Special attention has been paid by the Prosecution to the regulation of the working hours of female domestic workers from the East, of whom, instead of the 400,000-500,000 girls originally demanded by Hitler; only 13,000 actually came to Germany. The Prosecution has presented the instructions for the employment of these female domestic workers as Document USSR-383. There it says under Number 9 that they shall not be entitled to take time off. The purpose of this was to leave the settlement of their time off to each household according to convenience. Any other interpretation of the regulation is hardly imaginable, because after all it was intended permanently to receive these female domestic workers into the families, and to give them the chance to remain in Germany. They had been selected as girls who were considered particularly dependable, and had all reported voluntarily for domestic work. In the light of new experiences the order was later modified by a subsequent decree (Document Number Sauckel-26), by which all remaining limitations were also canceled.
Determination of working hours for children took place within the scope of the German labor protection legislation. This referred to children who, contrary to the decrees of the Defendant Sauckel, had come to Germany with their parents in an irregular manner. Their work can have concerned only rural occupations, since that applies equally to German children. In this context it may be pointed out that during the war schoolchildren in Germany as from 10 years of age could be employed for work in accordance with the decree of the Reich Youth Leader of 11 April 1942 [Document Number Sauckel-67(a)].
A general survey by Dr. Blumensaat in the complete Document Number Sauckel-89 provides full information about the entire complex of wages and working hours as finally established by laws.
This factor of immediate responsibility alone, however, cannot serve the Defendant Sauckel as an excuse, if he knew and tolerated those things which, according to the Prosecution’s assertion, characterized the transports and life in the camps and factories. It was his duty to superintend even where he was not directly responsible.
The accommodation and feeding of the workers was the responsibility of the industries. With regard to the installations of the camps for foreigners, the same regulations as for the camps for German workers applied by virtue of decrees by the Reich Minister of Labor, Seldte (Documents Number Sauckel-42, 43 and 44). It is indisputable that the accommodation suffered as a result of difficulties, in particular from the effects of air warfare. The deficiencies, however, were remedied as far as at all possible. The situation of the foreign workers was not different from that of the German civilian population.
The food supply suffered from the blockade and transportation difficulties. The established rations, contrary to the notorious statements on the feeding of the Russians, amounted to 2,540 calories for the Soviet prisoners of war, according to the table of 24 November 1941 in Document USSR-177. A further table has been submitted with the affidavit of the witness Hahn as Exhibit Number Sauckel-11. According to this rations in the Krupp works amounted to 2,156 calories for the ordinary Eastern Worker and 2,615 calories for those performing heavy work; supervision insured a proper distribution.
The Reich Ministry of Food was responsible for the supply of food. Grave accusations have been made by the Prosecution with regard to both points. These, however, can only apply where the existing regulations were not observed. It is quite likely that mistakes should have been made in this large sphere of activity in the course of years, but the general picture is not composed of mistakes, and judgment cannot be based thereon. The actual conditions have not been clarified in this procedure to the extent that one might contend that deficiencies were so general and obvious that the Defendant Sauckel must have known them, and did in fact know them.
In contrast to the vague statements of the witness Dr. Jäger we have the affidavit of the witness Hahn, which refutes the former to a large extent. The affidavits of the witnesses Scharmann and Dr. Voss (Exhibits Number Sauckel-17 and 18) confirm that no serious deficiencies existed in their spheres of activity.
In addition to the obligations on the part of the works managers, the German Labor Front had to look after the foreign workers (Document Number Sauckel-16). Its tasks included transports and the supervision of medical care, as well as general welfare activities. The extensive activity which this very large organization developed has not been described in these proceedings. The basic principles of the German Labor Front can be seen from Document Number Sauckel-27, which is the ordinance of the German Labor Front regarding the status of foreign workers at their working site. The aim is characterized as maintenance of morale by observing conditions of contracts, absolutely fair treatment, and comprehensive care and attention.
The German Labor Front was also responsible for transports, according to Regulation Number 4 (Document Number Sauckel-15), wherein Sauckel’s instructions are contained. This task included transport as far as the working site. The witnesses Timm, Stothfang, and Hildebrandt have testified about this and did not report anything about bad conditions. The description in the Molotov Report (USSR-51) cannot refer to transports carried out under orderly direction, but only to so-called “pirate” convoys. The same applies to convoys which, according to the Indictment, were heading for the concentration camps. The special attention which the Defendant Sauckel from the very beginning accorded to the transport problem, is shown particularly by Document 2241-PS, submitted by the Prosecution. It contains a decree where detailed directives to prevent the utilization of unsuitable trains are given.