Chapter XV

).

During the period from March 1933 until the beginning of 1937, the Reichstag enacted only four laws: The Reconstruction Law of 30 January 1934 and the three Nurnberg laws of 15 September 1935. The Reichstag was retained chiefly as a sounding board for Hitler’s speeches. All other legislation was enacted by the Cabinet, by the Cabinet ministers, or by decree of the Fuehrer (_2481-PS_). Hess has admitted the lack of importance of the Reichstag in the legislative process after 1933. (_2426-PS_)

Hitler indicated in a 1939 decree that the Reichstag would be permitted to enact only such laws as he, in his own judgment, might deem appropriate for Reichstag legislation. (_2018-PS_)

Immediately after the Nazis acquired the control of the central government they proceeded systematically to eliminate their opponents. First they forced all other political parties to dissolve, and on 14 July 1933 issued a decree making illegal the existence of any political party except the Nazi Party. (_1388-PS_)

In early 1935 there were 661 delegates in the Reichstag. Of this number 641 were officially registered as Nazi party members and the remaining 20 were classified as “guests” (_Gaeste_). (_2384-PS_; _2380-PS_)

B. _The Nazi conspirators curtailed the freedom of popular elections throughout Germany._ Under the Weimar Republic there existed constitutional and legislative guarantees of free popular elections. The Weimar Constitution guaranteed the universal, equal and secret ballot and proportional representation. (_2050-PS_) These general principles were implemented by the provisions of the Reich Election Law of 1924,

## particularly with respect to the multiple party system and the

functioning of proportional representation. (_2382-PS_)

In _Mein Kampf_ Hitler stated the conspirators’ purpose to subvert the system of popular election:

“Majority can never replace men. * * * The political understanding of the masses is not sufficiently developed to produce independently specific political convictions and to select persons to represent them.” (_2883-PS_)

The occasional national elections after 1933 were formalities devoid of freedom of choice. Bona fide elections could not take place under the Nazi system. The basic ideological doctrine of the _Fuehrerprinzip_ (Leadership Principle) dictated that all subordinates must be appointed by their superiors in the governmental hierarchy. In order to insure the practical application of this principle the Nazis immediately liquidated all other political parties and provided criminal sanctions against the formation of new parties. (For further discussion see Section 2 on the Acquisition of Totalitarian Political Control.)

Although the Reichstag, unlike all other elective assemblies in Germany, was allowed to continue in existence, elections no longer involved a free choice between lists or candidates. At these elections there were usually large bands of uniformed Nazis surrounding the polls and intimidating the voters. (_2955-PS_)

The surreptitious marking of ballots (e.g. with skimmed milk) was also customary, to ascertain the identity of the persons who cast “No” or invalid votes. (_R-142_)

Although it had already become practically impossible to have more than one list of candidates, it was specifically provided by law in 1938 that only one list was to be submitted to the electorate. (_2355-PS_)

By the end of this period, little of substance remained in the election law. In an official volume published during the war there are reprinted the still effective provisions of the law of 1924. The majority of the substantive provisions have been marked “obsolete” (_gegenstandslos_) (_2381-PS_).

The comprehensive Nazi program for the centralization of German government included in its scope the whole system of regional and local elections, which soon ceased to exist. Article 17 of the Weimar Constitution had required a representative form of government and universal, secret elections in all Laender and municipalities (_2050-PS_). Yet in early 1934, the sovereign powers (_Hoheitsrechte_) of the Laender were transferred by law to the Reich and the Land governments were placed under the Reich control:

“The popular assemblies (_Volksvertretungen_) of the Laender shall be abolished.” (_2006-PS_)

Pursuant to the German Communal Ordinance of 30 January 1935, the mayors and executive officers of all municipalities received their appointments “through the confidence of Party and State” (Article 6 (2)). Appointments were made by Reich authorities from lists prepared by the Party delegates (Article 41). City councillors were selected by the Party delegates in agreement with the mayors (Article 51 (1)). (_2008-PS_)

C. _The Nazi conspirators transformed the states, provinces, and municipalities into what were, in effect, mere administrative organs of the central government._ Under the Weimar Constitution of the pre-Nazi regime, the states, provinces, and municipalities enjoyed considerable autonomy in the exercise of governmental functions—legislative, executive and judicial. (_2050-PS_)

Hitler, in _Mein Kampf_, stated the conspirators’ purpose to establish totalitarian control of local government:

“National Socialism, as a matter of principle, must claim the right to enforce its doctrines, without regard to present federal boundaries, upon the entire German nation and to educate it in its ideas and its thinking. * * * The National Socialist doctrine is not the servant of political interests of individual federal states but shall become the ruler of the German nation.” (_2883-PS_)

These views were echoed by Rosenberg:

“In the midst of the great power constellations of the globe there must be, for foreign as well as for internal political reasons, only one strong central national authority, if one wants Germany to regain a position which makes it fit for alliance with other countries.” (_2882-PS_)

By a series of laws and decrees, the Nazi conspirators reduced the powers of the regional and local governments and substantially transformed them into territorial subdivisions of the Reich government. The program of centralization began almost immediately after the Nazis acquired the chief executive posts of the government. On 31 March 1933, they promulgated the Provisional Law integrating the Laender with the Reich (_2004-PS_). This law called for the dissolution of all state and local self governing bodies and for their reconstitution according to the number of votes cast for each party in the Reichstag election of 5 March 1933. The Communists and their affiliates were expressly denied representation.

A week later there followed the Second Law Integrating the Laender with the Reich (_2005-PS_). This Act established the position of Reich Governor. He was to be appointed by the President upon the proposal of the Chancellor, and was given power to appoint the members of the Land governments and the higher Land officials and judges, the authority to reconstruct the Land legislature according to the law of 31 March 1933 (_2004-PS_, _supra_), and the power of pardon.

On 31 January 1934, most of the remaining vestiges of Land independence were destroyed by the Law for the Reconstruction of the Reich:

“The popular referendum and the Reichstag election of November 12, 1933, have proved that the German people have attained an indestructible internal unity (_unloesliche innere Einheit_) superior to all internal subdivisions of political character. Consequently, the Reichstag has enacted the following law which is hereby promulgated with the unanimous vote of the Reichstag after ascertaining that the requirements of the Reich Constitution have been met:

Article I. Popular assemblies of the Laender shall be abolished.

Article II. (1) The sovereign powers (_Hoheitsrechte_) of the Laender are transferred to the Reich.

(2) The Laender governments are placed under the Reich government.

Article III. The Reich governors are placed under the administrative supervision of the Reich Minister of Interior.

Article IV. The Reich Government may issue new constitutional laws.”

This law was implemented by a regulation, issued by Frick, providing that all Land laws must have the assent of the competent Minister of the Reich, that the highest echelons of the Land Government were to obey the orders of the competent Reich Minister, and that the employees of the Laender might be transferred into the Reich Civil Service. (_1653-PS_)

The _Reichsrat_ (Reich Council) was abolished by law on 14 February 1934, and all official representation on the part of the Laender in the administration of the central government was at an end (_2647-PS_). The legislative pattern was complete with the enactment of the Reich Governor Law on 30 January 1935, which solidified the system of centralized control. The Reich Governor was declared to be the official representative of the Reich government, who was to receive orders directly from Hitler (_Reichstatthaltergesetz_ (Reich Governor Law), 30 January 1935, 1935 _Reichsgesetzblatt_, Part I, p. 65). The same development was apparent in the provinces, the territorial subdivisions of Prussia. All local powers were concentrated in the Provincial Presidents, who acted solely as representatives of the national administration (_2049-PS_). Similarly, in the case of the municipalities local self-government was quickly reduced to a minimum and communal affairs were placed under central Reich control. The Nazi Party Delegate was given special functions:

“* * * in order to insure harmony between the communal administration and the Party.” (Art. 6 (2)).

The Reich was given supervision over the municipalities:

“* * * in order to insure that their activities conform with the laws and the aims of national leadership.” (_2008-PS_)

The Nazi conspirators frequently boasted of their comprehensive program of government centralization. Frick, Minister of the Interior throughout this period, wrote:

“The reconstruction law abolished the sovereign rights and the executive powers of the Laender and made the Reich the sole bearer of the rights of sovereignty. The supreme powers of the Laender do not exist any longer. The natural result of this was the subordination of the Land governments to the Reich government and the Land Ministers to the corresponding Reich Ministers. On 30 January 1934, the German Reich became one state. (_2481-PS_)

In another article Frick indicated even more clearly the purposes which underlay this program of centralization:

“In the National Socialist revolution of 1933, it was stipulated for the first time in the history of the German nation that the erection of a unified state (_Einheitsstaat_) would be accomplished. From the early days of his political activity, Adolf Hitler never left a doubt in the mind of anyone that he considered it the first duty of National Socialism to create a German Reich in which the will of the people would be led in a single direction and that the whole strength of the nation, _at home and abroad_, would be placed on the balance scale.” (_2380-PS_; _2378-PS_.)

D. _The Nazi conspirators united the offices of President and Chancellor in the person of Hitler._ The merger of the two offices was accomplished by the law of 1 August 1934, signed by the entire cabinet (_2003-PS_). The official Nazi statement concerning the effect of this statute contains this observation:

“Through this law, the conduct of Party and State has been combined in one hand. * * * He is responsible only to his own conscience and to the German nation.” (_1893-PS_)

One of the significant consequences of this law was to give to Hitler the supreme command of the German armed forces, always a prerequisite of the Presidency (_2050-PS_). Accordingly, every soldier was immediately required to take an oath of loyalty and obedience to Hitler. (_2061-PS_)

E. _The Nazi conspirators removed great numbers of civil servants on racial and political grounds and replaced them with party members and supporters._

Hitler publicly announced the conspirators’ purpose:

“We know that two things alone will save us: the end of internal corruption and the cleaning out of all those who owe their existence simply to the protection of members of the same political parties. Through the most brutal ruthlessness towards all officials installed by those political parties we must restore our finances. * * * The body of German officials must once more become what it was.” (_2881-PS_)

The Nazi legislative machine turned to the task of purging the civil service soon after the accession to power. On 7 April 1933, the Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service was promulgated (_1397-PS_). Article 3 of this law applies the Nazi blood theories:

“(1) Officials who are not of Aryan descent are to be retired (See Section 8); where honorary officials are concerned, they are to be discharged from office.

(2) (1) Does not apply to officials who have been in service since August 1, 1914, or who fought in the World War at the front for the German Reich or for its allies or whose fathers or sons were killed in the World War. The Reich Minister of the Interior after consultation with the competent Minister or with the highest state authorities may permit further exceptions in the case of officials who are in foreign countries.”

Article 8 provides that retirement does not carry a pension unless the official has served at least ten years. The political purge provision of this law is contained in Article 4:

“Officials who because of their previous political activity do not offer security that they will exert themselves for the national state without reservations, may be discharged. For three months after dismissal, they will be paid their former salary. From this time on they receive three-quarters of their pensions (see 8) and corresponding annuities for their heirs.”

The provisions of the Act apply to all Reich, Land, and Communal officials (Art. 1 (2)). Civil Servants may be placed on the retired list without any reason, “for the purpose of simplifying the administration” (Art. 6). Discharges and transfers, once decided on by the appropriate administrative chief, are final and are not subject to appeal (Art. 7 (1)).

This basic enactment was followed by a series of decrees, regulations, and amendments. For example, on 11 April 1933, the term “non-Aryan” was defined to include persons with only one non-Aryan grandparent (_2012-PS_). An amendatory law of 30 June ruled out all civil servants married to non-Aryans. (_1400-PS_)

The political standards of the “Purge Law” were made more explicit by the supplementary law of 20 July 1933. Officials who belonged to any party or organization which, in the opinion of the Nazis, furthered the aims of Communism, Marxism, or Social Democracy were summarily to be discharged (_1398-PS_). In the later years, these earlier provisions were enlarged and codified, no longer solely for the purposes of affecting the existing civil service, but rather to set out the qualifications for the appointment of new applicants and for their promotion. Proof of devotion to National Socialism and documentary proof of acceptable “blood” were prescribed as conditions to promotion. (_2326-PS_)

The comprehensive German Civil Service Law of 26 January 1937 included the discriminatory provisions of the earlier legislation, and prevented the appointment of any applicants opposed or suspected of being opposed to the Nazi program and policy (_2340-PS_). The legislation dealing with the training and education of civil servants provided that no person can be accepted for an official position unless he is a member of the Nazi Party or one of its formations (_Gliederungen_). (_2341-PS_)

The total subjugation of the German civil servant was ultimately accomplished by the following resolution passed by the Reichstag at the request of the Fuehrer.

“* * * without being bound by existing legal provisions, the Fuehrer must therefore in his capacity as Fuehrer of the nation, as commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces, as Head of the Government and as the highest bearer of all power, as highest Law Lord and as Fuehrer of the Party, always be in a position to require every German—whether a simple soldier or officer, subordinate or higher official, or judge, supervisory or operating functionary of the Party, laborer or employer—to carry out his duties with all the means available to him and to discharge these duties according to a conscientious examination without reference to so-called vested rights, especially without the preambles of pre-existing procedure, by removal of any man from his office, rank or position.” (_2755-PS_)

F. _The Nazi conspirators restricted the independence of the judiciary and rendered it subservient to their ends._

The independence of judges, before the Nazi regime, was guaranteed by the Weimar Constitution. The fundamental principle was stated briefly in Article 102:

“Judges are independent and subject only to the law.” (_2050-PS_)

Article 104 contained a safeguard against the arbitrary removal or suspension of judges, while Article 105 prohibited “exceptional courts”. The fundamental rights of the individual are set out in Article 109 and include equality before the law. (_2050-PS_)

Like all other public officials, German judges who failed to meet Nazi racial and political requirements became the subject of a wide-spread purge. Non-Aryans, political opponents of the Nazis, and all persons suspected of antagonism to the aims of the Party were summarily removed (_2967-PS_). The provisions of the Law for the Restoration of Professional Civil Service of 7 April 1933 applied to all judges. This was declared expressly in the third regulation for the administration of the law. (_2867-PS_)

To make certain that cases with political ramifications would be dealt with acceptably and in conformity with Party principles, the Nazis granted designated areas of criminal jurisdiction to the so-called Special Courts (_Sondergerichte_). These constituted a new system of special criminal courts, independent of the regular judiciary and directly subservient to the Party (_2076-PS_). A later decree considerably broadened the jurisdiction of these courts. (_2056-PS_)

In 1934, the People’s Court was set up as a trial court “in cases of high treason and treason” (_2014-PS_). This action was a direct, result of the dissatisfaction of the Nazi rulers with the decision of the Supreme Court (_Reichsgericht_) in the Reichstag fire trial. Three of the four defendants were acquitted although the Nazi conspirators had expected convictions in all cases (_2967-PS_). The law which created this new tribunal contained a wide definition of treason which would include most of what were regarded by the Nazis as “political” crimes (Art. 3 (1)). The express denial of any appeal from the decisions of the People’s Court (Art. 5 (2)) was a further indication of the intention of the Nazis to set up a criminal law system totally outside of accepted judicial pattern. The substantive organization of the People’s Court was later established by law in 1936. (_2342-PS_)

These new tribunals were staffed almost exclusively with Nazis and were used to tighten the Party’s grip on Germany. This control became progressively stronger, due first, to the power of the prosecutor to pick the appropriate court; second, to the restriction of defense counsel in these courts to specially admitted attorneys; and finally, to the absence of appeal from the decisions of these judges. Moreover, there developed along side of the entire judicial system the increasingly powerful police administration, under which persons opposed to the regime were regularly imprisoned in concentration camps without any type of hearing, even after acquittal by the courts. (_2967-PS_)

Still another group of courts was established within the Party itself. These Party Courts heard cases involving internal party discipline and infractions of the rules of conduct prescribed for members of formations and affiliated organizations. The published rules for the Party judges emphasized the complete dependence of these judges upon the directions and supervision of their Party superiors. (_2402-PS_)

The Nazi legal theorists freely admitted that there was no place in their scheme of things for the truly independent judge. They controlled all judges through special directives and orders from the central government. Frank underscored the role of the judge as a political functionary and as an administrator in the National Socialist state (_2378-PS_). Two case histories of this period serve to illustrate the manner in which criminal proceedings were directly suppressed or otherwise affected by order of the Reich government.

In 1935, the Reich Governor of Saxony, Mutschmann, attempted to quash criminal proceedings which, in this exceptional instance, had been brought against officials of the Hohnstein concentration camp for a series of extremely brutal attacks upon inmates. The trial was held and the defendants convicted, but during the trial the governor inquired of the presiding judge whether he did not think the penalty proposed by the prosecutor too severe and whether an acquittal was not indicated. After the conviction, two jurymen were ousted from the NSDAP and the prosecutor was advised by his superior to withdraw from the SA. Although Guertner, the then Minister of Justice, strongly recommended against taking any action to alter the decision, Hitler pardoned all the accused. (_783-PS_; _784-PS_; _785-PS_; _786-PS_)

In another similar case, Guertner wrote directly to Hitler narrating the horrible details of maltreatment and advising that the case be regularly prosecuted. Nevertheless, Hitler ordered complete suppression of the proceedings. (_787-PS_; _788-PS_)

Under the Nazi regime, it was part of the official duty of many Party functionaries to supervise the administration of justice. The official papers of Hess contain detailed statements concerning his own functions and those of the Gauleiter in deciding criminal cases. (_2639-PS_)

Another type of governmental interference in judicial matters is evidenced by the confidential letter which the Ministry of Justice sent in early 1938 to the Chief Justices of the Regional Supreme Courts (_Oberlandesgerichtspraesidenten_). The judges were instructed to submit lists of lawyers who would be sufficiently able and trustworthy to represent in court persons who had been taken into “protective custody”. The main requirement was absolute political reliability. Simple Party membership was not enough; to be selected, the lawyer had to enjoy the confidence of the “Gestapo”. (_651-PS_)

After the war began, Thierack, Minister of Justice, revealed the low state to which the judiciary had fallen under Nazi rule. He argued that the judge was not the “supervisor” but the “assistant” of the government. He said that the word “independent”, as applied to the judge, was to be eliminated from the vocabulary and that although the judge should retain a certain freedom of decision in particular cases, the government “can and must” give him the “general line” to follow. For this purpose, Thierack decided in 1942 to send confidential Judge’s Letters (_Richterbriefe_) to all German judges and prosecutors, setting forth the political principles and directives with which all judicial personnel were obligated to comply (_2482-PS_). The first of these Judge’s Letters clearly expresses the complete subordination of the judges to the Fuehrer and his government. (_D-229_)

G. _The Nazi conspirators greatly enlarged existing State and Party organizations and established an elaborate network of new formations and agencies._

The totalitarian character of the Nazi regime led to the establishment of a great number of new official and semi-official agencies and organizations in the various fields of life which were permeated by Nazi doctrine and practice, including culture, trade, industry, and agriculture.

New agencies had to be created to handle the large number of additional administrative tasks taken over from the Laender and the municipalities. Moreover, the mobilization of the political, economic, and military resources of Germany required the formation of such coordinating “super-agencies” as the Four Year Plan, the Plenipotentiary for Economics, the Plenipotentiary for Administration, and the Ministerial Council for the Defense of the Reich. At the time of the launching of war, the central Reich government was an extremely complicated structure held together under strict Nazi dictatorship. (See _Chart Number 18_; also _2261-PS_; _2194-PS_; _2018-PS_.)

Simultaneously, in the Party, the growth of agencies and organizations proceeded rapidly. The Party spread, octopus-like, throughout all Germany and into many foreign lands. (See _Chart Number 1_; also _1725-PS_.)

This process of growth was summed up late in 1937 in an official statement of the Party Chancellery:

“In order to control the whole German nation in all spheres of life, the NSDAP, after assuming power, set up under its leadership the new Party formations and affiliated organizations.” (_2383-PS_)

H. _The Nazi conspirators created a dual system of government controls, set up Party agencies to correspond with State agencies, and coordinated their activities, often by uniting corresponding State and Party offices in a single person._

In _Mein Kampf_, Hitler announced the conspirators’ purpose:

“Such a revolution can and will only be achieved by a movement which itself is already organized in the spirit of such ideas and thus in itself already bears the coming state. Therefore, the National Socialist movement may today become imbued with these ideas and put them into practice in its own organization so that it not only may direct the state according to the same principles, but also may be in a position to put at the state’s disposal the finished organizational structure of its own state.” (_2883-PS_)

The Nazis attempted to achieve a certain degree of identity between the Party and the State and, at the same time, to maintain two separate organizational structures. After the rise to power, the fundamental principle of unity was translated into “law”:

“Article 1. After the victory of the National Socialistic Revolution, the National Socialistic German Labor Party is the bearer of the concept of the German State and is inseparably the state.” (_1395-PS_)

The manner in which the Nazis retained a duality of organization despite the theory of unity is graphically portrayed in the charts of the Party and the State (_Charts Number 1 and 18_). These visual exhibits demonstrate the comprehensive character of the Party organization, which was established on parallel lines with the corresponding government structure. The Party structure remained at all times technically separate and could be used for non-governmental purposes whenever such use best served the needs of the conspirators. In innumerable instances, the corresponding Party and State offices were, in fact, held by the same person. For example, the Gauleiter of the Party in most instances also held the post of Reich Governor (or, in Prussia, that of Provincial President). (_2880-PS_)

The coordination of the Party and State functions started at the top. The Chief of the Party Chancellery was designated a Reich Minister and endowed with plenary powers in the preparation and approval of legislation. He acted as liaison officer at the highest level between Party officials and cabinet ministers. He was given also the duty of passing on the appointment of all the more important civil servants. (_2787-PS_)

Many of the same powers were bestowed upon the other _Reichsleiter_ (Leaders composing the Party Directorate). The official Nazi exposition of their position is as follows:

“It is in the Reich Directorate where the strings of the organization of the German people and the State meet. By endowment of the Chief of the Party Chancellery with the powers of a Reich Minister, and by special administrative directives, the penetration of the State apparatus with the political will of the Party is guaranteed. It is the task of the separate organs of the Reich Directorate to maintain as close a contact as possible with the life of the nation through their sub-offices in the Gaus. Observations at the front are to be collected and exploited by the offices of the Reich Directorate.” (_1893-PS_)

On the regional and local levels, the _Gauleiter_, _Kreisleiter_, etc., were also empowered to control the purely governmental authorities on political matters. Hess issued the following order shortly after the war began:

“I, therefore order that the bearer of sovereignty (_Hoheitstraeger_) of the NSDAP (_Gauleiter_, _Kreisleiter_, _Ortsgruppenleiter_) in the scope of his authority is responsible for the political leadership and the frame of mind (_Stimmung_) of the population. It is his right and his duty to take or to cause to be taken any measures necessary for the expeditious fulfillment of his political duties and for the elimination of wrong within the Party. He is exclusively responsible to his superior bearers of sovereignty (_Hoheitstraeger_).” (_2383-PS_)

In the later years, the functional coordination of Party and State offices became much more common. The appointment of Himmler as Reichsfuehrer SS and Chief of the German Police is a typical example of the way in which State and Party functions became inextricably merged so as to render any clean lines of demarcation impossible. (_2073-PS_)

* * * * *

LEGAL REFERENCES AND LIST OF DOCUMENTS RELATING TO CONSOLIDATION OF TOTALITARIAN POLITICAL CONTROL

Document │ Description │ Vol. │ Page │ │ │ │Charter of the International Military │ │ │ Tribunal, Article 6, especially 6 (a).│ I │ 5 │ │ │ │International Military Tribunal, │ │ │ Indictment Number 1, Section IV (D) 3 │ │ │ (a). │ I │ 18 │ ————— │ │ │Note: A single asterisk (*) before a │ │ │document indicates that the document was│ │ │received in evidence at the Nurnberg │ │ │trial. A double asterisk (**) before a │ │ │document number indicates that the │ │ │document was referred to during the │ │ │trial but was not formally received in │ │ │evidence, for the reason given in │ │ │parentheses following the description of│ │ │the document. The USA series number, │ │ │given in parentheses following the │ │ │description of the document, is the │ │ │official exhibit number assigned by the │ │ │court. │ │ │ ————— │ │ *651-PS │Confidential circular signed by │ │ │Schlegeberger, 31 January 1938, │ │ │concerning representation by Counsel of │ │ │Inmates of concentration camps. (USA │ │ │730). │ III │ 466 │ │ │ *783-PS │Letter from Guertner to Mutschmann, 18 │ │ │January 1935, concerning charges against│ │ │members of camp personnel of protective │ │ │custody Camp Hohnstein. (USA 731). │ III │ 558 │ │ │ *784-PS │Letters from Minister of Justice to Hess│ │ │and SA Chief of Staff, 5 June 1935, │ │ │concerning penal proceedings against │ │ │merchant and SA leader and 22 companions│ │ │because of inflicting bodily injury on │ (USA │ │duty. │ 732) │ III │ │ │ *785-PS │Memorandum of Guertner concerning legal │ │ │proceedings against the camp personnel │ │ │of concentration camp Hohnstein. (USA │ │ │733) │ III │ 564 │ │ │ *786-PS │Minister of Justice memorandum, 29 │ │ │November 1935, concerning pardon of │ │ │those sentenced in connection with │ │ │mistreatment in Hohnstein concentration │ │ │camp. (USA 734) │ III │ 568 │ │ │ *787-PS │Memorandum to Hitler from Public │ │ │Prosecutor of Dresden, 18 June 1935, │ │ │concerning criminal procedure against │ │ │Vogel on account of bodily injury while │ │ │in office. (USA 421) │ III │ 568 │ │ │ *788-PS │Letters from Secretary of State to the │ │ │Minister of Justice, 25 June 1935 and 9 │ │ │September 1935, concerning criminal │ │ │procedure against Vogel. (USA 735) │ III │ 571 │ │ │ 1388-PS │Law concerning confiscation of Property │ │ │subversive to People and State, 14 July │ │ │1933. 1933 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p.│ │ │479. │ III │ 962 │ │ │ *1395-PS │Law to insure the unity of Party and │ │ │State, 1 December 1933. 1933 │ │ │Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 1016. (GB │ │ │252) │ III │ 978 │ │ │ 1397-PS │Law for the reestablishment of the │ │ │Professional Civil Service, 7 April │ │ │1933. 1933 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p.│ │ │175. │ III │ 981 │ │ │ 1398-PS │Law to supplement the Law for the │ │ │restoration of the Professional Civil │ │ │Service, 20 July 1933. 1933 │ │ │Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 518. │ III │ 986 │ │ │ 1400-PS │Law changing the regulations in regard │ │ │to public officer, 30 June 1933. 1933 │ │ │Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 433. │ III │ 987 │ │ │ 1653-PS │First regulation concerning the │ │ │reconstruction of the Reich, 2 February │ │ │1934. 1934 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p.│ │ │81. │ IV │ 162 │ │ │ 1725-PS │Decree enforcing law for securing the │ │ │unity of Party and State, 29 March 1935.│ │ │1935 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 502. │ IV │ 224 │ │ │ *1893-PS │Extracts from Organization Book of the │ │ │NSDAP, 1943 edition. (USA 323) │ IV │ 529 │ │ │ 2001-PS │Law to Remove the Distress of People and│ │ │State, 24 March 1933. 1933 │ │ │Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 141. │ IV │ 638 │ │ │ 2003-PS │Law concerning the Sovereign Head of the│ │ │German Reich, 1 August 1934. 1934 │ │ │Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 747. │ IV │ 639 │ │ │ 2004-PS │Preliminary law for the coordination of │ │ │Federal States under the Reich, 31 March│ │ │1933. 1933 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p.│ │ │153. │ IV │ 640 │ │ │ 2005-PS │Second law integrating the “Laender” │ │ │with the Reich, 7 April 1933. 1933 │ │ │Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 173. │ IV │ 641 │ │ │ 2006-PS │Law for the reconstruction of the Reich,│ │ │30 January 1934. 1934 Reichsgesetzblatt,│ │ │Part I, p. 75. │ IV │ 642 │ │ │ 2008-PS │German Communal Ordinance, 30 January │ │ │1935. 1935 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p.│ │ │49. │ IV │ 643 │ │ │ 2012-PS │First regulation for administration of │ │ │the law for the restoration of │ │ │professional Civil Service, 11 April │ │ │1933. 1933 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p.│ │ │195. │ IV │ 647 │ │ │ 2014-PS │Law amending regulations of criminal law│ │ │and criminal procedure, 24 April 1934. │ │ │1934 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 341. │ IV │ 648 │ │ │ *2018-PS │Fuehrer’s decree establishing a │ │ │Ministerial Council for Reich Defense, │ │ │30 August 1939. 1939 Reichsgesetzblatt, │ (GB │ │Part I, p. 1539. │ 250) │ IV │ │ │ 2049-PS │Second Decree concerning the │ │ │reconstruction of the Reich, 27 November│ │ │1934. 1934 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p.│ │ │1189. │ IV │ 661 │ │ │ 2050-PS │The Constitution of the German Reich, 11│ │ │August 1919. 1919 Reichsgesetzblatt, │ │ │Part I, p. 1383. │ IV │ 662 │ │ │ 2056-PS │Decree concerning the extension of the │ │ │Jurisdiction of Special Courts, 20 │ │ │November 1938. 1938 Reichsgesetzblatt, │ │ │Part I, p. 1632. │ IV │ 698 │ │ │ 2061-PS │Oath of Reich Officials and of German │ │ │Soldiers, 20 August 1934. 1934 │ │ │Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 785. │ IV │ 702 │ │ │ 2073-PS │Decree concerning the appointment of a │ │ │Chief of German Police in the Ministry │ │ │of the Interior, 17 June 1936. 1936 │ │ │Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 487. │ IV │ 703 │ │ │ 2076-PS │Decree of the Government concerning │ │ │formation of Special Courts, 21 March │ │ │1933. 1933 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, │ │ │pp. 136-137. │ IV │ 705 │ │ │ *2194-PS │Top secret letter from Ministry for │ │ │Economy and Labor, Saxony, to Reich │ │ │Protector in Bohemia and Moravia, │ │ │enclosing copy of 1938 Secret Defense │ │ │Law of 4 September 1938. (USA 36) │ IV │ 843 │ │ │ *2261-PS │Directive from Blomberg to Supreme │ │ │Commanders of Army, Navy and Air Forces,│ │ │24 June 1935; accompanied by copy of │ │ │Reich Defense Law of 21 May 1935 and │ │ │copy of Decision of Reich Cabinet of 12 │ │ │May 1935 on the Council for defense of │ │ │the Reich. (USA 24) │ IV │ 934 │ │ │ 2326-PS │Reich Principles Regarding recruiting │ │ │appointment and promotion of Reich and │ │ │Provincial Officials, 14 October 1936. │ │ │1936 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 893. │ IV │ 1034 │ │ │ 2340-PS │German public officials law of 27 │ │ │January 1937. 1937 Reichsgesetzblatt, │ │ │Part I, p. 41. │ IV │ 1058 │ │ │ 2341-PS │Decree on Education and Training of │ │ │German officials, 28 February 1939. 1939│ │ │Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 371. │ IV │ 1062 │ │ │ 2342-PS │Law on People’s Court and on 25th │ │ │Amendment, to Salary Law of 18 April │ │ │1936. 1936 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p.│ │ │369. │ IV │ 1062 │ │ │ 2355-PS │Second Law relating to right to vote for│ │ │Reichstag, 18 March 1938. 1938 │ │ │Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 258. │ IV │ 1098 │ │ │ 2378-PS │Extracts from Documents of German │ │ │Politics, Vol. 4, pp. 207, 337. │ V │ 4 │ │ │ *2380-PS │Articles from National Socialist │ │ │Yearbook, 1935. (USA 396) │ V │ 6 │ │ │ *2381-PS │Extracts from The Greater German Diet, │ │ │1943. (USA 476) │ V │ 7 │ │ │ 2382-PS │Law relating to the Reich Election, 8 │ │ │March 1924. 1924 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part│ │ │I, pp. 159-162. │ V │ 8 │ │ │ *2383-PS │Ordinance for execution of decree of │ │ │Fuehrer concerning position of the Head │ │ │of Party Chancellery of 16 January 1942,│ │ │published in Decrees, Regulations, │ │ │Announcements. (USA 410) │ V │ 9 │ │ │ 2384-PS │The Delegates of the German People, │ │ │published in Movement, State and People │ │ │in their Organizations, 1935, p. 161. │ V │ 23 │ │ │ 2402-PS │Guide for Party Courts, 17 February │ │ │1934. │ V │ 70 │ │ │ *2426-PS │Extracts from Speeches, by Hess. (GB │ │ │253) │ V │ 90 │ │ │ 2481-PS │Extracts from Four Years of the Third │ │ │Reich, by Frick, published in Magazine │ │ │of the Academy for German Law, 1937. │ V │ 231 │ │ │ 2482-PS │Extract from German Justice, a legal │ │ │periodical, 10th Year, Edition A, No. │ │ │42, 16 October 1942. │ V │ 233 │ │ │ 2639-PS │Ordinances of the Deputy of the Fuehrer,│ │ │published in Munich 1937. │ V │ 345 │ │ │ 2647-PS │Law relating to the abolition of the │ │ │Reichsrat, 14 February 1934. 1934 │ │ │Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 89. │ V │ 358 │ │ │ 2755-PS │Resolution of the Greater German │ │ │Reichstag, 26 April 1942. 1942 │ │ │Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 247. │ V │ 393 │ │ │ 2787-PS │Excerpt from Order of the Deputy of the │ │ │Fuehrer. │ V │ 420 │ │ │ 2867-PS │Third Decree relating to Implementation │ │ │of Law for restoration of Professional │ │ │Civil Service, 6 May 1933. 1933 │ │ │Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 245. │ V │ 527 │ │ │ 2880-PS │Extracts from Handbook for │ │ │Administrative Officials, 1942. │ V │ 547 │ │ │ 2881-PS │Hitler’s speech of 12 April 1922, quoted│ │ │in Adolf Hitler’s Speeches, published by│ │ │Dr. Ernst Boepple, Munich, 1934, pp. │ │ │20-21, 72. │ V │ 548 │ │ │ 2882-PS │The Party Program of 1922, by Rosenberg,│ │ │25th edition, 1942, p. 60. │ V │ 548 │ │ │ 2883-PS │Extracts from Mein Kampf by Adolf │ │ │Hitler, 41st edition, 1933. │ V │ 549 │ │ │ *2955-PS │Affidavit of Magnus Heimannsberg, 14 │ │ │November 1945, referring to SA and other│ │ │Nazi groups posted at polling places. │ │ │(USA 755) │ V │ 659 │ │ │ 2957-PS │Extract from German Civil Servants │ │ │Calendar, 1940, p. 111. │ V │ 663 │ │ │ *2967-PS │Affidavit of Dr. Hans Anschuetz, 17 │ │ │November 1945. (USA 756) │ V │ 673 │ │ │ *3054-PS │“The Nazi Plan”, script of a motion │ │ │picture composed of captured German │ │ │film. (USA 167) │ V │ 801 │ │ │ D-229 │Extract from pamphlet “Judges Letters” │ │ │concerning judgment of Lower Court, 24 │ │ │April 1942, on concealment of Jewish │ │ │identification. │ VI │ 1091 │ │ │ *R-142 │Memoranda to Koblenz District │ │ │Headquarters, 22 April 1938 and 7 May │ │ │1938, relating to the plebiscite of 10 │ │ │April 1938. (USA 481) │ VIII │ 243 │ │ │ Statement X │The Relationship of Party and State, As │ │ │It Existed in Reality, by Wilhelm │ │ │Stuckhart, Nurnberg, 1 December 1945. │ VIII │ 736 │ │ │ *Chart No. 1 │National Socialist German Workers’ │ │ │Party. (2903-PS; USA 2) │ VIII │ 770 │ │ │ *Chart No. 18 │Organization of the Reich Government. │ End of Volume │(2905-PS; USA 3) │ VIII

4. PURGE OF POLITICAL OPPONENTS AND TERRORIZATION

A. _The Nazi conspirators ruthlessly purged their political opponents._ Soon after the Nazi conspirators had acquired political control, the defendant Goering, 3 March 1933, stated:

“Fellow Germans, my measures will not be crippled by any judicial thinking. My measures will not be crippled by any bureaucracy. Here, I don’t have to give justice, my mission is only to destroy and exterminate, nothing more! This struggle, fellow Germans, will be a struggle against chaos and such a struggle, I shall not conduct with the power of any police. A bourgeoise state might have done that. Certainly, I shall use the power of the State and the police to the utmost, my dear Communists! So you won’t draw any false conclusions; but the struggle to the death, in which my fist will grasp your necks, I shall lead with those down there—those are the Brown Shirts.” (_1856-PS_)

In 1934 Heinrich Himmler, the Deputy Leader of the Prussian Secret State Police, stated:

“We are confronted with a very pressing duty—both the open and secret enemies of the Fuehrer and of the National Socialist movement and of our National Revolution must be discovered, combatted and exterminated. In this duty we are agreed to spare neither our own blood nor the blood of anyone else when it is required by our country.” (_2543-PS_)

Raymond H. Geist, former American Counsel and First Secretary of the Embassy in Berlin, Germany 1929-1939, has stated:

“Immediately in 1933, the concentration camps were established and put under charge of the Gestapo. Only ‘political’ prisoners were held in concentration camps * * *.

“The first wave of terroristic acts began in March 6-13, 1933, accompanied by unusual mob violence. When the Nazi Party won the elections in March 1933—on the morning of the 6th—the accumulated passion blew off in wholesale attacks on the Communists, Jews, and others suspected of being either. Mobs of SA men roamed the streets, beating up, looting, and even killing persons * * *.

“For Germans taken into custody by the Gestapo * * * there was a regular pattern of brutality and terror. Victims numbered in the hundreds of thousands all over Germany.” (_1759-PS_)

The Sturmabteilung (SA) had plans for the murder of former Prime Minister Bruening, but his life was spared through the negotiations and

## activities of the defendant Hess and Dr. Haushofer, President of the

Geopolitic Institute of Munich, because they feared his death might result in serious repercussions abroad. (_1669-PS_)

From March until October 1933 the Nazi conspirators arrested, mistreated and killed numerous politicians, Reichstag members, authors, physicians, and lawyers. Among the persons killed were the Social Democrat Stolling; Ernst Heilman, Social Democrat and member of the Prussian Parliament; Otto Eggerstadt, the former Police President of Altona; and various other persons. The people killed by the Nazis belonged to various political parties and religious faiths, such as Democrats, Catholics, Communists, Jews, and pacifists. The killings were usually camouflaged by such utterances as “killed in attempting to escape” or “resisting arrest.” It is estimated that during this first wave of terror conducted by the Nazi conspirators, between 500 and 700 persons died. (_2544-PS_; see also _2460-PS_ and _2472-PS_.)

On 30 June, and 1, 2 July 1934, the Nazi conspirators proceeded to destroy opposition within their own ranks by wholesale murder (_2545-PS_). In making a formal report of these murders to the Reichstag on 13 July 1934, Hitler stated:

“The punishment for these crimes was hard and severe. There were shot 19 higher SA leaders, 31 SA leaders and SA members and also 3 SS leaders as participants in the plot. Also 13 SA leaders and civilians who tried to resist arrest and were killed in the attempt. 3 others committed suicide. 5 members of the Party who were not members of the SA were shot because of their

## participation. Finally, 3 SS members were at the same time

exterminated because they had maltreated concentration camp inmates.” (_2572-PS_)

In this same speech, Hitler proudly boasted that he gave the order to shoot the principal traitors and that he had prosecuted thousands of his former enemies on account of their corruption. He justified this action by saying,

“In this hour I was responsible for the fate of the German people.” (_Voelkischer Beobachter (People’s Observer), Berlin ed., issue 195, 14 July 1934, Beiblatt, p. 2._)

The conspirators took advantage of this occasion to eliminate many opponents indiscriminately.

In discussing the Roehm purge, the defendant Frick stated:

“On account of this order, many, many people were arrested * * * something like a hundred, even more, were even killed who were accused of high treason. All of this was done without resort to legal proceedings. They were just killed on the spot. Many people were killed—I don’t know how many—who actually did not have anything to do with the putsch. People who just weren’t liked very well, as, for instance, SCHLEICHER, the former Reich Chancellor, were killed. SCHLEICHER’s wife was also killed as was GREGOR STRASSER, who had been the Reich organization leader and second man in the Party after Hitler. STRASSER, at the time he was murdered, was not active in political affairs anymore. However, he had separated himself from the Fuehrer in November or December of 1932.” (_2950-PS_)

Such a large scale of extermination could not be carried out without errors. Shortly after the event, the Nazi conspirators arranged for a Government pension to be paid to one of its citizens, because “by mistake” the political police had murdered her husband, Willi Schmidt, who had never engaged in any kind of political activity. It was believed at the time that the man intended was Willi Schmidt, an SA leader in Munich, who was later shot on the same day. (_L-135_)

The Nazi conspirators formally endorsed their murderous purge within their own ranks by causing the Reichstag to pass a law declaring that all measures taken in carrying out the purge on 30 June and 1-2 July 1934 were legal as a measure of State necessity (_2057-PS_). Referring to this act of approval on the part of the Nazi-controlled Reichstag, Goering stated:

“The action of the Government in the days of the Roehm revolt was the highest realization of the legal consciousness of the people. Later the action which itself was justified, now has been made legal by the passage of a law.” (_2496-PS_)

Furthermore, the leader of the Nazi conspiracy on 25 July 1934 issued a decree which stated that because of the meritorious service of the SS, especially in connection with the events of 30 June 1934, the organization was elevated to the standing of an independent organization within the NSDAP. (_1857-PS_)

B. _The Nazi conspirators used the legislative and judicial powers of the German Reich to terrorize all political opponents._

(1) _They created a great number of new political crimes._ The decree of 28 February 1933 punished the inciting of disobedience to orders given out by State or Reich Government authorities or the provocation of acts “contrary to public welfare.” (_1390-PS_) A month later, in order to give themselves legal justification for murdering by judicial process their political enemies, the Nazi conspirators passed a law making the provisions of the above decree applicable retroactively to acts committed during the period from 31 January to 28 February 1933. (_2554-PS_)

Referring to these laws, the defendant Goering stated:

“Whoever in the future raises a hand against a representative of the National Socialist movement or of the State, must know that he will lose his life in a very short while. Furthermore, it will be entirely sufficient, if he is proven to have intended the act, or, if the act results not in a death, but only in an injury.” (_2494-PS_)

On 21 March 1933 a decree was issued which provided for penitentiary imprisonment up to two years for possessing a uniform of an organization supporting the government of the Nationalist movement without being entitled thereto, or circulating a statement which was untrue or greatly exaggerated, or which was apt to seriously harm the welfare of the Reich or the reputation of the Government, or of the Party or organizations supporting the Government. (_1652-PS_)

The Nazi conspirators caused a law to be enacted punishing whoever undertook to maintain or form a political party other than the NSDAP. (_1388-PS_)

The Nazi conspirators enacted a law which made it a crime deliberately to make false or grave statements calculated to injure the welfare or the prestige of the Reich, or to circulate a statement manifesting a malicious or low-minded attitude toward leading personalities of the State or the Party. The law also applied to statements of this kind which were not made in public, provided the offender counted on his statements being eventually circulated in public. (_1393-PS_)

In commenting on the above law, one of the leading Nazi conspirators, Martin Bormann, stated:

“Although it must absolutely be prevented that martyrs are created, one must take merciless action against such people, in whose attacks a bad character or attitude, decisively inimical to the State, can be recognized. For this purpose, I request the Gauleiters to report here briefly all crimes, which must absolutely be punished, and which have become known to the districts, regardless of the report to be made to the district attorney’s office * * *.

“The district and local leaderships are to be notified accordingly. However, if it should be decided from wherein this or that punishable case, that the miscreant is to be given a simple or strong reprimand by the court, I shall give the directive for the future, that the Districts are informed of the names of the persons.

“I therefore request, to see to it, that these compatriots be especially watched by the Ortsgruppen, and that it be attempted, to influence them in the National Socialist sense. Otherwise, it will be necessary to place the activities of such persons, who do not want to be taught, under exact control. In these cases, it will eventually be necessary, to notify the Secret State Police.” (_2639-PS_)

On 24 April 1934 the Nazi conspirators passed a law imposing the death penalty for “any treasonable act.” Included in the law was a declaration to the effect that the creating or organizing of a political party, or continuing of an existing one was a treasonable act. (_2548-PS_)

(2) _By their interpretation and changes of the penal law, the Nazi conspirators enlarged their terroristic methods._ After the enactment of these new political crimes, the Nazi conspirators introduced into the penal law the theory of punishment by analogy. This enabled them legally to punish any act injurious to their political interests even if no existing statute forbade it. The culpability of the act and the punishment was determined by the law most closely relating to or covering the act which was in force at the time. (_1962-PS_)

In interpreting this law, Dr. Guertner, Reich Minister of Justice, stated:

“National Socialism substitutes for the idea of formal wrong, the idea of factual wrong. * * * Even without the threat of punishment, every violation of the goals toward which the community is striving is a wrong per se. As a result, the law ceases to be an exclusive source for the determination of right or wrong.” (_2549-PS_)

Referring to the penal code of Nazi Germany, the defendant Frank stated in 1935:

“The National Socialist State is a totalitarian State, it makes no concessions to criminals, it does not negotiate with them; it stamps them out.” (_2552-PS_)

The Nazi conspirators also revised the criminal law so that the State could, within one year after a decree in a criminal case had become final, apply for a new trial, and the application would be decided by members of a Special Penal Chamber appointed by Hitler personally. Thus, if a defendant should be acquitted in a lower court, the Nazi conspirators could rectify the situation by another trial. (_2550-PS_)

In direct contrast to the severity of the criminal law as it affected the general population of Germany, the Nazi conspirators adopted and endorsed a large body of unwritten laws exempting the police from criminal liability for illegal acts done under higher authority. This principle was described by Dr. Werner Best, outstanding Nazi lawyer, in the following terms:

“The police never act in a lawless or illegal manner as long as they act according to the rules laid down by their superiors up to the highest governing body. According to its nature, the police must only deal with what the Government wants to know is being dealt with. What the Government wants to know is being dealt with by the police is the essence of the police law and is that which guides and restricts the actions of the police. As long as the police carry out the will of the Government, it is

## acting legally.” (_1852-PS_)

C. _The Nazi conspirators created a vast system of espionage into the daily lives of all parts of the population._

(1) _They destroyed the privacy of postal, telegraphic, and telephonic communications._ They enacted a law in February of 1933 providing that violations of privacy of postal, telegraphic, and telephonic communications were permissible beyond legal limitations. (_1390-PS_)

Dr. Hans Anschuetz, the present District Court Director (_Landgerichtsdirektor_) at Heidelberg, Germany, recently stated:

“Subsequently, the system of spying upon and supervising the political opinions of each citizen which permeated the entire people and private life of Germany, was, of course, also extended to judges.” (_2967-PS_)

(2) _They used the Secret State Police (Gestapo) and the Security Service (SD) for the purpose of maintaining close surveillance over the daily activities of all people in Germany._ The Gestapo had as its primary preventive activity the thorough observation of all enemies of the State, in the territory of the Reich. (_1956-PS_)

The SD was an intelligence organization which operated out of various regional offices. It consisted of many hundreds of professional SD members who were assisted by thousands of honorary members and informers. These people were placed in all fields of business, education, State and Party administration, and frequently performed their duties secretly in their own organization. This information service reported on the activities of the people. (_2614-PS_)

D. _Without judicial process, the Nazi conspirators imprisoned, held in protective custody and sent to concentration camps opponents and suspected opponents._

_They authorized the Gestapo to arrest and detain without recourse to any legal proceeding._ Officially, this power was described as follows:

“The Secret State Police takes the necessary police preventive measures against the enemies of the State on the basis of the results of the observation. The most effective preventive measure is without doubt the withdrawal of freedom which is covered in the form of protective custody. * * * While protective arrests of short duration are carried out in police and court prisons, the concentration camps under the Secret State Police admit those taken into protective custody who have to be withdrawn from public life for a longer time.” (_1956-PS_)

The Nazi conspirators issued their own orders for the taking of people into protective custody and these orders set forth no further details concerning the reasons therefor, except a statement such as “Suspicion of activities inimical toward the State.” (_2499-PS_)

The defendant Frank stated:

“To the world we are blamed again and again because of the concentration camps. We are asked, ‘Why do you arrest without a warrant of arrest?’ I say, put yourselves into the position of our nation. Don’t forget that the very great and still untouched world of Bolshevism cannot forget that we have made final victory for them impossible in Europe, right here on German soil.” (_2533-PS_)

The defendant Goering said in 1934:

“Against the enemies of the State, we must proceed ruthlessly. It cannot be forgotten that at the moment of our rise to power, according to the official election figures of March 1933, six million people still confess their sympathy for Communism and eight million for Marxism. * * * _Therefore, the concentration camps have been created, where we have first confined thousands of Communists and Social Democrat functionaries._ * * *” (_2344-PS_)

U. S. Ambassador George S. Messersmith, former Counsel General in Berlin, Germany, 1930-34, and Raymond H. Geist, former American Counsel and First Secretary of the Embassy in Berlin, Germany, 1929-1939, have recently stated:

“Independent of individual criminal acts committed by high functionaries of the German government or the Nazi Party, such as the murders ordered by Hitler, Himmler and Goering, all high functionaries of the German government and of the Nazi Party * * * are guilty in the highest degree of complicity in and furtherance of the cardinal crimes of oppression against the German people, persecution and destruction of the Jews and all of their political opponents.” (_2386-PS_)

Commenting further on the Nazi conspirators’ use of concentration camps to destroy political opposition, Raymond H. Geist stated:

“The German people were well acquainted with the goings on in concentration camps and it was well known that the fate of anyone too actively opposed to any part of the Nazi program was liable to be one of great suffering. Indeed, before the Hitler regime was many months old, almost every family in Germany had had first-hand accounts of the brutalities inflicted in the concentration camps from someone either in the relationship or in the circle of friends who had served a sentence there; consequently the fear of such camps was a very effective brake on any possible opposition.” (_1759-PS_)

The Nazi conspirators confined, under the guise of “protective custody” Reichstag members, Social Democrats, Communists, and other opponents or suspected opponents. (_2544-PS_; _L-73_; _L-83_; _1430-PS_.)

E. _The Nazi conspirators created and utilized special agencies for carrying out their system of terror._

(See