THE PRESIDENT: Oh yes.
DR. SERVATIUS: The second was _Reichsgesetzblatt 1940_, with Document
Sauckel-45. The third was _Reichsgesetzblatt 1943_, with Document
Sauckel-21. The fourth is _Reichsarbeitsblatt 1940_, Document
Sauckel-33...
THE PRESIDENT: What year, though?
DR. SERVATIUS: 1940. _Reichsarbeitsblatt_, Document Sauckel-33. The
fifth is _Reichsarbeitsblatt 1942_, which contains Documents Sauckel-9,
35, 40, 46, 50, 51, 64(a). The sixth, _Reichsarbeitsblatt 1943_,
contains Documents Sauckel-20, 23, 37, 42, 43, 44, 48, 54, 55, 57, 60,
60(a), 61, 62, 64, and 68.
And the last, _Reichsarbeitsblatt 1944_, has Documents Sauckel-26, 30,
38, 58, 59, 65, 67, and 89.
I shall now go briefly through the document book. I begin with Sauckel
Document Book 2, Document Sauckel-32, “Orders and Decrees Concerning the
Employment of Prisoners of War.” That is the agreement of 27 July 1939.
This is an excerpt concerning the work of prisoners of war, and in
Article 31 prohibited labor is listed.
In the next document, Sauckel-33, there is a decree of the Reich
Minister of Labor, “Use of Prisoners of War in Places of Work.” There
the types of work for which these prisoners of war are being used are
listed in detail. Among the types of work not included is the
manufacture of arms; but included is work in factories, agriculture,
forestry, work on roads, canals, and dams of importance to the war, work
in brickyards, and so forth, as can be read in detail.
In Document Sauckel-35 we can see how the employment of prisoners of war
took place, namely by co-operation between the prisoner-of-war camp and
the contractors, and how a contract regulated in detail the conditions
under which the employment of prisoners of war took place. It can be
seen from this that Sauckel’s labor recruitment had nothing to do with
that.
In Document Sauckel-36 we find a circular decree concerning the
treatment of prisoners of war—a memorandum concerning the treatment of
prisoners of war—which was drawn up jointly by the OKW and the Ministry
for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda:
“Treatment of prisoners of war: Prisoners of war must be treated
in such a way that their full production capacity may benefit
industry and food economy. To insure this, sufficient
nourishment is necessary.”
This I wanted to underline.
Document Sauckel-37 deals with the question of an improved status,
namely the conversion of prisoners of war into civilian workers for work
of importance to the war in Germany. It shows that in this case they get
special allowances, such as an allowance of money for maintaining a
separate household—a so-called compassionate pay. It shows that these
workers were treated like civilian workers.
The next document, Sauckel-38, is along the same lines and deals with
the visits of relatives to French, Belgian, and Dutch prisoners of war
and to Italian military internees in the Reich. It says there:
“Visits to French, Belgian, and Dutch prisoners of war as well
as to Italian military internees are permitted only for wives,
parents, children, and brothers and sisters, who work in Germany
or have their homes in Alsace or Lorraine, and then only on
Sundays and holidays.”
This shows that actually the prisoner-of-war status had ceased.
Document Sauckel-39 is a memorandum with respect to general conditions
valid for the employment of prisoners of war. It deals with the working
hours: “The daily working hours, including the time of marching to and
from work, should not be excessive.” And in another passage it says,
“The prisoners of war have a right to a continuous rest period of 24
hours, to be granted on Sundays when possible...”
Under Paragraph 7 it is stated that neither the employer, nor his
relatives, nor his employees are entitled to carry out any punitive
measures against prisoners of war.
Then there follows an excerpt about housing and other accommodation in
camps. It is Document Sauckel-40, which decrees—on the basis of
Sauckel’s Order Number 9—the inspection of housing, food, heating, and
upkeep of the camps by workmen employed at the camps. It is dated 14
July 1942. It says:
“By 10 August 1942 an inspection of all industrial
establishments employing foreign labor must be made by all labor
offices in their respective districts to determine whether they
have duly carried out regulations and decrees governing housing,
feeding, and treatment of all foreign male and female workers
and prisoners of war. It is my desire that the offices of the
NSDAP and the DAF should participate in this inspection to a
proportionate extent. Where shortcomings are discovered, the
manager of the works is to be given a time limit within which
such shortcomings are to be remedied.”
Further on, under 2(a) it is stated that provision should be made for
feeding in winter. And finally: “All factories are to make provision for
camps and billets to be heated when cold weather sets in and to see that
the necessary fuel is ordered in time.” The decree states at the end
that workmen, paid by the factories, are to be employed in the camps to
see to the upkeep of the camps.
Then there is Document Sauckel-18, a memorandum for works managers and
Eastern Workers, which contains camp rules. The introduction says:
“In response to a wish of the Plenipotentiary General for
Allocation of Labor, Gauleiter Sauckel, I recommend that the
officials satisfy themselves from time to time that the
regulations issued with respect to the employment of Eastern
Workers are being adhered to within the establishments.”
That shows that control was emphasized here once again.
The camp rules then go on to say:
“Eastern Workers, you are finding in Germany wages and bread,
and by your work you are safeguarding the maintenance of your
families....”
THE TRIBUNAL (Mr. Biddle): Could you not summarize these documents more
shortly?
DR. SERVATIUS: Document Sauckel-41 shows that caring for the Eastern
Workers was especially the task of the German Labor Front, which is
explained here in detail.
Document Sauckel-42 deals with the same subject. It stresses above all
the importance of trade inspection and says that all necessary measures
for the welfare of foreign workers must be taken immediately and all
shortcomings remedied at once. The inspection officials and the local
authorities have to arrange matters together with the Labor Front. It is
issued by Reich Minister of Labor Seldte, not by Sauckel, which makes it
evident that Sauckel had not become the Reich Minister of Labor.
In Document Sauckel-43 there are explanations of the camp regulations to
which I shall refer in detail later. But in Document Sauckel-43 I should
like to stress again the position of the Trade Inspection Board. Here
the question of responsibility for hygienic conditions and for the
extermination of vermin is regulated; and it says at the end: “The
supervisory authority in accordance with the new regulations is the
Trade Inspection Board....”
Document Sauckel-44 contains specifications about sleeping quarters:
Their size, the number of beds, and the administration of medical care.
This again is signed by the Reich Minister of Labor, Franz Seldte, and
not by Sauckel.
The next group of documents deals with food. Document Sauckel-45 is the
meat inspection law which deals with the question of how far meat of
inferior quality is fit for consumption. That law too has a certain
importance with regard to the witness.
THE PRESIDENT: Dr. Servatius, about the inspection of meat, we do not
require any further information about it.
DR. SERVATIUS: Document Sauckel-46 shows merely that the foreign workers
received their food ration cards when away from the camp.
Document Sauckel-47 is a decree by the Reich Minister for Food and
Agriculture, and shows that he was responsible for determining the food
quotas. The document also gives the rations. I mention only a few: For
the ordinary workers, 2,600 grams of bread per week. That increases, and
it may be read here, if questions of importance...
THE PRESIDENT: Page 128 shows that prisoners of war are employed in the
armament industry, does it not? Page 128.
DR. SERVATIUS: It says there: “Food rations of Soviet prisoners of war
working in the armament industry or in trade industries, if they are
accommodated in camps...” and then follows a list of rations. I cannot
see how far that shows...
THE PRESIDENT: 128 in English, Page 128, Lines 4 to 12: “Treatment of
the sick. All prisoners of war and Eastern Workers, male and female, who
are employed in the armament industry...”
DR. SERVATIUS: It says there, “All prisoners of war or Eastern Workers
... who are employed in the armament industry...” Armament industry is
not the manufacture of weapons.
Document Sauckel-48 only refers to a law—I see the translation
department has left out a short paragraph, but I can do without that.
The heading indicates the subject. It refers to taking food for the
journey home. It thus concerns supplies for the return journey.
Document Sauckel-49 shows a regulation whereby additional food could
also be given; and special diets in the hospitals were also provided.
In the next group, questions of wages are dealt with. The first decree
is Document Sauckel-50.
THE PRESIDENT: How far you go—it seems to me sufficient if you give us
a group, and then tell us what it deals with.
DR. SERVATIUS: Yes. That is from Documents Sauckel-50 to 59, omitting
Document Sauckel-56. The questions of wages and scales of wages are
included here. One will have to look at these more carefully if these
questions become crucial. Therefore, I shall not make any further
specific statements about that now.
Sauckel Document Book Number 3 is a group of documents containing legal
orders. Documents Sauckel-60 to 68 refer to medical care. I believe here
also I need not go through the individual documents, because they become
of interest only when the subject is dealt with.
THE PRESIDENT: Give us a group and tell us what it is about, and then we
can look at it.
DR. SERVATIUS: Yes. It deals with medical care; and as I said, the
details become of interest only when the question becomes important.
There is no point in speaking of them now.
The next group is speeches made by Sauckel on the subject of labor
allocation, and they are contained in the manual. I should like to refer
to one in particular—a speech of 6 January 1943 which was made after
the conference between Sauckel and Rosenberg. It says there at the
beginning: “The Plenipotentiary General for Allocation of Labor on 5 and
6 January...”
THE PRESIDENT: Which page?
DR. SERVATIUS: It is 204 in my book, and in the English text it should
also be Page 204.
THE PRESIDENT: Probably that 8,000 should be 800.
DR. SERVATIUS: Yes, it should be 800. I have also mentioned that
document already, and read the main parts.
Documents Sauckel-82 and 83 have also been mentioned already in their
essential parts.
Document Sauckel-84 is a manifesto which has already been presented in
detail.
Document Sauckel-85 shows the generally valid and binding principles
followed by Sauckel, all of them well-known principles. The main fact is
that after 1943 they showed the same tendency as they had before.
Document Sauckel-86 is a later speech—a speech of 24 August 1943—to
the presidents of the Gau labor offices. Here again in his speech to the
responsible Gau labor presidents Sauckel stresses his basic attitude, as
he has often stated it here. He adheres to the same attitude on 17
January 1944—that is, Document Sauckel-88—when he again emphasizes to
these presidents, that:
“The foreign workers must be treated better. The reception camps
are not to be primitive; rather they must be a recommendation
for us.”
And at the end:
“The more I do for the foreign laborers working in Germany, the
better I treat them, the more I influence them—the greater the
extent of their available production capacity.”
And that was shortly—2 months—before he succeeded in putting the other
foreign workers on an equal footing with the German workers.
THE PRESIDENT: We have heard the Defendant Sauckel explain...
DR. SERVATIUS: I beg your pardon?
THE PRESIDENT: ...that the work was carried on. And will you tell us
where the group of speeches—how far does the group go?
DR. SERVATIUS: It is Document Sauckel-89.
Document Sauckel-94 I have read already. Documents Sauckel-95, 96, 97 I
have already read to the extent necessary. And that brings me to the end
of the presentation of documents.
Now, comes an affidavit of the witness Karl Goetz, which is included in
the document book. I submit it as Exhibit Number 10, the affidavit by
Karl Goetz. This is an interrogatory which was submitted very early and
was therefore considered in a very abridged form, as the details had not
become apparent at that time. Consequently, the witness answered very
shortly and could say nothing specific to a number of questions. Where
he did answer the questions, he refers to an introduction which he
wrote, and in answering the questions raised by the Prosecution he also
refers to that introduction. Therefore, I believe that I might also read
this introduction as far as is necessary.
The affidavit is of 20 March 1946. In this introduction, on the second
page, I should like to call attention to a conference in Paris. This
witness Goetz was a bank expert in Weimar. He had known Sauckel before
and had worked on his staff of experts. He had been with him in Paris
and had taken part in the negotiations with Laval. He says here:
“The negotiations led to an extensive talk, which was conducted
in a proper and polite manner as far as I could judge. Laval
took note of Sauckel’s proposals and agreed to accede to his
request. But he made counterproposals...”
I do not think I need go into detail, because what was then negotiated
is of minor significance. He says on the third page:
“During a later conference in Paris the proceedings were
similar. Laval assumed a stiffer attitude, and he pointed out
the great difficulties which would impede the recruitment of
additional workers. He emphasized in particular the necessity of
not stripping the French labor market of its best forces.”