Political polemics in these seven years had almost entirely disappeared. But for the difficulties in the language, one would find, in glancing through the journals and speeches, an honest great effort, whether Rosenberg spoke to youth or to the technicians, teachers, lawyers, workers, professors, women, at meetings of historians, or before the Northern Society.
The heads of his offices were instrumental in publishing and promoting valuable works of art: Classics of music, history of the German ancestry, world political libraries, development of German peasantry, and others. In the present impassioned days one is not interested to know of this side of somebody’s lifework, and therefore I only touch upon it; but I wish to emphasize that it was just that which seemed to Rosenberg, since 1933, to constitute the essential part of his work, and similarly he intended to devote himself in his old age entirely to scientific-cultural research and teaching. I shall permit myself a few more words about this later.
Contrary to some opinions which at first appeared necessary, although some Individuals may perhaps have looked upon them as rather petty, Rosenberg advocated at the universities of Munich and Halle the right of examining new problems of our times as well as the independence of scientific thinking. He declared that we would have to “feel that we were the intellectual brothers of all those who once in mediaeval times raised the flag for this free research” (Document Book 1, Page 134). Against certain attempts to identify certain scientific physical theories with the Party, he protested in an official declaration which rejected this danger of hairsplitting. “It is not the task of the National Socialist movement,” he said in a speech about Copernicus and Kant on 19 February 1939, “to make any regulations for research other than necessarily connected with our philosophy of life” (Document Book 1, Page 173).
When a certain trend toward mass statistics, peak figures for the number of visitors, et cetera, developed in the otherwise desirable progress achieved by the German Labor Front, he made a determined stand in favor of emphasis on the personal element. He rejected this idea of “mass production” in an address to youth with the words: “One cannot receive art and culture like mass-produced, ready-made clothes in a department store” (Document Book 1, Page 155). Today poisoning of this youth is imputed to him, but on the contrary he asked (Document Book 1, Page 161) for comprehension in teaching on the part of everybody to whose care young people are entrusted, and he decidedly rejected any orders in the intellectual field.
With regard to any form of collectivism, as has already been mentioned, he impressed on youth the importance of comradeship, but emphasized the personal element and the right to solitude. When on the grounds of certain occurrences many voices criticized the teaching class, Rosenberg began to fear lest general discrimination against the profession might develop. He took a stand against this danger in two speeches: at a great meeting in October 1934 at Leipzig, and later at the conference of the N.S. Teacher’s League at Bayreuth (Document Book 1, Page 162), where he declared that the National Socialist movement would step in and see that the teaching class be respected, just as it would have done for all other professions.
By these brief allusions I mean to say that Rosenberg, as a regulating and leading intellectual force, advocated high cultural values and the rights of personality in a manner rendered convincing by his attitude and motives. Throughout the whole Party it was no secret that this activity involved profound opposition to the Propaganda Minister. Rosenberg from the very beginning considered it a calamity that culture and propaganda should be associated in one ministry. For him art was a creed, propaganda a form of tactics.
As things at first could not be changed, Rosenberg emphasized his attitude to the outside world by not attending a single annual meeting of the Reich Chamber of Culture, in the firm hope that at some later day another conception would win through.
Many things Rosenberg said did not fail to have their effect and certainly prevented some harmful actions, but more, and probably the most important, did not succeed because the legislative and executive powers in the State lay in quite different hands, and these finally, due to the war and in spite of the will to sacrifice, brought about not the development of the National Socialist idea but its degeneration. Moreover, this happened to an extent which Rosenberg could not foresee.
It was seen that the foundations for the spiritual education of the Party were not sufficient, and round about 1935 there developed a wish to create a serious place for research and study. This desire led to the idea later known as “high school,” which was intended to take the form of an academy. Rosenberg considered the creation of this academy as a task for his old age. Since it would have taken years to provide tuition material and to choose suitable personnel, the Führer authorized Rosenberg at the end of January 1940 to carry on the preparatory work he had started on official orders. Thus, contrary to what the Prosecution asserts, (Volume V, Page 48) the “high school” had nothing to do with Rosenberg’s “Einsatzstab,” which was not even planned at that time.
Mr. Justice Jackson, in his fundamental speech of 21 November 1945, expressed the desire, that this Trial should appear to posterity as the fulfillment of the human yearning for justice. Mr. Jackson furthermore declared that he had brought the Indictment because of conduct which according to its plan and intention meant injustice from the moral and the legal standpoint. In his report of 7 June 1945 Mr. Justice Jackson outlined that by this Trial those actions are to be punished which since time immemorial have been considered as crimes and are designated as such in any civilized legislation. The most difficult problem, the greatest task, and the most tremendous responsibility for the Tribunal lies concentrated in this single point: What is justice in this Trial?