The manner in which the Nazis retained a duality of organization despite the theory of unity is graphically portrayed in the charts of the Party and the State (Charts Number 1 and 18). These visual exhibits demonstrate the comprehensive character of the Party organization, which was established on parallel lines with the corresponding government structure. The Party structure remained at all times technically separate and could be used for non-governmental purposes whenever such use best served the needs of the conspirators. In innumerable instances, the corresponding Party and State offices were, in fact, held by the same person. For example, the Gauleiter of the Party in most instances also held the post of Reich Governor (or, in Prussia, that of Provincial President). (2880-PS)

The coordination of the Party and State functions started at the top. The Chief of the Party Chancellery was designated a Reich Minister and endowed with plenary powers in the preparation and approval of legislation. He acted as liaison officer at the highest level between Party officials and cabinet ministers. He was given also the duty of passing on the appointment of all the more important civil servants. (2787-PS)

Many of the same powers were bestowed upon the other Reichsleiter (Leaders composing the Party Directorate). The official Nazi exposition of their position is as follows:

“It is in the Reich Directorate where the strings of the organization of the German people and the State meet. By endowment of the Chief of the Party Chancellery with the powers of a Reich Minister, and by special administrative directives, the penetration of the State apparatus with the political will of the Party is guaranteed. It is the task of the separate organs of the Reich Directorate to maintain as close a contact as possible with the life of the nation through their sub-offices in the Gaus. Observations at the front are to be collected and exploited by the offices of the Reich Directorate.” (1893-PS)

On the regional and local levels, the Gauleiter, Kreisleiter, etc., were also empowered to control the purely governmental authorities on political matters. Hess issued the following order shortly after the war began:

“I, therefore order that the bearer of sovereignty (Hoheitstraeger) of the NSDAP (Gauleiter, Kreisleiter, Ortsgruppenleiter) in the scope of his authority is responsible for the political leadership and the frame of mind (Stimmung) of the population. It is his right and his duty to take or to cause to be taken any measures necessary for the expeditious fulfillment of his political duties and for the elimination of wrong within the Party. He is exclusively responsible to his superior bearers of sovereignty (Hoheitstraeger).” (2383-PS)

In the later years, the functional coordination of Party and State offices became much more common. The appointment of Himmler as Reichsfuehrer SS and Chief of the German Police is a typical example of the way in which State and Party functions became inextricably merged so as to render any clean lines of demarcation impossible. (2073-PS)


LEGAL REFERENCES AND LIST OF DOCUMENTS RELATING TO CONSOLIDATION OF TOTALITARIAN POLITICAL CONTROL

DocumentDescriptionVol.Page
Charter of the International Military Tribunal, Article 6, especially 6 (a).I5
International Military Tribunal, Indictment Number 1, Section IV (D) 3 (a).I18
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Note: A single asterisk (*) before a document indicates that the document was received in evidence at the Nurnberg trial. A double asterisk (**) before a document number indicates that the document was referred to during the trial but was not formally received in evidence, for the reason given in parentheses following the description of the document. The USA series number, given in parentheses following the description of the document, is the official exhibit number assigned by the court.
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 *651-PSConfidential circular signed by Schlegeberger, 31 January 1938, concerning representation by Counsel of Inmates of concentration camps. (USA 730).III466
 *783-PSLetter from Guertner to Mutschmann, 18 January 1935, concerning charges against members of camp personnel of protective custody Camp Hohnstein. (USA 731).III558
 *784-PSLetters from Minister of Justice to Hess and SA Chief of Staff, 5 June 1935, concerning penal proceedings against merchant and SA leader and 22 companions because of inflicting bodily injury on duty.(USA 732)III
 *785-PSMemorandum of Guertner concerning legal proceedings against the camp personnel of concentration camp Hohnstein. (USA 733)III564
 *786-PSMinister of Justice memorandum, 29 November 1935, concerning pardon of those sentenced in connection with mistreatment in Hohnstein concentration camp. (USA 734)III568
 *787-PSMemorandum to Hitler from Public Prosecutor of Dresden, 18 June 1935, concerning criminal procedure against Vogel on account of bodily injury while in office. (USA 421)III568
 *788-PSLetters from Secretary of State to the Minister of Justice, 25 June 1935 and 9 September 1935, concerning criminal procedure against Vogel. (USA 735)III571
 1388-PSLaw concerning confiscation of Property subversive to People and State, 14 July 1933. 1933 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 479.III962
*1395-PSLaw to insure the unity of Party and State, 1 December 1933. 1933 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 1016. (GB 252)III978
 1397-PSLaw for the reestablishment of the Professional Civil Service, 7 April 1933. 1933 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 175.III981
 1398-PSLaw to supplement the Law for the restoration of the Professional Civil Service, 20 July 1933. 1933 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 518.III986
 1400-PSLaw changing the regulations in regard to public officer, 30 June 1933. 1933 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 433.III987
 1653-PSFirst regulation concerning the reconstruction of the Reich, 2 February 1934. 1934 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 81.IV162
 1725-PSDecree enforcing law for securing the unity of Party and State, 29 March 1935. 1935 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 502.IV224
*1893-PSExtracts from Organization Book of the NSDAP, 1943 edition. (USA 323)IV529
 2001-PSLaw to Remove the Distress of People and State, 24 March 1933. 1933 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 141.IV638
 2003-PSLaw concerning the Sovereign Head of the German Reich, 1 August 1934. 1934 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 747.IV639
 2004-PSPreliminary law for the coordination of Federal States under the Reich, 31 March 1933. 1933 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 153.IV640
 2005-PSSecond law integrating the “Laender” with the Reich, 7 April 1933. 1933 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 173.IV641
 2006-PSLaw for the reconstruction of the Reich, 30 January 1934. 1934 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 75.IV642
 2008-PSGerman Communal Ordinance, 30 January 1935. 1935 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 49.IV643
 2012-PSFirst regulation for administration of the law for the restoration of professional Civil Service, 11 April 1933. 1933 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 195.IV647
 2014-PSLaw amending regulations of criminal law and criminal procedure, 24 April 1934. 1934 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 341.IV648
*2018-PSFuehrer’s decree establishing a Ministerial Council for Reich Defense, 30 August 1939. 1939 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 1539.(GB 250)IV
 2049-PSSecond Decree concerning the reconstruction of the Reich, 27 November 1934. 1934 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 1189.IV661
 2050-PSThe Constitution of the German Reich, 11 August 1919. 1919 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 1383.IV662
 2056-PSDecree concerning the extension of the Jurisdiction of Special Courts, 20 November 1938. 1938 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 1632.IV698
 2061-PSOath of Reich Officials and of German Soldiers, 20 August 1934. 1934 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 785.IV702
 2073-PSDecree concerning the appointment of a Chief of German Police in the Ministry of the Interior, 17 June 1936. 1936 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 487.IV703
 2076-PSDecree of the Government concerning formation of Special Courts, 21 March 1933. 1933 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, pp. 136-137.IV705
*2194-PSTop secret letter from Ministry for Economy and Labor, Saxony, to Reich Protector in Bohemia and Moravia, enclosing copy of 1938 Secret Defense Law of 4 September 1938. (USA 36)IV843
*2261-PSDirective from Blomberg to Supreme Commanders of Army, Navy and Air Forces, 24 June 1935; accompanied by copy of Reich Defense Law of 21 May 1935 and copy of Decision of Reich Cabinet of 12 May 1935 on the Council for defense of the Reich. (USA 24)IV934
 2326-PSReich Principles Regarding recruiting appointment and promotion of Reich and Provincial Officials, 14 October 1936. 1936 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 893.IV1034
 2340-PSGerman public officials law of 27 January 1937. 1937 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 41.IV1058
 2341-PSDecree on Education and Training of German officials, 28 February 1939. 1939 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 371.IV1062
 2342-PSLaw on People’s Court and on 25th Amendment, to Salary Law of 18 April 1936. 1936 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 369.IV1062
 2355-PSSecond Law relating to right to vote for Reichstag, 18 March 1938. 1938 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 258.IV1098
 2378-PSExtracts from Documents of German Politics, Vol. 4, pp. 207, 337.V4
*2380-PSArticles from National Socialist Yearbook, 1935. (USA 396)V6
*2381-PSExtracts from The Greater German Diet, 1943. (USA 476)V7
 2382-PSLaw relating to the Reich Election, 8 March 1924. 1924 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, pp. 159-162.V8
*2383-PSOrdinance for execution of decree of Fuehrer concerning position of the Head of Party Chancellery of 16 January 1942, published in Decrees, Regulations, Announcements. (USA 410)V9
 2384-PSThe Delegates of the German People, published in Movement, State and People in their Organizations, 1935, p. 161.V23
 2402-PSGuide for Party Courts, 17 February 1934.V70
*2426-PSExtracts from Speeches, by Hess. (GB 253)V90
 2481-PSExtracts from Four Years of the Third Reich, by Frick, published in Magazine of the Academy for German Law, 1937.V231
 2482-PSExtract from German Justice, a legal periodical, 10th Year, Edition A, No. 42, 16 October 1942.V233
 2639-PSOrdinances of the Deputy of the Fuehrer, published in Munich 1937.V345
 2647-PSLaw relating to the abolition of the Reichsrat, 14 February 1934. 1934 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 89.V358
 2755-PSResolution of the Greater German Reichstag, 26 April 1942. 1942 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 247.V393
 2787-PSExcerpt from Order of the Deputy of the Fuehrer.V420
 2867-PSThird Decree relating to Implementation of Law for restoration of Professional Civil Service, 6 May 1933. 1933 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 245.V527
 2880-PSExtracts from Handbook for Administrative Officials, 1942.V547
 2881-PSHitler’s speech of 12 April 1922, quoted in Adolf Hitler’s Speeches, published by Dr. Ernst Boepple, Munich, 1934, pp. 20-21, 72.V548
 2882-PSThe Party Program of 1922, by Rosenberg, 25th edition, 1942, p. 60.V548
 2883-PSExtracts from Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler, 41st edition, 1933.V549
*2955-PSAffidavit of Magnus Heimannsberg, 14 November 1945, referring to SA and other Nazi groups posted at polling places. (USA 755)V659
 2957-PSExtract from German Civil Servants Calendar, 1940, p. 111.V663
*2967-PSAffidavit of Dr. Hans Anschuetz, 17 November 1945. (USA 756)V673
*3054-PS“The Nazi Plan”, script of a motion picture composed of captured German film. (USA 167)V801
 D-229Extract from pamphlet “Judges Letters” concerning judgment of Lower Court, 24 April 1942, on concealment of Jewish identification.VI1091
*R-142Memoranda to Koblenz District Headquarters, 22 April 1938 and 7 May 1938, relating to the plebiscite of 10 April 1938. (USA 481)VIII243
Statement XThe Relationship of Party and State, As It Existed in Reality, by Wilhelm Stuckhart, Nurnberg, 1 December 1945.VIII736
*Chart No. 1National Socialist German Workers’ Party. (2903-PS; USA 2)VIII770
*Chart No. 18Organization of the Reich Government. (2905-PS; USA 3)End of Volume VIII