“The order of the Chief of the Sipo and SD of 29 October 1941, regarding the organization of the Sonderkommandos, was sent to the operational groups in Krasnogvardeisk, Smolensk, Kiev, and Nikolaiev, and for information to Riga, Moghilev, and Krivoy Rog.”
I would also point out that during their attack on Moscow the Hitlerites organized in Smolensk a special Sonderkommando Moscow, entrusted with the task of mass-murdering the Moscow citizens.
Mention has previously been made of the wide range of authoritative power granted to the Sonderkommando. In the document which I am quoting it is said:
“The tasks of the Sonderkommandos are outlined in the operational directives attached to Decree Number 8 of the Chief of the Sipo and SD, dated Berlin, 17 July 1941, which, under the pretext of a screening of civilians and suspected prisoners of war captured in the Eastern campaign indicate that:
“The special nature of the Eastern campaign calls for special measures, to be carried out on personal responsibility beyond the range of any bureaucratic influences.”
I omit the next extract from this document, since it is merely a repetition of the basic rules which I have already read into the record.
Having launched their criminal war, the Hitlerites directed it towards a mass extermination of the peaceful citizens of the Soviet Union and the countries of Eastern Europe. I have already read into the record several documents depicting the character of the Hitlerite murderers and the nature of their crimes. The latter consisted in the formation of large criminal units, specially trained by the leaders of the Hitlerite gang. It will, however, be clear to any criminologist that it is not sufficient to create these foul and criminal gangs—it is essential that once the crime has been perpetrated the criminal should feel that he has acted with complete impunity. In order that the crimes envisaged by the major criminals be fulfilled in their monstrous entirety, it became necessary to create for the minor criminals an atmosphere of complete impunity. In accordance with your wishes, Mr. President, I shall not quote the document previously read into the record as Number C-50 by the United States Prosecution, entitled, “Instructions Governing the Application of Martial Law and Special Measures To Be Adopted by the Army in the Barbarossa Area.” But it appears to me that the contents of this document should be firmly borne in mind, for unless the meaning of this document is clearly understood it is quite impossible to envisage the series of wholesale crimes perpetrated by the Hitlerite criminals on the territory of the Soviet Union.
This order, signed by Keitel, though issued in Hitler’s name, was accepted by all the soldiers and all the officers of the fascist army as a personal order from Hitler. What conclusions the German soldiery drew from this order of Keitel’s is confirmed by a communication of the Extraordinary State Commission, to which I shall now refer. It deals with the atrocities committed in the city of Minsk by the German fascist invaders.
I submit this document to the Tribunal as Exhibit Number USSR-38 (Document Number USSR-38). It contains an excerpt from the testimony of the president of the military tribunal of the 267th German Rifle Division, Captain Julius Reichhof. I would ask the Tribunal to turn to Page 215 of the document book, to Column 1 of the text. I quote from the communication of the Extraordinary State Commission on the subject of Julius Reichhof’s testimony:
“According to an order issued by Hitler, German soldiers could not be committed to trial by court-martial for acts committed against Soviet citizens. The soldier could be punished only by the commander of his own unit, should the latter deem the punishment necessary. By the same order Hitler granted even more extensive rights to all German Army officers. They could destroy the Russian population according to their own discretion.