preserve them, the Chief of the High Command of the Army, at my request and in accordance with the Führer’s directives, ordered me to draw up a catalogue of these works of art and to keep them for the Führer.”
You have heard, Your Honors, of Hitler’s attitude towards the property of the people and the works of art in the countries seized by the Germans.
This episode is to be found in the Czechoslovakian Government report, presented to the Tribunal; excerpts from this report were read yesterday into the record. Therefore, I consider there is no necessity for reading it into the record once more. However, it is necessary to note that not only Hitler but Göring was an ardent adherent of this policy of “acquisitions.” You also heard, Your Honors, yesterday how Göring acquired valuable Gobelin tapestries in France. However, Göring did not acquire Gobelin tapestries only. He wrote in one of his letters to Rosenberg—I refer to Document Number 1985-PS, which I submit to the Tribunal as Exhibit Number USSR-373, and which is in your document book on Pages 156 to 158—Göring wrote that he “by means of purchases, presents, bequests, and barter owns perhaps the most important private collection, at least in Germany, if not in Europe.” The document presented is a copy of a typewritten letter and includes a series of corrections and notes in ink, evidently in Göring’s own hand. This copy was captured, together with Göring’s other correspondence, by units of the American Army, a fact which was confirmed and in due time presented to the Tribunal by our American colleagues.
This document, Your Honors, reveals, to a remarkable extent, the nature of the “acquisitions” effected by Göring and also confirms Ribbentrop’s part in the “preservation” of cultural treasures in the occupied territories. For this reason, I shall, with your permission, read a few extracts from this document.
I read the extract from the first page of this letter. I quote:
“After prolonged search”—wrote Göring to Rosenberg—“I was much gratified that an office was at last charged with the collection of these things although I want to point out that other departments are also claiming the authority of the Führer. First of these was the Reich Minister for Foreign Affairs, who, several months ago, sent a circular to all departments, in which he, inter alia, stated that he had received full authority for the preservation of cultural objects in occupied territories.”
I now read an extract from Page 2 of the letter, the last paragraph:
“In order to avoid misconceptions regarding these articles, part of which I want to claim for myself, part of which I have purchased, and part of which I wish to acquire, I want to inform you as follows:
“1. I have now obtained by means of purchase, presents, bequests, and barter, perhaps the greatest private collection in Germany at least, if not in Europe.”
I omit one paragraph and I read Subparagraphs 2 and 3 of the next one. Subparagraph 2 enumerates the objects which Göring would like to acquire. It refers to a very extensive and highly valued collection of Dutch artists of the 17th century, while Subparagraph 3 mentions “a comparatively small though very good collection of French artists from the 18th century, and finally, a collection of Italian masters.”
You have heard, Your Honors, what was meant, in practice, by “the personal material interest of soldiers in the war.” All this established irrevocably that the Hitlerites engaged in pillage and brigandage and that everybody, from the privates to the criminal leaders of Hitlerite Germany, participated in the plunder. The same must be said regarding the destruction of cultural treasures. Decrees and directives concerning the destruction of cultural treasures came from the leaders of Hitlerite Germany and from the highest ranks of the Military Command.
I shall refer, as evidence, to the order of the Commander of the German 6th Army, signed by Field Marshal Von Reichenau, approved by Hitler and entitled, “On the Behavior of the Troops in the East.” This order was presented to the Tribunal as Document Number USSR-12. This document, contrary to the usual Hitlerite custom, contains direct and entirely undisguised instructions for the destruction and suppression of culture in the occupied territories.
With your permission, I shall quote just one paragraph of this order. It is on Page 161 of your document book. I quote:
“The Army is interested in extinguishing fires only in such buildings as may be used for Army billets. . . .”
All the rest to be destroyed; no historical or artistic buildings in the East to be of any value whatsoever.
I shall quote one more document which establishes that the destruction and pillage of cultural treasures, universally carried out by the Hitlerites in the territories occupied by them, was inspired and directed by the Hitlerite Government. I refer to the diary of the Defendant Frank, extracts of which have already been submitted to the Tribunal as Document Number USSR-223. In the first volume of Frank’s diary, on Page 38—Page 169 in your document book—there appears an entry dated 4 October 1939 which reads as follows:
“Berlin. Conference with the Führer. The Führer discussed the general situation with the Governor General and approved the activity of the Governor General in Poland, particularly in the demolition of the Warsaw Palace, the non-restoration of this city, and the evacuation of the art treasures.”
I consider that the documents, now submitted and read into the record, are fully sufficient to enable us to draw the following conclusions:
(a) The pillage and destruction of the cultural treasures of the peoples in the German occupied territories were carried out in accordance with previously elaborated and carefully prepared plans.
(b) The fascist Government and German High Command directed the pillage and destruction of cultural treasures.
(c) The most active role in the organization of the pillage and destruction of cultural treasures was taken by the participants in the conspiracy, the Defendants Rosenberg, Ribbentrop, Frank, and Göring.
I pass on to the next section of my presentation, entitled, “Destruction and Pillage of Cultural Treasures in Czechoslovakia, Poland, and Yugoslavia.”
I reported to the Tribunal on the general plans of the Hitlerite conspirators for strangling national cultural life in the countries occupied by them. I now pass on to report on the actual materialization of the criminal plans of the Hitlerite conspirators in Czechoslovakia, Poland, and Yugoslavia.
I shall refer only to such irrefutable proofs as the official reports of the Governments of Czechoslovakia, Poland, and Yugoslavia, already submitted to the Tribunal by the Soviet Prosecution. I shall read into the record a few parts of the relevant sections of these reports directly concerning the theme expounded by me, which have not been quoted by my colleagues.
I begin by quoting extracts from the Czechoslovak Government reports. These excerpts, Your Honors, are to be found in your document book, on Pages 81 to 88. I quote from Page 81:
“K. H. Frank, who was appointed Secretary of State and Deputy to Reich Protector Von Neurath in March 1939 and in August 1943 became Minister of State and head of the German Executive in the Protectorate, said, ‘The Czechs are fit to be used only as workers or farm laborers.’
“K. H. Frank replied to a Czech delegation which, in 1942, requested the Czech universities and colleges to be reopened, ‘If the war is won by England, you will open your schools yourselves; if Germany wins, an elementary school with five grades will be enough for you.’ ”
The Germans seized all colleges and hostels for students.
I pass to a quotation on Page 83 of the report:
“They immediately seized the most valuable apparatus, instruments, and scientific equipment in many of the occupied institutions. The scientific libraries were systematically and methodically damaged. Scientific books and films were separated and taken away, the archives of the Academy Senate (the highest university authority) were torn up or burned, the card indexes destroyed and scattered.
“Suppression of Czech schools. . . .
“K. H. Frank, in November 1939, personally ordered the closing of all Czech higher educational institutions.
“Such university students as were still at liberty were forbidden to exercise any intellectual profession and were invited to find manual occupation within 48 hours, failing which they would be sent to labor camps in Germany.
“The closing of the universities was aggravated by the closing of the great scientific libraries and of all institutions capable of offering intellectual sustenance to the students expelled from the universities. The library of the University of Prague was henceforth accessible to Germans only.
“Suppression of all scientific activities:
“The closing down of Czech universities and colleges was merely a preliminary step towards the complete suppression of the entire Czech scientific life. The buildings of scientific institutions were converted either into German universities and colleges or placed at the disposal of the German military and civil authorities. The Germans removed all scientific instruments and books and even complete laboratories to Germany, on the pretext that the Czechs would no longer need them. The number of works of art, pictures, statues, and rare manuscripts stolen from the library of the University of Prague and from private collections cannot be calculated, nor can their value be estimated. Scientific collections were also given to German schools, provided they had not been stolen piecemeal.”
I pass on to the excerpts on Page 86 of the Czechoslovakian report:
“Hundreds of Czech elementary and secondary schools were closed in 1939, and so rapid was the systematic closing of Czech schools during the first year of the war that, by the end of 1940, 6,000 of the 20,000 Czech teachers were unemployed.
“By September 1942 some 60 percent of the Czech elementary schools had been closed by the Germans.
“All Czech books published during the republican regime have been confiscated, and the glorification of Greater Germany and its Führer became the basis of all teaching at Czech elementary schools. In 1939 the number of pupils permitted to enter Czech secondary schools had diminished by 50 percent as compared with 1938. About 70 percent of the Czech secondary schools had been closed by the end of 1942. Girls have been entirely excluded from the secondary schools.
“Nursery schools for children between 3 and 6 were completely germanized and employed only German teachers.
“Other crimes in cultural spheres.
“Monuments:
“In many towns the ‘Masaryk Houses,’ which for the most part contain libraries, halls for the showing of educational films, and for the performance of plays and concerts, have been confiscated and transformed into barracks or offices for the Gestapo. The statues they contained, sometimes of great artistic value, were spoiled and broken. . . . A number of monuments in Prague, among them Bilek’s ‘Moses’ and Mardjatka’s ‘Memorial to the Fallen Legionaries,’ have been melted down. . . .
“A decree of the autumn of 1942 ordered all university libraries to hand over all early printed Czech works and first editions to the Germans. The collections in the National Museum were pillaged; and the Modern Art Gallery, containing a unique collection of Czech art of the 19th and 20th centuries with some precious specimens of foreign (mainly French) art, was closed.
“The crown jewels of the ancient Czech kings had to be handed over to Heydrich.
“Literature:
“Translations of works by English, French, and Russian authors, both classic and modern, were withdrawn from circulation. The severest censorship was applied to the works of modern Czech authors. The Germans liquidated many leading publishing firms.”
THE PRESIDENT: This is a good opportunity to adjourn.
[A recess was taken.]
MR. COUNSELLOR RAGINSKY: “The entire political literature of the free republic, as well as the works of the participants in the Czech revival of the 18th and 19th centuries, were withdrawn. The books of Jewish authors were prohibited, as well as those of politically unreliable writers. The Germans withdrew the Czech classics, as well as the works of the 15th century reformer John Hus, of Alois Erassek, the author of historical novels, the poet Victor Dieck, and others.”
Thus the Hitlerites destroyed the national culture of the peoples of Czechoslovakia, plundered and pillaged works of art, literature, and science.
In Poland, as in Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia, the German fascist invaders carried out a large-scale liquidation of national culture with exceptional cruelty. The Hitlerite conspirators destroyed the Polish intelligentsia, closed educational establishments, prohibited the publication of Polish books, looted works of art, blew up and burned national monuments.
I am reading into the record relevant extracts from the Polish Government report, which was submitted to the Tribunal as Exhibit Number USSR-93 (Document Number USSR-93). These excerpts, Your Honors, are on Pages 197-200 of the document book:
“Annihilation of the Polish intelligentsia:
“In the incorporated regions the intelligentsia were deprived of all means of livelihood. Many of them, professors, teachers, lawyers, and judges, were interned in concentration camps or murdered.
“In the Government General about 80 percent of the intelligentsia were deprived of all means of subsistence. Owing to the liquidation of the press, journalists and writers were unable to earn a living. The publication of new books was prohibited.
“Four universities and twelve schools of the university type ceased to exist. Their average attendance before September 1939 reached 45,000.
“Secondary schools:
“There were about 550 secondary schools in the German occupied territory. Their closing was ordered. In the incorporated territories they were completely closed down. In the Government General they were allowed to continue their activity, but in November 1939 an order was issued to cease teaching. The only schools which were allowed to continue work were commercial or trade schools. Educated Poles were not needed; the Poles were to become artisans and workmen. Such was the official line of policy.
“Elementary schools:
“In the incorporated territories Polish schools were completely abolished. They were replaced by German schools. Polish children were educated in the German tongue and German spirit.
“On the eve of war there were about 2,000 periodicals published in Poland, among them 170 newspapers. By order of the Germans the press was almost entirely eradicated.
“The publication, printing, and distributing of Polish books was prohibited as early as October 1939.
“On 5 November 1940 the German Verordnungsblatt published the following decree:
“ ‘Until further notice, the publication, without exception, of all books, pamphlets, periodicals, journals, calendars, and music is prohibited, unless published by the authority of the Government General.’
“Theaters, music, and radio:
“The principles of German policy in Poland were outlined in a circular of a special branch of national education and propaganda in the German Government General. It read as follows:
“ ‘It is understood that not a single German official will assist in the development of Polish cultural life in any way whatsoever.’
“The sole purpose which was to be followed, in the words of the circular, was to ‘satisfy the primitive demands for entertainment and amusement, all the more as this was a question of diverting as far as possible the attention of the intellectual circles from conspiracy or political debates which encouraged the development of an anti-German feeling.’ ”
I skip the last paragraph and pass on to the next page:
“Looting, spoliation, and carrying away of works of art, libraries, and collections from Poland.”
The excerpts are on Pages 207 and 208 of the document book.
“On 13 December 1939 the Gauleiter of the Warthegau issued an order that all public and private libraries and collections in the incorporated territories were to be registered. Upon completion of registration, libraries and book collections were confiscated and transported to the ‘Buchsammelstelle.’ There special experts carried out a selection. The final destination was either Berlin or the newly constituted State Library (Staatsbibliothek) in Posen. Books which were considered unsuitable were sold, destroyed, or thrown away as waste paper.
“The best and largest libraries of the country were victims of the organized looting in the Government General. Among them were the university libraries in Kraków and Warsaw. One of the best, though not the largest, was the library of the Polish Parliament. It consisted of about 38,000 volumes and 3,500 periodical publications. On 15 and 16 November 1939 the main part of this library was transported to Berlin and Breslau. Ancient documents, such as, for instance, a collection of parchments—the property of the central archives—were also seized.
“The Diocesan Archives in Pelilin, containing 12th century documents, were burned in the furnaces of a sugar refinery.
“The first art treasure removed from Poland was the well-known altar of Veit Stoss from the Kraków Cathedral. It was taken to Germany on 16 December 1939. The Defendant Frank issued a decree concerning the confiscation of works of art.”
I skip a few paragraphs and pass on to the last paragraph on Page 221:
“Three valuable pictures were removed from the galleries of the Czartoryski in Sieniawa. Frank seized and kept them until 17 January 1945, and then transferred them to Silesia, and thence, as his personal property, to Bavaria.”
National monuments:
“In the process of destroying everything that was connected with Polish history and culture, many monuments and works of art were destroyed and demolished.
“The monument of the eminent Polish King, Boleslaw, the Valiant, in Gniezno, was first wound round with ropes and chains with a view to throwing it off its pedestal. After an unsuccessful attempt, acetylene was used: the head was cut off and the pedestal broken in pieces. The same fate befell the monument of the Sacred Heart in Posen, the monuments to Chopin, the poet Slowacki, the composer Moniuszko, the Polish national hero Kósciuszko, President Wilson, the greatest Polish poet Mickiewicz, and many others.”
To the report of the Polish Government is attached a list of public libraries, museums, books and other collections sacrificed to plunder and looting. These lists of objects are available on Pages 254 and 255 of the document book. In the first list we find the names of 30 libraries and in the second 21 museums and collections of works of art which were plundered and destroyed. I shall not read these lists in full, but shall mention only some of the museums and collections which were a subject of national pride and constituted the treasure of the Polish State.
The following objects became the booty of the fascist vandals: The treasure house of the Wawelski Cathedral in Kraków, the Potocki Collection in Jablonna, the Czartoryski Museum in Kraków, the National Museum in Kraków, the Museum of Religious Art in Warsaw, the State Numismatic Collections in Warsaw, the Palace of King Stanislaw-August in the Lazienkowski Park, the Palace of King Jan Sobieski in Willanow, the collection of Count Tarnowski in Sukhaya, the Religious Museum in Posen, and many others.
The Hitlerite invaders also plundered monasteries, churches, and cathedrals. On Page 43 of the report of the Polish Government, corresponding to Page 223 of the document book, there are final notes by the Polish Primate, Cardinal Hlond. They concern a written communication from Cardinal Hlond to Pope Pius XII. I shall read into the record only two paragraphs of these concluding notes. I quote:
“Monasteries have been methodically suppressed, as well as their flourishing institutions for education, press, social welfare, charity, and care of the sick. Their houses and institutions have been seized by the army of the Nazi Party.
“Then the invaders confiscated or sequestrated the patrimony of the Church, considering themselves the owners of this property. The cathedrals, the episcopal palaces, the seminaries, the canons’ residence, the revenues and endowments of episcopates and chapters, the funds of the seminaries, all were pillaged by the invaders.”
I omit the end of Page 29 and pass on to Page 30: Yugoslavia.
The destruction of the national culture of the peoples of Yugoslavia was carried out by the Hitlerites by various means and methods. I shall not, Your Honors, enumerate them in detail. These means and methods are already known.
In Yugoslavia the same thing occurred as in Poland and Czechoslovakia. We need only stress that, in the destruction of the culture of the peoples of Yugoslavia, the German fascist occupants showed great ingenuity and utilized the vast experiences acquired in other countries occupied by them. The system of destruction of the national culture of the peoples of Yugoslavia starts with attack and pillage and ends with mass murder, camps, and the ovens of the crematories.
In the report of the Jugoslav Government, presented to the Tribunal as Document Number USSR-36, there are quoted a large number of facts and documents which establish, without any possibility of doubt, the criminal deeds of the defendants. But even these numerous facts quoted in the report do not exhaust all the crimes committed by the Hitlerites. The report of the Yugoslav Government quotes only typical cases as examples. I shall cite a few excerpts from this report. These excerpts, Your Honors, are on Page 303 of the document book. I quote:
“Immediately after the invasion of Slovenia, the Germans started to fulfill their plans, thought out long beforehand, to germanize the ‘annexed’ territories of Slovenia.”
And further, on Page 307:
“The occupiers closed all the schools in Slovenia, exiled all the Slovene teachers, destroyed all Slovene libraries and books, and forbade the use of the Slovene language, which was considered as an act of sabotage.”
The German barbarians destroyed and plundered not only schools and libraries, they also destroyed universities and broadcasting stations, cultural establishments, and sanatoria. On Page 23 of the report, corresponding to Page 278 of the document book, we find, for instance, the following facts concerning Belgrade. I quote:
“Without any military need, the Germans premeditatively destroyed and burned a great number of public buildings and cultural institutions, such as the New University, the People’s University ‘Koloraz,’ the first high school for boys, the second high school for girls, the ancient royal palace, the broadcasting station, the Russian Home of Culture, the sanatorium of Dr. Jivkovich, and so forth. In the university building valuable and highly important collections of scientific works and research matter were destroyed.”
As is established by the report of the Jugoslav State Commission, which is Document Number J-39(a), and which I submit under Exhibit Number 364, Page 313(a) of our document book—the Hitlerites razed to the ground the National Library in Belgrade and burned hundreds of thousands of books and manuscripts, which constituted the basic stock of Serbian culture. They completely destroyed 71 and partially destroyed 41 scientific institutes and laboratories of Belgrade University. They razed to the ground the State Academy of Art, and they burned and looted thousands of schools.
I omit the end of Page 31 and pass on to Page 32. Your Honors will find this passage on Page 303 of the document book.
During the 4 years of German domination, the people of Yugoslavia experienced great sufferings and sorrow. The Germans looted the economic wealth of the country and caused great material damage. But the damage they caused to the culture of the people of Yugoslavia was even greater.
In concluding this chapter of my report, I consider it essential, Your Honors, to quote yet another excerpt from the diary of the Defendant Frank. I have in mind the calico-bound volume of the diary entitled, “Conferences of the Leaders of Departments of 1939-1940,” which contains an entry regarding the conference of the departmental leaders of 19 January 1940 in Kraków. This excerpt is on Page 169 of the document book. I read:
“On 15 September 1939, I was entrusted with the administration of the conquered eastern territories, and received a special order pitilessly to devastate this district regarding it as a combat zone and a prize of war, and to reduce its economic, social, cultural, and political structure to a heap of ruins.”
To this statement of Frank’s, we need only add that the Defendant Frank zealously performed this task in Poland and that the Reich, Gau, and other leaders acted with equal zeal in the occupied territories of the U.S.S.R., Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia.
I am now going to present, Your Honors, proof of crimes committed by the defendants against the culture of the peoples of the Soviet Union.
We have heard in this court what brutality was used and on how vast a scale the Hitlerites conducted the destruction and spoliation of the cultural wealth of the peoples of Czechoslovakia, Poland, and Yugoslavia. The crimes perpetrated by the Hitlerite conspirators in the occupied territories of the U.S.S.R. were graver still. The criminal organization, known as the Hitler Government, aimed not only at plundering the people of the Soviet Union, at destroying their towns and villages, and at extirpating the culture of the peoples of the U.S.S.R., but also at enslaving the people of the Soviet Union and of transforming our native country into a fascist colony of serfs.
In the second part of my statement I have proved how the destruction of the cultural monuments of the peoples of the U.S.S.R. was planned and perpetrated.
In the note of the People’s Commissar for Foreign Affairs V. M. Molotov, dated 27 April 1942, which was presented to the Tribunal as Exhibit Number USSR-51(3) (Document Number USSR-51(3)), documents and facts are quoted which establish beyond dispute that the destruction of historic and cultural monuments and the vile mockery of national feelings, beliefs, and convictions constituted a part of the monstrous plan evolved and put into practice by the Hitlerite Government, which strove to liquidate the national culture of the peoples of the U.S.S.R. Later I shall refer again to this document, but at present I wish, with your permission, to read into the record the following excerpt which is on Page 321 of your document book. I omit the first and quote the second paragraph:
“The desecration and destruction of historical and cultural memorials in occupied Soviet territories, as well as the devastation of the numerous cultural establishments set up by the Soviet authorities, are a part of the monstrously senseless plan conceived and pursued by the Hitlerite Government which strives to liquidate Russian national culture and the national cultures of the peoples of the Soviet Union, forcibly to germanize the Russian, Ukrainian, Bielorussian, Lithuanian, Latvian, Estonian and other peoples of the U.S.S.R.
“In Order Number 0973/41, General Hodt, commander of the German 17th Army, demands that his subordinates thoroughly assimilate that misanthropic notion so typical of the thick-skulled fascists, that the ‘sound feeling of vengeance and repulsion towards everything Russian should not be suppressed among the men but, on the contrary, encouraged in every way.’ ”
True to their custom of destroying universally recognized cultural valuables, the Hitlerites everywhere on the Soviet territory occupied by them, devastated and mostly burned libraries, from the small club and school libraries up to and including the most valuable collections of manuscripts and books, containing unique bibliographical valuables.
I omit a paragraph and continue the quotation:
“The Hitlerites looted and then set on fire the famous Borodino Museum, the historical exhibits of which related to the struggle against the armies of Napoleon in 1812, particularly dear to the Russian people. The invaders looted and set fire to the Pushkin House Museum in the hamlet of Polotnyany Zavod.
“In Kaluga the Hitlerites assiduously destroyed the exhibits in the house-museum in which the eminent Russian scientist K. E. Tsiolkovsky, whose services in the field of aeronautics enjoy world-wide fame, lived and worked.
“The fascist vandals used Tsiolkovsky’s portrait as a target for revolver practice. Extremely valuable models of dirigibles, together with plans and instruments, were trampled underfoot. One of the museum rooms was turned into a hen coop and the furniture burned. One of the oldest agricultural institutions in the U.S.S.R., the Shatilov selection station in the Orel district, was destroyed by the invaders, who blew up and consigned to the flames 55 buildings of this station, including the agrochemical and other laboratories, the museum, the library containing 40,000 volumes, the school, and other buildings. Even greater frenzy was shown by the Hitlerites when looting the cultural institutions and historical monuments of the Ukraine and of Bielorussia.”
I omit two paragraphs and pass on to the last paragraph of this quotation:
“There was no limit to the desecration by the Hitlerite vandals of the monuments and homes representing Ukrainian history, culture, and art. Suffice to mention, as an example of the constant attempts to humiliate the national dignity of the Ukrainian people, that after plundering the Korolenko Library in Kharkov, the occupiers used the books as paving stones for the muddy street in order to facilitate the passage of German motor vehicles.”
The German vandals treated with particular hatred these cultural monuments which were most dear to the Soviet people. I shall quote several instances:
The Hitlerites plundered Yasnaya Polyana, where one of the greatest writers, Leo Tolstoy, was born, lived, and worked.
They plundered and despoiled the house where the great Russian composer, Tschaikovsky, lived and worked. In this house Tschaikovsky created the world-famous operas Eugen Onegin and The Queen of Spades.
In Taganrog they destroyed the house where the great Russian writer Chekhov lived; in Tikhvin they destroyed the residence of the Russian composer Rimsky-Korsakov.
As evidence, Your Honors, I shall read into the record an excerpt from the note of Foreign Commissar Molotov, dated 6 January 1942. This document has already been submitted to the Tribunal as Document Number 51(2). This excerpt is on Page 317 of the document book. I quote:
“For a period of 6 weeks, the Germans occupied the world-famous property of Yasnaya Polyana where Leo Tolstoy, one of the greatest geniuses of mankind, was born, lived, and created. This glorious memorial to Russian culture was wrecked, profaned, and finally set on fire by the Nazi vandals. The grave of the great writer was desecrated by the invaders. Irreplaceable relics relating to the life and work of Leo Tolstoy, including rare manuscripts, books, and paintings, were either plundered by the German soldiers or thrown away and destroyed. A German officer named Schwartz, in reply to a request of one of the museum’s staff collaborators to stop using the personal furniture and books of the great writer for firewood and to use wood available for this purpose, answered, ‘We don’t need firewood; we shall burn everything connected with the name of your Tolstoy.’
“When the town of Klin was liberated by the Soviet troops on 15 December, it was ascertained that the house in which P. I. Tschaikovsky, the great Russian composer, had lived and worked and which the Soviet State had turned into a museum, had been wrecked and plundered by fascist officers and soldiers. In the museum building proper, the Germans set up a garage for motorcycles, heating this garage with manuscripts, books, furniture, and other museum exhibits, part of which had in any case been stolen by the German invaders. In doing this, the Nazi officers knew perfectly well that they were defiling one of the finest monuments of Russian culture.
“During the occupation of the town of Istra, the German troops established an ammunition dump in the famous ancient Russian monastery known as the New Jerusalem Monastery, founded as far back as 1654. The New Jerusalem Monastery was an outstanding historical and religious monument of the Russian people and was known as one of the most beautiful specimens of religious architecture. This did not, however, prevent the German fascist vandals from blowing up their ammunition dump in the New Jerusalem Monastery on their retreat from Istra, thereby reducing this irreplaceable monument of Russian church history to a heap of ruins.”
I omit the next paragraph and close this quotation.
Acting upon directions of the German Military Command, the Hitlerites destroyed and annihilated the cultural-historic monuments of the Russian people connected with the life and work of the great Russian poet, Alexander Sergeivitch Pushkin.
The report of the Extraordinary State Commission of the Soviet Union, the original copy of which is now submitted to the Tribunal as Document Number USSR-40 (Exhibit Number USSR-40), reads as follows:
“To preserve the cultural and historical memorials of the Russian people connected with the life and creations of the gifted Russian poet and genius, Alexander Sergeivitch Pushkin, the Soviet Government, on 17 March 1922, declared the poet’s estate at Mikhailovskoye, as well as his tomb at the monastery of Svyatogorsky and the neighboring villages of Trigorskoye, Gorodischtsche, and Voronitch, a state reservation.
“The Pushkin reservation, and especially the poet’s estate at Mikhailovskoye, was very dear to the Russian people. Here Pushkin finished the third and created the fourth, fifth, and sixth chapters of Eugen Onegin. Here, too, he finished his poem Gypsies, and wrote the drama Boris Godunov, as well as a large number of epic and lyrical poems.
“In July 1941 the Hitlerites forced their way into the Pushkin reservation. For 3 years they made themselves at home there, ruined everything, and destroyed the Pushkin memorials.”
I shall omit the beginning of Page 1 of the report.
“The plundering of the museum had already begun in August 1941.”
I shall also omit the next paragraph. I read on:
“In the autumn of 1943 the commander of the Pushkin Military Kommandantur, Treibholz, urged Director K. V. Afanassiev to prepare for the evacuation of all the museum valuables. All these valuables were packed into cases by the German authorities, loaded into trucks, and sent to Germany.”
I omit the next paragraph and read on:
“At the end of February 1944 the Germans turned Mikhailovskoye into a military objective and into one of the strongpoints of the German defense. The park area was dug up for combat and communication trenches; shelters were constructed. The cottage of Pushkin’s nurse was taken to pieces and next to it, and partly on its former site, the Germans constructed a large dugout, protected by five layers of timber. The Germans built a similar dugout near the former museum building.
“Prior to their retreat from Mikhailovskoye, the Germans completed the destruction and desecration of the Pushkin estate. The house-museum erected on the foundation of Pushkin’s former residence was burned down by the Germans and nothing remained but a heap of ruins. The marble plate of the Pushkin monument was smashed to pieces and thrown onto the pile of ashes. Of the other two houses standing at the entrance to the Mikhailovskoye estate, one was burned down by the Germans, the other severely damaged. The German vandals put three bullets into the large portrait of Pushkin hanging in an archway at the entrance to the Mikhailovskoye park; then they destroyed the archway.
“After their retreat from Mikhailovskoye, the fascists bombarded the village with mine throwers and artillery fire. The wooden stairs leading to the River Soret were destroyed by German mines. The old lime trees of the circular alley leading to the house were broken down; the giant elm tree in front of the house was damaged by shell fire and splinters.”
I omit the end of this page and pass on to Page 41 of the report:
“In the village of Voronitch the wooden church was burned down which dated back to Pushkin’s times and where Pushkin had a requiem sung on 7 April 1825 to commemorate the death of the great English poet, Byron. The churchyard near the church where V. P. Hannibal, one of Pushkin’s relatives, and the priest, Rayevsky, close friend of the poet, lay buried, was criss-crossed by trenches, mined, and devastated. The historical aspect of the reservation, in which the Russian people saw a symbol of Pushkin, was disfigured beyond all recognition by the Germans.
“The sacrileges perpetrated by the Germans against the national sanctuaries of the Russian people are best demonstrated by the desecration of Pushkin’s tomb. In an attempt to save the Pushkin reservation from destruction, the units of the Red Army did not defend this district, but withdrew to Novorzhev. Nevertheless, on 2 July 1941 the Germans bombarded the monastery of Svyatiye-Gory, at the adjoining walls of which is Pushkin’s tomb.
“In March 1943, long before the battle line approached the Pushkinskiye hills, the Germans began the systematical demolition of the Svyatiye-Gory monastery.”
I omit the rest of this page, and I pass on to Page 42:
“The poet’s tomb was found completely covered with refuse. Both stairways leading down to the grave were destroyed. The platform surrounding the grave was covered with refuse, rubble, wooden fragments of icons, and pieces of sheet metal.”
I omit a paragraph and quote further:
“The marble balustrade surrounding the platform was damaged by fragments of artillery shells and by bullets. The monument itself inclined at an angle of 10 to 12 degrees eastwards, as a result of a landslide following the shelling, and of the shocks caused by the explosions of German mines.
“The invaders knew perfectly well that, on entering the Pushkinskiye hills, the officers and soldiers of the Red Army would first of all visit the grave of the poet, and therefore converted it into a trap for the patriots. Approximately 3,000 mines were discovered and removed from the grounds of the monastery and its vicinity by the engineers of the Soviet Army. . . .”
The destruction of works of art and architecture in the towns of Pavlovsk, Tzarskoe-Selo, and Peterhof, figure among the worst anti-cultural crimes of the Hitlerites. The magnificent monuments of art and architecture in these towns, which had been turned into “museum towns,” are known throughout the civilized world. These art and architectural monuments were created in the course of 2 centuries. They commemorated a whole series of outstanding events in Russian history.
Celebrated Russian and foreign architects, sculptors, and artists created masterpieces which were kept in these “museum towns” and, together with valuable masterpieces of Russian and foreign art, they had been blown up, burned, robbed, or destroyed by the fascist vandals.
I read into the record Exhibit Number USSR-49 (Document Number USSR-49) which includes a statement of the Extraordinary State Commission of the Soviet Union dated 3 September 1944. The excerpts which I shall quote, Your Honors, are on Pages 330-332 of the document book.
I omit the end of Page 43 and the whole of Page 44 of this statement, and begin my quotation in the middle of Page 45:
“At the time the German invaders broke into Petrodvoretz (in Peterhof) there still remained, after the evacuation, 34,214 museum exhibits (pictures, works of art, and sculptures), as well as 11,700 extremely valuable books from the palace libraries. The ground floor rooms of the Ekaterininsky and Alexandrovsky Palaces in the town of Pushkin contained assorted furniture suites of Russian and French workmanship of the middle of the 18th century, 600 items of artistic porcelain of the late 19th and 20th centuries, as well as a large number of marble busts, small sculptures, and about 35,000 volumes from the palace libraries.
“On the basis of documentary materials, the statements and testimony of eyewitnesses, the evidence of German prisoners of war and as a result of careful investigation, it has been established that: Breaking into Petrodvoretz on 23 September 1941, the German invaders immediately proceeded to loot the treasures of the palace-museums and in the course of several months removed the contents of these palaces.
“From the Big, Marly, Monplaisir, and Cottage Palaces, they looted and removed to Germany some 34,000 museum exhibits, among them 4,950 unique items of furniture of Italian, English, French, and Russian workmanship from the periods of Catherine the Great, Alexander I, and Nicholas I, as well as many rare sets of porcelain of foreign and Russian manufacture of the 18th and 19th centuries. The German barbarians stripped the walls of the palace rooms of the silks, Gobelin tapestries, and other decorative materials which adorned them.
“In November 1941 the Germans removed the bronze statue of Samson, the work of the sculptor Koslovsky, and took it away. Having looted the museum treasures, the Hitlerites set fire to the Big Palace, created by the famous and gifted architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli.
“Upon their withdrawal from Petrodvoretz”—I have skipped a paragraph—“the Germans wrecked the Marly Palace by delayed-action mines. This palace contained very delicate carvings and stucco moldings. The Germans wrecked the Monplaisir Palace of Peter the Great. They destroyed all the wooden parts of the pavilion and of the galleries, the interior decorations of the study, the bedroom and the Chinese room.
“During their occupation, they turned the central parts of the palace, that is, the most valuable from the historical and artistic viewpoint, into bunkers. They turned the western pavilion of the palace into a stable and a latrine. In the premises of the Assembly Building the Germans tore up the floor, sawed through the beams, destroyed the doors and windowframes, and stripped the panelling off the ceiling.”
I skip one paragraph and quote the last one on this page:
“In the northern part of the park, in the so-called Alexander Park, they blew up the villa of Nicholas II, completely destroyed the frame cottage which served as billet for officers, the Alexander gates, the pavilions of the Adam fountain, the pylons of the main gates of the upper park and the Rose Pavilion.”
I skip one paragraph on Page 47:
“The Germans wrecked the fountain system of the Petrodvoretz parks. They damaged the entire pipe-line system for feeding the fountains, a system extending from the dam of the Rose Pavilion to the upper park.
“After the occupation of New Petrodvoretz, units of the 291st German Infantry Division, using heavy artillery fire, completely destroyed the famous English Palace at Old Petrodvoretz, built on the orders of Catherine II by the architect Quarenghi. The Germans fired 9,000 rounds of heavy artillery shells into the palace; together with the Palace they destroyed the picturesque English park and all the park pavilions.”
THE PRESIDENT: The Tribunal has appreciated the successful efforts which the other members of the Soviet Delegation have made to shorten their addresses, and they would be glad if you could possibly summarize some of the details with which you have to deal in the matter of destruction and spoliation and perhaps omit some of the details.
That is all for this morning.
[The Tribunal recessed until 1400 hours.]