“18 October 1941; to the Chief of Staff of the 12th Army,
Athens.
“Daily report.
“1. The villages of Ano-Kerzilion and Kato-Kerzilion (75
kilometers east of Salonika on the mouth of the Struma) which
had been ascertained to be the base of a considerable guerrilla
band in this area, were razed to the ground by troops of the
division on 17 October. The male inhabitants between 16 and 60
years of age—(totalling 207 persons)—were shot, women and
children evacuated.
“2. No other special incidents.”
Surely, there is no need for a comment regarding this document.
I should also like to refer to the official report of the Greek
Government, which is presented to the Tribunal as Exhibit Number
USSR-379 (Document Number UK-82). On pages 29 and 30 of the report,
which correspond to Page 207 of your document book, we find numerous
facts concerning the burning and destruction of villages on the Island
of Crete. Thus, the villages of Skiki, Prassi, and Kanados were
completely burned down in retaliation for the murder of some German
parachutists carried out by the employees of the local police at the
time of the attack on the Island of Crete. Certain villages were
demolished by the Germans for the sole reason that they were in the
partisans’ zone of operations.
It is stated in the report that 1,600 out of 6,500 villages were
completely or partially demolished. It should also be noted that the
Germans intentionally bombed undefended towns and caused heavy damage to
23 Greek towns, among which the towns of Yanina, Arta, Preveza, Tukkala,
Larissa, and Canea were almost completely destroyed. This is mentioned
on Page 21 of the report of the Greek Government. It is on Page 190 of
your document book.
Your Honors, the whole world knows about the Hitlerites’ crimes at
Lidice. The 10th of June 1942 was the last day of Lidice and of its
inhabitants. The fascist barbarians left irrefutable evidence of their
monstrous crime. They made a film of the annihilation of Lidice, and we
are able to show this evidence to the Tribunal. Upon orders from the
Czechoslovak Government, a special investigation was carried out which
established that the filming of the tragedy of Lidice was entrusted by
the so-called Protector to an adviser on photography of the NSDAP, one
Franz Treml, and was carried out by him in conjunction with Miroslav
Wagner. Among the documents which we present to the Tribunal are
photographs of the operators who filmed the phases of the destruction of
Lidice.
I present these documents to the Tribunal as Exhibit Number USSR-370
(Document Number USSR-370). I should like to remark, Your Honors, that
this film is a German documentary film. It was filmed a few years ago.
The technical state of this reel is not very satisfactory, and therefore
when we present it, there may be a few defects.
I beg the indulgence of the Tribunal beforehand and request permission
to show this film.
[_Moving pictures were then shown._]
MR. COUNSELLOR RAGINSKY: What the Germans perpetrated in Lidice was
repeated a short time later in another inhabited point of Czechoslovakia
in the village of Lezhaky. I shall refer as evidence to the Czechoslovak
Government’s report, Pages 126-127. This report is presented to the
Court as Exhibit Number USSR-60 (Document Number USSR-60). This report
states, “Lezhaky, like Lidice, was totally destroyed and the ground
where it stood is now covered over with rubble.”
I pass on to the next section of my report, the destruction of villages
and towns, industry, and transport in the territory of the U.S.S.R.
Your Honors, I have quoted above the general directives of the criminal
Hitler Government and the German Supreme Command concerning the
destruction of inhabited centers, industry, and means of communications
in the U.S.S.R. Now I pass on to the presentation of evidence of those
destructions which were carried out in execution of these directives by
the Hitlerites everywhere on the territory of the Soviet Union which
they temporarily occupied.
I omit the evidence regarding the destruction of single towns of the
Soviet Union and pass on to the presentation of my report beginning on
Page 42.
There are a large number of documents at the disposal of the Soviet
Prosecution which incriminate the Hitlerite criminals in premeditated
and systematic, calculated and cruel annihilation and destruction of
cities and towns, plants and factories, railways and means of
communication.
The presentation of all this documentation would seriously delay the
Trial. Therefore, I consider it possible to pass on to the presentation
of the general conclusive data established by the Extraordinary State
Commission of the Soviet Union instead of presenting separate documents.
From Exhibit Number USSR-35 (Document Number USSR-35), I shall read into
the record only those sections and data which have not been read into
the record previously and only those which directly concern my subject.
These extracts, Your Honors, are on Pages 223-224 of your document book.
I quote:
“The German fascist invaders totally or partially destroyed and
burned 1,710 towns and more than 70,000 villages and hamlets.
They burned and destroyed more than 6 million buildings and
rendered some 25 million persons homeless. Among the destroyed
towns which suffered most are the greatest industrial and
cultural centers: Stalingrad, Sevastopol, Leningrad, Kiev,
Minsk, Odessa, Smolensk, Novgorod, Pskov, Orel, Kharkov,
Voronezh, Rostov-on-the-Don, and many others.
“The German fascist invaders destroyed 31,850 industrial works
which employed some 4 million workers.”
I omit the end of Page 43, Pages 44 and 45, and the beginning of Page 46
of my report.
“The Hitlerites destroyed . . . 36,000 postal and telegraphic
offices, telephone centers, and other communication
centers. . . . During their occupation of a part of the
territory of the Soviet Union, and especially during their
retreat, the German fascist invaders caused great damage to the
railway system, waterways, and river transport.
“They used special machines for the destruction of roads and
thus put out of action 26, and partially destroyed eight, main
railway lines. They destroyed 65,000 kilometers of rails and
500,000 kilometers of cables for the automatic railroad
controls, signals, and communication lines. They blew up 13,000
railway bridges, 4,100 railway stations, and 1,600 water
pressure stations. They destroyed 317 locomotive depots and 129
locomotive and wagon repair shops, as well as railway machine
works.
“They destroyed, damaged, or evacuated to Germany 15,800
locomotives, and Diesel locomotives, and 428,000 railway cars.
“The enemy caused great damage to the buildings, enterprises,
and institutions and ships of the shipping lines operating in
the Arctic Ocean, in the White Sea, the Baltic Sea, the Black,
and the Caspian Seas. They sank or partially damaged more than
1,400 passenger, cargo, and special ships.
“The sea ports of Sevastopol, Mariupol, Kerch, Novorossisk,
Odessa, Nikolaiev, Leningrad, Murmansk, Lepaya, Tallinn, and
other ports equipped with modern technical installations
suffered greatly.
“The invaders sank or captured 4,280 passenger and cargo ships
and steam tugs of the river shipping and auxiliary services, as
well as 4,029 barges. They destroyed 479 harbor and quay
installations, as well as 89 dockyards and machine factories.
“While retreating under the pressure of the Red Army, German
troops blew up and destroyed 91,000 kilometers of highways and
90,000 road bridges of a total length of 930 kilometers.”
With this I conclude my statement, Your Honors.
The documents which were read into the record and presented to the
Tribunal clearly demonstrate how the Hitlerite conspirators, in all the
territories seized by them in the U.S.S.R., Yugoslavia, Poland,
Czechoslovakia, and Greece, violated the laws and customs of war, the
fundamental principles of criminal law, and the direct provisions of
Articles 46 and 50 of the Hague Convention of 1907.
The documents submitted also prove that the German invaders contemplated
complete destruction of cities and villages from which the Hitlerites
were compelled to retreat under the blows of the Armed Forces of the
Soviet Union.
Finally these documents show with what bestial cruelty and mercilessness
the Hitlerites carried out their criminal plans in reducing to dust and
ashes the largest cultural and industrial centers. Over a wide area from
the White to the Black and the Aegean Seas, in the territory temporarily
occupied by the German troops, the Hitlerites purposely and according to
plan reduced to ruins densely populated and flourishing Russian,
Bielorussian, Yugoslavian, Greek, and Czechoslovakian cities, towns, and
villages. All this was the result of the criminal activity of the
Hitlerite Government and of the German High Command, the representatives
of which are now in the dock.
In conclusion I should like, Mr. President, to present as evidence and
as Exhibit Number USSR-401 (Document Number USSR-401) a documentary film
concerning the destruction perpetrated by the Germans on the territories
of the Soviet Union. Documents certifying the authenticity of this film
are now being submitted to the Tribunal.
[_Moving pictures were then shown._]
THE PRESIDENT: We will adjourn until 1410 hours.
[_The Tribunal recessed until 1410 hours._]
_Afternoon Session_
MR. COUNSELLOR RAGINSKY: Mr. President, in order to exhaust fully the
presentation of evidence on the subject matter of my report I ask your
permission to examine witness Joseph Abgarovitch Orbeli who has been
brought to the courthouse. Orbeli will testify to the destruction of the
monuments of culture and art in Leningrad.
[_Dr. Servatius approached the lectern._]
THE PRESIDENT: Do you have any objections to make?
DR. ROBERT SERVATIUS (Counsel for Defendant Sauckel and for the
Leadership Corps of the Nazi Party): I would like to ask the Court to
decide whether the witness can be heard on this subject, whether this
single piece of evidence is relevant. Leningrad was never in German
hands. Leningrad was only fired upon with the regular combat weapons of
the troops and also attacked from the air, just as it is done regularly
by all the armies of the world. It must be established what is to be
proved by this witness.
THE PRESIDENT: The Tribunal considers that there is no substance in the
objection that has just been made, and we will hear the witness.
[_The witness Orbeli took the stand._]
THE PRESIDENT: What is your name?
JOSEPH ABGAROVITCH ORBELI (Witness): Joseph Abgarovitch Orbeli.
THE PRESIDENT: Will you repeat the oath after me—state your name again:
I—Orbeli, Joseph, a citizen of the Union of Soviet Socialist
Republics—summoned as a witness in this Trial—in the presence of the
Court—promise and swear—to tell the Court nothing but the truth—about
everything I know in regard to this case.
[_The witness repeated the oath in Russian._]
THE PRESIDENT: You may sit if you wish.
MR. COUNSELLOR RAGINSKY: Witness, will you tell us, please, what
position do you occupy?
ORBELI: Director of the State Hermitage.
MR. COUNSELLOR RAGINSKY: What is your scientific title?
ORBELI: I am a member of the Academy of Science of the Union of the
Soviet Socialist Republics, an active member of the Academy of
Architecture of the U.S.S.R., an active member and president of the
Armenian Academy of Science, an honorable Member of the Iran Academy of
Science, member of the Society of Antiquarians in London, and a
consultant member of the American Institute of Art and Archeology.
MR. COUNSELLOR RAGINSKY: Were you in Leningrad at the time of the German
blockade?
ORBELI: Yes, I was.
MR. COUNSELLOR RAGINSKY: Do you know about the destruction of monuments
of culture and art in Leningrad?
ORBELI: Yes.
MR. COUNSELLOR RAGINSKY: Can you tell the Tribunal the facts that are
known to you?
ORBELI: Besides general observations which I was able to make after the
cessation of hostilities around Leningrad, I was also an eyewitness of
the measures undertaken by the enemy for destruction of the Hermitage
Museum, and the buildings of the Hermitage and the Winter Palace, where
the exhibits from the Hermitage Museum were displayed. During many long
months these buildings were under systematic air bombardment and
artillery shelling. Two air bombs and about 30 artillery shells hit the
Hermitage. Shells caused considerable damage to the building, and air
bombs destroyed the drainage system and water conduit system of the
Hermitage.
While observing the destruction done to the Hermitage I could also see,
across the river, the buildings of the Academy of Science, namely: the
Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography, the Zoological Museum, and right
next to it the Naval Museum, in the building of the former Stock
Exchange. All these buildings were under especially heavy bombardment of
incendiary bombs. I saw the effect of these hits from a window in the
Winter Palace.
Artillery shells caused considerable damage to the Hermitage. I shall
mention the most important. One shell broke the portico of the main
building of the Hermitage, facing the Millionnaya Street and damaged the
piece of sculpture “Atlanta.”
The other shell went through the ceiling of one of the most sumptuous
halls in the Winter Palace and caused considerable damage there. The
former stable of the Winter Palace was hit by two shells. Among court
carriages of the 17th and 18th centuries that were there displayed, four
from the 18th century of high artistic value, and one 19th century gilt
carriage were shattered to pieces by one of these shells. Furthermore,
one shell went through the ceiling of the Numismatic Hall and of the
Hall of Columns in the main building of the Hermitage, and a balcony of
this hall was destroyed by it.
At the same time, a branch building of the Hermitage Museum on Solyanoy
Lane, namely the former Stieglitz Museum was hit by a bomb from the air
which caused very great damage to the building. The building was
absolutely unfit for use, and a large part of the exhibits in this
building suffered damage.
MR. COUNSELLOR RAGINSKY: Please tell me, Witness, do I understand you
correctly? You spoke about the destruction of the Hermitage and you
mentioned the Winter Palace. Is that only one building? Where was the
Hermitage located, the one you mentioned?
ORBELI: Before the October Revolution, the Hermitage occupied a special
building of its own facing Millionnaya Street, and the other side facing
the Palace Quay of the Neva. After the Revolution, the Little Hermitage,
the building of the Hermitage Theater, the building which separated the
Hermitage proper from the Winter Palace, and later even the entire
Winter Palace were incorporated into the Hermitage.
Therefore, at the present moment the series of buildings comprising the
Hermitage consist of the Winter Palace, the Little Hermitage, and Great
Hermitage, which was occupied by the museum prior to the Revolution, and
also the building of the Hermitage Theater, which was built during the
reign of Catherine II by the architect Quarenghi and which was hit by
the incendiary bomb which I mentioned.
MR. COUNSELLOR RAGINSKY: Besides the destruction of the Winter Palace
and the Hermitage, do you know any other facts about the destruction of
other cultural monuments?
ORBELI: I observed a series of monuments of Leningrad which suffered
damage from artillery shelling and bombing from the air. Among them
damage was caused to the Kazan Cathedral, which was built in 1814 by
Architect Voronikhin, Isaak’s Cathedral, whose pillars still bear the
traces of damage pitted in the granite.
Within the city limits considerable damage was done to the Rastrelli
Wing near the Smolny Cathedral, which was built by Rastrelli. The middle
part of the gallery was blown up. Furthermore, considerable damage by
artillery fire was done to the surface of the walls of the Fortress of
Peter and Paul, which cannot now be considered a military objective.
MR. COUNSELLOR RAGINSKY: Besides Leningrad proper do you know anything
about the destruction and devastation of the suburbs of Leningrad?
ORBELI: I had the chance to acquaint myself in detail with the condition
of the monuments of Peterhof, Tzarskoye Ssyelo, and Pavlovsk; in all
those three towns I saw traces of the monstrous damage to those
monuments. And all the damage which I saw, and which is very hard to
describe in full because it is too great, all of it showed traces of
premeditation.
To prove, for instance, that the shelling of the Winter Palace was
premeditated, I could mention that the 30 shells did not hit the
Hermitage all at once but during a longer period and that not more than
one shell hit it during each shooting.
In Peterhof, besides the damage caused to the Great Palace by fire which
completely destroyed this monument, I also saw gold sheetings torn from
the roofs of the Great Palace, the dome of Peterhof Cathedral, and the
building at the opposite end of this enormous palace. It was obvious
that the gold sheetings could not fly off because of the fire alone, but
were intentionally torn off.
In Monplaisir, the oldest building of Peterhof, built by Peter the
Great, the damage showed also signs of long and gradual ravages, and was
not a result of a catastrophe. The precious oak carvings covering the
walls were torn off. The ancient Dutch tile stoves, of the time of Peter
the Great, disappeared without trace, and temporary, roughly-built
stoves were put in their place. The Great Palace, built by Rastrelli in
Tsarskoye Ssyelo, shows indubitable traces of intentional destruction.
For example, the parquet floors in numerous halls were cut out and
carried away, while the building itself was destroyed by fire. In
Catherine’s Palace, an auxiliary munition plant was installed, and the
precious carved 18th century fireplace was used as a furnace and was
rendered absolutely worthless.
Paul’s Palace, which was also destroyed by fire, showed many a sign that
the valuable property that once could be found in its halls was carried
out before the Palace had been set on fire.
MR. COUNSELLOR RAGINSKY: Tell me, please, you said the Winter Palace as
well as the other cultural monuments that you mentioned were
intentionally destroyed. Upon what facts do you base that statement?
ORBELI: The fact that the shelling of the Hermitage by artillery fire
during the siege was premeditated was quite clear to me and to all my
colleagues because damage was caused not casually by artillery shelling
during one or two raids, but systematically, during the methodical
shelling of the city, which we witnessed for months. The first shells
did not hit the Hermitage or the Winter Palace—they passed near by;
they were finding the range and after this they would fire in the same
direction, with just a little deviation from the straight line. Not more
than one or two shells during one particular shelling would actually hit
the Palace. Of course, this could not be accidental in character.
MR. COUNSELLOR RAGINSKY: I have no more questions for the witness.
THE PRESIDENT: Do any of the other Prosecuting Counsel want to ask any
questions? Do any of the Defense Counsel want to ask any questions?
DR. HANS LATERNSER (Counsel for the General Staff and High Command of
the German Armed Forces): Witness, you have just said that through
artillery shelling and also through aerial bombs, the Hermitage, the
Winter Palace, and also the Peterhof Palace were destroyed. I would be
very much interested to know where these buildings are located; that is,
as seen from Leningrad.
ORBELI: The Winter Palace and the Hermitage, which stands right next to
it, are in the center of Leningrad on the banks of the Neva on the
Palace Quay, not far from the Palace Bridge, which during all the
shelling, was hit only once. On the other side, facing the Neva, next to
the Winter Palace and the Hermitage, there are the Palace Square and
Halturin Street. Did I answer your question?
DR. LATERNSER: I meant the question a little differently. In what part
of Leningrad were these buildings—in the south, the north, the
southwest, or southeast section? Will you inform me on that?
ORBELI: The Winter Palace and the Hermitage are right in the center of
Leningrad on the banks of the Neva, as I have already mentioned before.
DR. LATERNSER: And where is Peterhof?
ORBELI: Peterhof is on the shores of the Gulf of Finland, southwest of
the Hermitage, if you consider the Hermitage as the starting point.
DR. LATERNSER: Can you tell me whether near the Hermitage Palace and
Winter Palace there are any industries, particularly armament
industries?
ORBELI: So far as I know, in the vicinity of the Hermitage, there are no
military enterprises. If the question meant the building of the General
Staff, that is located on the other side of the Palace Square, and it
suffered much less from shelling than the Winter Palace. The General
Staff building, which is on the other side of Palace Square was, so far
as I know, hit only by two shells.
DR. LATERNSER: Do you know whether there were artillery batteries,
perhaps, near the buildings which you mentioned?
ORBELI: On the whole square around the Winter Palace and the Hermitage
there was not a single artillery battery, because from the very
beginning steps were taken to prevent any unnecessary vibration near the
buildings where such precious museum pieces were.
DR. LATERNSER: Did the factories, the armament factories, continue
production during the siege?
ORBELI: I do not understand the question. What factories are you talking
about—the factories of Leningrad in general?
DR. LATERNSER: The Leningrad armament factories. Did they continue
production during the siege?
ORBELI: On the grounds of the Hermitage, the Winter Palace, and in the
immediate neighborhood, no military enterprise worked. They were never
there and during the blockade no factories were built there. But I know
that in Leningrad munitions were being made, and were successfully used.
DR. LATERNSER: I have no further questions.
DR. SERVATIUS: Witness, the Winter Palace is on the Neva River. How far
from the Winter Palace is the nearest bridge across the Neva River?
ORBELI: The nearest bridge, the Palace Bridge, is 50 meters from the
Palace, at a distance of the breadth of the quay, but, as I have already
said, only one shell hit the bridge during the shellings; that is why I
am sure that the Winter Palace was deliberately shelled. I cannot admit
that while shelling the bridge, only one shell hit the bridge and 30 hit
the near-by building. The other bridge, the Stock Exchange Bridge,
connecting Vasilievsky Island with the Petrograd side, is on the
opposite bank of the Great Neva. Only a few incendiary bombs were
dropped from planes on this bridge. The fires which broke out on the
Stock Exchange Bridge were extinguished.
DR. SERVATIUS: Witness, those are conclusions that you are drawing. Have
you any knowledge whatever of artillery from which you can judge whether
the target was the palace or the bridge beside it?
ORBELI: I never was an artillery man, but I suppose that if German
artillery was aiming only at the bridge then it could not possibly hit
the bridge only once and hit the palace, which is across the way, with
30 shells. Within these limits—I am an artillery man.
DR. SERVATIUS: That is your conviction as a non-artillery man. I have
another question. The Neva River was used by the fleet. How far from the
Winter Palace were the ships of the Red Fleet?
ORBELI: In that part of the Neva River there were no battleships which
were firing or were used for such kind of service. The Neva ships were
anchored in another part of the river, far from the Winter Palace.
DR. SERVATIUS: One last question. Were you in Leningrad during the
entire period of the siege?
ORBELI: I was in Leningrad from the first day of the war until 31 March
1942. Then I returned to Leningrad when the German troops were driven
out of the suburbs of Leningrad and had a chance to inspect Peterhof,
Tsarskoye Ssyelo, and Pavlovsk.
DR. SERVATIUS: Thank you. I have no more questions.
THE PRESIDENT: General, do you want to ask the witness any questions in
re-examination?
MR. COUNSELLOR RAGINSKY: We have no further questions.
THE PRESIDENT: The witness can retire.
[_The witness left the stand._]
STATE COUNSELLOR OF JUSTICE OF THE 3RD CLASS MAJOR GENERAL N. D. ZORYA
(Assistant Prosecutor for the U.S.S.R.): May it please Your Honors, I
want to begin to submit documentary evidence on the part of the Soviet
Prosecution with regard to the employment of compulsory slave labor
practiced by the Hitlerite conspirators on an enormous scale.
Fascism, with its plans for world domination, with its denial of law,
ethics, mercy, and humane considerations, foresaw the enslavement of the
peaceful population of the temporarily occupied territories, the
deportation of millions of people to fascist Germany, and the compulsory
utilization of their labor power. Fascism and slavery—these two
concepts are inseparable.
I shall begin, Your Honors, the presentation of documents relating to
this count with the report of the Yugoslav Republic, which has already
been submitted to the Tribunal as Exhibit Number USSR-36 (Document
Number USSR-36). I shall ask you to look at Page 40 of the report, which
is on Page 41 of the document book at the disposal of the Tribunal. I
read into the record extracts from the report of the Yugoslav Republic,
which is entitled, “Forced Labor of Civilians.” I quote:
“The Nazi policy of the wholesale exploitation of the occupied
territories has also been applied in Yugoslavia.
“Immediately after the occupation of Yugoslavia the Reich
Government and the OKW introduced obligatory labor service for
the population of the occupied territory. The exploitation of
manpower in Yugoslavia has been carried out within the framework
of the general German plan. The Defendant Göring, as the leader
of the German economic plan, issued directives to his
subordinates concerning the systematic exploitation of manpower
of the occupied territories.
“In a report from Berlin, written by one of the head
functionaries of the economic service of the German Kommandantur
in Belgrade, named Ranze, instructions by Göring are
communicated, according to which the economic measures in the
occupied territories do not aim at the protection of the local
population, but at the exploitation of manpower of the occupied
countries for the benefit of the German war economy.
“Immediately after the occupation of Yugoslavia, the Germans
established offices for enlisting workers for ‘voluntary’ labor
in Germany. They also used the organizations which already
existed in Yugoslavia for arranging employment of workers, and
began to carry out their plans through these organizations.
Thus, for example, in Serbia they used the central office for
arranging employment of workers as well as the labor exchange.
Through these organizations, until the end of February 1943, and
from Serbia alone the Germans sent 47,500 workers to Germany.
Later on this number considerably increased but the relative
data in this respect have not yet been fully established. These
workers were employed in agriculture and various industries in
Germany, mostly in the heaviest work.”
In the report of the Yugoslav Republic it is stated that the Gestapo and
a special commission used pressure and force. This went so far that
these “volunteer” workers were hunted in the streets, collected in
units, and herded into Germany by force.
“Apart from these so-called ‘volunteer’ workers, the Germans
sent into forced labor in Germany a large number of prisoners
from various camps, as well as politically ‘suspicious’ persons,
who had to perform the heaviest kinds of work under disgusting
living and working conditions. As early as 1942 many innocent
victims of the Banyitza, Saimishte, and other camps, were sent
into Germany.
“The first transport of them left on 24 April 1942, and these
transports continued without interruption until 26 September
1944. Old and young, men and women, farmers, workers,
intellectuals, and others were taken not only to Germany, but to
other countries under German occupation as well.
“According to the registers of Banyitza Camp, which are far from
giving an exact picture, over 10,000 prisoners were sent for
forced labor from this camp alone.
“The German authorities in Serbia issued a series of orders,
aiming at maximum exploitation of manpower. Among the first
measures two decrees were passed: The Decree for General Labor
Service and Restriction of the Freedom of Labor, of 14 December
1941, and the Decree for the National Labor Service for the
Reconstruction of Serbia, of 5 November 1941. According to the
first decree all persons between 17 and 45 years of age could be
called up for compulsory labor in certain enterprises and
branches of economy. According to the second order, such persons
could be called up for civilian service in the National
Reconstruction, which in fact meant that they had to work for
the strengthening of the German economic and war effort.
“The persons eligible for labor in accordance with these two
laws, although remaining in the country, worked in fact for the
aims and benefit of the Germans’ economic exploitation. They
were primarily used for work in the mines (Bor, Kostolac, _et
cetera_), for road building and railway line repairs, in the
water transport, and so on.
“On 26 March 1943 the German Commander of Serbia, Befehlshaber
Serbien, in a special order introduced the so-called war economy
measures of the Reich in the occupied territory of Serbia, and
by this act imposed the general mobilization of manpower in
Serbia. . . .
“By this decree, therefore, the entire population of occupied
Serbia was mobilized for the German war economy. The Germans
exploited Serbian manpower, in fact, to the greatest possible
extent. . . .
“The situation was in no way different in the other occupied
areas of Yugoslavia. Without entering into numerous details of
this planned exploitation, we shall quote here only one example
from occupied Slovenia.
“According to an official announcement of the German Farmers’
Union in Carinthia (Landesbauernschaft Kärnten) of 10 August
1944, issued in Klagenfurt, every case of pregnancy of
non-German women was to be reported, and in all such cases these
women were to be obliged to have their child ‘removed by
operation in a hospital.’ The announcement itself explains that
in cases when non-German women give birth to their children this
‘creates difficulties for their use in work,’ and besides, it is
also ‘a danger for the population policy.’ Furthermore, this
announcement states that the Office of Labor Service should try
to influence these women to commit an abortion.
“As another proof of the exploitation of manpower, we quote the
circular instructions of the German Landrat for the Marburg
(Maribor) district, of 12 August 1944. This circular deals with
the question of enlisting everybody eligible according to that
decree into the armed forces and into the labor service, and it
calls upon all the inhabitants of Lower Styria, and not only
upon the indigenous population, but also upon the Dutchmen,
Danes, Swedes, Luxembourgers, Norwegians, and Belgians who may
find themselves living there.”
I shall pass on now to the Report of the Polish Government which was
presented to the Tribunal by the Soviet Prosecution as Exhibit Number
USSR-93 (Document Number USSR-93). First we should note the special role
of the Defendant Frank in organizing deportations of the Polish
population for compulsory labor to Germany. I shall read into the record
several excerpts from a document known under the title “Frank’s Diary,”
which is at the disposal of the Tribunal as Exhibit Number USSR-223
(Document Number USSR-223).
Frank described his attitude toward the Poles at the meeting of the
section chiefs which took place in Kraków, 12 April 1940, as follows—I
shall quote an excerpt on Page 62 of the document book, to be exact, on
the reverse side of the page. I quote:
“Under pressure from the Reich, it had now been decreed that,
since sufficient labor did not present itself voluntarily for
service in the German Reich, compulsion could be used. This
compulsion meant the possibility of arresting male and female
Poles. A certain amount of unrest had been caused by this,
which, according to some reports, had spread very widely and
which could lead to difficulties in all spheres. Field Marshal
Göring had once pointed out, in his big speech, the necessity
for sending a million workers to the Reich. One hundred and
sixty thousand had been delivered to date. . . . To arrest young
Poles as they left church or the cinema would lead to
ever-increasing nervousness among the Poles. Fundamentally Frank
had no objections to removing people capable of work who were
lounging about in the streets. But the best way would be to
organize a round-up, and one was absolutely justified in
stopping a Pole in the street and asking him what work he did,
where he was employed, _et cetera_.”
During his conversation with Defendant Sauckel, 18 August 1942, the
Defendant Frank stated—I quote the part which is on Page 67 of the
document book:
“I am pleased to be able . . . to inform you officially that we
have now supplied more than 800,000 workers for the Reich. . . .
“You recently requested the supply of a further 140,000 workers.
I am pleased to be able to inform you that, in accordance with
our agreement of yesterday’s date, we shall deliver 60 percent
of these newly requested workers to the Reich by the end of
October and the remaining 40 percent by the end of the
year. . . .
“Over and above the present figure of 140,000, you can, however,
count on a further number of workers from the Government General
next year, as we are going to use the police to recruit them.”
Frank fulfilled his promise given to the Defendant Sauckel.
At the conference of the political leaders of the Labor Front in the
Government General, 14 December 1942, Frank stated in his address—this
is on the same page of the document book:
“You know that we have delivered more than 940,000 Polish
workers to the Reich. The Government General thereby stands
absolutely and relatively at the head of all European countries.
This achievement is enormous and has also been recognized as
such by Gauleiter Sauckel.”
Will you kindly permit me to quote that section of the report of the
Government of the Polish Republic which is entitled, “Deportation of the
Civilian Population for Forced Labor.” This document is on Page 72 and
73 of the document book:
“a) As early as on 2 October 1939 a decree was issued by Frank
concerning the introduction of forced labor for the Polish
civilian population within the Government General. By virtue of
the said decree Polish civilians were under the obligation to
work in agricultural establishments, on the maintenance of
public buildings, road construction, regulation of rivers,
highways, and railways.
“b) A further decree of 12 December 1939 extended the groups of
those liable to forced labor to children from the age of 14
years. And a decree of 13 May 1942 gave the authorities the
right to use forced labor even outside the Government General.
“c) The practice which developed on the basis of those decrees
turned into mass deportation of civilians from Poland to
Germany.
“Throughout the Government General, in towns and villages,
posters were continually inviting Poles to go ‘voluntarily’ to
work in Germany. At the same time however every town and village
was told how many workers it was to supply.
“The result of the ‘voluntary’ recruitment was usually very
disappointing. As a result of that the German authorities
invited the people to go or arranged round-ups in the streets,
restaurants, and other places, and those caught were sent
straight to Germany. There was a particular hunt for young
workers of both sexes. The families of those deported received
no news from them for months and only after some time postcards
arrived describing the poor conditions in which they were forced
to live. Often, after several months, the workers used to return
home in a state of spiritual depression and complete physical
exhaustion.
“There is substantial evidence that while on that forced labor
thousands of men were sterilized, while young girls were forced
into public houses.
“d) These laborers were either sent to live with German farmers
to work on their land, to work in factories, or to special work
in forced labor camps. The conditions in those camps were
terrible.
“e) According to provisional estimates, in 1940 alone 100,000
women and men were sent to Germany as laborers.
“f) To this great army of slave workers thousands of Poles
deported from the incorporated territories have to be added and
also 200,000 Polish prisoners of war who, by a decree issued by
Hitler in August 1940, were ‘released’ from camps, but only to
be sent to forced labor into various parts of Germany.
“g) These deportations continued throughout the years of war.
The total number of those workers reached at a certain point a
figure of 2 million.
“Exact figures are obviously not available. But if one considers
that in spite of the very high death rate among those people,
there are now about 835,000 Polish citizens registered in
western Germany, the estimate appears correct.
“The whole chapter concerning the deportations to forced labor
is presented here in a very condensed form. Behind these few
lines lies the history of hundreds of thousands of Polish
families destroyed, tragedy, death, and sorrow. The history of
each of these laborers was a continuous tragedy: fathers leaving
their families without means; husbands their wives with no
possibility of maintaining them, with no protection and little
hope of return. The quoted number of 2 million conceals an ocean
of broken lives, involving, at the least, 10 percent of the
total population of Poland.
“This was a terrible crime. Deportation and forced labor were a
flagrant violation of the laws and customs of war.”
The Greek Report on German atrocities, submitted to the Tribunal as
Exhibit Number USSR-369 (Document Number USSR-369) states the
following—I beg you to refer to Page 74 of the document book:
“As in all the other occupied territories, the Germans pursued
two main objectives in their occupational policy in Greece: the
maximum exploitation of the country’s resources in the interests
of the German military economy, and the enslavement of the
population by means of systematic terror and general repression.
The Germans pursued their two-sided policy of plunder and
revenge, violating commonly accepted laws.”
The section of the report of the Greek Government entitled “Recruitment
of Manpower” contains two paragraphs which I intend to read into the
record:
“One of the problems confronting the German administration was
that of recruiting labor. All males between 16 and 50 years of
age were liable to labor conscription. Strikes were declared
illegal, and severe penalties enforced for resort thereto.
Persons who organized and directed a strike were liable to the
death penalty. Strikers were tried by military courts.
“At first the Germans, by propaganda and various forms of
indirect pressure, tried to recruit Greek labor to work within
Germany. They promised high wages and better conditions of life.
As this kind of ‘voluntary’ recruitment failed to produce the
expected results they abandoned it and confronted the workers
with the dilemma either of being taken as hostages or else of
being sent to Germany to work.”
Similar measures of deportation of manpower to Germany were applied by
the fascists also in Czechoslovakia.
But the deportation by the fascist criminals of the peaceful populations
into slave labor reached its climax in the temporarily occupied
territories of the Soviet Union. I would like now to dwell briefly on
the preparatory measures taken by the Hitlerite criminals for the
utilization of forced labor in the temporarily occupied territories of
the Soviet Union.
Even before their attack on the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, in
a document which is known to the Tribunal as the “Green File” of the
Defendant Göring, Exhibit Number USSR-10 (Document Number EC-472), a
whole chapter was dedicated to the problem of organizing compulsory
labor in the Soviet territories which the war criminals intended to
occupy; the chapter was called “Allocation of Labor and Recruitment of
Indigenous Population.”
This chapter—Pages 17 and 18 of the Russian text of the Green File,
which is on Page 83 of the document book—lays down the Principle of
compulsory labor for the peaceful Soviet population.
Paragraphs 3 and 2 of Subsection A in the second part of that chapter
entitled, “Recruitment of the Local Population,” point out that:
“The workers in public utilities—gas, water, electricity, oil
drilling, oil distilling, and oil storage, as well as emergency
work in important industries . . . will be ordered to continue
their work under threat of punishment, if necessary.”
And several lines above that:
“In case of necessity, the workers will be organized into labor
gangs.”
The nonpayment of wages for the compulsory labor of Soviet citizens had
already been provided for in this so-called Göring’s Green File. It was
presupposed that the problem of payment was reduced to the question of
providing the workers with food. The fascist slave owners were only
interested in maintaining the working potential of the people and
nothing more—Page 18 of the Russian text of the Green File. This is the
back of Page 83 of the document book. . .
THE PRESIDENT: This document has already been read into the record.
GEN. ZORYA: I think that this particular part of the document has not
been read into the record. This is a document of the Soviet Prosecution,
which was published completely for the first time in the note of the
People’s Commissar for Foreign Affairs, V. M. Molotov, in May 1942.
THE PRESIDENT: If you say that it has not yet been read into the record,
please go on.
GEN. ZORYA: On Page 18 of the Russian text of the Defendant Göring’s
Green File it is mentioned at least three times that food was to be the
only payment. I do not wish to take more time of the Tribunal with this
document, but will proceed with my presentation.
Defendant Göring, who signed this directive for the plunder of the
Soviet Union—for how else could we refer to the above-mentioned
document—continued to organize forced labor in the temporarily occupied
territories of the Soviet Union.
As evidence I present to the Tribunal Exhibit Number USSR-386 (Document
Number USSR-386), a document which discloses this phase of the Defendant
Göring’s activity. This document, or to be precise, these two documents
are the record of the conference of 7 November 1941, on “Allocation of
Russians,” in which Göring participated, and a covering letter to this
record.
One hundred copies of the document were originally prepared and mailed
to the 14 addresses which are listed, as Your Honors may see, on Page 5
of the Russian text of the document, at the end of the covering letter.
The covering letter attached to the record bears the signature of the
Chief, Military Administration, Economic Staff East, Dr. Rachner. The
minutes of the conference in question have been written by one Von
Normann who was evidently an official of the same organization.
I think it will promote clarification if I read into the record certain
parts of these minutes. I quote Page 6 of the Russian text of the
document which corresponds to Pages 95 and 96 of the document book:
“Conference of 7 November 1941 on the allocation of Russian
manpower. The Reich Marshal gave the following directives for
the utilization of Russian manpower:
“I. Russian labor has demonstrated its capacity for production
in building up the gigantic industry of Russia. It must now be
successfully allocated in the Reich. In the face of such an
order of the Führer, objections are of secondary importance. The
disadvantages that may result from the employment of Russian
labor must be reduced to a minimum, and this is primarily the
concern of the counterintelligence service (Abwehr) and the
Security Police (Sicherheitspolizei).
“II. Russians in the operational zone. The Russians are to be
used primarily in the construction of roads and railroads, for
clearing work, clearing out mine fields, and in the construction
of air fields. The German construction battalions are largely to
be dissolved (for example in the Air Force). German skilled
workmen belong in war industry. Digging and stone breaking is
not their work. The Russian is there for that.
“III. Russians in the territories of the Reich commissioners and
of the Government General. Here the same principle applies as in
the second paragraph. In addition, increased use in agriculture;
if machines are lacking, manpower must produce what the Reich
will have to demand in the agrarian sector from the Eastern
territories. Further local manpower should be made available for
the ruthless exploitation of the Russian coal deposits.
“IV. Russians in the territory of the Reich, including the
Protectorate. The number to be employed is to be determined by
the need. Need is to be decided from the standpoint that foreign
workers who eat much and produce little are to be sent away from
the Reich and that in the future the German woman is not to be
used as extensively in the field of labor as hitherto. Along
with Russian prisoners of war, free Russian manpower is also to
be utilized.”
I shall now omit one page of this document and refer to Page 7. In the
middle of the page there is Section B, entitled “The Free Russian
Worker.”
My colleague, Colonel Pokrovsky, already mentioned the fact that the
Hitlerites considered the civilian population as prisoners of war. This
gave them the opportunity to increase for propaganda purposes the number
of the allegedly captured Red Army soldiers in their reports on military
operations, on the one hand, and to draw on them for manpower, on the
other hand.
The section to which I just referred begins as follows, “Employment and
treatment is not actually to be other than that given to Russian
prisoners of war.” It should here be noted that the minutes of the
conference end with the following statement by Göring—you will find
this excerpt on Page 98 of the document book:
“Enlistment of workers and the utilization of prisoners of war
are to be carried on in a uniform manner, and they must be
organizationally combined.”
Coming back to Page 7 of the same minutes we come across the following
eloquent statement by Göring on the subject of labor conditions for
Russian workers and particularly their wages. . .
THE PRESIDENT: We will adjourn now.
[_A recess was taken._]
THE PRESIDENT: General Zorya, can you tell the Tribunal whether you
think you will be able to finish the presentation of your documents this
afternoon?
GEN. ZORYA: My intention is to finish my presentation today.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much.
GEN. ZORYA: I would like to read into the record statements by Göring
which concern the labor conditions of Russian workers and particularly
their wages, from the document I have just presented:
“In connection with the labor conditions of the free Russians it
is to be kept in mind that:
“1. He may receive a little pocket money. . . .
“3. Since his labor is available to the employer cheaply,
financial compensation from the employer is to be given
attention.”
To clarify the above statement the Defendant Göring makes further the
following suggestion—I quote on Page 8 of the Russian text of the
document, Paragraph B, Subparagraph 6:
“The allocation of Russians must under no circumstance be
allowed to prejudice the wage problem in the eastern
territories. Every financial measure in this sphere must proceed
from the standpoint that lowest wages in the East—according to
a specific Führer decree—are a prerequisite for the equal
distribution to balance war costs and the clearing of war debts
by the Reich at the end of the war.
“Infractions are subject to the severest penalties.”
This is followed by two lines which are of interest, not only because
they incriminate the Defendant Göring for introducing the system of
forced labor. Having expressed himself so categorically against the
“prejudice of the wage problem in the eastern territories,” Göring
stated at the same conference as follows—Page 98 of the document book,
“The same applied in substance to every encouragement of ‘social
aspirations’ in the Russian colonial territory.”
The covering letter appended to the minutes of the meeting consists of
comments which really do not add anything new to the facts already
presented to the Tribunal. Therefore I shall not quote this letter.
The next document which I consider necessary to submit to the Tribunal
and which I beg you to accept as evidence under Exhibit Number USSR-379
(Document Number UK-82) is a decree issued by the Defendant Göring on 10
January 1942. I will quote only the first 18 lines of this decree, which
are on Page 100 of the document book:
“In the coming months the employment of manpower will acquire
still greater importance. On the one hand, the recruiting
situation of the Armed Forces necessitates the release of all
members of the younger age groups for this task. On the other
hand, urgent armament production and other phases of the war
economy, and also of agriculture, must be provided with the
manpower urgently needed by them. For this, the utilization of
prisoners of war, especially from Soviet Russia, plays an
important role.
“The measures that will be necessary in this field in the future
promise success only under unified leadership, and I shall use
every means to attain it.
“For that reason I have now granted my manpower
commission—which had already been dealing with all the manpower
questions of the Four Year Plan—the unlimited power to direct
. . . the entire manpower program.”
Later on, Your Honors, the criminal activity of the fascist conspirators
in organizing and extending the system of forced labor acquired such
magnitude that on 21 March 1942 Hitler issued a decree creating a
special department under the Defendant Sauckel, who developed these
activities on a large scale. I shall not dwell any longer on these
historical facts as they have already been covered by our American,
English, and French colleagues.
The vital bond between fascism and the system of forced labor is
especially apparent when we consider the part played in this field not
only by the fascist government machine but by the fascist Party itself.
I should like to submit to the Tribunal a few documents which illustrate
this fact.
I present to the Tribunal as Exhibit Number USSR-365 (Document Number
USSR-365) a printed edition entitled, “Report of the Delegate of the
Four Year Plan—Plenipotentiary for the Allocation of Labor.” This
document is on Page 101 of the document book. The copy of the report,
which I present, has the order Number 1 and it is dated 1 May 1942. The
first page of the report contains Hitler’s decree of 21 March 1942,
appointing Sauckel to this post. On the second page there is an order of
the Defendant Göring dated 27 March of the same year, explaining the
duties of the Plenipotentiary for Allocation of Labor within the
framework of the Four Year Plan organizational structure. And on the
third page of this report there is a program prepared by Sauckel for the
“Führer’s birthday” in 1942.
Your Honors, the above-mentioned documents have already been submitted
to the Tribunal by the Prosecution of the United States. But I wish to
draw your attention to Page 17 of the Russian translation of this
document, where you will find an order of the Defendant Sauckel, dated 6
April 1942: Order Number 1. This order is presented for the first time
and is entitled, “Concerning Appointment of Gauleiter as Commissioners
for the Allocation of Labor in the Gaue. This order begins as follows—I
quote Page 118 of the document book:
“I hereby appoint the Gauleiter of the NSDAP my commissioners
for allocation of labor in the Gaue administered by them.
“A. Their tasks are:
“1) The achievement of smooth co-operation between all offices
set up by the State, the Party, the Wehrmacht, and the economic
authorities to deal with questions of manpower; and by means of
this, the regulation of different interpretations and claims in
such a way as to utilize manpower to the best possible effect.”