It starts out with Pleiger talking:
"Pleiger: Will you please look at the diagram no. 3, it shows the whole personnel in the pit-coal mines. There you can see at what time we began using foreign labor. That was at the end of 1941. Furthermore, you can see how, consequently, the use of German labor declined and the share of the eastern workers and the Russian Ps/W rose. On the top is added a further large proportion of Italians. But if you take the next diagram on the number of scheduled personnel and the number of actual personnel you can see clearly how steeply the curve drops; the same with lignite. It would be necessary to find here some means of improvement. If you note that 800,000 Russian Ps/W are working at places in Germany where Italians could be used just as well, it would be possible to transfer from among these 800,000 Ps/W about 150-320,000 people to the mines. Italians are of no use in the mines; the Italians cannot stand it, they are physically not strong enough, it won't even work if strong arm methods are used. The Russians, however, are developing excellently, particularly if they are fed in a way. In any case such a solution should be tried. If the situation in the West deteriorates, if we can do no more in Belgium and the North of France we shall be able to overcome the difficulties in Lorraine and Luxembourg only by a very big increase in the direction of labor to the Ruhr region."
"Kehrl: I believe there are 2 possibilities to solve the difficulties. Contrary to Pleiger, I believe that we cannot do entirely without the Italians and especially because we can procure trained Italian miners. We have stopped practically all mining in central Italy because we have no transportation for the material anyhow. As far as the Italians there who worked as miners are concernethey should be transferred and used sensibly in our mining industry, because the physical strain in Germany is not substantially different from that in Italy. We could free at least 20,000 miners. Perhaps one could adjust the proportion between lignite and pit--coal by transferring miners accordingly. Of course, we would then have to x-ray the Ps/W. By an exchange system something could be achieved."
And then go over to page 1468 - Kehrl again:
"Kehrl: Will you please look at page 29 of the report. You can see from it how the reduction which represents a considerable amount, has been worked out. The reductions are: among the Germans 4½%, among the foreigners 5%; and among the recruited.
"Pleiger: These are Bulgarians, Hungarians, Belgians, etc. They do not stay put as a matter of course. It is impossible to make them stay. "K "Kehrl:
They go away their time expires. Among the eastern Ps/W workers one reckons with a lossof 20% of the total, among Did IMMT".......
IMMI - I don't know what that means.
"with a 40% loss.
"Pleiger: Among the eastern workers the loss has increased so much because we received these people from the land. They were with farmers before they were sent to the mines. When they came from the farmers each of them had a package containing sausage, bacon and bread, etc. In this way the farmers thought they would return to them. In fact, the result was staggering in favor of agriculture. The people simply cannot be kept in the mines in the long run. If they have once been on the land, they leave us again. This tendency is to be noted all along the line, in the Ruhr even worse than in the Upper Silesian region.
"Rohland: Is there no possibility of sending all foreign fugitives to educational camps for 2-3 months? About 30 to 40,000 people per month would be involved. These are quite considerable figures. The result of the education is phantastic. I have the firm conviction that these people could be used in the mines.
"Speer: We shall consider that later."
And 1481, Speer speaking:
"Speer: Now, the labor problem in Germany. I believe it is still possible to transfer some from the western territories. The Fuehrer stated only recently he wishes to dissolve these foreign volunteers as he had the impression that the army groups were carting around with them a lot of ballast. Therefore, if we cannot settle this matter ourselves, we shall have to call a meeting with the fuehrer to clear up the coal situation, Keitel and Zieitzler will be invited to attend in order to determine the number of Russians from the rear area territories who can be sent to us.
However, I see another possibility; we might organize another drive to screen out workers for the mines from the Russian Ps/W in the Reich. But this possibility is none too promising.
1483, Speer continues:
"Speer: We have to come to an arrangement with the Reichsfuehrer SS as soon as possible so that Ps/W he picks up are made available for our purposes. The Reichsfuehrer SS gets from 30 to 40,000 men per month. First of all, they have to be divided up. From what classes do these people come anyhow. There certainly is a certain percentage of miners among these people who are picked up. These few thousand men have to go to the mines , automatically. Certainly, some educational work has to be done. The men should be put into the factories as convicts. But they have to return to the factories were they were before. Furthermore, we could perhaps bring the people from agriculture to the mines. A great numer leave, and the people do not go the mines, but do home."
The next document is a Sauckel report which is No. 208-PS, which appears at Page 66 of Your Honors' Document Book 2-B and at Page 112 of the German Document book. The Exhibit No. is 55.
THE PRESIDENT: What is the document number please?
MR. DENNEY: 208-PS. It appears at Page 66 of Document Book 2-B and it is the second item on the second page of the index appearing in Document Book 2-A. The report of Sauckel of 7 July 1944 on the accomplishments of labor employment in the first half of the year. Dated Berlin 7 July 1944. It goes to the highest Reich authorities, the Reich leader of the NSDAP, the highest offices of the army, and all Gauleiters.
"In the annexed I have listed the total results of the manpower which has been placed at the disposal of the German war effort by the German labor employment offices in the first half year of 1944. It deals only with such manpower which was not yet employed in the German war effort.
"Owing to the plan of this year for 4,050,000 laborers, 2,000,000 now workers were to be employed in the first half year. Because of increased difficulties in Italy and in the occupied Western provinces, a million less than the goal was achieved unfortunately. Despite the known difficult situation 1,500,000 people wore able to be mobilized in the first half year, this is solely due to the exertion of all possible energy.
"Since the call of 17 February 1944, Around 62,000 women have reported for "Voluntary honorary service" of which already 52,000 have been employed".
Signed by Sauckel, and the table below indicates the disposal of these two million people, part of which we have seen that they requisitioned as of January 1944. The total for all industries was 1,482,000. There 848,000 citizens, 537,400 foreigners, 96,600 prisoners of war. These in the first group which were employed in agriculture and forestry, 231,000. Of these, 156,000 were foreigners.
In mining, 46,000 of whom 34,000 were foreigners. In the metal industry, 415,000 of whom 250,000 were foreigners. The remaining industry, 790,000 of whom 194,000 were foreigners. The foreigners came from the following territories: from the occupied eastern provinces, 258-A 284,000; the General Government of Poland 52,000; the Protectorates of Bohemia and Poravia, 23,000; France, excluding northern France, 33,000; Belgium, including northern France, 16,000; the Netherlands, 15,000; Italy, 37,000; from the rest of Europe, 77,400 The next document is 3829PS, which appears in Document Book 2-B. It is just after the last document which was offered in evidence.
It is at Page 68 in the English book and Page 114 in the German book. We offer this as Exhibit 56, page 68, in the English document book and page 114 in the German book. It Is a report of Lammers on the Hitler conference dated -If Your Honors please, this appears to be the wrong document. I will withdraw that at this time. It appears on page 75 . It is improperly indexed in Your Honors' book. It appears on page 75, not on page 68.
It is a report by Lammers dated 12 July, 1944 on a conference held 11 July, and the list of those present starts on the preceding page. It is to be noted that the defendant was present. "Participating in the executive conference were the departmental chiefs and representatives indicates in the attached lists of those present. No guarantee can be given for the absolute completeness of the lists, as all participants did not sign.
"Reich Minister Dr. Lammers reported by way of introduction on the various proposals at hand by the Plenipotentiary for Labor Commitment that serve the purpose of bringing about the increase in labor commitment in Germany which is absolutely essential for winning the final victory.
He limited the theme cf the discussions by saying that actually all possibilities were to be examined by which the present deficit of foreign manpower could be covered, for example the question of the reestablishment of an acceptable price and wage scale between the Reich and the extra-German territories. But the primary consideration will have to remain the solution of the question whether and in what form greater compulsion can be exerted to accept work in Germany. In this connection it must be examined how the executive forces, regarding the inadequacy of which the Plenipotentiary for Labor Commitment raises lively objection can be strengthened, on the one hand through an influence on the foreign governments and on the other through building up the indigenous administration (Executive), whether by an increased use of the Wehrmacht, of the police, or of other German agencies. Reichsminister Dr. Lammers then gave the floor to the Plenipotentiary General, for Labor Commitment, Gauleiter Sauckel.
"Gauleiter Sauckel stated that the present deficit in the matter of the half-year program of 2,025,000 foreign workers, to be fulfilled by 30 June of the current year, amounted to 500,000 workers. Of the total of 1,500,000 workers procured up to now, no less than 365,000 were Germans, of whom half were apprentices and women, both of which categories cannot be regarded as workers of full value. Of the 560,000 foreigners who wore put to work, three-quarters came from the East alone. This result is a scandal in contrast to the German people who are incorporated in the labor process to the greatest extent, and it represents the complete bankruptcy of German authority in Italy and France, where hundreds of thousands cf workers were still idling. In executing the labor commitment we did not exert the necessary severity and in particular we were not able to achieve the necessary unity of the German authorities. It would not do for German authorities to interfere irresponsibly with the tasks of the GBA (Plenipotentiary for Labor Commitment). The latter must have much greater freedom of action, as was the case in 1942.
With the present methods of recruitment for voluntary commitment we will not make any progress, for one thing because the volunteers still at hand exposed themselves to danger to life and limb from reprisals by their own fellow countrymen. If, on the other hand, they were forcibly obligated and decdently treated in their work, they did completely satisfactory work. The treatment of the wage and price questions connected with the subject was desirable, but in the present situation no longer so important. If it were not dealt with now, then our labor commitment program would fail, with the consequence that the fighting forces no longer could receive the arms they need.
"State Secretary von Steengracht, Foreign Office, stressed that the Reich Foreign minister from the beginning had favored the same standpoint as the Plenipotentiary General for Labor Commitment. The Foreign Office could, however, do nothing besides urging the foreign governments mere or less intensively to fulfill the German demands, which had been done consistently up to the present. The executive is in the hands of other offices which therefore would new have to express themselves on the subject of the conference.
"The Deputy of the Head of the OKW, General Warliment, referred to a recently issued Fuehrer order, according to which all German forces had to place themselves in the service of the work of acquiring manpower. Wherever the Wehrmacht was, and was not employed exclusively in pressing military duties (as, for example, in the construction of the coastal defenses), it would be available, but it could not actually be assigned for the purposes of the GBA. General Warliment made the following practical suggestions:
"The troops employed in fighting partisans are to take over in addition the task of acquiring manpower in the partisan areas. Everyone who cannot fully prove the purpose of his stay in these areas is to be seized forcibly.
"When large cities, due to the difficulty of providing food, are wholly or partly evacuated, the population suitable for labor commitment is to be put to work with the assistance of the Wehrmacht.
"The seizing of labor recruits among the refugees from the areas near the front should be handled especially intensively with the assistance of the Wehrmacht.
"Gauleiter Sauckel accepted these suggestions with thanks and expressed the expectation that certain successes could there-with already be achieved.
"On behalf of the military commander of Belgium and Northern France. The chief of the Military Administration, Raeder, put up for discussion the possibility of expansion of the Feldgendarmerie, at the time comprising only 70 men, and of the civilian searching service (Fahndungsdienst) consisting of Flemings and *alloons (1100 people). If the Feldgendarmery was strengthened to 200 men appreciable searching results could be accomplished. At the inquiry of Reichsminister Dr. Lammers, General Warlimont agreed for the OKW to his strengthening of the searching service.
"On further inquiry by the Reichsminister Dr. Lammers, whether with the withdrawal of the troops the population suitable for recruiting could not be taken a long. Colonel Saas (Plenipotentiary General for Italy) stated that Fieldmarshal General Kosselring had already decree that the population in a depth of 30 kilometers behind the front area was to be "captured." This measure could, however, not be extended to areas situated farther behind the lines as thereby the sharpest shocks would occur in the whole structure of these areas, especially in regard to the industry not fully employed in production.
"Gauleiter Sauckel was of the opinion that widest circles of the Wehrmacnt saw in the labor recruiting program something disreputable. It has actually occurred that German soldiers had endeavored to protect the population from being taken by the German labor service. Therefore an instruction of the fighting forces on the extraordinary importance of Labor recruiting seemed necessary. In opposition to the much too mild German method, it was part of the Bolchevist conception of war, when occupying territories immediately to have the fighting troops commit the whole population to labor.
The question of administration (Executive) thus was not one of 263-A mass recruiting, but of being consistent.
One must finally proceed to establish examples, the passive resistance would quickly change into active cooperation. One ought also not to shrink back from proceeding with drastic moans against the administrative heads (Behordenleiter) themselves who sabotage the labor commitment. Not the small refractory offenders should be punished, but the responsible administrative heads. In addition to these compulsory measures, other means too must be applied. The thought should be taken for the removal of a great part of the remaining exceptional Italian harvest in order to improve thereby the rations of the German and foreign workers. A special problem was presented by the entirely insuffcient alimentation of the Italian military internees who were almost starving. The Fuehrer should be asked to have the statute for these military internees gradually altered. No inconsiderable working energies would be released thereby.
"Reichsleiter Dr. Ley underscored these statements and suggested the establishment of a searching office made up of all German forces in the extra German territories, that would carry out the ruthless enrollings in large areas.
"Against these proposals, doubts were expressed:
"Reichsminister Funk anticipates from ruthless raids considerable disturbances of the production in the extra-German territories. The same opinion is held by the Chief of the military administration of Italy. Stqatssekretaer Dr. Landfried, who considers the German forces comprised in the executive body as too small and fears that the Italian population will escape the seizure in great numbers and will flee into uncontrollable regions.
"Reichsminister Speer stated that he had an interest both in spurring on an increased labor recruiting for the Reich and also in the maintaining of the production in the extra-German territories. Up to the present 25 to 30 percent of the German war production had been furnished by the occupied "Western territories and Italy, by Italy alone 12½ percent.
"The Fuehrer recently decided that this production must be maintained as long as possible, in spite of the difficulties already existing, especially in the field of transportation.
The executive is well in a position in the opinion of Reich Minister Speer, to seize sufficient foreign workers with its present strength, as a relatively small number of executive men are sufficient for this purpose. All that is needed are stricter orders, but no violent measures nor large scale raids may be carried out. One should, rather, proceed with clean methods step by step.
"For the military commander in France, the military administration chief Dr. Michol referred to the statements of State Secretary Dr. Landfried and advanced the opinion that the situation in France was similar. The calling up of entire age classes is prepared in France, but has not yet begun, as the German military authorities have not yet been able to give their consent. The good will of the highest French authorities cannot be doubted but it is in part lacking among the lower and middle authorities. These and the persons willing to work expose themselves, with a loyal attitude toward the German authorities, to reprisals by the French population.
"Ambassador Abetz confirms these statements. The application of severe measures, such as the shooting of French functionaries, into the Marquis. In these territories, in which the Wehrmacht is employed anyway, some 10,000 more workers would doubtless be seized. Then those same German forces could be employed for executive measures, which would also turn up large numbers of workers. In Paris, the evacuation of which was considered 100,000 to 200,000 workers could be seized. In this connection, entire plant communities might be transplanted.
"The chief of the security police Dr. Kaltenbrunner declared himself willing, when asked by the GBA, to place the security police at his disposal for this purpose, out pointed out their numerical weakness. For all of France he had only 2,400 men available. It was question be whether entire age classes could be seized with these weak forces. In his opinion, the Foreign office must exercise a stronger influence on the foreign governments.
"State Secretary von Steengracht (Foreign Office) commented on this. The agreements made with the foreign governments were entirely sufficient. The governments had always been willing, on the request of the Foreign Office, to issue the corresponding orders. If these orders were not carried out, this was due to the inadequate executive of the foreign governments themselves. In France this was bad for political reasons, being reduced to a minimum. In Italy there was no longer an executive in actuality. The Foreign Office was willing at any time, he said, to exercise stronger pressure on the foreign governments, but did not expect too much from that. State Secretary von Steengracht asked Ambassador Rahn to comment on this for Italy.
"Ambassador Rahn believes that there is still a sufficient number of workers in Italy, so that in theory 1 million could still be taken out, although 2/3 of the Italian territory had been lost with respect population also. He had always been in favor of the system of drafting age classes. This was, until before the fall of Rome, in general successful, as can be seen from the fact that 200,000 Italians could be seized for military purposes. Since that time the situation in Italy has become extremely difficult, however, since the fall of Rome was an enormous shock to the Italian people. The German authorities, had attempted to intercept the effects and united the entire executive in the person of Marshal Graziani. At present, however, the use of violent methods on A large scale is not possible since that would cause complete disorder and interruption of production. The best example for this is the retaliatory action ordered by the Fuehrer because of the strikes in Turin, through which 10% of the personnel were to be seized as unwilling to work. 4,000 German forces were collected for this purpose. The result was that the food supply to Turin was cut off by the resistance movement and the supply of energy was interrupted, so that 250,000 workers had to starve. This could not be justified in view of the considerable contribution to the war of the Italian armament industry.
General Field Marshal Kesselring declared that a continuation of forced obligations would cause nor only the loss 266- A of the armament production in the upper Italian area, but the loss of the entire theater of war.
In the face of this statement the hardest political will must keep silent. The only thing which could happen would be the execution of the forced obligations in the rebellious area proper. Ambassador Rahn believes the following practical suggestions could be carried out:
"The recruitment of volunteers is to be continued.
"To a limited extent plants are to be transferred to the Reich with machinery and workers.
"The transmittal of salary savings of the Italian workers in Germany to their homeland, which is not operating well, is to be safeguarded.
For this purpose an automatic procedure is to be introduced which Ambassador Rahn had already proposed in another connection.
"The system of the induction of ago classes will be reintroduced when the German military authorities consider the time ripe.
"In answer to the reported remark of General Field Marshal Kesselring, General Warliment (OKW) commented that this remark was unknown to the OKW. The OKW's approval of this standpoint could therefore not yet be assumed.
"Gauleiter Sauekel declared that all these proposals were inadequate since they were net suited to set into motion the masses of manpower which he needed. The execution of all these proposals had already been tried in practice since the labor commitment authorities had at no time limited themselves to the method. He still had to call it seriously damaging to the execution of the labor commitment that his far-reaching competencies and powers had been made the subject of discussion. Wheat heneeded, as already said, was "elbow room".
"At the suggestion of Reich Minister Dr. Lammers, Gauleiter Sauckel declared himself willing to set up several programmatic demands on which he wants to vote with the participants and which than are to be submitted to the Fuehrer with a request for acknowledgment and legalization. A written formulation will follow. For the time being the GBA present his demands as follows:
"The proposals of General Warliment will be discussed directly among the participants and will be executed together.
"The GBA receives permission to establish national security and recruitment machinery for labor commitments, which will operate on the basis of orders and directives of the GBA without need of interference by other offices.
"The regulations made by the French and Italian authorities in regard to German labor commitment are to be fortified by concrete execution regulations which guarantee the most active collaboration of foreign authorities in the acquisition of manpower.
"Reich Minister Dr. Lammers, having made these statements closed the meeting by pointing out that he would leave the further treatment of the problem, as proposed, to those concerned."
I request that we recess, Your Honor.
THE PRESIDENT: I was just about to suggest it. The Tribunal will recess for fifteen minutes.
(A recess was taken)
MR. DENNEY: If Your Honors, please, at this time we would like to offer as an additional part to our 124, which we are now distributing to the Court and defense counsel, is to be placed in the rear of Document Book 1B.
THE PRESIDENT: 1B, Mr. Denney
MR. DENNEY: I am sorry, 3B. It is an additional Central Planning Board report. It has to do with the 30th meeting. Actually only the first two pages are necessary. The second page has to deal with the 31st, so it will only be the first two pages. They will be counted pages 42 and 43 of Document Book 3B; which is Exhibit 48-B in evidence; these are offered merely for the first paragraph on the page 42 which says first the copy of the results of the 30th meeting of the Central Planning Board on January 26, 1943. The first paragraph provides: "Reichsminister Speer informed the meeting that Field Marshal Milch, on account of special duties entrusted to him by the Fuehrer, was prevented for some time from being present at the meetings, and has asked him to act as his representative in the Central Planning during his absence".
We would like also to direct the Court's attention, without reading the matters in question, to two other portions of Exhibit 56, in evidence, which is 3819-PS, the 1 st volume--or the 1 st document in Volume 21. The first appearing on page 68, which is page 131 of the German book B, being a letter from Saukel to Hitler, dated Paris 17 March 1944; and the second which is on page 72 of Your Honors' Document look, and page 123 of the German Book B, being a letter from Speer to Hitler, dated 5 April 1944. This again has to do with this same business of procurement of labor for the year 1946I believe the Court his enough before them on this subject without going into the altercation between Saukel and Speer. On the other matter, however, I did want to call Your Honors' attention to the matter in passing.
The next document is F-824 which appears on page 82, which is the first page in Document Book 2C. This is offered as Prosecution Exhibit number 57. This appears in the German book at page 136. It is an order of Field Marshal von Kluge, Commander-in-Chief West, dated 25 July 1944. This letter again shows to what extent the power of this Central Planning Board in the recruitment of labor was carried. We have heard them talk of the Wehrmacht, we have seen representatives of the Wehrmacht at their meetings, and now we see the Wehrmacht itself in passing out an order based on labor recruitment. It is to be noted at the top that the subject is "Procurement of labor in the West.
"Chief of the OKW is ordered: The communication of 8th July for General Field Marshal von Kluge, addressed to the Reich Minister for Armament and War Production, crossed with my order of the same day."
"From this it is evident that, by order of the Fuehrer, with reference to the suspension of contradictory orders, the wishes of the Plenipotentiary for labor and of Reich Minister Speer, must, on principle, be carried out. Further to my teletype, the following additional general instructions apply in future, as a result of the conference of ministers in the Reich Chancellery on with July, about which the Commander-in-Chief West will be informed by the Military Commander: Rejecting justified misgivings with regard to peace and security in the interior of the country, seizures must be carried out wherever the opportunities, referred to in my above mentioned teletype, offer themselves.
As the only limitation, the Ruehrer has ordered that no forcible means shall be employed against the population in the actual combat area as long as it shows itself prepared to assist the German armed forces. However recruiting of volunteers from among refugees from the combat zone is to be carried out vigorously. Moreover, every means is justified to seize as much labor as possible, apart from the powers granted to the armed forces.
"In order to render as effective as possible the measures which have been introduced, the army is further to be instructed in general as to the necessity of the organizations for conscription of labor in order to put an end to the open and covert resistance which has arisen in many instances. The field commanders and the offices of the Military administration must give wide support to the representative of the Plenipotentiary for labor and to refrain from encroaching on his sphere of activity.
"In accordance with this, Commander-in-Chief West has reported the following to the Chief of the OKW on 12 May 1944:
'I have authorized the execution of the Sauckel-LavalAgreement of 12 May in spite of misgivings because of interior security. I will issue more explicit directives for the execution of the measures in the combat zone in accordance with OKW/WFST/AU. Signed, the Commander-inChief West, von Kluge, General Field Marshal."
Now, this is the only one of these orders that we have been able to find, but it is to be presumed that they were probably issued by other theaters. As I say, this is the only one we have.
I neglected to offer the decree which establishes the Central Planning Board, which is 1510-PS and appears at Page 32 of your Honors' document book 2A. I think Your Honors arc thoroughly familiar with what the Board did, what its powers were from other documents which have been read, but we offer this at this time as Exhibit 56.