A Bar to the War Service Gross, Second Class, and Bar to the Iron Cross, First Class and Second Class, and the Golden Cross.
Q I have no further questions.
PRESIDING JUDGE CARTER: Any questions by any other defense counsel?
If not, you may cross-examine.
CROSS EXAMINATION BY MR. FENSTERMACHER:
Q Witness, when did you join the army?
A In 1934. I became reactive.
Q What was your rank at that time?
A Captain.
Q When did you become a Major?
A First of January, 1939.
Q Were you ever promoted after that?
A No more after that.
Q When was it you were dismissed from the army?
A On the 30th of April 1934.
Q And you rejoined the army at what date?
A 13th of February, 1945.
Q Did you join the party in the meantime?
A No.
Q When did you first go to Yugoslavia?
A The fifth of April, 1941.
Q You left Yugoslavia when?
AAround about the end of November, 1941.
Q What division were you in?
A The Security Battalion was subordinate first of all to a Commander Mott. I don't know the number any longer.
Q Do you know what army that division belonged to?
A Weich's Army.
Q Which army was that?
A I didn't understand. It was for the advance on Belgrade.
Q Do you know the number of the army?
A No, I don't know the number.
Q You don't recall details of that nature very well any more?
A No.
Q You have testified, I believe, to about three individual attacks upon German troops. When was the first one?
I believe you said August, 1941.
A I think it was August, 1941.
Q And where did that attack take place?
A In the arca Valjevo-Krupanj.
Q Who was responsible for that attack?
A The partisans.
Q Which partisans?
A From the area West of Valjevo.
Q Do you know to which group those partisans belonged?
A Mihajlovic.
Q They were Cetniks then?
A I can't say.
Q How did you know the partisans were responsible for the attacks?
A Well, nothing else came into the question.
Q Did you investigate to see who made the attack?
A Personally, no.
Q Could it have been a few isolated individuals that made the attack?
A I don't think so.
Q You believe it was made by a regular band of partisans?
A Please would you repeat the question?
(question was repeated by the interpreter.)
A Yes.
Q But you are not sure?
A No.
Q And you say no reprisal measures were taken following that attack?
A Yes.
Q When was the next attack that you recall?
A On the retreat from Uzica to Kraljevo.
Q And when was the attack?
A End of August, middle of September, round about that time.
Q I believe you said that attack was made from a monastery?
AAmongst other things, from a monastery.
Q How many German soldiers were killed in those two attacks?
A I don't know the total sum.
Q Could you give a guess?
A No.
Q Do you know whether it was five or whether at was a hundred or whether it was a thousand?
A No. It wasn't a high figure.
Q And you took no reprisal measures after that attack either?
A Reprisal measures? No. But a counter-attack, yes.
Q Didn't you expect that attacks of this nature would continue and increase unless you took reprisal measures?
A Yes.
Q Then why weren't they taken?
A I don't know.
DR. LATERNSER: The last question wasn't admissible in the form in which it was made, because the witness didn't say anything at all about reprisal measures. I remember that the question was put like this: did you assume that the activity of the partisans would have become greater if no reprisal measures had been taken? The witness hasn't said anything about this up till now.
PRESIDING JUDGE CARTER: Overruled.
BY MR. FERNSTEMACHER:
Q I believe you answered, witness, to the effect that you did not know why reprisal measures were not taken?
A Yes.
Q Now then, I believe you said something about an attack at Milanovac?
A Yes.
Q Do you recall the date of that?
A September-October.
Q Who was responsible for that attack?
AAlso partisans.
Q Which partisans?
A Presumably from the district of Rodnik.
Q Do you know to what group they belonged?
A No.
Q Do you know whether there was an investigation carried out to ascertain who was responsible for that attack?
A No, I don't know.
Q Do you know how many German soldiers were killed in that attack?
A It was stated that in Milanovac about 40 to 60 soldiers were killed.
Q Did you see any of the killed soldiers yourself?
A Please repeat the question.
(The question was repeated by the interpreter.)
A Yes.
Q How many did you see?
AApart from the ones nailed up, about seven to eight.
Q Did you see any reports stating that 40 to 60 were killed?
A No.
Q So far as you personally know, there were only seven or eight killed?
A Yes.
Q Were any reprisal measures taken in retaliation for the killing of those soldiers?
A No.
Q Do you know why?
A No.
Q Now then Kraljevo--do you know when the attack in Kraljevo took place.
A I think the beginning of October.
Q How many Germans were killed in that attack?
AApproximately 300.
Q How many did you yourself see?
A I don't know the number any more.
Q Did you see some yourself?
A Yes.
Q Did you see any reports stating that 300 were killed?
A No.
Q Were retaliation measures taken in reprisal for that attack?
A In Kraljevo, reprisal measures were taken but not only for this attack alone.
Q For what other attacks were they also taken?
A I assume that general incidents, atrocities, played a part in this as well.
Q Atrocities committed where and when? And on whom?
A In Milanovac and then an attack northwest of Kragujevac.
Q Do you mean that then in retaliation for an attack at Milanovac and at Kragujevac as well as for the attack in Kraljevo, reprisal measures were taken?
A Yes, I assume that.
Q They were taken then not simply for the attack at Kraljevo but for other attacks which had occurred earlier?
A Yes, I assume that.
Q Now do you know to what unit the German soldiers who were killed at Kraljevo belonged?
A To a regiment whose divisional staff was in Niz or Scoplje, No. 700 as far as I remember. I can't remember a further number.
Q Could it have been the 521 Signal Battalion?
A No.
Q What reprisal measures were taken in retaliation for the death of these, as you say, 300 German soldiers?
A In Kraljevo, approximately 300 Serbs were shot.
Q I believe you said that you had received an order to take retaliation measures at the rate of ten to one.
A The order for carrying out reprisal measures was given through the Sector Commander. What measure and why wasn't known to me.
Q Did you yourself ever receive an order to take execution measures at the rate of ten to one?
A No.
Q Do you know anybody who did get that order?
A I only know that in an officers' conference, this figure was mentioned.
Q Was it mentioned in that conference that an order had been received by one of the participants in the conference to the effect that he should take reprisal measures at the ratio of ten to one?
A Please, would you repeat the question?
(The question was repeated by the interpreter.)
A The Sector Commander.
Q Was it mentioned in the conference by the Sector Commander that he had carried out that order?
A No, it was mentioned that three hundred, approximately, were to be shot.
Q Did the Sector Commander give any explanation to why he was disobeying an order?
A No.
Q But you are quite sure that only 300 Serbs were executed in reprisal for the death of 300 Germans?
A Yes.
Q You said that you left Yugoslavia in November of 1941?
A Yes.
Q Did you ever hear anything to the effect that 1700 odd persons were killed at Kraljevo in retaliation for the death of German soldiers?
A No.
Q Did you ever hear that in October, 1941, 2100 Serbs were killed in retaliation for the death of German soldiers at Kragujevac?
A No.
Q Did you ever hear in October 1941 that over 2,000 Serbs were killed in retaliation for the death of German soldiers at Valjevo?
A No.
Q Did you ever hear anything about the taking and execution of hostages while you were in Yugoslavia?
AAlso unknown to me.
DR. LATERNSER: Your Honor, I object to this manner of questioning. In this way, the prosecution makes the witness his own witness. The cross-examination must refer to the direct examination. I object to this.
PRESIDING JUDGE CARTER: It will be overruled. I think he has a right to test the knowledge of the witness about what was going on at that particular time.
Q Witness, I believe you said you never heard about the execution of hostages so long as you were in Serbia?
A Please repeat the question.
Q Did you ever hear about the execution of hostages while you were in Yugoslavia between April and November 1941?
A No, I heard nothing about it.
Q Did you hear anything about concentration camps in Serbia?
A No.
Q Did you ever hear anything about the burning of villages in reprisal for attacks on German troops?
AAs reprisal, no.
Q Are you sure you were in Yugoslavia, witness?
A Beg pardon. Please, would you repeat it? - Oh, yes.
MR. FENSTERMACHER: I have no further questions.
REDIRECT EXAMINATION BY DR. LATERNSER:
Q Herr von Svedow, just one more point. You have been asked by the Prosecution what you think was the cause of these attacks, and you said that they were caused by Partisans, did you ever captured an order of the Partisans at that time?
A In Kraljevo two orders of the Partisans were found on a dead Partisan leader.
Q What was in these orders?
A In the first order where was a reference to the fact that the blowing up of the munitions depot at that time had been caused by the Partisans. In the second order it was directed that German soldiers who were captured were to be mutilated and were to be sent back.
Q And what was done with this second order which ordered the mutilation of German soldiers?
A The second order was not announced outside the officers circle.
Q It was only announced to the officers?
A Yes.
Q Do you know why it wasn't passed on to the troops and noncommissioned officers?
A In order not to scare them.
Q Were there any other reasons?
A No.
DR. LATERNSER: I have no further questions.
JUDGE CARTER: Any further questions to this witness?
Do the defense have any further questions? Anything further Mr. Fenstermacher?
MR. FENSTERMACHER: No further questions, Your Honor.
JUDGE CARTER: The witness will be excused.
(witness excused.)
DR. LATERNSER: I will now call as next witness Herbert Krage.
JUDGE CARTER: The Marshal will call the witness.
HERBERT KRAGE, a witness took the stand and testified as follows:
JUDGE CARTER: The witness will raise his hand and be sworn. Will you repeat this oath after me:
I swear by God, the Almighty and Omniscient, that I will speak the pure truth and will add and withhold nothing.
(the witness repeated the oath.)
JUDGE CARTER: You may sit down.
DIRECT EXAMINATION BY DR. LATERNSER:
Q Will you please state your full name?
A I am called Herbert Krage.
Q Would you please spell your surname?
A K-r-a-g-e.
Q Herr Krage, before answering the questions would you please pause before the question is translated. When and where were you born?
A I was born on the 20th July 1915 in Cologne.
Q What is your profession at the moment?
A I am now doing my preparatory as accessor Service with the District Attorney's Office at Muenchen-Gladbach in the Rhineland.
Q Did you take part in the last war?
A Yes.
Q In what capacity?
A I was officer in the signal corps in the last war.
Q What was your last rank?
A May last rank was Captain.
Q Where were you employed during the war?
A During the French campaign I was in the West, and then in September 1940 with my Regiment, I was transferred to the then Government General from there at the beginning of 1940 I was sent to the Balkans, first of all to Roumania. From there I went to Bulgaria.
Q Just a moment, witness. You said in 1940 you were sent to Roumania?
A I am sorry, 1941.
Q From when until when were you in the Balkans?
A I was in the Balkans from the beginning of 1941 until the beginning of January 1944.
Q In which unit were you?
A I belonged at that time to Army Signal Regiment 521.
Q What were your functions in this unit?
A In 1940 I was adjutant of the 2nd Battalion of the Regiment until the end of 1941. In 1942 I was Regimental Adjutant to the same Regiment and in 1943 I was Company chief of the 3rd Company of the 2nd Battalion of the Regiment. At the beginning of 1944 I left the Regiment because I was transferred.
Q How long were you in this Regiment 521?
A From the time that my company was subordinated to this Regiment that is October 1939 until the beginning of January 1944 I was a member of the Regiment with two interruptions, when I was on leave in order to study at the University in Winter 1941-1942 and Winter 1942-1943.
Q In which Battalion of this Regiment did you serve in 1941?
A In 1941 I served in the 2nd Battalion of the Regiment.
Q And what were your functions?
AAt that time I was Battalion Adjutant.
Q And where was the staff of this battalion?
A The staff was then in Belgrade.
Q And to whom was this 2nd Battalion subordinate at the beginning of July 1941.
A The 2nd Battalion had a double subordination. For signal activity, and as regard personnel it was subordinate to the Regiment and that is to the Army Signal Officer AOK 12, and in this way also to AOK 12, itself. On the other hand the Battalion was further subordinate in economical aspects, accommodation, food, etc. and other local affairs to the Commander in Serbia at that time, when the Commanding General in Serbia was set up.
Q What were the tasks of your Battalion in this period about which we are talking?
A The Battalion at that time had to maintain all the telephonic communications between Belgrade and Salonika.
Q And what cable connections had to you maintain?
A It was mainly the cables between Belgrade-MitrovicaSkolpze-Salonika, and Belgrade-Niz-Skoplje-Salonika.
Q What was the position at that time?
A The situation as regards signals was, I must say - a few days after we were transferred to the Serbian area - the communications were rather normal, and already at the beginning of the Russian campaign, sabotage on this one main line of communication increased so much, that interruptions on this sector took place almost continuously, and we were scarcely able to master these interruptions.
Q You are now talking about the period from June 1941 until when?
A I am not talking about the time from the beginning of June 1941 until about July -- August, that was the high of the sabotage acts on our sector of the communications.
Q. What happened as a result of this situation for your unit?
A. For the battalion, because of this situation we couldn't keep the companies together in one concentration point, but the battalion was forced to divide the companies up into small repair groups which were then placed along the main telephone line Belgrade-Salonika and had to maintain certain sectors of it.
Q. And what was the result of this deployment, this separation of your battalion?
A. The result was that in certain distances, along this sector the troops had certain villages allotted to them, if possible so that they could be used where German troops units were already quartered, but this wasn't always the case so that there were also cases in which our small repair groups were the only German troops there.
Q. What were these troops called?
A. We called them, repair units for short.
Q. And these repair units -- were they attacked by the partisans?
A. Yes, that happened repeatedly.
Q. When was the first incident which you remember?
A. The first incident in which the battalion suffered losses was an attack on the repair unit which was on the Sector Belgrade-Mitrovica in the small village of Usce.
Q. Would you please spell the name Usce?
A. The village Usce as far as I remember is written U-s-c-e.
Q. And you have already said where Usce is on the sector MitrovicaBelgrade?
A. Yes, it is north of Mitrovica and south of Belgrade.
Q. Would you please describe this attack briefly to the Tribunal?
A. The attack happened as follows: The troops were attacked in their billets at night. There was a short exchange of fire and then they were overcome. The troops were probably then deported, but in any case they were missing for a few weeks.
Q. And then what happened?
A. The company to whom these troops belonged then received an order through a neighboring unit -- I think this was the unit in Mitrovica ....
MR. FENSTERMACHER: If your Honor please, I object to the question and ask the answer of the witness to be stricken. I don't think he has been qualified or is competent to testify as to what happened to a unit to which he did not belong.
DR. LATERNSER: I think probably the prosecutor misunderstood the statement. This attack did happen to a unit which belonged to the witness. He was the adjutant of this unit.
MR. FENSTERMACHER: I think it ought to be stated and made clear as to how he got knowledge of the attack, your Honor.
DR. LATERNSER: I will ask all these questions.
PRESIDING JUDGE CARTER: Overruled.
BY DR. LATERNSER:
Q. I asked you, witness, what the unit had to do by reason of this attack?
A. The unit officer of a neighboring repair unit received the order, together with infantry units which were in this district, to find out what had happened to the repair unit. This investigation, however, didn't have any result.
Q. How do you know about this order and about the unsuccessful investigation?
A. I know about the order because the commander of the battalion gave the order to the company concerned to carry out this investigation.
Q. And who was the adjutant of this commander?
A. I myself was the adjutant of this commander.
Q. Were you finished with the answer?
A. No.
Q. Please continue.
A. After the unsuccessful investigation, the company as in duty bound then reported about this to the battalion and that is how I found out about it.
Q. When did the event happen which you have just described?
A. The attack on the Usce unit was round about the last days of September 1943.
Q. Then what happened in the first days of October, 1941?
A. A few days after the attack on the Usce unit, that is in the first October days, the Fourth Company concerned received the order on the occasion of a supply trip for the repair units on the Sector BelgradeMitrovica, to carry out further investigations about the whereabouts of the unit.
Q. Just a moment, witness. How do you know about this order?
A. I know about this order because all orders in this respect were either known by me because I passed then on, or else they were given by the commander in my presence, or else in case if the procedures which I have just mentioned didn't occur, the commander always told his adjutant about the things which happened.
Q. And now you started to describe the order which the Fourth Company received.
A. The Fourth Company received the order to carry out further investigations concerning the whereabouts of the troops, but according to the express terms of the order they weren't to use force or to take any kind of offensive action, because we, as members of the Signal Unit, had less infantry experience and the commander didn't want to undertake a further risk.
Q. What was the strength of the battalion or the squad which was to carry out the supply trip, and also to make the investigation about the missing repair unit?
A. This squad was about as big as a platoon. There were certainly two officers and these were the chief of the Fourth Company Lieutenant Lehr.....
Q. Will you spell the name?
A. It is spelled L-e-h-r.
And then another platoon officer of other company, 2nd Lieutenant Raab. I will spell it R-a-a-b. And then about five NCO's and about 40 soldiers.
Q. And then how did the trip go? What was reported about it?
A. The trip proceeded in the direction of Topola, it went on normally until there, and then south of Topola suddenly and quite unexpectedly from both sides, from the cornfields, machine guns and rifles started firing.
Q. When did you receive the first report about this attack?
A. I received the first report on the afternoon of the same day.
Q. Did you receive this report personally?
A. Yes, I remember quite definitely I received this report by telephone from the Chief of Staff at that time, Chief of Staff of the Higher Command 65, which was subordinate to the Military Commander.
Q. And then what was done by reason of this report?
A. The Chief of Staff told me that parts of the division lying in the Topola area had sent out a search squad and that this search squad then found the rest of the vehicles which had been burned on the road and they also found several dead belonging to the squad, and later on they found a seriously wounded men by reason of whose statements further dead were found in a valley.
Court No. V, Case No. VII.
Q. Witness, how great were the German losses at this time?
A. Our own losses of the battalion from the attack on the Usce repair unit as well as on Lieutenant Lehr's squad were altogether 22 dead, approximately 3 wounded, and about 15 to 16 missing, and some of these came back later on.
Q. Did these missing all come back?
A. No, only a small part of them came back. I think it wasn't more than 3 or 4.
Q. And was there an inquest on the victims of your battalion?
A. Yes.
Q. By whom?
A. The inquest was undertaken by the medical officer of our battalion, a then Assistant Dr. Gasser.
Q. Would you please spell his name?
A. G-A-S-S-E-R.
Q. And what was found out from this post mortem?
A. The medical officer found out that those who were shot were not all shot during the fighting, but some must have been shot from close-up.
Q. What kind of wounds were there?
A. They were mostly gun shot wounds, also fragmentation wounds and in a few cases there were also cuts.
Q. When and where were the German victims buried?
A. The soldiers were buried in the Belgrade cemetery about two days after the attack.
Q. And then what happened after the attack -- from your office?
A. Those soldiers who escaped the attack were interrogated by the officers of the companies to which they belonged, and then minutes were made of these interrogations.
Q. To whom were these minutes submitted?
A. The minutes were submitted to the battalion.
Q. Did you yourself have knowledge of these minutes?
A. Yes, I read these minutes as adjutant.
Q. And at that time you were adjutant of this battalion?
A. Yes.
Q. Did you also personally speak with eye-witnesses of the attack?
A. Yes.
Q. With whom?
A. I spoke with those soldiers who escaped capture and also with one soldier from the battalion who had been captured and who had escaped being shot.
Q. What was the name of this soldier?
A. This soldier was Corporal Kerbler. I spell it K e r b l e r.
Q. And then what happened to Kerbler? What did he tell you?
A. Kerbler told us the following. The squad, as I have already described, was fired on by machine guns. He himself was severely wounded by this; and then he was captured together with other wounded and non-wounded men, and then, together with these men, he was led into a valley.
Q. By whom? Would you start again with the description of this phase? I didn't understand you properly at the moment.
A. After a certain exchange of shots, part of Lieutenant Lehr's squad amongst them this Kerbler and Lieutenant Lehr himself, were taken prisoner and some of them walking and some, supported by their comrades because of their extraordinary loss of blood caused by their wounds, were led into a valley, and there the German soldiers were first of all removed of their valuables and the most important items of uniform were taken from them, and then, according to Corporal Kerbler's description, the company officer Lieutenant Lehr tried, first of all, to effect and exchange with partisans who had been taken prisoner, but this attempt was unsuccessful, and instead the wounded and the non-wounded soldiers received the order to sit down beside each other on the ground.
Q. In this valley?
A. Yes, in this valley?
Q. And then how were they treated by the partisans?
A. Some of the partisans then placed machine guns a little way away from them, the machine guns which had been taken from the Germans, and then shot one volley intentionally above their heads.
Q. And was this Kerbler whom you mentioned amongst these men sitting on the ground?
A. Yes, Kerbler was with them.
Q. And then what did Kerbler tell you happened?
A. Then Kerbler told me the following: by the heavy loss of blood, as a result of his wounds, and also because of the excitement of the moment, he became unconscious for a short time and fell down and, therefore, the second volley didn't touch him, so that the shots which should have killed him and through which some of his comrades were shot dead, didn't touch him; and then Kerbler went on -- this second volley woke him up from his unconsciousness, but he had the presence of mind to pretend that he was dead and, therefore, he had to observe how after the second machine gun volley the partisans went up to the shot men, and those who weren't dead or whom they didn't think were dead, were again shot with a pistol through the head.
Q. And then how was Kerbler saved from this situation?