“2. The brand is to consist of an acute angle of about 45 degrees with a 1-centimeter length of side, pointing downwards on the left buttock, at about a hand’s width from the rectum. This brand is to be made with the lancets available in all military units. Indian ink is to be used as coloring matter.”
The third paragraph underlines that, “Branding is not a sanitary precaution.”
It is stated in Paragraph 5 that, together with all Soviet prisoners of war now entering the regions of the Baltic States, the Ukraine, and the province of the Governor General commanded by the German Armed Forces, all the remaining prisoners of war in the area of the Supreme Army Command (OKW) up to September 1942 are to be subjected to branding.
The same directive was issued to the presidents of the regional labor offices and the Reich Inspectors for Allocation of Labor. In this Document Number 1191-PS, Page 40 of the document book, it is stated that the order of the OKW, dated 10 July 1942, was brought to the attention of the presidents of regional labor offices and to the Reich Inspectors for Allocation of Labor.
Our documents numbered USSR-121, 122, and 123 are excerpts taken from orders issued by the German military authorities, such as regimental and divisional commanders, and confirm that the prisoners of war, in order to “spare German blood,” were forced to clear mine fields and carry on work which endangered their lives. Order Number 16641 of the 60th German Infantry Division states, in explanation of the bestial treatment of the Soviet warriors:
“Russian soldiers and noncommissioned officers are very brave in battle. Even a small isolated unit will always attack. In this connection a humane attitude towards the prisoners is not permissible.”
This quotation is on Page 44 in the document book.
THE PRESIDENT: We have had that already, have we not, or an almost identical one?
COL. POKROVSKY: You are right, Sir, I quoted this excerpt as a part of the note of the Commissar of Foreign Affairs, Molotov; and now I quote it as part of a special German document. I consider that it is an unprecedented event in history when, instead of respecting an enemy for his military valor, the senior officers of Hitler’s army, in reply to such military valor, ordered their subordinates to treat this same enemy ruthlessly and inhumanly.
In the document submitted to you as Number 3257-PS (Exhibit Number USSR-352), there is a sentence directly relating to my theme. It has been read into the record. Document 3257-PS is a secret report of the Armament Inspector in the Ukraine, dated 2 December 1941, and addressed to the Chief of Armament Section of the OKW. It states—the excerpt quoted is at the end of Page 45 and the beginning of Page 46 of your document book: