PRESIDING JUDGE BURKE: An unusual book.
Are there further questions? Mr. Fenstermacher?
MR. FENSTERMACHER: I have nothing further, Your Honor.
PRESIDING JUDGE BURKE: Judge Carter? Judge Wennerstrum?
You may be excused? Dr. Stadtmueller.
(Witness Stadtmueller was execused from the witness stand.)
PRESIDING JUICE BURKE: You may proceed, Dr. MuellerTorgow.
DR. MUELLER-TORGOW: Your Honor, I actually intended, after the examination of the witness, to submit further documents, but in spite of all my efforts, especially on the part of the Defense Information Center, we have not succeeded in getting my document book -- Felmy Document Book VI in time. Since I have further affidavits and documents which I would like to submit, which have arrived in the meantime, I would like to present all the documents which I have together at a later time. Now, with this reservation I would like to bring my case-in-chief temporarily to an end.
PRESIDING JUDGE BURKE: May I inquire when you delivered it to the proper authorities for translation and reproduction?
DR. MUELLER-TORGOW: I don't know the exact date, Your Honor. In any case it was sometime last week. Then I was told that the Translation Department, as well as the Mimeographing Section, was very busy at the moment, and that the Mimeographing Section had a lot to do for the Prosecution, on behalf of General Taylor. But I certainly hoped that it would be available for me to submit today.
PRESIDING JUDGE BURKE: It is unfortunate, but-- and the, -
DR. MUELLER-TORGOW: They are affidavits, Your Honor, which I have received during the course of the case. Of course I could only set them up when I got them. After this book was compiled even more affidavits came.
THE PRESIDENT: The Tribunal has no desire - I don't wish to intrude - to limit you, tut this is just an example of not getting things in as promptly as the Tribunal would like to have you get it in. It takes a reasonably amount of time to got this through the various departments, and you must keep that in mind in connection with all the material that is to be submitted to the Tribunal.
You may announce a ruling on that.
DR. MUELLER-TORGOW: Your Honor, might I say something about that? If I had had the possibility to submit this book today, then from a technical point of view that would have been extremely quickly done. I think that in this case the departments cannot be blamed for this. I, for my part, couldn't have handed them the book any earlier because I hadn't yet even received the affidavits. Some of them came from Greece and from South Africa, and from goodness knows where.
PRESIDING JUDGE BURKE: I have been handed a note by the Deputy Secretary General stating that this particular Document Book will be ready tomorrow morning. At least that's the report that was given to the Deputy Secretary General, At that time I assume we will be prepared to proceed on that Document Book VI. Will there be any question about the twenty-four hour rule or some other possible technicality?
MR. FENSTERMACHER: None whatever. Your Honor.
PRESIDING JUDGE BURKE: Very well. We'll now proceed; subject to your right to submit this Document Book later, I take it you're now resting your case.
DR. MUELLER--TORGOW: Your Honor, may I ask if you wish me to present this Document Book, together with the other documents tomorrow or perhaps with any other documents which might come in even later?
PRESIDING JUDGE BURKE: We will advise you after the afternoon session. You will be given the opportunity to present the documents sometime, but we will advise you when we want you to present them after the recess.
DR. WEISGERBER: Dr. Weisgerber for the Defendant General Speidel.
PRESIDING JUDGE BURKE: You may proceed Dr. Weisgerber.
DR. WEISGERBER: Your Honor, first of all, after talking to my colleague, Dr. Sauter, I would like to state the following: Dr. Sauter has indicated to the Tribunal that following the presentation of the case for General Felmy he wanted to present his additional documents for the case of the Defendant Geitner. On the basis of my arrangement with Dr. Sauter I would like to start with the presentation of evidence for my client, the Defendant Speidel. My colleague, Dr. Sauter, will then, at some later time, continue with his presentation of evidence for General Geitner.
PRESIDING JUDGE BURKE: You may proceed.
DR. WEISGERBER: May it please the Tribunal, before starting with the presentation of evidence for my client, General Speidel, I would like to say the following: First of all I intended to examine my client as a witness in his own behalf, and I would ask the Tribunal's permission for this; and, secondly, I would like to submit the documentary evidence for the most part, during the examination of my client.
PRESIDING JUDGE BURKE: Very well; you may take whatever course you desire in the matter.
DR. WEISGERBER: Therefore, with the permission of the Tribunal, I would like to call my client into the witness stand.
WILHEIM SPEIDEL, a witness took the stand and testified as follows:
PRESIDING JUDGE BURKE: You will raise your right hand please and repeat after me: I swear by God, the Almighty and Omniscient, that I will speak the pure truth and will withhold and add nothing.
(THE WITNESS REPEATED THE OATH.)
You may be seated.
DIRECT EXAMINATION BY DR. WEISGERBER:
Q General, in order to determine your personal data I would like to ask you whether it is correct that your name is Wilhelm Speidel, and that you were born on the 8th of July 1895, in Metzingen in Wuerttemberg?
A Yes, that is correct.
Q You have already set down your carper in an affidavit, which is Exhibit No. 409, in prosecution Document Book XVII, page 1 of both the German and English texts. Is this affidavit still up to date, and is it correct?
A Yes.
Q Therefore, I can limit myself to quoting a few particular dates which have some connection with your activity as a professional officer and arc of some importance. What caused you to become an officer? Did you perhaps come from an officer's family?
A No, I do not come from an officer's family. My family has a century-old academic tradition and a marked consciousness of South German culture. I was brought up on the clear basis of Christian ideology and humanistic education I grow up in an atmosphere of ancient culture. When in 1913, before the First World War, that is, I was faced with the question of choosing a profession, I chose the profession of an officer. The reasons for this were not perhaps any excellent material advantages, because the profession of a German officer was always known as a poor profession; but it seemed to me that the profession of an officer was the most ideal profession there could possibly be because it had no material aims, but an idea, the idea of State, People, and Nation.
I was enticed by the educational tasks. My aim was not to become a militarist, but a thinking soldier.
Q. General, you want through the First World War exclusively as an officer at the front. You were wounded four times. Is that correct?
A. Yes, correct.
Q. And what caused you after the 1913 collapse to remain loyal to the profession which you had chosen?
A. The 1918 revolution ended a lost war and brought about the collapse of the Reich. My profession seemed at that time to be hopeless and with no prospects. To give up my profession in this situation would nevertheless have seemed to me to be desertion. I remained loyal to my self-chosen mission in order to help in the reconstruction of the nation, because the service of a soldier is bound to no form of state and is bound to no person but only to the nation and to the people.
Behind these tasks at that time, all personal or material reasons had to give way. From such thoughts at that time, I joined the Reichswehr.
Q. In the years 1919 to 1933, you had many foreign assignments to the East and to the West. Would you please state these very briefly?
A. First of all, in 1928, I was committed abroad. In this year, for five months, I was detailed to the Red Air Fleet in Russia, and I received there my flying experience, flying training. In the course of the next years until 1933, I was in addition almost every year for some longer period of time in Soviet Russia with the Red Air Fleet. 1929 and 1930 I was detailed to the army air fleet of the United States, and there for one year I was attached to various units of the American Air Force.
In 1931, I was detailed to the British Air Force in order to see the training of the British Air Force. In 1932, I was detailed to the Italian Air Force with the same task. Those were my assignments abroad.
Q. What task was connected with your detachment to America?
A. At the beginning of 1929, the then democratic Reichswehr Minister Goroner asked me to come to see him, and he told me that he had picked me out as the first German officer after the First world war to take up military-political relations with the Army of the United States and that for this purpose I was to go to the United States for one year.
He described my task as a good ill mission. I said of course, that I was willing to do this and asked for further instructions. He then told me, "Your task is a three-quarter political one and one-quarter military one. This means you have to see whether you as a commissioner of goodwill can join together the relations which had been torn apart between the two nations through the war. How you do that---that is your own affair. The task is at the most one-quarter of a military kind and that means whether you can learn anything in your own expert sphere, then all the better."
And so I went to the United States and took up negotiations with the War Department and was received very friendly by the officers and I had the possibility of serving in the United States Air Force.
Q. General, because of your repeated employments abroad, you certainly had a lot to do with the officers of those states and you came into close contact with them. Did you have an opportunity to determine whether these officers had the same professional ethos as you, yourself had it and which had been determining you to take the profession of an officer?
A. I have learned to know many soldiers of other nations and most of them well known personalities, and at the same time with all of them there was a basis for confidence and trust. Why? Because the professional ethos was the same to all of them, no matter what uniform they wore. I arrived at the conviction that there is a large international of decent soldiers. In them the idea of professional idealism is stronger than the idea of war which they have to wage against each other when the politicians have failed.
Q. General, in the period until 1933, did you make any more trips abroad?
A. Yes. In the period preceding 1933, I used every opportunity to undertake private trips to almost every foreign country from Gibraltar, to Stockholm, from London to Budapest.
Mainly, these trips served to study cultural history and history of arts. I longed to got away from the confinements of the narrow national sphere in order to learn about the whole world and to learn that we are only a small branch of a very large community.
Q. And what military employment did you receive in the year 1933?
A. At the beginning of 1933, I was a captain in the General Staff of the Reichswehr Ministry and there I dealt with organizational questions of foreign air forces. In the same year, about the end of the year, with a number of other officers from the Reichswehr Ministry I was transferred into the newly founded Air Ministry and there I took over the organization of our air force.
Q. And until this date, did you have any kind of contact with National Socialism?
A. In 1922 in Munich, I was commanded to Munich for a training course of general staff officers. Here I met the new National Socialist movement. In this extremely revolutionary period this new movement exercised great influence on us young officers, not only through their national program points, because for us officers they were a matter of course, but through their social aims, because experiences at the front during the First World War had brought the great social problems very near to us young officers and without the solution of these problems, a new construction of the Reich was quite impossible. In the most idealistic sense, we returned, from this war as Socialists.
The young National Socialist movement which I met in 1922 in Munich was now in our eyes no political party in the sense of the usual political parties, but it seemed to us at that time a spiritual resurrection movement which seemed to be in agreement with our aims and our ideals, and so together with many other officers in Munich at that time, I joined the party; I was however, only a member for six months. At that time, when I had a closer insight into the whole thing, I received certain doubts about it even though I still went on believing in the idealistic aims.
Q. In the period which followed did your attitude towards National Socialism change?
A. Yes, fundamentally. My radical turning away followed after the revolt of the 9th of November, 1923, which unveiled the true aims to me and from this I drew the personal consequences. In the years which followed, my personal political, interests went completely into the back ground as compared to my professional task. I became the traditional unpolitical soldier of the Reichswehr and for the rest I turned to the spiritual problems which always have been in the foreground of my life.
Q. Then in the period which followed, you were used in the newly created German Air Force, in the staffs and as troop commander, and on the 1st of October 1937, you became a colonel?
A. Yes, it is correct
Q. In 1933, you became Chief-of-Staff of Air Fleet I, is that correct?
A. Yes, that is correct.
Q. The newly created Air Force was according to general interpretation a part of the Wehrmacht?
PRESIDING JUDGE BURKER: We will discontinue at this point for fifteen minutes.
(A recess was taken)
THE MARSHAL: The Tribunal is again in session.
JUDGE BURKE: You may proceed, Dr. Weisgerber.
BY DR. WEISGERBER:
Q General, shortly before the recess, we talked about your assignment in the newly created German air force. This new German air force had, according to general opinion, been a part of the Wehrmacht which, according to Goering's wish, was to represent a means of National Socialist power. Is this opinion correct, and if it is, how did you in particular, taking into consideration your relationship to National Socialism, cope with this fact?
A What you say is correct. Goering wanted at the time to create quite clearly a National Socialistic air force. This danger was a very acute one. During the time when the air force was created it wouldn't have taken very much and it would have been a purely Party organization. That, however, was prevented.
Q And who was it who prevented it?
A I would like to say that it is a historical problem of some of the old general staff officers who had transferred to the air force, that they were responsible if somebody interfered with this fighting for power and with this idea of the armed forces. If somebody can really judge all these facts, I am bold enough to say that I was the man who could do this best as the organizer of the air force.
Q What was your general attitude in those years before the last war regarding the development of National Socialism in Germany?
A I had expected the so-called taking over of power - partly with great expectation and partly skeptically. My disappointment, however, and thus my inner opposition, grew from month to month because, as an officer as well as a man of cultural standing, I had to refute a state of affairs and a development which, in a few words I think I can signify. It was a meaninglessness of power and a powerlessness of sense.
Q And why didn't you draw the consequences then and leave the armed forces?
A I frequently faced this difficult decision, but there were higher problems involved then one of personal or egotistical solution. If we old officers were to leave, then the new ones would take over immediately and they were only waiting for that moment. In other words, the armed forces would have become a National Socialist Party organization. But it didn't become such a thing. Yo achieve this was our task, and we fulfilled our task.
BY DR. WEISGERBER: If is please the Tribunal, at this point I would like to offer a few documents in evidence from Document Book Speidel 1. The document Speidel #2 on page 6 of both the German and English text. Page 6. This will become Speidal Exhibit #1. This is an affidavit executed by Count von Luckner who has known General Speidel since 1935, and in subsequent years he had many occasions to meet him, I would like to draw attention to the last sentence in paragraph 2 where it says:
"As early as then he rejected the influence the NSDAP exerted on all organizations of the state and sharply criticized the basic principles of the Party."
JUDGE BURKE: We'll delay just a moment until the document book is available to the interpreter.
DR. WEISGERBER: I read the last sentence in paragraph 2 and I will repeat:
"As early as then he rejected the influence the NSDAP exerted on all organizations of the state and sharply criticized the basic principles of the Party."
The affiant goes on to say:
"At the end of 1343 and in the Spring of 1944 I was, as far as I can remember, twice the sole guest of the General in Athens. On one of these occasions we spoke very frankly about all the things that weighed on our minds, such as the totalitarianism of the Party, education of youth, battle against Christianity and about the constantly increasing suffusion of the army with National Socialistic tendencies."
The affiant goes on to say.
"I can assure you that I already had the conviction at that time that General Speidel was one of those officers who were not National Socialists."
The affidavit has been duly sworn to and properly certified.
The next document which I want to offer is Speidel Document #3, Docu Book Speidel 1, on page 8. This is an affidavit by Major General Herbert Rieckhoff, who makes the following statement:
"General (Air Force) Speidel was my immediate superior from December 1939 until August, 1940, as Chief of Staff of the Air Fleet 2."
The next but one sentence roads:
"However, I came to know him as a particular and correct officer with a very sensitive conception of honor who was skeptical toward the political and military leadership of Hitler and Goering."
This document will be offered under Exhibit #2.
The third exhibit in this connection will be Speidel Document #4 in Document Book 1 on page 9 of this document book. Page 9 of both the English and German text. This document will be offered under Exhibit Speidel #3. It is an affidavit executed by one Wilhelm Baessler, who is now a member of the Landtag for Wuerttemberg-Hohenzollern and deputy chairman of the Christian Socialist Union. This affiant states at the end of his affidavit that General Speidel was known to him from 1916 and that he was at no time a Nazi general. The affiant states literally:
"In the numerous discussions about political and military problems he did not hide his critical attitude towards Germany's war leadership."
The affidavit is duly certified by a notary.
The fourth and last exhibit in this connection will be Document Speidel #29, contained in Document Book Speidel 2 on page 54 and 55. This is an affidavit of one Truman Smith which will be offered under Exhibit #4. It is contained on pages 54 and 55 in Speidel Document Book 2. I shall offer it as Exhibit Speidel 4. This is an affidavit executed by Truman Smith who was Military Attache of the United States in Berlin and maintained this position for four years. The affiant relates how, during this time w ho was in Gerlin, he had repeated contacts with my client. I am reading here paragraph 3 of his affidavit:
"During my tour of duty in Berlin, Germany, as American Military a* Air At ache from 1935 to 1939, I saw General (then Major and Colonel) Speidel rather frequently."
I am continuing with the next paragraph:
"There was no doubt in my mind at this time that Speidel was definit to be included in the large group of officers who were anti-National Socialists. As a former Reichswehr officer this political attitude of his w not unusual. I have examined my diaries of the years 1936 and 1937, and fine two notations to the effect that I considered Speidel anti-Nazi in his view points.
"Speidel showed himself at all times as Pro-American. He was obviously appreciative of the treatment he had received in Texas and desired to assist me in my capacity as an Air Attache as far as his duty permitted.
"I considered Speidel a high-minded, honorable officer and gentleman."
Q. General, as chief of staff for Air Fleet 1, you participated in the war against Polands. Is that correct?
A. Yes, it is.
Q. What assignments did you have subsequent to that time?
A. After I had participated in the war against Poland as chief of staff of Air Fleet I became, on the basis of my experience in active air war, transferred to the West. There I was appointed as chief of staff of Air Fleet 2, and I participated in the operational air war against the Western states of Europe and later against England. I prepared this air war and I participated in it.
Q. How long did you remain in that assignment?
A. I remained as chief of general staff of Air Fleet 2 until the 1 of October, 1940. At the beginning of October I was appointed German comma* for the German Air Mission in Roumania and I was thus transferred to Roumani Shortly before that, there had been a change of government in Roumania and Marshall Antonescu had taken over the government, had joined the Axis powers and thus I landed as one of the first German soldiers in Bucharest.
Q. What were your tasks as chief of the Air Force Mission in Roum*
A. I can summarize that very briefly:
(1) The creation and maintenance of military political relations between both air forces;
(2) The reorganization and training of Roumanian air force candida* (3) The organization, training and leadership of the Roumanian air defense, mainly in protection of the vital and decisive oil fields which werin the interests of German forces;Finally, the fourth task, was organization and maintenance of the Roumanian Air Force ground forces.
I had for this task German fighter planes, German antiaircraft artillery, special formations altogether of a strength of approximately 50,000 men.
Q. And what was the reason for the conclusion of this assignment?
A. The reason for the end of this command was that in May, 1942, I became very ill of malaria which proved almost fatal and I had to stay in hospitals in Germany for several months.
Q. In October, 1942, you were then assigned as military commander Southern Greece. Was this assignment a logical and consequential continuanc of your career, which had been a striking one, up to what time?
A. No, on the contrary, it was an unusual demotion and I found myself put on ice.
Q. And what were the reasons, in your opinion, for this fact that you were put on ice?
A. I was never given any reasons. However, I thought I was in a position to explain to myself the facts. During the air war against the Wes* and, above all, against England, I had fundamental differences of opinion wi the chief of the general staff of the air force and with Goering. As a consequence, I was very suddenly replaced in my position as the chief, in October, 1940, and I was, for the first time, transferred to Roumania. In actual fact, it just meant that I was shelved. Goering felt antagonistic a* mistrusted the old general staff officers. He used those people for the ac hard work, but he still mistrusted them. I myself didn't find him personalantagonistic, but I was often treated in such a degrading and offending man* that I knew quite well where I stood.
Q Was there any connection between this treatment and the fact that you were one of the few leading generals of the air force who did not receive the Knights Cross?
A I had been decorated for my commitment in the war against Poland, against France and against England and because of my many missions on which I flew, I was suggested twice as a recipient of the Knight's Cross. The first time Goering rejected this proposal and the second time Hitler personally rejected it.
Q Now let us talk about your assignment in Southern Greece did you receive for your task in Greece any particular instructions?
AAt the beginning of September, 1942 I learned that I was to be transferred to Southern Greece. I was ordered to report to the O.K.W. and there I received approximately the following instructions for my tank. Athens is threatened by a revolution, the situation is one of great unrest, there are many strikes, there are many demonstrations, surprise attacks, etc., go to Athens as quickly as possible and take measures as stringent as possible to restore law and order, defeat the strikes ruthlessly, fly to Athens tomorrow. In spite of the fact that I stated that I only led civilian clothes with me the order was maintained. However, I did not go to Athens immediately. Of course I traveled by Bucharest and I had not handed over my affairs yet to my successor. In Bucharest I became sick again and bad to spend three weeks in the hospital. Thus it happened that only in the beginning of October, either the 9th or 12th of October, 1942, I arrived in Athens.
Q And what was the actual situation in Athens when you arrived there, General?
A The situation in Athens was considerably more quiet than it had been described to me in the excited times in the O.K.W. There were of course small scale sabotage acts and surprise attacks from time to time, there were some strikes, but those had since been pacified again and there were small scale shootings from time to time, but one could nowhere recognize a plan in all these activities.
Thus I kept observing and waiting.
Q And how did the situation develop in Athens until the end of 1942?
A The situation did not change basically compared with the description which I rendered just now, it was comparatively quiet, unrest flared up from time to time, but I want to stress that toward the end of the year sabotage activities increased strongly and considerably.
Q And you had your official office in Athens proper?
A Yes.
Q This brings me to the organization and channels of command in Southern Greece. Who had Southern Greece occupied at the time?
A By the Italians.
Q General, I think it would be expedient that you show us on the map the area which was under your competency. Will you please do this in such a manner that it can be of value for the record?
A I believe I can be very brief there. This area has already been pointed out during General Felmy's examination and it did not change since. It was part of the harbor of Pyraeus, with an adjacent coastal strip, the Islands Salamis and Aegina in the Salonis gulf and a very small area northeast of Athens with a few localities.
Q And to whom was the rest of the area subordinate and Athens itself?
A To the Italians.
Q What was the official relationship between you and the Italians?
A There was a coordination at least there was no relation of subordination, there was a loose cooperation commanded by the local conditions.
Q General, I would now like to discuss with you briefly, in order to make clear your position as military commander Southern Greece, the organization of the channels of command in the area of Southern Greece.
If it please the Tribunal in order to make this clear, I have included into a document, Speidel 2, a document which is document Speidel No. 14 on page 1 in this document book in the German and English document books, a sketch, which will facilitate this discussion. I shall offer this document under exhibit Speidel No. 5. I hope that this sketch is contained in the document books of the Tribunal. May I inquire of the Tribunal whether they have this sketch?
JUDGE BURKE: Yes.
DR. WEISGERBER: The sketch is entitled "Commander Southern Greece."
JUDGE BURKE: On pages 1 and 2?
DR. WEISGERBER: Yes, your Honor.
JUDGE BURKE: Judge Carter does not appear to have a copy. He has now been supplied. You may proceed.
BY DR. WEISGERBER:
Q General, will you please look at this sketch. Tell us very briefly the channels of command in the area for Southern Greece?
A The highest command agency in Southern Greece, was Army Group E, in Salonika, which is on the top of the sketch. Subordinate to this army group in all aspects was the Military Commander Southern Greece, which is reproduced in the middle of the sketch and which was my agency. Below are those units which were at that time subordinate to the military commander Southern Greece. I shall start on the right on the bottom of the page. Three reserve rifle battalions and one replacement unit, those were units which served the purpose of guarding and work. Then on the left of this sketch are other units and administrative units in Pyraeus. In the middle below is the command flag of the 11th Airforce Field Division with those units subordinate to them. This division came at the end of December, 1943 or the beginning of January, 1943 to Southern Greece, but it was only subordinate to me for purposes of an administrative nature and for training purposes. The operational subordination remained in the hoods of the Army Group E.
Q What other German command agencies were in Athens besides?
A These command agencies are in the middle of the left half of the sketch. There was the Admiral Aegean the commander of the naval forces, then the commanding general of the air force, who was the commander of the German air force units in Southern Greece, then the head district command which dealt with the ground organizations of the airforce and looked after them. These two airforce agencies were for that part subordinate to Field Marshal Kesselring in Italy and finally if we go further down to the left, there was the defensive economic staff and a number of other agencies of the O.K.W., O.K.H., etc. The agencies just described, or rather the troops under them, were territorially subordinated to the military commander Southern Greece whenever they were stationed in his area.
Q The meaning of the words territorial subordination will not be discussed at this point. I shall deal with this later. There is one question though in this connection, what other official agencies were there in Athens with which you had to cooperate?
A There were quite a number of those. On this sketch on the right at the top I have only mentioned the three most important agencies of this kind with which I worked together, there was the German Legation, then the Greek government and finally the Italian 11th Army.
Q To make it quite clear, I would like to briefly mention those units which were subordinate to you. There was one replacement battalion, three local defense battalions who served for security purposes, other supply units and for training purposes the 11th Airforce field division; is that correct?
A Yes, it is.
Q Now I would like to discuss with you briefly your tasks as commander Southern Greece. If it please the Tribunal, to simplify the oral examination I have included in document Speidel No. 15 on page 2 and the following pages of document book 2 a summarizing description. I am offering this document as Speidel exhibit No. 6. This is in document book 2 for Speidel on page 2 and the following pages.