The Nizkor Project: Remembering the Holocaust (Shoah)

Fifty-Sixth Day: Monday,11th February, 1946
(Part 14 of 14)


[MAJOR-GENERAL ZORYA continues]

I should like, here and now, to draw the attention of the Tribunal to the questions touched on in this part.

In the first place, I consider it essential to remind you of the contents of this part by repeating it. Document 446-PS, Case "Barbarossa", is on Page 14 of the document book submitted to the Tribunal. I consider it essential to read out Part 2 of this case:

(1) On the flanks of our operation, we can count upon the active participation of Roumania and Finland in the war against Soviet Russia.

The Supreme Command of the German Armed Forces will, at the appropriate time, settle and lay down in what way the Armed Forces of the two countries will be subordinated to the German Command on their entry into the war.

(2) Roumania's task will be to tie down, in co-operation with the group of the Armed Forces advancing there, the enemy forces facing her, and, for the rest, to maintain the auxiliary services in the rear area.

(3) Finland will have to cover the advance of the German Northern landing group (units of the XXI Group) due to arrive from Norway, and then operate together with it. In addition, it will be up to Finland to liquidate the Russian Forces in Hango.

(4) It is possible to count upon the Swedish railways and coal being available for the movements of the German Northern group not later than the beginning of the operation."

In the speech of the Chief Prosecutor from the U.S.S.R. -- General Rudenko -- attention was drawn to the opening sentence of this section:
"On the flanks of our operation, we can count upon the active participation of Roumania and Finland in the war against Soviet Russia."
This justified the chief prosecutor of the U.S.S.R. in pointing out in his speech that on 18th December, 1940 (the date of the "Barbarossa" document), Roumania and Finland were already following in the wake of the predatory policy of the Hitlerite conspirators.

There is only one more document which was submitted by the American prosecution and which mentioned Germany's presumed allies in her aggression against the U.S.S.R.

This document, numbered S 39, is entitled "Provisional Case Barbarossa." It is, as the defendant Keitel pointed out in his covering letter, a time-table for the preparations of Case "Barbarossa" after June, 1941. This time-table was confirmed by Hitler. The text of this plan is on Page 57 of the document book. In Part 2 of this document, entitled "Negotiations with Friendly Powers," we read:

"(a) A request has been sent to Bulgaria not to reduce to any large extent the units stationed, for security reasons, on the Turkish frontier.

(b) The Roumanians have begun, at the instigation of the Commander-in-Chief of the German troops in Roumania, a partial, camouflaged mobilisation in order to be able to close their frontiers against a presumed attack by the Russians.

(c) Hungarian territory will be used for the advance of the Southern Army Group only in so far as it would be expedient for introducing German units to link up the Hungarian and Roumanian forces. Until the middle of June, however, no representations on this subject will be made to Hungary.

(d) Two German divisions have entered in the Eastern part of Slovakia; the next ones will be unloaded in the area of Prossy.

[Page 256]

(e) Preliminary negotiations with the Finnish general staff take place as from 25 May."
Mr. President, in order to correlate the following documents with the testimony given by Paulus, I shall merely refer to the fact that this witness testified to the previous preparations for military aggression in that fortress which was Roumania, thereby proving that corresponding measures for the reorganisation of the Roumanian Army, founded in the image and pattern of the German Army, were taken in September, 1940, when a special military mission was sent to Roumania. The chief of this mission was Cavalry General Hansen. His Chief of Staff was Major General Bauffe, his Quartermaster General Major Merke. Major-General von Rotkirch commanded the 13th Tank Division.

The task of this military mission was the reorganisation of the Roumanian Army and its preparation for the subsequent attack on the Soviet Union in the spirit of Case "Barbarossa." The preliminary trend of this task, as Paulus has testified, was indicated to Hansen and his Chief of Staff by the Commander-in-Chief of the Land Forces, Field Marshal Brauchitsch.

General Hansen received directives from two sources: from the O.K.W. where his military mission was concerned, and from the O.K.H. in all questions dealing with the Land Forces. Directives of a military and political nature were received only from the O.K.W. The military mission acted as liaison between the German and the Roumanian general staffs.

The form assumed by the agreement and, even more, the publication of the true aims of high-ranking Fascist leaders in the country did not always suit the satellites.

I now present, as Exhibit USSR 233, the minutes of a conversation between Ion Antonescu and the defendant Ribbentrop, which took place on 12th February, 1942. This document was taken from the personal archives of Marshal Antonescu, who was captured by the advance units of the Red Army. This document, your Honours, figures on Pages 59-62 of your document book.

In connection with Ribbentrop's speech in Budapest on the subject of Transylvania, Antonescu makes the following annotation in the course of this speech (last paragraph, Page 2 of the Russian text of the document), Page 60 of the document book:

"Without hesitation, I stressed the point that as early as the beginning of September, when I took over the government of the country, supported only by Monsieur Mihai Antonescu, I declared, without asking the opinion of my people, that we must follow a policy of adherence to the Axis Powers; I said that this was the only example in the history of nations when two persons dare to make an open declaration and to call upon their people to follow a policy which no doubt could only appear infamous."
When making this cynical entry, Ion Antonescu could hardly have expected it to receive such wide publicity.

Mr. President, I intend to read into the record a long document which will take considerable time.

THE PRESIDENT: We will adjourn now.

(The Tribunal adjourned until 10.00 hours, 12th February, 1946.)


[ Previous | Index | Next ]

Home ·  Site Map ·  What's New? ·  Search Nizkor

© The Nizkor Project, 1991-2012

This site is intended for educational purposes to teach about the Holocaust and to combat hatred. Any statements or excerpts found on this site are for educational purposes only.

As part of these educational purposes, Nizkor may include on this website materials, such as excerpts from the writings of racists and antisemites. Far from approving these writings, Nizkor condemns them and provides them so that its readers can learn the nature and extent of hate and antisemitic discourse. Nizkor urges the readers of these pages to condemn racist and hate speech in all of its forms and manifestations.