These "gaps" in the evidence were shown by Prosecution Exhibits 334 and 335 in which the Public Prosecutor at Kattowice complained of the difficulty of securing sufficient proof due to the utter secrecy of the proceedings. The Gestapo alone presented the evidence by "rather dubious police transcripts" and "such police records occasionally had been obtained by inadmissible means". Mettgenberg testified that defendant von Ammon made an official trip to Upper Silesia to discuss these matters with the Chief Judge in Belgium and Northern France, "to remedy that state of affairs". This action did not take place until 30 June 1944, which was only a few months before the Night and Fog matters were taken out of the hands of the Ministry of Justice, and all prisoners then held by the Ministry of Justice were transferred to the Gestapo to be placed in concentration camps.
Mettgenberg also testified to the difficulties experienced with the Gestapo arising out of the fact that the Gestapo transferred many of these prisoners directly to concentration camps and thereby retained control over them. Nothing was done about the fact that the police took the NN prisoners into police custody and retained them in police custody.
We find defendant Mettgenberg to be guilty under Counts two and three of the indictment. The evidences show beyond a reasonable doubt that he acted as a principal, aided, abetted, and was connected with the execution and carrying out of the Hitler Night and Fog decree in violation of numerous principles of international law, as has been heretofore pointed out in this judgment.
THE PRESIDENT: The Tribunal will recess until one--thirty this afternoon.
(A recess was taken until 1330 hours.)
AFTERNOON SESSION (The hearing reconvened at 1530 hours, 4 December 1947).
THE MARSHAL: The Tribunal is again in session.
THE PRESIDENT: The Tribunal announced last evening that certain corrections would be made today. In that connection an order has been signed, the result of which will be that certain pages on which errors have occurred will be removed and clean pages with the correction thereon inserted in place of the page removed.
In order, however, that all concerned may understand the nature of these minor changes and clerical corrections, the Tribunal will read at this time its order which will disclose the nature of these changes.
ORDER The text of the opinion as filed with the SecretaryGeneral is the official text.
Occasional errors in the reading of the official text, particularly with reference to the dates on which certain events occurred, were made in the reading of the official text. In such case the wording of the official text, as filed, controls.
The following corrections are made in the official text of the opinion:
On Page 79, Line 6, omit the sentence beginning with the word "To" and ending with the word "Belonged."
On Page 81, last line, the word "chartered" should read "charted."
On Page 95, line 2 should read: "The letter of the same Dr. Freisler to Minister."
On Page 98, line 14, insert the word "when" between the words "and" and "they."
On Page 98, line 29, strike the word "Chancellor" and insert the word "Counsellor."
On Page 98, line 30, strike the words, "and acted as head of" and insert in lieu thereof the words "in charge of". Strike the word "Section" and insert in lieu thereof the word "matters".
On Page 98, line 36, following the word "and" and preceding the word "which" insert the words "jurisdiction of".
On Page 99, last line, strike the words "defendants Schlegelberger and insert in lieu thereof the words "the Minister of Justice and the defendant".
On Page 100, line 4, strike the word "pending" and insert in lieu thereof the words "turned over".
On Page 101, line 15, strike the words "to the Special Court at Hamm".
On Page 104, lines 15 and 16, strike the words "as Vice President of one division of the People is Court".
On Page 105, line 1, strike the word "usually" and insert in lieu thereof the word "occasionally".
On Page 105, Line 5, following the word "no" and preceding the word "record" insert the word "public".
On Page 105, line 18. strike the word "Hamm" and insert in lieu thereof the word "Essen".
On Page 107, line 18, strike the letter "s" from the word "defendants", insert a closing parenthesis following the word "Mettgenberg", and strike the words "and von Ammon".
On Page 107, line 19, strike the word "Engert" and insert in lieu thereof the word "Marx".
On Page 107, line 23, strike the number "8" at the beginning of the line and insert in lieu thereof the number "6".
On Page 110, line 9, strike the period following the word "Courts" and add the words "at Oppeln and Kattowice."
On Page 110, line 11, following the word "Ministerial" and preceding the word "defendant" strike the word "Director" and insert in lieu thereof the word "Counsellor."
On line 19 of Page 110, following the word "in" and preceding the word "Breslau" insert the words "Cologne and".
On Page 111, line 29, strike the words "Ministerial Director" and insert in lieu thereof the word "Doctor".
On Page 113, line 20, add the letter "a" to the word "document".
On Page 113, line 29, following the word "reports" and preceding the word "are" Insert the words "as to time".
On Page 115, line 30, strike the word "Hamm".
On Page 114 strike the last line on the page reading: "As Under-Secretary, defendant Rothenberger also passed upon".
On Page 115, lines 1 to 12 inclusive, strike the first two paragraphs beginning with the word "clemency" on line 1, to and including the word "decisions" on line 12.
On Page 115, line 34, following the word "crimes" and preceding the word "against" insert the words "and crimes".
On Page 154, line 51, following the word "witness" and preceding the word "who" strike the name "Eiffe" and insert in lieu thereof the name "Schulz".
On pane 135, line 1, following the word, "witness" and preceding the word "also" strike the word "Eiffe" and insert in lieu thereof the name "Schulz".
On pane 206, line 23, strike the words, "and acted as head of", and insert in lieu thereof the words "and was in charge of".
The order is sipped by the three members of the Tribunal.
Judge brand will continue with the reading of the Opinion.
The Defendant von Ammon From his own sworn statements we gain the following information concerning the defendant von Ammon.
He joined, the SA in December 1933, in which organization he held the rank of Scharfuehrer. He joined the NSDAP in May, 1937. He was called to the Reich Ministry of Justice as of 1 January 1935, became a Landesgerichtsrat on 1 February 1935, and Landesgerichtsdirektor on 1 July 1937. His main activity in the Ministry during that period concerned "questions of international level usage in penal matters".
After the Austrian Anschluss he was employed as liaison officer of Department III (penal matters) in connection with Department VIII (Austria) , in the Reich Ministry of Justice. He was consultant in the department for the administration of penal law under Ministerialdirektor Crohne. He was transferred to the Munich Court of Appeals as Oberlandesgerichtsrat, where he served until June, 1940, at which time he was recalled to the Reich Ministry of Justice. As of 1 March 1943 he was appointed Ministerial Counsellor in the Ministry of Justice. He states:
"From 1942 onwards I dealt mainly with Nacht und Nobel cases in the occupied territories. In my capacity as consultant for Nacht und Nebel cases I made several duty trips to the occupied territories and took part in discussions in Paris and Holland which dealt with questions of Nacht und Rebel proceedings."
The broad scope and the variety of the official activities of von Ammon may be illustrated by reference to reports which he made to officials of the Ministry of Justice during the year 1944.
On 14 January 1944 he reported at the Ministry upon "Jurisdiction of Denmark". On 10 February he reported to the Minister on "Competence of Prosecution of IT Cases". On 31 May, under the heading "Submissions to the State Secretary" (Klemm), he reported on "Action against Stateless Jews, Admission of legal Procedure?". Under the heading "Reports to the State Secretary" for 21 June 1944, he reported on "Pastoral Service for NN Prisoners", after which in handwriting appears the word "Rejection". Under the heading "Submissions to the Minister" for 26 July, he reported on "Proceedings of State Felice in Lower Styria". Under the heading "Reports to the Minister" of 3 October, he reported on "Taking Over of Criminal Proceedings from the Eastern Districts". Under the heading "Formal Verbal Reports to the Minister" of 3 November 1944, he reported on "Liquidation of Offenses from the Eastern Territories". On 10 January 1945 it appears that he made a verbal report on the "Taking Over Administration of Penal Justice of the Minister for the East."
The prosecution introduced in evidence a captured document of 1942 pages in length, containing lists of many hundreds of death sentences which were submitted to the Minister of Justice and at times to State Secretary Klemm for final disposition. The cases were classified as "clear" or as "doubtful". The former - "clear" outnumbered the latter. An examination of the document discloses that between 14 January 1944 and 16 November of the same year the defendant von Ammon made twenty-four reports on cases in which persons from the occupied territories had been sentenced to death under the Nacht und Nebel procedure. The death sentences averaged more than one for every three days of the entire period.
In a notice addressed to Under-Secretary Rothenberger, and to Minister Thierack, von Ammon reported that on 1 September 1942, in Kiel, Essen, and Cologne cases were pending against 1,456 persons charged under the Night and Fog decrees.
In view of the fact that von Ammon was in charge of Nacht und Nebel procedure from 1942 until the end of the war, it is clear that we have in evidence only incomplete records of the activities of this defendant in connection with the Eight and Fog decree. The fragmentary character of the captured documents which have been submitted renders it impossible to give a complete picture of this criminal activity. The illustrations which we have given and which cover only a portion of the tine involved will, however, serve as an indication of the scope of the activities which were under the direction of the defendants Mettgenberg and von Ammon. Von Ammon also participated in a lengthy secret correspondence concerning the transfer of NW cases to the Special Court at Oppein and the necessity of allocating additional judges and public prosecutors to that court in view of the resultant increase in the volume of work.
The defendant von Ammon held an executive position of responsibility involving the exercise of personal discretion. Within the Ministry he was in charge of the section which handled Eight and Fog cases. The defendant Mettgenberg stated that the Night and Fog section within his subdivision was headed by von Ammon and that whenever von Ammon had doubts concerning the handling of individual cases joint discussions were held. We quote:
"When he had no doubts he could decide on matters himself." We have already set forth at length the statement of von Ammon concerning his knowledge and activities and his misgivings concerning the entire procedure. The defendants von Ammon and Mettgenberg were the representatives of the Reich Ministry of Justice at a conference at The Hague on 2 November 1943 concerning "New Regulations for Dealing with Eight and Fog Cases from The Netherlands." Von Ammon staled that assurance was given by Mettgenberg and himself that close connection would be maintained between the judicial authorities at Essen and the German authorities in the Netherlands in the handling of NN cases.
We have already quoted a note signed by von Ammon wherein he remarked that it was "rather awkward" that the defendants should learn the details of their charges only during the trial and commented on the insufficiency of the translation facilities in the trial of French NN prisoners. Von Ammon is chargeable with actual knowledge concerning the systematic abuse of the judicial process in these cases.
In respect to his other activities we refer to our general discussion under the heading "Night and Fog". We find the defendant von Ammon guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity under Counts 2 and 3 of the indictment.
JUDGE BLAIR: Judge Blair continuing to read the Opinion of the Tribunal.
The Defendant Joel The professional career of the defendant Guenther Joel in the Third Reich proceeded at the same pace as his career as a Party man; in fact, even before the war years his professional career merged with his career in Nazi organizations, and to be more precise, in the SS and the SB - the organization which the IMT Judgment has declared to be criminal.
He became a member of the NSDAP on 1 May 1933 and entered the Ministry of Justice as a junior public prosecutor (Gerichtsassesor) on 7 August 1933. In quick succession he became assistant public prosecutor (l September 1933), public prosecutor (1 January 1934), senior public prosecutor (l February 1935, and chief public prosecutor (1 November 1936.
Between August 1933 and October 1937, Joel was the chief of a newly created sub-department of the Reich Ministry of Justice, the Central Public Prosecution (Zentralstaatsanwaltschaft). In October 1937 this sub-department was dissolved, but the Reich Minister of Justice, Guertner, reserved the right to assign Joel as "referent" for special cases and subsequently made use of this right. After the dissolution of the Central Public Prosecution, Joel worked as "referent" in the Ministry's Penal Department No. III (later renumbered IV).
By a formal letter of appointment, dated 19 December 1937 and signed by Minister Guertner, Joel was, in addition to his other duties, appointed liaison officer between the Reich Ministry of Justice and the SS, including the SD, as well as the Gestapo. A few months later, namely, in a letter of 2 May 1938, signed by Heydrich, Joel was, effective 30 January 1938, admitted to the SS and, effective the same day, promoted to the rank of SS Untersturmfuehrer and given the position of Leader (Fuehrer) in the SD Main Office (Security Service Main Office).
His SS personnel record shows how quickly he climbed to high positions in the SS and the SD: on 11 September 1938 he became SS Ober sturmfuehrer; on 30 January 1939, SS Hpuptsturmfuehrer:
on 26 September 1940, SS Sturmbannfuehrer - holding all these ranks as Leader in the SD Main Office.
The record shows that in his capacity as SS officer Joel was, between 2 and 3 May 1939, sent on an official mission for the Security Office (SD). An official letter from the Reich Fuehrer of SS, Chief of the Security Service Main Office, dated 28 April 1939, so notified the Reich Minister of Justice. Again on 4 July 1940, the Chief of the Security Police and the Security Service informed the Reich Ministry of Justice that Joel had been "put on the list of indispensable persons on behalf of the Reichsfuehrer SS and Chief of the German Police", thereby reserving to the Security Police and the Security Service the indispensable service of Joel and freeing him from military service.
But in his answer, dated 11 July 1940, to this request, Freisler, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Justice, asked:
"To refrain from calling upon SS Captain Joel, Senior Public Prosecutor, for taking over duties for the Reich Fuehrer SS and Chief of the German Police, Dr. Joel, as you know, is entrusted with extremely important reports at my Ministry."
The nature of these reports will be later discussed.
On 1 May 1941 Joel was promoted to Ministerial Counselor. He remained with the Reich Ministry of Justice until 12 May 1943.
The reason for his leaving the Ministry was that on 7 May 1943 he was appointed Attorney General to Supreme Provincial Court of Appeals in Hamm (Westphalia). By letter dated Fuehrer Headquarters, 12 May, 1943, Bormann, Chief of the Party Chancellery (sentenced to death in absentia by the IMT) personally confirmed his appointment. It should be added that a few weeks earlier, by letter of 13 March 1943 to Reich Minister of Justice, Thierack, the Gauleiter of Westphalia, Alfred Mayer, also formally endorsed Joel's appointment for Attorney General at Hamm, in his own name and in the name of Deputy Gauleiter Hoffmann, in charge of the administration of the Gau Westphalia-South.
Shortly after this now appointment, namely, as of 9 November 1943, Joel was promoted to the Rich rank of SS Oberstummbannfuehrer, which appointment was approved by Himmler. His political and Party career went hand in hand with his professional career, and his promotions were made by or approved by such high-ranking Nazi officials as Himmler, Bormann, Heydrich, Thierack, and Freisler - whose desperate and despicable characters are known to the world; the record in this case is replete with many atrocities and crimes committed by these leaders and members of organizations which have been declared criminal by the IMT. Thus, Joel continued to the end as the confidant and trusted protage of these most outstanding and notorious criminals of all time.
It will be remembered that ever since December 1937, Joel in his several capacities at the Ministry of Justice had, in addition to his other duties, acted as liaison officer between the Ministry and the SS, the SD, and the Gestapo. To this position a successor, Chief Public Prosecutor Franke, was appointed on 1 August 1943. Joel claims that in fact he had ceased to act as such liaison officer when Thierack assumed office as Reich Minister of Justice in August 1942. However, the record shows that even after that time Joel made numerous reports, some of which are mentioned below, relating to the execution of death penalties imposed under the law against Poles and Jews, and relating to the transfer of Poles who had received mild sentences or had been acquitted, or had served their term, to the Gestapo. These were the very duties which he had to perform in the Reich Ministry as liaison officer. Even after Thierack's appointment as Minister, Joel was connected with the interests of the Reich Security Office, and his work was productive and satisfactory in the carrying out of the plan or scheme of racial persecution and extermination of Poles and Jews. On 17 August 1943, defendant Rothenberger inducted defendant Joel into his office as General Public Prosecutor at Hamm, praised him in the highest terms, and referred to him as an SS member and also to his rank of SS Obersturmbannfuehrer.
As late as 1945, when the question of military service for Joel again arose, Gauleiter Hoffmann of South Westphalia intervened in a letter to the Reich Ministry of Justice, referring to the fact that Joel was known to be a member of the Waffen-SS, and that if he were to go into military service he would undoubtedly be assigned to the SS activities.
Under our discussion of the Night and Fog decree, reference is made to several documents which show Joel as having aided, abetted, participated in, and having been connected with, the Night and Fog scheme or plan.
Rudolf Lehmann, Lieutenant General of the Legal Department of the armed forces, stated under oath:
"These cases were, as I seem to remember, handled by von Ammon, also of that same division of the Reich Ministry of Justice. General Public Prosecutor Joel, who was in the Ministry of Justice until sometime in 1943, would be able to supply further details on this 'Nacht und Nebel' matter. Joel was General Public Prosecutor in Hamm, and a court handling 'Nacht und Nebel' cases was located at Hamm. Other courts handling 'Nacht und Nebel' cases were located at Cologne, Breslau, and at one or two other places unknown to me but which can be named by Joel."
Joel became Chief Prosecutor of the Court of Appeals in Hamm, covering all of Westphalia and the district of Essen, on 17 August 1943, which office he continued to hold until the end of the war. In this position he was in charge of the Night and Fog program for the Special Courts in Essen until 15 March 1944 when these courts were transferred farther East to Oppeln in the Kattowice district. Reports of Joel show that he attended conferences both in Hamm and in Belgium on Night and Fog matters. The record also shows that the district of which he was the highest, and therefore the most responsible, prosecuting authority was, in area and population, one of the largest in Germany.
He had under his supervision the senior public prosecutors and their staffs at the Special Courts in Epsen. It was his task to supervise the work of all prosecutors assigned to his office. The Special Courts in Essen tried more Night and Fog cases than the combined total of all other special courts and the People's Court. In law, Joel must be held to have had the responsibility of these cases. The record further shows that Joel assumed this responsibility.
A letter addressed to Joel, dated 20 January 1944, stated that in the future all Fight and For persons who were upon trial acquitted or who had served their sentences, must be turned over for custody to the Gestapo.
A letter dated 26 January 1944 from Joel to the Reich Minister of Justice complained about the delay which the defendant Lautz, Chief Prosecutor at the People's Court, caused by his failure to return files in MM cases. Joel pointed out that 84 Fight and Fog prisoners who had been held near Hamm since 1941 were still there.
In November 1943 defendants von Ammon and Mettgenberg came to Hamm en route back to Berlin from the conferences they had attended in Holland. The purpose of their visit to Joel was to determine whether there was any available space in prison for the keeping of additional Night and Fog prisoners to be transported from The Netherlands. Joel assured them that more prisoners could be accommodated and even opposed the view of his Oberlandesmericht who stated they should not be sent to the Hamm area. They were sent to that area. In December 1943 Joel attended a conference in Brussels which he reported upon after his return to Hamm, pertaining to Night and Fog prisoners who were sent from Belgium.
The categorical denial of Joel of ever having transverred an NN prisoner or of ever having tried an MM prisoner or of ever having issued an order to transfer an NN prisoner who had been acquitted or who had served his sentence, to Gestapo custody is' no defense of his activities in connection with the custody, trial, execution, or transfer of MM prisoners after they had served their sentences or had been acquitted to the Gestapo.
The high office which he held required kin to supervise and properly handle Night and Fog cases filed in the courts where he was Chief Prosecutor. He had numerous assistants whom he necessarily had to entrust with the prosecution and carrying out of the Night and Fog program and cases arising thereunder. The fact that Joel did not actually try the Night and Fog cases himself has no significance. He did supervise the men who tried and had executed some of them and imprisoned others and transferred others who were not guilty of any crime or who had served their sentences, to the Gestapo and concentration camps.
The defendant Joel is chargeable with knowledge that the Night and Fog program from its inception to its final conclusion constituted a violation of the laws and customs of war.
We turn now to the other activities, here under indictment, of the defendant Joel.
We direct attention to a document from the Reich Ministry of Justice which contains the program for conferences among the officials of the Ministry. In each instance the name of the official who is to report is set opposite the subject for discussion. From this we gain some information as to the scope of the work assigned to Joel.
According to this program Joel was scheduled to report upon the following subjects. We quote:
"Nullification Plea, Maslanka "Nullification Pica, Beyer Bosich (Italian) Article 4 VVO "Matter of clemency Pongratz (70 year old farmer, non-delivery) "Handing over of Poles to the State Police (Cases Bartosinski and Marcziniah "Lemzinger Zoowell AG (Lenzinger Artificial Wool , Ltd.)
"Treatment of Jews and Poles, as well as Russians. Internal order of the Reichsfuehrer SS.
"Bartosinski, Pole, shall be transferred from criminal custody (3 years penal camp on account of sexual intercourse) to State Police.
"Marasyak, Pole, wanted to marry German maid in France. Detention pending investigation.
State Police demands to be turned in.
"Should there be any reports during the war on the question of mercy for Poles who have been sentenced to death on account Of the possession of weapons and other offenses and who have been pardoned to five years penal servitude with the reserve of an investigation after two to three years?
"Extortion of food ration cards, Mrs. Ritter. Chorlow, Russian from the district of Kursk, Article 2, VVO, State Police, wants to punish with police measures.
"Jakubowski, Pole, has raped German woman. He has been executed by hanging. The Criminal Police asks for a burial certificate.
"Uschake, workman, from the East, from old Soviet Russian territory, has stolen a jacket. The Secret State Police sent him to a labor education camp and requests cancellation of the order to inflict one month imprisonment."
Another significant incident relates to the case of two "deserving National Socialists". Our source of knowledge is a brief document signed by the defendant Joel. The facts stated are that a policeman and a temporary mayor "shot two Polish priests for no reason other than hatred for the Catholic clergy". On 11 June 1940, the two murderers were were sentenced to fifteen years penal servitude for manslaughter.
Joel stated that more than two years of the sentence have been served and that the Reichsfuehrer SS has asked for paidon. The document concludes as follows:
"Penal servitude changed to five years' imprisonment each. Postponement of the serving of the sentence and of the defamatory consequences for the duration of stay in a Waffen SS probation unit. Further pardon in the case of the probation. (Signed): Dr. Joel."
As early as 1937 it is clear that Joel had knowledge of conditions in concentration camps. A document marked "For the time of circulation: Secret! to 111-a. After circulation in sealed envelope to the Gestapo general files", contains the following:
"2) As far as reports concerning executions when escaping from concentration camps, etc., suicides in K. S. (concentration camp) arrive, they shall continue to be dealt with by the specialist competent for the respective subject. The general consultant for political criminal matters, however, is to be informed of the reports. They are to be submitted to him at once."
This order was circulated secretly to all specialists for political criminal matters. Joel was listed as a political specialist.
An official report on a meeting of the Presidential Board of 1 February 1939 shows that a report was given by the Chief Public Prosecutor on developments in connection with the events of 9 to 11 November 1938 (the Jewish pogrom).
We quote:
"The Reich Minister of Justice and Senior Public Prosecutor Joel pointed out that it was impossible, of course, to handle this matter in the usual judicial manner; if the top men disregarded legal principles, it was impossible to prosecute people concerned with the execution. For instance, the viewpoint of violation of the public peace should be dropped. This is legally justified inter alia by the fact that the culprits were not conscious of any violation, since they were acting under orders. As far as the criminal offenses committed on that occasion are concerned, trifles should be dropped. Otherwise, however, proceedings can only be quashed by the Fuehrer, whereas serious criminal offenses such as rape and race defilement must be prosecuted. The order to prosecute is issued in any case by the Minister after the culprits, if they are members of the Party or of any organization, have been excluded by a special department of the Supreme Party Tribunal in Berlin."
It is self-evident that if prosecution was to take place only after a Party tribunal had excluded them, they would live a long and happy life of freedom.
Defendant Joel became a Referent in the Reich Ministry of Justice with the authority and duty to review penal cases from the incorporated Eastern territories after the occupation of Poland. In this capacity he handled many of the cases tried pursuant to the decree against Poles and Jews. In defense of these acts, Joel testified that "he felt obligated by the existing laws and so complied with them". Joel did not have the same view as other officials that after the occupation of Poland the nationals of the annexed part of Poland became German nationals.
He testified that such a Polish citizen after 1 September 1939 remained a Polish national and that "a Polish national is never a German". Joel frankly admitted that he knew he was not dealing with Germans but with foreign nationals.
In his capacity as Referent for the incorporated Eastern territories Joel, as liaison officer between the Reich Ministry of Justice and the Gestapo, took part in conferences with others from Department IV concerning the disposition of such Jewish and Polish cases. In one instance ho reported having discussed an order of Himmler's as to the treatment Poles and Jews should receive. In another instance he reported ordering the transfer of Poles who had been sentenced to a penal camp for three years to the Gestapo.
As a witness, Schlegelberger testified concerning transfers to the police, which he described as "a very sad chapter for anyone who has a sense of justice". Guertner protested against this procedure and made compilations of press reports concerning executions by the police.
"Lammers actually submitted those compilations to Hitler but told Guertner later Hitler had said that he had not given a general directive to carry out those shootings but in individual cases he could not do without these measures because the courts, that was military courts as well as civil courts, were not able to take care of the special conditions as created by the war.
And, Hammers at the same time announced that Hitler in a further case had already ordered the execution by shooting."
Schlegelberger testified further that after an order had been made for the transfer of a prisoner to the police, there was a time limit of 24 hours, at the end of which the police were required to report that the order had been executed. Schlegelberger states that Guertner charged the defendant Joel with the mission of representing the Ministry of Justice with the police in connection with these transfers. It appears that the Ministry of Justice, through Joel, was able to intervene in some cases and to prevent the transfers. Schlegelberger testified:
"* * * the attempts to intervene on the part of the Ministry of Justice were successful in some cases but, if all possibilities had been exhausted, and if in spite of that he had not succeeded in having the order issued by the police withdrawn, nothing was left but to issue the instructions to the executing authority not to offer any resistance but to hand the man over to the police when they requested him."
Nothwithstanding the reluctance with which the officials of the Ministry of Justice acted, it appears from the foregoing that they did cooperate in the transfer of prisoners to the police.
From 10 September 1942 to March 1943, Joel reviewed 105 death sentences passed by courts in the incorporated Eastern territories and in most cases gave final approval for their execution.