“In case of mobilization I myself will make the decision about the time, strength, and manner of the incorporation of the SS Verfügungstruppe into the wartime army; these things will depend on the internal political situation at that time.”
Immediately after the issuance of this decree—and the Court will recall it was issued in August of 1938—this militarized force was employed with the Army for aggressive purposes—the taking over of the Sudetenland. Following this action feverish preparation to motorize the force and to organize new units such as antitank, machine gun, and reconnaissance battalions were undertaken pursuant to further directives of the Führer. By September 1939 the force was fully motorized; its units had been increased to division strength and it was prepared for combat. These steps are described in the National Socialist Yearbook for the years 1940 and 1941. I offer in evidence Pages 365 to 371 of the 1940 yearbook. It is our Document Number 2164-PS. It bears Exhibit Number USA-255. I offer Pages 191 to 193 of the 1941 yearbook, which is our Document Number 2163-PS, as Exhibit Number USA-444. Since the yearbook is an official publication of the Nazi Party, edited by Reichsleiter Robert Ley and published by the Nazi Party publishing company, I assume that the Court will take judicial notice of the contents of these exhibits.
After the launching of the Polish invasion and as the war progressed, still further divisions were added. The Organization Book of the Nazi Party for 1943, our Document Number 2640-PS, lists some eight divisions and two infantry brigades as existing at the end of 1942. I refer to Page 427b of the original, Page 5, last paragraph of the translation. This was no longer an emergency force. It was an SS army and hence came to be designated as the Waffen-SS. Himmler referred to this spectacular development of this SS combat branch in his speech at Posen on 4 October 1943 to SS Gruppenführer. That speech has already been introduced in evidence at an earlier stage in the case, as Exhibit Number USA-170. It is our Document Number 1919-PS.
I shall quote from that speech, Page 51 of the original, Page 2 of the translation, second paragraph, headed “The SS in Wartime.” I quote:
“Now I come to our own development, to that of the SS in the past months. Looking back on the whole war, this development was fantastic. It took place at an absolutely terrific speed. Let us look back a little to 1939. At that time we were a few regiments, guard units, 8,000 to 9,000 strong—that is, not even a division, all in all 25,000 to 28,000 men at the outside. True, we were armed, but we really only got our artillery regiment as our heavy arm 2 months before the war began.”
I continue, quoting from the same speech a passage found on Page 8 of the English translation and on Page 104 of the original. The passage in the translation appears at about the middle of the page.
“In the hard battles of this year, the Waffen-SS has been welded together in the bitterest hours from the most varied divisions and sections out of which it was formed: Bodyguard units”—Leibstandarte—“military SS”—Verfügungstruppe—“Death’s-Head Units, and then the Germanic SS. Now when our Divisions ‘Reich,’ ‘Death’s-Head,’ the Cavalry Division, and ‘Viking’ were together, everyone knew in these last weeks: ‘Viking’ is at my side, ‘Reich’ is at my side, ‘Death’s-Head’ is at my side. Thank God, now nothing can happen to us.”
The transformation of small emergency forces into a combat army did not result in a separation of this branch from the SS.
Although tactically under the command of the Wehrmacht while in the field, it remained as much a part of the SS as any other branch of the organization. Throughout the war it was recruited, trained, administered, and supplied by the main offices of the SS Supreme Command. Ideologically and racially its members were selected in conformity with SS standards.
I shall read a passage relating to the recruiting standards of the Waffen-SS published in the SS Manual, The Soldier Friend, our Document Number 2825-PS, which appears on Page 7 of the English translation, first paragraph on Page 36, Paragraph 2 of the original. I quote: