D. THE CONSPIRACY TO COMMIT WAR CRIMES.
Bormann’s broad powers over all political aspects of the war as a member of the Reich Cabinet and the Ministers’ Council for the Defense of the Reich, and as executive head of the Party, were buttressed by the creation of the post of Secretary of the Fuehrer, to which he was appointed on 12 April 1943 (2981-PS). In that position Bormann participated in all Hitler’s conferences and became involved in the planning of war crimes by his co-conspirators.
Even before April 1943, however, Bormann took part in planning the basic war policies of the conspiracy. Thus, on 16 July 1941, just three weeks after the invasion of USSR Territory, Bormann participated in a conference at Hitler’s field headquarters with Goering, Rosenberg, Keitel, and Reich Minister Lammers. This conference resulted in the adoption of detailed plans for the enslavement, depopulation, and annexation of extensive territories in Russia and other countries of Eastern Europe. In his report on this conference, Bormann included numerous suggestions of his own for the effective execution of these plans. (L-221)
During subsequent years, Bormann took a prominent part in the implementation of this conspiratorial program. A conference on Eastern Territories between Hitler, Rosenberg, Lammers, and Bormann on 8 May 1942, concerned inter alia the suppression of religious freedom, the forceable resettlement of Dutch peasants in Latvia, the extermination program in Russia, and the economic exploitation of Eastern Territories (1520-PS). Rosenberg and Bormann corresponded concerning the confiscation of property, especially art treasures, in the East (072-PS; 071-PS). A secret Bormann letter of 11 January 1944 discussed large-scale organization for the withdrawal of commodities from occupied territories for the use of the bombed-out population in Germany. (061-PS; see also 327-PS)
At the same time, Bormann issued a series of orders establishing Party jurisdiction over the treatment of prisoners of war, especially when employed as forced labor (232-PS). In the exercise of that jurisdiction, he called for excessively harsh and brutal treatment of Allied Prisoners of War. Bormann issued instructions on 5 November 1941 prohibiting decent burials with religious ceremonies for Russian Prisoners of War (D-163). A Bormann circular of 25 November 1943 demanded harsher treatment of prisoners of war and the fuller utilization of their man-power (228-PS). In a secret circular transmitting OKH instructions of 29 January 1943, Bormann provided for the enforcement of labor demands on Prisoners of War through the use of fire-arms and corporal punishment. (656-PS)
These instructions issued by Bormann culminated in the decree of September 30 1944, signed by him. This decree took jurisdiction over all prisoners of war out of the hands of the OKW, handed them over to the control of Himmler, and provided that all prisoner of war camp commanders should be under the orders of the local SS Commanders (058-PS). Through this order, Himmler was enabled to proceed with his program of extermination of Prisoners of War. Bormann also bears part of the responsibility for the organized lynching of Allied airmen. As early as March 1940 Hess had ordered all Party leaders to instruct the civilian population to “arrest or liquidate” all bailed-out allied fliers (062-PS). In order to assure the success of this scheme Bormann issued a secret circular prohibiting any police measures or criminal proceedings against civilians who had lynched British or American fliers (057-PS). For the execution of these decrees, regulations were issued to cover the systematic application of Lynch Law against captured Allied airmen (735-PS). That such lynchings actually took place has since been fully established in a series of American Military Commission proceedings, which resulted in the conviction of German civilians for the murder of Allied fliers. (2559-PS; 2560-PS; 2561-PS)
E. THE CONSPIRACY TO COMMIT CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY.
Bormann played an important role in the administration of the forced labor program. A Bormann circular of 5 May 1943 contained detailed directions as to the treatment of foreign workers, stating especially that they were subject to SS control for all security matters and that differentiation between them and Germans was all-important (205-PS). At a conference held on 4 September 1942 it was decided that recruiting, mobilization, and treatment of 500,000 female domestic workers from the East would be handled exclusively by Sauckel, Himmler, and Bormann. (025-PS; see also D-226)
Bormann also imposed his views on the administration of the occupied areas and insisted on the ruthless exploitation of the subjected populations in the East. His views were stated in an official memorandum of the Ministry for the Eastern Territories, headed by Rosenberg, in which they were described as governing actual administrative practice in the East:
“The Slavs are to work for us. In so far as we don’t need them, they may die. Therefore compulsory vaccination and German health services are superfluous. The fertility of the Slavs is undesirable. They may use contraceptives or practice abortion, the more the better. Education is dangerous. It is enough if they can count up to 100. At best an education which produces useful stooges for us is admissible. Every educated person is a future enemy. Religion we leave to them as a means of diversion. As for food they won’t get any more than is necessary. We are the masters, we come first.” (R-36)