It further appears in this document that a conference was held with the Chief Prosecutor at the People's Court concerning Haffner's complaints. Correspondence and reports were routed through the defendants Mettgenberg and von Ammon.
DR. HAENSEL: Dr. Haensel for Joel. This document consists of three parts. As regards the first part, I should like to object to the fact that it is only an excerpt as stated by the heading, and that it cannot be seen in any way how that excerpt was made. In my opinion, it would be necessary, if this document is to be used, at least to attach or to request a certificate as to who has made that excerpt and compare it with the original--not a photostatic copy of a part of the original document in other words -- but the photostatic copy has been made of the excerpt which itself was taken from the entire document in typewriting and without signature.
MR. KING: Your Honors, the document has been reproduced exactly as it came from the files of the Reich Minister of Justice. If it's an excerpt, we did not excerpt it, and we are not in a position to say who did. We are,therefore,not in a position to furnish an affidavit or any other sort of statement indicating why this is the excerpt of the original and not the original.
THE PRESIDENT: The Tribunal is only concerned with the fact that this is a reproduction of the entire document that was captured.
DR. HAENSEL: Beyond doubt, it is not a reproduction. It is not a photostatic copy of the document as it was found. If the Tribunal will only look at it, it will be easy to see that.
MR. KING: Your Honor, I beg to differ with Dr. Haensel. This is a copy of the document as we found it. Whether or not it is an excerpt of the original, I am not prepared to say. Dr. Haensel may be right -- but in any event, it's the way we found it and it's been unaltered by us.
JUDGE BRAND: You moan, don't you, that all of NG-240 that was found in the files is offered here?
MR. KING: Is here reproduced and offered.
THE PRESIDENT: The document will be received in evidence.
MR. KING: I believe Dr. Schilf, after some further examination, may have a comment to make on it.
DR. SCHILF: Dr. Schilf for the defendant Dr. Mettgenberg. That was just a technical question which in this case could be straightened out. In the German document book, there were omissions which can however be recognized in the photostatic copy. Therefore I have no objection since by having a chance to look at the photostatic copy, I have had the opportunity to read those pages and recognize those passages which had been omitted in the German document book. I therefore apologize that I have taken up the time of the Tribunal, but it was not really our fault since the German document book had omissions which we could only supplement now by looking at the photostatic copy.
MR. KING: As the next exhibit 331, we introduce the Document NG-230 which is to be found beginning on page 122 of the English text and page 118 in the German text. This is a letter dated 4 April 1944 from the Wehrmacht to the foreign office with a copy to the defendant von Ammon indicated, and it concerns the secrecy of nacht and nebel cases. I would like to read a paragraph from the letter -- the short paragraph in the English text just below the middle of the page. I believe that is at the top of page 119 of the German. The paragraph states:
"The transfer to Germany will be made, as per the intention of the Fuehrer, in order to make an efficacious and lasting warning example. The fuehrer wishes the relations and the population to be kept in suspense as regards the fate of the perpetrator. To German and foreign bureaus it will be replied to inquiries and petitions: 'The perpetrator has been committed to prison; further information cannot be given.
'" We offer the Document NG-230 as Exhibit 331.
I should also like to point out before offering it to the Secretary-General that on the copy of the photostat original, which we are submitting, the initial of von Ammon appears.
THE PRESIDENT: The document will bu deceived in evidence. Lest there be any possible omission of my ruling, the document, Exhibit 331, NG-230, is received in evidence.
MR. KING: The next exhibit, 332, is the Document 231, and it is to bu found in the English text beginning on page 124 and in the German text beginning on page 120. This is a report by von Ammon concerning conferences held in Paris in April 1944 with respect to nacht and nebel prosecutions in Breslau. The report on the Paris conference was submitted to both Mettgenberg and Klemm. I would like to also refer to the fact that the defendant von Ammon's trip to Paris, of which this document is a report, is also mentioned in Document NG-230.
Excuse me,NG-203, which is Exhibit 236. This report is signed by von Ammon and initialed by Thierack, Klemm, and Mettgenberg.
THE PRESIDENT: I take it that your authority for that is tho Secretary of Stage is Klemm, the Minister, Thierack?
MR. KING: Your Honor, there are two sources for that authority; two sources for that statement; one being the distribution list that is at tho bottom of the letter, Mettgenberg and the Secretary of State, which would be Klemm. However, on tho document itself the initials appear, either the signature of von Ammon and the Initials of Mettgenberg, initials of Klemm and the initials of Thierack. Those Initials appear on the photostatic original opposite the numbers 2 and 3 on tho bottom of page 125 in the English.
We offer as Exhibit 332 the Document NG-231.
THE PRESIDENT: The document will be received in evidence.
MR. KING: The next exhibit , 333, will be the document NG-262, which is to be found on page 126 of the English text and 122 of the German text. This is a statistical summary of a situation report on Nacht und Nobel proceedings as of April 30, 1944. It shows that there had been at that time 6,639 defendants transferred by the military authorities to the Special Courts; accusations had been made in 3,624 instances; and verdicts had been rendered against 1,793. The report itself is initialed by the defendant von Ammon.
We offer as Exhibit 355 tho Document NG-262.
THE PRESIDENT: Where do the initials of von Ammon appear?
MR. KING: In the English text which you have, it is at the very bottom of the page, the letter "A". It is approximately in the same place on the photostat of the original.
THE PRESIDENT: The document will be received in evidence.
MR. KING: The next exhibit , 334, is the Document NG-264; it is a document which begins on page 128 of the English text and on page 123 of the German text. The document is dated, or at least the introduction to a statistical list -- I don't mean to say statistical list -- at least the introduction to a list of names about which I will comment on in a moment. The introduction to that list is dated 3 May 1944, and this list is a file containing reports on the Nacht und Novel cases for the year 1945 and 1944 which are still pending in the Ministry of Justice. The Correspondence contained in his document shows that Nacht und Nobel prisoners were used in the armament industries and also indicates von Ammon's intention to contact the Security Office concerning these armament worker's retention. I would like read a portion of the letter which appears on page 148 in the English text, 139 in the German text. This is a letter from the Advocate General of the Court of Appeals, Kattowice, to the Reich ministry of Justice, and I would like to read the second and third paragraphs. I would like to read the three paragraphs on that page:
"NN prisoners held within the jurisdiction of the Court of Appeal of Kottowice are already employed to a large extent in the armament industry, regardless of whether they arc being hold for questioning or punishment.
They are quartered there in special camps at or no r the place of the respective industrial enterprise. In this way it is intended, if possible, to place all NP-Prisoners at the disposal of the armament industry.
"It has been disclosed tHat the N.N. -Prisoners already employed in the armament industry, as for instance the 400 -odd pr sonars working in Labend, lave done a very good job and excell in particular as skilled workers. Tho armament industry, therefore, wants to retain the employed N.N. -Prisoners also after their acquittal or after they have served their sentence.
"I ask for a decision on whether and, if so, bow that demand can be complied with. Considerable doubts arise from the fact that there is no legal right to confine them further and that the judicial authorities would thus take preventive Police measures. There is the question, however, whether the situation of the Reich does not justify even such extraordinary measures. If the demand of the armament industry is to be complied with, I suggest that an agreement be reached with tho Reich lain Security Office" which is RSHA, that N.N. -Prisoners employed as skilled workers who, as such, continue to be/needed by a certain industrial enterprise, be registered by the Gestapo as prisoners of the Police, after they have boon acquitted or have served their sentence, but that they remain in the camp hitherto kept by the judicial authorities at the place of the respective armament enterprise."
Now, on the following page there is a note which is signed by von Ammon:
"submitted to Department V, with the request for an opinion. If you have no objections I intend to contact the Reich Main Security Office in accordance with the report of the advocate General of Kattowitz." That note, which I have just road, appears on the original in the handwriting of tho defendant von Ammon.
We offer as Exhibit 33 tho Document NG-62.
THE PRESIDENT: The document will be received in evidence. We will now take our usual noon adjournment.
(A recess was taken until 1330 hours.)
THE MARSHAL: Persons in the Court room will please find their seats. The Tribunal is again in session.
MR. KING: The next exhibit, 336 -- the next exhibit 335, is the document NG 261, which is to be found beginning in the English text on page 150, and in the German on page 141. This is a report, the original of which is signed by the defendant von Ammon, on a conference concerning nacht und nebel matters in Belgium and Northern France. The report states that since invasion has not caused increased tension it is not necessary at thim time to make the policy for awarding penalties more severe. The report is also forwarded to the defendant Mettgenberg and bears his Initials. The initials appear on the photostatic copy of the original Just above his typewritten name, that appears on page 151 in the English. I also notice that the defendant von Ammon's name did not appear -- signature did not appear on page 151. Actually it should be under that parenthetical signature illegible. That signature, I think, quite clearly is that of the defendant von Ammon. We offer this document NG. 261 as exhibit 335.
THE PRESIDENT: The document will be received in evidence.
MR. KING: The next document is NG 696 and will become when formally offered, exhibit 336. It is to be found beginning on page 1-2 of the English text and 143 of the German text. This is a sworn affidavit of the defendant Dr. Wolfgang Mettgenberg. We, at this time, are not going to reed any portion of this affidavit. It perhaps can be summarized, though inadequately, by saying that it is a sworn affidavit concerning Mettgenberg's position and duties in the Reich Ministry of Justice.
It also makes it clear that the nacht and nebel section came under his subdivision and that it was headed by the defendant von Ammon. If in doubt about various matters von Ammon talked then over with the defendant Mettgenberg. We offer as exhibit 336, the document NG 696.
THE PRESIDENT: The document will be received in evidence.
MR. KING: The next exhibit 337 is document NG486, which is a sworn affidavit by the defendant Wilhelm von Ammon. This is to be found beginning on page 159 in the English text and on page 150 of the German text. The affidavit concerns the position and duties of the defendant von Ammon as head of the nacht und nebel section. The Court will notice that he states on page 160, that the February 7, 1942 decree concerning procedures of nacht und nebel was signed by Schlegelberger. And, on page 162 of the English text, that would be approximately 153 of the German text, he states that Lautz made the decision as to which cases were to be transferred from the People's Court to the Special Court. And, on page 63, he says that Engert was concerned with the losing of nacht und nebel prisoners, and enforcement of rules against correspondence with relatives and other interested people. I would like to read briefly a paragraph from this affidavit which begins on the top of page 164 in the English text, and at the bottom of page 155 in the German text. Reading from the top of page 164:
"The order that corpses had to be handed over to the Gestapo for burial, too, belongs either to the competence of Department IV or Department V. All leading officials of Departments III, IV, and V in the Ministry of Justice should have been familiar with the Nacht und nebel complex.
At any rate, I had constant contact with several officials of Division V. The essential point of the nacht und nebel procedure in my estimation consisted of the fact that the nacht und nebel prisoners disappeared from the occupied territories and that their subsequent fate remained unknown. Thierack decreed, in addition, that acquitted nacht und nebel prisoners had to be handed over to the Gestapo. It is also known to me that Reichsfuehrer of the SS Himler gave an order that each prisoners were to be committed to protective custody of Degree "I". We were told that this was a particularly mild degree." We offer as exhibit 33? the Document NG 466. I might say while Defense Coursel is examining the photographic copy of the original, that corrections have been made on the original and each correction is initialed on the left hand margin by the defendant von Ammon.
THE PRESIDENT: The document will be received in evidence.
MR. KING: This concludes, for the present time, the presentation of the documents from the document book 6, Mr. Wooleyhan will continue with the presentation of the prosecution's cases with documents from Document book 5A.
MR WOOLEYHAN: May it please the court, the first document in Book 5 is NG-229. This document is in three parts, comprising an exchange of official correspondence dating, respectively, September, October, and December of 1940, between Lammers Reich Minister and head of the Reich Chancellory, and the defendant Schlegelberger. The subject matter, common throughout the exchange of correspondence, is the proposed introduction of portions of the German Civil Code into the incorporated Eastern territories, including Poland, Silesia, Danzig, and other provinces in that area. The first letter bearing the personal signature of the defendant Schlegelberger is quite lenthy, and perhaps the entire problem-I would only like to call the court's attention to certain portions of that letter, although we will offer the entire document. On page 1, which is page 2 of the German book, in the middle of the second paragraph, Schlegelberger writes Lammers as follows:
"...We have been unable to reach agreement about my suggestions relative to the treatment of the non-German population particularly the Poles. However, the differences of opinion which have arisen in connection with this problem are, in my opinion, not so fundamental as it may seem at first. Most important they do not arise cut of my intention on my part to make the same legal code valid in the incorporated Eastern territories as for Germans and Poles alike."
Continuing over to page 2, which is still page 2 in the German book, Schlegelberger goes on to say:
" As I pointed out in detail in this communication, I have never denied that in various legal spheres special legislation for the Polish population will have to be considered.
Consequently, there exists no difference of opinion at all between the Deputy Fuehrer--" if I may interpolate for the moment, it appears from the rest of the document that the Deputy Fuhrer is Martin Bormann--" and myself as regards the intended result of the order; we differ only on the question of wether the proposed legislation would actually accomplish the result intended by me or wether their promulgation contrary to my point of view would cause the Poles to gain a legal status which the political administration did not intend to grant them."
On page 5 of the English Book, which, is-
THE TRIBUNAL:(JUDGE BRAND): May I interrupt you please?
MR WOOLEYHAN: Certainly.
THE TRIBUNAL ( JUDGE BAND): The last sentence that you read, you used the word " promulgation."
MR. WOOLEYHAN: Yes, Your Honor.
THE TRIBUNAL ( JUDGE BRAND): In our English text the word is " dismissal." Which is correct?
MR. WOOLEYHAN: "Promulgation" is correct.
THE TRIBUNAL ( JUDGE BRAND): "Promulgation", very well. Thank you.
MR WOOLEYHAN: On page 5 of the English Book, which is either the bottom of page 6, or the top of page 7 of the German, Schlegelberger continues in the following vein:
" There can surely hardly be nay serious doubt about the fact that generally speaking the Polish Legal Code must cease to be in existance. Its continued application would, in many cases, necessarily cause the Poles to acquire a legal to which they re not entitled."
As I have said, this letter is personally signed by the defendant Schlegelberger, who also states, just above to the Deputy Fuehrer, Martin Bormann. It might also be noted that at this time the defendant Schlegelberger was signing his letters as Acting Minister. 2497 The second letter is on the same subject, dated some time later, in which the some general matters are discussed.
It is signed with illegible initials we cannot read, but it specifically refers to the fact that the Deputy of the Fuehrer, Martin Bormann, states his opinion concerning, " our letters, " and since the letter referred to is on the same subject matter as that which I have just read, we presume it emanated from the Ministry of Justice - although we don't want to argue that point - in which Bormann was asked if it was possible to roach agreement by further discussions with the Minister of Justice. It continues to indicate that Bormann does not expect any results from further discussions carried on on the basis suggested by the Minister of Justice.
THE PRESIDENT: What page do you find this matter on?
MR. WOOLEYHAN: On page 9 of the English Book, Your Honor, which is however at the bottom o, f page 11 or the top of page 12 of the German. This is the second letter in the document. The letter goes on to complete the statements on what grounds Bormann would be willing to agree to the proposals of the Minister of Justice on this matter of extending certain portions of the German Civil Code to Poland.
This second letter bears an indorsement, which is on page 12 of the English book -- bears the initials of Lammers. At this point we might make a correction. On page 12 of the English book where it states " handwritten signatures" and then bears a pecular mathematical looking symbol - that is a garbled translation from what appears in original as the unmistakable initial of Lammers, plus the date " 9/11," which is 9th of November. This indorsement of Lammers which I have just described is addressed to the Reich Minister of Justice and incloses the Bormann letter previously referred to, for the information of the Justice Ministry. 2498 The last letter in this document begins on page 13 of the English Book, the bottom of page 16 and the top of page 17 in the German.
It bears the personal signature of Schlegelberger acting on behalf of the Ministry of Justice, and is addressed to Dr. Lammers. It concludes by saying that, " By these discussions which are to be continued very soon, and then will probably be brought to a conclusion, the affair, as I expected, has already made a very good progress." Interpolating again, this obviously refers to the stated subject of the letter, which is this familiar topic of the introduction of the German Civil Code into the incorporated Eastern territories.
The prosecution offers as Exhibit-
DR. BEHLING ( for defendant Schlgelberger): I wish to state that the statement by the prosecution, according to which the letter of 18 September, 1940, which is marked as Number one, in a series of these letters, and the file letter of 6 November 1940, should not be brought in connection with each other. This remark, or this reference of 2 November 1940, states expressly, and refers to a letter from the Ministry of Justice of 26 September -- while the letter submitted as Number one, the letter from the Ministry of Justice, bears the date 18 September. Therefore, there is no connection between the two documents; and therefore, I object to the submission of these documents in the form in which the prosecution intends to submit them.
MR. WOOLEYHAN: Your Honors, the three letters and the one endorsement which make up this document, by their dates extend during a three-month period of time in 1940. Each letter and endorsement bears the explicitly stated subject of the incorporation of German civil code into Poland and other Eastern countries. There is no question in the prosecution's mind about the common subject matter, nor is there any question about the integrated three-month period of time in which all the letters are concerned, nor is there any question about the full personal signature of Schlegelberger on two of the three letters. If there are enclosures referred to in any one of these letters that do not appear in the file, we submit that that has no affect whatever on the credibility or probative value of what is stated in the letters that are introduced.
JUDGE BRAND: I wonder if this has any additional significance? On page 1 of the English text, although the letter is dated 18 September, a little below we read "see letter of 26 September"; and then again, on page 9 in nether letter, there is also a reference to that same letter of 26 September.
MR. WOOLEYHAN: That has additional relevance, Your Honor, as snowing the coherent tying together of all three letters.
THE PRESIDENT: We see no real inconsistency in this matter of dates.
HR. WOOLEYHAN: As Exhibit 338, the prosecution offers document NG-229.
THE PRESIDENT: The document will be received in evidence.
MR. WOOLEYHAN: On page 15 of the English book, which is page 18 in the German, with a letter written by Martin Bormann, Chief of the Party Chancery, to the Minister of Justice, on the 12th of July 1940 , wherein Bormann suggests to the Minister certain modifications in the proposed rules of civil law to be applied to the Poles in the occupied Erst, which rules the Ministry of Justice was at the time engaged in drafting. On the same day that Bormann wrote this letter to the Minister of Justice, he enclosed a copy thereof, together with a covering note, to Henirich Himmler, Reichsfuehrer SS. This covering note to Henrich Himmler is found at the top of page 15 in the English book, page 18 in the German.
With regard to this covering note from Bormann to Himmler, we wish to invite the Court's attention to the fact that "The Reich Commissioner for the Strengthening of German Race and Culture, the Chief of the Security Police and SS, and the Racial Policy Department, are intended to convene before any further conferences which will be called by the Minister of Justice."
The third part of this document begins at the top of page 17, which is page 22 in the German. These are minutes of a conference held in the Ministry of Justice following the date of the first two letters I have just mentioned, at which about forty persons attended, including many officials of the Ministry of Justice and certain judges and lawyers among others. At this conference the entire question of introducing German civil law measures in Poland was discussed. The general tone of the conference can by typified by the following excerpts--reading now from the bottom of page 17 in the English, which is page 24 in the German. We find the minutes stating as follows:
"The Poles were already, for all practical purposes, excluded from legal commerce and intercourse by measures of public law."
Further down in the minutes we find Klopfer, at that time a lower official in the Ministry of the Interior, who later became an official in the Party Chancery, stating that Reich Minister Rudolf Hess, the Reichsfuehrer SS Himmler, and the four Gauleiters concerned--these Gauleiters, by the way, were from the Polish provinces under discussion.--were of the opinion that the antiquated conception of territoriality in law must be overcome.
Further down in the minutes we also note that the Ministry of Labor had raised certain objections to the ideas of the Ministry of Justice on this point, in that they maintained that "all contractual relations based on loyalty are impossible between Germans and Poles." This was stated with regard to labor and service contracts.
The minutes further reveal that at that conference the President of the Court of Appeals in Posen, which is in Poland, has instructed his judges-- If I may interrupt for one moment, I am reading now from page 19 of the English book, which is page 26 of the German. This President of the Court of Appeals in Posen stated that he had Instructed his judges that Poles were never equal to the Germans and that the principle of equality of men before the law was finished. A judge would be dismissed if, for example, he would give judgment for a Pole against a regional authority.
The minutes of this conference conclude with statements by the reporter that there wore attempts on the part of the Ministry of Justice to compromise their differences with Reich Ministers Hess, Himmler, and the Ministry of Labor.
The last two parts of this document consist of two letters written by Martin Bormann to Lammers, one in August of 1940, and the other in September of 1940, which follow all the occurrences that have gone before that have been described in this document.
The first letter, which begins on page 21 of the English bock, dated 21 August 1940, discloses that Bormann has received a draft of a proposed ordinance submitted by the-
DR. BEHLIHG (Counsel for the defendant Schlegelberger) --(Interposing): The letters which the prosecution has just submitted are not contained either in my document book or in the document book of my co-defense counsel. Therefore, I would ask the prosecution to inform us when these two letters were distributed to the defense center.
MR. WOOLEYHAN: These last two letters, Your Honor, so far as the English document which I have, a-e an integral part of document R-139. If it appears that these last two or three pages have been omitted from the document furnished the defense, unless they are willing to waive the 24-hour rule and look at the photostat, we must rectify it.
DR. BEHLING: As regards my client, I would be prepared to waive the 24-hour rule if I can convince myself, from the photostat, that the treatment of these letters does not necessitate a further discussion with my client.
MR. WOOLEYHAN: If I may, Your Honor, in view of the inadvertent omission of these few pages from the defense's document, I suggest that as I briefly discuss these last few pages, if counsel will follow along with me, if he has any objection we will rectify the error; otherwise, not.
THE PRESIDENT: Maybe he can better satisfy himself by a brief examination of the document itself. I think we should give him a moment for that to see if he can.
DR. BEHLING: The document RI-39 in the photostat ends with the event with which we have become acquainted as a file reference. The letter under discussion which has just been read by the Prosecution is not included in the photostat.
MR. WOOLEYHAN: It appears that the photostat itself is faulty, Your Honor, in that the last two letter to which I am referring do not appear on the photostat, so there is only one thing, to do, and that is to withdraw the document until we can rectify it.
DR. BELLING: Quite independent from that, when reading through the photostat I found that the last file reference appears to bear no signature at all. I cannot say so for certain, however, and therefore I would ask whether it would be possible for me to see the original.
MR. WOOLEYHAN: If our document room can rectify this photostat by supplying whatever portions of it appear to be missing in the German, we have no objection to the defense perusing the original if it is in Nurnberg. However, I don't think this point has been made quite clear to defense counsel, or perhaps to the Tribunal. The great weight of documentary evidence introduced here came to the Prosecution from our collecting centers and investigating teams operating out of the Berlin Document Center. The Policy was established last year of not sending by courier or any other means to Nuremberg the original documents. They were kept in archives at Tempelhof Document Center at Berlin. All we ever received were photostats. That is just to acquaint all concerned with the problem raised, whenever anyone asks to see an original and it tarns out that that original is in Berlin -- purely a matter of time, I will admit, but still a consideration.