“We cannot gaze without sorrow”—states Nicholas, Metropolitan of Kiev and Galicia, and member of the Extraordinary State Commission—“on the heaps of rubble of the Uspenski Cathedral, founded in the 11th century by the genius of its immortal builders. The explosions formed several huge craters in the area surrounding the cathedral, and, beholding them, it would appear that the very earth had shuddered at the sight of the atrocities committed by those who no longer had a right to be called human beings. It was as if a terrible hurricane had passed over the abbey, overturning everything, scattering and destroying the mighty buildings of the abbey. For over 2 years Kiev lay shackled in the German chains. Hitler’s executioners brought death to Kiev, together with ruins, famine, and executions. In time all this will pass from the near present to the far distant past; but never will the people of Russia and the Ukraine, or honest men all the world over, forget these crimes.”
Mr. President, may I dwell on two more documents?
The first, Document Number 035-PS, is entitled, “A Brief Report on Security Measures of the Chief Labor Group in the Ukraine during the Withdrawal of the Armed Forces.” It was presented to the Tribunal by our American colleagues on 18 December 1945. A characteristic peculiarity of this document is that it openly testifies to the looting. It is quite clear to all that reference is made to a gang of robbers, although the Hitlerites still persist in referring to robbery as work. They shipped the most valuable exhibits of the Ukrainian Museum to Germany as “miscellaneous textiles.”
The report begins with the description of the creation of safe quarters for the Einsatzstab establishments, a purpose for which the inhabitants of an entire district were thrown out of their quarters. There then follows, in this document, a list of booty removed from the plundered museums of Kharkov and Kiev, from archives, and even from private libraries.
I shall quote one brief excerpt only from this document, dealing with the contents of the Ukrainian and the prehistorical museum of Kiev. You will find this excerpt on Page 368 of the document book. I quote:
“October 1943, materials of the Ukrainian museum in Kiev.
“On the basis of the general evacuation orders of the city commissioner, the following were sorted out by us and loaded for shipment to Kraków:
“Miscellaneous textiles; collections of valuable embroidery patterns; collections of brocades; numerous wooden utensils, et cetera.
“Moreover, a large part of the prehistoric museum was carried away.”
The second, Document Number 1109-PS of 17 June 1944, is headed, “Note for the Director of Operation Group P4,” and is addressed to Von Milde-Schreden. I shall quote it completely because it is really a short excerpt which you will find on Page 369 of the document book: