Chapter 21 of 39 · 11585 words · ~58 min read

Chapter XII

In the final period of the anti-Jewish crusade very few legislative measures were passed. The Jews were delivered to the SS and various extermination staffs. The last law dealing with the Jews in Germany, signed by Frick, Bormann, Schwerin V. Krosigk, and Thierach, put them entirely outside the law and ordered the confiscation by the State of the property of dead Jews (_1422-PS_). This law was a weak reflection of a factual situation already in existence. Dr. Wilhelm Stuckart, assistant to Frick, stated at that time:

“The aim of the racial legislation may be regarded as already achieved and consequently the racial legislation as essentially closed. It led to the temporary solution of the Jewish problem and at the same time prepared the final solution. Many regulations will lose their practical importance as Germany approaches the achievement of the final goal in the Jewish problem.” (_Stuckart and Schiedermair: Rassen und Erbpflege in der Gesetzgebung des Reiches_ (The care for Race and Heredity in the Legislation of the Reich), Leipzig, 1943, p. 14.)

* * * * *

LEGAL REFERENCES AND LIST OF DOCUMENTS RELATING TO ADOPTION AND PUBLICATION OF THE PROGRAM FOR PERSECUTION OF JEWS

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 │ │ │ (d). │ I │ 20 │ ————— │ │ │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. │ │ │ ————— │ │ *710-PS │Letter from Goering to Heydrich, 31 July│ │ │1941, concerning solution of Jewish │ │ │question. (USA 509) │ III │ 525 │ │ │ 1397-PS │Law for the reestablishment of the │ │ │Professional Civil Service, 7 April │ │ │1933. 1933 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p.│ │ │175. │ III │ 981 │ │ │ 1401-PS │Law regarding admission to the Bar, 7 │ │ │April 1933. 1933 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part│ │ │I, p. 188. │ III │ 989 │ │ │ 1406-PS │Decree for reporting of Jewish-owned │ │ │property, 26 April 1938. 1938 │ │ │Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 414. │ III │ 1001 │ │ │ 1409-PS │Order concerning utilization of Jewish │ │ │property, 3 December 1938. 1938 │ │ │Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 1709. │ IV │ 1 │ │ │ 1412-PS │Decree relating to payment of fine by │ │ │Jews of German nationality, 12 November │ │ │1938. 1938 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p.│ │ │1579. │ IV │ 6 │ │ │ 1415-PS │Police regulation concerning appearance │ │ │of Jews in public, 28 November 1938. │ │ │1938 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 1676.│ IV │ 6 │ │ │ 1416-PS │Reich Citizen Law of 15 September 1935. │ │ │1935 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 1146.│ IV │ 7 │ │ │ *1417-PS │First regulation to the Reichs │ │ │Citizenship Law, 14 November 1935. 1935 │ │ │Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 1333. (GB │ │ │258) │ IV │ 8 │ │ │ 1419-PS │Law concerning Jewish tenants, 30 April │ │ │1939. 1939 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p.│ │ │864. │ IV │ 10 │ │ │ 1422-PS │Thirteenth regulation under Reich │ │ │Citizenship Law, 1 July 1943. 1943 │ │ │Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 372. │ IV │ 14 │ │ │ *1708-PS │The Program of the NSDAP. National │ │ │Socialistic Yearbook, 1941, p. 153. (USA│ │ │255; USA 324) │ IV │ 208 │ │ │ *1816-PS │Stenographic report of the meeting on │ │ │The Jewish Question, under the │ │ │Chairmanship of Fieldmarshal Goering, 12│ │ │November 1938. (USA 261) │ IV │ 425 │ │ │ 2000-PS │Law for protection of German blood and │ │ │German honor, 15 September 1935. 1935 │ │ │Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, No. 100, p. │ │ │1146. │ IV │ 636 │ │ │ 2022-PS │Law against overcrowding of German │ │ │schools and Higher Institutions, 25 │ │ │April 1933. 1933 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part│ │ │I, p. 225. │ IV │ 651 │ │ │ 2083-PS │Editorial control law, 4 October 1933. │ │ │1933 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 713. │ IV │ 709 │ │ │ 2084-PS │Law on formation of the Student │ │ │Organization at Scientific Univesities, │ │ │22 April 1933. 1933 Reichsgesetzblatt, │ │ │Part I, p. 215. │ IV │ 718 │ │ │ *2409-PS │Extracts from The Imperial House to the │ │ │Reich Chancellery by Dr. Joseph │ │ │Goebbels. (USA 262) │ V │ 83 │ │ │ 2410-PS │Article by Julius Streicher on the │ │ │“coming popular action” under banner │ │ │headline “Beat the World Enemy”, from │ │ │Voelkischer Beobachter, South German │ │ │Edition, 31 March 1933. │ V │ 85 │ │ │ 2427-PS │The Racial Awakening of German Nation by│ │ │Dr. Rudolf Frercks, in National │ │ │Political Enlightenment Pamphlets. │ V │ 92 │ │ │ 2431-PS │The Revolution of the Germans; 14 years │ │ │of National Socialism, by Dr. Joseph │ │ │Goebbels. │ V │ 92 │ │ │ 2432-PS │Extracts from Rosenberg’s, Writings From│ │ │The Years, 1921-1923. │ V │ 93 │ │ │ *2663-PS │Hitler’s speech to the Reichstag, 30 │ │ │January 1939, quoted from Voelkischer │ │ │Beobachter, Munich edition, 1 February │ │ │1939. (USA 268) │ V │ 367 │ │ │ 2840-PS │Dr. Wilhelm Frick and his Ministry, │ │ │1937, p. 180-181. │ V │ 503 │ │ │ 2841-PS │Extract from the Care for Race and │ │ │Heredity in the Legislation of the │ │ │Reich, Leipzig, 1943, p. 14. │ V │ 504 │ │ │ 2842-PS │Extract from Writings of the years, │ │ │1917-21, by Alfred Rosenberg, published │ │ │in Munich 1943, pp. 320-321. │ V │ 504 │ │ │ 2843-PS │Race Politics from Documents of German │ │ │Politics, Vol. VII, pp. 728-729. │ V │ 505 │ │ │ 2844-PS │The Program of the Nazi Party, by │ │ │Gottfried Feder, August 1927, Munich, p.│ │ │17. │ V │ 506 │ │ │ 2845-PS │One Year of Racial Political Education │ │ │by Dr. Gross in National Socialist │ │ │Monthly No. 54, September 1934, pp. │ │ │833-834. │ V │ 506 │ │ │ 2868-PS │Law relating to admission of profession │ │ │of Patent-Agent and Lawyer, 22 April │ │ │1933. 1933 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part II, │ │ │No. 41, pp. 217-8. │ V │ 529 │ │ │ 2869-PS │Law relating to admission of Tax │ │ │Advisors, 6 May 1933. 1933 │ │ │Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, No. 49, p. │ │ │257. │ V │ 530 │ │ │ 2870-PS │Executory decree for law about repeal of│ │ │Naturalization and Adjudication of │ │ │German Citizenship, 26 July 1933. 1933 │ │ │Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 538. │ V │ 530 │ │ │ 2871-PS │Law governing elections to Reichstag, 7 │ │ │March 1936. 1936 Reichsgesetzblatt, No. │ │ │19, p. 133. │ V │ 532 │ │ │ 2872-PS │Fourth decree relative to Reich Citizen │ │ │Law of 25 July 1938. 1938 │ │ │Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 969. │ V │ 533 │ │ │ 2873-PS │Second decree allotting to │ │ │Implementation of Law on change of first│ │ │and family names, 17 August 1938. 1938 │ │ │Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 1044. │ V │ 534 │ │ │ 2874-PS │Fifth decree to law relating to Reich │ │ │Citizenship, 27 September 1938. 1938 │ │ │Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, No. 165, p. │ │ │1403. │ V │ 535 │ │ │ 2875-PS │Decree on exclusion of Jews from German │ │ │economic life, 12 November 1938. │ V │ 536 │ │ │ 2876-PS │Tenth decree relating to Reich │ │ │Citizenship Law, 4 July 1939. 1939 │ │ │Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 1097. │ V │ 537 │ │ │ 2877-PS │Police decree concerning “marking” of │ │ │Jews, 1 September 1941. 1941 │ │ │Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, No. 100, p. │ │ │547. │ V │ 539 │ │ │ 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 │ │ │ 2893-PS │Article: “Dr. Frick and the Unity of the│ │ │Reich” by Walter Koerber, published in │ │ │Our Reich Cabinet, Berlin, 1936, p. 87. │ V │ 562 │ │ │ 2894-PS │General Decree of September 10, 1935 on │ │ │establishment of separate Jewish │ │ │schools, published in Documents of │ │ │German Politics, 1937, p. 152. │ V │ 562 │ │ │ 2904-PS │The Racial Problem and the New Reich, │ │ │published in The National Socialist │ │ │Monthly, No. 38, May 1933, pp.196-7. │ V │ 570 │ │ │ 2984-PS │Law concerning armed forces, 21 May │ │ │1935. 1935 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I. │ V │ 686 │ │ │ *3054-PS │“The Nazi Plan”, script of a motion │ │ │picture composed of captured German │ │ │film. (USA 167) │ V │ 801

8. RESHAPING OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING OF YOUTH

A. _The Nazi conspirators reshaped the educational system._

(1) _The Nazi conspirators publicly announced the purposes of their educational and training program._ Hitler stated at Elbing, Germany:

“When an opponent declares, ‘I will not come over to your side, and you will not get me on your side,’ I calmly say, ‘Your child belongs to me already. A people lives forever. What are you? You will pass on. Your descendants however now stand in the new camp. _In a short time they will know nothing else but this new community.’_” (_2455-PS_)

Hitler said on 1 May 1937:

“The youth of today is ever the people of tomorrow. For this reason we have set before ourselves the task of inoculating our youth with the spirit of this community of the people at a very early age, at an age when human beings are still unperverted and therefore unspoiled. * * * This Reich stands, and it is building itself up for the future, upon its youth. And this new Reich will give its youth to no one, _but will itself take youth and give to youth its own education and its own upbringing_.” (_2454-PS_)

The first sentence in the official instructors manual for high schools reads:

“The German school is a part of the National Socialist Educational order. It is its obligation to form the national socialistic personality in cooperation with the other educational powers of the nation, but by its distinctive educational means.” (_2453-PS_)

Hitler stated in _Mein Kampf_:

“On this basis the whole education by the National State must aim primarily not at the stuffing with mere knowledge, but at the building up of bodies which are physically healthy to the core. The development of intellectual faculties comes only after this.” (_2392-PS_)

(2) _They transferred responsibility for education from the states to the Reich._ The Reich Ministry of Education was established, and control of all schools, public and private, including universities and adult educational activities, was transferred to this Reichsministry (_2078-PS_; _2088-PS_). The control of education by the local authorities was replaced by the absolute authority of the Reich in all educational matters. (_2393-PS_)

(3) _They changed the curricula and textbooks._

_Kindergarten_: Children from two to six years were trained in more than 15,000 Kindergartens operated by the Party and State. The teachers in charge were trained in special schools that emphasized the ideological views of the Nazi Party. The children were given a systematic training in Nazi ideology. (_2443-PS_; _2441-PS_)

_Elementary schools_: Primary emphasis was placed on physical training. History, German race culture and mathematics were the other subjects emphasized. These subjects were taught in such a way as to emphasize the cultural superiority of the German people, the importance of race, the Fuehrer principle, glorification of German war heroes, the subversive elements that caused the defeat of Germany in World War I, the shame of the Versailles Treaty, and the rebirth of Germany under the Nazis. (_2392-PS_; _2397-PS_; _2441-PS_; _2394-PS_)

In addition to education in the schools all children from six to ten years were registered in the _Kindergruppen_ (Children’s Groups) conducted by the National Socialist _Frauenschaft_ (National Socialist Women’s Organization). All children were required to obtain an efficiency record card and uniform and were instructed in Nazi ideology by the members of the Women’s Organization. (_2441-PS_; _2452-PS_)

_High Schools_ (Hoeheren Schule): The curricula and organization of the _Hoeheren_ School was modified by a series of decrees of the Minister of Education in order to make these schools effective instruments for the teaching of the Nazi doctrines. A new curricula emphasizing physical training, German war history, and race culture was introduced. (_2453-PS_)

_Universities_: The schools of politics and physical education became the largest colleges at the universities. Beginning in 1933 the Nazis introduced courses in heredity and race culture, ancient and modern German history, biology and geopolitics. (_2443-PS_; _2441-PS_)

Textbooks in the schools were changed to accord with the expressed objectives of the Nazi conspirators. (_2446-PS_; _2442-PS_; _2444-PS_; _2445-PS_)

(4) _The Nazi conspirators acquired domination and control over all teachers._ The law for the reestablishing of the professional civil service made it possible for the Nazi conspirators thoroughly to reexamine all German teachers and to remove all “harmful and untrustworthy” elements (_1397-PS_; _2392-PS_). Many teachers and professors (mostly Jewish) were dismissed and were replaced with “State spirited” teachers (_2392-PS_). All teachers were required to take an oath of loyalty and obedience to Hitler. (_2061-PS_). All teachers were required to belong to the National Socialist _Lehrerbund_ (National Socialist Teachers League), which organization was charged with the training of all teachers in the theories and doctrines of the NSDAP. (_2452-PS_)

In 1934 the National Socialist Teachers League was declared to be the official organ of German education. (_2393-PS_)

The Civil Service Act of 1937 required the teachers to be “the executors of the will of the party-supported State.” It required them to be ready at “any time to defend without reservation the National Socialist State.” The law required the teachers to participate strenuously in elections, have thorough knowledge of Party principles and literature, render the Hitler Salute, send their children to the Hitler Youth, and educate them in the Nazi spirit (_2340-PS_). Before taking their second examination (required for permanent appointment), teachers in Prussia were required to show service in the SA and in the _Arbeitsdienst_ (Labor Service) (_2392-PS_). Candidates for teaching and other public positions were required to have “proved themselves” in the Hitler Jugend (_2451-PS_; _2900-PS_). Teachers’ academies were judged by the Minister of Education on their ability to turn out men and women with new ideas “based on blood and soil”. (_2394-PS_)

The leadership principle replaced the democratic school principle. A decree of the Reich Minister of Education made the head of any school fully responsible for the conduct of the institution in line with the official party ideology. Teachers committees and Student Committees were abolished (_2393-PS_; _2392-PS_). A “confidential instructor,” the school youth warden of the Hitler Jugend, appointed by the Hitler Youth authorities, was assigned to each school (_2396-PS_). The “Parents Advisory Committees” in the public schools were dissolved, and replaced by the “School Communities,” (_Schulgemeinde_). The headmaster was the leader. He appointed, after consultation with the local party leader, two to five teachers or parents, known as “_Jugendwalter_,” (Youth Advisors) and one Hitler Youth leader, who was appointed after consultation with the Hitler Youth officials in the district (_2399-PS_). The duties of the “School Community” were to bring to the attention of the public the educational objectives of the Nazi Party, including race questions, heredity indoctrination, physical training, and the Youth League activities. The function of advising the school authorities, formerly performed by the “Parents Advisory Committees,” was eliminated by the decree. (_2399-PS_)

_Universities_: The Leadership Principle was introduced into the universities. The _Rektor_ (head of the university) was appointed by the Reich Minister of Education for an unspecified period of time and was responsible only to the Reichs Minister. The University was divided into the _Dozentenschaft_ (Lecturers Corps) and the _Studentenschaft_ (Student Corps). The leaders of these two bodies were also appointed by the Reichsminister of Education (_2394-PS_). The teaching staff of the university was subject to the control of the National Socialist _Dozentenbund_ (NSDoB) (Nazi Association of University Lecturers). The purposes of the NSDoB were:

(_a_) to take a decisive part in the selection of lecturers and to produce candidates for the teaching staff who were wholly Nazi in their outlook.

(_b_) to train all university lecturers in Nazi ideology,

(_c_) to see that the entire university life was run in accordance with the philosophy of the Party. (_2452-PS_; _318-PS_)

All German students at the universities were required to belong to the _Studentenschaft_ (Student Corps) (_2084-PS_). The Student Corps was responsible for making the students conscious of their duties to the Nazis, and was obliged to promote enrollment in the SA and labor service. Physical training of students was the responsibility of the SA. Political education was the responsibility of the _National-Sozialistische Deutsche Studentenbund_ (NSDStB), (National Socialist German Student Bund) (_2458-PS_). The National Socialist Student Bund (NSDStB) was the Nazi “elite” of the student body and was responsible for the leadership of the university students, and all leaders of the Student Corps were appointed from its membership. The Nazi Student Bund was solely responsible for the entire ideological and political education of the students. (_2395-PS_; _2399-PS_; _2441-PS_; _2392-PS_; _2393-PS_)

B. _The Nazi conspirators supplemented the school system by training the youth through the Hitler Jugend._

(1) _The Nazi conspirators from their early days expressed their belief in the fundamental importance of controlling the education and training of youth._ Hitler stated in _Mein Kampf_:

“It is precisely our German people, that today broken down, lies defenseless against the kicks of the rest of the world who need that suggestive force that lies in self-confidence. But this _self-confidence has to be instilled_ into the young fellow-citizen from childhood on. His entire education and development has to be directed at giving him _the conviction_ _of being absolutely superior to others_. With this physical force and skill he has again to win the belief in the invincibility of his entire nationality. For what once led the German army to victory was the sum of the confidence which the individual and all in common had in their leaders. The confidence in _the possibility of regaining its freedom_ is what will restore the German people. But this conviction must be the final product of the same feeling of millions of individuals.” (_404-PS_; see also _2901-PS_)

Again in _Mein Kampf_ Hitler said:

“The racial State will have to see to it that there will be a generation which by a suitable education will be ready for the final and ultimate decision on this globe. The nation which enters first on this course will be the victorious one.” (_404-PS_)

The law of the Hitler Youth provides in part as follows:

“The future of the German nation depends on its youth, and the German youth shall have to be prepared for its future duties. * * *

“The German youth besides being reared within the family and school, shall be educated physically, intellectually and morally in the spirit of National Socialism to serve the people and community, through the Hitler Youth.” (_1392-PS_)

On May 1, 1938 Hitler said in a speech to the youth:

“Since the victory of the Movement, under whose banner you stand, there has been completed within our people the unification of heart (innere Einigung) of the Germans. And as wages for this work of ours Providence has given us Greater Germany (Grossdeutschland). _This unification is no gift of chance, it is the result of a systematic education of our people by the National Socialist Movement._ . . . . And this education begins with the individual at an age when he is not already burdened with preconceived ideas. The youth is the stone which is to go to the building of our new Reich! You are Greater Germany! In you is being formed the community of the German people. Before the single leader there stands a Reich, before the single Reich stands a people, and before the single people stands German youth! When I see you my faith in the future of Germany has no bounds, nothing can shake it. For I know that you will fulfill all that we hope of you. So I greet you today on this 1st of May in our new great Germany: for you are our spring. In you will and shall be completed that for which generations and centuries have striven, Germany!” (_2454-PS_)

(2) _The Nazi conspirators destroyed or took over all other youth organizations._ The first Nazi youth League (_Nationalsocialistischen Jugendbund_) was organized in 1922. In 1925 the Hitler Youth was officially recognized by the Nazi Party and became a Junior Branch of the SA. In 1931 Baldur von Schirach was appointed Reichs Youth Leader of the NSDAP with the rank of SA _Gruppenfuehrer_. (_1458-PS_)

When the Nazi conspirators came to power the Hitler Jugend was a minor organization among many youth associations in Germany. At the end of 1932 it had only 107,956 members—less than 5 percent of the total youth population of Germany (_2435-PS_). Schirach was appointed “_Jugendfuehrer des Deutschen Reichs_” (Youth Leader of the German Reich), in June 1933. In this position he was directly responsible to Hitler for the education and training of the German youth outside of the home and school in accordance with the ideology of the Nazi Party. (_1458-PS_)

In June of 1933 on orders of Schirach, an armed band of Hitler youths occupied by force the headquarters of the Reich Committee of The German Youth Associations and took over all files and personnel records of the youth leagues represented by the Committee. By the same method the offices and property (including all youth hostels in Germany) of the Reich Association for German Youth Hostels was seized, and a Nazi representative of Schirach put in charge (_1458-PS_). By decree dated 22 June 1933 Schirach dissolved the Grossdeutsches Bund and all of its affiliated organizations and took over their property; he dissolved The Reich Committee of The German Youth Associations, and required all other youth organizations to make a complete report of all organizational information, including names of all officers and members and inventory of all funds and property (_2229-PS_). The Youth Associations of all political parties and of all labor organizations were dissolved by decree of Schirach. By virtue of these decrees all youth organizations except those sponsored by the Catholic and Protestant Churches were abolished or incorporated in the Hitler Jugend (_1458-PS_; _2260-PS_). The Nazi-appointed Reichsbishop Mueller entered into an agreement with Schirach which transferred all members of the Evangelical Youth to the Hitler Jugend and provided that the Hitler Jugend alone would provide the state political and physical education of the Protestant youth. By the end of 1933 only the Catholic Youth organization remained untouched. (_1458-PS_)

The Concordat entered into with the Holy See on July 20, 1933 provided for the continuance of the Catholic Youth Association (_2655-PS_). Contrary to the provisions of the Concordat, the Nazi conspirators immediately set out to smash the Catholic Youth organization and to force all young people into the Hitler Youth. Ten days after the signing of the Concordat, Schirach issued an order forbidding simultaneous membership in the Hitler Jugend and the Catholic Youth League (_2456-PS_). In 1934 Schirach wrote, “The denominational youth league (Catholic Youth Association) has no right to exist in our time.” (_1458-PS_). A year later Catholic youth associations were forbidden to wear uniforms, to assemble publicly, to wear insignia, or to engage in outdoor sport activity (_1482-PS_). Additional pressure was exerted on the Catholic Youth by the requirement of membership in the Hitler Youth as a prerequisite of public employment (_2451-PS_; _2900-PS_). Finally, in 1937, Schirach announced:

“_The struggle for the unification of the German Youth is finished._ I considered it as my duty to conduct it in a hard and uncompromising manner. Many might not have realized why we went through so much trouble for the sake of the youth. And yet the National Socialist German Workers Party, whose trustee I felt I always was and always will be, this party considered _the struggle for the youth as the decisive element_ for the future of the German nation.” (_2306-PS_)

(3) _The Nazi conspirators made membership in the Hitler Jugend compulsory._ The Hitler Youth Law of 1936 provided that “All of the German Youth in the Reich is organized within the Hitler Youth.” (_1392-PS_). Executive decrees later implemented this law by the establishment of severe penalties against anyone who deterred a youth from service in the Hitler Jugend, and confirmed the policy of excluding Jews from membership.

The Hitler Jugend had been from its inception a formation of the Nazi Party. By virtue of the 1936 Youth Law it became an agency of the Reich Government while still retaining its position as a formation of the Nazi Party. (_1392-PS_).

The membership statistics of the Hitler Jugend to 1940 were:

End 1932 107,956 End 1933 2,292,041 End 1934 3,577,565 End 1935 3,943,303 End 1936 5,437,601 End 1937 5,879,955 End 1938 7,031,226 End 1939 7,728,259

And BDM (League of German Girls)—440,789. (_2435-PS_)

(4) _Through the Hitler Jugend the Nazi conspirators imbued the youth with Nazi ideology and prepared them for membership in the Party and its formations._ Schirach said:

“I am responsible to the Reich that the entire youth of Germany will be educated physically, morally and spiritually in the spirit of the National Socialist Idea of the State.” (_2306-PS_)

_Mein Kampf_ was regarded as the “Bible” of the Hitler Jugend (_1458-PS_). On entering the _Jungvolk_ at the age of 10, children took the following oath:

“In the presence of this blood-banner which represents our Fuehrer I swear to devote all my energies, and my strength to the Savior of our Country, Adolf Hitler. I am willing and ready to give up my life for him, so help me God. One People, one Reich, one Fuehrer.” (_2441-PS_)

The Hitler Jugend organization operated solely on the Leadership Principle. The leader was always appointed from above and the leader’s will was absolute. (_1458-PS_; _2306-PS_; _2436-PS_; _2438-PS_)

The Master Race doctrine and anti-semitism, including physical attacks on the Jews, was taught systematically in the Hitler Jugend training program. (_2436-PS_; _L-360-H_; _2441-PS_)

The Hitler Jugend indoctrinated the youth with the idea that war is a noble activity. (_1458-PS_; _2436-PS_)

The Hitler Jugend, in accordance with the policy of the Nazi Party, emphasized the importance and demanded the return of the colonies which had been taken from Germany by the “Versailles Shame Dictate.” (_1458-PS_; _2436-PS_; _2440-PS_; _2441-PS_)

The Hitler Jugend taught that the guiding principle of German policy was the utilization of the space to the East (_1458-PS_; _2439-PS_). All

## activities carried on in support of the demands for modification of the

Versailles Treaty, the restoration of colonies, and the acquisition of additional living space were closely coordinated with the (VDA) _Verein fuer das Deutschtum in Ausland_ (Office of Germans in foreign countries). (_L-360-H_)

In order to carry out the program of indoctrination of the youth, more than 765,000 were actively engaged as Hitler Youth leaders by May 1939. Youth leaders were thoroughly trained, many of them in special “Youth Leaders” schools (_2435-PS_). More than 200,000 political indoctrination meetings (_Heimabend_) were held weekly. Each community was required by law to provide a suitable meeting house for the Hitler Jugend. Training and propaganda films were produced on an elaborate scale. In the winter of 1937-38 more than three million youths attended showings of these films. The Hitler Jugend press and propaganda office published at least thirteen magazines and large numbers of other publications and yearbooks appealing to all age groups and to the various interest groups of the youth. (_2435-PS_)

One of the most important functions of the Hitler Jugend was to prepare the youth for membership in the Party and its formations. Hitler said at the Reichsparteitag, 1935:

“He alone, who owns the youth, gains the Future! Practical consequences of this doctrine: The boy will enter the _Jungvolk_ (boy 10-14) and the _Pimpf_ (members of the _Jungvolk_) will come to the Hitler Youth, and the boy of the Hitler Youth will join the SA, the SS and the other formations, and the SA man and the SS man will one day join the Labor Service, and from there he will go to the Armed Forces, and the soldiers of the people will return again to the organization of Movement, the Party, the SA, the SS, and never again will our people be so depraved as they were at one time.” (_2656-PS_; _2401-PS_)

The _Streifendienst_, a special formation of the Hitler Jugend, was organized by virtue of an agreement between Himmler and Schirach for the purpose of securing and training recruits for the SS, with special emphasis on securing recruits for the Deaths Head Troops of the SS (concentration camp guards). (_2396-PS_)

The farm service section of the Hitler Jugend also became a cadet corps of the SS by reason of the agreement entered into between Himmler and Schirach in 1938. This formation was to train for SS membership youths especially suited to become _Wehrbauer_ (militant peasants), who were to be settled in places where the Nazis needed especially trained farmers. (_2567-PS_)

In 1937 the Adolf Hitler Schools were established in order to indoctrinate boys selected by the Party to be the future leaders of the Nazi state. The schools were operated by the Hitler Jugend for the Party. Boys entered at the age of 12 and remained in the school until 18 years of age. (_2653-PS_)

(5) _The Nazi conspirators used the Hitler Jugend for extensive pre-military training of youth._ In 1933 the Hitler Youth, in cooperation with the SA and the Wehrmacht, entered into a secret program of extensive pre-military training of the youth (_1850-PS_). Extensive pre-military training was carried on in all age groups of the Hitler Youth in close cooperation with the Wehrmacht. (_2438-PS_; _2441-PS_; _1992-PS_)

In addition to general military training, specialized training was given in special formations. These included:

Hitler Jugend Flying Units

Hitler Jugend Naval Units

Hitler Jugend Motorized Units

Hitler Jugend Signal Units

Hitler Jugend Medical Units

Hitler Jugend Musical Units. (_2654-PS_).

The extent of the military training in 1937 was set out by Hitler in a speech at Berlin.

“The Naval Hitler Youth comprises 45,000 boys, the Motor Hitler Youth 60,000 boys. As part of the campaign for the encouragement of aviation 55,000 members of the Jungvolk were trained in gliding for group activities; 74,000 boys of the Hitler Youth are organized in its flying units; 15,000 boys passed their gliding test in the year 1937 alone.

“Today 1,200,000 boys of the Hitler Youth receive regular instructions in small-bore rifle shooting from 7,000 instructors.” (_2454-PS_; see also _2441-PS_.)

A formal agreement between the Wehrmacht and the Hitler Jugend was published 11 August 1939. It recites that whereas 30,000 Hitler Jugend leaders had been trained annually in shooting and field exercises, the number would be doubled; that 60,000,000 shots had been fired in Hitler Youth training courses in 1938 and that a considerable increase in the figure was expected. The agreement recognized the close cooperation that existed between the Hitler Jugend and the Wehrmacht in the military training of youth and provided for a far more extensive program. (_2398-PS_)

* * * * *

LEGAL REFERENCES AND LIST OF DOCUMENTS RELATING TO RESHAPING OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING OF YOUTH

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 │ │ │ (e). │ I │ 21 │ ————— │ │ │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. │ │ │ ————— │ │ 200-PS │Confidential telegram from Berger to │ │ │Reich Ministry for Occupied Eastern │ │ │Territories, 8 July 1944 concerning │ │ │forced labor of children. │ III │ 214 │ │ │ *318-PS │Agreement between Rosenberg and Leader │ │ │of the National Socialist University │ │ │Professors League (NSDoB), 2 December │ │ │1941. (USA 728) │ III │ 255 │ │ │ *404-PS │Excerpts from Hitler, Mein Kampf, pp. │ │ │456, 475. (USA 256) │ III │ 385 │ │ │ 1392-PS │Law on the Hitler Youth, 1 December │ │ │1936. 1936 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p.│ │ │993. │ III │ 972 │ │ │ 1397-PS │Law for the reestablishment of the │ │ │Professional Civil Service, 7 April │ │ │1933. 1933 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p.│ │ │175. │ III │ 981 │ │ │ *1458-PS │The Hitler Youth by Baldur von Schirach,│ │ │Leipzig, 1934. (USA 667) │ IV │ 22 │ │ │ 1462-PS │First Execution Order to the Law of the │ │ │Hitler Youth, 25 March 1939. 1939 │ │ │Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 709. │ IV │ 44 │ │ │ *1482-PS │Secret letter, 20 July 1933 to │ │ │provincial governments and the Prussian │ │ │Gestapo from Frick, concerning │ │ │Confessional Youth Organizations. (USA │ │ │738) │ IV │ 51 │ │ │ *1850-PS │Conferences, 1933, calling for financing│ │ │of military training of SA from Ministry│ │ │of Interior Funds. (USA 742) │ IV │ 478 │ │ │ *1992-A-PS │Organization and Obligations of the SS │ │ │and the Police from “National Political │ │ │Education of the Army, January 1937”. │ │ │(USA 439). │ IV │ 616 │ │ │ 2061-PS │Oath of Reich Officials and of German │ │ │Soldiers, 20 August 1934. 1934 │ │ │Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 785. │ IV │ 702 │ │ │ 2078-PS │Decree concerning establishment of │ │ │Ministry for Science, Education and │ │ │Popular Culture, 1 May 1934. 1934 │ │ │Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 365. │ IV │ 706 │ │ │ 2084-PS │Law on formation of the Student │ │ │Organization at Scientific Universities,│ │ │22 April 1933. 1933 Reichsgesetzblatt, │ │ │Part I, p. 215. │ IV │ 718 │ │ │ 2088-PS │Decree relating to tasks of Reichs │ │ │Ministry for Education, 11 May 1934. │ │ │1934 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 375. │ IV │ 718 │ │ │ 2115-PS │Second Executive Order to the Law for │ │ │the Hitler Youth, 25 March 1939. 1939 │ │ │Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 710. │ IV │ 745 │ │ │ *2229-PS │The Reich Youth Leader at Work, │ │ │published in National Socialist Party │ │ │Press Service Release, 22 June 1933, pp.│ │ │2-3. (USA 668) │ IV │ 870 │ │ │ 2260-PS │Settlement of Relationship between NSDAP│ │ │and Stahlhelm (Steel Helmets) published │ │ │in National Socialist Party Press │ │ │Service release, 21 June 1933. │ IV │ 933 │ │ │ *2306-PS │Revolution of Education, by Baldur von │ │ │Schirach, 1938, pp. 51-52, 63. (USA 860)│ IV │ 997 │ │ │ 2340-PS │German public officials law of 27 │ │ │January 1937. 1937 Reichsgesetzblatt, │ │ │Part I, p. 41. │ IV │ 1058 │ │ │ 2392-PS │Extracts from The Third Reich, 1933, │ │ │Vol. I, pp. 144-154. │ V │ 54 │ │ │ 2393-PS │Extracts from The Third Reich, 1934, │ │ │[Vol. II], pp. 218-224. │ V │ 58 │ │ │ 2394-PS │Extracts from The Third Reich, 1935, │ │ │Vol. III, pp. 208-212. │ V │ 60 │ │ │ 2395-PS │Extracts from The Third Reich, 1936, │ │ │Vol. IV, pp. 360-362. │ V │ 62 │ │ │ *2396-PS │Handbook of Collected Youth Laws, Vol. │ │ │I, Group 1, pp. 19a, 19b, 20. (USA 673) │ V │ 63 │ │ │ 2397-PS │National Socialist Handbook for Law and │ │ │Legislation by Dr. Hans Frank, p. 566. │ V │ 65 │ │ │ *2398-PS │Cooperation of Hitler Jugend with │ │ │Wehrmacht, 11 August 1939, published in │ │ │The Archive, No. 65, August 1939, pp. │ │ │601-602. (USA 677) │ V │ 66 │ │ │ 2399-PS │Articles “School Community to replace │ │ │parents’ advisory committee” and “NSDAP │ │ │takes over education of university │ │ │students”, published in The Archive, │ │ │1934, pp. 1039, 1147-1148. │ V │ 67 │ │ │ *2401-PS │The Hitler Youth as recruits for future │ │ │leaders, from Organization Book of │ │ │NSDAP, 1938, pp. 80-81. (USA 430) │ V │ 69 │ │ │ 2435-PS │Extracts from The Coming Germany, The │ │ │Education of the Youth in the Reich of │ │ │Adolf Hitler, by Kaufmann. │ V │ 113 │ │ │ *2436-PS │Extracts from Enjoyment, Discipline, │ │ │Belief, Official handbook for cultural │ │ │work in camp. (USA 859) │ V │ 119 │ │ │ 2438-PS │Extracts from Boys in Service, handbook │ │ │for boys 10 to 14 years of age. │ V │ 132 │ │ │ 2439-PS │Extracts from Girl in Vacation Camp, │ │ │official publication of Reichs Youth │ │ │Headquarters. │ V │ 136 │ │ │ 2440-PS │Extracts from Boys, Your World, the │ │ │yearbook of the Hitler Youth. │ V │ 139 │ │ │ *2441-PS │Affidavit of Gregor Ziemer, 4 October │ │ │1945, from his book “Education for │ │ │Death”. (USA 679) │ V │ 141 │ │ │ 2442-PS │Guide of racial science and science of │ │ │heredity of fostering congenitally sound│ │ │progeny of family science. │ V │ 176 │ │ │ 2443-PS │Extracts from Education in the Greater │ │ │German Reich. │ V │ 178 │ │ │ 2444-PS │Extracts from German Reading Book for │ │ │Elementary Schools, second volume. │ V │ 181 │ │ │ 2445-PS │Extracts from German Reading Book for │ │ │Elementary Schools, fourth volume. │ V │ 183 │ │ │ 2446-PS │Extracts from History Book for the │ │ │German Youth. │ V │ 184 │ │ │ 2451-PS │Decree of Reichsminister of Education │ │ │Candidates for Teacher’s Positions to │ │ │Prove themselves in Hitler Youth, │ │ │published in Voelkischer Beobachter, │ │ │Berlin edition, 22 October 1935. │ V │ 187 │ │ │ 2452-PS │Extracts from Organization Book of │ │ │NSDAP, 1943. │ V │ 187 │ │ │ 2453-PS │Education and Instruction in the │ │ │Upper Schools, official publication of │ │ │the Reich and Prussian Minister of │ │ │Education, 1938. │ V │ 189 │ │ │ *2454-PS │Quotations from speeches of Hitler, │ │ │published in Voelkischer Beobachter, │ │ │Munich edition. (USA 676) │ V │ 196 │ │ │ 2455-PS │Statement by Hitler at Elbing, Germany, │ │ │quoted in Voelkischer Beobachter, Berlin│ │ │edition, 6 November 1933. │ V │ 198 │ │ │ 2456-PS │Youth and the Church, from Complete │ │ │Handbook of Youth Laws. │ V │ 198 │ │ │ 2458-PS │Constitution of the German Student │ │ │Corps, 1934 Reichs Ministerialblatt, pp.│ │ │76-79. │ V │ 199 │ │ │ *2567-PS │Decree signed by Himmler and von │ │ │Schirach, concerning cooperation of HJ │ │ │and SS, printed in The Young Germany, │ │ │Berlin, February 1939. (USA 674) │ V │ 301 │ │ │ *2653-PS │The Way of German Youth, from The Third │ │ │Reich, 5th Year, 1937, pp. 117-118. (USA│ │ │669) │ V │ 359 │ │ │ *2654-PS │Organization and Insignia of the Hitler │ │ │Youth, edited by Reich Youth │ │ │Headquarters of NSDAP. (USA 675) │ V │ 361 │ │ │ 2655-PS │Concordat between the Holy See and the │ │ │German Reich, Article 31. 1933 │ │ │Reichsgesetzblatt, Part II, p. 679, │ │ │687-8. │ V │ 364 │ │ │ 2656-PS │The Bearer of Sovereignty, from speech │ │ │of the Fuehrer at the Reichsparteitag, │ │ │1935. │ V │ 365 │ │ │ 2900-PS │Speech by Frick at Anniversary meeting │ │ │of Hitler Youth, published in The │ │ │Archive, January 1936, p. 1339. │ V │ 567 │ │ │ 2901-PS │Extract from The Book of the NSDAP, p. │ │ │95. │ V │ 568 │ │ │ *3054-PS │“The Nazi Plan”, script of a motion │ │ │picture composed of captured German │ │ │film. (USA 167) │ V │ 801 │ │ │ *3751-PS │Diary of the German Minister of Justice,│ │ │1935 concerning prosecution of church │ │ │officials and punishment in │ │ │concentration camps. (USA 828; USA 858) │ VI │ 636 │ │ │ *L-360-H │Agreement between the League for │ │ │Germandom in Foreign Countries and the │ │ │Hitler Youth, 6 May 1933. (USA 671) │ VII │ 1108 │ │ │ *Chart No. 2 │Totalitarian Control of Propaganda and │ │ │Education. (USA 21) │ VIII │ 771

9. PROPAGANDA, CENSORSHIP AND SUPERVISION OF CULTURAL ACTIVITIES

A. _The party organization._

(1) _The Reichspropagandaleitung_ (Party Propaganda Department) (RPL). This office was founded in 1932, as the central propaganda control office headed by Goebbels. Its functions were:

(_a_) To direct, supervise and synchronize propaganda within the Nazi movement.

“Propaganda of the NSDAP, its formations and affiliated associations is the responsibility of the _Reichspropagandaleiter_.

“He determines all manifestations of the Movement, including its formations and affiliated associations, with regard to propaganda.

“He issues the directives for the Party, including its formations and affiliated associations, for the realization of the cultural wishes of the Fuehrer.” (_2319-PS_)

These functions were organized vertically through a close network of _Gauleiters_, _Kreisleiters_, and _Ortsgruppenleiters_ which reached even the smallest communities. In addition, synchronization of propaganda within the Movement was guaranteed through the _Reichsring fuer National-Sozialistische Propaganda und Volksaufklaerung_, (National Socialist Organization for Propaganda and People’s Enlightenment), an office within the _Reichspropagandaleitung_. The _Reichsring_ constituted the center of control responsible for the complete coordination of Party and Movement in the field of propaganda.

“The _Reichsring_ * * * had the task to ensure the uniform direction of propaganda of all formations and affiliated associations through the Party.” (_2319-PS_)

(_b_) To imbue the Nazi Movement and the people with Nazi ideology.

“(The _Reichspropagandaleiter_) upon his initiative, is concerned with the permeation of German people with the National Socialist ideology.

“He enlightens the people about the achievements of Party and State.

“He controls the entire German wireless system with regard to its internal organizational, cultural and economic possibilities;

“Press, radio and film are in the service of propaganda.” (_2319-PS_)

“The liaison officer has the task of centralizing all contacts with the Reich Ministries, public authorities, and corporations and to establish all such contacts with same * * *”. (_2319-PS_)

(_d_) To investigate the effectiveness of Nazi propaganda. This function was assigned to the lower grades of the Party leadership, and to regional and local officials, who assembled and analyzed information on public reaction to the current content of propaganda.

(_e_) Other activities of the _Reichspropagandaleitung_ were discharged by numerous functional departments which included, _inter alia_, “_Hauptstellen_” (Main Bureaus) or offices for the following:

_1._ _Press_—preparation of all propaganda material issued by _Reichspropagandaleitung_ for dissemination to newspapers. _2._ _Exhibits and fairs_—supervision of propaganda aspects of exhibits and fairs in which the Party participated. _3._ _Mass or “Aktive” propaganda_—organization of propaganda campaigns within the movement; training and supplying speakers with propaganda materials. _4._ _Films_—Popularization of Nazi-inspired films; photographing official rallies. _5._ _Radio_—radio propaganda. _6._ _Culture_—making all forms of art conform to Nazi standards.

Other Bureaus included Architecture, Style and Design, Works of Art, Formulation of Programs, and Training of Speakers. (_2319-PS_)

The _Reichspropagandaleitung_ was regionally organized into _Gau-_, _Kreis-_, and _Ortsgruppenpropagandaaemter_ (_Gau_, district, and local propaganda offices). The _Gaupropagandaleiter_ (leader of the _Gau_ propaganda office) was at the same time the _Gau_ representative of the Chamber of Culture (_Landeskulturwalter_) and in most cases also represented the regional office of the Propaganda Ministry, so that on the lower levels, Party and State propaganda were completely unified. (_2315-PS_)

(2) _The office of Reichspressechef_ (Reich Press Chief).

The office of Reich Press Chief of the NSDAP was created in 1934 by decree of the Fuehrer (_2319-PS_). The functions of this office were exclusive:

“The Reich Press Office of the NSDAP is the central office for the entire political publishing activity of the Party. It represents the press interests of the Reich leadership of the NSDAP _vis a vis_ both the German and the foreign press. It alone has the authority to issue directives to the press of Reich policies concerning the treatment of Party affairs. It alone has the authority to issue press directives to all offices of Reich leadership. It is responsible for the political and editorial preparations, execution and utilization of all important Party activities in the Reich. It supplies the domestic and foreign press with information, news and commentaries about the Party. It keeps a record of press reaction to the Party work in publications of the domestic and foreign press.” (_2319-PS_)

The Reich Press Chief exercised control over all press offices, including the chief editors of the National Socialist newspapers, as well as the _Gau_ press wardens of the Party. He also served as liaison officer between the Party press and the “Independent” press, and between Party and Government. (_2319-PS_)

The executive functions of the Reich Press Chief were carried out by two offices:

(_a_) _The Pressepolitisches Amt_ (Press Political Office).

(_b_) _The Pressepersonalamt_ (Press Personnel Office), which was in charge of training journalists and keeping files on German and foreign journalists.

The vertical organization of press controls, corresponding to that of the _Reichspropagandaleitung_, included _Gau-_, _Kreis-_ and _Ortsgruppen_ departments. Each was headed by an _Amtsleiter_, or press warden, who was responsible for the entire Party press within his sphere of jurisdiction. He supervised the editorial policy of the Party press, issued information bulletins about the activities of the Movement, and served as liaison officer between the Party and non-Party press. He also transmitted local information to headquarters for distribution and made recommendations concerning the appointments of local party editors. The _Gau-_ and _Kreis-_ press wardens, at the same time, served as regional and local representatives of the Home Press Division of the Propaganda Ministry and of the Reich Press Chamber. (_2319-PS_; _2315-PS_)

(3) _The Reichsleiter fuer die Presse_ (Reich Press Leader).

The Reich Press Leader, Max Amann, was charged with supervising all matters concerning the German publishing business. The _Organisationsbuch der NSDAP_ (1937) described his function as follows:

“He is charged with the creation of a press for the German people, which is responsible and answerable to him, and which reflects the life and experiences of the German people’s community. In addition, the Reichsleiter for Press has the function of issuing regulations necessary to carry out the demands concerning publication policies established in Article 23 of the Party Program and to supervise their execution.” (_2319-PS_)

Article 23 of the Party Platform referred to above, provided, _inter alia_, that (a) all editors and newspaper personnel must be “members of the nation”; (b) non-Germans are prohibited from financial participation in, or influence of, newspapers; (c) the publication of papers “which do not conduce to the national welfare” is prohibited; (d) tendencies in art or literature “of a kind likely to disintegrate our life as a nation” will be prosecuted; and (e) “institutions which militate against the requirements mentioned above” will be suppressed. (_1708-PS_)

Thus the Reich Press Leader was not only empowered to control all publishing houses of the Party, but was assigned the task of bringing the entire German press into line with National Socialist ideology. To this end he was given wide and specific powers.

His sphere of jurisdiction included specifically:

(_a_) The administration, publishing, and financing of the Party press;

(_b_) The establishment of newspapers by Party members or affiliated associations;

(_c_) The incorporation of newspapers into the Party press combine;

(_d_) The appointment of publishers and of their deputies;

(_e_) The termination or alteration of contracts with newspapers;

(_f_) The appointment of Commissars to supervise publishing houses. (_2319-PS_)

In addition to controlling the administration and finance of the National Socialist publishing houses in the _Gau_, the Press Leader headed the _Zentralverlag_, which was the central publishing house and holding company of the entire Party publishing machine and all its official organs, such as _Der Voelkischer Beobachter_, _Der Angriff_, _Der SA Mann_, _Das Schwarze Korps_, _Die HJ_, etc. (_3016-PS_)

It was one of the Reich Press Leader’s duties to turn all publishing by Party officials into a lucrative undertaking, and to set up an absolute monopoly in the publication of all political literature. To effectuate that objective, a decree was passed which made it mandatory for all “manuscripts which have National Socialist problems and subject matter as themes” to be offered first to _Eher Verlag_ publication. (_2383-PS_)

The _Reichsleiter fuer die Press_, who was also president of the Reich Press Chamber, exercised economic controls over the entire German press. He made use of his position to expand the Party publishing machine at the expense of non-party newspapers. As president of the Reich Press Chamber, he was authorized to issue directives with the force of law. In that capacity he issued certain regulations which had the effect of prohibiting the ownership of newspapers by corporations of any kind, except the NSDAP or such groups as were approved by the Party. (_2315-PS_)

These decrees enabled Amann to close down one or more papers in a

## particular locality “to safeguard reasonable standards of competition.”

They thus provided, along with racial and other discriminatory legislation, the “legal” basis for the pressure which was brought to bear on such publishing firms as Ullstein and other opposition publications, in order to force them to sell out to the Party. These sales were in no sense voluntary; the alternative in each case was total suppression. The authorizing decree provided:

“The President of the Reich Chamber of the Press will therefore endeavor at first in every individual case to effect agreements which will relieve him of the necessity of issuing orders for the closing of establishments.” (_2315-PS_)

Max Amann has admitted in an affidavit that he discharged his duties as Reich Press Leader consistently with the statement of his functions contained in the Party Organization Book and with Article 23 of the Party Program. He has further stated that racial and other discriminatory legislation made it expedient for firms “owned or controlled by Jewish interests, or by political or religious interests hostile to the NSDAP * * * to sell their newspapers or assets to the Eher concern”; and that there was “no free market for the sale of such properties and the Franz Eher Verlag was generally the only bidder.” His affidavit concludes as follows:

“It is a true statement to say that the basic purpose of the Nazi press program was to eliminate all press in opposition to the Party.” (_3016-PS_)

(4) _Parteiamliche Prufungskommission zum Schutz des NS-Christums_ (Office of Party Examining Commission for the Protection of National Socialist Publications) (PPK).

The PPK was charged with the censorship and supervision of all literature with cultural or political implications. According to the Party Manual:

“The functional scope of the official Party Examining Commission is not confined to any one group of publications but includes the entire publishing field. Thus the work of the Official Party Examining Commission is sub-divided into departments for books, magazines and newspapers. Out of these main departments a group of important special fields have emerged as more or less independent fields. They are specifically the editing of speeches, scientific books, textbooks, scientific periodicals and the calendar as a special type of magazine.” (_2319-PS_)

The Examining Commission’s function was to protect National Socialist literature from attempts to destroy its propagandistic effect or to pervert its political and social content. The Party Manual stated:

“It is the function of the Examining Commission to protect the National Socialist literature from abuse, corruption, and attempts at dissolution. Thus it forestalls the infiltration of elements within the National Socialist literature which are irreconcilable with it.” (_2319-PS_)

In addition, the PPK concerned itself with the actual suppression of literature incompatible with Party tenets, and with the approval of those works which it deemed beneficial to the extension of the National Socialist ideology. The Party Manual specified as follows:

“Particularly it is the function of the official Party Examining Commission to determine whether or not a work can be considered National Socialist literature.” (_2319-PS_)

This office worked in close collaboration with the Delegate of the Fuehrer for the Total Supervision of the Intellectual and Ideological Training and Education of the People (Rosenberg). (_2319-PS_; _2383-PS_)

(5) _The Beauftragte des Fuehrers fuer die Ueberwachung der gesamten geistigen und weltansschaulichen Schulung und Erziehung der NSDAP_ (Delegate of the Fuehrer for the Total Supervision of the Intellectual and Ideological Training and Education of the Party) (BdF).

The delegate of the Fuehrer was _Reichsleiter_ Alfred Rosenberg. The Office of the BdF was placed in charge of the Party’s intellectual and ideological training and education. Its declared objective was the uniform ideological orientation of the Party, Party formations, and affiliated associations. Its main functions, in furtherance of this objective, were the preparation of suitable training materials and the issuance of directives thereon; the preparation, editing, and establishment of curricula; the training of qualified teaching staffs; the counseling of Party agencies, formations, and affiliates on content and methods of indoctrination; and the elimination of such reading and teaching materials as were deemed inappropriate from a National Socialist point of view. To perform these tasks, Rosenberg had the assistance of a large organization with numerous functional divisions (_2319-PS_). The BdF took a major part in the work of Party organizations, affiliated associations, and schools and training institutes which were instrumental in the indoctrination of the German people and youth. (_2383-PS_)

B. _The Reich government organization._

The state organ of control was the _Reichsministerium fuer Volksaufklaerung und Propaganda_ (Reich Ministry for Popular Enlightenment and Propaganda). The Minister was Josef Goebbels. The Ministry was founded by decree dated 13 March 1933, which defined its duties as the “enlightenment of, and propaganda among, the people on the subject of the policy of the Reich government and on the national reconstruction of the homeland.” (_2029-PS_). By decree dated 30 June 1933 the functions of the Minister were extended to include “jurisdiction over the whole field of spiritual indoctrination of the nation, of propagandizing the State, of cultural and economic propaganda, of enlightenment of the public at home and abroad; furthermore he is in charge of all institutions serving these purposes.” (_2030-PS_). In the words of Mueller, an authority on the Propaganda Ministry, these decrees formed the basis for the creation of a central agency for propaganda “the like of which heretofore existed nowhere in the world.” (_2434-PS_). The influence which this agency exerted on the everyday life and activities of the German citizen was illustrated by the multitude of civic and cultural affairs, including public entertainment, which fell under the sweep of its direction and control. (_2434-PS_)

A few of the more important departments of the Propaganda Ministry, together with a brief description of their respective functions, follows:

(1) _Personnel._ This department issued directives for unified personnel policy, and exercised general supervision over the personnel of public art instituted within the entire Reich.

(2) _Law._ “The nuclear task of the law department is the publication and execution of national socialist cultural laws. The professions and institutions of literature and art had to be transformed from carriers of a liberal individualistic intellectual movement to the carriers of the tasks of public propaganda and leadership. To reach this goal required the enactment of governmental decrees for creating new organizations or the making of new laws.”

(3) _Propaganda._ This department coordinated propaganda policies and issued over-all directives to the various functional departments (press, radio, etc.) which then carried out the directives. A special function was “enlightenment of the people as to Jewish question” and as to “racial policies.”

(4) _Foreign._ This department was the Ministry’s listening post for political and economic developments abroad “to counteract the worldwide publicity activities of the enemy against our philosophy and our political objectives by exposing and rectifying the lies of the press” and to exploit the information in German propaganda. It also cooperated closely with the _Auslandsorganization der NSDAP_.

(5) _Radio._ Hans Fritzsche headed this department. It supervised the political content of German broadcasting, issued directives as to the arrangement of programs and treatment of material, and cooperated with the Party in the technical organization of German radio.

(6) The _Film Department_ was in charge of directing and guiding the German film industry, censoring of films, and developing the German weekly newsreel.

(7) _Literature._ This agency, in close collaboration with BdF and PPK, controlled all German literary activities, censored new books, provided for the publication of German books abroad, and arranged for the translation and censorship of foreign books.

(8) _Abteilung Deutsche Presse_ (German or Home Press Department). This department was headed by Fritzsche until he was relieved in 1942 to take charge of the Radio Division. It was responsible for political control over the entire German press; it controlled the editorial policy of the press and its personnel (through the Reich Press Chamber), and supervised the dissemination of news through the official German News Agency (DNB). The Home Press Division outlined the editorial policy of all newspapers and the comment of editors and journalists in its daily directives. (_Tendenz berichte_). These dealt with the daily contents of the paper, the methods of treatment of news material, the writing of headlines, the preference for or omission of certain items, and the modification or cessation of current campaigns. The directives were issued to the representatives of the press in person or sent through the facilities of the DNB to the local papers. (_2434-PS_; _2529-PS_)

The Home Press Department of the Propaganda Ministry had an important

## participation in administering the provisions of the Editorial Control

Law, which made the profession of editor “a public task, which is regulated as to its professional duties and rights by the state.” That law also included requirements for admission to the profession and other elaborate controls. (_2083-PS_)

(9) _Periodical Literature._ This department supervised German periodical literature in the same manner as the _Abteilung Deutsche Presse_ controlled the daily press.

Other divisions exercised supervision over the Theatre (selection and supervision of the entire dramatic production and influencing the programs of all German Theatres); the Arts; Music (“the entire cultural and political leadership of German musical life”); Special Cultural Tasks (“This department serves mainly to eliminate all Jews from German Cultural life”); and Foreign Tourists. (_2434-PS_)

A large organization of faithful Party followers was recruited to discharge the manifold functions of the Propaganda Ministry. The staff numbered 1000 persons in 1939-1940. In the words of Mueller:

“It is no accident; therefore, that the great majority of the official workers and other personnel of the Ministry consist of reliable National Socialists of which almost 100 are bearers of the Gold Party Pin.” (_2434-PS_)

C. _The semi-autonomous professional organizations Reichskulturkammer_ (Reich Chamber of Culture).

The Reich Chamber of Culture was set up in September 1933 to control (under the supervision of the Propaganda Ministry and within the framework of general policy directives issued by that activity) personnel engaged in all fields of propaganda (_2082-PS_). Its tasks as described in the First Executive Decree of the above law, dated 1 November 1933, were:

“To promote German culture as responsible to the people and the Reich, to regulate the social and economic relations of the different groups in the cultural professions and to coordinate their aims.” (_2415-PS_)

The _Reichskulturkammer_ was a so-called “_Nachgeordnete Dienststelle_” (Subordinate office) of the Propaganda Ministry. Together with its subordinate Chambers it was charged with supervising all personnel

## active in any field under the jurisdiction of the Propaganda Ministry.

All persons employed in the cultural professions were obligated to register with one of the subordinate Chambers. The Chambers were also responsible for investigating the activities and political reliability of their members. Moreover, power was given to Chambers to prosecute members offending against Nazi standards or persons pursuing their occupation without being duly registered. The punitive powers included, expulsion from membership, which was tantamount to the loss of livelihood. The Chambers were also given power to issue directives, which had the validity of law, regulating the cultural activities under their control (_2529-PS_). The President of the Chamber of Culture was the Minister of Propaganda, Joseph Goebbels, who nominated the Vice-Presidents. In 1937, the latter consisted of Walter Funk, Max Amann (Reich Leader of the Press) and Leopold Gutterer (Secretary of State in the Propaganda Ministry).

The Chamber of Culture was divided into seven functional chambers:

(1) _Reichspressekammer_ (Reich Press Chamber). Max Amann was president of this chamber, which was, to a greater extent than the other chambers, a loose association of technical bodies and organizations, such as the Reich Association of German Newspaper Publishers. It integrated the

## activities of these groups and, through the composition of its governing

body, ensured close coordination with Party and State propaganda machinery. (_2529-PS_; _3016-PS_)

(2) _Reichskammer der bildenden Kunste_ (Reich Chamber of Fine Arts). This chamber supervised the activities of all architects, interior decorators, landscape gardeners, sculptors, painters, draftsmen, art publishers, etc. By 1937, all other art groups and associations had been dissolved, and all their members “obligated by profession” to join this chamber. (_2529-PS_)

(3) _Reichsmusikkammer_ (Reich Music Chamber). This Chamber was organized to “oversee the practice and activity of musicians in their cultural, economic, and legal relationships with the world. * * * in order that music will still remain a prized possession of the German people.” (_2529-PS_)

(4) _Reichstheaterkammer_ (Reich Theater Chamber). The Theater Chamber was the professional organization for the entire field of the professional theater. Its purpose was to supervise and promote the “cultural, social and economic conditions of the professions which it includes”. Actual censorship of stage production was the responsibility of the _Reichsdramaturg_. (_2529-PS_)

(5) _Reichsfilmkammer_ (Reich Film Chamber). The primary function of this Chamber was to lift the film industry “out of the sphere of liberal economic thoughts” by giving it a sound economic foundation and thus enable it to “receive those tasks which it has to fulfill in the National Socialist State”. (_2529-PS_)

(6) _Reichsschrifttumskammer_ (Reich Chamber of Literature). The Chamber of Literature had jurisdiction over all persons concerned with the “basic production” (writing and publishing) of literature. Its task was to protect writers “from undesirable elements” and to keep out of the

## book market everything “unGerman.” It had the further function of

bringing literature to the people and making the writer more “aware of his duty to the nation.” Primary responsibility for critical evaluation and censorship of literature however, was left to the Propaganda Ministry. (_2529-PS_)

(7) _Reichsrundfunkkammer_ (Reich Radio Chamber). The official gazette of the Reich Culture Chamber stated that the radio was the most immediate propaganda instrument of the National Socialist leadership; that the ideal and cultural life of the nation could be shown “totally” in and through the radio; and that since the radio constituted the most important technical means of influencing the masses it was necessary to establish a close tie between the radio and the Party.

Functions of the Radio Chamber included: mobilizing of all technical possibilities of broadcasting, bringing the people closer to radio, planning the manufacture of cheap receiving sets, and propaganda in connection with the drive for new listeners. (_2529-PS_)

* * * * *

LEGAL REFERENCES AND LIST OF DOCUMENTS RELATING TO PROPAGANDA, CENSORSHIP, AND SUPERVISION OF CULTURAL ACTIVITIES

10. MILITARIZATION OF NAZI ORGANIZATIONS.

A. _The Nazi conspirators placed many of their organizations on a progressively militarized footing with a view to the rapid transformation and use of such organizations as instruments of war._

(1) _The Schutzstaffeln (SS)._ The SS was militarized beginning in March 1933, when special, volunteer, armed units were created consisting of full-time garrisoned troops. These units, which rapidly grew in strength, were a part neither of the Wehrmacht, nor of the police, but were exclusively at the disposal of the Fuehrer. This militarization of the SS was in accordance with Nazi policy. (For documentation and further discussion see