Their co-operation was secured, as we shall demonstrate, through the good offices of the defendant WELTZ. Lastly, we come to the two Luftwaffe defendants, who are in the dock primarily because of the part they played in the experiments to make seawater drinkable. BEIGLEBROECK's affidavit is document NO-674, which becomes Prosecution Exhibit 20. It reads as follows:
"I, Dr. Wilhelm Franz Joseph BEIGLEROECK, being duly sworn, depose and state:
"1. I was born October 10, 1905, at Hoehneukircheni, Lower Austria. I studied medicine at the University of Vienna and passed my state examination in 1931.
"2. I joined the NSDAP in 1933, but received my party number after the annexation of Austria. I joined the SA in 1934. My last rank in the SA was that of Obersturmbannfuehrer of the Medical Service. I was also a member of the association of Nazi physicians and the association of Nazi academic lecturers.
"3. From 1931 to 1933, I was an assistant physician on the staff of the Third Medical Clinic in Vienna. From 1931 until the end of the war, I was associated with the First Hospital in Vienna, in 1939 becoming chief physician. In 1939, I qualified as an academic lecturer and, in 1944, qualified as extraordinary professor.
"4. In May, 1941, I joined the German air force, where I rose to the rank of Captain in the Medical Services. From August 1941, until December 1941, I was stationed in the air force hospital in Wels, Upper Austria. From December 1941 until May 1942, I was stationed at the air force hospital at Vienna, where I worked in the department for the treatment of internal disease.
"5. From May 1942 until July 1942, I attended the war school in Eger, and in July 1942 until November 1943. I was assigned to the motorized medical detachment where I was in charge of the Department for Internal Disease. From November 1943 until 1944, I was stationed at the air force hospital at Braunschweig, where I was Deputy Department Head of the Department for Internal Diseases.
From early 1944 until the end of the war, except for approximately a six-week period, I was stationed at the hospital for paratroopers at Tarvis, Northern Italy, where I was chief physician for the Department of Internal Diseases.
"6. From approximately 1 July 1944, while stationed at Tarvis, Italy, I was ordered by Dr. BECKER-FREYSENG to report to Dachau. I remained at Dachau for a period of approximately eight weeks, where I assisted in the experiments pertaining to the SCHAEFER and BERKA methods of rendering seawater potable."
BEIGLBROECK's position is not shown on either of the two charts. He was recalled from service in Italy to conduct the seawater experiments, having been recommended by one Dr. Hans Eppinger, who was a consultant to the Luftwaffe. Eppinger recently took his life in Vienna.
Document NO-688, which will be Prosecution Exhibit 21, is the affidavit of SCHAEFER.
"I, Dr. Konrad Wilhelm Philipp SCHAEFER, being duly sworn, depose and state:
"1. was born on January 7, 1911, at Muelhausen, Alsatia, Germany. I studied medicine at the Universities of Munich, Berlin, Innsbruck and Heidelberg. I passed my state examination in Heidelberg in December 1935.
"2. In the beginning of 1936, I worked as a medical internee at the Heidelberg University Chemo Therapeutic Clinic in Berlin. A little later, in 1936, I became affiliated with the firm of SCHERING, A. G. in Berlin, as an assistant to Dr. Feldt in the therapeutic laboratory. I worked part time in SCHERING, A. G. In 1938 I had to leave the clinic because I was not a member of the NSDAP. I remained with SCHERING until November 1941.
"3. In November 1941, I was drafted into the Luftwaffe and received my basic medical training in Baden, near Vienna, Austria. In March 1942, I was transferred to the Luftwaffe replacement depot in Saylo, and from there to the Luftwaffe base at Frankfort on the Oder.
"4. In the summer of 1942, I was transferred to Berlin, and assigned to the staff of the Research Institute for Aviation Medicine. Simultaneously, I received my position in the Research Department of the Chemotherapeutic Laboratory of SCHERING, A. G. My chief assignment at the institute was to do research work on tho problems of sea emergency for the Luftwaffe. This included research on various methods to render seawater potable. I remained in these positions until the end of the war."
The position of SCHAEFER and the Research Institute for Aviation Medicine appear on both of the charts.
DR. PELCKMANN: I have an objection to the admissibility of both the charts, with reference to the defendant SCHAEFER.
The charts are to give you an optical impression with reference to the organizations as they are explained in the affidavit, and in particular, with reference to the position of the defend ant in that organization. The chart does not give you the correct optical impression which should be seen when reading the affidavit made by SCHAEFER. SCHAEFER was one of the collaborators in the staff of the Aviation Institute for Medicine. If the Tribunal would like to look at tho chart, it will see that under the name of this institute, and its leader Professor STRUCHOLD, there is a small box on which it says, "Dr. SCHAEFER." Beneath that, there are other boxes, which are subordinated to Dr. SCHAEFER and Dr. STRUGHOLD. This box, Dr. SCHAEFER, therefore, gives you a wrong impression which is neither in compliance with the testimony of SCHAEFER which has just been read, nor with the statement of Professor SCHROEDER, which was read before that. SCHAEFER was merely a collaborator and he was assigned to his duties as such and was only one of 30 to 40 collaborators in this institute. However, when looking at the chart, and that is my objection as to its admissibility, it appears as if he were the second man after STRUGHOLD.
MR. McHANEY: Your Honor will appreciate the fact that it is impossible on a piece of paper the size of the charts that we have submitted to show each and every individual who was a number of these various institutes which were subordinate to the medical service of the Luftwaffe. It happens that we were interested in SCHAEFER. We are not interested in the other 38 students at this institute. Also, I would like to point out that we do not take the position at all that SCHAEFER was second in command after STRUGHOLD, and I am not aware that the Persecution has said anything to lead the counsel for this defendant to take that position. In any event, I do not think that his remarks go to an objection against the admissibility of this document, conceding that the document is wrong, he may point out these facts to the Court at the time he presents his case.
The document was drawn for use by the defendant SCHROEDER, and purposts to be an accurate chart of the organization of the medical services of the Luftwaffe.
THE PRESIDENT: Objection of counsel overruled, till we understand what the charts were made for, and subject to explanation as the evidence progresses. The Court will now take its noon recess.
(A recess was taken until 1330 hours)
AFTERNOON SESSION (THE HEARING RE-CONVENED AT 1330 hours, 9 DECEMBER 1946)
THE MARSHAL: Persons in the court room may find seats. Kindly all arise while the judges come in.
(The judges enter)
THE MARSHAL: The Military Tribunal is again in session.
MR. MCHANEY: We have completed our presentation as to the defendants that were active within the frame-work of the Luftwaffe. And, next, we can consider the positions held by the defendants in the block within the framework of the SS, an organization which was found to be criminal by The International Military Tribunal.
The defendants Karl Brandt, Genzken, Gebhardt, Rudolf Brandt, ********* Helmut Poppendick, Viktor Brack, Hoven and Fritz Fischer, were all member of the SS after 1 September 1939, and are so charged in Count 4 of the Indictment.
We have already become familiar with the position of Karl Brandt. Before turning to the careers of the other SS defendants, I think it would be helpful for the Tribunal to present in evidence the charts showing the medical organization of the SS.
The next document is NO-416, which will be Prosecution Exhibit No. 22, and it carries the organization of the SS prior to 31 August 1943.
The second chart is Document NO-417, which will be Prosecution Exhibit No. 23, and it covers the medical organization of the SS after the 31st of August 1943.
Both of these charts were signed by the defendant Mrugowsky. We had again hoped to have these charts reproduced in larger scale for use in the Courtroom, but that has proved impossible.
Of course, the whole of the SS, including the Medical Department was under the Command of Reichsfuehrer of the SS, Heinrich Himmler. The relation of Karl Brandt and Handloser to the Medical Service of the SS, by virtue of their positions as Reichminister of the Health and Sanitation and Chief of the Medical Services of the Wehrmacht are shown in these charts. The broken lines indicate direct control, while the other one concerns itself with front line troops.
You will find within the broken lines the dots and dashes running from that of Handloser to that of Genzken. We shall refer to the charts in more detail as are consider the affidavits of the SS defendants. The first of these is the affidavit of Genzken. Document No. 439, which will be Prosecution Exhibit 24:
(Reading) "I, Dr. Karl Eduard August GENZKEN, being duly sworn, depose, and state:
1. I was born on 8 June 1883 at Freetz (Holstein) near Kiel. In 1906 I graduated from the Gymnasium in Wandsbeck, and in 1908 passed my "physicum" at the University of Harburg. From 1911 to August 1922, I interned at the Plaunen Hospital.
2. In august 1912, I entered the German Navy as a Naval Physician with the rank of Unterarzt and from august 1912 until November 1919 I was on active duty with the German Navy. I served as Medical Officer on various U boats and on the Cruiser "Hamburg" during the first World War. During the years of 1915 to 1917, I worked on the organization of the U Boat Medical Service. During the years 1918 and 1919, I served in the shipyard hospital in Wilhelmshaven.
3. From November 1918 until October 1934, I practiced medicine in my home town of Preetz, and in October 1934 entered the German Navy for the second time. I become Reserve Officer in the Medical Department of the Defense Ministry. Beginning in February 1934, I served as an investigating doctor of the Sick Benefit System of Gross-Berlin.
4. In July 1926, I joined the NSDAP, my party membership number being 39,913. In 1932, I entered the Association of National Socialist Doctors.
5. On March 1, 1936, I entered the Waffen-SS as Sturmbannfuehrer. My number was 207954. I was assigned to the Medical Office of the SS-Special Service Troops as adviser on health cures and depentant's care. I also served as a field doctor in the Signal Detachment of the SS "Ieibstandarte". I was subsequently appointed chief physician of the newly established "SS Hospital" Berlin.
I also directed the Sanitats-Schule (Training School for soldiers of the Medical Corps) attached to the "SS Hospital".
"In the Spring of 1937, along with the general expansion of the SS, the SS-Medical Office was enlarged and split into two departments. My department was charged with the supply of medical equipment and the supervision of medical personnel in the concentration camps. Dr. Grawitz, then SS Oberfuehrer and Chief of the SS Medical Office was my immediate superior. In this capacity, I was also the Medical Officer of Eicke, the commander of all concentration camps. I acted in this capacity until the beginning of the war. With the outbreak of war in September 1939, I was replaced, by Dr. Dermitzel."
In September 1939, I was charged with the activation of the 3rd Medical Battalion of the 3rd Panzer Grenadier Division in Heilbroon, Auensingen and Korbach. In May 1940, I was appointed Chief of the Medical Office of the Waffen-SS Office VII, in the SS Operational Headquarters at Berlin and was promoted to the rank of SS-Oberfuehrer. At the end of 1942, I was appointed Chief of the Medical Service of the Waffen-SS, Division D in the SS Operational Headquarters with the rank of Brigadefuehrer."
The position held by Genzken from May 1940 until 31 August 1943 is shown on the Chart which gives the Organization of the SS Medical Service until August 1943. You will see the block containing his name as Division D Medical Service of the Waffen-SS. That office was attached to the so-called Hauptsamp or the Operational Main Office of the SS under Juttner. All of the blocks under Himmler such as the one with Juttner's name in it, represent the SS Main Offices and there were 12 in number. The subordination of the various medical offices that are listed under one or the other of these main offices are, of course, not all of the departments in these SS main offices. We show on this chart simply the medical offices.
As stated by Genzken in paragraph 6, he left his job as medical officer for the concentration camp in 1939. Now, the chart which is now before the court shows this position as being held by Dr. Lolling under Pohl in the Economic and Administrative Main Office of the SS.
By early 1942 the WVHA, (which are the German initials for the SS Main Office and Administrative Office) had complete administrative control over all concentration camps.
This SS Main Office under Pohl, the WVHA, was one of the principal points around which the common design or conspiracy charge in the Indictment operated, for it was there that the human experimental subjects were obtained.
I continue to read from the Genzken Affidavit, Paragraph 8:
"8. On September 1, 1943, the Medical Service of the Waffen-SS was reorganized. I had been promoted to the rank of Gruppenfuhrer on 30 January 1943. During my service as head of the Waffen-SS Medical Service, my immediate medical superior was Dr. Grawitz, Reich Physician SS and Police, and when Grawitz was away from Berlin, I was in many events his deputy in the Medical Service of the SS.
"9. Throughout the war, medical field units of the Waffen SS were subordinated to the Medical Service of the Army, which was supervised by Dr. Handloser. By Fuhrer Decree of July 28, 1942, Dr. Handloser was appointed Chief of the Medical Service of the Wehrmacht. As a result of this reorganization, Handloser also became my immediate superior as far as medical matters a re concerned.
"10. From tho fall of 1940 until September 1, 1943, Dr. Mrugowsky, who was head of the Hygiene Office in the Waffen-SS Medical Office, was subordinate to me. After September 1, 1943, Dr. Mrugowsky was placed directly under Dr. Grawitz and was subordinate to him. (signed) Karl Genzken."
An item to note here is the shift in direct command over the Defendant Mrugowsky and derivatively through Mrugowsky over the Typhus and Virus Institute at the Buchenwald Concentration Camp. Prior to 31 August 1943, Genzken was in command of Mrugowsky; thereafter Grawitz, who no longer is living, was in command of Mrugowsky. The Tribunal should not assume that Genzken, as a result of this reorganization, was no longer interested in the Hygiene Institute and research at Luchenwald. As Chief of the Medical Services of the Waffen-SS his interest in medical research remained tho same. So, with the Defendant Handloser, both of these men were vitally concerned with typhus research as a result of epidemics among troops fighting in the East against Russia.
The Tribunal shall, at a later point in the trial, hear a great deal about the experiments conducted at the institute in Buchenwald both before and after this reorganization within the SS that I have just discussed.
The Defendant Gebhardt has given us an affidavit, which is Document No. NO-671 and which I offer as Prosecution Exhibit 25. This is on Page 44 of the English Document Book.
"I, Dr. Karl Gebhardt, being duly sworn, depose and state:
"1. I was born on 23 November 1897 at Haag, Germany. I attended school in Haag, Hunich, Rosenheim, and Landshut, and in 1916 I joined the German Army. I took part in the fighting on the Western Front. From 1917 to 1919 I was a prisoner of war in England. In 1920 I was a member of the Munich Student Company during the fighting under the leadership of the then Minister of the Interior Noske in the skirmishes in the Kuhr Territory.
"2. In 1919 I continued my medical studies at the University of Munich. During 1922 I interned at the City Hospital in Landshut and at the Pathological Institute at Munich, and became an assistant resident physician without pay there in the fall of 1922.
"3. On 9 November 1925 I took part in the Nazi putsch in Munich as a member of the Free Corps "Bund Oberland." In 1924 I became an assistant at the Munich University Surgical Clinic under Geheimrat Saurrbruch until 1926, there under Geheimrat Lexer until 1953. In 1932 I became instructor in surgery at Munich University.
"4. I joined the Nazi Party on 1 May 1935, my number being 1,723,317. I joined tho General-SS on 20 April 1935, my number being 265,894. I ultimately rose to the rank of SS Gruppenfuhrer in the General-SS and to the rank of General-Leutnant or Major General in the Reserve of tho Waffen-SS.
"5. In 1933 I was assigned to the hospital at Hohenlychen as Chief Physician. I remained in this position until the end of the war. At the same time I was consulting physician to the Reich Sport Leadership and Chief of the Medical Institute of the Reich Academy for Physical Exercise in Berlin. In 1935 I became honorary University Professor and in 1937 regular Professor at the University of Berlin. During 1935 and the summer of 1936 I was Physician-in-Chief at the Olympic Games. In 1938 I became a physician at Hitler's headquarters. I was also personal physician to Himmler and his family.
"6. In 1940 I became surgical advisor to the WaffenSS and visited the front line divisions. Since 1935 I had been surgical advisor to the Organization Todt, at first for the Reich Autobahns and since 1940 for the West Wall work. Since 1940 I was also in charge of the convaloscent home Kulmbach of the Organization Todt.
"7. In August 1940..."
I think that is an incorrect translation. I think it should read August 1943.
..."I created and took ever the position of Chief Clinical Officer of the Reichsarzt SS and Polizei. I held this position until the end of the war. Dr. Grawitz was my superior. From February 1943 until the spring of 1944 I was personal physician to Albert Speer. I treated him at Hohenlychen and then accompanied him to Italy. With the invasion in 1944 I also became Hoeresgruppenarzt of the Army Group Oberrhein and in 1945 of the Army Group Weichsoil, my services being required at the front, in the defense areas, ant at home. On 23 April 1945 I became President of the German Red Cross.
(signed) Karl Gebhardt."
The name of Gebhardt is shown on the Chart of the Organization following August, 1945, where he held the position of Chief surgeon in the office of Grawitz, it is shown in one of the boxes at the left of Grawitz' name on the chart. Thus we have in the dock the worthy successor of Grawitz as the President of the German Red Cross, Grawitz, the Reichs Physician of the SS, who took his own life in the last days of the war.
Gebhardt was, without question, one of the closest medical advisors to Himmler and, as he states in Paragraph 5 of his affidavit, he was Himmler's personal physician. It can be said, I think, that Gebhardt's position vis-a-vis Himmler was about the same as Karl Brandt vis-a-vis Hitler. Gebhardt was, as he stated, also personal physician to Albert Speer, a defendant before the I.M.T. Gebhardt worked for many years as the Chief Surgeon at the Hospital at Hohenlychen. During the particular time during which we are here interested, he was assisted by the Defendants Fischer and Oberhouser, who, together, performed the experiments on Polish women in the Ravensbruck Concentration Camp in connection with the sulfanilamide experiments and this Tribunal will be accorded the opportunity of observing in person the pitiful results of these criminal operations performed by Gebhardt and his partner in-crime.
I will now read the affidavit of Fritz Fischer which is Document No. NO-559 and will be Prosecution Exhibit 26.
"I, Dr. Fritz Ernst Albert Fisher, being duly sworn, depose and state:
I was born October 5, 1912 in Berlin. In 1931 I commenced the study of medicine and attended the universities of Berlin, Hamburg, Leipzig and Bonn, I received my doctorate in Hamburg in 1938.
2. I joined the NSDAF in 1939? my number being 4,945,298. I joined the SS on February 1, 1934, my number being 203,578. I rose to the rank of Sturmbannfuechrer in the Waffen-SS. In November 1939 I was inducted into the Waffen-Ss and was assigned to the SS unit of the Hospital at Hohenlychen as a physician. I remained at Hohenlychen until June 30, 1941. Dr. Karl GEBHARDT was my superior.
3. On June 30, 1941 I was transferred to the Bodyguard Adolf Hitler, and on December 20, 1941 was re-transferred to Hohenlychen as Assistant Physician to Dr. Karl GEBHARDT. I remained there until May 10, 1943. I was then transferred to the 10th SS Division as Chief Surgeon of a Medical Company assigned to the 10th Panzer Regiment on the Western Front. In November 1043 I was transferred with the same unit to the Russian Front. In June 1944 I was sent to the Western Front in France, where I was action until August 1944.
4. In August 1944 I was wounded and returned to the Hohenlychen Hospital as a patient. In December 1944 I was transferred to the University of Berlin and was assigned as physician to the Charity Hospital in Berlin. In April 1945 I returned to Hohenlychen as Assistant Physician to Dr. Karl GEBHARDT. I remained at Hohenlychen until the end of the war." (Signed) Dr. Fritz Fischer.
Fischer was in the sulphanilimide experiments at Ravensbruck, the willing tool of his chief, the Defendant and Gebhardt.
Next, we turn to the Defendant Oberheuser. While she was not a member for the SS, she worked within the SS Medical Service. First, as a doctor at the Ravensbruck Concentration Camp and then as assistant to the Defendant Gebhardt in the Hospital at Hohenlychen. Her affidavit is Document No. NO-683, which will be Prosecution Exhibit No. 27.
"I, Herta Oberheuser, being duly sworn, depose and states:
1. I was been on May 15, 1911 in Cologne-on-the-Rhine, Germany. I studied medicine at the Universities of Bonn and Dusseldorf and received my Doctorate in 1937.
2. From 1937 until December 1940 I was employed as an assistant physician at the Medical Clinic in Dusseldorf, and at the Skin Clinic in the same city.
3. I joined the League of German Girls in 1935 and held the rank of Block Leader. In May 1937 I became a member of the Nazi party. I was also a member of the Association of Nazi Physicians.
4. From December 1940 until June 1943 I was a skin specialist and camp physician at the Ravensbruck Concentration Camp. My superior until 1942 was Dr. Soontag and thereafter Dr. Schidlausky.
5. From June 1943 until the end of the war I was assistant physician at the hospital in Hohenlychen. My superior was Dr. Karl Gebhardt." (Signed) Herta Oberheuser.
Document No. 589, which will be Prosecution Exhibit no. 28, gives the personal history of the Defendant, Rudolf Brandt:
"I Rudolf Hermann BRANDT, being duly sworn, depose and state:
1. I was born on 2 June 1909 at Frankfurt/Oder, Germany, and studied law at the Universities of Berlin and Jena. I joined the Nazi Party in 1932, my party number being 1,331,536. In October 1933 I became a member of the SS and was assigned the number 129,771. In November 1935. I was commissioned an Unterstrumfuehrer (Second Lieutenant) and ultimately rose to the rank of Standartenfuehrer (Colonel).
2. On 11 December 1933 I became a member of the Staff of the Reichsfuehrer SS Himmler in the capacity of clerk. In 1936 I became Chief of the Personal Staff of the Reichsfuehrer SS. I remained in this position until the end of the war. In 1938 or 1939 I became Himmler's liaison officer to the Ministry of the Interior and particularly to the Office Secretary of the Interior. In 1943 when Himmler became Minister of the Interior, I was appointed Chief of the Ministerial Office in the Reich Ministry of the Interior.
3. I was a member of the Ahnenerbe Society. Himmler was President of the Ahnenerbe Society. On account of my position, I was liaison officer to the Reich Secretary of the Society, Wolfram Sievers.
4. I was only absent from Himmler's office from 30 March, 1941 to 11 May 1941. During this time I fought with the Artillery Regiment of the Adolf Hitler bodyguard division in the campaign against Greece."
(Signed) Rudolf Brandt.
The position of Rudolf BRANDT is shown on both charts in the same box with Himmler. By virtue of his position, as administrative assistant to Himmler, Rudolf BRANDT played a very significant role in practically all of the crimes with which this case is concerned.
We turn now to the Affidavit of the Defendant JOACHIM MRUGOWSKY, Document No. 723, which will be Prosecution Exhibit 29.
"I, Dr. Joachim Mrugowsky, being duly sworn, depose and state:
1. I was born on 15 August 1905 at Rathenow/Havel, Germany, I finished High School at Rathenow/Havel in 1923. From 1 April 1923 till the end of November 1923, I was a customs employee at Rathenow-Stentsch near Schweibus. From 1 December 1923 to October 1925, I served as an apprentice at the Rahenow Bank Association. In the winter of 1925, I commenced the study of medicine at the University of Halle/Saale and finished with the State examination in 1931. During the time I was student at the University of Halle/Saale, I was head of the Nazi Student Group from November 1930 to June 1931.
2. In 1930 I joined the NSDAP. My party number was 210,049. On 15 November 1931 I joined the SS, my number being 25,811. During 1931 and 1932 I interned at the Kuestrin City Hospital and on 1 January 1933 became an Assistant at the Hygiene Institute of the University of Halle/Saale. From 1933 to 1935 I worked in the SD Sector 18 in Halle.
3. On 1 January 1937 I was promoted to the rank of Major and attached to the Waffen-SS as a medical officer on active duty. On 1 August 1937 I became battalion physician of the 1st battalion of the bodyguard Adolf Hitler in Berlin. In October 1938 I became a member of the Staff of the SS Medical Office of the Waffen SS in Berlin in the capacity of hygienist.
4. At the beginning of 1939 I founded the hygienic-bacteria logical examination circle of the SS in Berlin. The purpose of this institute was to combat epidemics which broke out in the SS garrison troops of the Waffen SS.
From October 1939 to November 1940, I was active with the 2nd Medical Company. of the SS V-Division of the Waffen-SS on the Western Front. In November 1940 I was transferred to Berlin to aid in the combatting of epidemics by the ever growing Waffen-SS. under my direction, the hygienic-bacteriological examination circle was enlarged and renamed the "Hygiene Institute of the Waffen SS". I became Chief of the above named institute and remained in that position until the end of hostilities. Dr. Karl Genzken was the Chief of Division D in the SS Operational main office and my institute was attached to Department XVI of Division D. In April 1941 I was promoted to Lt Colonel in the SS and in June 1942 to the rank of Colonel in the SS.
5. On 1 September 1943 the Hygiene Institute of the Waffen-SS, of which I remained chief, was transferred to the Office of the Reichsarzt SS and Police, Dr. Ernst Grawitz. I also became the Chief of Office 111 and was given the title Chief Hygienist. After 1 September 1943 the Hygiene Institute of the Waffen SS was no longer attached to Department XVI of Division D of the SS operational main office.
6. During the period from 1941 to 1944 I was also Hygiene Consultant to the Ministry for Eastern Affairs and I collaborated in the issuance of several decrees concerning the combatting of disease in the occupied territories in the East. Furthermore, I was a member of the Committee For Drinking Water Supply and Apparatus. In April 1944 I was promoted to Senior Colonel in the SS." (Signed), Joachim Mrugowsky.
The position of Mrugowsky is shown in the chart to the left, or rather in the chart giving the organization prior to August of 1943, under the Defendant Genzken as chief of the Hygien Institute of the Waffen SS. The Institute for Typhus and Virus research at the Buchenwald Concentration Camp was directly subordinate to Mrugowsky throughout the whole period with which we are concerned. The Department for Spotted Fever and Virus research at Buchenwald is shown on the first chart under the name of Mrugowsky.
Dr. Ding alias Schiller, who was Chief of the Institute at Buchenwald committed suicide following his capture by the Allied Forces. Fortunately, however, several affidavits were obtained from. Dr. Ding and he has also left us a number of documents, including a diary covering the period from 1941 until 1945, and these documents will provide the Tribunal with a detailed knowledge of the happenings during the typhus experiments at Buchenwald.
Mrugowsky's interests were men broader than typhus research, however, and the Tribunal will find his name connected with other matters, not the least of which were the poison bullet experiments to determine how long it took to kill a man with poison bullets.
As I have previously explained in discussing the defendant Genzken, the Hygienic Institute of the Waffen SS was subordinated in August of 1943 to Grawitz, and this change is shown on the second chart.
We come now to the defendant Poppendick, another SS doctor. His affidavit is Document NO-672, which will be Prosecution Exhibit 30.
"I, Dr. Helmut Poppendick, being duly sworn, depose and state:
"1. I was born on January 6, 1902, at Hude, Germany. From 1921 to 1926, I studied medicine at the Universities of Gettingen, Munich and Berlin. I passed my state examination in December 1926.
"2. I joined the N.S.D.A.P. on March 1, 1932, my number being 998607. I joined the SS on July 1, 1932, my number being 36345. I rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel (Obersturmbannfuehrer) in the Allgemein SS., and to the rank of Senior Colonel (Oberfuehrer) in the Waffen SS. I was also a member of SS Physicians association (S.S. Arztebund).
"3. During 1933 end 1934, I was Chief Physician (Oberazt) at the Virchow Hospital in Berlin. From the beginning of 1935 until August, 1935, I was a member of the staff of the Kaiser-Wilhelm Academy in Berlin. In August 1935, I accepted an appointment as Physician with the Main Race and Settlement office (Rasse und Siedlungshauptamt) in Berlin. I was appointed Chief Physician (Leitenden Arzt) of the office in 1941, and remained in that position until the end of the war."
This position of Poppendick is shown on both charts under the Race and Settlement Office of the S.S., which is another one of the twelve main SS offices. Now, while Poppendick was directly subordinated to the Chief of that main office, Grawitz had the authority to issue orders concerning medical matters, and this is shown by the broken line running from Grawitz to Poppendick. (Continues reading).
"4. On August 27, 1939, I was called into the Army as a Second Lieutenant (Assistenzarzt) in the Medical Corps, and was promoted to the rank of Oberarzt. I was on active duty with the 18th German Army until 1941, at which time I was sent back to Berlin to resume my duty in the Main Race and Settlement Office (Rasse und Siedlungshauptamt.)
"5. In 1943, I was appointed Chief of the Personal Staff of the Reich Physicians SS and Police (Chef des Persoenlichen Stabes des Reichsarztes SS und Polizci) under Dr. Grawitz. I remained in this position until the end of the war, at the same time retaining my position as Chief Physician (Leitender Arzt) in the Main Race and Settlement Office (Rasse und Siedlungshauptamt) until about autumn 1941." It says '41. I think that must be incorrect. In any event, following 1943 he still retained his position in the Main Race and Settlement Office, although at the same time he was subordinated to Dr. Grawitz and was head of the Personal Staff in that office.
At the time of the reorganization of the S.S. Medical Department in August, 1943, Poppendick took his job as Chief of the Personal Staff of Grawitz, and as such, he held a position which I think is quite comparable to that held by Rudolf Brandt. In other words, Rudolf Brandt was the Chief of the Personal Staff or Personal Adjutant to Himmler, while Poppendick held a comparable position to Dr. Grawitz, and as such, he also, as in the case of Rudolf Brandt, had a unique opportunity to see what was going on during the experimentations on human beings in the concentration camps.
The defendant Sievers was one of the key figures in criminal experimentation, although he is one of the few defendants in the dock who was not a physician. He has given us a very short affidavit which hardly justifies his importance, and this is Document NO-670, and it will be Prosecution Exhibit 31.
"I, Wolfram Sievers, being duly sworn, depose, and state:
"1. I was born at Hildesheim, Germany, on 10 July 1905. I joined the Nazi Party in 1929. At the beginning of 1931 I resigned. I joined again early in 1933. My party number was 144,983. I joined the S.S. in 1935, my number being 275,325. My last rank was Standartenfuehrer".--the equivalent rank being Colonel in the United States Army.
"2. On 1 July 1935, I became a number of Himmler's personal staff and General Secretary (Generalsekretar) of the Ahnenerbe. I served in this position until the end of the war. The Ahnenerbe was charged with certain tasks of scientific (geisteswissenschaftlichen) research by order of the Reichsfuehrer SS.
"3. In June 1943 I was appointed Deputy to the Head of the Managing Board of Directors of the Reich Research Council. My superior in this capacity was Dr. Mentzel, Head of the Managing Board of Directors of Reich Research Council." Signed, Sievers.
The Ahnenerbe Society, of which Sievers was the Reich Business Manager, will be frequently mentioned during the course of this trial. It is shown on the lower righthand side of both of the charts now before the Tribunal and his responsibility extended directly to Heinrich Himmler, who, incidentally was President of the Ahnenerbe Society.
I would like to introduce at this point Document NO-303, as Prosecution Exhibit 32 which gives the top eschelon of the Ahnenerbe and a description of its functions. This document shows in a sort of small chart at the top something of the organization of the Ahnenerbe Society. This document is not dated. I suspect that it shows the organization as it existed more or less around 1938. At the top we see the President, the Reichsfuehrer-SS, Heinrich Himmler. Under him as the Trustee is Dr. Walther Wuest, and to the right is the Reich Business Manager, Wolfram Sievers. So far as I know we are not particularly interested in any of the men who are listed as the Reich Business Management. However, the statement in this document as to the task and purposes of the Ahnenerbe, I think, is rather interesting, and it reads as follows: