Forty-Sixth Day:
Wednesday, 30th January, 1946 [Page 295]
M. DUBOST: Yes. And the whole constituted Document 1553-PS.
This document is included in the series covered by the
affidavit of which Sir David has spoken to you.
THE PRESIDENT: Mr. Dubost, if you attach importance to it,
would it not be possible for you to give us the figures from
these other bills of lading? I mean the amount of the gas.
M. DUBOST: Certainly, Mr. President.
THE PRESIDENT: Just in order that it may be upon the
shorthand note.
M. DUBOST :
To Document 1553-PS is added the statement by Gessner and
also the statement by the Chief of the American Service who
collected this document.
With the permission of the Tribunal, I shall proceed with
the presentation of the crimes of which we accuse the
defendants against allied prisoners of war who were interned
in Germany. Document 735-PS, Page 68 of the document book,
which we submitted a short time ago as Exhibit RF 371, is a
report on important meetings which brought together
Kaltenbrunner, Ribbentrop and Goering, and in the course of
which was drawn up the list of air operations which
constituted acts of terrorism.
It was decided at these meetings that lynching would be the
ideal punishment for all actions directed against civilian
populations which the German Government claimed to be
terroristic.
On Page 68 Ribbentrop is involved. We read in one of the
three copies notes of the meetings that were held that day -
in the first paragraph, 11th line
[Page 296]
On Page 69, the Tribunal may read, under No. 3, the
description and the enumeration of the acts which are to be
considered as terroristic acts and as justifying lynching.
(b) Attacks against German airmen, who have baled out of
their aircraft.
(c) Attacks against civilian passenger trains.
(d) Attacks against hospitals or hospital trains that
are clearly marked with a red cross."
THE PRESIDENT: I think that has all been read, M. Dubost. I
think that document was all read before.
M. DUBOST: Mr. President, I had been told that it had not
been read.
THE PRESIDENT: I have not verified it.
M. DUBOST: We submit Document 729-PS, as Exhibit RF 372.
This document confirms the preceding one. It originates from
the Fuehrer's Headquarters, is dated 15 June 1944, and it
reiterates the orders I have read.
But this document is signed by Marshal Keitel, whereas the
preceding one was signed "J." We have not been able to
identify the author of this initial. Document 730-PS, which
we next submit as Exhibit RF 373, is likewise from the
Fuehrer's Headquarters, still dated 15 June 1944. It is
addressed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the
attention of Ambassador Ritter. The Tribunal will find it on
Page 71 in the document book. This document reproduces the
instructions signed "Keitel" in the preceding document, and
it is likewise signed by Keitel.
We shall submit as Exhibit RF 374, Document 733-PS, which
concerns the treatment which is to be meted out to airmen
falling into the hands of the German Army. It is a telephone
message. The call is from the Adjutant of the Marshal of the
Reich (Captain Breuer).
DR. NELTE (Counsel for Keitel): I assume, Mr. Prosecutor,
that you have
[Page 297]
THE PRESIDENT: The documents speak for themselves.
M. DUBOST: Does the Tribunal wish to listen to the complete
reading of these documents which are signed by Keitel? They
are not orders, they are projects. Moreover, I emphasised
that when I announced them to the Tribunal.
On Page 80 of our document book, you will find dated 30 June
1944, with Keitel's initials, a Note of a Meeting.
(1) Enclosed the draft of a reply by the Reich Minister
of Foreign Affairs to the Chief of the OKW forwarded by
Ambassador Ritter to the Operational Staff of the
Wehrmacht."
We shall now submit Document L-154, which has already been
submitted by our American colleagues as Exhibit USA 335. My
colleague has read this text in extenso. I will refer to
only three lines, in order not to delay the proceedings: "As
a matter of principle, no fighter-bomber pilots brought down
are to be saved from the anger of the people," This comes
from the office of the Gauleiter and Commissar for the
Defence of the Reich, Gau South Westphalia.
As Exhibit RF 376 we shall submit Document F-686, on Page 82
of our document book. This is the minutes of an
interrogation of Hugo Gruener on 29 December 1945; he was
subordinate to Robert Wagner, Gauleiter of Baden and Alsace.
In the last lines of this document, Page 82, Gruener states:
Page 83, at the top of the page: "He stated that
Kreisleiter, if the occasion offered, should not fail to
capture and shoot the Allied airmen themselves. As I have
told you, Roehn was assistant to Wagner, but Wagner himself
did not speak. I can affirm that SS-General Hoffmann, who
was the SS leader of the police for the Southwest Region,
was present when the order was given to us by Wagner to
assassinate allied airmen."
This witness, Hugo Gruener, confesses that he participated
in the execution of Allied airmen.
"Going through Rheinweiler, - this took place in October or
November 1944 - he (Gruener) noticed that some English or
American airmen had been
[Page 298]
That is the third paragraph at the bottom of the page and
the witness declares: "I told the gendarmes that I had
received from Wagner the order to execute any Allied airmen
taken prisoner. The gendarmes replied that it was the only
thing to be done. I then decided to execute the four Allied
prisoners and one of the gendarmes present advised me to do
this on the banks of the Rhine."
On Page 84, paragraph 1, Gruener describes how he proceeded
to assassinate these airmen. In the second paragraph he
confesses that he killed them with machine gun shots in the
back. In the third paragraph he gives the name of one of his
accomplices, Erich Meissner, who was a Gestapo agent from
Lorrach, and in the fifth paragraph he denounces Meissner
for having himself assassinated an airman as he was getting
out of a car and was on his way toward the Rhine. I read:
This is how the orders given by the leaders of the German
Government were carried out by the German people.
THE PRESIDENT: M. Dubost, I see that it is five o'clock now,
and perhaps you would be able to tell us what your programme
would be for tomorrow.
M. DUBOST: Tomorrow we shall complete the presentation of
the question of prisoners-of-war. We shall present to you in
an abridged form, documents which seem to us to be
indispensable, in spite of the hearing of witnesses, in
regard to the camps. There are only a few documents, but
they all directly inculpate one or another of the
defendants. Then we shall show how the orders given by the
leaders of the German Army led the subordinates to commit
acts of terrorism and banditry in France against the
innocent population, and against patriots who were not
treated as franc-tireurs but as common law bandits.
We expect to finish tomorrow morning. In the afternoon, my
colleague, M. Faure, could begin the presentation of this
last part of the French charges concerning Crimes against
Humanity.
THE PRESIDENT: Are you not able to give us any estimate of
the length of the whole of the French prosecution?
M. DUBOST: I believe that three days will be sufficient for
M. Faure. The individual charges will be summarised in one
half day by our colleague M. Mounier, and that will be the
end.
THE PRESIDENT: The Tribunal will adjourn now.
(The Tribunal adjourned until 31st January at 1000 hours)
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(Part 7 of 7)
14 February 1944...Gross weight: 832 kilos...Net weight: 555 kilos
The first is addressed to Auschwitz and the second to
Oranienburg.
16 February 1944...Gross weight: 832 kilos...Net weight: 555 kilos13 March 1944...Gross weight: 896 kilos...Net weight: 598 kilos
This appears to me to be all.
(addressed to Auschwitz)
13 March 1944...Gross weight: 896 kilos...Net weight: 598 kilos
(addressed to Oranienburg)
30 April 1944...Gross weight: 832 kilos...Net weight: 555 kilos
(addressed to Auschwitz)
30 April 1944...Gross weight: 832 kilos...Net weight: 555 kilos
(addressed to Oranienburg)
18 May 1944...Gross weight: 832 kilos...
Net weight: 555 kilos
(addressed to Oranienburg)
31 May 1944...Gross weight: 832 kilos...
Net weight: 555 kilos
(addressed to Auschwitz) "Contrary to the proposals of the Minister of Foreign
Affairs, who wanted to include all terroristic attacks
against the civilian population and consequently air
attacks against cities" -
The proposals made by Ribbentrop were far in excess of what
was accepted at the time of this meeting. The three lines
which follow deserve the attention of the Tribunal:
"Lynch law would be the means of settlement. There was,
on the other hand, no question of a judgement to be
passed by a tribunal or handing over to the police."
Then, at the bottom of the page
"One had to distinguish between enemy airmen who were
suspected of criminal acts of this kind, and prepare for
their admission to the airmen's camp at Oberursel, and
if the suspicions were confirmed, they were to be turned
over for special treatment by the SD."
The Tribunal will certainly remember the description which
was given of this "special treatment" by the American
prosecution. What is involved is purely and simply the
extermination of allied airmen who had fallen into the hands
of the German Army.
"(a) Attacks with weapons against the civilian
population, either against individuals or against
gatherings of civilians.
Three lines below:
"Should such acts be committed and should it be
established in the course of interrogation, the
prisoners must be handed over to the SD."
This document originates from the Fuehrer's Headquarters. It
was drawn up there on 6 June 1944, and it bears the stamp of
the Assistant Chief of Staff of the Wehrmacht.
"Subject: the treatment of enemy terror flyers
I am omitting a paragraph:
(2) The Marshal of the Reich approves the definition of
terror flyers communicated by the OKW, as well as the
procedure which is proposed.
This document is submitted as Exhibit RF 375. I did not
submit to the Tribunal a regular formal order, but I brought
three documents which, in my opinion, are equivalent to a
formal order because, with the initials of Keitel, we have
this note signed by Warlimont which states: "The Marshal of
the Reich approves the definition of terror flyers
communicated by the OKW, as well as the procedure which is
proposed." This document bears the initials of Keitel.
"Wagner gave the formal order to beat up and kill all airmen
we could capture. In this connection Gauleiter Wagner
explained to us that Allied airmen caused great havoc on
German territory; that they considered it was an inhuman
war, and that therefore, under the circumstances, any airmen
captured should not be considered as prisoners of war, and
deserved no mercy."
"I murdered them by firing a machine gun salvo at each
of them in the back, after which each airman was dragged
by the feet and thrown into the Rhine."
This affidavit was received by the Police Magistrate of
Strasbourg. The document which we shall submit was signed by
his clerk as a certified copy.