A decree of 16 January 1942 provided that the Party should participate in legislation and official appointments and promotions. I cite as proof Document 2100-PS, which is the English translation of a directive concerning the application of the Führer decree relating to the Chief of the Party Chancellery, 1942 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, Page 35. The decree further provided that such participation should be undertaken exclusively by the Defendant Bormann, Chief of the Party Chancellery and Reichsleiter of the Leadership Corps. The decree provided that the Chief of the Party Chancellery was to take part in the preparation of all laws and decrees issued by Reich authorities, including those issued by the Ministerial Council for Defense of the Reich, and to give his assent to those of the Länder and of the Reich governors—the Länder being the German states. All communications between the State and Party authorities, unless within the Gau only, were to pass through Bormann’s hands. This decree is of crucial importance in demonstrating the ultimate control and responsibility imputable to the Leadership Corps for governmental policy and actions taken in furtherance of the conspiracy.
On or about the 26th of April 1942 Hitler declared in a speech that in his capacity as leader of the nation, Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, Supreme Head of the Government, and as Führer of the Party, his right must be recognized to compel with all means at his disposal every German, whether soldier, judge, State official, or Party official, to fulfill his desire. He demanded that the Reichstag officially recognize this asserted right; and on the 26th of April 1942 the Reichstag issued a decision in which full recognition was given to the rights of the Führer which I have just asserted. I cite Document 1961-PS, which is the English translation of that decision, found in 1942 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, Page 247. I quote:
“At the proposal of the President of the Reichstag, on its session of 26 April 1942, the Greater German Reichstag has unanimously approved of the rights which the Führer has postulated in his speech with the following decision:
“There can be no doubt that in the present war, in which the German people is faced with a struggle for its existence or annihilation, the Führer must have all the rights postulated by him which serve to further or achieve victory. Therefore, without being bound by existing legal regulations, in his capacity as leader of the nation, Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, Governmental Chief and Supreme Executive Chief, as Supreme Justice and as leader of the Party, the Führer must be in the position to force with all means at his disposal every German, if necessary—whether he be a common soldier or officer, low or high, official or judge, leading or subordinate official of the Party, worker or employee—to fulfill his duties. In case of violation of these duties, the Führer is entitled, after conscientious examination, regardless of so-called well-deserved rights, to mete out due punishment and to remove the offender from his post, rank, and position without introducing prescribed procedures.
“At the order of the Führer, this decision is hereby made public. Berlin, 26 April 1942.”
Hitler, himself, perhaps, best summarized the political realities of his Germany which constituted the basis for the Prosecution’s submission that the Leadership Corps of the Nazi Party and its following effectively dominated the State. The core and crux of the matter was stated by Hitler in his speech to the Reichstag on 20 February 1938, when he declared, in effect, that every institution in Germany was under the direction of the Leadership Corps of the Nazi Party.
I cite as the Prosecution’s final exhibit in support of the proposition that the Leadership Corps dominated the German State with resulting responsibility, Document 2715-PS, which is the book containing Hitler’s speech to the Reichstag on the 20th of February 1938, as reported in Das Archiv, Volume 47, February 1938, Pages 1441 and 1442. I quote a brief excerpt from Document 2715-PS; and I introduce it as Exhibit USA-331:
“National Socialism has given the German people that leadership which as Party not only mobilizes the nation but also organizes it, so that on the basis of the natural principle of selection, the continuance of a stable political leadership is safeguarded forever. . . . National Socialism . . . possesses Germany entirely and completely since the day when, 5 years ago, I left the house in Wilhelmsplatz as Reich Chancellor. There is no institution in this State which is not National Socialist. Above all, however, the National Socialist Party in these 5 years has not only made the nation National Socialist but also has given itself that perfect organizational structure which guarantees its preservation for all the future. The greatest guarantee of the National Socialist revolution lies in the complete domination of the Reich and all of its institutions and organizations, internally and externally, by the National Socialist Party. Its protection against the world abroad, however, lies in the new National Socialist Armed Forces. . . . In this Reich anybody who has a responsible position is a National Socialist. . . . Every institution of this Reich is under the command of the supreme political leadership. . . . The Party leads the Reich politically; the Armed Forces defend it militarily . . . . There is nobody in any responsible position in this state who doubts that I am the authorized leader of this Reich. . . .”