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[Page 263]
Chapter VII
MEANS USED BY THE NAZI CONSPIRATORS IN GAINING
CONTROL OF THE GERMAN STATE
6. SUPPRESSION OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCHES
A. The Nazi conspirators sought to subvert the influence of
the churches over the people of Germany.
(1) They sought to eliminate the Christian Churches in
Germany.
(a) Statements of this aim. Martin Bormann stated in a
secret decree of the Party Chancellery signed by him and
distributed to all Gauleiters 7 June 1941:
"Our National Socialist ideology is far loftier than
the con-
[Page 264]
cepts of Christianity, which in their essential points
have been taken over from
Jewry ***. A differentiation between the various
Christian confessions is not to be made here *** the
Evangelical Church is just as inimical to us as the
Catholic Church. *** All influences which might
impair or damage the leadership of the people exercised
by the
Fuehrer with the help of the NSDAP must be eliminated.
More and more the people must be separated from the
churches and their organs the pastors. *** Just as
the deleterious influences of astrologers, seers and
other fakers are eliminated and suppressed by the
State, so must the possibility of church influence also
be totally removed. *** Not until this has happened,
does the state leadership have influence on
the individual citizens. Not until then are the people
and Reich secure in their existence for all time." (D-
75)
Hans Kerrl, Reich Minister for Church Affairs, in a letter
dated 6 September 1939 to a Herr Stapel, which indicated
that it would be brought to the attention of the
Confidential Council and of the defendant Hess, made the
following statements:
"The Fuehrer considers his efforts to bring the
Evangelical Church to reason, unsuccessful and the
Evangelical Church with respect to its condition
rightfully a useless pile of sects. As you emphasize
the Party has previously carried on not only a fight
against the political element of the Christianity of
the Church, but also a fight against
membership of Party Members in a Christian confession.
***
"The Catholic Church will and must, according to the
law under which it is set up, remain a thorn in the
flesh of a Racial State ***." (129-PS)
Gauleiter Florian, in a letter dated 23 September 1940 to
the defendant Hess, stated:
"The churches with their Christianity are the danger
against which to fight is absolutely necessary." (064-
PS)
Regierungsrat Roth, in a lecture 22 September 1941, to a
group of Security Police, in the Reich Main Security Office
(RSHA) concluded his address on Security Police (Sipo)
measures for combatting church politics and sects with the
following remarks:
"The immediate aim: the church must not regain one inch
of the ground it has lost. The ultimate aim:
Destruction of the Confessional Churches to be brought
about by the collection of all material obtained
through the intelligence service (Nachrihtendienst)
activities which will at a given time be produced as
evidence for the charge of treasonable activities
during the German fight for existence." (1815-PS)
The Party Organization Book states:
"Bravery is valued by the SS man as the highest virtue
of men in a struggle for his ideology.
[Page 265]
"He openly and unrelentingly fights the most dangerous
enemies of the State; Jews, Free Masons, Jesuits, and
political clergymen.
"However, he recruits and convinces the weak and
inconstant by his example, who have not been able to
bring themselves to the National Socialistic ideology."
(1855-PS)
(b) The Nazi conspirators promoted beliefs and practices
incompatible with Christian teachings. The 24th point of the
Program of the NSDAP, unchanged since its adoption in 1920,
is as follows:
"We demand freedom of religion for all religious
denominations within the state so long as they do not
endanger its existence or oppose the moral senses of
the germanic race. The Party as such advocates the
standpoint of a positive Christianity without binding
itself confessionally to any one denomination. It
combats the Jewish materialistic spirit within and
around us, and is convinced that a lasting recovery of
our nation can only succeed from within on the
framework: common utility precedes individual utility."
(1708-PS)
In official correspondence with the defendant Rosenberg in
1040, Bormann stated:
"Christian religion and National Socialist doctrines
are not compatible. *** The churches cannot be
subjugated through compromise, only through a new
philosophy as prophesied in osenberg's works."
He then proposed creation of a National Socialist Catechism
to provide a "moral foundation" for a National Socialist
religion which is gradually to supplant the Christian
churches. He stated the matter was so important it should be
discussed with members of the Reich Cabinet as soon as
possible and requested Rosenberg's opinion before the
meeting. (098-PS)
In a secret decree of the Party Chancellery, signed by
Bormann and distributed to all Gauleiters on 7 June 1941,
the following statements appeared:
"When we National Socialists speak of a belief in God,
we do not understand by God, like naive Christians and
their spiritual opportunists, a human-type being, who
sits around somewhere in the sphere ***. The force of
natural law, with which all these
innumerable planets move in the universe, we call the
Almighty, or God. The claim that this world force ***
can be influenced by so-called prayers or other
astonishing things is based upon a proper dose of
naivete or on a business shamelessness.
[Page 265]
"As opposed to that we National Socialists impose on
ourselves the demand to live naturally as much as
possible, i.e., biologically. The more accurately we
recognize and observe the laws of nature and of life,
the more we adhere to them, so much the more do we
conform to the will of the Almighty. The more insight
we have into the will of the
Almighty, the greater will be our successes." (D-75)
Rosenberg in his book "The Myth of the 20th Century"
advocated a new National Socialist faith or religion to
replace the Christian confessions in Germany. He stated that
the Catholic and Protestant churches represent "negative
Christianity" and do not correspond to the soul of the
"Nordic racially determined peoples"; that a German
religious movement would have to declare that the idea of
neighborly love is unconditionally subordinated to national
honor; that national
honor is the highest human value and does not admit of any
equal valued force such as Christian love. He predicted:
"A German religion will, bit by bit, present in the
churches transferred to it, in place of the crucifixion
the spirit of fire the heroicin the highest sense."
(2349-PS)
The Reich Labor Service (Reichsarbeitsdienst), a National
Socialist youth organization, was prohibited from
participating in religious celebrations of any kind, and its
members were instructed to attend only the parts of such
ceremonies as weddings and funerals which took
place before or after the church celebration. (107-PS)
The Nazi conspirators considered religious literature
undesirable for the Wehrmacht. National Socialist
publications were prepared for the Wehrmacht for the
expressed purpose of replacing and counteracting the
influence of religious literature disseminated to the
troops. (101-PS; 100-PS; 064-PS)
The Nazi conspirators through Rosenberg's Office for
Supervision of the Ideological Training and Education of the
NSDAP and the Office of the Deputy of the Fuehrer "induced"
the substitution of National Socialist mottoes and services
for religious prayers and services in the schools of
Germany. (070-PS)
On 14 July 1939, Bormann, as Deputy of the Fuehrer, issued a
Party regulation excluding clergymen, persons closely
connected with the church, and Theology students from
membership in the Party. It was further decreed that in the
future Party Members who entered the clergy
or turned to the study of Theology must leave the Party.
(840-PS)
(c) The Nazi conspirators persecuted priests, clergy and
members of monastic orders. The priests and clergy of
Germany were
[Page 267]
subjected by the police to systematic espionage into their
daily lives. The Nazi conspirators through the Chief of the
Reich Main Security Office (RSHA) maintained a special
branch of the Security Police and Security Service (Sipo/SD)
whose duties were to investigate the churches and maintain
constant surveillance upon the public and private lives of
the clergy. (1815-PS)
At a conference of these police "church specialists" called
by Heydrich, who was then SS Gruppenfuehrer and Chief of the
Reich Main Security Office (RSHA), in Berlin, 23 September 1941, SS
Sturmbannfueherer Hartl, acting for Heydrich, stated that
the greatest importance was to
be attached to church political activity. The intelligence
network in this field, he continued, was to be fostered with
the greatest of care and enlarged with the recruitment of
informants, particular value being attached to contacts with
church circles. He closed his lecture with the following
words:
"Each of you must go to work with your whole heart and
a true fanaticism. Should a mistake or two be made in
the execution of this work, this should in no way
discourage you, since mistakes are made everywhere. The
main thing is that the enemy should be constantly
tackled with determination, will, and effective
initiative." (1815-PS)
In a letter of 22 October 1941, Heydrich, as Chief of the
Reich Main Security Office (RSHA) issued detailed
instructions to all State Police Offices outlining the
organization of the Catholic Church and directing close
surveillance of the activities, writings, and reports of the
Catholic clergy in Germany. In this connection he directed:
"Reports are also to be submitted on those Theological
students destined for Papal Institutes, and Priests
returning from such institutes to Germany. Should the
opportunity arise of placing someone for intelligence
(Nachrichtendienst) purposes in one of these
Institutes, in the guise of a Theological student, we
should receive immediate notification." (1815-PS)
Priests and other members of the clergy were arrested,
fined, imprisoned, and otherwise punished by executive
measures of the police without judicial process. In his
lecture before a conference at the Reich Main Security
Office (RSHA) in Berlin, for "church specialists," of the
Security Police, 22 November 1941, Regierungsrat Roth stated (1815-
PS):
"It has been demonstrated that it is impracticable to
deal with political offenses (malicious) under normal
legal procedure. Owing to the lack of political
perception which still
[Page 268]
prevails among the legal authorities, suspension of
this procedure must be reckoned with. The so-called
"Agitator Priests" must therefore be dealt with in
future by Stapo measures, and, if the occasion arises,
be removed to a Concentration Camp, if agreed upon by
the RSHA.
"The necessary executive measures are to be decided
upon according to local conditions, the status of the
person accused, and the seriousness of the caseas
follows:
1. Warning
2. Fine
3. Forbidden to preach
4. Forbidden to remain in parish
5. Forbidden all activity as a priest
6. Short-term arrest
7. Protective custody."
Members of monastic orders were forced by the seizure and
confiscation of their properties to give up their
established place of abode and seek homes elsewhere (R-101-
A; R-101-D). A secret order of the SS Economic
Administration Office to all Concentration Camp Commanders,
dated 21 April 1942, concerning labor mobilization of
clergy, reveals that clergymen were at that time, and had
previously been, incarcerated in Concentration Camps. (1164-
PS)
On the death of von Hindenburg, the Reich Government ordered
the ringing of all church bells on 2 August 1934, 3 August
1934 and 4 August 1934. In Bavaria, there were many
instances of failure to comply with this order. The Bavarian
police submitted a report outlining the above situation and
stating that in three cases the taking into protective
custody of recalcitrant clergy could not be avoided.
"The Parish priest, Father Johann Quinger of
Altenkunstadt BA., Lichtenfels. He was taken into
protective custody on 3 August on the express order of
the State Ministry of the Interior, because he
assaulted SA leaders and SA men who were ringing the
bells against his wishes. He was released from custody
on 10 August 1934.
"The Parish priest, Father Ludwig Obholzer of
Kiefersfelden, BA Rosenheim. For his personal safety he
was in police custody from 2400 hours on the 2 August
1934, till 1000 hours on 3 August 1934. On 5 August
1934, he said sarcastically in his sermon, referring to
the SA men who had carried out the ringing of the
funeral knell on their own account, 'Lord forgive them,
for they know not what they do' ! "The Parish priest,
Father Johann Nepomuk Kleber of Wie-
[Page 269]
felsdorf, BA Burglengenfeld, refused to ring the church
bells on the 2nd and 3rd. He is badly tainted
politically and had to be taken into protective custody
from the 5th to the 8th of August 34 in the interests
of his own safety." (1521-PS)
After Hitler's rise to power, Bishop Sproll of Rottenburg
delivered a series of sermons regarded by the Nazis as
damaging, and on 10 April 1938 he refrained from voting in
the plebiscite. For this, the Reich Governor of Wuertemberg
declared he would no longer regard Bishop Sproll as head of
the Diocese of Rottenburg; made an official request that he
leave the Gau; and declared he would see to it that all
personal and official intercourse between the Bishop and the
State and
Party offices as well as the Armed Forces would be denied
(849-PS). For his alleged failure to vote in the plebiscite,
of 10 April 1938, the Party caused three demonstrations to
be staged against the Bishop and his household in
Rottenburg. The third demonstration was described as
follows in a teletype message from Gestapo Office Stuttgart
to Gestapo Office Berlin:
"The Party on 23 July 1938 from 2100 on carried out the
third demonstration against Bishop Sproll. Participants
about 2,500-3,000 were brought in from outside by bus,
etc. The Rottenburg populace again did not participate
in the demonstration. The town took rather a hostile
attitude to the demonstrations. The action got
completely out of hand of the Party Member responsible
for it. The demonstrators stormed the palace, beat in
the gates and doors. About 150 to 200 people forced
their way into the palace, searched the rooms, threw
files out of the windows and rummaged through the beds
in the rooms of the palace. One bed was ignited. Before
the fire got to the other objects of equipment in the -
rooms and the palace, the flaming bed could be thrown
from the window and the fire extinguished. The Bishop
was with Archbishop Groeber of Freiburg and the ladies
and gentlemen of his menage in the chapel at prayer.
About 25 to 30 people pressed into this chapel and
molested those present. Bishop Groeber was taken for
Bishop Sproll. He was grabbed by the robe and dragged
back and forth. Finally the intruders realized that
Bishop Groeber is not the one they are seeking. They
could then be persuaded to leave the building. After
the evacuation of the palace by the demonstrators I had
an interview with Archbishop Groeber, who left
Rottenburg in the night. Groeber wants to turn to the
Fuehrer and Reich Minister of the Interior Dr. Frick
anew. On the course of the action, the damage done as
well as the homage
[Page 270]
of the Rottenburg populace beginning today for the
Bishop I shall immediately hand in a full report, after
I am in the act of suppressing counter mass meetings."
(848-PS)
Reich Minister for Church Affairs Kerrl and other Party
officials alleged that these demonstrations were
spontaneously staged by indignant citizens of Rottenburg and
caused representations to be made to the Holy See in an
effort to effect the Bishop's removal from office. (89-PS)
On or about 3 December 1941, a copy of a secret decree of
the Party Chancellery on the subject of Relationship of
National Socialism to Christianity was found by the Security
Police in the possession of Protestant Priest Eichholz at
Aix-la-Chapelle. For this he was arrested and held for
questioning for an unknown period of time. (D-75)
(d) The Nazi conspirators confiscated church property. On 20
January 1938, the Gestapo District Office at Munich issued a
decree dissolving the Guild of the Virgin Mary of the
Bavarian Diocese, together with its branches and
associations. The decree also stated:
"The property belonging to the dissolved Guild is to be
confiscated by the police. Not only is property in cash
to be confiscated, but also any stock on hand and their
objects of value. All further activity is forbidden the
dissolved Guilds, particularly the foundation of any
organization intended as a successor or as a cover.
Incorporation as a body into other women's societies is
also to be looked on as a forbidden continuation of
activity. Infringements against the above prohibition
will be punished according to par. 4 of the order of 28
February 1933."
The reasons for the dissolution and confiscation were that
the Guild of the Virgin Mary had occupied itself for years
"to a most far-reaching degree" with arrangements of a
"worldly and popular sporting character" such as community
games and "social evenings"; and further that the
president of the society supplied the members with
"seditious materials" which served for "seditious
discussions"; and that the members of the Guild were trained
and mobilized for "political and seditious tasks." (1481-
PS)
In a lecture delivered to a conference of police
investigators of Church Affairs assembled in the lecture
hall of the Reich Main Security Office (RSHA) in Berlin, 22
September 1941, Regiersrungsrat Roth stated that about 100
monasteries in the Reich had been dissolved and pointed out
that the proper procedure called for seizure of the churches
at the same time the monasteries were dissolved. (1815-PS)
[Page 271]
In February 1940, SS Gruppenfuehrer Heydrich suggested to
Himmler the seizure of monasteries for the accommodation of
Racial Germans. He proposed that the authorities of the
monastic orders be instructed to make the monasteries
concerned available and move their own members to less
populous monasteries. He pointed out that the final
expropriation of properties thus placed at their disposal
could be carried out step by step in the course of time.
Himmler agreed to this proposal and ordered the measure to
be carried out by the Security Police and
Security Service (Sipo and SD) in collaboration with the
Reich Commissioner for Consolidation of German Folkdom. (R-
101-A)
These orders for confiscation were carried out, as revealed
in a letter dated 30 March 1942 from the Reich Main Security
Office (RSHA) Chief of Staff to Himmler mentioning claims
for compensation pending in a number of confiscation cases.
In this letter he stated that all rental
payments to those monasteries and ecclesiastical
institutions whose premises had been put to use as camps for
resettlers had been stopped on receipt of Himmler's order.
Concerning current developments, he stated:
"After further preparations in which-the Party
Chancellery participated prominently, the Reich
Minister of the Interior found a way which makes it
possible to seize ecclesiastical premises practically
without compensation and yet avoids the impression of
being a measure directed against the Church. ***" (R-
101-D)
In a letter of 19 April 1941, Bormann advised Rosenberg that
libraries and art objects of the monasteries confiscated in
the Reich were to remain for the time being in these
monasteries and that the Fuehrer had repeatedly rejected the
suggestion that centralization of all such libraries be
undertaken. (072-PS)
(e) The Nazi conspirators suppressed religious publications.
On 6 November 1934, Frick, as Reich and Prussian Minister of
the Interior, issued an order forbidding until further
notice publication of all announcements in the daily press,
in pamphlets and other publications,
which dealt with the Evangelical Church; with the exception
of official announcements of the Church Government of the
Reich. (1498-PS)
By order of the State Police for the District of Dusseldorf,
the Police Regulation which is quoted in part below was
promulgated 28 May 1934:
"The distribution and sale of published items of any
sort in connection with worship or religious
instructions in public streets or squares near churches
is forbidden. In the same sense the distribution and
sale of published items on the oc-
[Page 272]
casions of processions, pilgrimages and similar church
institutions in the streets or squares they pass
through or in their vicinity is prohibited." (R-145)
In January 1940, Bormann informed Rosenberg that he had
sought to restrict production of religious publications by
means of having their rations of printing paper cut down
through the control exercised by Reichsleiter Amann, but
that the result of these efforts remained
unsatisfactory. (101-PS)
In March 1940, Bormann instructed Reichsleiter Amann,
Director of the NSDAP Publications Office, that in any
future redistribution of paper, confessional writings should
receive still sharper restrictions in favor of literature
politically and ideologically more valuable. He went on to
point out:
" *** according to a report I have received, only 10
of the over 3000 Protestant periodicals appearing in
Germany, such as Sunday papers, etc. have ceased
publication for reasons of paper saving." (089-PS)
In April 1940, Bormann informed the High Command of the Navy
that use of the term "Divine Service" to refer exclusively
to the services arranged by Christian Confessions was no
longer to be used, even in National Socialist daily papers.
In the alternative he suggested:
"In the opinion of the Party the term 'Church Service'
cannot be objected to. I consider it fitting since it
properly implies meetings arranged and organized by the
Churches." (068-PS)
(f) The Nazi conspirators suppressed religious
organizations. On 28 May 1934, the State Police Office for
the District of Duesseldorf issued an order concerning
denominational youth and professional organizations which
stated in part as follows:
"Denominational youth and professional organizations as
well as those created for special occasions only are
prohibited from every public activity outside the
church and religious sphere.
"Especially forbidden is: Any public appearance in
groups, all sorts of political activity. Any public
sport function including public hikes and establishment
of holiday or outdoor camps. The public display or
showing of flags, banners, pennants or the open wearing
of uniforms or insignia." (R-145)
On 20 July 1935, Frick, as Reich and Prussian Minister of
the Interior, issued secret instructions to the provincial
governments and to the Prussian Gestapo that Confessional
youth organizations were to be forbidden to wear uniforms,
or uniform-
[Page 273]
like clothing, to assemble publicly with pennants and flags,
to wear insignia as a substitute for uniforms, or to engage
in any outdoor sport activity.
On 20 January 1938 the Gestapo District Office at Munich,
issued a decree which stated in part as follows:
"The Guild of the Virgin Mary (de Marianisch
Jungfrauenkongregation) of the Bavarian dioceses,
including the diocese of Speyere, together with its
branches and associations and the Societies of Our Lady
(Jungfrauenverenen) attached to it, is by police order
to be dissolved and forbidden with immediate effect."
Among the reasons cited for this action were the following:
"The whole behavior of the Guild of the Virgin Mary had
therefore to be objected to from various points of
view. It could be repeatedly observed that the Guild
engaged in purely worldly affairs, such as community
games, and then in the holding of 'Social Evenings'.
"This proves incontestably that the Guild of the Virgin
Mary was active to a very great degree in a manner
unecclesiastical and therefore worldly. By so doing it
has left the sphere of its proper religious task and
entered a sphere of activity to which it has no
statutory right. The organization has therefore to be
dissolved and forbidden." (1481-PS)
According to the report of a Security Police "church
specialist" attached to the State Police Office at Aachen,
the following points were made by a lecturer at a conference
of Security Police and Security Service church intelligence
investigators in Berlin, on 22 September 1941:
"Retreats, recreational organizations, etc., may now be
forbidden on ground of industrial war-needs, whereas
formerly only a worldly activity could be given as a
basis.
"Youth camps, recreational camps are to be forbidden on
principle, church organizations in the evening may be
pre vented on grounds of the blackout regulations.
"Processions, pilgrimages abroad are to be forbidden by
reason of the over-burdened transport conditions. For
local events too technical traffic troubles and the
danger of air attack may serve as grounds for their
prohibition. (One Referent forbade a procession, on the
grounds of it wearing out shoe leather)." (1815-PS)
(g) The Nazi conspirators suppressed religious education. In
a speech on 7 March 1937, Rosenberg stated:
"The education of youth can only be carried out by
those who have rescued Germany from disaster. It is
therefore
[Page 274]
impossible to demand one Fuehrer, one Reich and one
firmly united people as long as education is carried
out by forces which are mutually exclusive to each
other." (2351-PS)
In a speech at Fulda, 27 November 1937 Reich Minister for
Church Affairs Hans Kerrl stated:
"We cannot recognize that the Church has a right to
insure that the individual should be educated in all
respects in the way in which it holds to be right; but
we must leave it to the National Socialist State to
educate the child in the way it regards as right." (252-
PS)
In January 1939, Bormann, acting as Deputy of the Fuehrer,
informed the Minister of Education, that the Party was
taking the position that theological inquiry was not as
valuable as the general fields of knowledge in the
universities and that suppression of Theological Faculties
in the universities was to be undertaken at once. He pointed
out that the Concordat with the Vatican placed certain
limitations on such a program, but that in the light of the
general change of
circumstances, particularly the compulsory military service
and the execution of the four-year plan, the question of
manpower made certain reorganizations, economies and
simplification necessary. Therefore, Theological Faculties
were to be restricted insofar as they could not
be wholly suppressed. He instructed that the churches were
not to be informed of this development and no public
announcement was to be made. Any complaints, if they were to
be replied to at all, should be answered with a statement
that these measures are being executed in a general plan of
reorganization and that similar things are happening to
other faculties. He concludes with the statement that the
professorial chairs vacated by the above program are to be
turned over to the newly created fields of inquiry, such as
Racial Research. (116-PS)
A plan for the reduction of Theological Faculties was
submitted by the Reich Minister for Science, Education and
Training in April 1939 to Bormann, who forwarded it to
Rosenberg for consideration and action. The plan called for
shifting, combining and eliminating Theological
Faculties in various schools and universities throughout the
Reich, with the following results:
"To recapitulate this plan would include the complete
closing of Theological Faculties at Innsbruck, Salzburg
and Munich, the transfer of the faculty of Graz to
Vienna and the vanishing of four Catholic faculties.
"a. Closing of three Catholic Theological Faculties or
Higher Schools and of four Evangelic Faculties in the
winter semester 1939/40.
[Page 275]
"b. Closing of one further Catholic and of three-
further Evangelic Faculties in the near future." (122-
PS)
In a secret decree of the Party Chancellery, signed by
Bormann, and distributed to all Gauleiters on 7 June 1941,
the following statement concerning religious education was
made:
"No human being would know anything of Christianity if
it had not been drilled into him in his childhood by
pastors. The so-called dear God in no wise gives
knowledge of his existence to young people in advance,
but in an astonishing manner in spite of his
omnipotence leaves this to the efforts of the pastors.
If therefore in the future our youth learns nothing
more of this Christianity, whose doctrines are far
below ours, Christianity will disappear by itself." (D-
75)
(2) Supplementary evidence of acts of oppression within
Germany. In laying the groundwork for their attempted
subversion of the Church, the Nazi conspirators resorted to
assurances of peaceful intentions. Thus Hitler, in his
address to the Reichstag on 23 March 1933 declared:
"While the government is determined to carry through
the political and moral purging of our public life, it
is creating and insuring prerequisites for a truly
religious life. The government sees in both Christian
confessions the factors most important for the
maintenance of our Folkdom. It will respect agreements
concluded between them and the states. However, it
expects that its work will meet with a similar
appreciation. The government will treat all other
denominations with equal objective justice. However, it
can never condone that belonging to a certain
denomination or to a certain race might be regarded as
a license to commit or tolerate crimes. The Government
will devote its
care to the sincere living together of Church and
State." (3387-PS)
(a) Against the Evangelical Churches. The Nazi conspirators,
upon their accession to power, passed a number of laws,
under innocent-sounding titles, designed to reduce the
Evangelical Churches to the status of an obedient instrument
of Nazi policy. The following are illustrative:
[Page 276]
Document Number Date Reichsgesetzblatt Title and Gist of Law
Page
------------------------------------------------------------
3433-PS 14.7.33 I.471
Gesetz ueher die
Verfassun der Deutschen
Evanelischen Kirche (Law
concerning the
Constitution of the
German Evangelical
Church), establishing
among other things the
new post of Reich Bishop.
[Signed by] Hitler,
Frick.
3434-PS 26.6.35 I.774
Gesetz ueer das
BesGhlussverfahren in
Rechtsaneleenheite der
Evanelisschen Kirche (Law
concerning procedure for
decisions in legal
affairs of the
Evangelical Church),
giving the Reich Ministry
of the Interior sole
authority to determine
the validity of measures
taken in the Churches
since 1 May 1933, when
raised in a civil
lawsuit. [Signed by]
Hitler, Frick.
3435-PS 3.7.35 I.851
Erste Verordnung zur
Durchfuehrung des
Gesetzes ueber das
Reschluss-verfahren in
Rechtsanelegenheiten der
Evanelischen Kirche
(First Ordinance for
Execution of the Law
concerning procedure for
decisions in legal
affairs of the
Evangelical Church),
setting up detailed
organization and
procedures under the law
of 21 June 1935. [Signed
by] Frick.
3466-PS 16.7.35 I.1029
Erlass ueber die Zusammen
fassung der
Zustaendiykeiten des
Reichs und Preussens in
Kirchenaneleenheiten
(Decree to unite the
competences of Reich and
Prussia in Church
affairs) transferring to
Kerrl, Minister without
Portfolio, the church
affairs previously
handled by Reich and
Prussian Ministers of the
Interior and of Science,
Education, and Training.
[Signed by] Hitler, Rust,
Koerner.
[Page 277]
3436-PS 24.9.35 I.1178
Gesetz zur Sicherun der
Deutschen Evangelischen
Kirche (Law for the
Safeguarding of the
German Evangelical
Church) empowering the
Reich Minister of Church
Affairs (Kerrl) to issue
Ordinances with binding
legal force. [Signed by]
Hitler, Frick.
3437-PS 2.12.35 I.1370
Fuenfte Verordnung Zur
Durchfuehrun des Gesetzes
zur Siherun der Deutschen
Evanelischen Kirche
(Fifth decree for
execution of the law for
the Safeguarding of the
German Evangelical
Church) prohibiting the
churches from filling
their pastorates,
ordaining ministers,
visitation, publishing of
banns, and collecting
dues and assessments.
[Signed by] Kerrl.
3439-PS 25.6.37 I.697
Fuenfzehnte Verordnun zur
Durchfuehrun des Gesetzes
zur Sicherung der
Deutschen Evanyelischen
Kirche (Fifteenth decree
for the Execution of the
Law for Security of the
German Evangelical
Church) establishing in
the Reich Ministry for
Church Affairs a Finance
Department, to supervise
administration of the
church property budget,
tax assessment, and use
of budget funds. [Signed
by] Kerrl.
With the help of their Reich Bishop, Bishop Mueller, they
maneuvered the Evangelical Youth Association into the Hitler
Jugend under Von Schirach in December 1933. (1458-PS)
They arrested prominent Protestant leaders such as Pastor
[Page 278]
Niemoeller. By 1937, the result of all these measures was
complete administrative control by the Nazi conspirators
over the Evangelical churches.
(b) Against the Catholic Church. Just as in their program
against the Evangelical Churches, so in their attack on the
Catholic Church, the Nazi conspirators concealed their real
intentions under a cloak of apparent respect for its rights
and protection of its activities. On 20 July 1933, a
Concordat was concluded between the Holy See and the German
Reich, signed for the Reich by Von Papen (280-A-PS). It was
the Nazi Government, not the Church, which initiated the
negotiations.
"The German Government asked the Holy See to conclude a
Concordat with the Reich." (268-PS)
By Article I of the Concordat,
"The German Reich guarantees freedom of profession and
public practice of the Catholic religion.
"It acknowledges the right of the Catholic Church,
within the limit of those laws which are applicable to
all, to manage and regulate her own affairs
independently, and, within the framework of her own
competence, to publish laws and ordinances binding on
her members." (3280-A-PS)
Other articles formulated agreements on basic principles
such as free communication between Rome and the local
ecclesiastical authorities, freedom of the Catholic press,
of Catholic education and of Catholic action in charitable,
professional, and youth organizations. In return,
the Vatican pledged loyalty by the clergy to the Reich
Government and emphasis in religious instruction on the
patriotic duties of the Christian citizen. (3280-A-PS)
In reliance upon assurances by the Nazi conspirators, the
Catholic hierarchy had already revoked their previous
prohibition against Catholics becoming members of the Nazi
Party (389 PS). The Catholic Center Party, under a
combination of Nazi pressure and assurances,
published on 29 December 1933, an announcement of its
dissolution (2403-PS). Thus the Catholics went a long way to
disarm themselves and cooperate with the Nazis.
Nevertheless, the Nazi conspirators continued to develop
their policy of slow strangulation of religion, first in
covert, and then in open, violation of their assurances and
agreements.
In the Encyclical "Mt Brenneder Sorge", on 14 March 1937, Pope
Pius XI described the program:
"It discloses intrigues which from the beginning had no
other aim than a war of extermination. In the furrows
in which we had labored to sow the seeds of true peace,
others like the enemy in Holy Scripture (Matt. xiii,
25) sowed
[Page 279]
the tares of suspicion, discord, hatred, calumny of
secret and open fundamental hostility to Christ and His
Church, fed from a thousand different sources and
making use of every available means. On them and on
them alone and on their silent and vocal protectors
rests the responsibility that now on the horizon of
Germany there is to be seen not the rainbow of peace
but the threatening storm clouds of destructive
religious wars. *** Anyone who has any sense of truth
left in his mind and even a shadow of the feeling of
justice left in his heart will have to admit that, in
the difficult and eventful years which followed the
Concordat, every word and every action of Ours was
ruled by loyalty to the terms of the agreement; but
also he will have to recognize with surprise and deep
disgust that the unwritten law of the other party has
been arbitrary misinterpretation of agreements, evasion
of agreements, evacuation of the meaning of agreements,
and
finally more or less open violation of agreements."
(3280-PS)
The Nazis suppressed the Catholic Youth League, beginning
ten days after the concordat was signed. (See Section 8,
infra.)
On 18 January 1942, in declining to accede to a demand made
by the German Government that no further appointment of
Archbishops, Bishops, and other high administrative
dignitaries be made in the new territories of the Reich, or
of certain of them within the old Reich, without previous
consultation with the German Government (3261-PS), the
Secretary of State of Pope Pius XII pointed to measures
taken by the German Government,
"Contrary not only to the existing Concordats and to
the principles of international law ratified by the
Second Hague conference, but oftenand this is much more
graveto the very fundamental principles of divine law,
both natural and positive."
The Papal Secretary of State continued:
"Let it suffice to recall in this connection, among
other things, the changing of the Catholic State
elementary schools into undenominational schools; the
permanent or temporary closing of many minor
seminaries, of not a few major seminaries and of some
theological faculties; the suppression of almost all
the private schools and of numerous Catholic boarding
schools and colleges; the repudiation, decided
unilaterally, of financial obligations which the State,
Municipalities etc. had towards the Church; the
increasing difficulties put in the way of the activity
of the religious Orders and Congregations in the
spiritual, cultural and social field
[Page 280]
and above all the suppression of Abbeys, monasteries,
convents and religious houses in such great numbers
that one is led to infer a deliberate intention of
rendering impossible the very existence of the Orders
and Congregations in Germany.
"Similar and even graver acts must be deplored in the
annexed and occupied territories, especially in the
Polish territories and particularly in the Reichsgau
Wartheland, for which the Reich Superintendent - has
issued, under date of September 13th last, a
'Decree concerning Religious Associations and Religious
Societies' (Verordnung uber eligioese Vereinigngen und
Religion-gesellschaften) in clear opposition to the
fundamental principles of the divine constitution of
the Church." (3261-PS)
Illustrative of the numerous other cases and specific
incidents which might be adduced as the program of
suppression was carried into action within Germany proper,
are the measures adopted beginning in 1936 to eliminate the
priest Rupert Mayer of Munich. Because of his sermons, he
was confined in various prisons, arrested and rearrested,
interned in Oranienburg-Sachsenhausen concentration camp,
and the Ettal Monastery, from which he was released by
Allied troops in May 1945, and later died. '(372-PS)
(c) Against other religious groups.
Members of the sect known as "BibelJorscher"meaning "Members
of a Biblical Society" or "Bible-Researchers"were as early
as 1937 sent as a routine matter to concentration camps by
the Gestapo, even after serving of a sentence imposed by a
court or.after the cancellation of
an arrest order (D-84). At one camp aloneDachauthere were
over 150 "Bibelforscher" in protective custody in 1937.
(2928-PS)
B. Acts of suppression of the Christian Churches in Annexed
an Occupied Territories.
(1) In Austria. The methods of suppression of churches
followed in Austria by the occupying power began with
measures to exclude the Church from public activities, such
as processions, printing of newspapers and Reviews which
could spread Christian doctrines; from forming Youth
organizations, such as Boy Scouts; from directing
educational or charitable activities; and even from
extending help in the form of food to foreigners. Unable in
conscience to obey the public
prescription, ministers of religions were arrested and sent
to concentration camps, and some were executed. Churches
were closed, convents and mon-
[Page 281]
asteries suppressed, and educational property confiscated.
The total number of confiscations, suppressions, or
alienations of religious institutions exceeded 100 cases in
one diocese alone. (3278-PS)
The Lutheran Church in Austria, though comprising a small
minority of the population, was subjected to organized
oppression. Its educational efforts were obstructed or
banned. Believers were encouraged, and sometimes
intimidated, to repudiate their faith. Lutheran pastors were
given to understand that a government position would be
awarded to each one who would renounce his ministry and if
possible withdraw from the Lutheran Church. (3273-PS)
Tn summation of the period of Nazi domination and in review
of the attempted suppression of the Christian Church, the
Archbishops and Bishops of Austria in their first joint
Pastoral after liberation declared:
"At an end also is an intellectual battle, the goal of
which was the destruction of Christianity and the
Church among our people; a campaign of lies and
treachery against truth and love, against divine and
human rights and against international law." (3274-PS)
(2) In Czechoslovakia. The Czechoslovak Official Report for
the prosecution and trial of the German Major War Criminals
by the International Military Tribunal established according
to the Agreement of the Four Great Powers of 8 August 1945
describes in summary form the measures taken by the Nazi
conspirators to suppress religious liberties and persecute
the churches. The following excerpts are quoted from this
report (998-PS):
"(a) Catholic Church.
"*** At the outbreak of war, 487 Catholic priests
were among the thousands of Czech patriots arrested and
sent to concentration camps as hostages. Venerable high
ecclesiastical dignitaries were dragged to
concentration camps in Germany. *** Religious orders
were dissolved and liquidated, their charitable
institutions closed down and their members expelled or
else forced to compulsory labor in Germany. All
religious instruction in Czech schools was suppressed.
Most of the weeklies and monthlies which the Catholics
had published in Czechoslovakia, had been suppressed
from the very beginning of the occupation. The Catholic
gymnastic organization "Orel" with 800,000
members was dissolved and its Property was confiscated.
To a
[Page 282]
great extent Catholic church property was seized for
the benefit of the Reich.
"(b) Czechoslovak National Church.
"*** The Czechoslovak Church in Slovakia was entirely
prohibited and its property confiscated under German
compulsion in 1940. It has been allowed to exist in
Bohemia and Moravia but in a crippled form under the
name of the Czecho-Moravian Church.
"(c) Protestant Churches.
"The Protestant Churches were deprived of the freedom
to preach the gospel. German secret state police
watched closely whether the clergy observed the
restrictions imposed on it. *** Some passages from
the Bible were not allowed to be read in public at all.
***
"* * Church leaders were especially persecuted, scores
of ministers were imprisoned in concentration camps,
among them the General Secretary of the Students'
Christian Movement in Czechoslovakia. One of the Vice-
Presidents was executed.
"Protestant Institutions such as the YMCA and YWCA were
suppressed throughout the country.
"The leading Theological School for all Evangelical
denominations, HUS Faculty in Prague and all other
Protestant training schools for the ministry were
closed down in November 1939, with the other Czech
universities and colleges.
"(d) Czech Orthodox Church.
"The hardest blow was directed against the Czech
Orthodox Church. The Orthodox churches in
Czechoslovakia were ordered by the Berlin Ministry of
Church Affairs to leave the Pontificate of Belgrade and
Constantinople respectively and to become subordinate
to the Berlin Bishop. The Czech Bishop Gorazd was
executed together with two other priests of the
Orthodox Church. By a special order of the Protector
Daluege, issued in September 1942, the Orthodox Church
of Serbian Constantinople jurisdiction was completely
dissolved in the Czech lands, its religious activity
forbidden and its property
"All Evangelical education was handed over to the civil
authorities and many Evangelical teachers lost their
employment; moreover the State grant to salaries of
many evangelical priests was taken away." (998-PS)
(3) In Poland. The repressive measures levelled against the
Christian Church in Poland where Hans Frank was Governor-
[Page 283]
General from 1939 to 1945, were even more drastic and
sweeping. In protest against the
systematic strangulation of religion, the Vatican, on 8
October 1942, addressed a memorandum to the German Embassy
accredited to the Holy See in which the Secretariat of State
emphasized the fact that despite previous protests to the
Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Reich, von
Ribbentrop, the religious condition of the Catholics in the
Warthegau "has become even sadder and more tragic." This
memorandum states:
"For quite a long time the religious situation in the
Warthegau gives cause for very grave and ever
increasing anxiety. There, in fact, the Episcopate has
been little by little almost completely eliminated; the
secular and regular clergy have been reduced to
proportions that are absolutely inadequate, because
they have been in large part deported and exiled; the
education of clerics has been forbidden; the Catholic
education of youth is meeting with the greatest
opposition; the nuns have been dispersed;
insurmountable obstacles have been put in the way of
affording people the helps of religions; very many
churches have been closed; Catholic intellectual and
charitable institutions have been destroyed;
ecclesiastical property has been seized." (3263-PS)
On 18 November 1942 the Papal Secretary of State requested
the Archbishop of Breslau, Cardinal Bertram, to use every
effort to assist Polish Catholic workers transferred to
Germany, who were being deprived of the consolations of
religion. In addition, he again appealed for help for the
Polish priests detained in various concentration camps,
whose death rate was "still on the increase." (3265-PS). On
7 December 1942 the Cardinal Archbishop of Breslau replied
that all possible efforts were being put forward by the
German Bishops without success on behalf of the victims of
concentration camps and labor battalions, and deplored "the
intolerable decrees" against religious ministration to
Poles. (3266-PS)
On 2 March 1943, the Cardinal Secretary of State addressed a
note to von Ribbentrop, Reichsminister for Foreign Affairs,
in which the violations of religious rights and conscience
among the civilian population of Poland were set out in
detail, and the time, locality, and character of the
persecutions were specified. Priests and Ecclesiastics were
still being arrested, thrust into concentration camps, and
treated with scorn and derision, while many had been
summarily executed. Religious instruction was hampered;
Catholic schools were closed; the use of the Polish lan-
[Page 284]
guage in sacred functions and even in the Sacrament of
Penance was forbidden. Even the natural right of marriage
was denied to men of Polish nationality under 28 years of
age to women under 25. In the territory called "General
Government" similar conditions existed and against these the
Holy See vigorously protested. To save the harassed and
persecuted leaders of the Catholic Church, the Vatican had
petitioned that they be allowed to emigrate to neutral
countries of Europe or America. The only concession made was
that they would all be collected in one concentration camp
Dachau. (3264-PS)
The Nazi conspirators adopted a dilatory and obstructionist
policy toward complaints as to religious affairs in the
overrun territories, and a decision was "taken by those
competent to do so. *** that no further consideration will
be taken of proposals or requests concerning the territories
which do not belong to the Old Reich." (3262-PS)
"Those competent" to make decisions on complaints as to
religious affairs in the overrun territories -- especially
the Party Chancery, headed by Bormann -- the methods they
used, and the reasons for their attitude are outlined by the
Cardinal Archbishop of Breslau, a German
living in Germany, in a letter to the Papal Secretary of
State on 7 December 1942 as follows:
"Your Eminence knows very well the greatest difficulty
in the way of opening negotiations comes from the
overruling authority which the "National Socialist
Party Chancery" (Kanzlei der Nazion-sozstschen Parez,
known as the Partei-Kanzlei) exercises in relation to
the Chancery of the Reich (Reichskanzlei) and to the
single Reich Ministries. This 'Parteikanzlei' directs
the course to be followed by the State, whereas the
Ministries and the Chancery of the Reich are obliged
and compelled to adjust their decrees to these
directions. Besides, there is the fact that the
"Supreme Office for the Security of the Reich" called
the 'Reichsscherheitshauptamt' enjoys an authority
which precludes all legal action and all appeals. Under
it are the 'Secret Offices for Public Security' called
'Geheime Staatspolizei' (a title shortened usually to
Gestapo) of which there is one for each Province.
Against the decrees of this Central Office
(Reichsscherheitshauptamt) and of the Secret Offices
(Geheime Staatspolizei) there is no appeal through the
Courts, and no complaint made to the Ministries has any
effect. Not infrequently the Councillors of the
Ministries suggest that they have not been able to do
as they would wish to, because of the opposition of
these Party offices. As far as the executive
[Page 285]
power is concerned, the organization called the SS,
that is Schutzstaffeln der Partei, is in practice
supreme.
"This hastily sketched interrelation of authorities is
the reason why many of the petitions and protests made
by the Bishops to the Ministries have been foiled. Even
if we present our complaints to the so-called Supreme
Security Office, there is rarely any reply; and when
there is, it is negative.
"On a number of very grave and fundamental issues we
have also presented our complaints to the Supreme
Leader of the Reich (Fuehrer). Either no answer is
given, or it is apparently edited by the above-
mentioned Party Chancery, which does not consider
itself bound by the Concordat made with the Holy See."
(3266-PS)
The interchange of correspondence following the transmission
of the above-described note of 2 March 1943 on the religious
situation in the overrun Polish Provinces illustrates the
same evasive tactics. (3269-PS)
In his Allocution to the Sacred College, on 2 June 1945, His
Holiness Pope Pius XII recalled, byway of example, "some
details from the abundant accounts which have reached us
from priests and laymen who were interned in the
concentration camp at Dachau":
"In the forefront, for the number and harshness of the
treatment meted out to them, are the Polish priests.
From 1940 to 1945, 2,800 Polish ecclesiastics and
religious were imprisoned in that camp; among them was
the Auxiliary bishop of Wloclawek, who died there of
typhus. In April last there were left only 816, all the
others being dead except
for two or three transferred to another camp. In the
summer of 1942, 480 German-speaking ministers of
religion were known to be gathered there; of these, 45
were Protestants, all the others Catholic priests. In
spite of the continuous inflow of new internees,
especially from some dioceses of Bavaria, Rhenania and
Westphalia, their number, as a result of the high rate
of mortality, at the beginning of this year, did not
surpass 350. Nor should we pass over in silence these
belonging to occupied territories, Holland, Belgium,
France (among whom the Bishop of Clermont), Luxembourg,
Slovenia, Italy. Many of those priests and laymen
endured indescribable sufferings for their faith and
for their vocation. In one case the hatred of the
impious against Christ
reached the point of parodying on the person of an
[Page 286]
interned priest, with barbed wire, the scourging and
the crowning with thorns of our
Redeemer." (3268-PS)
Further revealing figure on the persecution of Polish
priests are contained in the following extract from Charge
No. 17 against Hans Frank, Governor-General of Poland,
submitted by the Polish Government, entitled "Maltreatment
and Persecution of the Catholic Clergy in the Western
Provinces":
"IV. GENERAL CONDITIONS AND RESULTS OF THE PERSECUTION
11. The general situation of the clergy in the
Archdiocese of Poznan in the beginning of April 1940 is
summarized in the following words of Cardinal Hlond's
second report:
5 priests shot
27 priests confined in harsh concentration camps at
Stutthof and in other camps
190 priests in prison or in concentration camps at
Bruczkow, Chludowo, Goruszki, Kazimierz, Biskupi, Lad,
Lubin and Puszczykowo,
35 priests expelled into the Government General,
11 priests seriously ill in consequence of ill-
treatment,
122 parishes entirely left without priests.'
12. In the diocese of Chefmno,. where about 650 priests
were installed before the war only 30 were allowed to
stay, the 97% of them were imprisoned, executed or put
into concentration camps.
13. By January 141 about 7000 priests were killed, 3000
were in prison or concentration camps." (3279-PS)
The Allocution of Pope Pius XII on 2 June 1945 described
National Socialism as "the arrogant apostasy from Jesus
Christ, the denial of His doctrine and of His work of
redemption, the cult of violence, the idolatry of race and
blood, the overthrow of human liberty and dignity." It
summarized the attacks of "National Socialism" on the
Catholic Church in these terms:
"The struggle against the Church did, in fact, become
even more bitter: there was the dissolution of Catholic
organizations; the gradual suppression of the
flourishing Catholic schools,-both public and private;
the enforced weaning of youth from family and Church;
the pressure brought to bear on the conscience of
citizens, and especially of civil servants; the
systematic defamation, by means of a clever, closely
organized propaganda, of the Church, the clergy, the
faithful, the Church's institutions, teaching and
history; the closing, dissolution, confiscation of
religious houses and other ecclesiastical institutions;
the complete suppression of the Catholic press and
publishing houses." (3268-PS)
[Page 287]
LEGAL REFERENCES AND LIST OF DOCUMENTS
RELATING TO SUPPRESSION OF THE
CHRISTIAN CHURCHES
Charter of the International Military Tribunal,
Article 6, especially 6 (a, c). Vol. I Pg. 5
International Military Tribunal, Indictment
Number 1, Section IV (D) 3 (c) (2, 3); X (B). Vol. I Pgs 20,
55
[Note: A single asterisk (*) before a document indicates
that the document was received in evidence at the Nurnberg
trial. A double asterisk (*) before a document number
indicates that the document was referred to during the trial
but was not formally received in evidence, for the reason
given in parentheses following the description of the
document. The USA series number, given in parentheses
following the description of the document, is the official
exhibit number assigned by the court.]
*064-PS; Bormann's letter to
Rosenberg, 27 September 1940, enclosing letter from
Gauleiter Florian criticizing Churches and publications for
soldiers. (USA 359) Vol. III Pg.109
[Page 288]
*068-PS; Letter from Bormann to
Rosenberg, 5 April 1940, enclosing copy of Bormann's letter to
the High Command of Navy, and copy of Navy High Command
letter to Bormann of 9 February 1940. (USA 726) Vol. III Pg. 114
*070-PS; Letter of Deputy Fuehrer to
Rosenberg, 25 April 1941, on substitution of National
Socialist mottos for morning prayers in schools. (USA 349)
Vol. III Pg. 118
*072-PS; Bormann letter to Rosenberg,
19 April 1941, concerning confiscation of property,
especially of art treasures in the East. (USA 357) Vol. III
Pg.122
*089-PS; Letter from Bormann to
Rosenberg, 8 March 1940, instructing Amann not to issue
further news print to confessional newspapers. (USA 360)
Vol. III Pg. 147
*098-PS; Bormann's letter to
Rosenberg, 22 February 1940, urging creation of National
Socialist Catechism, etc. to provide moral foundation for NS
religion. (USA 350) Vol. III Pg. 152
*100-PS; Bormann's letter to
Rosenberg, 18 January 1940, urging preparation of National
Socialist reading material to replace Christian literature
for soldiers. (USA 691). Vol. III Pg. 160
*101-PS; Letter from Hess' office
signed Bormann to Rosenberg, 17 January 1940, concerning
undesirability of religious literature for members of the
Wehrmacht. (USA 361) Vol. III Pg. 160
[Page 289]
*107-PS; Circular letter signed
Bormann, 17 June 1938, enclosing directions prohibiting
participation of Reichsarbeitsdienst in religious
celebrations. (USA 351) Vol. III Pg. 162
*116-PS; Bormann's letter to
Rosenberg, enclosing copy of letter, 24 January 1939, to
Minister of Education requesting restriction or elimination
of theological faculties. (USA 685) Vol. III Pg. 165
*122-PS; Bormann's letter to
Rosenberg, 17 April 1939, enclosing copy of Minister of
Education letter, 6 April 1939, on elimination of
theological faculties in various universities. (USA 362)
Vol. III Pg.173
*129-PS; Letter from Kerrl to Herr
Stapol, 6 September 1939, found in Rosenberg files. (USA
727) Vol. III Pg.179
*840-PS; Party Directive, 14 July
1939, making clergy and theology students ineligible for
Party membership. (USA 355) Vol. III Pg.606
*848-PS; Gestapo telegram from Berlin
to Nurnberg, 24 July 1938, dealing with demonstrations
against Bishop Sproll in Rottenburg. (USA 353) Vol. III Pg.
613
*849-PS; Letter from Kerrl to
Minister of State, 23 July 1938, with enclosures dealing
with persecution of Bishop Sproll. (USA 354) Vol. III Pg.613
*998-PS; "German Crimes Against
Czechoslovakia". Excerpts from Czechoslovak Official Report
for the prosecution and trial of the German Major War
Criminals by the International Military Tribunal established
according to Agreement of four Great Powers of
8 August 1945. (USA 91) Vol. III Pg.656
[Page 290]
*1164-PS; Secret letter, 21 April
1942, from SS to all concentration camp commanders
concerning treatment of priests. (USA 736) Vol. III Pg.820
*1458-PS; The Hitler Youth by Baldur
von Schirach, Leipzig, 1934. (USA 667) Vol.IV Pg.22
*1481-PS; Gestapo order,20 January
1938, dissolving and confiscating property of Catholic Youth
Women's Organization in Bavaria. (USA 737) Vol. IV Pg.50
*1482-PS; Secret letter, 20 July 1933
to provincial governments and the Prussian Gestapo from
Frick, concerning Confessional Youth Organizations. (USA
738) Vol. IV Pg.51
*1498-PS; Order of Frick, 6 November
1934, addressed inter alios to Prussian Gestapo prohibiting
publication of Protestant Church announcements. (USA 739)
Vol. IV Pg.52
*1521-PS; Report from the Bavarian
Political Police to the Gestapo, Berlin, 24 August 1934,
concerning National mourning on occasion of death of von
Hindenburg. (USA 740) Vol. IV Pg.75
*1708-PS; The Program of the NSDAP.
National Socialistic Yearbook, 1941, p. 153. (USA 255; USA
324) Vol. IV Pg.208
*1815-PS; Documents on RSHA meeting
concerning the study and treatment of church politics. (USA
510) Vol. IV Pg.415
[Page 291]
1855-PS; Extract from Organization
Book of the NSDAP, 1937, p. 418. Vol. IV Pg. 495
*1997-PS; Decree of the Fuehrer, 17
July 1941, concerning administration of Newly Occupied
Eastern Territories. (USA 319) Vol. IV Pg.634
*2349-PS: Extracts from "The Myth of
20th Century" by Alfred Rosenberg, 1941. (USA 352) Vol. IV
Pg.1069
2351-PS; Speech of Rosenberg, 7 March
1937, from The Archive, Vol. 3436, p. 1716, published in
Berlin, March 1937. Vol. IV Pg.1070
2352-PS; Speech of Kerrl, 27 November
1937, from The Archive, Vol. 4345, p. 1029, published in
Berlin, November 1937. Vol. IV Pg.1071
2403-PS; The End of the Party State,
from Documents of German Politics, Vol. I, pp. 55-56. Vol. V
Pg.71
2456-PS; Youth and the Church, from
Complete Handbook of Youth Laws. Vol. V Pg.198
*2851-PS; Statement by Rosenberg of
positions held, 9 November 1945. (USA 6). Vol. V Pg.512
*2910-PS; Certificate of defendant
Seyss-Inquart, 10 November 1945. USA 17) Vol. V Pg.579
*2928-PS; Affidavit of Mathias Lex,
deputy president of the German Shoemakers Union. (USA 239)
Vol. V Pg.594
*2972-PS; List of appointments held
by von Neurath, 17 November 1945. (USA 19) Vol. V Pg.679
*2973-PS; Statement by von Schirach
concerning positions held. (USA 14) Vol. V Pg.679
*2978-PS; Frick's statement of
offices and positions, 14 November 1945. (USA 8) Vol. V
Pg.683
[Page 292]
*2979-PS; Affidavit by Hans Frank, 15
November 1945, concerning positions held. (USA 7) Vol. V
Pg.684
*3261-PS; Verbal note of the
Secretariat of State of His Holiness, to the German Embassy,
1 January 1942. (USA 568) Vol. V Pg.1009
3262-PS; Report of His Excellency,
the Most Reverend Cesare Orsenigo, Papal Nuncio in Germany
to His Eminence the Cardinal Secretary of State to His
Holiness, 27 June 1942. Vol. V Pg.1015
*3263-PS; Memorandum of Secretariate
of State to German Embassy regarding the situation in the
Warthegau, 8 October 1942. (USA 571)
*3264-PS; Note of His Eminence the
Cardinal Secretary of State to Foreign Minister of Reich
about religious situation in Warthegau and in other Polish
provinces subject to 2 March 1943. (USA 572) Vol. V Pg.1018
3265-PS; Letter to His Eminence the
Cardinal Secretary of State to the Cardinal Archbishop of
Breslau, 18 November 1942. Vol. V Pg.1029
*3266-PS; Description; Letter of Cardinal Bertram,
Archbishop of Breslau to the Papal Secretary of State, 7
December 1942. (USA 573) Vol. V Pg.1031
3267-PS; Verbal note of German
Embassy to Holy See to the Secretariate of State of His
Holiness, 29 August 1941. Vol. V Pg. 1037
*3268-PS; Allocution of His Holiness
Pope Pius XII, to the Sacred College, 2 June 1945. (USA 356)
Vol. V Pg.1038
[Page 293]
3269-PS; Correspondence between the
Holy See, the Apostolic Nuncio in Berlin, and the defendant
von Ribbentrop, Reich Minister of Foreign Affairs. Vol. V
Pg. 1041
3272-PS; Statement of Rupert Mayer,
13 October 1945. Vol. V Pg.1061
3273-PS; Statement of Lutheran
Pastor, Friedrich Kaufmann, Salzburg, 23 October 1945. Vol.
V Pg.1064
*3274-PS; Pastoral letter of Austrian
Bishops read in all churches, 14 October 1945. (USA 570)
Vol. V Pg.1067
*3278-PS; Report on fighting of
National Socialism in Apostolic Administration of Innsbruck-
Feldkirch of Tyrol and Vorarlberg by Bishop Paulus Rusch, 27
June 1945 and attached list of church institutions there
which were closed, confiscated or suppressed.
(USA 569) Vol. V Pg.1070
*3279-PS; Extract from Charge No. 17
against Hans Frank submitted by Polish Government to
International Military Tribunal. (USA 574) Vol. V Pg.1078
*3280-PS; Extract from Papal
Encyclical "Mit Brennender Sorge", set forth in Appendix II,
p. 524, of "The Persecution of the Catholic Church in the
Third Reich". (USA 567) Vol. V Pg.1079
3280-A-PS; Concordat between the Holy
See and the German Reich. Reichsgesetzblatt, Part II, p.
679. Vol. V Pg.1080
*3387-PS; Hitler Reichstag speech, 23
March 1933, asking for adoption of Enabling Act, from
Voelkischer Beobachter, 24 March 1933, p. 1. (USA 566) Vol.
VI Pg.104
[Page 294]
*3389-PS; Fulda Declaration of 28
March 1933, from Voelkischer Beobachter, 29 March 1933, p.
2. (USA 566) Vol. VI Pg.105
3433-PS; Law concerning the
Constitution of the German Protestant Church, 14 July 1933.
1933 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 471. Vol. VI Pg.136
3434-PS; Law concerning procedure for
decisions in legal affairs of the Protestant Church, 26 June
1935. 1935 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 774. Vol. VI Pg.143
3435-PS; First Ordinance for
Execution of Law concerning procedure for decisions in legal
affairs of the Protestant Church, 3 July 1935. 1935
Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 851. Vol.VI Pg.144
3436-PS; Law for Safeguarding of
German Protestant Church, 24 September 1935. 1935
Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 1178. Vol. VI Pg.145
3437-PS; Fifth Decree for execution
of law for safeguarding of the German Protestant Church, 2
December 1935. 1935 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 1370. Vol.
VI Pg.146
3439-PS; Fifteenth decree for the
Execution of law for Security of German Protestant Church,
25 June 1937. 1937 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 697. Vol.
VI Pg.147
3466-PS; Decree to unite the
competences of Reich and Prussia in Church Affairs, 16 July
1935. 1935 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 1029. Vol. VI
Pg.168
3560-PS; Decree concerning
organization and administration of Eastern Territories, 8
October 1939. 1939 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 2042. Vol.
VI Pg.244
[Page 295]
3561-PS; Decree concerning the
Administration of Occupied Polish Territories, 12 October
1939. 1939 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 2077. Vol. VI
Pg.246
3701-PS; Proposal for Reichsleiter
Bormann concerning speech of Bishop of Meunster on 3 August
1941. Vol. VI Pg.405
*3751-PS; Diary of the German
Minister of Justice, 1935 concerning prosecution of church
officials and punishment in concentration camps. (USA 828;
USA 858) Vol. VI Pg.636
*D-75.; SD Inspector Bierkamp's
letter, 12 December 1941, to RSHA enclosing copy of secret
decree signed by Bormann, entitled Relationship of National
Socialism and Christianity. (USA 348) Vol.VI Pg.1035
*D-84; Gestapo instructions to State
Police Departments, 5 August 1937, regarding protective
custody for Bible students. (USA 236) Vol. VI Pg.1040
*EC-68; Confidential letter from
Minister of Finance and Economy, Baden, containing
directives on treatment of Polish Farm workers, 6 March
1941. (USA 205) Vol. VII Pg.260
*R-101-A; Letter from Chief of the
Security Police and Security Service to the Reich
Commissioner for the Consolidation of German Folkdom, 5
April 1940, with enclosures concerning confiscation of
church property. (USA 358) Vol. VIII Pg.87
R-101-B; Letter from Himmler to Dr.
Winkler, 31 October 1940, concerning treatment of church
property: in incorporated Eastern countries. Vol. VIII Pg.89
[Page 296]
*R-101-C; Letter to Reich Leader SS,
30 July 1941, concerning treatment of church property in
incorporated Eastern areas. (USA 358) Vol. VIII Pg.91
*R-101-D; Letter from Chief of Staff
of the Reich Main Security Office (RSHA) to Reich Leader SS,
30 March 1942, concerning confiscation of church property.
(USA 358) Vol. VIII Pg.92
*R-103; Letter from Polish Main
Committee to General Government of Poland on situation of
Polish workers in the Reich, 17 May 1944. (USA 204) Vol.
VIII Pg.104
*R-145; State Police Order, 28 May
1934, at Duesseldorf, signed Schmid, concerning sanction of
denominational youth and professional associations and
distribution of publications in churches. (USA 745) Vol.
VIII Pg.248
7. ADOPTION AND PUBLICATION OF THE PROGRAM
FOR PERSECUTION OF JEWS
A. The official program of the NSDAP, proclaimed 24 February
1920 by Adolf Hitler at a public gathering in Munich.
Point 4: "None but members of the nation (Volksgenosse)
may be citizens. None but those of German blood,
whatever their creed, may be members of the nation. No
Jew, therefore, may be a member of the nation."
Point 5: "Anyone who is not a citizen may live in
Germany only as a guest and must be regarded as being
subject to legislation for foreigners."
Point 6: "The right to determine matters concerning
government and legislation is to be enjoyed by the
citizen alone. We demand therefore that all
appointments to pub-
[Page 297]
lic office, of whatever kind, whether in the Reich,
Land, or municipality, be filled only by citizens. * *
"
Point 7: "We demand that the state make it its first
duty to promote the industry and livelihood of
citizens. If it is not possible to nourish the entire
population of the State, the members of foreign nations
(non-citizens) are to be expelled from the Reich."
Point 8: "Any further immigration of non-Germans is to
be prevented. We demand that all non-Germans who
entered Germany subsequent to 2 August 1914, shall be
forced immediately to leave the Reich."
Point 23: "We demand legal warfare against conscious
political lies and their dissemination through the
press. In order to make possible the creation of a
German press we demand:
(a) that all editors and collaborators of
newspapers published in the German language be
members of the nation.
(b) non-German newspapers be requested to have
express permission of the State to be published.
They may not be printed in the German language.
(c) non-Germans be prohibited by law from
financial participation in or influence on German
newspapers, and that as penalty for contravention
of the law such newspapers be suppressed and all
non-Germans participating in it expelled from the
Reich. ***" (1708-PS)
B. Development of ideological basis for antiSemitic
measures. Among the innumerable statements made by the
leaders of the NSDAP are the following:
Rosenberg advocated in 1920 the adoption of the following
program concerning the Jews:
"(1) The Jews are to be recognized as a (separate)
nation living in Germany, irrespective of he religion
they belong to.
(2) A Jew is he whose parents on either side are
nationally Jews. Anyone who has a Jewish husband or
wife is henceforth a Jew.
(3) Jews have no right to speak and write on or be
active in German politics.
(4) Jews have no right to hold public offices, or to
serve in the Army either as soldiers or as officers.
However, their contribution of work may be considered.
[Page 298]
(5) Jews have no right to be leaders of cultural
institution of the state and community (theaters,
galleries, etc.) or to be professors and teachers in
German schools and universities.
(6) Jews have no right to be active in state or
municipal commissions for examinations, control,
censorship, etc. Jews have no right to represent the
German Reich in economic treaties; they have no right
to be represented in the directorate of state banks or
communal credit establishments.
(7) Foreign Jews have no right to settle in Germany
permanently. Their admission into the German political
community is to be forbidden under all circumstances.
(8) Zionism should be energetically supported in order
to promote the departure of German Jews -- in numbers to be
determined annually to Palestine or generally across
the border." (2842-PS)
Rosenberg's "Zionism" was neither sincere nor consistent,
for in 1921 he advocated breaking up Zionism, "which is
involved in English-Jewish politics." (2432-PS). He
advocated in 1921 the adoption by "all Germans" of the
following slogans: "Get the Jews out of all parties.
Institute measures for the repudiation of all citizenship
rights of all Jews and half-Jews: banish all the Eastern
Jews; exercise strictest vigilance over the native ones. * *
*" (2432-PS)
Frick and other Nazis introduced a motion in the Reichstag
on 27 May 1924, "to place all members of the Jewish race
under special laws." (2840-PS). Frick also asked in the
Reichstag, on 25 August 1924, for the realization of the
Nazi program by "exclusion of all Jews from public office."
(2893-PS)
C. AntiSemitism was seized upon by the Nazi conspirators as
a convenient instrument to unite groups and classes of
divergent views and interests under one banner.
Adolf Hitler described racial anti-Semitism as "a new creed
for the masses" and its spreading among the German people as
"the most formidable task to be accomplished by our
movement." (2881-PS). Rosenberg called for the
Zusanamenraffen aller Deutschen zeiner stahlharten,
voelkischen Eiqheitsfront" (gathering of all Germans into a
steel-hard racial united front) on the basis of anti-Semitic
slogans (2432-PS). Gotfried Feder, official commentator of
the Nazi Party
program, stated: "AntiSemitism is in a way the emotional
foundation of our movement." (2844-PS)
[Page 299]
There are innumerable admissions on the part of the Nazi
leaders as to the part which their anti-Semitic propaganda
played in their acquisition of control. The following
statement concerning the purpose of racial propaganda was
made by Dr. Walter Gross, director of the Office of Racial
Policy of the Nazi Party:
"In the years of fight, the aim was to employ all means
of propaganda which promised success in order to gather
people who were ready to overthrow, together with the
Party, the harmful post-war regime and put the power
into the hand of the Fuehrer and his collaborators. * *
* In these years of fight the aim was purely political:
I meant the overthrow of the regime and acquisition of
power. *** Within this great general task the
education in racial thinking necessarily played a
decisive part, because herein lies basically the
deepest revolutionary nature of the new spirit." (2845-
PS)
In another official Nazi publication, recommended for
circulation in all Party units and establishments, it is
stated:
"The whole treatment of the Jewish problem in the years
prior to our seizure of power is to be regarded
essentially from the point of view of the political
education of the German people." (To disregard this
angle of the use made of anti-Semitism means) "to
disregard the success and aim of the work toward racial
education." (2427-PS)
D. After the acquisition of power the Nazi conspirators
initiated a state policy of persecution of the Jews.
(1) The first organized act was the boycott of Jewish
enterprises on 1 April 1933. The boycott action was approved
by all the defendants who were members of the
Reichsregierung (Reich Cabinet), and Streicher was charged
with its execution. Presented as an alleged act of "self
defense", the boycott action was intended to frighten Jewish
public opinion abroad and force it, by the threat of
collective responsibility to all Jews in Germany, to desist
from warning against the Nazi danger. (2409-PS; 2410-PS)
The boycott was devised as a demonstration of the extent to
which the Nazi Party controlled its members and the German
masses; consequently, spontaneous action and physical
violence were discouraged. Goebbels stated:
"The national-socialist leadership had declared: 'The
boycott is legal', and the government demands that the
people permit that the boycott be carried out legally.
We expect iron discipline. This must be for the whole
world a wonderful
[Page 300]
show of unity and manly training. To those abroad who
believe that we could not manage it, we want to show
that we have the people in our hand." (2431-PS)
(2) Laws eliminating Jews from various offices and
functions. The Nazi conspirators legislative program was
gradual and, in the beginning, relatively "moderate." In the
first period, which dates from 7 April 1933 until September
1935, the laws eliminated Jews from public office and
limited their participation in schools, certain professions,
and cultural establishments. The following are the major
laws issued in this period:
Document Number Date Reichsgesetzblatt
-Page Title and Gist
of Law
------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------
1397-PS 7.4.33 I.175
Gesetz zur
Wiederherstellunl
des
Berufsbeamtenturn
(Law for the
reestablishment of
the professional
civil service),
removing Jews from
Civil Service.
[Signed by] Hitler,
Frick, Schwerin, V.
Krosigk.
7.4.33 I.188
Gesetz uber die
Zulassun zur
Rechtsanwaltschaft
(Law relating to
admission to the
Bar) removing Jews
from the Bar.
[Signed by]
Guertner.
2868-PS 22.4.33 I.217
Gesetz betreff die
Zulassun zur
Patentanwaltschaft
(Law relating to the
admission to the
profession of patent
agent and lawyer)
excluding Jews from
acting as patent
attorneys. [Signed
by] Hitler,
Guertner.
2869-PS 6.5.33 I.257
Gesetz uber die
Zulasun von
Steuereratern. (Law
relating to the
admission of Tax
Advisors)
eliminating
"nonAryans" from the
profession of tax
consultants. [Signed
by] Hitler,
Schwerin, V.
Krosigk.
2084-PS 22.4.33 I.215
Gesetz uber die
uberfullun deutscher
Schullen ( Law
against the over-
crowding of German
schools and higher
institutions)
limiting drastically
the number of Jewish
students. [Signed
by] Hitler, Frick.
[Page 301]
2870-PS 26.7.33 I.538
Verordnung zur
Durchfuehrung des
Gesetzes uber den
Widerruf von
Einbuergerungen
(Executing decree
for the law about
the Repeal of
Naturalizations and
the adjudication of
German citizenship)
defining Jews from
Eastern Europe as
"undesirable" and
subject to
denationalization.
[Signed by]
Pfundtner (Asst. to
Frick).
2083-PS 4.10.33 I.713
Schriftleitergesetz
(Editorial Law)
barring "non-Aryans"
and persons married
to "non-Aryans" from
the newspaper
profession. [Signed
by] Hitler,
Goebbels.
2984-PS 21.5.35 I.608
Wehrgesetz (Law
concerning Armed
Forces) barring "non-
Aryans" from
military service.
[Signed by: v.
Blomberg]
On 10 September 1935, Minister of Education Rust issued a
circular ordering the complete elimination of Jewish pupils
from Aryan" schools (2894-PS). This legislative activity, in
addition to being the first step towards the elimination of
the Jews, served an "educational" purpose and was a further
test of the extent of control exerted by the Nazi Party and
regime over the German masses.
Dr. Achim Gercke, racial expert of the Ministry of the
Interior, stated:
"The laws are mainly educational and give direction.
The aspect of the laws should not be underestimated.
The entire nation is enlightened on the Jewish problem;
it learns to understand that the national community is
a blood community; it understands for the first time
the racial idea, and is diverted from a too theoretical
treatment of the Jewish problem and faced with the
actual solution." (2904-PS)
It was clear, however, that the Nazi conspirators had a far
more ambitious program in the Jewish problem and put off its
realization for reasons of expediency. In the words of Dr.
Gercke:
"Nevertheless the laws published thus far cannot bring
a final solution of the Jewish problem, because the
time has not yet come for it, although the decrees give
the general
[Page 302]
direction and leave open the possibility of further
developments.
"It would be in every respect premature now to work out
and publicly discuss plans to achieve more than can be
achieved for the time being. However, one must point
out a few basic principles so that the ideas which one
desires and must have ripened will contain no mistakes.
***
"All suggestions aiming at a permanent situation, at a
stabilization of the status of the Jews in Germany do
not solve the Jewish problem, because they do not
detach the Jews from Germany. ***
"Plans and programs must contain an aim pointing to the
future and not merely consisting of the regulation of a
momentarily uncomfortable situation." (2904-PS)
(3) Deprivation of Jews of their rights as citizens. After a
propaganda barrage, in which the speeches and writings of
Streicher were most prominent, the Nazi conspirators
initiated the second period of anti-Jewish legislation (1
September 1935 to September 1938). In this period
the Jews were deprived of their full rights as citizens
(First Nurnberg Law and forbidden to marry "Aryans" (Second
Nurnberg Law). Further steps were taken to eliminate Jews
from certain professions, and the groundwork was laid for
the subsequent expropriation of Jewish property. These laws
were hailed as the fulfillment of the Nazi Party program.
The major laws issued in this period are listed below:
Document Number Date Reichsgesetzblatt-Page Title
and Gist of Law
1416-PS 15.9.35 I.1145
Reichsbuergergesetz
(Reich Citizenship
Law), first Nurnberg
Law, reserving
citizenship for
subjects of German
blood. [Signed by]
Hitler, Frick.
2000-PS 15.9.35 I.1146
Gesetz zum Sohutze
des deutschen
Blutes, (Law for
protection of German
blood and German
honor), forbidding
marriages and
extramarital
relations between
Jews and "Aryans"
[Signed by] Hitler,
Frick, Guertner,
Hess.
[Page 303]
1417-PS 14.11.35 I.1333
Erste Verordnung zum
Reichsbuergergesetz
(First regulation to
Reich citizenship
law), defining the
terms "Jew" and
"part-Jew". Jewish
officials to be
dismissed. [Signed
by] Hitler, Frick,
Hess.
2871-PS 7.3.36 I.133
Gesetz ueber as
Reichstagwahlrecht
(Law governing
elections to the
Reichstag) barring
Jews from Reichstag
vote. [Signed by]
Hitler, Frick.
1406-PS 26.4.38 I.414
Verordnung ueber die
Ammeldun des
Vermoens von Jude
(Decree for
reporting Jewish
owned property),
basis for subsequent
expropriation.
[Signed by] Goering,
Frick.
2872-PS 25.7.38 I.969
Vierte Verordnung
zum
Reichsbuergergesetz.
Fourth decree on the
Citizenship Law,
revoking licenses of
Jewish physicians.
[Signed by] Frick.
2873-PS 17.8.38 I.1044
Zweite Verordnung
zur Durchfuhwhng des
Gesetzes ueber die
Aenderung von
Familiennamen und
Vornmen (Second
decree on law
concerning change of
first and last
names), forcing Jews
to adopt the names
"Israel" and "Sara".
[Signed by] Frick.
2874-PS 27.9.38 I.1403
Fuenfte Verordnung
zum
Reichsbuergergesetz.
(Fifth decree to law
relating to the
Reich citizenship),
revoking admission
of Jewish lawyers.
(4) Program of 9 November 1938 and elimination of Jew. from
economic life.
In the autumn of 1938, within the framework of economic
preparation for aggressive war and as an act of defiance to
world opinion, the Nazi conspirators began to put into
effect a program of complete elimination of the Jews. The
measures
[Page 304]
taken were partly presented as retaliation against "world
Jewry" in connection with the killing of a German embassy
official in Paris. Unlike the boycott action in April, 1933,
when care was taken to avoid violence, an allegedly
"spontaneous" pogrom was staged and carried out all over
Germany on orders of Heydrich.
The organized character of the pogrom is also obvious from
the admission of Heydrich and others at a meeting presided
over by Goering at the Air Ministry in Berlin. (1816-PS)
The legislative measures which followed were discussed and
approved in their final form at a meeting on 12 November
1938 under the chairmanship of Goering, with the
participation of Frick, Funk and others. The meeting was
called following Hitler's orders "requesting that the Jewish
questions be now, once and for all, coordinated and solved
one way or another." The participants agreed on measures to
be taken "for the elimination of the Jew from German
economy." Other possibilities, such as the establishment of
ghettos, stigmatization through special insignia, and "the
main problem, namely to kick the Jew out of Germany", were
also discussed. All these measures were later enacted as
soon as conditions permitted. (1816-PS)
The laws issued in this period were signed mostly by
Goering, in his capacity as Deputy for the Four Year Plan,
and were thus connected with the consolidation of control
over German economy in preparation for aggressive war.
The major laws issued in this period are listed below:
Document Number Date Reichsgesetzblatt- Title and
Gist of Law
Page
------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------
1412-PS 12.11.38 I.1579
Verordnun ueber eine
Suhneleistun der
Juden (Order
concerning expiation
contribution of Jews
of German
nationality),
obligating all
German Jews to pay a
collective fine of
1.000.000.000
Reichsmark. [Signed
by] Goering.
2875-PS 12.11.38 I.1580
Verordnun zur
Ausschltun der Juden
aus dem deutschen
Wirtschaftsleben
(Decree on
elimination of Jews
from German economic
life), barring Jews
from trade and
crafts. [Signed by]
Goering.
[Page305]
1415-PS 28.11.38 I.1676
Polizeiverordnun
ueber das Auftreten
der Juden in der
Queffentlichkeit
(Police regulation
of the appearance of
Jews in public),
limiting movement of
Jews to certain
localities and
hours. [Signed by]
Heydrich (assistant
to Frick).
1409-PS 3.12.38 I.1709
Verordnun ueber den
Einsatz des
Juedischen
Vermoegens (Order
concerning the
Utilization of
Jewish property),
setting time limit
for the sale or
liquidation of
Jewish enterprises;
forcing Jews to
deposit shares and
securities held by
them; forbidding
sale or acquisition
of gold and precious
stones by Jews.
[Signed by] Funk,
Frick.
1419-PS 30.4.39 I.864
Gesetz ueber
Mietverhaeltnisse
mit Juden (Law
concerning Jewish
tenants) granting to
landlords the right
to give notice to
Jewish tenants
before legal
expiration of lease.
[Signed by] Hitler,
Guertner, Krohn,
Hess, Frick.
2876-PS 4.7.39 I.1097
Zehnte Verordnung
zum
Peichsbuergergesetz
(Tenth decree
relating to the
Reich Citizenship
Law), forcible
congregation of Jews
in the
"Reichsvereinigung
der Juden in
Deutschland" [Signed
by] Frick, Rust,
Kerrl, Hess.
2877-PS 1.9.41 I.547
Polizeiverordnun
ueber die
Konnzeichnun der
Juden (Police order
concerning
identification of
Jews) forcing all
Jews over 6 years of
age to wear the Star
of David. [Signed
by] Heydrich.
(5) Extermination of German Jews. Early in 1939 Hitler and
the other Nazi conspirators decided to arrive at a "final
solution of the Jewish problem." In connection with
preparations for
[Page 306]
aggressive war, further consolidation of controls and
removal of elements not belonging to the Volksgemeinschaft
(racial community) were deemed necessary. The conspirators
also anticipated the conquest of territories in Eastern
Europe inhabitated by large numbers of Jews and the
impossibility of forcing large-scale emigration in war-time.
Hence, other and more drastic measures became necessary. The
emphasis in this period shifted from legislative acts to
police measures.
On 24 January 1939 Heydrich was charged with the mission of
"arriving at a solution of the Jewish problem." (710-PS)
On 1 January 1939 Rosenberg stated in a speech at Detmold:
"For Germany the Jewish problem will be solved only
when the last Jew has left Germany."
On 7 February 1939, Rosenberg appealed to foreign nations to
forget "ideological differences" and unite against the "real
enemy," the Jew. He advocated the creation of a
"reservation" where the Jews of all countries should be
concentrated (2843-PS). In his Reichstag speech on 30
January 1939, Hitler made the following prophecy:
"The result [of war] will be *** the annihilation of
the Jewish race in Europe." (2663-PS)
Thus the direction was given for a policy which was carried
out a soon as the conquest of foreign territories created
the material conditions. (For the carrying out and results
of the program of the Nazi conspirators against Jewry, see
Chapter XII.)
In the final period of the anti-Jewish crusade very few
legislative measures were passed. The Jews were delivered to
the SS and various extermination staffs. The last law
dealing with the Jews in Germany, signed by Frick, Bormann,
Schwerin, V. Krosigk, and Thierach, put them
entirely outside the law and ordered the confiscation by the
State of the property of dead Jews (1422-PS). This law was a
weak reflection of a factual situation already in existence.
Dr. Wilhelm Stuckart, assistant to Frick, stated at that
time:
"The aim of the racial legislation may be regarded as
already achieved and consequently the racial
legislation as essentially closed. It led to the
temporary solution of the Jewish problem and at the
same time prepared the final solution. Many regulations
will lose their practical importance as Germany
approaches the achievement of the final goal in the
Jewish problem." (Stuckart and Schiedermair: Rassen und
Erbpflege in der Gesetzgebung des Reiches (The care for
Race and Heredity in the Legislation of the Reich),
Leipzig, 1943, p. 14.)
[Page 307]
LEGAL REFERENCES AND LIST OF DOCUMENTS RELATING
TO ADOPTION AND PUBLICATION OF THE
PROGRAM FOR PERSECUTION OF JEWS
Charter of the International Military Tribunal,
Article 6, especially 6 (a). Vol. I Pg. 5
International Military Tribunal, Indictment
Number 1, Section IV (D) 3 (d). Vol. I Pg. 20
[Note: A single asterisk (*) before a document indicates
that the document was received in evidence at the Nurnberg
trial. A double asterisk (**) before a document number
indicates that the document was referred to during the trial
but was not formally received in evidence,
for the reason given in parentheses following the
description of the document. The USA series number, given in
parentheses following the description of the document, is
the official exhibit number assigned by the court.]
*710-PS; Letter from Goering to
Heydrich, 31 July 1941, concerning solution of Jewish
question. (USA 509) Vol. III Pg.525
1397-PS; Law for the reestablishment
of the Professional Civil Service, 7 April 1933. 1933
Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 17. Vol. III Pg. 981
1401-PS; Law regarding admission to
the Bar, 7 April 1933. 1933 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p.
188. Vol. III Pg.989
1406-PS; Decree for reporting of
Jewish owned property, 26 April 1938. 1938
Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p.414. Vol. III Pg.1001
[Page 308]
1409-PS; Order concerning utilization
of Jewish property, 3 December 1938. 1938 Reichsgesetzblatt,
Part I, p. 1709. Vol. IV Pg. 1
1412-PS; Decree relating to payment
of fine by Jews of German nationality, 12 November 1938.
1938 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 1579. Vol. IV Pg. 6
1415-PS; Police regulation concerning
appearance of Jews in public, 28 November 1938. 1938
Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 1676. Vol. IV Pg. 6
1416-PS; Reich Citizen Law of 15
September 1935. 1935 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 1146.
Vol. IV Pg. 7
*1417-PS; First regulation to the
Reichs Citizenship Law, 14 November 1935. 1935
Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 1333. (GB 258) Vol. IV Pg. 8
1419-PS; Law concerning Jewish
tenants, 30 April 1939. 1939 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p.
864. Vol. IV Pg.10
1422-PS; Thirteenth regulation under
Reich Citizenship Law, 1 July 1943. 1943 Reichsgesetzblatt,
Part I, p.372. Vol. IV Pg.14
*1708-PS; The Program of the NSDAP.
National Socialistic Yearbook, 1941, p. 153. (USA 255; USA
324) Vol. IV Pg.208
*1816-PS; Stenographic report of the
meeting on The Jewish Question, under the Chairmanship of
Fieldmarshal Goering, 12 November 1938. (USA 261) Vol. IV
Pg.425
2000-PS; Law for protection of German
blood and German honor, 15 September 1935. 1935
Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, No. 100, p. 1146. Vol IV Pg.636
[Page 309]
2022-PS; Law against overcrowding of
German schools and Higher Institutions, 25 April 1933. 1933
Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 225. Vol. IV Pg.651
2083-PS; Editorial control law, 4
October 1933. 1933 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 713. Vol.
IV Pg.709
2084-PS; Law on formation of the
Student Organization at Scientific Universities, 22 April
1933. 1933 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 215. Vol. IV Pg.718
*2409-PS; Extracts from The Imperial
House to the Reich Chancellery by Dr. Joseph Goebbels. (USA
262) Vol. V Pg. 83
2410-PS; Article by Julius Streicher
on the "coming popular action" under banner headline "Beat
the World Enemy", from Voelkischer Beobachter, South German
Edition 31 March 1933. Vol. V Pg.85
2427-PS; The Racial Awakening of
German Nation by Dr. Rudolf Frercks, in National Political
Enlightenment Pamphlets. Vol. V Pg.92
2431-PS; The Revolution of the
Germans; 14 years of National Socialism, by Dr. Joseph
Goebbels. Vol. V Pg.92
2432-PS; Extracts from Rosenberg's,
Writings From The Years, 1921-1923. Vol. V Pg.93
*2663-PS; Hitler's speech to the
Reichstag, 30 January 1939, quoted from Voelkischer
Beobachter, Munich edition, 1 February 1939. (USA 268) Vol.
V Pg.367
2840-PS; Dr. Wilhelm Frick and his
Ministry, 1937, p. 180-181. Vol. V Pg. 503
2841-PS; Extract from the Care for
Race and Heredity in the Legislation of the Reich, Leipzig,
1943, p. 14. Vol. V Pg.504
[Page 310]
2842-PS; Extract from Writings of the
years, 1917-21, by Alfred Rosenberg, published in Munich
1943, pp.320-321. Vol. V Pg. 504
2843-PS; Race Politics from Documents
of German Politics, Vol. VII, pp. 728-729. Vol. V Pg.505
2844-PS; The Program of the Nazi
Party, by Gottfried Feder, August 1927, Munich, p. 17. Vol.
V Pg.506
2845-PS; One Year of Racial Political
Education by Dr. Gross in National Socialist Monthly No. 54,
September 1934, pp. 833-834. Vol. V Pg.506
2868-PS; Law relating to admission of
profession of Patent-Agent and Lawyer, 22 April 1933. 1933
Reichsgesetzblatt, Part II, No. 41, pp.217-8. Vol. V Pg.529
2869-PS; Law relating to admission of
Tax Advisors, 6 May 1933. 1933 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I,
No. 49, p.257. Vol. V Pg.530
2870-PS; Executory decree for law
about repeal of Naturalization and Adjudication of German
Citizenship, 26 July 1933. 1933 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I,
p. 538. Vol. V Pg.530
2871-PS; Law governing elections to
Reichstag, 7 March 1936. 1936 Reichsgesetzblatt, No. 19, p.
133. Vol. V Pg.532
2872-PS; Fourth decree relative to
Reich Citizen Law of 25 July 1938. 1938 Reichsgesetzblatt,
Part I, p. 969. Vol. V Pg.533
2873-PS; Second decree allotting to
Implementation of Law on change of first and family names,
17 August 1938. 1938 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 1044.
Vol. V Pg.534
[Page 311]
2874-PS; Fifth decree to law relating
to Reich Citizenship, 27 September 1938. 1938
Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, No. 165, p. 1403. Vol. V Pg.535
2875-PS; Decree on exclusion of Jews
from German economic life, 12 November 1938. Vol. V Pg.536
2876-PS; Tenth decree relating to
Reich Citizenship Law, 4 July 1939. 1939 Reichsgesetzblatt,
Part I, p.1097. Vol. V Pg.537
2877-PS; Police decree concerning
"marking" of Jews, 1 September 1941. 1941 Reichsgesetzblatt,
Part I, No. 100, p. 547. Vol. V Pg.539
2881-PS; Hitler's speech of 12 April
1922, quoted in Adolf Hitler's Speeches, published by Dr.
Ernst Boepple, Munich, 1934, pp. 20-21, 72. Vol. V Pg.548
2893-PS; Article: "Dr. Frick and the
Unity of the Reich" by Walter Koerber, published in Our
Reich Cabinet, Berlin, 1936, p. 87. Vol. V Pg. 562
2894-PS; General Decree of 10
September 1935 on establishment of separate Jewish schools,
published in Documents of German Politics, 1937, p.152. Vol.
V Pg. 686
2904-PS; The Racial Problem and the
New Reich, published in The National Socialist Monthly, No.
38, May 1933, pp.196-7. Vol. V Pg. 570
2984-PS; Law concerning armed forces,
21 May 1936. 1935 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I. Vol. V Pg. 686
*3054-PS; "The Nazi Plan", script of
a motion picture composed of captured German film. (USA 167)
Vol. V Pg. 801
8. RESHAPING OF EDUCATION AND RETRAINING OF YOUTH
A. The Nazi conspirators reshaped the educational system.
(1) The Nazi conspirators publicly announced the purposes of
their educational and training program. Hitler stated at
Elbing, Germany:
"When an opponent declares, 'I will not come over to
your side, and you will not get me on your side,' I
calmly say, 'Your child belongs to me already. A people
lives forever. What are you? You will pass on. Your
descendants however now stand in the new camp. In a
short time they will know nothing else b?l,t this new
community'." (2455-PS)
Hitler said on 1 May 1937:
"The youth of today is ever the people of tomorrow. For
this reason we have set before ourselves the task of
inoculating our youth with the spirit of this community
of the people at a very early age, at an age when human
beings are still unperverted and therefore unspoiled. *
* * This Reich stands, and it is building itself up for
the future, upon its youth. And this new Reich will
give its youth to no one, but will itself take youth
and give to youth its own education and its own
upbringing." (2454-PS)
The first sentence in the official instructors manual for
high schools reads:
"The German school is a part of the National Socialist
Educational order. It is its obligation to form the
national socialistic personality in cooperation with
the other educational powers of the nation, but by its
distinctive educational means." (2453-PS)
Hitler stated in Mein Kampf:
"On this basis the whole education by the National
State must aim primarily not at the stuffing with mere
knowledge, but at the building up of bodies which are
physically healthy to the core. The development of
intellectual faculties comes only after this." (2392-
PS)
(2) They transferred responsibility for education from the
states to the Reich. The Reich Ministry of Education was
established, and control of all schools, public and private,
including universities and adult educational activities, was
transferred to this Reichsministry (2078-PS; 2088-PS). The
control of education by the local authorities was replaced
by the absolute authority of the Reich in all educational
matters. (2393-PS)
[Page 313]
3) They changed the curricula and textbooks.
Kindergarten: Children from two to six years were trained in
more than 15,000 Kindergartens operated by the Party and
State. The teachers in charge were trained in special
schools that emphasized the ideological views of the Nazi
Party. The children were given a systematic training in Nazi
ideology. (2443-PS; 2441-PS)
Elementary schools: Primary emphasis was plated on physical
training. History, German race culture and mathematics were
the other subjects emphasized. These subjects were taught in
such a way as to emphasize the cultural superiority of the
German people, the importance of race, the Fuehrer
principle, glorification of German war heros, the subversive
elements that caused the defeat of Germany in World War I,
the shame of the Versailles Treaty, and the rebirth of
Germany under the Nazis. (292-PS; 2397-PS; 2441-PS; 2394-PS)
In addition to education in the schools all children from
six to ten years were registered in the Kindergruppen
(Children's Groups) conducted by the National Socialist
Frauenschaft (National Socialist Women's Organization). All
children were required to obtain an efficiency record card
and uniform and were instructed in Nazi ideology by the
members of the Women's Organization. (2441-PS; 2452-PS)
High Schools (Hoeheren Schule): The curricula and
organization of the Hoeheren School was modified by a series
of decrees of the Minister of Education in order to make
these schools effective instruments for the teaching of the
Nazi doctrines. A new curricula emphasizing physical
training, German war history, and race culture was
introduced. (2453-PS)
Universities: The schools of politics and physical education
became the largest colleges at the universities. Beginning
in 1933 the Nazis introduced courses in heredity and race
culture, ancient and modern German history, biology and
geopolitics. (2443-PS; 2441-PS)
Textbooks in the schools were changed to accord with the
expressed objectives of the Nazi conspirators. (2446-PS;
2442-PS; 2444-PS; 2445-PS)
(4) The Nazi conspirators acquired domination and control
over all teachers. The law for the reestablishing of the
professional civil service made it possible for the Nazi
conspirators thoroughly to reexamine all German teachers and
to remove all "harmful and untrustworthy" elements (1397-PS;
2392-PS). Many teachers and professors (mostly Jewish) were
dismissed
[Page 314]
and were replaced with "State spirited" teachers (2392-PS).
All teachers were required to take an oath of loyalty and
obedience to Hitler (2061-PS). All teachers were required to
belong to the National Socialist Lehrerbund (National
Socialist Teachers League), which organization was charged
with the training of all teachers in the theories and
doctrines of the NSDAP. (2452-PS)
In 1934 the National Socialist Teachers League was declared
to be the official organ of German education. (2393-PS)
The Civil Service Act of 1937 required the teachers to be
"the executors of the will of the party-supported State." It
required them to be ready at "any time to defend without
reservation the National Socialist State." The law required
the teachers to participate strenuously in elections, have
thorough knowledge of Party principles and literature,
render the Hitler Salute, send their children to the Hitler
Youth, and educate them in the Nazi spirit (2340-PS). Before
taking their second examination (required for permanent
appointment), teachers in Prussia were required to show
service in the SA and in the Arbeitsdienst (Labor Service)
(2392-PS). Candidates for teaching and other public
positions were required to have "proved themselves" in the
Hitler Jugend (2451-PS; 2900-PS). Teachers' academies were
judged by the Minister of Education on their ability to turn
out men and women with new ideas "based on blood and soil".
(2394-PS)
The leadership principle replaced the democratic school
principle. A decree of the Reich Minister of Education made
the head of any school fully responsible for the conduct of
the institution in line with the official party ideology.
Teachers committees and Student Committees were abolished
(2393-PS; 2392-PS). A "confidential instructor," the school
youth warden of the Hitler Jugend, appointed by the Hitler
Youth authorities, was assigned to each school (2396-PS).
The "Parents Advisory Committees" in the public schools were
dissolved, and replaced by the "School Communities,"
(Schulgemeinde). The headmaster was the leader. He
appointed, after consultation with the local party leader,
two to five teachers or parents, known as "Jugendwalter,"
(Youth Advisors) and one Hitler Youth leader, who was
appointed after consultation with the Hitler Youth officials
in the district (299-PS). The duties of the "School
Community" were to bring to the attention of the public the
educational objectives of the Nazi Party, including race
questions, heredity indoctrination, physical training, and
the Youth League activities. The function of advising the
school authorities, formerly performed by the "Parents
Advisory Committees," was eliminated by the decree. (2399-
PS)
[Page 315]
Universities: The Leadership Principle was introduced into
the universities. The Rektor (head of the university) was
appointed by the Reich Minister of Education for an
unspecified period of time and was responsible only to the
Reichs Minister. The University was divided into the
Dozetenschaft (Lecturers Corps) and the Studentenschaft
(Student Corps). The leaders of these two bodies were also
appointed by the Reichsminister of Education (2394-PS). The
teaching staff of the university was subject to the control
of the National Socialist Dozentenbund (NSDoB) (Nazi
Association of University Lecturers). The purposes of the
NSDoB were:
(a) to take a decisive part in the selection of lecturers
and to produce candidates for the teaching staff who were
wholly Nazi in their outlook.
(b) to train all university lecturers in Nazi ideology,
(c) to see that the entire university life was run in
accordance with the philosophy of the Party. (2452-PS; 318-
PS)
All German students at the universities were required to
belong to the Studentenschaft (Student Corps) (2084-PS). The
Student Corps was responsible for making the students
conscious of their duties to the Nazis, and was obliged to
promote enrollment in the SA and labor service. Physical
training of students was the responsibility of the SA.
Political education was the responsibility of the National
Socialistische Deutsche Studentenbund (NSDStB), (National
Socialist German Student Bund) (2458-PS). The National
Socialist Student Bund (NSDStB) was the Nazi "elite" of the
student body and was responsible for the leadership of the
university students, and all leaders of the Student Corps
were appointed from its membership. The Nazi Student Bund
was solely responsible for the entire ideological and
political education of the students. (2395-PS;- 2399-PS;
2441-PS; 2392-PS; 2393-PS)
B. The Nazi conspirators supplemented the school system by
training the youth through the Hitler Jugend.
(1) The Nazi conspirators from their early days expressed
their belief in the fundamental importance of controlling
the education and training of youth. Hitler stated in Mein
Kampf:
"It is precisely our German people, that today broken
down, lies defenseless against the kicks of the rest of
the world who need that suggestive force that lies in
self-confidence. . But this self-confidence has to be
instilled into the young fellow-citizen from childhood
on. His entire education and development has to be
directed at giving him the conviction
[Page 316]
of being absolutely superior to others. With this
physical force and skill he has again to win the belief
in the invincibility of his entire nationality. For
what once led the German army to victory was the sum of
the confidence which the individual and all in common
had in their leaders. The confidence in the possibility
of regaining its freedom is what will restore the
German people. But this conviction must be the final
product of the same feeling of millions of
individuals." (404-PS; see also 2901-PS)
Again in Mein Kampf Hitler said:
"The racial State will have to see to it that there
will be a generation which by a suitable education will
be ready for the final and ultimate decision on this
globe. The nation which enters first on this course
will be the victorious one." (404-PS)
The law of the Hitler Youth provides in part as follows:
"The future of the German nation depends on its youth,
and the German youth shall have to be prepared for its
future duties. ***
"The German youth besides being reared within the
family and school, shall be educated physically,
intellectually and morally in the spirit of National
Socialism to serve the people and community, through
the Hitler Youth." (1392-PS)
On 1 May 1938 Hitler said in a speech to the youth:
"Since the victory of the Movement, under whose banner
you stand, there has been completed within our people
the unification of heart (innere Einigung) of the
Germans. And as wages for this work of ours Providence
has given us Greater Germany (Grossdeutschland). This
unification is no gift of chance, it is the result of a
systematic education of our people by the National
Socialist Movement... And this education begins with
the individual at an age when he is not already
burdened with preconceived ideas. The youth is the
stone which is to go to the building of our new Reich !
You are Greater Germany! In you is being formed the
community of the German people. Before the single
leader there stands a Reich, before the single Reich
stands a people, and before the single people stands
German youth! When I see you my faith in the future of
Germany has no bounds, nothing can shake it. For I know
that you will fulfill all that we hope of you. So I
greet you today on this 1st of May in our new great
Germany: for you are our spring. In you will and shall
be completed that for which generations and centuries
have striven, Germany!" (2454-PS)
[Page 317]
(2) The Nazi conspirators destroyed or took over all other
youth organizations. The first Nazi youth League
(Nationalsocialistischen Jugendbund) was organized in 1922.
In 1925 the Hitler Youth was officially recognized by the
Nazi Party and became a Junior Branch of the SA. In 1931
Baldur von Schirach was appointed Reichs Youth Leader of the
NSDAP with the rank of SA Gruppenfuehrer. (1458-PS)
When the Nazi conspirators came to power the Hitler Jugend
was a minor organization among many youth associations in
Germany. At the end of 1932 it had only 107,956 members -- less
than 5 percent of the total youth population of Germany
(2435-PS). Schirach was appointed "Jugendfuehrer des
Deutschen Reichs" (Youth Leader of the German Reich), in
June 1933. In this position he was directly responsible to
Hitler for the education and training of the German youth
outside of the home and school in accordance with the
ideology of the Nazi Party. (1458-PS)
In June of 1933 on orders of Schirach, an armed band of
Hitler youths occupied by force the headquarters of the
Reich Committee of The German Youth Associations and took
over all files and personnel records of the youth leagues
represented by the Committee. By the same method the offices
and property (including all youth hostels in Germany) of the
Reich Association for German Youth Hostels was seized, and a
Nazi representative of Schirach put in charge (1458-PS). By
decree dated 22 June 1933 Schirach dissolved the
Grossdeutsches Bund and all of its
affiliated organizations and took over their property; he
dissolved The Reich Committee of The German Youth
Associations, and required all other youth organizations to
make a complete report of all organizational information,
including names of all officers and members and inventory of
all funds and property (2229-PS). The Youth Associations of
all political parties and of all labor organizations were
dissolved by decree of Schirach. By virtue of these decrees
all youth organizations except those sponsored by the
Catholic and Protestant Churches were abolished or
incorporated in the Hitler Jugend (1458-PS; 2260-PS). The
Nazi-appointed Reichsbishop Mueller entered into an
agreement with Schirach which transferred all members of the
Evangelical Youth to the Hitler Jugend and provided that the
Hitler Jugend alone would provide the state political and
physical education of the Protestant youth. By the end of
1933 only the Catholic Youth organization remained
untouched. (1458-PS)
The Concordat entered into with the Holy See on 20 July 1933
provided for the continuance of the Catholic Youth
Association
[Page 318]
(2655-PS). Contrary to the provisions of the Concordat, the
Nazi conspirators immediately set out to smash the Catholic
Youth organization and to force all young people into the
Hitler Youth. Ten days after the signing of the Concordat,
Schirach issued an order forbidding simultaneous membership
in the Hitler Jugend and the Catholic Youth League (2456-
PS). In 1934 Schirach wrote, "The denominational youth
league (Catholic Youth Association) has no right to exist in
our time." (1458-PS). A year later Catholic youth
associations were forbidden to wear uniforms, to assemble
publicly, to wear insignia, or to engage in outdoor sport
activity (1482-PS). Additional pressure was exerted on the
Catholic Youth by the requirement of membership in the
Hitler Youth as a prerequisite of public employment (2451-
PS; 2900-PS). Finally, in 1937, Schirach announced:
"The struggle for the unification of the German Youth
is nourished. I considered it as my duty to conduct it
in a hard and uncompromising manner. Many might not
have realized why we went through so much trouble for
the sake of the youth. And yet the National Socialist
German Workers Party, whose trustee I felt I always was
and always will be, this party considered the struggle
for the youth as the decisive element for the future of
the German nation." (2306-PS)
(3) The Nazi conspirators made membership in the Hitler
Jugend compulsory. The Hitler Youth Law of 1936 provided
that "All of the German Youth in the Reich is organized
within the Hitler Youth." (1392-PS). Executive decrees later
implemented this law by the establishment of severe
penalties against anyone who deterred a youth from service
in the Hitler Jugend, and confirmed the policy of excluding
Jews from membership.
The Hitler Jugend had been from its inception a formation of
the Nazi Party. By virtue of the 1936 Youth Law it became an
agency of the Reich Government while still retaining its
position as a formation of the Nazi Party. (1392-PS).
The membership statistics of the Hitler Jugend to 1940 were:
End 1932
.......................................................
...................................... 107,956
End 1933
.......................................................
...................................... 2,292,041
End 1934
.......................................................
...................................... 3,577,565
End 1935
.......................................................
...................................... 3,943,303
End 1936
.......................................................
...................................... 5,437,601
End 1937
.......................................................
...................................... 5,879,955
End 1938
.......................................................
...................................... 7,031,226
End 1939
.......................................................
...................................... 7,728,259
And BDM (League of German Girls)
....................................................
440,789. (2435-PS)
[Page 319]
(4) Through the Hitler Jugend the Nazi conspirators imbued
the youth with Nazi ideology and prepared them for
membership in the Party and its formations. Schirach said:
"I am responsible to the Reich that the entire youth of
Germany will be educated physically, morally and
spiritually in the spirit of the National Socialist
Idea of the State." (2306-PS)
Mein Kampf was regarded as the "Bible" of the Hitler Jugend
(1458-PS). On entering the Jungvolk at the age of 10,
children took the following oath:
"In the presence of this blood-banner which represents
our Fuehrer I swear to devote all my energies, and my
strength to the Savior of our Country, Adolf Hitler. I
am willing and ready to give up my life for him, so
help me God. One People, one Reich, one Fuehrer." (2441-
PS)
The Hitler Jugend organization operated solely on the
Leadership Principle. The leader was always appointed from
above and the leader's will was absolute. (1458-PS; 2306-PS;
2436-PS; 2438-PS)
The Master Race doctrine and anti-semitism, including
physical attacks on the Jews, was taught systematically in
the Hitler Jugend training program. (2436-PS; L-360-H; 2441-
PS)
The Hitler Jugend indoctrinated the youth with the idea that
war is a noble activity. (1458-PS; 2436-PS)
The Hitler Jugend, in accordance with the policy of the Nazi
Party, emphasized the importance and demanded the return of
the colonies which had been taken from Germany by the
"Versailles Shame Dictate." (1458-PS; 2436-PS; 2440-PS; 2441-
PS)
The Hitler Jugend taught that the guiding principle of
German policy was the utilization of the space to the East
(1458-PS; 2439-PS). All activities carried on in support of
the demands for modification of the Versailles Treaty, the
restoration of colonies, and the acquisition of additional
living space were closely coordinated with the (VDA) Verein
fuer das Deutschtum in Ausland (Office of Germans in foreign
countries). (L-360-H)
In order to carry out the program of indoctrination of the
youth, more than 765,000 were actively engaged as Hitler
Youth leaders by May 1939. Youth leaders were thoroughly
trained, many of them in special "Youth Leaders" schools
(2435-PS). More than 200,000 political indoctrination
meetings (Heimabend) were held weekly. Each community was
required by law to provide a suitable meeting house for the
Hitler Jugend. Training and propaganda films were produced
on an elaborate scale.
[Page 320]
In the winter of 1937-38 more than three million youths
attended showings of these films. The Hitler Jugend press
and propaganda office published at least thirteen magazines
and large numbers of other publications and yearbooks
appealing to all age groups and to the various interest
groups of the youth. (2435-PS)
One of the most important functions of the Hitler Jugend was
to prepare the youth for membership in the Party and its
formations. Hitler said at the Reichsparteitag, 1935:
"He alone, who owns the youth, gains the Future!
Practical consequences of this doctrine: The boy will
enter the Jungvolk (boy 10-14) and the Pmpf (members of
the Jungvolk) will come to the Hitler Youth, and the
boy of the Hitler Youth will join the SA, the SS and
the other formations, and the SA man and the SS man
will one day join the Labor Service, and from there he
will go to the Armed Forces, and the soldiers of the
people will return again to the organization of
Movement, the Party, the SA, the SS, and never again
will our people be so depraved as they were at one
time." (2656-PS; 2401-PS)
The Streifequlenst, a special formation of the Hitler
Jugend, was organized by virtue of an agreement between
Himmler and Schirach for the purpose of securing and
training recruits for the SS, with special emphasis on
securing recruits for the Deaths Head Troops of the SS
(concentration camp guards). (2396-PS)
The farm service section of the Hitler Jugend also became a
cadet corps of the SS by reason of the agreement entered
into between Himmler and Schirach in 1938. This formation
was to train for SS membership youths especially suited to
become Wehrbaer (militant peasants), who were to be settled
in places where the Nazis needed especially trained farmers.
(2567-PS)
In 1937 the Adolf Hitler Schools were established in order
to indoctrinate boys selected by the Party to be the future
leaders of the Nazi state. The schools were operated by the
Hitler Jugend for the Party. Boys entered at the age of 12
and remained in the school until 18 years of age. (2653-PS)
(5) The Nazi conspirators used the Hitler Jugend for
extensive pre-military training of youth. In 1933 the Hitler
Youth, in cooperation with the SA and the Wehrmacht, entered
into a secret
program of extensive pre-military training of the youth
(1850-PS). Extensive premilitary training was carried on in
all age groups of the Hitler Youth in close cooperation with
the Wehrmacht. (2438-PS; 2441-PS; 1992-PS)
[Page 321]
In addition to general military training, specialized
training was given in special formations. These included:
Hitler Jugend Flying Units
Hitler Jugend Naval Units
Hitler Jugend Motorized Units
Hitler Jugend Signal Units
Hitler Jugend Medical Units
Hitler Jugend Musical Units. (2654-PS). The extent of the
military training in 1937 was set out by Hitler in a speech
at Berlin.
"The Naval Hitler Youth comprises 45,000 boys, the
Motor Hitler Youth 60,000 boys. As part of the campaign
for the encouragement of aviation 55,000 members of the
Jungvolk were trained in gliding for group activities;
74,000 boys of the Hitler Youth are organized in its
flying units; 15,000 boys passed their gliding test in
the year 1937 alone.
"Today 1,200,000 boys of the Hitler Youth receive
regular instructions in small-bore rifle shooting from
7,000 instructors." (2454-PS; see also 2441-PS.)
A formal agreement between the Wehrmacht and the Hitler
Jugend was published 11 August 1939. It recites that whereas
30,000 Hitler Jugend leaders had been trained annually in
shooting and field exercises, the number would be doubled;
that 60,000,000 shots had been fired in Hitler
Youth training courses in 1938 and that a considerable
increase in the figure was expected. The agreement
recognized the close cooperation that existed between the
Hitler Jugend and the Wehrmacht in the military training of
youth and provided for a far more extensive program. (2398-
PS)
[Page 322]
LEGAL REFERENCES AND LIST OF DOCUMENTS
RELATING TO RESHAPING OF EDUCATION AND
TRAINING OF YOUTH
Charter of the International Military Tribunal,
Article 6, especially 6(a). Vol. I Pg. 5
International Military Tribunal, Indictment
Number 1, Section IV (D) 3 (e). Vol. I Pg. 21
[Note: A single asterisk (*) before a document indicates
that the document was received in evidence at the Nurnberg
trial. A double asterisk (**) before a document number
indicates that the document was referred to during the trial
but was not formally received in evidence, for the reason
given in parentheses following the description of the
document. The USA series number, given in parentheses
following the description of the document, is the official
exhibit number assigned by the court.]
200-PS; Confidential telegram from
Berger to Reich Ministry for Occupied Eastern Territories, 8
July 1944 concerning forced labor of children. Vol. III Pg.
214
*318-PS; Agreement between Rosenberg
and Leader of the National Socialist University Professors
League (NSDoB), 2 December 1941.(USA 728) Vol. III Pg. 255
*404-PS; Excerpts from Hitler, Mein
Kampf, pp. 456, 475. (USA 256) Vol. III Pg. 385
[Page 323]
1392-PS; Law on the Hitler Youth, 1
December 1936. 1936 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 993. Vol.
III Pg. 972
1397-PS; Law for the reestablishment
of the Professional Civil Service, 7 April 1933. 1933
Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 175. Vol. III Pg.987
*1458-PS; The Hitler Youth by Baldur
von Schirach, Leipzig, 1934. (USA 667) Vol. IV Pg. 22
1462-PS; First Execution Order to the
Law of the Hitler Youth, 25 March 1939. 1939
Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 709. Vol. IV Pg. 44
*1482-PS; Secret letter, 20 July 1933 to
provincial governments and the Prussian Gestapo from Frick,
concerning Confessional Youth Organizations. (USA 738) Vol.
IV Pg. 51
*1850-PS; Conferences, 1933, calling
for financing of military training of SA from Ministry of
Interior Funds. (USA 742) Vol. IV Pg. 478
*1992-A-PS; Organization and
Obligations of the SS and the Police from "National
Political Education of the Army, January 1937". (USA 439)
Vol. IV Pg. 616
2061-PS; Oath of Reich Officials and
of German Soldiers, 20 August 1934. 1934 Reichsgesetzblatt,
Part I, p. 785. Vol. IV Pg. 702
2078-PS; Decree concerning
establishment of Ministry for Science, Education and Popular
Culture, 1 May 1934. 1934 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 365.
Vol. IV Pg. 706
2084-PS; Law on formation of the
Student Organization at Scientific Universities, 22 April
1933. 1933 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 215. Vol. IV Pg.
718
[Page 324]
2088-PS; Decree relating to tasks of
Reichs Ministry for Education, 11 May 1934. 1934
Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 375. Vol. IV Pg. 718
2115-PS; Second Executive Order to
the Law for the Hitler Youth, 25 March 1939. 1939
Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 710. Vol. IV Pg. 745
*2229-PS; The Reich Youth Leader at
Work, published in National Socialist Party Press Service
Release, 22 June 1933, pp. 2-3. (USA 668) Vol. IV Pg.870
2260-PS; Settlement of Relationship
between NSDAP and Stahlhelm (Steel Helmets) published in
National Socialist Party Press Service release, 21 June
1933. Vol. IV Pg.933
*2306-PS; Revolution of Education, by
Baldur von Schirach, 1938, pp. 51-52, 63. (USA 860) Vol. IV
Pg. 997
2340-PS; German public officials law
of 27 January 1937. 1937 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 41.
Vol. IV Pg.1058
2392-PS; Extracts from The Third
Reich, 1933, Vol.I, pp.144-154. Vol. V Pg. 54
2393-PS; Extracts from The Third
Reich, 1934, pp.218-224. Vol. V Pg. 58
2394-PS; Extracts from The Third
Reich, 1935, Vol.III, pp.208-212. Vol. V Pg. 60
2395-PS; Extracts from The Third
Reich, 1936, Vol.IV, pp.360-362. Vol. V Pg.62
*2396-PS; Handbook of Collected Youth
Laws, Vol. I, Group 1, pp. 19a, 19b, 20. (USA 673) Vol. V
Pg.63
2397-PS; National Socialist Handbook
for Law and Legislation by Dr. Hans Frank, p. 566. Vol. V
Pg.65
[Page 325]
*2398-PS; Cooperation of Hitler
Jugend with Wehrmacht, 11 August 1939, published in The
Archive, No. 65, August 1939, pp. 601-602. (USA 677) Vol. V
Pg.66
2399-PS; Articles "School Community
to replace parents' advisory committee" and "NSDAP takes
over education of university students", published in The
Archive, 1934, pp. 1039, 1147-1148. Vol. V Pg.67
*2401-PS; The Hitler Youth as
recruits for future leaders, from Organization Book of
NSDAP, 1938, pp. 80-81. (USA 430) Vol. V Pg.69
2435-PS; Extracts from The Coming
Germany, The Education of the Youth in the Reich of Adolf
Hitler, by Kaufmann. Vol. V Pg.113
*2436-PS; Extracts from Enjoyment,
Discipline, Belief, Official handbook for cultural work in
camp. (USA 859) Vol. V Pg. 119
2438-PS; Extracts from Boys in
Service, handbook for boys 10 to 14 years of age. Vol. V
Pg.132
2439-PS; Extracts from Girl in
Vacation Camp, official publication of Reichs Youth
Headquarters. Vol. V Pg. 136
2440-PS; Extracts from Boys, Your
World, the yearbook of the Hitler Youth. Vol. V Pg. 139
*2441-PS; Affidavit of Gregor Ziemer,
4 October 1945, from his book "Education for Death". (USA
679) Vol. V Pg. 141
2442-PS; Guide of racial science and
science of heredity of fostering congenitally sound progeny
of family science. Vol. V Pg. 176
2443-PS; Extracts from Education in
Greater German Reich. Vol. V Pg.178
[Page 326]
2444-PS; Extracts from German Reading
Book for Elementary Schools, second volume. Vol. V Pg. 181
2445-PS; Extracts from German Reading
Book for Elementary Schools, fourth volume. Vol. V Pg.183
2446-PS; Extracts from History Book
for the German Youth. Vol. V Pg.184
2451-PS; Decree of Reichsminister of
Education Candidates for Teacher's Positions to Prove
themselves in Hitler Youth, published in Voelkischer
Beobachter, Berlin edition, 22 October 1935. Vol. V Pg.187
2452-PS; Extracts from Organization
Book of NSDAP, 1943. Vol. V Pg.187
2453-PS; Education and Instruction in
the Upper Schools, official publication of the Reich and
Prussian Minister of Education, 1938. Vol. V Pg.189
*2454-PS; Quotations from speeches of
Hitler,
published in Voelkischer Beobachter, Munich edition. (USA
676) Vol. V Pg.196
2455-PS; Statement by Hitler at
Elbing, Germany,
quoted in Voelkischer Beobachter, Berlin edition, 6 November
1933. Vol. V Pg.198
2456-PS Youth and the Church, from
Complete Handbook of Youth Laws. Vol. V Pg.198
2458-PS; Constitution of the German
Student Corps, 1934 Reichs Ministerialblatt, pp. 76-79. Vol.
V Pg.199
*2567-PS; Decree signed by Himmler an
von Schirach, concerning cooperation of HJ and SS, printed
in The Young Germany, Berlin, February 1939. (USA 674). Vol.
V Pg.301
[Page 327]
*2653-PS; The Way of German Youth,
from The Third Reich, 5th Year, 1937, pp. 117-118. (USA
669). Vol. V Pg.359
*2654-PS; Organization and Insignia
of the Hitler Youth, edited by Reich Youth Headquarters of
NSDAP. (USA 675) Vol. V Pg.361
2655-PS; Concordat between the Holy
See and the German Reich, Article 31. 1933
Reichsgesetzblatt, Part II, p. 679, 687-8. Vol. V Pg.364
2656-PS; The Bearer of Sovereignty,
from speech of the Fuehrer at the Reichsparteitag, 1935.
Vol. V Pg.365
2900-PS; Speech by Frick at
Anniversary meeting of Hitler Youth, published in The
Archive, January 1936, p. 1339. Vol. V Pg.567
2901-PS; Extract from The Book of the
NSDAP, p. 95. Vol. V Pg.568
*3054-PS; "The Nazi Plan", script of
a motion picture composed of captured German film. (USA 167)
Vol. V Pg.801
*3751-PS; Diary of the German
Minister of Justice, 1935 concerning prosecution of church
officials and punishment in concentration camps. (USA 828;
USA 858) Vol. VI Pg. 636
*L-360-H; Agreement between the
League for Germandom in Foreign Countries and the Hitler
Youth, 6 May 1933. (USA 671) Vol. VII Pg. 1108
*Chart No. 2; Totalitarian Control of
Propaganda and Education. (USA 21) Vol. VIII Pg.771
[Page 328]
9. PROPAGANDA, CENSORSHIP AND SUPERVISION OF CULTURAL
ACTIVITIES
A. The party organization.
(1) The Reichspropagandaleitung (Party Propaganda
Department) (RPL). This office was founded in 1932, as the
central propaganda control office headed by Goebbels. Its
functions were:
(a) To direct, supervise and synchronize propaganda within
the Nazi movement.
"Propaganda of the NSDAP, its formations and affiliated
associations is the responsibility of the
Reichspropagandaleiter.
"He determines all manifestations of the Movement,
including its formations and affiliated associations,
with regard to propaganda.
"He issues the directives for the Party, including its
formations and affiliated associations, for the
realization of the cultural wishes of the Fuehrer."
(219-PS)
These functions were organized vertically through a close
network of Gauleiters, Kreisleiters, and Ortsgruppenleiters
which reached even the smallest communities. In addition,
synchronization of propaganda within the Movement was
guaranteed through the Reichsring fuer National-
sozialistische Propaganda und Volksaufklaerung, (National
Socialist Organization for Propaganda and People's
Enlightenment), an office within the
Reichspropagandaleitung. The Reichsring constituted the
center of control responsible for the complete coordination
of Party and Movement in the field of propaganda.
"The Reichsung *** had the task to ensure the uniform
direction of propaganda of all formations and
affiliated associations through the Party." (2319-PS)
(b) To imbue the Nazi Movement and the people with Nazi
ideology.
" (The Reichspropagandaleiter) upon his initiative, is
concerned with the permeation of German people with the
National Socialist ideology.
"He enlightens the people about the achievements of
Party and State.
"He controls the entire German wireless system with
regard to its internal organizational, cultural and
economic possibilities;
"Press, radio and film are in the service of
propaganda." (2319-PS)
[Page 329]
(c) To coordinate Party propaganda with that of the Reich
Government.
"The liaison officer has the task of centralizing all
contacts with the Reich Ministries, public authorities,
and corporations and to establish all such contacts
with same ***". (219-PS)
(d) To investigate the effectiveness of Nazi propaganda.
This function was assigned to the lower grades of the Party
leadership, and to regional and local officials, who
assembled and analyzed information on public reaction to the
current content of propaganda.
(e) Other activities of the Reichspropagandaleitung were
discharged by numerous functional departments which
included, inter alia, "Haptstellen" (Main Bureaus) or
offices for the following:
1. Press -- preparation of all propaganda material
issued by Reichspropagandaleitung for dissemination to
newspapers.
2. Exhibits and fairs -- supervision of propaganda
aspects of exhibits and fairs in which the Party
participated.
Mass or "Aktive" propaganda -- organization of
propaganda campaigns within the movement; training and
supplying speakers with propaganda materials.
4. Films -- Popularization of Nazi-inspired films;
photographing official rallies.
5. Radio -- radio propaganda.
6. Culture -- making all forms of art conform to Nazi
standards.
Other Bureaus included Architecture, Style and Design, Works
of Art, Formulation of Programs, and Training of Speakers.
(2319-PS)
The Reichspropagandaleitung was regionally organized into
Gau-, Kreis-, and Ortsgruppenpropagandaaemter (Gau,
district, and local propaganda offices). The
Gaupropagandaleiter (leader of the Gau propaganda office)
was at the same time the Gau representative of the Chamber
of Culture (Landeskulturwalter) and in most cases also
represented the regional office of the Propaganda Ministry,
so that on the lower levels, Party and State propaganda were
completely unified. (2315-PS)
(2) The voice of Reichspressechef (Reich Press Chief).
The office of Reich Press Chief of the NSDAP was created in
[Page 330]
1934 by decree of the Fuehrer (2319-PS). The functions of
this office were exclusive:
"The Reich Press Office of the NSDAP is the central
office for the entire political publishing activity of
the Party. It represents the press interests of the
Reich leadership of the NSDAP vis a vis both the German
and the foreign press. It alone has the authority to
issue directives to the press of Reich policies
concerning the treatment of Party affairs. It alone has
the authority to issue press directives to all offices
of Reich leadership. It is responsible for the
political and editorial preparations, execution and
utilization of all important Party activities in the
Reich. It supplies the domestic and foreign press with
information, news and commentaries about the Party. It
keeps a record of press reaction to the Party work in
publications of the domestic and foreign press." (2319-
PS)
The Reich Press Chief exercised control over all press
offices, including the chief editors of the National
Socialist newspapers, as well as the Gau press wardens of
the Party. He also served as liaison officer between the
Party press and the "Independent" press, and between Party
and Government. (2319-PS)
The executive functions of the Reich Press Chief were
carried out by two offices:
(a) The Pressepolitisches Amt (Press Political Office).
(b) The Pressepersonalamt (Press Personnel Office), which
was in charge of training journalists and keeping files on
German and foreign journalists.
The vertical organization of press controls, corresponding
to that of the eichspropagandaleitung, included Gau-, Kreis-
and Ortsgruppen departments. Each was headed by an
Amtsleiter, or press warden, who was responsible for the
entire Party press within his sphere of jurisdiction. He
supervised the editorial policy of the Party press, issued
information bulletins about the activities of the Movement,
and served as liaison officer between the Party and non-
Party press. He also transmitted local information to
headquarters for distribution and made recommendations
concerning the appointments of local party editors. The Gau
and Kreis- press wardens, at the same time, served as
regional and local representatives of the Home Press
Division of the Propaganda Ministry and of the Reich Press
Chamber. (2319-PS; 2315-PS)
(3) The Reichsleiter fuer die Presse (Reich Press Leader).
The Reich Press Leader, Max Amann, was charged with super-
[Page 331]
vising all matters concerning the German publishing
business. The Organisationsbuch der NSDAP (1937) described
his function as follows:
"He is charged with the creation of a press for the
German people, which is responsible and answerable to
him, and which reflects the life and experiences of the
German people's community. In addition, the
Reichsleiter for Press has the function of issuing
regulations necessary to carry out the demands
concerning publication policies established in Article
23 of the Party Program and to supervise their
execution." (2319-PS)
Article 23 of the Party Platform referred to above,
provided, inter alia, that (a) all editors and newspaper
personnel must be "members of the nation"; (b) non-Germans
are prohibited from financial participation in, or influence
of, newspapers; (c) the publication of papers "which do not
conduce to the national welfare" is prohibited; (d)
tendencies in art or literature "of a kind likely to
disintegrate our life as a nation" will be prosecuted; and
(e) "institutions which militate against the requirements
mentioned above" will be suppressed. (1708-PS)
Thus the Reich Press Leader was not only empowered to
control all publishing houses of the Party, but was assigned
the task of bringing the entire German press into line with
National Socialist ideology. To this end he was given wide
and specific powers.
His sphere of jurisdiction included specifically:
(a) The administration, publishing, and financing of the
Party press;
(b) The establishment of newspapers by Party members or
affiliated
associations;
(c) The incorporation of newspapers into the Party press
combine;
(d) The appointment of publishers and of their deputies;
(e) The termination or alteration of contracts with
newspapers;
(f) The appointment of Commissars to supervise publishing
houses. (2319-PS)
In addition to controlling the administration and finance of
the National Socialist publishing houses in the Gau, the
Press Leader headed the Zentralverlag, which was the central
publishing house and holding company of the entire Party
publishing machine and all its official organs, such as Der
Voelkischer Beobachter, Der Angri Der SA Mann, Das Schwarze
Korps, Die HJ, etc. (3016-PS)
It was one of the Reich Press Leader's duties to turn all
pub-
[Page 332]
lishing by Party officials into a lucrative undertaking, and
to set up an absolute monopoly in the publication of all
political literature. To effectuate that objective, a decree
was passed which made it mandatory for all "manuscripts
which have National Socialist problems and subject matter as
themes" to be offered first to the Verlag publication. (2383-
PS)
The Reichsleiter fuer de Press, who was also president of
the Reich Press Chamber, exercised economic controls over
the entire German press. He made use of his position to
expand the Party publishing machine at the expense of non-
party newspapers. As president of the Reich Press Chamber,
he was authorized to issue directives with the force of law.
In that capacity he issued certain regulations which had the
effect of prohibiting the Ownership of newspapers by
corporations of any kind, except the NSDAP or such groups as
were approved by the Party. (2315-PS)
These decrees enabled Amann to close down one or more papers
in a particular locality "to safeguard reasonable standards
of competition." They thus provided, along with racial and
other discriminatory legislation, the "legal" basis for the
pressure which was brought to bear on such publishing firms
as Ullstein and other opposition publications, in order to
force them to sell out to the Party. These sales were in no
sense voluntary; the alternative in each case was total
suppression. The authorizing decree provided:
"The President of the Reich Chamber of the Press will
therefore endeavor at first in every individual case to
effect agreements which will relieve him of the
necessity of issuing orders for the closing of
establishments." (2315-PS)
Max Amann has admitted in an affidavit that he discharged
his duties as Reich Press Leader consistently with the
statement of his functions contained in the Party
Organization Book and with Article 23 of the Party Program.
He has further stated that racial and other discriminatory
legislation made it expedient for firms "owned or controlled
by Jewish interests, or by political or religious interests
hostile to the NSDAP *** to sell their newspapers or
assets to the Eher concern"; and that there was "no free
market for the sale of such properties and the Franz Eher
Verlag was generally the only bidder." His affidavit
concludes as follows:
"It is a true statement to say that the basic purpose
of the Nazi press program was to eliminate all press in
opposition to the Party." (3016-PS)
(4) Parteiamliche Prufungskommission zum Schutz des NS-
[Page 333]
Chriftums (Office of Party Examining Commission for the
Protection of National Socialist Publications) (PPK)
The PPK was charged with the censorship and supervision of
all literature with cultural or political implications.
According to the Party Manual:
"The functional scope of the official Party Examining
Commission is not confined to any one group of
publications but includes the entire publishing field.
Thus the work of the Official Party Examining
Commission is sub-divided into departments for books,
magazines and newspapers. Out of these main departments
a group of important special fields have emerged as
more or less independent fields. They are specifically
the editing of speeches, scientific books, textbooks,
scientific periodicals and the calendar as a special
type of magazine." (2319-PS)
The Examining Commission's function was to protect National
Socialist literature from attempts to destroy its
propagandistic effect or to pervert its political and social
content. The Party Manual stated:
"It is the function of the Examining Commission to
protect the National Socialist literature from abuse,
corruption, and attempts at dissolution. Thus it
forestalls the infiltration of elements within the
National Socialist literature which are irreconcilable
with it." (2319-PS)
In addition, the PPK concerned itself with the actual
suppression of literature incompatible with Party tenets,
and with the approval of those works which it deemed
beneficial to the extension of the National Socialist
ideology. The Party Manual specified as follows:
"Particularly it is the function of the official Party
Examining Commission to determine whether or not a work
can be considered National Socialist literature." (2319-
PS)
This office worked in close collaboration with the Delegate
of the Fuehrer for the Total Supervision of the Intellectual
and Ideological Training and Education of the People
(Rosenberg). (2319-PS; 2383-PS)
(5) The Beauftragte des Fuehrers fuer die- Ueberwachung der
gesamten geistigen und weltansschaulichen Schuung und
Erziehung der NSDAP (Delegate of the Fuehrer for the Total
Supervision of the Intellectual and Ideological Training and
Education of the Party) (BdF).
The delegate of the Fuehrer was Reichsleiter Alfred
Rosenberg. The Office of the BdF was placed in charge of the
Party's
[Page 334]
intellectual and ideological training and education. Its
declared objective was the uniform ideological orientation
of the Party, Party formations, and affiliated associations.
Its main functions, in furtherance of this objective, were
the preparation of suitable training materials and the
issuance of directives thereon; the preparation, editing,
and establishment of curricula; the training of qualified
teaching staffs; the counseling of Party agencies,
formations, and affiliates on content and methods of
indoctrination; and the elimination of such reading and
teaching materials as were deemed inappropriate from a
National Socialist point of view. To perform these tasks,
Rosenberg had the assistance of a large organization with
numerous functional divisions (2319-PS). The BdF took a
major part in the work of Party organizations, affiliated
associations, and schools and training institutes which were
instrumental in the indoctrination of the German people and
youth. (2383-PS)
B. The Reich government organization.
The state organ of control was the Reichsministerium fuer
Volksaufklaerung und Propaganda (Reich Ministry for Popular
Enlightenment and Propaganda). The Minister was Josef
Goebbels. The Ministry was founded by decree dated
13 March 1933, which defined its duties as the "enlightenment
of, and propaganda among, the people on the subject of the
policy of the Reich government and on the national
reconstruction of the homeland." (2029-PS). By decree dated
30 June 1933 the functions of the Minister were extended to
include "jurisdiction over the whole field of spiritual
indoctrination of the nation, of propagandizing the State,
of cultural and economic propaganda, of enlightenment of the
public at home and abroad; furthermore he is in charge of
all institutions serving these purposes." (2030-PS). In the
words of Mueller, an authority on the Propaganda Ministry,
these decrees formed the basis for the creation of a central
agency for propaganda "the like of which heretofore existed
nowhere in the world." (2434-PS). The influence which this
agency exerted on the everyday life and activities of the
German citizen was illustrated by the multitude of civic and
cultural affairs, including public entertainment, which fell
under the sweep of its direction and control. (2434-PS)
A few of the more important departments of the Propaganda
Ministry, together with a brief description of their
respective functions, follows:
(1) Personnel. This department issued directives for unified
[Page 335]
personnel policy, and exercised general supervision over the
personnel of public art instituted within the entire Reich.
(2) Law. "The nuclear task of the law department is the
publication and execution of national socialist cultural
laws. The professions and institutions of literature and art
had to be transformed from carriers of a liberal
individualistic intellectual movement to the carriers of the
tasks of public propaganda and leadership. To reach this
goal required the enactment of governmental decrees for
creating new organizations or the making of new laws."
(3) Propaganda. This department coordinated propaganda
policies and issued over-all directives to the various
functional departments (press, radio, etc.) which then
carried out the directives. A special function was
"enlightenment of the people as to Jewish question" and as
to "racial policies."
(4) Foreign. This department was the Ministry's listening
post for political and economic developments abroad "to
counteract the worldwide publicity activities of the enemy
against our philosophy and our political objectives by
exposing and rectifying the lies of the press" and to
exploit the information in German propaganda. It also
cooperated closely with the Auslandsorganization der NSDAP.
(5) Radio. Hans Fritzsche headed this department. It
supervised the political content of German broadcasting,
issued directives as to the arrangement of programs and
treatment of material, and cooperated with the Party in the
technical organization of German radio.
(6) The Film Department was in charge of directing and
guiding the German film industry, censoring of films, and
developing the German weekly newsreel.
(7) Literature. This agency, in close collaboration with BdF
and PPK, controlled all German literary activities, censored
new books, provided for the publication of German books
abroad, and arranged for the translation and censorship of
foreign books.
(8) Abteilung Deutsche Presse (German or Home Press
Department). This department was headed by Fritzsche until
he was relieved in 1942 to take charge of the Radio
Division. It was responsible for political control over the
entire German press; it controlled the editorial policy of
the press and its personnel (through the Reich Press
Chamber), and supervised the dissemination of news through
the official German News Agency (DNB). The Home Press
Division outlined the editorial policy o all newspapers and
the comment of editors and journalists in its daily
directives. (Tendenz berichte). These dealt with the
[Page 336]
daily contents of the paper, the methods of treatment of
news material, the writing of headlines, the preference for
or omission of certain items, and the modification or
cessation of current campaigns. The directives were issued
to the representatives of the press in person or sent
through the facilities of the DNB to the local papers. (2434-
PS; 2529-PS)
The Home Press Department of the Propaganda Ministry had an
important participation in administering the provisions of
the Editorial Control Law, which made the profession of
editor "a public task, which is regulated as to its
professional duties and rights by the state." That law also
included requirements for admission to the profession and
other elaborate controls. (2083-PS)
(9) Periodical Literature. This department supervised German
periodical literature in the same manner as the Abteilung
Deutsche Presse controlled the daily press.
Other divisions exercised supervision over the Theatre
(selection and supervision of the entire dramatic production
and influencing the programs of all German Theatres); the
Arts; Music ("the entire cultural and political leadership
of German musical life"); Special Cultural Tasks ("This
department serves mainly to eliminate all Jews from German
Cultural life"); and Foreign Tourists. (2434-PS)
A large organization of faithful Party followers was
recruited to discharge the manifold functions of the
Propaganda Ministry. The staff numbered 1000 persons in 1939-
1940. In the words of Mueller:
"It is no accident; therefore, that the great majority
of the official workers and other personnel of the
Ministry consist of reliable National Socialists of
which almost 100 are bearers of the Gold Party Pin."
(2434-PS)
C. The semi-autonomous professional organizations
Reichskulturkammer (Reich Chamber of Culture).
The Reich Chamber of Culture was set up in September 1933 to
control (under the supervision of the Propaganda Ministry
and within the framework of general policy directives issued
by that activity) personnel engaged in all fields of
propaganda (2082-PS). Its tasks as described in the First
Executive Decree of the above law, dated 1 November 1933,
were:
"To promote German culture as responsible to the people
and the Reich, to regulate the social and economic
relations of the different groups in the cultural
professions and to coordinate their aims." (2415-PS)
[Page 337]
The Reichskulturkammer was a so-called "Nachgeordnete
Dienststelle" (Subordinate office) of the Propaganda
Ministry. Together with its subordinate Chambers it was
charged with supervising all personnel active in any field
under the jurisdiction of the Propaganda Ministry. All
persons employed in the cultural professions were obligated
to register with one of the subordinate Chambers. The
Chambers were also responsible for investigating the
activities and political reliability of their members.
Moreover, power was given to Chambers to prosecute members
offending against Nazi standards or persons pursuing their
occupation without being duly registered. The punitive
powers included, expulsion from membership, which was
tantamount to the loss of livelihood. The Chambers were also
given power to issue directives, which had the validity of
law, regulating the cultural activities under their control
(2529-PS). The President of the Chamber of Culture was the
Minister of Propaganda, Joseph Goebbels, who nominated the
Vice-Presidents. In 1937, the latter consisted of Walter
Funk, Max Amann (Reich Leader of the Press) and Leopold
Gutterer (Secretary of State in the Propaganda Ministry).
The Chamber of Culture was divided into seven functional
chambers;
(1) Reichspressekammer (Reich Press Chamber). Max Amann was
president of this chamber, which was, to a greater extent
than the other chambers, a loose association of technical
bodies and organizations, such as the Reich Association of
German Newspaper Publishers. It integrated the activities of
these groups and, through the composition of its governing
body, ensured close coordination with Party and State
propaganda machinery. (2529-PS; 3016-PS)
(2) Feichskammer der bildenden Kunste (Reich Chamber of Fine
Arts). This chamber supervised the activities of all
architects, interior decorators, landscape gardeners,
sculptors, painters, draftsmen, art publishers, etc. By
1937, all other art groups and associations had been
dissolved, and all their members "obligated by profession"
to join this chamber. (2529-PS)
(3) Reichsmusikkammer (Reich Music Chamber). This Chamber
was organized to "oversee the practice and activity of
musicians in their cultural, economic, and legal
relationships with the world. *** in order that music will
still remain a prized possession of the German people."
(2529-PS)
\(4) Reichstheaterkammer (Reich Theater Chamber). The
Theater Chamber was the professional organization for the
entire field of the professional theater. Its purpose was to
super-
[Page 338]
vise and promote the "cultural, social and economic
conditions of the professions which it includes". Actual
censorship of stage production was the responsibility of the
Reichsdramaturg. (2529-PS)
(5) Reichsfilmkammer (Reich Film Chamber). The primary
function of this Chamber was to lift the film industry "out
of the sphere of liberal economic thoughts" by giving it a
sound economic foundation and thus enable it to "receive
those tasks which it has to fulfill in the National
Socialist State". (2529-PS)
(6) Rechsschrifttumskammer (Reich Chamber of Literature).
The Chamber of Literature had jurisdiction over all persons
concerned with the "basic production" (writing and
publishing) of literature. Its task was to protect writers
"from undesirable elements" and to keep out of the book
market everything "unGerman." It had the further function of
bringing literature to the people and making the writer more
"aware of his duty to the nation." Primary responsibility
for critical evaluation and censorship of literature
however, was left to the Propaganda Ministry. (2529-PS)
(7) Reichsrundfunkkamer (Reich Radio Chamber). The official
gazette of the Reich Culture Chamber stated that the radio
was the most immediate propaganda instrument of the National
Socialist leadership; that the ideal and cultural life of
the nation could be shown "totally" in and through the
radio; and that since the radio constituted the most
important technical means of influencing the masses it was
necessary to establish a close tie between the radio and the
Party.
Functions of the Radio Chamber included: mobilizing of all
technical possibilities of broadcasting, bringing the people
closer to radio, planning the manufacture of cheap receiving
sets, and propaganda in connection with the drive for new
listeners. (2529-PS)
[Page 339]
LEGAL REFERENCES AND LIST OF DOCUMENTS RELATING
TO PROPAGANDA, CENSORSHIP, AND SUPER-
VISON OF CULTURAL ACTIVITIES
Charter of the International Military Tribunal,
Article 6, especially 6 (a). Vol. i Pg.5
International Military Tribunal, Indictment
Number 1, Section IV (D) 3 (e). Vol. I Pg.21
[Note: A single asterisk (*) before a document indicates
that the document was received in evidence at the Nurnberg
trial. A double asterisk (**) before a document number
indicates that the document was referred to during the trial
but was not formally received in evidence, for the reason
given in parentheses following the description of the
document. The USA series number, given in parentheses
following the description of the document, is the official
exhibit number assigned by the court.]
*1708-PS; The Program of the NSDAP.
National Socialistic Yearbook, 1941, p. 153. (USA 255; USA
324) Vol. IV Pg. 208
2029-PS; Decree establishing the
Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda, 13
March 1933. 1933 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 104. Vol. IV
Pg. 652
2030-PS; Decree concerning the Duties
of the Reich Ministry for Public Enlightenment and
Propaganda, 30 June 1933. 1933 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p.
449. Vol. IV Pg.653
[Page 340]
2082-PS; Law relating to the Reich
Chamber of Culture of 22 September 1933. 1933 Reichsgesetzblatt,
Part I, p. 661. Vol. IV Pg.708
2083-PS; Editorial control law,
4 October 1933. 1933 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p.713. Vol. IV
Pg.709
2315-PS; Order concerning the
Supervision of District Leaders of Work of Reich Chamber of
Culture, published in The Law of the Reich Chamber of
Culture, Vol. 2, 1 January 1935 to 30 June 1935. Vol. IV
Pg.1007
*2319-PS; Extracts from Organization
Book of NSDAP, 4th edition, 1937. (USA 602) Vol. IV Pg.1009
*2383-PS; Ordinance for execution of
decree of Fuehrer concerning position of the Head of Party
Chancellery of 16 January 1942, published in Decrees,
Regulations, Announcements. (USA 410) Vol. V Pg.9
2415-PS; First decree for the
implementation of law relating to The Reich Chamber of
Culture, 1 November 1933. 1933 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I. Vol. V
Pg.89
*2434-PS; The Reich Ministry for
Enlightenment of the People and for Propaganda, Berlin 1940,
by Georg Mueller. (USA 722) Vol. V Pg.102
2529-PS; Extracts from Handbook of
Reich Chamber of Culture for 1937. Vol. V Pg.262
*3016-PS; Affidavit of Max Amann,
19 November 1945. (USA 757) Vol. V Pg.735
*3469; Affidavit of Hans Eritzsche,
7 January 1946. (USA 721) Vol. VI Pg. 174
*Chart No. 2; Totalitarian Control of
Propaganda and Education. (USA 21) Vol. VIII Pg. 771
[Page 341]
10. MILITARIZATION OF NAZI ORGANIZATIONS:
A. The Nazi conspirators placed many of their organizations
on a progressively militarized footing with a view to the
rapid transformation and use of such organizations as
instruments of war.
(1) The Schutzstaffeln (SS). The SS was militarized
beginning in March 1933, when special, volunteer, armed
units were created consisting of full-time garrisoned
troops. These units, which rapidly grew in strength, were a
part neither of the Wehrmacht, nor of the police, but were
exclusively at the disposal of the Fuehrer. This
militarization of the SS was in accordance with Nazi policy.
(For documentation and further discussion see Chapter XV,
Section 5.)
(2) The Sturmabteilung (SA). The SA was founded in 1921 as a
para-military organization to fight political enemies of the
Nazis. After the accession of the Nazis to power, the SA was
used to provide pre-military training at a time when the
Reichswehr was legally limited to a strength of 100,000 men.
Thus the SA, from its inception, had a military purpose,
which was carried out and gradually increased in scope. (For
documentation and further discussion see Chapter XV, Section
4.)
(3) The Hitler Jugend (HJ). One of the chief purposes of the
Hitler Jugend was to provide for military training of German
youth at a very early age. As early as 1933, the HJ entered
into a secret program of extensive pre-military training for
German youth in conjunction with
the SA and the Wehrmacht. In addition to general military
training, members of the HJ were given specialized training
in various types of military units, such as flying units,
naval units, motorized units, signal units, etc. (For
documentation and further discussion, see (4) The Nation
Socialist Motor Corps (NSKK). The original NSKK was founded
under the name of NSAK (National Socialist Automobile Corps)
on 1 April 1930 by Hitler, who joined as its first member. By
the end of 1931 it had a membership of approximately 10,000,
as compared to 300 at the beginning of that year (2804-PS).
In 1934 the motorized Hitler Jugend and the motorized SA
were placed under the NSKK. Hitler, on 23 August of that
year, decreed that:
"the NSAK and the motorized SA are from now on welded
together into a unit called NSKK. The NSKK is directly
subordinate to me". (2804-PS)
[Page 342]
Thus the NSKK was elevated to the position of an independent
affiliated unit of the NSDAP, similar to the SA and the SS.
The membership of the enlarged NSKK grew rapidly.
The military purpose of the NSKK is evident from the
following statement from The Organizationbuch der NSDAP
(1940):
"The young driver who has received his training in the
six-week courses of the NSKK will be well prepared in
body and spirit when the time comes for his military
service, and will wear with pride the dress of the
Armed Forces of the Nation." (2320-B-PS)
The program of militarization proceeded rapidly:
"More than one-third of all leaders and men of the
NSKK, which had in the meantime grown to a membership
of 350,000, were already active in the fight for power
*** Thus, the NSKK had in its ranks, in addition to
the proud tradition of the period of our fight, also
that of the World War. This front spirit and experience
of a generation matured to manhood in the barrage, in
the battles of attrition, in the battles of the
Freikorps, and in the heroic fight of National
Socialism for Germany's rebirth, is passed on to our
youth as a sacred heritage." (2804-PS)
The training given to NSKK members was intended to furnish
seasoned recruits for the Nazi military forces.
"Military motorized training of our youth is the
cardinal task of the educational work of the NSKK. Here
it collaborates most closely with the bearer of the
arms of the Reich, the Wehrmacht, and it has done so
already throughout the years before the seizure of
power. The demands and needs of the Army, which
continuously grew in scope after the awakening of our
Nation and after our regained military freedom also
caused the tasks and the work of the NSKK in the field
of military motorized training to grow correspondingly
*** By order of the Fuehrer and Supreme Commander of
the Wehrmacht, the NSKK has been given charge of the
pre-military training of the entire young reserve of
the motorized troop units of our Army in addition to
post-military training." (2804-PS)
NSKK-trained men were intended to be assimilated into Reich
Panzer
units.
"Well prepared physically and spiritually, the young
German man who has now become a motorized soldier, can
serve with a motorized or partially-motorized unit of
the Army. To become a tank soldier is his only
ambition." (2804-PS)
The NSKK was actually used for military purposes.
[Page 343]
"The men of the NSKK have considerably contributed to
the liberation of the Sudetenland by the Fuehrer and
have thus gained undying merit, not only for the
Germans in the Sudetenland, but for the entire German
people as a whole." (2804-PS)
Further evidence of actual military use of the NSKK is given
in the following passage from "Deutschland m Kampf" written
by Mnisterildirigent A. J. Berndt of the Reich Propaganda
Ministry and Lt. Col. von Wedel of the German Army High
Command, in the issue of June 1940:
"The NSKK is playing a decisive part in the carrying
out of considerable war-important tasks on the Inner
Front, one of which is traffic. * * Among the tasks of
the NSKK are pre-military training, education, and
schooling and motorized transport. Thus, for instance,
the conducting of the entire transport system of the
TODT Organization on the West Wall and the traffic in
the-Western War Theater are in the hands of the NSKK."
(2810-PS)
(5) The National Socialist Aviation Corps (NSFK). The NSFK
was another organization affiliated with the NSDAP used by
the Nazi conspirators for military purposes. It was the
great training school for the Luftwaffe.
"In the endeavor to assure for the German Luftwaffe a
numerically strong and well prepared reserve, and to
strengthen in the German people the conviction that
Germany must retain its head-start in all spheres of
aviation, the NSFK was founded by the Fuehrer on
17 April 1937 **.
"The NSFK at the time of its creation, was given the
following tasks by the Reichsmarshal:
"1. Pre-military aviation training of the new blood for
the Luftwaffe.
"2. The keeping in training of the reservists of the
aviation troops.
"3. The combining and directing of all German air
sports.
"4. Promotion and extension of the aviation idea among
the German people.
"These tasks are so great that the cooperation of tens
of thousands of active members is necessary to make
carrying them out possible, so that the Luftwaffe may
be able at any time to count on their fulfillment
according to plan." (2811-PS)
The paramount military purpose of the NSFK is clearly indi-
[Page 344]
cated in the following admission by Geeralleutnant Friedrich
Christiansen, Korpsfuehrer of the NSFK:
"Schooled in character, trained physically as a flier,
and as a soldier, the member-to-be of the Luftwaffe
leaves the NSFK." (2813-PS)
(6) The Reichsarbeitdienst (RAD) (The Reich Labor Service).
The Reich Labor Service was also subverted to military
purposes by the Nazi conspirators.
Membership in the RAD was made compulsory for both young men
and women on 26 June 1935.
"All young Germans of either sex between 18-25 years of
age are obligated to serve their people in the Reich
Labor Service. As the schooling of the Nation, it has
as its object this education of the German Youth to
National Socialist Ideology.
"The Reich Labor Service for men is, thanks to its
military nature, closely-knit units, and its particular
education and training an ever-ready, powerful tool of
the National Socialist Reich." (2805-PS)
The tens of thousands of members of the RAD were militarily
trained and ready for action when Germany launched her
campaigns of aggression. Actual military use of the men of
the RAD is clearly shown in the 1 June 1943 edition of
"Fuehren und Erzehen" (Leadership and Education), the
official magazine of the Reich Labor Service. A photograph
depicts a Labor Service man repairing a bridge at the front,
across which four infantrymen are proceeding, and is titled
as follows:
"The young crews who have gone through the educational
institutions of the Reich Labor Service today represent
the most active nucleus of our Army. *** Our
photograph shows labor men who in the East are
preparing the way for infantry shock troops by
repairing a bridge. Thus also the men of the Reich
Labor Service are today one of the examples of eternal
German soldierdom." (2806-PS)
The military uses of the RAD are further described in the
following letter written by Goering to Reich Labor Service
Leader Konstantin Hierl:
"After the victorious termination of the campaign in
Poland, l cannot but convey to you my sincere thanks
for and unreserved recognition of the help rendered by
the Reich Labor Service in the carrying out of the
operations of the Luftwaffe. In guarding Army
airfields, in clearing and quickly repairing former
enemy airports, in road construction and
[Page 345]
in bringing up supplies, everywhere your men have done
a real job and have thus contributed considerably to
the successes of the German Luftwaffe." (2807-PS)
(7) The TODT Organization (OT). The TODT Organization, or
OT, was another NSDAP affiliate used to further the
militaristic aims of the Nazi conspirators. The OT,
originally an offshoot of the RAD, was created as a separate
entity in June 1938 when Dr. Fritz Todt was charged with the
construction of the Siegfried Line or West Wall. The
military employment of the OT is clearly shown in the
following passage from "Maenner der OT", which was published
by the Photographic Office of the Reich Propaganda Office:
"No sooner had the greatest and most modern
fortifications of the world, the West Wall, been
completed by the workers of the OT, when these very
same workers were called upon by the Fuehrer to prove
their worth also in direct front service *** and they
thus helped ***- to achieve the greatest victory in
history. When the great offensive in the west began,
the brown workers' columns of the TODT organization
followed immediately behind them. After the armistice
with France had been signed, an entirely new situation
developed for the TODT organization. Its columns had
pushed deep into enemy country. Not seldom did they
have direct contact with the enemy -- their losses in dead
and wounded and the Iron Cross awards are heroic proof
of that. While, as the foremost construction workers of
the German Reich, they had already proved their worth
when building the West Wall, they were now able to
perfect what they had learned in the fight against the
British world enemy. From the Channel coast to the
Atlantic Ocean, the front technicians and front workers
of the OT now proceeded to create the prerequisites for
a successful fight against England." (2808-PS)
Though the OT was in its origin technically a civilian
organization, it subsequently became a para-military body
which, before and during the war, cooperated fully with the
German Army. On 2 July 1940, a directive was issued from the
German High Command appointing a liaison officer.
"*** to establish the closest liaison and
cooperation of the respective military offices with the
main construction work of the TODT Organization." (2812-
PS)
his militarization of the OT is further shown in the
following passage from "Nationalsozialistische Monatschefte"
for 1942:
"From the Autobahn workers was developed the
'Organization TODT' a body of hundreds of thousands of
workers who
[Page 346]
help the Wehrmacht everywhere in eliminating obstacles,
building bridges and erecting fortifications and
shelters. The front soldier and the front worker stand
side by side. Together they have shed their blood in
this war and together they have won victories. Long-
range guns on the Channel coast, U-boat bases on the
Atlantic, and now the East will render the 'OT'
immortal for all times to come." (2809-PS)
A letter from Fritz Sauckel to Hitler, dated 17 May 1943,
states that the OT had supplied 248,200 workers by March
1943 for the completion of the Atlantic Wall, and praises
the OT for its excellent work in this regard. (407-VIII-PS)
By 1938, all phases of German life had been mobilized for
the accomplishment of militant aims.
Hitler declared to the Reichstag on 20 February 1938:
"Only now we have succeeded in setting before us the
great tasks and in possessing the material things which
are the prerequisites for the realization of great
creative plans in all fields of our national existence.
Thus, National Socialism has made up within a few years
for what centuries before it had omitted. ***
"National Socialism has given the German people that
leadership which as party not- only mobilizes the
nation but also organizes it, so that on the basis of
the natural principle of selection, the continuance of
a stable political leadership is safeguarded forever *
* * National Socialism *** possesses Germany entirely
and completely since the day when, five years ago, I
left the house in Wilhelmplatz as Reich Chancellor.
There is no institution in this state which is not
National Socialist. Above all, however, the National
Socialist Party in these five years not only has made
the nation National Socialist, but also has given
itself that perfect organizational structure which
guarantees its permanence for all future. The greatest
guarantee of the National Socialist revolution lies in
the complete domination of the Reich and all its
institutions and organizations, internally and
externally, by the National Socialist Party. Its
protection against the world abroad, however, lies in
its new National Socialist armed forces. * *
"In this Reich, anybody who has a responsible position
is a National Socialist. *** Every institution of
this Reich is under the orders of the supreme political
leadership. *** The party leads the Reich
politically, the armed forces defend it militarily. * *
* There is nobody in any responsible position in this
state who. doubts that I am the authorized leader of
this Reich." (2715-PS)
LEGAL REFERENCES AND LIST OF DOCUMENTS RELATING
TO MILITARIZATION OF NAZI ORGANIZATIONS
Charter of the International Military Tribunal,
Article 6, especially 6 (a). Vol. I Pg. 5
International Military Tribunal, Indictment
Number 1, Section IV (D) 3 (f). Vol. I Pg.21
[Note: A single asterisk (*) before a document indicates
that the document was received in evidence at the Nurnberg
trial. A double asterisk (**) before a document number
indicates that the document was referred to during the trial
but was not formally received in evidence, for the reason
given in parentheses following the description of the
document. The USA series number, given in parentheses
following the description of the document, is the official
exhibit number assigned by the court.]
*407-VIII-PS; Telegram from Sauckel
to Hitler, 17 May 1943, concerning foreign labor. (USA 210)
Vol. III Pg. 394
2320-B-PS; Extracts from Organization
Book of NSDAP, 1940, p. 394. Vol. IV Pg. 1026
*2715-PS; Speech by Hitler to the
Reichstag on 20 February 1938, published in The Archive,
February 193, Vol. 47, pp. 1441-1442. (USA 331) Vol. V
Pg.376
2804-PS; Extracts from "Das NSKK" by
Hans Helmut Krenzlein, NSKK Gruppenfuehrer, with foreword by
Leader of NSKK, Korpsfuehrer A. Huehnlein. Vol. V Pg.446
[Page 348]
2805-PS; Extract from Organizations
Book of NSDAP, 1943, p. 46. Vol. V Pg.447
2806-PS; Extract from Leadership and
Education, official magazine of Youth Labor Service, 1 June
1943, p. 19. Vol. V Pg.448
2807-PS; Letter by Goering to Reich
Labor Service Leader Konstantin Hierl, published by National
Socialist Monthly, 1940, Vol. I, p. 155. Vol. V Pg.448
Document; 2808-PS; Men of the OT, published by
Photographic Office of Reich Propaganda Office. Vol. V
Pg.448
2809-PS; Extract from National
Socialist Monthly, February-March, 1942, p.167. Vol. V
Pg.449
2810-PS; Extract from Germany in
Battle, by Berndt of Reich Propaganda Ministry and von Wedel
of German Any High Command, 1940, p.107. Vol. V Pg.449
2811-PS; Extracts from Organization
Book of the NSDAP, 1938, pp. 470, 470 (c). Vol. V Pg.450
Document; 2812-PS; Directive from German Army
High Command, published in General Army Bulletin, 1940, Vol.
VII, p. 96. Vol. V Pg.450
2813-PS; Extract from The National
Socialist Air Corps, p. 14. Vol. V Pg.451
*3054-PS; "The Nazi Plan", script of
a motion picture composed of captured German film. (USA 167)
Vol. V Pg.801
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