Offense—In the afternoon of 14 September 1943, the accused, in a shop, said to the female proprietor in front of partly unknown persons, “By Christmas, the war will long be over. Germany has long since been divided up.” Obviously she alluded to a defeat in the very near future. When asked by an employee of the local health insurance office, how she thought it would be if the war were lost and we would all have to go to Russia, the accused replied, “Very well, let them send those 5 million SS men there. During the last air raid on Mannheim the SS, those bloody swines, chased the people out of the shelters with rubber truncheons for fire-fighting and clean-up work.”
The Chief Public Prosecutor with the approval of the General Public Prosecutor wants to base the charge on article 2 of the law against malicious political acts or insults to the State or Party (Heimtueckegesetz)[515] and to propose a prison term of 9 months. This is a border line case. Certainly the statements made by the accused in their second part fulfill the conditions of malicious political acts or insults to the State or Party. Regarded as a whole, however, the accused obviously had in mind to injure the listeners’ will to pull through, as can be seen from the first part of her statements. When she met with resistance in doing so, she tried to support her opinion by abusive language and by telling atrocity stories. The trend of her statements therefore was directed toward undermining [the military efficiency].[516] Therefore, the accused will, in the first place, have to be prosecuted under this provision.
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- PARTIAL TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT NG-671
- PROSECUTION EXHIBIT 220
EXTRACTS FROM THE SITUATION REPORT OF DEFENDANT LAUTZ, CHIEF PUBLIC PROSECUTOR AT THE PEOPLE’S COURT, TO THIERACK, 19 FEBRUARY 1944, CONCERNING THE UNDERMINING OF MILITARY EFFICIENCY
Copy
- Berlin W 9, 19 February 1944
- Bellevuestrasse 15
The Chief Public Prosecutor of the People’s Court
4206 E—2.36
[Initials] Kl [Klemm]