_The Spirit and Soul of the Soldier_, has reminded me again of
this. In this brochure Rabenau affirms as before the necessity
of the Church straightforwardly and clearly, even though he is
shrewdly careful. He writes on Page 28: ‘There could be more
examples; they would suffice to show that a soldier in this
world can scarcely get along without thoughts about the next
one.’ Because Von Rabenau has a false spiritual basis, I
consider his activities as an educator in spiritual affairs
dangerous; and I am of the opinion that his educational writings
are to be dispensed with, by all means, and that the publication
section of the NSDAP can and must forgo these writings . . .
“The churches with their Christianity constitute a danger
against which a struggle absolutely must be carried on.”
That the Party Chancellery shared with the Gauleiter hostility to the
Christian Churches is further revealed by the Defendant Bormann’s
instruction to the Defendant Rosenberg, set forth in Bormann’s letter of
transmittal, that Rosenberg take action on the Gauleiter’s
recommendation that the General’s writings be suppressed.
I now offer in evidence Document 089-PS, Exhibit Number USA-360, which
is a letter from the Defendant Bormann, as Deputy of the Führer, to the
Defendant Rosenberg, dated 8 March 1940, enclosing a copy of Bormann’s
letter of the same date to Reichsleiter Amann. Amann was a top-member of
the Leadership Corps by virtue of his position as Reichsleiter for the
Press and Leader of the Party publishing company. In this letter to
Amann Bormann expresses his dismay and dissatisfaction that only 10
percent of the 3,000 Protestant periodicals in Germany have ceased
publication for what are described as “paper saving” reasons. Bormann
then advises Reichsleiter Amann that “the allocation of any paper
whatsoever for such periodicals is blocked.”
I now refer to this Document 089-PS; and I quote the second paragraph of
Bormann’s letter to Amann, which appears on the first page—the second
paragraph—of the English translation:
“I urge you to see to it, in any re-allocation of paper to be
considered later, that religious writings, which according to
experiences so far gathered, possess very doubtful value for
strengthening the power of resistance on the part of the people
toward the external foe, receive still sharper restrictions in
favor of literature politically and ideologically more
valuable.”
I next offer in evidence Document 101-PS, Exhibit Number USA-361, which
is a letter from the Defendant Bormann, again to Reichsleiter Rosenberg,
dated the 17th January 1940, expressing the Party’s opposition to the
circulation of religious literature to the members of the German Armed
Forces. Among the soldiers of the United Nations the proposition that
there are no atheists in the foxholes received a wide and reverent
acceptation. However, in this document there is a contrary meaning, and
I quote from Page 1 of the English translation, which reads:
“Nearly all the districts”—that is Gaue—“report to me
regularly that the churches of both confessions are as active as
ever in ministering spiritually to members of the Armed Forces.
This finds expression especially in the fact that soldiers are
being sent religious publications by the pastors of their home
parishes. These publications are, in part, very well written. I
have repeated reports that these publications are being read by
the troops and thereby exercise a certain influence on their
morale.
“I have at that time sought, by contacting at once the General
Field Marshal, the High Command of the Armed Forces, and Party
Member Reichsleiter Amann, to restrict considerably the
production and shipment of publications of this type. The result
of these efforts remained unsatisfactory. As Reichsleiter Amann
has repeatedly informed me, the restriction of these pamphlets
by means of the paper rationing cannot be achieved because the
paper used for the pamphlets is being purchased on the open
market. . . .
“If the influencing of the soldiers by the Church is to be
effectively combatted, this will be accomplished only by
producing many good publications in the shortest possible time
under the supervision of the Party. . . .
“Also, at the last meeting of the Deputy Gauleiter comments were
made on this matter to the effect that such publications are not
available in sufficient quantities. . . .
“I maintain that it is necessary that in the very near future we
transmit to the Party Service Offices, down to the
Ortsgruppenleiter, a list of additional publications of this
sort which should be sent to our soldiers by the
Ortsgruppen. . . .”
The Leadership Corps also participated in measures leading to the
closing and dissolution of theological schools and other religious
institutions. I now offer in evidence Document Number 122-PS, Exhibit
Number USA-362, which, again, is a letter from the Defendant Bormann to
the Defendant Rosenberg in his capacity as the Führer’s Representative
for the Supervision of Spiritual and Ideological Schooling and Education
of the NSDAP. This letter is dated 17 April 1939 and transmits to
Rosenberg an enclosed photostatic copy of a plan suggested by the Reich
Minister for Science, Education, and Popular Culture for the combining
and closing of certain specially listed theological faculties. In his
letter of transmittal the Defendant Bormann requested Reichsleiter
Rosenberg to take cognizance and prompt action with respect to proposed
suppression of religious institutions. I now quote from the next to the
last paragraph on Page 2 of the English translation, in which the plan
to suppress the religious institutions is summarized, and which reads:
“To recapitulate, this plan would mean, in addition to the
closing of the theological faculties at Innsbruck, Salzburg, and
Munich, which has already taken place, and the contemplated
transfer of the faculty of Graz to Vienna, the elimination of
four Catholic theological faculties:
“a) The abolition of three more Catholic theological faculties
or higher schools and of four evangelical theological faculties
in the winter semester 1939-1940;
“b) the abolition of one more Catholic and of three more
evangelical theological faculties in the near future.”
From the foregoing evidence the inference is irresistible that the
Leadership Corps of the Nazi Party shares a responsibility for the
measures taken to subvert the Christian Churches and persecute the
Christian clergy, both in Germany and in German-occupied territories of
Europe. The evidence just offered, together with that previously
presented by the Prosecution, demonstrates that there was a general
participation by the Leadership Corps, ranging from the Reichsleiter to
the Gauleiter, adhered to by the rank and file, in the deliberate
program undertaken to undermine Christian religion. We stress the
significance of the appointment of the Defendant Rosenberg, whose
anti-Christian views are open and notorious, as the Führer’s “delegate”
or “representative” for the whole spiritual and philosophical education
of the Nazi Party. It was precisely this position which gave Rosenberg
his seat in the Reichsleitung (the general staff of the Party),
comprising all the Reichsleiter. But emphasis is placed, not merely upon
the fact that anti-Christs such as the Defendants Bormann and Rosenberg
held directive positions within the Leadership Corps, but upon the
further fact that their directives and orders were passed down the chain
of command of the Leadership Corps and caused the participation of its
membership in acts subversive to the Christian Church.
In Document Number D-75, which I believe has been introduced
previously—and I am just going to quote one line from it—the Defendant
Bormann stated, “Nazism and Christianity are irreconcilable concepts.”
The defendant was never more right, but he erred grievously by his
prophecy as to which of the two would first pass away.
I next turn to the responsibility of the Leadership Corps for the
destruction of free trade unions and the imposition of the
conspiratorial control over the productive labor capacity of the German
nation.
The evidence relating to the responsibility of the Nazi conspirators for
the destruction of the independent trade unions has been previously
introduced in evidence in the U.S. Exhibit G, which was the document
book containing the evidentiary materials relating to the destruction of
the trade unions. The brief evidence which I shall now present is
offered to prove the responsibility of the Leadership Corps of the Nazi
Party for the smashing of the independent unions and the imposition of
conspiratorial control over the productive labor capacity of the German
nation.
Soon after the seizure of power, prominent members of the Leadership
Corps participated in the smashing and dissolution of the independent
trade unions of Germany. The Defendant Robert Ley, precisely by virtue
of his office as Reich Organization Leader and Reichsleiter in the
Leadership Corps, was directed by Hitler, in mid-April 1939, to smash
the independent unions.
I will pass on now to Document 392-PS, Exhibit Number USA-326; and I
quote, beginning at the top of Page 1 of the English translation:
“On Tuesday, 2 May 1933 . . . the co-ordination action against
the free trade unions begins. . . .
“The essential part of the action is to be directed against the
General German Trade Union League (ADGB) and the General
Independent Employees’ Federation (AFA-Bund). Anything beyond
that which is dependent upon the free trade unions is left to
the Gauleiter’s judgment.
“The Gauleiter are responsible for the execution of the
co-ordination action in their individual areas. The action will
be carried out by the National Socialist Factory Cell
Organization. . . .
“The Gauleiter is to proceed with his measures on the basis of
the closest agreement with competent Gau or regional factory
cell directors. . . .
“In the Reich, the following will be occupied:
“The headquarters of the unions. . . .”
Then it lists a number of offices, and I previously quoted who was to be
taken into protective custody.
The next provision:
“Exceptions are granted only with the permission of the
Gauleiter. . . .
“It is understood that this action is to proceed in a strongly
disciplined fashion. The Gauleiter are responsible for holding
the direction of the action firmly in hand. Heil
Hitler!”—signed—“Dr. Robert Ley.”
The Defendant Ley’s order for the dissolution of the independent trade
unions was carried out as planned and directed. Trade union premises all
over Germany were occupied by the SA and the unions dissolved. On the 2d
of May 1933 the official NSDAP press service reported that the National
Socialist Factory Cell Organization (NSBO) had “eliminated the old
leadership of free trade unions” and taken over their leadership.
I now offer in evidence Document 2224-PS, Exhibit Number USA-364, which
is Pages 1 and 2 of the 2d of May 1933 issues of the National Socialist
Party Press Agency. I quote from Paragraph 5 of Page 1 of the English
translation:
“National Socialism, which today has assumed leadership of
German labor, can no longer bear the responsibility for leaving
the men and women of the German working class, the members of
the largest trade organization in the world, the German trade
union movement, in the hands of people who do not know a
fatherland called Germany. Because of that, the National
Socialist Factory Cell Organization has taken over the
leadership of the trade unions. The NSBO has eliminated the
former leadership of the free trade unions of the General German
Trade Unions League, and of the General Independent Employees’
Federation. . . .
“On 2 May 1933 the NSBO took over the leadership of all trade
unions; all trade-union buildings were occupied and most
stringent control of financial and personnel matters of the
organizations has been set up.”
As shown by this evidence, the assault on the independent unions was
directed by the Defendant Ley, in his capacity as Reichsleiter in charge
of Party organization, assisted by the Gauleiter and Party formations,
and included the seizure of trade-union funds and property. In this
connection I offer in evidence Document 1678-PS, Exhibit Number USA-365.
This document is a report of a speech by Reichsleiter Ley on the 11th of
September 1937 to the fifth annual session of the German Labor Front. In
this speech Ley shamelessly corroborates the confiscation of the
trade-union funds. I quote from Paragraph 4 of Page 1 of the English
translation:
“Once I said to the Führer: ‘My Führer, actually I am standing
with one foot in jail, for today I am still the trustee of the
comrades Leipart and Imbusch; and should they some day ask me to
return their money, then it will be found that I have put it
into buildings or otherwise spent it. But they shall never again
find their property in the condition in which they handed it
over to me. Therefore I should have to be convicted.’
“The Führer laughed then and remarked that apparently I felt
extremely well in this condition.
“It was very difficult for us all. Today we laugh about it
. . .”
The plan of the Nazi conspirators to eliminate the free trade unions was
advanced by the enactment, on 19th May 1933, of a law which abolished
collective bargaining between workers and employers and replaced it with
a regulation of working conditions by labor trustees appointed by
Hitler. I refer to Document 405-PS, which is the text of the law, 1933
_Reichsgesetzblatt_ I, Page 285. After providing in Section 1 for the
appointment by Hitler of trustees of labor, this law provides, and I
quote from Section 2 of the English translation of Document 405-PS:
“Until a new revision of the social constitution, the labor
trustees are to regulate the conditions for the conclusion of
labor contracts. This practice is to be legally binding for all
persons and replaces the system founded on combinations of
workers, of individual employers, or of combinations of
employers. . . .”
Having destroyed the independent unions and collective bargaining, the
next step of the Nazi conspirators was to secure the Nazification in the
field of industrial relations. I refer to Document Number 1861-PS, which
is the text of the law of 20 January 1934, 1934 _Reichsgesetzblatt_ I,
Page 45. This law was entitled the “Law Regulating National Labor”; and
it imposed the leadership principle upon industrial enterprisers and
provided, in Section I, Paragraph 1, that the enterpriser should be the
leader of the plant and the workers would constitute his followers. I
now quote from Section I, Paragraph 2, of the first page of Document
Number 1861-PS:
“The leader of the plant has full authority over the employees
in all matters concerning the enterprise, as far as they are
covered by this law.
“He is responsible for the well-being of the employees. The
employees owe him loyalty in keeping with the principles of
factory solidarity.”
The trade unions having been dissolved and the leadership principle
superimposed upon the relationship of management and labor, the members
of the Leadership Corps joined in and directed measures designed to
replace the independent unions by the German Labor Front, the DAF, an
affiliated Party organization. On the very day the Nazi conspirators
seized and dissolved the free trade unions, the 2d of May 1933, they
publicly proclaimed that a “United Front of German Workers” would be
formed with Hitler as honorary patron at a workers’ congress on the 10th
of May 1933. I quote from the next to the last paragraph of Page 2 of
Document 2224-PS, which was a release of the Nazi Party Press Agency:
“The National Socialist Party Press Agency is informed that a
great Workers’ Congress will take place on Wednesday, 10 May, in
the Prussian House of Lords in Berlin. The United Front of
German Workers will be formed there. Adolf Hitler will be asked
to assume the position of honorary patron.”
The Nazi conspirators employed the German Labor Front, the DAF, as an
instrument for propagandizing its millions of compulsory members with
Nazi ideology. The control of the Leadership Corps over the German Labor
Front was assured not only by the designation of Reichsleiter of the
Party Organization Ley as head of the DAF, but by the employment of a
large number of Politische Leiter, or political leaders, charged with
disseminating and imposing Nazi ideology upon the large membership of
the DAF. I now cite Document 2271-PS, Exhibit Number USA-328, which is
the Party _Organization Book_ referred to yesterday, Pages 185-187; and
I quote from the first page of the English translation, the first
paragraph:
“The NSBO is a union of the political leaders of the NSDAP in
the German Labor Front.
“The NSBO is to undertake the organization of the German Labor
Front.
“The duties and responsibilities of the NSBO have passed over to
the German Labor Front.
“The political leaders who have been transferred from the NSBO
to the German Labor Front guarantee the ideological education of
the DAF in the spirit of the National Socialistic idea.”
Now, if Your Honors please, in addition to the evidence heretofore
presented, the Prosecution submits that it is another evidence of crime
that the Leadership Corps of the NSDAP was responsible for the
plundering of art treasures by the Defendant Reichsleiter Rosenberg’s
“Einsatzstab Rosenberg.” The definition of “Einsatzstab” is a “special
staff,” and I am told that the word “Einsatz” means “to give action to.”
In other words, it was a task force, a special staff.
This subject, diverting from the text, had been prepared in connection
with the general subject of “Plundering of Art Treasures”; and I shall
now turn to the document books of the “Plundering of Art Treasures,”
because the citations now will be in this small book.
I now pass to Your Honors Document Book W; and, may I say, diverting
from the text, that the trial address, which is very brief, has, as I
have been told by the Translating Division, been translated into all
four languages; and, as I understand, Colonel Dostert will distribute it
to all parties in their native languages.
Also by way of explanation, in the beginning there is one reference here
to the plundering of art treasures in the occupied portion of Poland
which does not bear directly upon this subject but does on the general
conspiracy; and I thought, in the interest of time, that we might follow
the presentation, because it is very brief.
May it please the Tribunal, the sections of the Indictment which are to
be proved at this point are those dealing with the plunder of public and
private property under Count One, the Common Plan or Conspiracy. It is
not my purpose to explore all phases of the ordinary plunder in which
the Germans engaged. However, I would bring to the attention of the
Tribunal and of the world the defendants’ vast, organized, systematic
program for the cultural impoverishment of virtually every community of
Europe and for the enrichment of Germany thereby.
Special emphasis will be placed on the activities of the Einsatzstab
Reichsleiter Rosenberg; and the responsibility of the Leadership Corps
in this regard is a responsibility that is shared by the Defendants
Rosenberg, Göring, and Keitel, and by the defendant organizations; the
General Staff, High Command, Gestapo, the Security Service, and the SS.
Before I deal with the plunder of the cultural treasures by the
Einsatzstab Rosenberg, I wish to reveal briefly the independent
plundering operations conducted in the Government General of Occupied
Poland by authority of the Defendant Göring and under the supervision of
the Defendant Frank, the Governor General.
In October 1939 Göring issued a verbal order to a Dr. Mühlmann asking
him to undertake the immediate securing of all Polish art treasures. Dr.
Mühlmann himself gives evidence of this order in Document Number 3042-PS
found in the document book last introduced as Exhibit USA-375.
THE PRESIDENT: Are the documents in Book W?
COL. STOREY: Book W; yes, Sir.
THE PRESIDENT: I was asking whether the documents in Book W are placed
in order of number in PS?
COL. STOREY: They are; yes, Sir; and the first one is found on the first
page. I beg your pardon; 3042 would be in numerical order toward the
end, Your Honor.
THE PRESIDENT: I have it. I was merely asking for general information.
COL. STOREY: These are consecutive. I would like to offer this affidavit
and to read it in full. In short, it was obtained in Austria. Kajetan
Mühlmann states under oath:
“I have been a member of the NSDAP since 1 April 1938. I was
Brigadier General”—Oberführer—“in the SS.
“I was never an illegal Nazi.
“I was the special deputy of the Governor General of Poland,
Hans Frank, for the safeguarding of art treasures in the
Government General, October 1939 to September 1943.
“Göring, in his function as chairman of the Reich Defense
Committee, had commissioned me with this duty.
“I confirm that it was the official policy of the Governor
General, Hans Frank, to take into custody all important art
treasures which belonged to Polish public institutions, private
collections, and the Church. I confirm that the art treasures
mentioned were actually confiscated; and it is clear to me that
they would not have remained in Poland in case of a German
victory, but they would have been used to complement German
artistic property.”—Signed and sworn to by Dr. Mühlmann.
On the 15th of November 1939 Frank issued a decree, which is published
officially in _The Law of the Government General_, (1773-PS, Exhibit
USA-376). It is E 800, Article 1, Section 1. It is not in the document
book. It is just a short quotation of which we ask the Tribunal to take
judicial knowledge. Quoting:
“All movable and stationary property of the former Polish State
. . . will be sequestered for the purpose of securing all manner
of public valuables.”
In a further decree of 16 December 1939, appearing as E 845 of the same
publication, Frank provided that all art objects in public possession in
the Government General were to be seized for the fulfillment of public
tasks of common interest, insofar as they had not already been seized
under the decree of 15 November. The decree provided that, in addition
to art collections and art objects belonging to the Polish State, there
would be considered as owned by the public, those private collections
which have not already been taken under protection by the Special
Commissioner, as well as all ecclesiastical art property.
On the 24th of September 1940 Frank decreed that all property seized on
the basis of the decree of 15 November 1939 would be transferred to the
ownership of the Government General; and this decree is found as E 810
of the same publication.
It is impossible for me to furnish this Tribunal a complete picture of
the vastness of the program for the cultural impoverishment of Poland
carried out pursuant to the directives, as I cannot read into the record
the 500-odd masterpieces catalogued in Document 1233-PS (Exhibit
USA-377) or the many hundreds of additional items catalogued in Document
1709-PS (Exhibit USA-378). Now Document 1233-PS, which I hold in my
hand, is a finely bound, beautifully printed catalogue, in which
Defendant Frank proudly lists and describes the major works of art which
he had plundered for the benefit of the Reich. This volume was captured
by the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives Division of the 3rd United
States Army and was found in Frank’s home near Munich. The introductory
page describes the thoroughness with which the Government General
stripped Poland of its cultural possessions. That is quoted in Document
1233-PS.
THE PRESIDENT: Will you hand that up?
COL. STOREY: I am quoting now from the introductory page, the English
translation, the first paragraph. I might say by way of explanation,
that this book lists the valuable art treasures by titles. I now quote
from the introductory page:
“By reason of a decree of 16 December 1939 by the Governor
General of the occupied Polish territories, the Special
Commissioner for collecting objects of art and culture was able
to collect within 6 months almost all of the art objects of the
country, with one exception: a series of Flemish tapestries of
the Castle of Kraków. According to the latest information these
are now in France, so that it may be possible to secure these
later.”
Leafing through this catalogue, we find that it included references to
paintings by German, Italian, Dutch, French, and Spanish masters; rare
illustrated books; Indian and Persian miniatures; woodcuts; the famous
Veit Stoss hand-carved altar (created here in Nuremberg and purchased
for use in Poland); handicraft articles of gold and silver; antique
articles of crystal, glass, and porcelain; tapestries; antique weapons;
rare coins and medals. These articles were seized, as indicated in the
catalogue, from public and private sources, including the national
museums in Kraków and Warsaw, the cathedrals of Warsaw and Lublin, a
number of churches and monasteries, university libraries, and a great
many private collections of Polish nobility.
I wish now to offer in evidence the catalogue bearing our Number
1233-PS—it is the one just introduced in evidence—and the document
bearing our Number 1709-PS. This latter report, in addition to listing
the 521 major items described in the catalogue, lists many other items
which, though generally no less important from an artistic standpoint,
were considered by the Germans to be of secondary importance from the
point of view of the Reich.
It is interesting to note with what pains the Defendant Frank attempted
to conceal his real purpose in seizing these works of art. The cover of
the catalogue itself states that the objects listed were secured and
safeguarded. Strangely enough, it was found necessary to safeguard some
of the objects by transporting them to Berlin and depositing them in the
depot of the Special Deputy or in the safe of the Deutsche Bank, as is
indicated on Page 80 of Document 1709-PS, Exhibit USA-378. The items
referred to as having been transported to Berlin are listed in the
catalogue of objects safeguarded and their numbers are 4, 17, 27, 35,
and so on. Thirty-one extremely valuable and world-renowned sketches of
Albrecht Dürer, taken from the collection of Lubomirski in Lemberg
(Lvov), were likewise safeguarded. At Page 69 of this report, Dr.
Mühlmann states that he personally handed these sketches to Göring, who
took them to the Führer at his headquarters.
Numerous objects of art: paintings, tapestries, plates, dishes, as well
as other dinnerware, were also safeguarded by Frank, who had the Special
Deputy deliver these objects to an architect for the purpose of
furnishing the castle at Kraków and the Schloss Kressendorf, which were
the residences of the Governor General Frank. It was apparently Frank’s
belief that these items would be safer in his possession, used to grace
his table and dazzle his guests, than they would be in the possession of
the rightful owners.
There is no doubt whatever that virtually the entire art possession of
Poland was seized for the use of Germany and would never have been
returned in the event of German victory. Dr. Mühlmann, a noted German
art authority, who directed the seizure program for the period of 4
years and was endowed by Frank with sufficient authority to promulgate
decrees generally applicable throughout the territory, has stated the
objectives of the program in no uncertain terms in the affidavit to
which I have just referred.
So much for Poland.
I now direct the attention of the Tribunal to the activities of the
Einsatzstab Rosenberg, an organization which planned and directed the
looting of the cultural treasures of nearly all Europe. To obtain a full
conception of the vastness of this looting program, it will be necessary
to envision Europe as a treasure-house in which is stored the major
portion of the artistic and literary product of two thousand years of
Western civilization. It will further be necessary to envision the
forcing of this treasure-house by a horde of vandals bent on
systematically removing to the Reich these treasures, which are, in a
sense, the heritage of all of us, to keep them there for the enjoyment
and enlightenment of Germans alone. Unique in history, this art-seizure
program staggers one’s imagination and challenges one’s credulity. The
documents which I am about to offer in evidence will present undeniable
proof of the execution of the policy to strip the occupied countries of
the accumulated product of centuries of devotion to art and the pursuit
of learning.
May I digress here a moment and state that we are not going to offer all
the documents and all the details because our Soviet and French
colleagues will offer a great many of the detailed documents in support
of their case on War Crimes.
I now offer in evidence Document 136-PS as Exhibit USA-367. And that is
an order of Hitler dated the 29th of January 1940 which set into motion
the art-seizure program that was to envelop the continent. I now offer
the original. I call Your Honors’ attention to this original, being
signed by Adolf Hitler, and I believe it is in the famous Jumbo type. I
quote the order in its entirety. It is very short:
“The ‘Hohe Schule’ is to become the center for National
Socialistic research, indoctrination, and education. It will be
established after the conclusion of the war. I order that the
already initiated preparations be continued by Reichsleiter
Alfred Rosenberg—especially in the way of research and setting
up of the library.
“All sections of the Party and State are required to co-operate
with him in this task.”
Although the above order makes no specific mention of the seizure of art
properties, by the 5th of November 1940 the program had extended beyond
its original scope to include the seizure of Jewish art collections.
I now offer in evidence Document Number 141-PS (Exhibit USA-368), which
is a certified copy of an order signed by Göring, dated 5 November 1940,
in which the Defendant Göring states; and I quote:
“In conveying the measures taken until now for the securing of
Jewish art property by the Chief of the Military Administration,
Paris, and the Einsatzstab Rosenberg . . . the art objects
brought to the Louvre will be disposed of in the following way:
“1. Those art objects the decision as to the use of which the
Führer will reserve for himself;
“2. Those art objects which serve the completion of the Reich
Marshal’s collection;
“3. Those art objects and library materials which seem useful
for the establishment of the Hohe Schule and for the program of
Reichsleiter Rosenberg;
“4. Those art objects which are suitable for sending to the
German museums. . . .”
Thus, early in 1940, 11 months after the initiation of the program for
establishment of the library for ideological research, the original
purpose had been expanded so as to include the seizure of art works not
only for the benefit of research but for the delectation of the Führer
and Göring and the enhancement of the collections of German museums.
Impelled as they were by the perfidious dream of subjugating a
continent, the Nazi conspirators could not content themselves merely
with the exploitation of the cultural riches of France and rapidly
extended their activities to the other occupied countries. I now offer
in evidence Document Number 137-PS as Exhibit USA-379. That is a copy of
an order signed by the Defendant Keitel, dated 5th of July 1940, and I
should like to read that brief order in full:
“To: The Chief of Army High Command, Chief of the Armed Forces
in the Netherlands.
“Reichsleiter Rosenberg has suggested to the Führer that:
“1. The state libraries and archives be searched for documents
valuable to Germany.
“2. The Chancelleries of the high Church authorities and the
lodges be searched for political maneuvers directed against us
and that the material in question be seized.
“The Führer has ordered that this suggestion be followed and
that the Gestapo, supported by the archivists of Reichsleiter
Rosenberg, be put in charge of the searches. The Chief of
Security Police, SS-Gruppenführer Heydrich, has been informed.
He will communicate with the competent military commanders in
order to execute this order.
“These measures will be executed in all regions of the
Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and France occupied by us.
“It is requested that subordinate services be informed.
“Chief of High Command of the Armed Forces,”—signed—“Keitel.”
From the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and France the Einsatzstab’s
activities ultimately were expanded still further to Norway and Denmark.
I now offer in evidence Document 159-PS, Exhibit USA-380, which is the
copy of an order signed by Utikal, Chief of the Einsatzstab, dated the
6th of June 1944, from which it is seen that a special mission of the
Einsatzstab was sent to Norway and Denmark.
As the German Army penetrated to the East, the fingers of the
Einsatzstab reached out to seize the cultural riches thus made available
to them; and their activities were extended to the Occupied Eastern
Territories, including the Baltic States and the Ukraine, as well as to
Hungary and Greece. I now offer in evidence Document 153-PS, Exhibit
USA-381, being a certified copy of a letter from Rosenberg to the Reich
Commissioner for the East and Reich Commissioner for the Ukraine, dated
27 April 1942. The subject of the letter is stated to be as follows:
“Formation of a Central Unit for the Seizure and Securing of Objects of
Cultural Value in the Occupied Eastern Territories.” In the last
paragraph of that document, I quote:
“With the Commissioners of the Reich a special department within
Department II (political) will be set up for a limited time for
the seizure and securing of objects of cultural value. This
department is under the direction of the appropriate head of the
main group of the ‘Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg for the
Occupied Territories.’”
THE PRESIDENT: Perhaps this would be a good time to break off for 10
minutes.
[_A recess was taken._]
COL. STOREY: Activities were initiated in Hungary as indicated by
Document Number 158-PS, Exhibit USA-382, which I now offer in evidence.
This was a copy of a message initialed by Utikal, Rosenberg’s Chief of
Staff. The first paragraph of this document states:
“The Einsatzstab of Reichsleiter Rosenberg for the Occupied
Territories has dispatched a Sonderkommando under the direction
of Einsatzstabsführer Dr. Zeiss, who is identified by means of
his Service Book Number 187, for the accomplishment of the
missions of the Einsatzstab in Hungary outlined in the Führer’s
Decree of 1 March 1942.”
I now offer into evidence Document Number 171-PS, Exhibit USA-383, which
is an undated report on the “Library for Exploration of the Jewish
Question.” The fifth paragraph states:
“The most significant book collections today belonging to the
Library for Research on the Jewish Question are the
following. . . .”
The ninth item of the list which follows refers to “Book collections
from Jewish Communities in Greece (about 10,000 volumes).”
It was only natural that an operation conducted on so vast a scale,
extending as it did to France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg,
Norway, Denmark, the Occupied Eastern Territories, the Baltic States,
the Ukraine, Hungary, and Greece, should call upon a multitude of other
agencies for assistance. Among the other agencies co-operating in the
plunder program were several of those which stand indicted here as
criminal organizations. The co-operation of the Wehrmacht High Command
was demanded by the Hitler order of 1 March 1942, which I now offer in
evidence as our Document 149-PS, Exhibit USA-369, which is signed
personally by Adolf Hitler and is also in the Jumbo type. The order
decrees the ideological fight against the enemies of National Socialism
to be a military necessity and reaffirms the authority of the
Einsatzstab Rosenberg to conduct searches and seizures of suitable
material for the Hohe Schule. The fifth paragraph states:
“The directives concerning co-operation with the Wehrmacht were
given to the Chief of the OKW with the approval of Reichsleiter
Rosenberg.”
While I am on that document, which is referred to later, I should like
to read the other portions. I call attention of Your Honors to the
distribution. It is distributed to all duty stations of the Armed
Forces, the Party, and the State. It says:
“Jews, Freemasons, and related ideological enemies of National
Socialism are responsible for the war which is now being waged
against the Reich. The co-ordinated ideological fight against
those powers is a military necessity. I have therefore charged
Reichsleiter Rosenberg to carry out this task in co-operation
with the chief of the OKW. His Einsatzstab in the Occupied
Territories is authorized to search libraries, record offices,
lodges, and other ideological and cultural institutions of all
kinds for suitable material, and to confiscate the said material
for the ideological task of the NSDAP and the later scientific
research work of the Hohe Schule. The same regulation applies to
cultural assets which are in possession of or the property of
Jews, or ownerless, or not clearly of unobjectionable origin.”
The final passage is:
“The necessary measures within the Eastern territories under the
German Administration are determined by Reichsleiter Rosenberg
in his capacity as Reichsminister for the Occupied Eastern
Territories.”—Signed—“Adolf Hitler.”
THE PRESIDENT: Colonel Storey, I think the Tribunal would find it
convenient, and it would save time, if the documents, when they are
referred to, were read in full insofar as you want to read them, rather
than returning to read one passage and then returning to a document
later on.
COL. STOREY: Yes, Sir. May I explain why that was, Sir? I was trying to
fit in this presentation with the Leadership Corps. It was quoted in two
places and I didn’t notice it until I started.
THE PRESIDENT: What I am saying is that I think it is much easier to
follow the documents if all the parts of the document which you wish to
read are read at one time, rather than to read one sentence, then come
back to another sentence, and then possibly come back to a document for
a third sentence. I don’t know whether that will be possible for you to
do.
COL. STOREY: We will try to work it out that way, Sir.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you.
COL. STOREY: Co-operation of the SS and the SD is indicated in a letter
from Rosenberg to Bormann dated 23rd of April 1941, Document Number
071-PS, Exhibit USA-371, which I now offer in evidence. This letter
states in the fifth sentence of the first numbered paragraph:
“It is self-evident that the confiscations are not executed by
the Gauleitung, but that they are conducted by the Security
Service as well as by the police.”
Farther down in the same paragraph it is stated:
“It has been communicated to me in writing by a Gauleiter that
the Reich Security Main Office of the SS has requested the
following from the library of a confiscated monastery: _The
Catholic Handbook_, _Albertus Magnus_, _Edition of the Church
Fathers_, _History of the Popes_ by L. von Pastor, and other
works.”
The second and last paragraph stated that:
“I should like to remark in this connection that this affair has
already been settled on our side with the Security Service (SD)
in the most co-operative fashion.”
The Defendant Göring was especially diligent in furthering the purposes
of the Einsatzstab Rosenberg, a diligence which will be readily
understood in view of the fact that he himself directed that second in
priority only to the demands of the Führer were to be “those art objects
which served the completion of the Reich Marshal’s collection.” That is
Göring.
On May 1, 1941 Göring issued an order to all Party, State, and Wehrmacht
services, which I am now offering into evidence as 1117-PS, Exhibit
USA-384. That is an original bearing Göring’s signature. This order
requested all Party, State, and Wehrmacht services—and I now quote:
“. . . to give all possible support and assistance to the Chief
of Staff of Reichsleiter Rosenberg’s Einsatzstab. . . . The
above-mentioned persons are requested to report to me on their
work, particularly on any difficulties which might arise.”
On 30th of May 1942 Göring claimed credit for a large degree of the
success of the Einsatzstab. I offer in evidence a captured photostatic
copy of a letter from Göring to Rosenberg, showing Göring’s signature,
which bears our Number 1015(i)-PS, which I offer in evidence as Exhibit
USA-385. The last paragraph of this letter states as follows:
“. . . On the other hand I also support personally the work of
your Einsatzstab wherever I can do so, and a great part of the
seized cultural objects can be accounted for by the fact that I
was able to assist the Einsatzstab with my organizations.”
If I have tried the patience of the Tribunal with numerous details as to
the origin, the growth, and the operation of the art-looting
organization, it is because I feel that it will be impossible for me to
convey to you a full conception as to the magnitude of the plunder
without conveying to you first, information as to the vast
organizational work that was necessary in order to enable the defendants
to collect in Germany cultural treasures of staggering proportions.
Nothing of value was safe from the grasp of the Einsatzstab. In view of
the great experience of the Einsatzstab in the complex business of the
organized plunder of a continent, its facilities were well suited to the
looting of material other than cultural objects. Thus, when Rosenberg
required equipment for the furnishing of the offices of the
administration in the East, his Einsatzstab was pressed into action to
confiscate Jewish homes in the West. Document Number L-188, which is
Exhibit USA-386 and which I now offer in evidence, is a copy of a report
submitted by the director of Rosenberg’s Office West, operating under
the Ministry for the Occupied Eastern Territories. I wish to quote at
some length from this document and I call the Tribunal’s attention to
the third paragraph on Page 3 of the translation:
“The Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg was charged with the
carrying out of this task”—that is, the seizure of art
properties—“in the course of this seizure of property. At the
suggestion of the Director West of the Special Section of the
Einsatzstab, it was proposed to the Reichsleiter that the
furniture and other contents of the unguarded Jewish homes
should also be secured and dispatched to the Minister for the
Occupied Eastern Territories for use in the Eastern
Territories.”
The last paragraph on the same page states:
“At first all the confiscated furniture and goods were
dispatched to the administrations of the Occupied Eastern
Territories. Owing to the terror attacks on German cities which
then began and in the knowledge that the bombed-out persons in
Germany ought to have preference over the Eastern people, Reich
Minister and Reichsleiter Rosenberg obtained a new order from
the Führer according to which the furniture, _et cetera_,
obtained through the ‘M Action’ was to be put at the disposal of
bombed-out persons within Germany.”
The report continues with a description of the efficient methods
employed in looting the Jewish homes in the West (top of Page 4 of
translation):
“The confiscation of Jewish homes was carried out as follows:
When no records were available of the addresses of Jews who had
fled or departed, as was the case, for instance, in Paris,
so-called requisitioning officials went from house to house in
order to collect information as to abandoned Jewish homes.—They
drew up inventories of those homes and sealed them. . . . In
Paris alone, about twenty requisitioning officials requisitioned
more than 38,000 homes. The transportation of these homes was
completed with all the available vehicles of the Union of
Parisian Moving Contractors who had to provide up to 150 trucks,
1,200 to 1,500 French laborers daily.”
If Your Honor pleases, I am omitting the rest of the details of that
report because our French colleagues will present the details later.
Looting on such a scale seems fantastic. But I feel I must refer to
another statement, for though the seizure of the contents of over 71,000
homes and their shipment to the Reich in upwards of 26,000 railroad cars
is by no means a petty operation, the quantities of plundered art
treasures and books and their incalculable value, as revealed in the
document I am about to offer, will make these figures dwindle by
comparison.
I next refer to the stacks of leather-bound volumes in front of me, to
which the Justice referred in his opening statement.
These 39 volumes which are before me contain photographs of works of art
secured by the Einsatzstab and are volumes which were prepared by
members of the Rosenberg staff. All of these volumes bear our Number
2522-PS, and I offer them in evidence as Exhibit USA-388.
I am passing to Your Honors eight of these volumes, so that each one of
you—they are all different—might see a sample of the inventory. I call
Your Honors’ attention to the inside cover page. Most of them have an
inventory, in German, of the contents of the book; and then follow true
photographs of each one of these priceless objects of art, separated by
fine tissue paper.
There are 39 of these volumes that were captured by our forces when they
overran a part of southern occupied German areas.
THE PRESIDENT: Is there anything known about the articles photographed
here?
COL. STOREY: Yes, Sir; I will describe them later. I believe each one of
them is identified in addition to the inventory.
THE PRESIDENT: I meant whether the articles—the furniture or pictures
themselves, have been found.
COL. STOREY: Yes, Sir, most of them were found in an underground cavern,
I believe in the southern part of Bavaria; and these books were found by
our staff in connection with the group of U.S. Army people who have
assembled these objects of art and are now in the process of returning
them to the rightful owners. That is where we got these books.
I should like to refer, while Your Honors are looking at these, just to
the aggregate totals of the different paintings. Here are the totals as
shown by Document 1015(b)-PS, which is in the document book. As they are
totalled, I don’t think Your Honors need to follow the document; you can
continue looking at the books if you like.
“Up to 15 July 1944 the following had been scientifically
inventoried:
“21,903 Works of Art:
“5,281 paintings, pastels, water colors, drawings; 684
miniatures, glass and enamel paintings, illuminated books and
manuscripts; 583 sculptures, terra cottas, medallions, and
plaques; 2,477 articles of furniture of art historical value;
583 textiles (tapestries, rugs, embroideries, Coptic textiles);
5,825 objects of decorative art (porcelains, bronzes, faience,
majolica, ceramics, jewelry, coins, art objects with precious
stones); 1,286 East Asiatic art works (bronzes, sculpture,
porcelains, paintings, folding screens, weapons); 259 art works
of antiquity (sculptures, bronzes, vases, jewelry, bowls,
engraved gems, terra cottas).”
The mere statement that 21,903 art works have been seized does not
furnish an adequate conception of their value. I refer again to the
statement in the document “The extraordinary artistic and intrinsic
value of the seized art works cannot be expressed in figures,” and to
the fact that they are objects of such a unique character that their
evaluation is entirely impossible. These 39 volumes are by no means a
complete catalogue. They present, at the most, pictures of about 2,500
of the art objects seized; and I ask you to imagine that this catalogue
had been completed and that, in the place of 39 volumes, we had 350 to
400 volumes. In other words, if they were prepared in inventory form as
these 39 volumes, to cover all of them it would take 350 to 400 volumes.
We had arranged, Your Honor, to project just a few of these on the
screen; but before we do that, which is the end of this part of the
presentation, I should like to call Your Honor’s attention to Document
015-PS. It is dated April 16, 1943. It is a copy of a letter from
Rosenberg to Hitler. The occasion for the writing of this letter was the
birthday of the Führer, to commemorate which, Rosenberg presented some
folders of photographs of pictures seized by the Einsatzstab. And I
imagine, although we have no authentic evidence, that probably some of
these were prepared for that occasion. In the closing paragraph of the
letter, Document 015-PS, Exhibit USA-387, he says:
“I beg of you, my Führer, to give me a chance during my next
audience to report to you orally on the whole extent and state
of this art-seizure action. I beg you to accept a short,
written, preliminary report of the progress and extent of the
art-seizure action, which will be used as a basis for this later
oral report, and also to accept three volumes of the provisional
picture catalogues which, too, show only a part of the
collection at your disposal. I shall deliver further catalogues,
which are now being compiled, as they are finished.”
Rosenberg then closes with this touching tribute to the aesthetic tastes
of the Führer, tastes which were satisfied at the expense of a
continent, and I quote:
“I shall take the liberty during the requested audience to give
you, my Führer, another 20 folders of pictures with the hope
that this short occupation with the beautiful things of art,
which are so near to your heart, will send a ray of beauty and
joy into your care-laden and revered life.”
THE PRESIDENT: Will you read all the passage that you began, five lines
above that, beginning with the words, “These photos represent . . .”?
COL. STOREY: “These photos represent an addition to the
collection of 53 of the most valuable objects of art delivered
some time ago to your collection. This folder also gives only a
weak impression of the exceptional value and extent of these
objects of art, seized by my service command”—Dienststelle—“in
France and put into a safe place in the Reich.”
If Your Honors please, at this time we would like to project on the
screen a few of these photographs. The photographs of paintings which we
are now about to project on the screen are taken from a single volume of
the catalogue and are merely representative of the many volumes of
pictures of similar works. The other items, photos of which are to be
projected, were picked from various volumes on special subjects. For
example, the Gobelin tapestry which you are about to see is merely one
picture from an entire volume of tapestry illustrations. Each picture
that you will see is representative of a number of volumes of similar
pictures, and each volume from which these single pictures were taken
represents approximately a tenth of the total number of volumes which
would be necessary to illustrate all the items actually plundered by the
Einsatzstab. We will now have the slides, just a few of them.
[_Photographs were projected on the screen in the courtroom._]
This first picture is a “Portrait of a Woman,” painted by the Italian
painter Palma Vecchio.
The next picture is a “Portrait of a Woman” by the Spanish painter
Velasquez.
This picture is a “Portrait of Lady Spencer” by the English painter Sir
Joshua Reynolds.
This picture is a painting by the French painter Watteau.
This is a painting of “The Three Graces” by Rubens.
This is a “Portrait of an Old Woman” by the famous painter Rembrandt.
This painting of a young woman is by the Dutch painter Van Dyck.
Now this picture is a sample of 16th century jewelry in gold and enamel,
decorated with pearls.
This is a 17th century Gobelin tapestry.
This picture is of a Japanese painting from the catalogue volume on East
Asiatic art.
This is an example of famous china.
This is a picture of a silver-inlaid Louis XIV cabinet.
The last picture is of a silver altarpiece of the 15th or 16th century,
of Spanish origin.
I call to your attention again that each of the pictures you have just
seen is merely representative of a large number of similar items
illustrated in the 39-volume catalogue which is in itself only partially
complete. There is little wonder that the Führer’s occupation with these
beautiful things of art, which were nearest to his heart, should have
sent a ray of beauty and joy into his revered life. I doubt that any
museum in the world, whether the Metropolitan in New York, the British
Museum in London, the Louvre in Paris, or the Tretiakov Gallery in
Moscow, could present such a catalogue as this; in fact, should they
pool their treasures, the result would certainly fall short of the art
collection that Germany amassed for itself, at the expense of the other
nations of Europe. Never in history has a collection so great been
amassed with so little scruple.
It is refreshing, however, to know that the victorious Allied armies
have recovered most of such treasures, principally hidden away in salt
mines, tunnels, and secluded castles; and the proper governmental
agencies are now in the process of restoring these priceless works of
art to their rightful owners.
I shall next refer to Document 154-PS, which is a letter dated the 5th
of July 1942 from Dr. Lammers, Reich Minister and Chief of the
Chancellery, to the highest Reich authorities and services directly
subordinate to the Führer. This letter states and implements the Hitler
order that was introduced in evidence and explains that the Führer
delegated authority to Rosenberg’s staff to search for and seize
cultural property by virtue of Reichsleiter Rosenberg’s position as
representative of the Führer for the supervision of the whole
ideological and political education of the NSDAP.
The Tribunal will recall, however, that it is by virtue of holding this
office that Defendant Rosenberg occupied a place within the
Reichsleitung, or Party Directorate of the Leadership Corps. That is
Exhibit USA-370, and it is simply offered for the purpose of showing the
address to the highest Reich authorities and services directly
subordinate to the Führer.
In a letter to the Defendant Bormann, dated the 23rd of April 1941, the
Defendant Rosenberg protested against the arbitrary removal by the SD
and other public services of property from libraries, monasteries, and
other institutions; and he proposed that, in the claims by the SD and
his representative, the final regulation as to the confiscation should
be made by the Gauleiter. This letter has been offered previously as
071-PS; and I quote, beginning with the next to the last sentence at the
bottom of Page 1 of the English translation—I am sorry, Your Honor,
that is in the other book.
THE PRESIDENT: You cited 071-PS this morning.
COL. STOREY: Yes, Sir, and I will forego that at the moment, Your Honor,
because it refers back to the other book. Finally, in connection with
the presentation of this subject, I submit that the summary of evidence
establishes that the defendants and the conspirators, Rosenberg and
Bormann, acting in their capacity as political leaders of the Leadership
Corps of the Nazi Party and as members thereof, participated in the
Conspiracy or Common Plan alleged in Count One of the Indictment and
committed acts constituting the crimes alleged. Accordingly we submit:
(1) The Leadership Corps of the Nazi Party is a group or organization in
the sense in which those terms are used in Article 9 of the Charter; (2)
The defendants and conspirators, Rosenberg and Bormann, committed the
crimes defined in Article 6 of the Charter, and in that capacity as
members of the political leaders of the Leadership Corps of the Nazi
Party.
It was at all times the primary and central design and purpose of the
Leadership Corps of the Nazi Party to direct, engage, and participate in
the execution of the conspiracy which contemplated and involved the
commission of the crimes as defined in Article 6 of the Charter.
And I should like now to call attention again to a chart which was
identified in the beginning—I believe by Major Wallis; it was taken
from the publication which is entitled _The Face of the Party_. This
chart emphasizes, more clearly than I can state, the total and thorough
control over the life of the German, beginning at the age of 10 at the
bottom of the chart and continuing through the various categories on up
through.
Notice the age of 10 to 14, the Jungvolk. Then it goes to the Adolf
Hitler School on the right, 12 to 18. The Hitler Jugend, 15 to 18; the
SA, the NSKK, NSFK, 19 to 20. And then the labor service over at the
left. And then again to the SA, SS, NSKK, NSFK; and then into the
Wehrmacht, and on up through to the top box on the left of the top row
of men, the political leaders of the NSDAP. And then finally all of
those buildings up there, as I understand, are the academies of the
NSDAP. And then finally at the top to the political leaders of the
German Volk, showing the evolution. This is the final exhibit, and with
that I close the presentation of the Leadership Corps. The next
presentation is the Reich Cabinet (the Reichsregierung). We will take
just a few moments.
If Your Honors please, there is one thing Colonel Seay called my
attention to. I simply refer to it for the record. In one of the
previous documents, 090-PS, Exhibit USA-372, which is in the other
document book, there was a statement that clearly established that the
expenses of the Einsatzstab Rosenberg, that is, the staff’s operational
expenses, were financed by the Nazi Party.
If the Tribunal please, I now offer Document Book X, which I believe has
been passed to Your Honors; and also Colonel Dostert’s staff has
prepared a chart of the Reichsregierung in different languages, and I
believe Your Honors have copies. There is one copy here in German that I
shall be glad to pass to counsel who are especially concerned with this
case. They have one copy in German. I don’t know who it is . . .
THE PRESIDENT: You mean counsel for the Reich Cabinet?
COL. STOREY: Yes, Sir. May I say also, by preliminary reference, that we
examined the records in the collection office this morning and only one
letter of intervention has been filed on behalf of the Reich Cabinet and
that was by the Defendant Keitel.
We will now consider the Reichsregierung. Some preliminary remarks about
this group have already been placed before the Tribunal by Mr. Albrecht
in his comments upon the government chart. It will be necessary,
however, for sake of coherence, to repeat briefly some of the statements
made by him, and therefore we beg the indulgence of the Tribunal.
The Reichsregierung, meaning Reich Cabinet, unlike most of the other
groups named in the Indictment, was not especially created by the Nazi
Party to carry out or implement its nefarious schemes and purposes. The
Reichsregierung—commonly referred to as the Cabinet—had, before the
Nazis came to power, a place in the constitutional and political history
of the country. As with other cabinets of duly constituted governments,
the executive power of the realm was concentrated in that body. The Nazi
conspirators realized this only too well. Their aim for totalitarian
control over the State could not be secured, they realized, except by
acquiring, holding, and utilizing the top-level machinery of the State.
And this they did. Under the Nazi regime the Reichsregierung gradually
became a primary agent of the Nazi Party with functions and policies
formulated in accordance with the objectives and methods of the Party
itself. The institution of the “Reichsregierung” became—at first
gradually and then with more rapidity—polluted by the infusion of the
Nazi conspirators into the Cabinet. Many of them—16 to be exact—sit
before you today in the dock. There was no plan, scheme, or purpose,
however vile or inhuman or illegal in any sense of the word, that was
not clothed with the semblance of legality by the Nazi Reichsregierung.
It is for that reason that we will ask this Tribunal—after the proof
has been offered—to declare that body, as defined in the Indictment, to
be a criminal organization. The proof will be divided into two main
categories, the first of which will tend to establish the composition
and nature of the Reichsregierung under the Nazis, as well as
delineating briefly its functions and powers, while the second will tend
to establish—and conclusively we believe—the reasons why the brand of
criminality should be affixed to that group.
The term “Reichsregierung” literally translated reads “Reich
Government.” Actually, as we said, it was commonly taken to refer to the
ordinary Reich Cabinet. In the Indictment the term “Reichsregierung” is
defined to include not only those persons who were members of the
ordinary Reich Cabinet, but also persons who were members of the Council
of Ministers for the Defense of the Reich and the Secret Cabinet
Council. However, the really important subdivision of the three is—as
the proof will show—the ordinary Cabinet. Between it and the other two
there was in reality only an artificial distinction. There existed, in
fact, a unity of personnel, actions, functions, and purposes that
obliterated any academic separation. As used in the Indictment, the term
“ordinary Cabinet” means Reich Ministers, that is, heads of departments
of the central government, Reich Ministers without portfolio, State
Ministers acting as Reich Ministers, and other officials entitled to
take part in meetings.
I might state here that altogether there were 48 persons who held
positions in the ordinary Cabinet. Seventeen of them are defendants
before the Tribunal. Bormann is absent. Of the remaining 31, eight are
believed to be dead.
Into the ordinary Cabinet were placed the leading Nazi collaborators,
the trusted henchmen; and then, when new governmental agencies or bodies
were created either by Hitler or the Cabinet itself, the constituents of
these new bodies were taken from the roles of the ordinary Cabinet.
In 1933 when the first Hitler Cabinet was formed on the 30th of January,
there were 10 ministries that could be classified as departments of the
Central Government. I have here a typed copy of the minutes of the first
meeting of that Cabinet. These were found in the files of the Reich
Chancellery and bear the typed signature of one Weinstein, who was
described in the minutes as responsible for the protocol, the counsellor
of the ministry. That document already appears in Document Book B; but I
again refer the Tribunal to Page 4 of the translation, which is Document
351 as shown in your document book and contains a list of those present.
THE PRESIDENT: 351-PS?
COL. STOREY: Yes, Sir, 351-PS, Exhibit USA-389.
The 10 ministers referred to therein are set forth. They are:
Reich Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Defendant Von Neurath; Reich
Minister of the Interior, the Defendant Frick; Reich Minister of
Finance, Von Krosigk; Reich Minister of Economy and Reich Minister of
Food and Agriculture, Dr. Hugenberg; Reich Minister of Labor, Seldte;
Reich Minister of Justice—no name is given—the post was filled 2 days
later by Gürtner; Reich Defense Minister Von Blomberg; and the Reich
Postmaster General and Reich Minister for Transportation, Von
Eltz-Rübenach.
In addition you will note that the Defendant Göring was there as a Reich
Minister—he had no portfolio then—and as Reich Commissar for Aviation.
Dr. Gereke was there as Reich Commissar for Procurement of Labor. Two
State Secretaries were present: Dr. Lammers of the Reich Chancellery and
Dr. Meissner of the Reich Presidential Chancellery.
THE PRESIDENT: In the copy I have the Defendant Göring appears as the
Reich Minister for Aviation.
COL. STOREY: Yes, Sir. I mentioned that he appears as Reich Minister and
as Reich Commissar for Aviation.
THE PRESIDENT: Oh, I see. I was reading from the first two pages of the
document. You were reading from Page 4?
COL. STOREY: Yes.
THE PRESIDENT: Very well.
COL. STOREY: I am informed that the Ministry was created later, but it
is given as Reich Commissar for Aviation.
In addition the Defendant Funk was present as Reich Press Chief, and the
Defendant Von Papen was present as Deputy of the Reich Chancellor and
Reich Commissar for the State of Prussia.
Not long after that date new ministries or departments were created into
which leading Nazi figures were placed. On 13 March 1933 the Ministry of
Popular Enlightenment and Propaganda was created. The decree setting it
up appears in the 1933 _Reichsgesetzblatt_, Part I, Page 104, our
Document 2029-PS.
I assume that the Court will take judicial notice of the laws and
decrees, as we have mentioned in the previous proceeding.
The late Goebbels was named as Reich Minister of Popular Enlightenment
and Propaganda.
On 5 May 1933 the Ministry of Air (_Reichsgesetzblatt_ 1933, Part I,
Page 241, our Document 2089-PS). On 1 May 1934 the Ministry of
Education. I refer to 1934 _Reichsgesetzblatt_, Part I, Page 365, our
Document 2078-PS. On 16 July 1935 the Ministry for Church Affairs (1935
_Reichsgesetzblatt_, Part I, Page 1029, our Document 2090-PS). The
Defendant Göring was made Air Minister; Bernhard Rust, Gauleiter of
South Hanover, was named Education Minister; and Hans Kerrl named
Minister for Church Affairs.
Two ministries were added after the war started. On 17 March 1940 the
Ministry of Armaments and Munitions was established (1940
_Reichsgesetzblatt_, Part I, Page 513, our Document 2091-PS). The late
Dr. Todt, a high Party official, was appointed to this post. The
Defendant Speer succeeded him. The name of this department was changed
to “Armaments and War Production” in 1943 (1943 _Reichsgesetzblatt_,