THE PRESIDENT: The Tribunal has considered the objection which has been raised. In view of the powers which the Tribunal has under Article 19 of the Charter, which provides that the Tribunal shall not be bound by technical rules of evidence, but shall adopt and apply to the greatest possible extent expeditious and nontechnical procedure and shall admit any evidence which it deems to have probative value, the Tribunal holds that affidavits can be presented, and that in the present case it is a proper course.
The question of the probative value of an affidavit as compared with a witness who has been cross-examined would, of course, be considered by the Tribunal. If, at a later stage, the Tribunal thinks the presence of a witness is of extreme importance, the matter can be reconsidered. I add this: If the defense wish to put interrogatories to the witness, they will be at liberty to do so.
MR. ALDERMAN: Thank you, Your Honor. I offer then our Document 1760-PS as Exhibit USA-57, affidavit by George S. Messersmith. Rather than reading the entire affidavit, unless the Court wishes me to do so, I intend to paraphrase and state the substance of what is covered in various parts of the affidavit.
THE PRESIDENT: The Tribunal think it would be better to adhere to the rule which we have laid down: That only what is read in the court will form part of the record.
MR. ALDERMAN: I shall read then, if the Tribunal please, from the fourth paragraph on the third page of the English copy, the following list of names, headed by President Miklas of Austria and Chancellor Dollfuss:
“From the very beginnings of the Nazi Government, I was told by both high and secondary government officials in Germany that incorporation of Austria into Germany was a political and economic necessity and that this incorporation was going to be accomplished ‘by whatever means were necessary.’ Although I cannot assign definite times and places, I am sure that at various times and places, every one of the German officials whom I have listed earlier in this statement told me this, with the exception of Schacht, Von Krosigk and Krupp von Bohlen. I can assert that it was fully understood by everyone in Germany who had any knowledge whatever of what was going on that Hitler and the Nazi Government were irrevocably committed to this end, and the only doubt which ever existed in conversations or statements to me was how and when.”
In connection with that paragraph, I invite your attention to the list of German officials to whom he refers on Page 2 of the affidavit. They are listed as Hermann Göring, General Milch, Hjalmar Schacht, Hans Frank, Wilhelm Frick, Count Schwerin von Krosigk, Joseph Goebbels, Richard Walter Darré, Robert Ley, Hans Heinrich Lammers, Otto Meissner, Franz von Papen, Walter Funk, General Wilhelm Keitel, Admiral Erich von Raeder, Admiral Karl Dönitz, Dr. Bohle, Dr. Stuckert, Dr. Krupp von Bohlen, and Dr. Davidson. The affiant states he was sure that at various times and places, everyone of those listed German officials had made these statements to him, with the exception of Schacht, Von Krosigk, and Krupp von Bohlen. I shall continue with the next paragraph:
“At the beginning of the Nazi regime in 1933, Germany was, of course, far too weak to permit any open threats of force against any country, such as the threats which the Nazis made in 1938. Instead it was the avowed and declared policy of the Nazi Government to accomplish the same results which they later accomplished through force, through the methods which had proved so successful for them in Germany: Obtain a foothold in the Cabinet, particularly in the Ministry of the Interior, which controlled the police, and then quickly eliminate opposition elements. During my stay in Austria, I was told on any number of occasions by Chancellor Dollfuss, Chancellor Schuschnigg, President Miklas, and other high officials of the Austrian Government that the German Government kept up constant and unceasing pressure upon the Austrian Government to agree to the inclusion of a number of ministers with Nazi orientation. The English and French ministers in Vienna, with whom I was in constant and close contact, confirmed this information through statements which they made to me of conversations which they had with high Austrian officials.”
I shall read other portions of the affidavit as the presentation proceeds, on the question of pressure used against Austria, including terror and intimidation, culminating in the unsuccessful Putsch of July 26, 1934. To achieve their ends the Nazis used various kinds of pressure. In the first place, they used economic pressure. A law of 24 March 1933, a German law, imposed a prohibitive 1,000 Reichsmark penalty on trips to Austria. It brought great hardship to this country which relied very heavily on its tourist trade. For that I cite the Reichsgesetzblatt, 1933, Part I, Page 311, and ask the Court to take judicial notice of that German law.
The Nazis used propaganda and they used terroristic acts, primarily bombings. Mr. Messersmith’s affidavit, Document 1760-PS, from which I have already read, goes into some detail with respect to these outrages. I read again from Page 4 of the affidavit, the English version: