Formerly, to be sure, Milch was one of the chairmen of this Jaegerstab, but the witnesses—among them Schmelter, Hertel, Eschenauer and Vorwald—have testified that the actual chairman of this Jaegerstab was Saur. Milch very soon withdrew from the Jaegerstab; in March 1944 he still participated in fifteen meetings, in April only eight, in May only five, and in June only two. Nothing proves the veracity of the testimony of the defendant more than the quite obvious decrease in his participation. If one considers the fact that the Jaegerstab held its meetings daily one realizes how rapidly the decrease in the activity of the defendant was. If one considers furthermore that he was not always present at the meetings at all, that he did not hear most of the details of the discussions at these meetings, one can say with certainty that he was really not the man who had the biggest influence in the Jaegerstab, and who performed the practical work there. The expression “breakfast director”, which the witness Dorsch applied to the defendant, characterizes the situation excellently. The Jaegerstab was concerned with labor questions only insofar as it guided the so-called transfer of workers who were already working in industry, in the event changes in production occurred, especially effecting, as far as possible, their transfer from closed down bomber factories to fighter plane factories. However, in this connection it is almost exclusively a question of so-called skilled workers, as the witness Schmelter, a specialist in this field, has confirmed. In this process no new workers of any kind were introduced into industry. The witness Schmelter, however, finally expressly confirmed that no real influence was exerted on Sauckel and his offices. Wishes regarding the transfer were merely referred to the Organization Sauckel. This fact in particular was emphasized in the statement of Schmelter with all the clarity desirable.
Thus, it has been proved in regard to this committee, too, that it had nothing to do with the bringing of workers into Germany from abroad, nor dealt with their redistribution. Thus, it was also not the purpose of the Jaegerstab to decide labor questions. Finally, it has thus been clarified that the ministry of Speer was the office which handled labor questions, insofar as it was necessary in the framework of the transfers. On the basis of the submitted documents, it seems at first as though the Jaegerstab had initiated and carried out the building of underground factories or of concrete protected factories above ground. The witnesses Speer, Hertel, Eschenauer, Koenig, Pendele, as well as Milch, himself, however, all clearly and decisively confirmed that these constructions were ordered directly by Hitler and Goering, and that the defendant had opposed these orders because he considered them senseless. It has furthermore been declared that Hitler himself, handled the needs of workers for these undesirable constructions. The Jaegerstab was connected with these constructions, according to all the testimony, only to the extent that it had to examine which ones of the fighter plane factories had to be installed in them. In this connection it must be remembered that a number of these constructions were also allocated for armament factories of the Wehrmacht. Thus, Milch also cannot be charged with any responsibility in this count. He was neither formally nor actually in a position to prevent Hitler’s and Goering’s orders.
Nor had Milch anything to do with the allocation of Hungarian Jews to these factories, quite apart from the fact that it has been made clear that these Jews were allocated only in the summer of 1944, which was stated by the last prosecution witness, Krysiak, that is, at a time when Milch had withdrawn from his office for some time. It has been proved that Hitler issued relevant orders here and that the Jaegerstab trip to Hungary was entirely unconnected with this matter because it was undertaken solely for the purpose of a conference with the legal Hungarian government. These consultations were merely concerned with agreements regarding aircraft production by the Hungarian industry in the large caves near the Danube. Not one single document has shown that Milch either agreed to or welcomed the employment of Hungarian Jews.
To sum up, I may say then that even within the Jaegerstab Milch was neither a principal nor an abetter in the crimes listed in the indictment. I might add that it was not the purpose of the Jaegerstab to carry out such crimes. In any case he was by no means the leading man on that board. It has been found with certainty beyond all doubt that the Jaegerstab served the purpose of helping the defendant to withdraw from office.
Mention must also be made of the question of concentration camp inmates working. Before going into details, I should like to make a few basic remarks. From all the trials in which I acted as counsel, from the questions asked in this courtroom, from various discussions I have had with citizens of your country, I have, your Honors, attained the certainty that in your circles no one believes in the truthfulness of the defendants’ and all other witnesses’ statements, namely that the average German knew nothing about the happenings in the concentration camps and that the defendant did not know of the existence of such camps, with the exception of Dachau and Oranienburg. As most Germans certify to this and as all witnesses swear to this under oath, it is first of all difficult to understand why such statements are not believed. It can only be explained by the fact that the citizens of your country have been so much influenced by press propaganda and the newly discovered facts that they put more trust in the reports of their newspapers than in the assurances of the citizens of a country which is now known throughout the world as the place of origin of many atrocities.
But should such prejudice which does not originate from [one’s] own and actual experience influence the judgment? I believe and always have believed that it is one of the essential laws of justice to base one’s judgment strictly on facts which have become evident during a trial. It is a proven fact that in Germany no one was allowed to write about concentration camps; that the rules of secrecy which had been imposed by the dictatorial regime had to be kept very strictly; and that even the German authorities in case of their violating these rules of secrecy, were threatened with death, as I have proved by the submission of Defense Exhibit 36.
From the statement of the witness Roeder, who, incidentally, explained that the defendant had neither the power of passing a death sentence nor of sending people to concentration camps, you have learned that the concentration camp inmates spoke to nobody about their condition. Even the prosecution witness Krysiak has told you that the prisoners did not dare to lodge complaints to anybody. How could the Germans generally learn about conditions in concentration camps? Milch, too, could not and did not learn about them, as he has told you, for the secrecy was kept even among the highest authorities. May the propaganda of your country insist on the contrary as much as it likes, what I have stated here still remains true, and I can certify it myself.
I myself who during the time of the so-called Third Reich often enough defended men who were accused because of their political views, I, who was watched by the Gestapo, who was attacked in the public newspapers of Nuernberg and especially was mentioned with name in the notorious “Stuermer” on account of my defense of unhappy Jews, I, too, didn’t learn anything about these camps, although clients came to me after their release from the concentration camp Dachau. I always asked them and I always received the answer that they had nothing special to report. It was, of course, no pleasant life, but they reported that it was not so bad.
I would ask you, your Honors, to consider how we could have learned of these conditions.
May I remind you in this connection that deeds have been committed in the east of the former German territory, in the Sudeten-German border territories of Czechoslovakia, and other countries, deeds which, even if one imagines them at their worst, remain far behind the truth. About these atrocities the international press has kept silent although one day history will speak and one will learn about them with horror. I have refused to give proof of the events which were brought about by your armies after the collapse. I could have mentioned many deeds which can be called nothing but grave infringements against the Geneva Convention. I could have given you a picture of how in the prisoners’ camps in the early days hundreds of German prisoners died of starvation. I am not accusing anyone. Shortcomings of organization and of human nature but not express orders and rules account for it.