I now take up the third chapter devoted to individual purchases by the German military or civilian forces in the occupied countries.
If the present statement cannot take up individual acts of pillage or the numerous thefts committed in the occupied countries, it is important nevertheless to mention the individual purchases, these having been organized methodically by the German rulers to benefit their own nationals.
At the beginning of the occupation the soldiers or civilians effected purchases by means of vouchers of doubtful authenticity which had been handed them by their superiors. Soon, however, the Germans had at their disposal a sufficient quantity of money to allow them to purchase without any kind of rationing, or by means of special vouchers, considerable quantities of agricultural produce or of objects of all kinds, notably textiles, shoes, furs, leather goods, et cetera. Thus, for instance, certain shoe stores were obliged to sell every week, in exchange for special German vouchers, 300 pairs of men’s, women’s, or children’s shoes for town wear.
This is indicated in an important report of the French economic control, to which I will have occasion to refer several times in the course of this presentation and which I submit to the Tribunal under Document Number RF-107.
The individual purchases which constitute a form of economic pillage were, I repeat, not only authorized but organized by the German rulers. In fact, when the Germans returned to their country they were encumbered by voluminous baggage. A postal parcel service had been created by the Germans for the benefit of their nationals living in the occupied countries. The objects were wrapped in a special kind of paper and provided with seals that enabled their entry, duty free, into Germany.
In order to get an idea of the volume of individual purchases, it is important to refer to the declarations of one Murdel, ex-director of the Reichskreditkasse at present detained in Paris, who was heard before an examining magistrate of the Cour de Justice de la Seine on 29 October 1945. This is the declaration made by Murdel on the subject of individual purchases, and I submit it in evidence as Document Number RF-108.
The judge asked Murdel the following question:
“What were the needs of the army of occupation? What purchases did you have to make on its account?”
Murdel answered:
“It is impossible for me to answer the first part of the question. I had tried during the occupation to obtain information on this point, but it was objected that this was a military secret which I had no right to know. What I can tell you is that we settled the pay of the troops and that a private earned from 50 to 60 marks, a noncommissioned officer 50 percent more, and an officer considerably more, naturally. I have no idea what forces the occupation army may have included, as these forces were extremely variable.”