Clause (f) of the above paragraph applies only to crimes against peace, for which none of these defendants is indicted.
We are not concerned in this opening statement with discussing niceties of legal draftsmanship nor shall we now use American legal terminology to describe the ultimate relationship of defendants, whose guilt is fixed by paragraph 2 of article II to the overt act; namely, any crime as defined in paragraph 1 of article II. But we are concerned with offering to this Court our observation upon its legal effect.
We do not concern ourselves now with principals or accessories. We do discuss the relationships arising out of the words “abetted” and the relationships set out in clauses (c), (d), and (e), paragraph 2 to the overt act. At the threshold, we point out that the crime, which defendants who occupy any of the relationships last referred to are guilty of committing, is any crime as defined in paragraph 1 of article II. The proof must show that a crime as defined in Law No. 10, article II, paragraph (1), that is, a crime within the jurisdiction of this Tribunal, was committed, but if it was committed by any of the defendants or a person other than the defendants in the dock or any of them, and any of these defendants abetted the doing of that act, was connected with a plan or enterprise to commit it, consented to its commission, or was a member of any organization or group connected with the commission of any crime within the jurisdiction of the Tribunal, he is guilty of committing that crime.
The IMT has given two persuasive interpretations of the meaning of the words “being connected with” which we cite.
In the case of the defendant Streicher who was found guilty of committing crimes against humanity, the IMT said:
“Streicher’s incitement to murder and extermination at the time when Jews in the East were being killed under the most horrible conditions clearly constitutes persecution on political and racial grounds in connection with war crimes, as defined in the charter, and constitutes a crime against humanity.”[45]
The case of von Schirach is also most enlightening. Anschluss with Austria took place on 12 March 1938. Von Schirach was appointed Gauleiter of Vienna in July 1940. Von Schirach was found guilty of committing crimes against humanity.
The IMT said:[46]
“As has already been seen, Austria was occupied pursuant to a common plan of aggression. Its occupation is, therefore, a ‘crime within the jurisdiction of the Tribunal’, as that term is used in article 6 (c) of the Charter. As a result, ‘murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation and other inhumane acts,’ and ‘persecutions on political, racial or religious grounds’ in connection with this occupation constitute a crime against humanity under that article.”
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