25. The Ministry of Justice participated in the decree of “Night and Fog” whereby certain persons who committed offenses against the Reich or the German forces in occupied territories were taken secretly by the Gestapo to Germany and handed over to the Special Courts for trial and punishment. This program resulted in the murder, torture, illegal imprisonment, and ill-treatment of thousands of persons. These crimes are further particularized in paragraph 13 of this indictment, which is incorporated herein by reference. The defendants Altstoetter, von Ammon, Engert, Joel, Klemm, Mettgenberg, and Schlegelberger are charged with special responsibility for and participation in these crimes.
26. In penal institutions operated by the Reich Ministry of Justice, hundreds of German civilians and nationals of other countries were subjected to murders, brutalities, cruelties, tortures, atrocities, and other inhumane acts. The particulars concerning these crimes are set forth in paragraph 14 of this indictment. The defendants Engert, Joel, Klemm, Lautz, Mettgenberg, Rothenberger, and Westphal are charged with special responsibility for and participation in these crimes.
27. Special health courts (Erbgesundheitgerichte) perverted eugenic and sterilization laws or policies regarding German civilians and nationals of other countries which resulted in the systematic murder and ill-treatment of thousands of persons. Thousands of German civilians and nationals of other countries committed to institutions for the insane, were systematically murdered. These crimes are further particularized in paragraph 15 of count two of this indictment, which is incorporated herein by reference. The defendants Lautz, Schlegelberger, and Westphal are charged with special responsibility for and participation in these crimes.
28. The Ministry of Justice granted immunity to and amnesty following prosecutions and convictions of Party members for major crimes committed against civilians of occupied territories. Pardons were granted to members of the Party who had been sentenced for proved offenses. On the other hand, discriminatory judicial proceedings were imposed against so-called “asocial” German nationals and civilians of the occupied countries. These crimes are further particularized in paragraph 16 of count two of this indictment and are incorporated herein by reference. The defendants von Ammon, Joel, Klemm, Mettgenberg, Rothenberger, and Schlegelberger are charged with special responsibility for and participation in these crimes.
29. Discriminatory changes made in the German family and inheritance laws for the sole purpose of confiscating Jewish properties, were enforced by the Justice Ministry. All Jewish properties were forfeited at death to the Reich. Jews and Poles, both in Germany and in the occupied countries, were deprived of their citizenship, their property was seized and confiscated, and they were deprived of means of earning a livelihood, by the State, by Party organizations, and by individual members of the Party. These crimes are further particularized in paragraph 17 of this indictment, which is incorporated herein by reference. The defendants Altstoetter and Schlegelberger are charged with special responsibility for and participation in these crimes.
30. The Ministry of Justice through suspension and quashing of criminal process, participated in Hitler’s program of inciting the German civilian population to murder Allied airmen forced down within the Reich. This program resulted in the murder, torture, and ill-treatment of many persons. These crimes are further particularized in paragraph 18 of this indictment, which is incorporated herein by reference. The defendants Klemm and Lautz are charged with special responsibility for and participation in these crimes.
31. The said crimes against humanity constitute violations of international conventions, including article 46 of the Hague Regulations, 1907, the laws and customs of war, the general principles of criminal law as derived from the criminal laws of all civilized nations, the internal penal laws of the countries in which such crimes were committed, and of article II of Control Council Law No. 10.
COUNT FOUR MEMBERSHIP IN CRIMINAL ORGANIZATIONS
32. The defendants Altstoetter, Cuhorst, Engert, and Joel are guilty of membership in an organization declared to be criminal by the International Military Tribunal in Case 1, in that each of the said defendants was a member of DIE SCHUTZSTAFFELN DER NATIONAL SOZIALISTISCHEN DEUTSCHEN ARBEITERPARTEI (commonly known as the “SS”) after 1 September 1939.
33. The defendants Cuhorst, Oeschey, Nebelung, and Rothaug are guilty of membership in an organization declared to be criminal by the International Military Tribunal in Case 1, in that Cuhorst, Oeschey, and Rothaug were members of the Leadership Corps of the Nazi Party at Gau level after 1 September 1939, and in that Nebelung was an Ortsgruppenleiter of the Leadership Corps of the Nazi Party after 1 September 1939.