Nazi Conspiracy & Aggression
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Nevertheless the killings in these institutions continued
year after year. This is shown by a certified copy of the
charge, specifications and findings of the US Military
Commission at Wiesbaden, against the individuals who
operated the Hadamar Sanitarium where many Russians and
Poles were done away with. In this particular proceeding,
seven defendants were charged with the murder in 1944 and
1945 of 400 persons of Polish and Russian nationality. Three
of the defendants were sentenced to be hanged; the other
four were sentenced to confinement at hard labor (3592-PS).
But the murdering in Hadamar was only part of a systematic
program. The official report of the Czechoslovak War Crimes
commission, entitled "Detailed Statement on the Murdering of
Ill and Aged People in Germany," shows that Frick was one of
the originators of the secret law of 1940, which authorized
the killing of sick and aged persons and under which the
Hadamar "murder mill" was operated until 1945. The first 3
paragraphs that report read as follows:
"2. Besides the Chief Physician of the Reich, Dr. L.
Conti, the Reichsfuehrer SS Himmler, the Reichsminister
of the Interior Dr. Frick, as well as other men, the
following participated in the introduction of this
secret law ***
"3. As I have already stated, there were -- after
careful calculation -- at least 200,000 mainly mentally
deficient, imbeciles, besides neurological cases and
medically unfit people these were not only incurable
cases -- and at least 75,000 aged people." (1556-PS).
Thus, Frick bears full responsibility for the systematic
killing of the "unproductive eater," for whom the Nazi war
machine had no use.
(4) Oppression in Bohemia and Moravia. The final phase of
Frick's criminal activities began with his appointment as
Protector in Bohemia and Moravia, on 20 August 1943 (3086-
PS).
His authority was clearly defined in a Secret Decree issued
on 29 August 1943. That Decree provided that the Reich
Protector was "the representative of the Fuehrer in his
capacity as Chief of State." In addition to this over-all
authority, Frick was given jurisdiction "to confirm the
members of the government of the Protectorate to appoint,
dismiss and retire the German civil servants in the
Protectorate." He was given full power "to grant
[Page 674]
pardons and to quash proceedings in all cases except in
cases before the Military and SS Police Courts" (1366-PS).
These broad powers establish the clear responsibility of
Frick for the crimes committed in the Protectorate under his
administration during the last 20 months of the War. As
representative of the Fuehrer in the Protectorate, he
covered these criminal acts with Hitler's name and absolute
power.
As a single example of these crimes, reference may be made
to Supplement 6 to the official Czechoslovak Report on
German Crimes Against Czechoslovakia:
"During the tenure of office of defendant Wilhelm Frick as
Reich Protector of Bohemia and Moravia from August 1943
until the liberation of Czechoslovakia in 1945, many
thousands of Czechoslovak Jews were transported from the
Terezin ghetto in Czechoslovakia to the concentration camp
at Oswiecziem (Auschwitz) in Poland and were there killed in
the gas chambers." (3589-PS).
Frick was also fully responsible for the multiple and
notorious miscarriages of justice by which the population of
the Protectorate was systematically persecuted and
oppressed. His failure to correct these miscarriages of
justice through the exercise of his right to grant pardons
and to quash legal proceedings is tantamount to a
confirmation of the cruel and illegal sentences imposed upon
the inhabitants of the Protectorate (1556-PS; 3589-PS).
Frick's specific responsibility on these counts must be
added to the over-all responsibility which he bears because
of the fact that he was in power as Reich Protector while
such Crimes against Humanity were committed against the
population of Bohemia and Moravia
The
original plaintext version of this file is available via ftp.
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Individual
Responsibility Of Defendants
Wilhelm Frick
(Part 10 of 11)
"1. The murdering can be traced back to a secret law
which was released some time in the summer of 1940.