Still another part of this record seems of importance to me; it concerns Nedič’s visit to Hitler and the Defendant Ribbentrop. Nedič stated:
“I noticed that at the meeting with the Defendant Ribbentrop, a demand was made that I should place all the spiritual and material resources of Serbia at the disposal of the German Reich for the continuation of the war.”
Speaking of this meeting with Hitler, Nedič stated:
“He shouted at me, emphasizing that the order concerning 100 for one not only would have to be altered, but that it should have been increased to 1000 for one. He added also that he was prepared to exterminate the entire population if the Serbians continued to act like rebels.”
The head of fascist Germany wished to control the Slav countries as if they were his own patrimony. Here he was helped by generals, diplomats, industrialists, and intelligence officers. All the acts of aggression were prepared and realized with their direct participation.
I repeat: The German generals as a body were not merely an obedient tool in Hitler’s hands. The Defendants Keitel, Jodl, and Göring personally participated in the planning, preparation, and realization of crimes against peoples and states.
Document 1195-PS added yet another proof in the establishment of this fact. The above named defendants, together with Neurath, Frick, Schirach, Frank, Seyss-Inquart, and Ribbentrop, are directly guilty of the very grave crimes which I reported to the Tribunal.
National Socialism cannot be separated from the idea of war. This is acknowledged by the Hitler slaves themselves.
In other words, Hitlerism and aggressive war are one and the same thing. And if wars are not always planned by military leaders only, it is always they who conduct them. The responsibility for aggression, for aggressive war, for the death of millions, for bestialities, for the destruction of cultural treasures and material wealth, must be borne by all the major war criminals now sitting in the dock.
THE PRESIDENT: We will adjourn now.