Turning then to page 117, which is enclosure number 5, first paragraph:
"In November of last year a mustering of all males in the age groups 1910 to 1920 was ordered in the area of Zaleschozyki. After the men had appeared for inspection, all those who were chosen were locked up at once, loaded into trains and sent to the Reich. Such recruiting of laborers for the Reich also took place in other areas of this district. Following some interventions, the action was then stopped."
Turning now to page 121, which is part of Appendix 12, enclosure 12, it starts:
"On 18 January 1943, 14 persons were shot who were unfit for work together with 80 Jews and were buried together in a ditch. Among these 14 were old men and invalids."
The next document is 1130-PS, which we offer as Prosecution Exhibit No. 26, the outer cover being a letter of enclosure of a speech by one Koch, made in Kiev, concerning the treatment of the civilian population in the Ukraine. Page 2 of the document which is page 125 of Document Book No, 2, the second paragraph under Roman numeral heading No. I:
"I will draw the very last out of this country. I did not cone to spread bliss. I have come to help the Fuehrer. The population must work, work, and work again....for some people are getting excited, that the population may not get enough to eat. The population cannot demand that. One has only to remember what our heroes were deprived of in Stalingrad...We definitely did not come here to give our Manna; we have come here to create the basis for Victory."
"We are a master race, which must remember that the lowliest German worker is racially and biologically a thousand times more valuable than the population here."
407, Roman numeral 2 - PS, which is the next one, I believe -- well, although they have included it, we will pass that at this time.
019-PS' which we offer as Prosecution Exhibit No. 27, the letter of March 17, 1943, from Sauckel to Rosenberg, concerning the draft of workers from the east, the third paragraph of the letter:
"Especially the labor supply for the German agriculture, and likewise for the most urgent armament production programs ordered by the FUEHRER make the fastest importation of approximately 1 million women and men from the Eastern Territories within the next 4 months a must. Starting 15 March the daily shipment must have reached 3000 female and male workers respectively, while beginning of April this number has to be stepped up to 10,000. This is a requisite of the most urgent programs, and the spring tillage, and other agricultural tasks are not to suffer for the detriment of the nutrition and of the armed forces.
"I have foreseen the allotment of the draft quotas for the individual territories in agreement with your experts for the labor supply as follows:
Daily quota starting 13 March 1943:
from General Commissariat WHITE LUTHENIA 500 people Economic Inspection CENTER 500 people Reich's Commissariat UKRAINE 3 000 people Economic Inspection SOUTH 1 000 people TOTAL 5 000 people "Starting 1 April 1943 the daily quota is to be doubled corresponding to the doubling of the entire quota.
"I hope to visit personally the Eastern Territories towards the end of the month? and ask you once more for your kind support."
"HEIL HITLER!"
Signed: SAUCKEL The next document is 3012-PS which we offer as Prosecution's Exhibit No. 28.
This is an order signed by - just a moment, if the Court please, - There is an error in the index, your Honors, it says it is signed by Christians. It should be signed by Stapf. The paragraph in the middle of the page which starts just after the daily quota of workers which was distributed:
"In consideration of the extraordinary losses of workers, which occurred in German war industry because of the developments of the past months, it is now necessary, that the recruiting of workers be taken up again everywhere with all emphasis. The tendency, momentarily noticeable in that territory, to limit and/or entirely stop the Reich recruiting program is absolutely not bearable in view of this state of affairs. Gauleiter Sauckel, who is informed about these events, has because of this, turned immediately to General Feldmarschall Keitel on 10 March 1943 in a teletype, and has emphasized on this occasion, that, as in all other occupied territories, there, where all other methods fail, by order of the Fuehrer a certain pressure must be used."
The last sentence but one in the next paragraph:
"As far as the quotas cannot be filled by voluntary enlistments, they are to be filled by conscription. For the realization of the service obligation, in the individual case, compulsion may be used if necessary."
Then the last paragraph:
"I request to direct at once with the consent of the competent headquarters, that disturbance of the Reich recruiting program is stopped, and that the latter is assisted in every respect by the military agencies." Signed by Stapf, Lieutenant General (General der Infanterie).
2220-PS which is a report of Lammers to Himmler concerns the situation in Poland, dated April 17, 1943, is offered as Prosecution's Exhibit No. 29.
The particular part here occurs on the last page in paragraph 2 entitled "Utilization of Manpower." The last two sentences occurs on page 136 of your Honors' document book. It is a comment by hammers on the utilization of manpower. At the end of the paragraph next to the last paragraph:
"As things were, the utilization of manpower had to be enforced by means of more or less forceful methods, such as the instances when certain groups appointed by the Labor Offices, caught Church and Movie-goers here and there and transported them into the Reich. That such methods, not only undermine the people's willingness to work and the people's confidence to such a degree that it cannot be checked even with terror, is just as clear as the consequences brought about by a strengthening of the political resistance movement."
The next document is 407-V-PS which is a report from Sauckel to Hitler dated April 14, 1943. I should like to call the court's attention in passing that on the last page, which is page 139, it is noted that Reichsmarshal Goering received a copy of this. The particular things to be noted start with -- well, perhaps it would be well if I read the first paragraph as well -
THE PRESIDENT: Is this Exhibit 30?
MR. DENNEY: Yes, Sir, the document has this number: 407-V-PS, which the prosecution offers as Exhibit 30.
"As you have been told by Lt. General Gruppenfuehrer Bormann already, I am going to the Eastern territories on April 15th in order to secure in the coming months one million workers from the East. The result of my last trip to France is that after exact fulfillment of the last program another 450,000 workers from the Western territories will come into the Reich, by the beginning of summer. With the probable use of about 150,000 workers from Poland and from the other territories, it will then be possible, to put five to six hundred thousand workers at the disposal of the German agriculture again and 1,000,000 workers at the disposal of the armament and other war industries; this will be done by summer.
I ask for your approval to have the new French workers come into the Reich under conditions similar to those of the last group. I have negotiated with the High Command of the army. Since the big majority of the Belgian civilian workers and of the prisoners of war is doing a very satisfactory job; I ask you to approve a statute for about 20,000 Belgian prisoners of war similar to the one you have granted to the French. That great concession of your has made a big impression upon Laval and the French ministers. Laval asked me again and again to give you, my Fuehrer, his sincerest thanks for that. After having been active as Plenipotentiary for the Arbeitseinsatz for one year, I have the honor to report to you that -- the figure says on the copy which your Honors have five million and it should be three million - "3,638,056 new foreign workers have been added to the German war economy between April 1st of the last year and March 31st of this year. (Generally speaking these workers have done a satisfactory job. Their feeding and housing is settled and their treatment regulated in an undisputable way. In that respect, too, our national socialist Reich presents a shining example compared with the methods of the capitalist and Bolshevik world. Of course, occasional mistakes and blunders cannot be avoided. I shall always try with the greatest energy to keep them at a minimum.") Then dropping down at the end he says:
"Besides the foreign civilian workers, another 1,622,829 prisoners of war are employed in the German economy."
And in paragraph 2 he has a breakdown of the way that the 3,638,056 workers are employed; armament, 1,588,801; and he gives the figures for mining, construction, transportation, agriculture and other branches of the economy.
Now, for the moment we would like to pass - No, I beg your pardon. I am sorry. The next Exhibit is a series of pictures which we offer as one exhibit, being 3027-PS and 3028-PS, and we would ask that they be assigned as Exhibit No. 31. The captions which appear on the document itself, 3027-3028, are self-explanatory. They show Russian prisoners of war engaged in various occupations that have to do with the furthering of the German war effort such as loading ammunition trains, carrying ammunition, stacking ammunition, transferring ammunition from freight cars to trucks.
2280-PS, a letter of May 3, 1943, from the Reich Kommissar in the -90a East concerning the recruitment of manpower in the Baltic countries for Reichs territory is offered as Prosecution's Exhibit No. 32.
It provides in part, starting at the beginning:
"Recruiting of Manpower from the Eastern territories for the Reich territories here: New quotas based upon the agreement with GPA Gauleiter Sauckel on 21 April 1943. Following the basic statements of the Plenipotentiary General for manpower, Gauleiter Sauckel, on the occasion of his visit to Riga on 21 April 1943, it was decided in view of the critical situation and in disregard of all adverse considerations, that a total of 183,000 workers have to be supplied from the Eastern territories for the Reich territory. This task must absolutely be accomplished within the next four months and at the latest must be completed by the end of August. The following sub-quotas have been established: White Ruthenia: 30,000 adolescent workers and 100,000 workers including families. Of the families only members capable of productive work will be counted. All persons 10 years old and up are considered as productive manpower. Lithuania: 15,000 female workers, 15,000 male workers, 10,000 productive workers from about 2 to 3000 families, Latvia: 10,000 female workers, no male workers. Estonia: 3,000 female workers, no male workers."
Then dropping down another paragraph:
"All permissible means shall be used to obtain manpower from White Ruthcnia. Do not hesitate to apply extraordinary measures."
407, IX Roman numberal Nine, PS, is a letter of June 3, 1943 from Sauckel to Hitler concerning the foreign labor situation. At the beginning of the letter:
"I beg to be permitted to report to you on the situation of the Arboitseinsatz for the first 5 months of 1943. For the first time the following number of new foreign laborers and prisoners of war were employed in the German war industry."
Then he gives the figures for the first five months with a total of 846,511. This is Prosecution's Exhibit No. 33. He goes on to state that:
"I may remark that this number of 850,000 was reached only after greatest difficulties were overcome which had not existed during the pre vious year; all those who have worked for the Arbeitsoinsatz, particularly in the occupied territories, did so with the greatest fanaticism and devotion.
Unfortunately quite a number of our officials and employees were victims of murders and attacks by partisans. Besides those labor forces recruited for work within the Reich, several hundred thousand laborers were recruited in the occupied territories through the agencies for the Arbeitseinsatz as well as through the OT which refers to the Organization Todt and the factories working in the East and the West for the German war industry. Furthermore the Wehrmacht received a large number of laborers as well as labor volunteers."
The next document, 3000 PS, which we offer as Prosecution Exhibit 34, which is a report from Chief of Main Office III with the High Command in Minsk to Ministerialdirektor Riecke, which has particularly to do with the conditions in White Ruthenia.
On page 3, which is -- sorry Your Honor, this document book doesn't have this. We will have to withdraw the offer. I beg your pardon, it is in here in part, the only part which we are offering at this time. Page 4, which is on Page 147 of your Honors' document book, "Everything you do for Germany is right, everything else is wrong."
"The recruitment of labor for the Reich, however necessary, had disastrous effects. The recruitment measures in the last months and weeks were absolutely manhunts, which have an irreparable political and economic effect. From White Ruthenia, approx. 50,000 people have been obtained for the Reich so far. Another 130,000 are to be obtained. Considering the 2.4 million total population these figures are impossible." ...
The next quotation, which is on Page 5?
"Due to the sweeping drives (Grossaktionen) of the SS and police in November 1942, about 115,000 hectar farmland is not used, as the population is not there and the villages have been razed..."
The next document is 263-PS, which is a memo of an oral report of one Leyser to Rosenberg on the situation in his district. This will be Prosecution's exhibit 35.
Page 149 of your Honor's document book, sixth paragraph in the document book, about half through the paragraph which starts "In the foreground stands, at the moment the mobilization of the ****" "With this our propaganda became for the greater part illusory.
But as the Chief Plenipotentiary for the mobilization of labor explained to us the gravity of the situation, we had no other device. I consequently have authorized the commissioners of the areas to apply the severest measures in order to achieve the imposed quota. The deterioration of morale in conjunction with this does not necessitate any further proof. It is nevertheless essential, to win the war on this front too! The problem of labor mobilization cannot handled with gloves.
"Up-to-date, almost 170,000 male and female workers have been sent to the Reich for the general district Shitomir. It can be taken for granted that, during the month of June, this number is going to rise to approximately 200,000.
I neglected to road a short paragraph at the bottom of the page 148 of your Honors' document book, the first page, - and for the interpreters it is the sixth paragraph in the letter. It starts out, "The symptoms created by the recruiting of workers."
"The symptoms created by the recruiting of workers are, no doubt, well known to the Reichs Minister through reports and his own observations. Therefore, I shall not report them. It is certain that a recruitment of labor, in the sense of the word, can hardly be spoken of. In most cases, it is nowadays a matter of actual conscription by force. The population has been stirred up to a large extent and views the transports to the Reich as a measure which does in no way differ from the former exile to Siberia,..."
The next document is 3010-PS. Which will be offered as Prosecution Exhibit No. 36. This has to do with the recruitment of workers for the Reich, is a partial extract of a report from the inspector, on an order from the Economy Inspection South. The first two paragraphs of which provide on pages, - or Page 151 of your Honors' document book.
"The Plenipotentiary General for Labor Employment ordered the recruitment and employment of all born during two years for the whole, newly occupied Eastern territory in Decree AZ. VI, " and so forth, "copy of which is inclosed. The Reich Minister for Armament and Munition approved this order.
"According to this order by the Plenipotentiary General for Labor Employment you have to recruit and to transport to the Reich immediately all labor force in your territory born during 1926 and 1927. The decree relative labor duty and labor employment in the theater of operations of the newly occupied Eastern territory of the 6th February 43 and the executive orders therefore are the authority for the execution of this measure.
Enlistment must be 94a completed by 30 Sept.
1943 at the latest."
The date of the memo calling for these people born in 1926 and 1927 is 17 August 1943.
The next document is 290-PS, which we offer as Prosecution Exhibit No. 37. It is a report on the evacuation of Cossar, dated 12 November 1943. At the very bottom of Page 193, which has to do with alleged encroachment of a district commissioner, at the end of the second paragraph in the second part, "But even if Mueller had been present--"
You do not have it, Dr. Bergold?
DR. BERGOLD.: I cannot check with your number 190.
MR. DENNY: Your Honor, please, Dr. Bergold has one number 190, and we have marked this Exhibit No. 37. We will withdraw it and not offer it at this time, and will arrange to see he has the proper copy of it. We might as well leave the Number 37 on it, and we will offer the next document, which is 1702-PS as No. 38. 1702-PS., do you have that, Dr. Bergold, - 1702?
DR. BERGOLD: Yes.
MR. DENNY: The secret report covering the period 8 November to 28 December 1983, and then -- on Page 156 of your Honors' book, the third large paragraph, starting "In the midst of the conditions."
Document 1702-PS, and it is the third paragraph in the English Document Book. The interpreters copy apparently doesn't have it, so we will pass the offer of this. Do you have it?
(affirmative response not audible).
I withdraw it.
"In the midst of the conditions, almost restored to Normal, I received a call on the eve of the 29th of December from the Army according to which the Soviets with superior forces of tanks and motorized troops, had exerted a strong renewed pressure on the line of KOTSCHEROWO BRUSIL0W - FASTOW and along the street KIEV - SHIT0MIR with the main advance in a South West direction. Shortly afterwards, the long distance call, as per attached inclosure number 2, was put through according to which the ble-bodied male population in the ages between 15 and 65 as well as the cattle had to be led back in the direction East of the line BILILOVKA - BERKITSCHEW - SHITOMIR.
The transporting of the able-bodied population was charged to the military authorities by the chief quartermaster of the army, while beginning with the morning of 26 December. I discussed and ordered in detail, during an immediate conference for the whole district the shipment of all the cattle. This action started successfully on that day according to plan, while the discussions over the seizure of the male population were not yet concluded in the afternoon hours of the 26th of December and no positive measures of any kind were taken."
And then on the fourth page, enclosure three, which appears as Page 158 of your Honors' document book, an order from the High Command of the 4th Armored Army, dated 26 December 1943 referring to Evacuation Measures:
"The city of Berditschew is to be evacuated of Reich Germans, German agencies of the civil government, government of the country, able-bodied population. The cattle is to be taken away. Execution of evacuation measures is charged to the civil government."
For the moment we will pass 1913-PS and go to 204-PS which is a memorandum of February 18, 1944, and which we offer as Prosecution's Exhibit No. 39. The first page which appears at Page 163 of your Honors' document book:
"Numerous actions for the purposes of recruiting native workers for the Reich have taken place since the entry of German armed forces into the General district Lithuania in June 1941. A few weeks after the entry of the German troops, thousands of Lithuanian male and female farmworkers were recruited at the instigation of the military administration, and namely for the duration of 6 months for employment on the large estates in the GAU East Prussia. Unfortunately, the promises made then were not kept. One did not release those farmworkers neither after 6 months nor after 12 months one has for months left their relatives who were left behind without any support at all; one has refused them for a long time to make a short vacation journey to Lithuania; one even has the idea today to transfer the agricultural workers, recruited in the year 1941 for the duration of 6 months, into the armament industry of the Reich.
"The second larger action was started by the Armed Forces in the Spring of 1942 and comprised the getting ready of approximately 7,000 male, so-called transport helpers. The action which was rushed into and was started without sufficient propaganda preparations was obstructed a great deal by careless measures of the armed Forces which had become nervous. Thus, for instance, the Lithuanians, ordered to the official agencies "only for registration" were held there, taken away under military guard to the local barracks, and then they had neither the opportunity to bid their families good-bye nor to put their most important personal affairs in order.
No wonder that the enemy propaganda grasped this "blemish" with pleasure and was able to make a comparison with deportation methods used barely a year ago by the Soviets.
"Until the most recent times numerous additional actions have been staged for the purpose of obtaining volunteers for the Armed Forces, police and Reich Labor Service, or for obtaining workers for the armament industry of the Reich."
Then skipping the next paragraph and the first sentence of the following paragraph which appears at the bottom of Page 169 of your Honors' document book:
"Finally it must be established that the native administration in its present from and since its existence has completely failed in the question of the procurement of workers for the Reich.
Then going over to the paragraph marked 3 in the letter which is on Page 167 in the American or the English version -- do the interpreters have it?
"The demand of Gauleiter Sauckel read to recruit in a short time 30,000 native workers for the Reich and to ship them to Germany. During a conference between the Commissioner General and the first General Council on 7 September 1943, the latter offered to assume the entire responsibility for the execution of this action for the native administration and to recruit and ship the demanded number of 30,000 workers by 7 November 1943."
Then turning over to page 168, paragraph number 4:
"In the meantime Gauleiter Sauckel made a new demand that the General District Lithuania must now get 100,000 native workers instead of the 30,000 demanded up until now ready for the Reich."
Then dropping down in that same paragraph about twenty lines, still on Page 168 of your Honors' book, the last eight lines on that page:
"In the district of the City of Kauen, according to the findings of my labor office, on 1 February 1944, 7,000 labor jobs in industry in the agencies of the armed forces, police, etc.
, were vacant so that practically 15,400 workers would have to be supplied in the city of Kauen alone in order to comply fully with the demands of the Reich and the demands of native economy, and that with a total population figure of only a little more than 130,000 native persons."
And then at the very end just before the signature, the last two lines -no. No. That's all there is in that document.
The next document is R 103 which the Prosecution offers as Exhibit No. 40. It appears as page 171 in your Honors' document book 1.B. This is a report from the Polish Main Committee in Cracow again to the Government General, Poland, this time made 17 May 1944, and has to deal with the situation of the Polish workers in Germany. Turning to Page 172 in your Honors' document book, which is on Page 3 of the German original, I believe it is the last paragraph of that page starting, "The food and bread:
"The food and bread fixed for Polish children in the camps are by no means sufficient for building up the substance for growing and developing their organism. In some cases children up to the age of ten and more are allotted 200 grams of bread weekly, 200 grams of butter and margerine, 250 grams of sugar monthly and nothing else." This is in Zeititz near hurzen in Saxony.
Turning then to Page 172 which is on Page 5 of the German original
THE PRESIDENT: The last you read was on Page 172.
MR. DENNY: I am sorry, sir. I meant 173. Excuse me. Page 5 of the German original, at the top, "Care of Children," the last half of the paragraph:
"An indication of the awful conditions this may lead to is given by the fact that in the camps for Eastern workers, camp for Eastern workers. "Waldlust", Post Office Lauf, Pegnitz, there are cases of eight year olds delicate and undernourished children put to forced labor and perishing from such treatment.
Sanitary Treatment "The fact that those bad conditions dangerously affect the state of health and the vitality of the workers is proved by many cases of tuberculosis found in very young people returning from the Reich to the General Government as unfit for work.
Their state of health is usually so bad that recovery is out of the question.
"The reason if that a state of exhaustion resulting from overwork and a starvation diet is not recognized as an ailment until the illness betrays itself by high fever and fainting spells." Then turning to Page 174 of the English book which is on Page 7 of the German book, referring to religious care:
"The elimination of religious services, religious practice and religious care from the life of the Polish workers, the prohibition of church attendance at a time when there is a religious service for other people and other measures show a certain contempt for the influence of religion on the feelings and opinions of the workers."
THE PRESIDENT: We will take a recess at this time.
(A recess was taken.)
THE MARSHAL: All persons in the Court will rise. The Tribunal is again in session.
MR. DENNY: If your Honors please, the next document NO-254-PS, which appears on page 175 of the second volume of document book 1, will be Exhibit No. 41. This is a letter from one Raab who was part of the Ministry for the Occupied Eastern Territories, dated 29 June 1945. On Page 1, the third paragraph under the entry "Diary No. 81/44 g" -- the second paragraph, rather, beginning "I was committed..." "I was committed as district commissioner in the information service in the territory of L'assikow from May 5th 1942 up to December 28th 1944. Besides many work districts, I was made fully responsible by district commissioner Dohrer to completely fill the district quota of workers to be delivered to Germany. Although the task wasn't agreeable to me, I carried it out conscientiously, with skill, and where it was necessary with sternness. Up until the penetration of the Soviet Armies, this territory delivered more than 31,000 workers to Germany."
And on page 177 of the document book which starts after the number three: "Strict measures, like the burning down of houses, were only used in a few cases. By this means, it was accomplished - at least in 1942 that the recruiting of workers didn't tie down to many police forces, who because of other functions, couldn't be used for that purpose all the time."
And then, five: "The delivery of 31,000 workers to the Reich is definitely important to the war effort. Stern measures are definitely justified in order to prevent a failure of this action."
We pass the next three documents which are 031-PS, 3721-PS and 3719-PS and come to the affidavit of October 15, 1945 of one Dr. Wilhelm Jager Document D2n6 which we offer as Prosecution Exhibit No. 42. It will be noted that Dr. Jager was the Senior Camp doctor in the Krupp workers camp having attained that position on October 1, 1942. On the first page, which is page 221 of your Honors' document book and which is page 1 of the German original at the second paragraph from the bottom of the page:
"All of these camps were surrounded by barbed wire and were closely guarded. Conditions in all of these camps were extremely bad. The camps were greatly over crowded. In some camps there were twice as many people in barrack as health conditions permitted. At Kramerplatz, the inhabitants slept in treble tiered bunks, and in the other camps they slept in double tiered bunks. The health authorities prescribed a minimum space between---" Still on page 221 but page 2 of the German original."--beds of 50 cm. but the bunks in these camps were separated by a maximum of 20 to 30 cm. The diet prescribed for the Eastern workers was altogether insufficient. They were given 1,000 calories a day less than the minimum prescribed for any German. Moreover, while German workers engaged in the heaviest work received 5,000 calories a day, the Eastern workers in comparable jobs received only 2,000 calories. The Eastern workers were given only 2 meals a day and their bread ration. One of these two meals consisted of a thin, watery soup. I had no assurance that the Eastern workers, in fact, received the minimum which was prescribed. Subsequently, in 1943, when I undertook to inspect the food prepared by the cooks, I discovered a number of instances in which food was withheld from the workers. The plan for food distribution called for a small quantity of meat per week. Only inferior meats, rejected by the veterinary such as horse meat or tuberculin infested was permitted for this purpose. This meat was usually cooked into a soup.. The clothing of the Eastern workers was likewise completely inadequate. They worked and slept in the same clothing in which they had arrived from the East.