To remedy this intolerable situation, the defendant Schlegelberger drafted a decree which, by its terms, placed beyond the reach of the Poles and Jews in the Eastern Territories the last vestige of protection of even the German law. This decree was made effective on 4 December 1941 and from time to time was later amended as the need arose. For instance, approximately a year later, it was amended and made retroactive for crimes committed prior to 4 December 1941. We think it will be of interest to the Court to have in Schlegelberger’s own words some of the background of this special treatment for the Poles and Jews in the Eastern Territories and his own statement as to the purposes which the decree was intended to accomplish. This letter was addressed to the Reich Minister and Chief of the Reich Chancellery (Lammers) and refers to Schlegelberger’s draft of the decree which a few months later was made effective on Hitler’s orders (NG-144, Pros. Ex. 199):[49]
“On being informed of the Fuehrer’s intention to discriminate in the sphere of the penal law between the Poles (and probably the Jews as well) and the Germans, I prepared, after preliminary discussions with the presidents of the courts of appeal and attorneys general of the Eastern Territories, the attached draft concerning the administration of penal laws against Poles and Jews in the annexed Eastern Territories and in the territory of the former Free City of Danzig.
“This draft amounts to special legislation both in the sphere of substantive law and in that of criminal procedure. In this connection the suggestions made by the Fuehrer’s deputy have been taken into consideration to a great extent.”
In referring to the various provisions of the ordinance, Schlegelberger has this to say (NG-144, Pros. Ex. 199):
“I have been in agreement with the opinion held by the Fuehrer’s deputy that a Pole is less sensitive to the imposition of an ordinary prison sentence; therefore, I have taken administrative measures to assure that Poles and Jews will be separated from other prisoners and that their imprisonment will be rendered more severe * * *.
“For these new kinds of punishment the prisoners are to be lodged in camps—outside of prisons—and are to be employed with hard and very hard labor. There are also administrative measures which provide for special disciplinary punishment; that is, imprisonment in an unlighted cell, transfer from a prison camp to a more rigorous prison camp, etc.
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“A Pole or a Jew sentenced by a German court is not to be allowed in the future any legal remedy against the judgment. Neither will he have a right of appeal or be allowed to ask that the case be reopened. All sentences will take effect immediately. In the future Poles and Jews will also no longer be allowed to object to German judges on the grounds of prejudice nor will they be able to take an oath. Coercive measures against them are permissible under easier conditions.
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“In this sphere of criminal procedure the draft clearly shows the difference in the political status of Germans on one side and Poles and Jews on the other.