This fact is revealed in particular by Document EC-606, discovered by the United States Army, which I submit to the Tribunal as Exhibit Number RF-92. This is the minutes of a conference held by the Defendant Göring on 30 January 1940, with Lieutenant Colonel Conrath and Director Lange of the machine-constructing group attending. The following is the principal passage of the minutes:
“Field Marshal Göring told me at the beginning that he had to inform me of the intentions of the Führer and of the economic measures resulting therefrom.
“He stated: The Führer is firmly convinced that he shall succeed in bringing about a decisive conclusion of the war in 1940 by making a great attack in the West. He assumes that Belgium, Holland, and northern France will fall into our possession; he, the Führer, forms his opinion on the calculation that the industrial areas of Douai and Lens, of Luxembourg, of Longwy and Briey might, as far as raw materials are concerned, replace the deliveries from Sweden.
“Therefore, the Führer has decided, in disregard for the future, to stake fully our reserves of raw materials, at the expense of possible later years of war. The soundness of this resolution is supported with the Führer by the view that the best stocks are not stocks of raw materials but stocks of finished war materials. Moreover, when the aerial war begins, it must be taken into account that our finishing factories may be destroyed. The Führer is furthermore of the opinion that the maximum output must be achieved in 1940 and consequently that long-range production programs should be put aside in order to accelerate those which can be terminated in 1940.”
When the invasion began the countries of Western Europe were glutted with products of every kind; but after 4 years of methodical looting and enslavement of production, these countries are ruined, and their entire population is physically weakened as the result of rigorous restrictions.
To achieve such results, the Germans used every method, particularly violence, trickery, and blackmail.
The purpose of the present statement will be to specify the main spoliations ordered by the German leaders in the countries of Western Europe and to show that they constitute, as far as they are concerned, War Crimes which come under the jurisdiction of the International Military Tribunal for major war criminals.
It is not possible to draw an exact balance sheet of the German looting and of the profit derived by them as the result of the enslavement of production in the occupied countries. On one hand, we do not have enough time; on the other hand, we find ourselves faced with actual impotence resulting from the secret nature of certain operations and the destruction of archives through acts of war or deliberate destruction at the time of the German rout.