[138] Ibid., vol. I, pp. 253-255.
B. Responsibility of Superiors for Acts of Subordinates
a. Introduction
Defendants who were in high positions in the German medical service rejected responsibility for the alleged criminal conduct of their subordinates. The prosecution argued that it “would be an unforgivable miscarriage of justice to punish the doctors who worked on the victims in the concentration camps while their superiors, the leaders, instigators, and organizers go free.” The prosecution, for example, argued that Karl Brandt held supreme authority over all medical services in Germany, both military and civilian; that Handloser was the Chief of the Medical Services in the Wehrmacht; that Rostock was Karl Brandt’s deputy charged with the task of “centrally coordinating and directing the problems and activities of the entire medical and health service” in the field of science and research; that Schroeder was the Chief of the Medical Service of the Luftwaffe; that Genzken was the Chief of the Medical Service of the Waffen SS; that Blome was the Deputy Reich Health Leader; and that these men were clearly responsible for the acts of their subordinates in their respective sectors.
The prosecution’s summation of evidence on this question has been taken from the closing statement which appears below on pages 926 to 936. Extracts from the final pleas for the defendants Karl Brandt, Schroeder, Rostock, and the closing briefs for Handloser, Genzken, and Blome appear on pages 936 to 957.
b. Selection from the Argumentation of the Prosecution
EXTRACT FROM THE CLOSING STATEMENT OF THE
PROSECUTION[[139]]
The Responsible Leaders of the Medical Services
In view of the clear and overwhelming proof, it can only be concluded that the practice of experimentation on concentration camp inmates without their consent was an organized and systematic program. It is, therefore, appropriate to consider whether we have in this dock the leaders of the German medical services without whom these crimes would not have been possible. It would be an unforgivable miscarriage of justice to punish the doctors who worked on the victims in the concentration camps while their superiors, the leaders, organizers, and instigators go free. It has been established beyond controversy that these things could not have happened without cover from the top. Who, then, were these men on the top? Their survivors, with one exception, are all in this dock.