VON SCHIRACH: Yes, I must supplement it briefly.
DR. SAUTER: Please do.
VON SCHIRACH: The Prosecution accuses me concerning a certain song, a song which begins, “We are the black swarms of Geyer, hey, ho”; the chorus of which goes, “Spear them, spike them, put the red cock on the cloister roof,” and one verse runs, “We will cry to Him on high that we want to kill the priest.”
This is a Christian song.
DR. SAUTER: How is that?
VON SCHIRACH: This can be seen in the fourth and fifth verses. It is the song of the Protestant peasants under the leadership of Florian Geyer.
The fourth verse goes: “No castle, abbey, and monastery matters. Nothing but the Holy Scripture is of value to us.” The next verse goes: “We want the same law from prince down to peasant.”
Protestantism, too, was once a revolution. The rebel peasants sang this song; and it may serve as an example, this song of the 16th century, like some of the songs of the French revolution. This song may be used as an example to show how, in the beginning, revolutions are radical rather than tolerant.
DR. SAUTER: Mr. President, with this point I should like to conclude my direct examination of the Defendant Von Schirach. Thank you very much. I have no further questions.
THE PRESIDENT: Who were your principal assistants in your office at Vienna?