A. The charges did not refer to the entire sermon, the subject of which was false prophets, but two basic thoughts were mentioned. For one, the thought that the leading individuals—meaning in the State—intended to take the Catholic faith from the people. In addition to that, the defendant also was charged with having attacked the principle prevailing in Germany of religious freedom. That was the charge.
Q. Schosser asserts that his sermon itself was really not the focus of interest; but that you had dealt emphatically with the matter of a funeral, and you had included that in the case. Is that correct?
A. The matter of the funeral was not the subject of the indictment so far as it was not considered a basis for any legal facts in connection with it, but it was merely mentioned in the course of the trial. It is correct that this matter was discussed in connection with the matters contained in the indictment, but not in the manner that it was the most important part of the trial. It was quite legally admissible to mention it, as I have mentioned.
Q. Can you prove, from the files, that the prosecution submitted the files concerning the sermon question to the court?
A. That can be seen from the file.
Presiding Judge Brand: Is that file in evidence?
Mr. Wooleyhan: No, Your Honor, it is not.
Dr. Koessl: The case was only discussed by the witness Schosser.
Defendant Rothaug: By an order in the file SG 948 from the year 1942 (matter of the funeral), the prosecutor decided on 27 August 1942, under III, “Filed without subsidiary file”, that the matter SD 1312 of 1942—that is the sermon matter—after that file had been returned, was to be attached. By way of that disposition, these files concerning the funeral were submitted by the prosecution as material evidence, together with the sermon file, with the consequence that I received that material and had to discuss it with the prosecution witness at the main trial. That was legally permitted at all times. The judge was authorized to touch upon matters which had become either the subject of amnesty, or where an acquittal had occurred, or on matters referring to cases that had been suspended, or where a sentence had been passed. He could touch upon all these matters in a different case and discuss them for the purposes of the case at hand. Whether that became the basis for an evaluation for that new trial—that, of course, could only evolve from that main trial and the discussions therein.
Q. What was the basic purpose of discussing that question on your part?