“We cannot gaze without sorrow”—states Nicholas, Metropolitan
of Kiev and Galicia, and member of the Extraordinary State
Commission—“on the heaps of rubble of the Uspenski Cathedral,
founded in the 11th century by the genius of its immortal
builders. The explosions formed several huge craters in the area
surrounding the cathedral, and, beholding them, it would appear
that the very earth had shuddered at the sight of the atrocities
committed by those who no longer had a right to be called human
beings. It was as if a terrible hurricane had passed over the
abbey, overturning everything, scattering and destroying the
mighty buildings of the abbey. For over 2 years Kiev lay
shackled in the German chains. Hitler’s executioners brought
death to Kiev, together with ruins, famine, and executions. In
time all this will pass from the near present to the far distant
past; but never will the people of Russia and the Ukraine, or
honest men all the world over, forget these crimes.”
Mr. President, may I dwell on two more documents?
The first, Document Number 035-PS, is entitled, “A Brief Report on
Security Measures of the Chief Labor Group in the Ukraine during the
Withdrawal of the Armed Forces.” It was presented to the Tribunal by our
American colleagues on 18 December 1945. A characteristic peculiarity of
this document is that it openly testifies to the looting. It is quite
clear to all that reference is made to a gang of robbers, although the
Hitlerites still persist in referring to robbery as work. They shipped
the most valuable exhibits of the Ukrainian Museum to Germany as
“miscellaneous textiles.”
The report begins with the description of the creation of safe quarters
for the Einsatzstab establishments, a purpose for which the inhabitants
of an entire district were thrown out of their quarters. There then
follows, in this document, a list of booty removed from the plundered
museums of Kharkov and Kiev, from archives, and even from private
libraries.
I shall quote one brief excerpt only from this document, dealing with
the contents of the Ukrainian and the prehistorical museum of Kiev. You
will find this excerpt on Page 368 of the document book. I quote:
“October 1943, materials of the Ukrainian museum in Kiev.
“On the basis of the general evacuation orders of the city
commissioner, the following were sorted out by us and loaded for
shipment to Kraków:
“Miscellaneous textiles; collections of valuable embroidery
patterns; collections of brocades; numerous wooden utensils, _et
cetera_.
“Moreover, a large part of the prehistoric museum was carried
away.”
The second, Document Number 1109-PS of 17 June 1944, is headed, “Note
for the Director of Operation Group P4,” and is addressed to Von
Milde-Schreden. I shall quote it completely because it is really a short
excerpt which you will find on Page 369 of the document book:
“2. The removal of cultural property.
“A great deal of material from museums, archives, institutions,
and other cultural establishments was in an orderly manner
removed from Kiev in the autumn of 1943.
“These actions to safeguard the material were carried out by
Einsatzstab RR, as well as by the individual directors of
institutes, _et cetera_, at the instigation of the Reich
Commissioner.”
Here, Your Honors, I would point out that Einsatzstab Rosenberg in some
documents is also referred to as the “Task Staff RR.” These initials
stand for Reichsleiter Rosenberg.
“At first, a great deal of the property that was to be evacuated
was taken only to the areas of the rear; later on, this material
was forwarded to the Reich. When the undersigned, towards the
end of September, received the order from the cultural division
of the Reich Commissioner to take out of Kiev the remaining
cultural effects, the materials most valuable from a cultural
point of view had already been removed. During October some 40
carloads of cultural effects were shipped to the Reich. In this
case it was chiefly a question of valuables which belonged to
the research institutions of the national research center of the
Ukraine. These institutions, at present, are continuing their
work in the Reich and are being directed in such a manner that
at any given moment they can be brought back to the Ukraine. The
cultural values which could not be promptly safeguarded incurred
plunder. In this case, however, it was always a question of less
valuable material, as the essential assets had been removed in
an orderly manner.
“In October 1943 factories, workshops, plants, and other
equipment were removed from Kiev by the order of the town
commander, but where it was taken, I do not know.”
This letter ends with the following sentence:
“At the time the Soviets entered the city there was nothing
valuable, in this respect, left in the city.”
May it please Your Honors, from the documents submitted by the Soviet
Prosecution, the Tribunal has already learned about the criminal
conspiracy between Hitler and Antonescu. As a reward for supplying
Germany with cannon fodder, oil, wheat, cattle, _et cetera_, Antonescu’s
criminal clique received from Hitler’s Government authorization to
plunder the civilian population between the Bug and the Dniester. German
and Romanian invaders plundered and destroyed many objects of cultural
value, health resorts, and medical institutions in Odessa. The
Hitlerites also plundered on their own account, as well as in
co-operation with Antonescu’s clique. To prove this, I shall now read
into the record a few excerpts from the report of the Extraordinary
State Commission of the Soviet Union, presented to the Tribunal as
Exhibit Number USSR-47 (Document Number USSR-47). These excerpts are
taken from Page 372 of your document book. I omit one paragraph and
begin to quote from the penultimate paragraph on this page of my report:
“The German Military Command plundered the museums of Odessa,
carrying away hundreds of unique objects.”
Further, I here omit two paragraphs and quote the last line of Page 66:
“According to a plan, drawn up in advance, the German fascist
invaders . . . blew up or burned 2,290 of the largest buildings
of architectural, artistic, and historical value. Included in
these were the house of A. S. Pushkin . . . the Saban barracks,
built in 1827, and others, representing in themselves valuable
monuments to the material culture of the beginning of the 19th
century.
“In Odessa the German-Romanian invaders destroyed: The first
hospital for contagious diseases, the second district hospital,
the somatological hospital, the psychiatric hospital, and two
children’s hospitals, a children’s polyclinic, seven infant
consulting centers, 55 day nurseries, two maternity homes, one
dispensary, one leprosarium, six polyclinics, and research
institutions for the study of tuberculosis, for studying
conditions in spas and others. They destroyed 29 sanatoria
located around Odessa.”
The Hitlerites committed crimes on an exceptionally large scale in the
Stalino Province. I omit the rest of this page and pass to Page 68 of my
report. The report of the Extraordinary State Commission, presented by
the Soviet Prosecution as Exhibit Number USSR-2 (Document Number
USSR-2), relates an enormous number of facts. I shall not quote all of
those, Your Honors; but I shall confine myself only to several excerpts
from the above-mentioned document which have not yet been read into the
record by my colleagues. They can be found on Pages 374 and 375 in your
document book. I quote:
“During their retreat from Stalino, the Hitlerites completely
destroyed . . . 113 schools, 62 kindergartens, 390 shops, the
winter and summer theaters, the Palace of the Pioneers, the
radio theater, the Museum of the Revolution, the picture gallery
and the Dzerjinsky Club of the city.
“Special Engineer detachments went from school to school,
pouring incendiary liquid over them and setting them on fire.
Such Soviet people who tried to extinguish the fires were
immediately shot by the fascist scoundrels. . . .
“Exceptionally severe damages were caused by the invaders to the
medical establishments of the city.”
I omit three paragraphs of the report, and I quote the penultimate
paragraph on this page:
“The Medical Institute, a model scientific establishment for
2,000 students, was destroyed on the orders of Oberfeldarzt
Roll, chief medical officer of Belindorf, and the chief medical
officer of Kuchendorf.
“Of a total of 600,000 books on science and art, 530,000 volumes
were burned by the Hitlerites. . . .
“In the town of Makeyewka the German fascist invaders blew up
and burned down the city theater, seating 1,000 persons; the
circus, seating 1,500 persons; 49 schools, 20 day nurseries, and
44 kindergarten schools. By order of the Town Commander, Vogler,
35,000 volumes from the central Gorky library were destroyed on
a pyre.”
I shall not enumerate all the cities. These facts were mentioned in a
document which, according to Article 21 of the Charter, provides
irrefutable evidence. In agreement with the rulings of the Tribunal,
this document will not be read into the record in full. I must, however,
draw your attention to the fact that in all industrial towns of the
Province of Stalino the Hitlerites burned down schools, theaters, day
nurseries, hospitals, and even churches. Thus in the town of Gorlovka:
“. . . they destroyed 32 schools, attended by some 21,649
children, burned down the town hospital, five polyclinics, a
church, and the Palace of Culture. . . .
“In the city of Konstantinovka the occupational authorities blew
up and burned down all the 25 city schools, two cinemas, the
central city library with 35,000 volumes, the Pioneers’ Club,
the children’s technical center, the city hospital, and the day
nurseries.
“Before their retreat from Mariupol the German occupational
authorities burned down all the 68 schools of the city, 17
kindergarten schools . . . and the Palace of the Pioneers.”
I shall now quote a few excerpts from the document presented to the
Tribunal as Exhibit Number USSR 45 (Document Number USSR-45). These
excerpts are found on Page 378 of your document book. The document deals
with the Hitlerite crimes in Rovno and the region of Rovno. The city of
Rovno was of special importance. It was the residence of Reich Minister
Erich Koch, the closest collaborator of the Defendant Rosenberg.
Numerous conferences of the Hitlerite leaders for elaborating their plan
for the enslavement of the Ukrainian people took place in this city. The
above-mentioned report of the Extraordinary State Commission established
the following facts:
“The Hitlerites, on the Ukrainian territory they had seized,
endeavored to establish a regime of slavery and serfdom and to
annihilate the Ukrainian sovereignty and culture. . . .
“The considerable material in possession of the Extraordinary
State Commission, based on documents, testimonies of witnesses,
and personal inspection by members of the commission, and their
acquaintance with conditions prevailing in various cultural and
educational establishments on Ukrainian territory liberated by
the Red Army, leaves no doubt that the German fascist barbarians
had for their aim the destruction of Ukrainian culture and the
extermination of the best representatives of Ukrainian art and
science who had fallen into their hands.”
I omit two paragraphs, and I quote the penultimate paragraph on this
page:
“The German fascist aggressors closed down nearly all the
cultural and educational establishments in Rovno. On 30 November
1941 the closing down of schools in the General Commissariat of
Volhynia and Podolia was officially announced in the newspaper
_Volyn_.”
I omit the end of Page 70, and I quote the last paragraph of this
document on Page 71 of my report:
“The fact that all these crimes were committed in the residence
of the former Reich Commissioner for the Ukraine, Erich Koch,
serves as additional proof that all the crimes of the Hitlerite
bandits were perpetrated in execution of a plan for the
extermination of the Soviet people and the devastation of the
Soviet territories temporarily occupied by the Hitlerites, a
plan conceived and executed by the Hitlerite Government.”
In Section 5 of his opening statement, General Rudenko, Chief Prosecutor
for the U.S.S.R., quoted an extract from a letter of the Commissioner
General for Bielorussia, Kube, addressed to the Defendant Rosenberg.
This document is a typewritten letter, signed in ink by Kube. It has
several notations in pencil, evidently by the hand of Rosenberg; and it
has a stamp, “Ministerial Bureau,” and is dated 3 October 1941. This
document, identified as Document Number 1099-PS, I submit to the
Tribunal as Exhibit Number USSR-374 in evidence of the enormous
proportions assumed by the plundering of historical treasures, carried
out everywhere by the Hitlerites.
With your permission I shall now take the liberty of quoting some
additional extracts from this document, which discloses the fact that
not only were the plundered treasures sent to Germany but that they had
also been stolen by individual generals of Hitler’s Army. Kube’s letter
reveals at the same time the existence of a previously elaborated plan
for the plunder of the cultural treasures in Leningrad, Moscow, and the
Ukraine. The vandalism of the Hitlerites reached such proportions that
even Kube, that hangman of the Bielorussian people, was roused to
indignation. He was afraid of allowing a profitable deal to slip through
his hands and sought compensation from Rosenberg. I quote the second
paragraph from the beginning of the letter:
“Minsk possessed a large and, in part, a very valuable
collection of art treasures and paintings which have now been
removed almost in their entirety from the city. By order of
Reichsführer SS, Reichsleiter Heinrich Himmler, most of the
paintings, some still during my term of office, were packed by
the SS and sent to the Reich. They are worth several millions
which were withdrawn from the general district of White
Ruthenia. The paintings were supposedly sent to Linz and to
Königsberg in East Prussia. I beg to have this valuable
collection—as far as it is not needed in the Reich—placed once
more at the disposal of the general district of White Ruthenia
or, in any case, to place the monetary value of these
collections with the Ministry for the Occupied Eastern
Territories.”
Kube, as well as the Defendant Rosenberg, was of the opinion that he had
the right to monopolize the stolen treasures and complained—I quote the
second part of the second paragraph of this letter:
“General Stubenrauch has taken a valuable part of this
collection and has carried it off to the area of military
operations. Sonderführer, whose names have not yet been reported
to me, have carried off three truckloads (without receipt) of
furniture, paintings, and objects of art.”
Having, along with other fascist leaders, robbed the people of
Bielorussia, and taken a direct part in the mass ill-treatment and
extermination of the Soviet population, Kube hypocritically declared—I
quote the last paragraph of this letter:
“Bielorussia, already poor in itself, has suffered heavy losses
through these actions.”
And Kube recommended to Rosenberg—I quote:
“I hope that experts will be appointed beforehand to prevent
such happenings in Leningrad and Moscow, as well as in some of
the ancient Ukrainian cultural centers.”
That was the ultimate goal of their ideas. It is now universally known
what meaning the Hitlerites attached to the word “measures” when applied
to the occupied territories. It meant a regime of bloody terror and
violence, of unrestricted plunder, and arbitrariness.
On breaking into Minsk, capital of the Bielorussian Republic, the German
fascist invaders attempted to destroy the culture of the Bielorussian
people and to turn the Bielorussians into obedient German slaves. As has
been established by a special investigation, the Hitlerite military
authorities, acting on direct orders from the German Government,
ruthlessly destroyed scientific research institutes and schools,
theaters and clubs, hospitals and polyclinics, kindergartens and day
nurseries.
I am reading into the record an excerpt from the document which was
presented by the Soviet Prosecution as Exhibit Number USSR-38 (Document
Number USSR-38).
“For 3 years the German fascist invaders in Minsk set out to
destroy, systematically, the scientific research institutes,
institutions of higher education, libraries, museums,
institutions of the academy of science, theaters, and clubs.
“The Lenin library in Minsk was a foundation more than 20 years
old. In 1932 the work was completed by the construction of a
special new building with a large and well-equipped depository
for storing books. From this library the Germans carried off to
Berlin and Königsberg 1½ million extremely valuable books on the
history of Bielorussia. . . .”