11 Iyar 5721 (27 April 1961)

Presiding Judge: I declare the eighteenth Session of the trial open.

Mr. Bar-Or, are you bringing more witnesses?

State Attorney Bar-Or: Yes, Your Honour. I shall also bring witnesses today. But I would ask permission to begin the Session with the submission of documents. The first document I offer is Prosecution document No. 1241. It is an "Erlass des Reichsfuehrers SS" of 9 July 1936, and certain subsequent executive instructions by Heydrich concerning the manner in which correspondence is to be conducted between the various branches of the police departments, not only amongst themselves, but also from them to other bodies. In the course of the trial, we shall see many documents where certain marks on the letterheads indicate the division or section from which they originated. We shall find that these instructions issued in 1936 did not introduce much change in the situation, as it also existed earlier. But they are important for an understanding of the documents and the way they are written.

This document was received here through the American Archives in Alexandria. The relevant affidavit was submitted by Mr. Bar-Shalom when he spoke about the microfilm from Alexandria No. 4. I have here a photocopy which refers, of course, to the same affidavit. I propose to submit it. I also request permission to read a short passage from these instructions.

Presiding Judge: This will be marked T/94. What do you wish to read from it?

State Attorney Bar-Or: As I said, this comes from the Reichsfuehrer SS and Chief of the German Police at the Ministry of the Interior, Berlin, 9 July 1936 and is addressed to the heads of the departments.

Presiding Judge: There is no need to read it all. Please read the passage. Do not forget that these items are submitted to the Court. They are now before the Court and the Court can read them.

State Attorney Bar-Or: On page 2 the Court will find examples for letters emanating from the Ministry of the Interior, namely Pol. O-K...Nr...[or Pol. O-V...Nr. ] [or Pol. S-Kr....Nr....] On page 3, I draw attention to paragraph 5 which says: "I authorize the Chiefs of the head offices or the Ordnungspolizei and the Sicherheitspolizei to have letters with the heading 'Reichsfuehrer SS and the Chief of the German Police in the Reich Ministry of the Interior' signed by the heads of the offices 'I.A'."

Presiding Judge: It says here "J.A."

State Attorney Bar-Or: That is a typing error.

I wish to draw attention to a passage further down, in paragraph c on page 5, under the heading "Correspondence Procedures." It reads:

"To the reference Pol. S-PP there should be added, between brackets, the mark (IIA) when the matter is dealt with by the person in charge of the desk for Communism and other Marxist groups, (IIB) when the matter is dealt with by the person in charge of the desk for churches and religious organizations, sects, Jews, Freemasons, emigrants."

Further down, at the end, passage 4 reads:

"The Chief of the Office for Administration and Justice signs under the heading 'The Chief of the Security Police,' 'I.V.' [The initials "I.V." mean "in Vertretung" (per pro)]

"The Deputies of the Chiefs of the Security Police in the Departments of the Political Police, Section Political Police for the Interior, and Section of Police for Counterespionage Abwehrpolizei and the Criminal Police will sign under the heading 'The Chief of the Security Police,''I.A.'"

Presiding Judge: This will be marked T/95.

State Attorney Bar-Or: The translation which I attached to this document, Your Honour, includes the contents of almost the entire document insofar as it is of importance to us. Maybe there really is no need to read all those passages contained in the translation.

Presiding Judge: Is this not a complete translation? State Attorney Bar-Or: It is not entirely complete. It is almost complete. In fact, I would like to draw attention only to one passage, namely the one on Chapter I, paragraph c, which reads: "The SD-Commanders of the SS-Oberabschnitte (territorial divisions) bear the title 'Inspector of the Security Police and of the SD'." We shall encounter this title often. "Their area of authority coincides with that of the Higher SS and Police Leaders (Wehrkreise)" i.e. in military zones they correspond to the conscription districts. "Exceptions will be determined by the Security Head Office."

I come now, Your Honour, to Prosecution document No. 919. This is an order from Himmler of 27 September 1939, on the establishment of the Reichssicherheitshauptamt , by merger of the designated organizations, as specified in that document. It was document 361L before the Nuremberg International Military Tribunal. It too, was published in full in volume 38 of the German edition and appears on pages 102-104.

Presiding Judge: This document is marked T/96.

State Attorney Bar-Or: I draw the attention of the Court to page 2, paragraph d and I read it in its Hebrew translation: "The Political Police Office of the Security Police Head Office and Departments II and III of the Secret State Police Office constitute Office IV of the Head Office for Security of the Reich, and its chief is SS-Oberfuehrer Reichskriminaldirektor Mueller."

I now come to Prosecution document No. 920. This is a document dated 27 September 1939 on the concentration of the central offices of the Security Police and the SD and refers to the documents I already submitted. Also this was a document that was submitted to the Nuremberg Military Tribunal and was also published in volume 38 of the German edition on pages 105-106.

Presiding Judge: This document is marked T/97.

State Attorney Bar-Or: This document does not require the reading of particular passages. I shall confine myself to mentioning that this one, too, speaks of the authority of the Heads of Departments to sign for the Reich Minister of the Interior and the Chief of the Security Police.

I now come to Prosecution document No. 554. It is called "Service Instruction for the Higher SS and Police Leaders" dated 18 December 1939. This document originates in document No. 148. Mr. Bar Shalom submitted an affidavit relating to this document which refers to the reel Yad Vashem which was given to Mr. Shapira, namely Y.V.-02081.

Presiding Judge: This document is marked T/98.

State Attorney Bar-Or: And as I already mentioned, Your Honour, this document deals with the definition of the functions of the senior commanders of the SS and the Police. It is clear from this document, without reading it in all its detail, that the function of these senior commanders was mainly one of representation, i.e., to represent the Reichsfuehrer SS in their districts, and that the Sachbearbeiter (desk officer) dealing with the matters according to sections and departments did not receive their executive instructions from these commanders, but directly from the departments with which they were connected.

I now come to Prosecution document No. 36 "Verteilung der Aemter des Reichssicherheitshauptamtes" (Distribution of functions in the Head Office for the Security of the Reich) of 1 March 1941. This was also a document at the Nuremberg International Military Tribunal and appeared there under No. 185L; it was published in the Blue Series in the German edition in volume 38, pages 1-24. I hereby submit it.

Presiding Judge: This document is marked T/99.

State Attorney Bar-Or: The document shows the composition of the departments of the Head Office for the Security of the Reich as of 1 March 1941. I shall refer you only to page 16 of the document in question:

In Department IVB, the Gruppenleiter (Department Head) is Sturmbannfuehrer Hartl, his deputy SS Sturmbannfuehrer Regierungsrat Roth. And now the departments:

Department IVB1 Political Catholicism - Roth

Department IVB2 Political Protestants - Roth

Department IVB3 Other Freemason churches - vacant

Department IVB4 Jewish matters and Evacuation matters - SS Sturmbannfuehrer Eichmann.

I now come to Prosecution Document No. 466. These are minutes of a meeting of 6 March 1942. I want to dwell on the origins of this document before I go into its details. It was document NG-2586 and it appears also on the microfilm, details of which were submitted by Mr. Bar-Shalom. It originates in Alexandria, Washington.

Presiding Judge: This document is marked T/100.

State Attorney Bar-Or: I now see that in our original - I am holding the lists - two other figures were transposed. The Prosecution document was not No. 466, but No. 446. At the moment, I confine myself to submitting the document. With the Court's permission I shall proceed with another document.

Presiding Judge: But do you wish it to be submitted?

State Attorney Bar-Or: I wish to submit it.

Presiding Judge: All right.

State Attorney Bar-Or: Now I come to Prosecution document No. 543, of 28 August 1941. Its subject is "Enge Zusammenarbeit mit SS-Dienststellen" - Close cooperation with SS Units. Its original was in document No. 4852 and it reaches this Court in the same way through the "Alex. 4" reel, on which Mr. Bar-Shalom gave details. I request permission to submit it.

Presiding Judge: Is this only a part of it?

State Attorney Bar-Or: We submit here in fact only a part of that document. It is possible that because of that the order was reversed. I refer to the service instructions contained in this document regarding the Police Attaches to the German Embassies and legations outside Germany.

Presiding Judge: Mr. Bar-Or, there are, in fact part of one document and a second complete document.

State Attorney Bar-Or: The entire document is No. 4852.

Presiding Judge: In the order in which you submitted it?

State Attorney Bar-Or: Yes. the subject of this document is Enge Zusammenarbeit mit SS-Dienststellen (Close cooperation with SS Units).

Presiding Judge: I see that it is completely mixed up. It will be T/101.

State Attorney Bar-Or: The document looks like a standing order, the purpose of which is to explain the competence and obligations of the attaches for police matters serving at diplomatic missions outside Germany. I draw attention to that part, where it says:

"The Police Attaches are counsellors to the ambassadors and heads of missions in matters concerning the police. The task of the Police Attache is to obtain a clear picture and judgment on police matters in the host country."

"Notwithstanding their relation to the Reichsfuehrer-SS and the Chief of the German Police in connection with their activity abroad, the Police Attaches report to the Head of the mission, and in his absence, or in the case of some other hindrance, to his acting deputy, whether appointed as charge d'affaires or not."

"The Police Attaches must carry out service instructions of the Head of the mission, or his deputy (paragraph 4), even though they lie outside the scope of their task proper. They shall communicate to the Head of the mission all their observations and news that have come to their knowledge concerning political or police matters of importance. The Head of the mission, or his deputy shall, for his part, keep the Police Attache currently informed on the general political situation of the country, knowledge whereof is indispensable as a basis for the evaluation of the tasks to be performed. In addition, the Police Attaches are to follow the guidelines given to them by the Reichsfueher-SS in respect of their professional field. Instructions from the bureaus of the Reichsfueher-SS are transmitted to them through the Foreign Ministry and conveyed to them by the Head of the mission, who thereby assumes political responsibility for the effectiveness of these instructions from the point of view of foreign policy."

"All reports by the Police Attaches are, in conformity with the regulations applying to military attaches, to be forwarded through the Head of the mission or his deputy, addressed to the Reichsfueher-SS and Chief of the German Police (RSHA) - Head Office for the Security of the Reich)."

Presiding Judge: What are its contents?

State Attorney Bar-Or: In fact, it amends the instructions that were in force in respect of the obligation to report on the activities of the operation groups to the various departments at the Reichssicherheitshauptamt. I draw attention to the subheading under the reference "Operation Barbarossa - Integration of the bureau of the operations intelligence officer in the Command Staff." This notification, or these instructions were transmitted to the various Departments IA1, IIA1, ID1 and, finally, we find IVB4. I shall perhaps confine myself to the third paragraph which reads:

"All communications and documents received from operation-groups A though D must, from now on, be transmitted immediately by the Head Office (the special bureau for incoming mail), after they have first been marked and recorded, to the Command Staff, through the Chief of Department IV; communications received during the night shall be transmitted at the start of work the following day."

The document is signed by Mueller. Is that the same Mueller?

State Attorney Bar-Or: That is the same Mueller we shall encounter many times, the Superior of the Accused.

I shall now proceed to Prosecution document No. 411. The original of this document was also used in Nuremberg, in Case No. 4 of the subsequent trials, the trial against Pohl et al. It was a document of the Prosecution and it appears there as document No. 2128. I wish to submit it.

Presiding Judge: Could you please quote the heading of the document: what is it about?

State Attorney Bar-Or: These are executive instructions issued by the SS-Head Office for Economy and Administration on 23 July 1942 and we are interested in the instructions Pohl gives on behalf of his Department which was responsible for the administration of the concentration camps, on the way in which the most important occurrences in the concentration camps are to be reported to the various departments of the Police and the SS.

Presiding Judge: You have given me only a copy and not a photostat.

State Attorney Bar-Or: That copy comes from Trial 4.

Presiding Judge: Was it printed there?

State Attorney Bar-Or: Yes, we promised - and we shall have to do it - to furnish the Court with the fifteen volumes of the subsequent trials. In respect of these documents, we use that green edition here.

Presiding Judge: Did you take it directly from there?

State Attorney Bar-Or: Correct. This is simply a copy and on its cover page the original from which it was taken is marked.

Presiding Judge: This will be exhibit T/103.

State Attorney Bar-Or: In respect of this document, I would like to draw the attention to page 7, No. 11, under the heading "concentration camps." It says there: "For all matters of the concentration camps, the SS-Administrator is competent."

[ Previous | Index | Next ]

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