The death penalty has to be pronounced as the only just atonement because the security afforded by law within the German living space must be protected against Polish criminality with the utmost severity. The defendant Wdowen, if only by his behavior toward the feeble old farmer Gundel proved that he is an insolent aggressive fellow inasmuch as he kept following the police official, although he had been chastized twice. It is to be concluded that he was waiting for a favorable moment to free the codefendant Kaminska by force, and finally by attempting to prevent by force the police official from the execution of his official duties and the latter having to call for assistance, he topped his provocative, dangerous behavior. Every security organ enjoys the special protection of the Reich. He who impedes in such a provocative manner the security organs, which are stationed at home, and which on account of their numerical minority are particularly overburdened during the war, must expect the Reich to react with utmost severity. That applies, in particular, to the foreign workers from the East who work in the Reich. In view of that, the court has assumed a particularly grave case within the meaning of paragraph 4 of the Decree against Public Enemies, and has not attached any decisive importance to the circumstances alone that the defendant Wdowen has had no previous convictions and has hitherto not attracted any unfavorable attention during his stay in Germany. Therefore, the defendant Wdowen had to be sentenced to death under the penal law of article 4 of the Decree against Public Enemies.

Costs: Paragraph 465, Code of Criminal Procedure.

[Signed] Oeschey[378]

Dr. Gros[379]

Pfaff[380]

CIRCULAR LETTER OF HIMMLER TO THE SUPREME REICH AUTHORITIES, 10 MARCH 1944, NOTING THAT “THE ACCOMPLISHED EVACUATION AND ISOLATION” OF JEWS AND GYPSIES HAD MADE MEANINGLESS THE PREVIOUS MANNER OF PUBLISHING SPECIAL DIRECTIVES CONCERNING THEM

Berlin, 10 March 1944

The Reich Leader SS

Minister of Interior Affairs