(Following Recess)
THE MARSHAL: The Tribunal is again in session.
THE PRESIDENT: You may proceed.
BY DR. TIPP:
Q General, we stopped during the description of the attack on the German women east of Kukes. You have already told us what you know about this attack and the aid your troops gave. I would like to offer one document in support of this. It is in Leyser document book 2 of the defense on page 132, Leyser document No. 45, and I would like to offer it as Leyser exhibit 55. This is an affidavit dated 25 September 1947 by the former German Ambassador in Tirana, Martin Schlieb, which was duly sworn to on 26 September 1947 before the Mayor in Teisnach. The affiant states:
1) From December 1941 until October 1944 I was German Consul General (Generalkonsul), I was Minister in Tirana since July 1944 and am therefore able to make the following statements:
2) The transport of approximately 16 German women, who were evacuated in 2 trucks from Tirana on 3 September 1944 and who were attacked by partisans approximately 20 kilometers from Prizren during the night from the 4th to the 5th of September, was under the protection of the XXIst Mountain Army Corps. After my request to evacuate these women by plane had been refused by the Special Plenipotentiary for the South-East in Belgrade, I repeatedly spoke to General von LEYSER about the protection of the convoy. Herr von LEYSER and his men then declared, that this transport was under the protection of the German Army and guaranteed that nothing would happen to the women on the way.
3) Concerning the incident itself I can state the following according to the reports of my wife who took part in the transport. My wife who sat in the first truck beside the driver, was severely injured by a shot in the neck already during the firing. Although she was weakened by serious loss of blood and always close to fainting, my wife succeeded in escaping capture by the partisans by hiding up to her neck in the Drin-river for 3 hours while tracer bullets were passing close over her head continually.
Finally at dawn help came from Prizren, driving away the partisans, numbering more than 100. During the surprise attack 3 women were killed, 3 were kidnapped and 2 severely injured. I should like to mention also that the convoy was followed by another bus occupied with lightly injured persons and one ambulance vehicle with severely injured persons, which likewise had great losses.
General, now we come to the documents submitted by the prosecution in connection with this incident. The first document is contained in document book 16, which is before you. I would like you to turn to German page 161, English page 118. Here you will find prosecution document NOKW-954, submitted as exhibit 403. On the same page you will find a teletype of Major Frank, dated 5 September 1944. It states here that: Major Frank had received an order from Oberfuehrer Schmidthuber to burn down some villages near the locality of the attack and to kill the population. The approval of the Corps is still missing. Major Frank inquires whether the Corps agrees to the carrying out of these reprisal measures and asks for an immediate reply.
In order to clear up the personalities here, I would like to ask you two questions: one, who was Major Frank?
A Major Frank was the battalion commander of the battalion that had to protect the road. The battalion, which I have mentioned before, which belonged to part of my troops.
Q And it also mentions here something about Oberfuehrer Schmidthuber may I ask you: who was Oberfuehrer Schmidthuber?
A Oberfuehrer Schmidthuber was the officer of the SS division Skanderbeg.
Q Well, how does it happen that Oberfuehrer Schmidthuber gave the order mentioned here to Major Frank?
AAs I have already stated, this attack took place east of Kukes within the area of the SS division Skanderbeg. Major Frank, who was the first to receive a report about this, as I have already said, went there and liberated this convoy.
Afterwards Oberfuehrer Schmidthuber must have been told about this because it did not appear to be very far away from where it was, and he appeared on the scene too. Then he gave Major Frank the order, as it states here, to burn down some villages and to kill the population. However Oberfuehrer Schmidthuber was not subordinate to Major Frank, that is he had no command authority over Major Frank, at the mast one must assume that according to Frank as an SS General he assumed this authority. The Battalion commander Major Frank, to whom this matter did not seem to be quite in order, therefore asked in this teletype, it is not a telephone call, he therefore asked whether this order from Oberfuehrer Schmidthuber should be carried out.
Q And what was the answer of the corps to Major Frank?
A From the documents here this cannot be seen, but higher approval to this measure was not given by the corps. This can be seen from the report of the corps, which the corps submitted to the army. The report is dated 7 September NOKW 954, Exhibit 403, I don't know the English page.
Q The German page, General?
A German page 160, English page 118. There the corps reports on 7 September, that is two days after Major Frank's inquiry, what was ordered and what was done by the corps because of this attack. And here one cannot assume that villages were burned down as a reprisal measure, and otherwise this would certainly have been contained in the report of the corps. According to this report, the corps reported, and I quote under figure 4:
"By order of Corps Headquarters, the following measures were taken after the attack:
a) Extension of the protective zones on both sides of the main road Kukes-Prizren.
b) Seizure of communists in Prizren as hostages by the 21st Waffen Mountain Division of the SS 'Skanderbeg'.
c) Employment of confidential agents with the mission to find out where the kidnapped women were and, if possible, to effect their release."
From this report, in my opinion, it can be seen two days after the attack that this order by Oberfuehrer Schmidthuber cannot have been carried out.
Q From the affidavit of Schlieb, which I have introduced and from your testimony, General, it can be seen that during the attack German women were also deported and it was most important to release these women again; therefore what measures were taken by you in order to liberate these women?
A The investigation of this incident was of course mainly a matter for the SS and Police leader Vitztum, who was responsible for police matters. Of course, the corps ordered an extensive investigation and the results showed that the attack had been made by a communist band from the area of Prizren. Since I felt myself responsible for the convoy, because the corps had taken over the responsibility of protecting this convoy, I thought, of course, I must do everything possible in order to release these kidnapped women. According to the conditions of the district there, it was first of all necessary that hostages should be taken from amongst the guilty persons. Prizren was, as I said, within the area of the SS Division Skanderbeg. None of my troops stationed there, and as a result I made contact with the SS Fuehrer Vitztum and asked him to order hostages to be taken in the area of Prizren. In addition, I discussed with him that confidential agents should be employed to find out where the women were in order to release them.
Q And then how did these negotiations continue about releasing these women?
A. These negotiations went on for a rather long time. First of all, there was no agreement reached. The confidential agents found out where the women were approximately and got into contact with the bands for the purpose of releasing the women. But the bands asked for such a high ransom of money in gold that, first of all, this had to be rejected. Thereupon the negotiations were broken off, but the hostages were seized and then it was threatened that if the women were not released the hostages would be shot. Thereupon the bands again took up negotiations through the confidential agents, but again no agreement was reached.
I was currently informed about these negotiations because at that time I felt myself more or less responsible and had taken over the protection at the time. The negotiations themselves, of course, since it was a police matter, were carried on, as I have said, by the SS Police Leader Vitztum for Tirana.
Q. General, now another question with regard to a prosecution document in this connection: I am again referring to Document Book No. XVI of the prosecution, English page 121, German page 162. Here you will find prosecution document NOKW-953 submitted as prosecution Exhibit 404. This is the war diary of the 21st Army Corps. On the 16th of September 1944 it is mentioned that Corps Headquarters had told the 21st SS Division Skanderbeg which was responsible in the area east of Kukes that the shooting of hostages for the attacks should not yet take place. There is mention of attacks General, therefore between the 15th September when the women were kidnapped and the diary entry on the 18th of September there was another attack.
A. I have just seen that from the war diaries.
Q. Now, with regard to this incident to which the defendant is here referring, I would like to refer to a document which was amongst the ones which came from Washington. It is an extract from the war diary of the 21st Corps.
I have included it in my document book Leyser No. II on page 116. It is Leyser Document No. 40 and I would like to offer it as Leyser Exhibit No. 56. From this document I would like to quote the paragraph which refers to the second attack. It is the entry for the 15th of September 1944 and it runs:
"Another band attack on motor convoy column east of Nukes results in heavy own losses. Among the 11 dead commander of the 1st Army Coast Artillery Regiment 945."
If I understood yon correctly, General, the entry in the War Diary mentioned above refers to the two attacks: the one on the women and the other one on the 15th of September which resulted in 11 dead among the German soldiers, is that correct?
A. Yes, the two raids: the one on the 15th and the one on the 5th.
Q. And now another question: here it is mentioned, General, that you directed the SS Division Skanderbeg not to carry out the shooting of the hostages. How did this directive arise?
A. I can remember this very well. At that time on the 18th of September my Chief of Staff came to me and told me that he had heard that SS Fuehrer Schmidt-Huber had now lost his patience after the repeated attacks and wanted to have the hostages shot but, as I have already mentioned, the negotiations regarding the release of these women had started up again and so I thought it was quite wrong and senseless to have this reprisal measure carried out before the negotiations were finished. They might even come to a favorable end and, therefore, the bands would have released the women. As a result of this I thought it was my duty, in spite of the fact that the SS Division Skanderbeg was not subordinate to me, to intervene in this matter and to send this teletype to the SS Division Skanderbeg.
From this entry it can also be seen that it was not an order because I gave the reason why these shootings would not be carried out. If the SS Division had been subordinate to me, then there would have been no reason to give a justification for the order.
That is not usual in the German Wehrmacht. I thought it was important that the reprisal measures at this moment should not be carried out and that the women should he set free, whatever happened.
Q. And was the shooting of the hostages carried out later on, General?
A. Later on I heard nothing more about a shooting of hostages.
Q If I understood you correctly before, you said that the return of the kidnapped women had been made dependent by the bands upon payment of a large ransom. Is that correct, General?
A. Yes, this was a regular robber attack which is quite usual in the Balkans and they asked, as I said, a large ransom; but, as I have already described, this wasn't paid and then I don't know how the negotiations went on because, as I have said already, on the 2nd of October I left the place and when I came back in the middle of November the corps had already left Tirana. Because of the great retreat movement, the corps station was no longer in Tirana but in Skutari. SS Police Leader Vitztum and the SS Division Skanderbeg were no longer in contact with me and, therefore, I received no information about how the matter was concluded.
Q. And that finishes the discussion of the documents, General. That which the Prosecution has submitted in connection with the 21st Corps. According to your testimony, then, in all these documents there is no incident which occurred with units which were under your command. Is that correct?
A. Yes, that is correct. A part of the documents submitted do not concern me because they occurred before my time and the other part also doesn't concern me because it all concerns troops which were not subordinate to me.
Q Then in order to finish the 21st Corps, General, I would like to ask you a few brief questions. You said previously that on your return around about the 16th of November 1944 the Corps Staff was already in Skutari--and then how did the military position develop in this area?
A. As I said, at that time the movement of withdrawal had started from the Balkans. The corps was concentrated in the area of Potowica and there the Corps was, first of all, completely encircled; and then I received the order to break through with the Corps along the coastal road in the direction of Mostar, but this was no longer possible for me because in the meantime the British had landed and the resistance was so strong that I could not break through in this place. I, therefore, decided to go another way and broke through with my corps in the direction of Sarajevo. I was successful and in the area of Sarajewo the corps remained, until about the middle of March. From the middle of March onwards the retreat movement started up again and the Corps then retreated in the direction of Zagreb via Brod. Shortly before Zagreb I became sick and then was taken to a hospital in Gastein where I was made a prisoner of war on tho 10th of May.
Q And then, General, on the 10th of May 1945, as an officer you were made an American prisoner of war.
A. Yes.
Q. Since that time have you been released as a prisoner of war?
A. In my opinion, I have not been released, but I was told that I would be released and therefore, I said: "It couldn't go on like this. There must be some regulation concerning it"; and, therefore, I was told that I had to sign this paper and I said, "I won't do that." Thereupon I was threatened and, therefore, I said: "I will sign it as an order." I was in a certain sense forced to do it.
Q In order to get this clear, General, since the 10th of May, 1945 you have never been at liverty?
A No, I have never been free.
AAnd now, one more question: During the period between your return to the XXIst Corps in the middle of April, 1944 and the time when you want to the hospital in April, 1945 were any reprisal measures carried out by your Corps or your troops?
A No, at this time no reprisal measures were carried out, because....
BY THE PRESIDENT:
Q Pardon me just a minute please.
General Leyser, before we get too far away from the comment that you just made. I wish you would relate the circumstances under which you were directed or, as you say compelled to sign some order, or to sign some paper. Where did this happen, and who was present? How was it handled? What was said to you? Anything of that nature?
A On the 18th of December of last year I was brought here to the jail in Nurnberg in Garmisch where we were in camp we were told that it was very urgent that before Christmas we had to be interrogated. Therefore, on the 18th of December 1946 we arrived here. Until the 3rd of January of this year I was locked up in a cell. I was allowed to talk to nobody. Every eight days or so I was let out of the cell. At that time I made two applications as to why I was here, but I didn't get an answer.
Q If you'll speak just a little slower, General Leyser, please.
A I just said that I made two applications so that I should be told why I was here, but I received no answer. On the 3rd of January -it could perhaps have been the 4th, I would not like to say that that was the exact date -- several gentlemen, amongst them General Rendulic and General Dohner, were also called to the office and were told that we were to be released. We said, at that time, we must have some kind of papers. There was a captain there who explained......
Q What was his name? What was his name?
A I don't know the name.
Q Did he give you his name?
A No, he didn't state his name.
Q Do you know any of the officers or men who were present -- do you know their names, or were their names given to you?
A No, no name was mentioned to me at all. The Captain stated that he came from Dachau and that his job was to release us generals. And he said he had the commission from the Army to do this. But he didn't present any papers, and thereupon we said that that wasn't valid or correct. But we were told that we were to sign. I then told him that this was only being done under force; so since I was doing it under orders I then signed my name.
Q What did you sign?
A This was the release paper which every prisoner of war has to sign when he is released. And this, of course, is an indication that he is released and free, but we were not released. We had to sign the paper, but the paper was not given to us. Therefore, we were not released. I couldn't recognize this, since a release can be effective only if one is set free. But I was not set free. As a result, on this release paper I signed my name and indicated that I had signed by force and also "under orders."
Q Did you write that on the paper?
A Yes, I wrote that on the paper. This paper is down in the office, and those words are written on it. I didn't get the release paper.
Q You state that you were forced to sign it. Now, what did you mean by that? What happened?
A The officer concerned told us that if we didn't sign, then he said we would then be exposed to some kind of disciplinary action. That was a kind of threat. Thereupon we were sent back to our cells. Then, on the 6th of January, about three days later, I was interrogated for the first time. During this interrogation I was told nothing about.....
Q Now, who interrogated you?
A This was Mr. Rapp.
Q Mr. Rapp of the Prosecution Staff, or was he apparently of the Prosecution Staff?
A Yes, he represented the Prosecution. What he was at the time I didn't see.
AAll right; proceed. Go ahead with your story, General.
DR. TIPP: His Honor asked you to continue.
A Then I was interrogated by Mr. Rapp, but I was not told what was happening to me. I was told in the office downstairs that I was to be heard as a witness here, and in Garmisch I was told that I would be back again in about eight days. During the interrogation itself there were two ladies present. One listened, and the other one took notes. In addition there was a guard who stood behind me, and then I was interrogated. During this interrogation, as I said, I was asked about everything under the sun, but the reason whether I was to be charged or not was not told to me. This interrogation lasted from about one to one and a half hours. Thereupon I made another application as to why I was being interrogated. I was still in solitary confinement, and I couldn't speak to anybody. Nothing was spoken about a defense counsel. Then, after about two months, I was interrogated for the second time. During this second interrogation by another gentleman....
Q Who interrogated you the second time?
A This was Mr. Kralsheim. And after a ....
Q Do you know how his name is spelled?
A (Spelling) K-R-I-L-S-H-E-I-M, I think that that is probably how it is, but I'm not sure. But before this interrogation, on about the 8th or the 9th of January I think, several generals were called to a joint discussion with Mr. Rapp. And then two questions were discussed about which they probably wanted to get some clarification. Then, as I said before, about two months later I was interrogated by Mr. Krailsheim, after we had previously been told that we should write a life's history.
This I did, and it is amongst the files there. Thereupon I was interrogated about several questions which are of issue here, but still I was not told what was going on. After another four weeks I was again interrogated.
Q Just a moment, at all these conferences was there a short hand report made of these conferences that you had?
A Yes, there was a lady there who always wrote all the time, but the first time, as well as the second time, the lady told me frequently that she couldn't understand me and asked that I please speak more slowly and rather more clearly. I was very difficult to follow, so she couldn't keep up with me.
Q Did you receive a copy of any of the transcripts of these proceedings?
A No, I didn't receive a copy at all, and I also didn't sign anything and I also didn't swear to anything, with the exception of my life's history. Then, I was told that I had to swear to this on oath, and this I did. The other minutes of the interrogations I never saw, and I don't know what was written down in them at all. And then, as I said, after another four weeks I was interrogated for the third time by Mr. Rapp, and on this occasion I was told that I now had time perhaps to consider all of this, and if I had other views, then I should express them then. But I couldn't have any other views, and so I adhered to my testimony. Then many documents were submitted to me. Thereupon I was told that we generals were all to be charged, and that we would be allowed to have a defense counsel. Thereupon I was released, and then about four weeks later I received the Indictment.
BY THE PRESIDENT:
Q. What do you mean you were released? Were you released from the prison?
A. No, from the room there, and then I was taken back to the cell.
Q. Go ahead.
BY DR. TIPP:
Q. In order to clarify a few things, might I ask you a few questions, General?
BY THE PRESIDENT:
Q. Pardon me, had you completed your statement concerning this situation, General Leyser?
A. Then, as I said, I was given the indictment and since that date I have been here in Nurnberg.
Q. You were in Nurnberg all the time from December 18, 1946 as I understand it?
A. Yes, since the 18th of December last year I have been here in custody in Nurnberg.
THE PRESIDENT: You may proceed with the examination, Dr. Tipp.
BY DR. TIPP:
Q. General, after this interpolation, the question which I had already put but which you hadn't answered - it is whether after your return to the corps which you have told us was about the middle of November, 1944, and before you went into the hospital at the end of April, 1944, whether troops under your command carried out any kind of reprisal measures?
A. No, as I have already said, after we were in the area of Sarajeve and then went on further into the direction of Zagreb, in the meantime, our enemies were the Russians as well as the deserted Bulgarians, and also partly Tito's men. Reprisals were not carried out at all during that time by my troops but also during this time there was very heavy ethnic fighting between the Ustasha and the Cetniks, for instance, in which I often had to intervene and to put matters to order with the Croatian authorities.
Q. With regard to this point, your Honor, I would like to refer to two documents which I have already submitted in their entirety and have partially quoted.
The first document is to be found in Leyser Document Book No. II on page 122. It is Leyser Document 43 which I have submitted as Leyser Exhibit No. 19. This is an affidavit by Brigadier General Reinicke, and here I would like to refer to figure five in this affidavit which is to be found on page 126 of the document book. Brigadier General Reinicke states here under numeral 5 on page 126 of the document book:
"The hanging of hostages by the Ustasha in Sarajevo had caused extreme excitement, so that I was informed of it immediately, though my staff HQ, was quite a distance from this town. It was reported, that the bodies had first had a scrap of paper fastened around their neck, stating that the Wehrmacht had been responsible, too. This paper had been smeared over, after a couple of hours, and the German Wehrmacht was no longer mentioned. This, I was told, had happened, after the energetic protest of the Commanding General, who would have nothing in common with any such measures. Shortly afterwards, Gen. von LEYSER visited me and described the whole matter to me, at the same time voicing his indignation at such brutal measures."
And if one regards this statement alone, General, it is rather difficult to explain. Could you tell us, General, which case General Reinicke is referring to?
A. When we were in Sarajevo, one morning I received a report -I must add that my corps staff was not directly in Sarajevo but outside Sarajevo -- that during the night the Ustasha had hanged fifty people on lamp posts in the town. These fifty people who were hanged had a poster hung around their necks on which it stated that they had worked against the state or something like that and that they had also carried our sabotage against the German Armed Forces. Since I didn't know anything about this, I drove at once into Sarajevo to the Minister Korlovic there and told him why I came and that I didn't know anything about these things but that people were hanged because they had committed offenses against the German Armed Forces.
I demanded from him that the posters should be removed. We had nothing to do with this hanging, and I asked that the responsible people should be brought to account by the Croatian government, and the Minister agreed to this. The posters were removed, and then the man responsible was supposed to have been transferred or something like that but I don't know anything exact about it. That is probably what General Reinicke is talking about there in his testimony.
Q. With regard to the ethnic fighting in the neighborhood of Sarajevo, I would like to offer one document, your Honor, which has not yet been introduced. This is in Leyser Document Book No. II on page 137. It is Leyser Document 47 and I would like to submit it as Leyser Exhibit 57. This is an affidavit by Dr. Thomas Traub, sworn on the 16th of September, 1947, before the Mayer in Strassberg. The affiant describes first of all, in figure 1 his professional and military career. He states that at the end of August, 1943, he came to the Corps Signal Division 421 with the XXI Mountain Army as physician, that he was in Albania with this division and also took part in the retreat there.
Under figure two he states that he had known General Leyser since about the beginning of August, 1944, as Commanding General of the XXI Mountain Army. He describes a few points about General von Leyser's character which I would like to make a reference to here and figure three runs, and I quote:
"The following incident, however, shows, how severely he could act against any violation of duty as on the part of his troop: At the beginning of 1945 a train, in which also wounded Germans and Cetniks were transported to SaraJevo under German cover, was searched by Ustascha for suspected bandits. In spite of the protest of the numerically small escort, the wounded Cetniks were led off. Later on it became known, the Corps issued a strict order, to the effect that an investigation of the German guard was to be convicted, and that, in future, any guard who did not protest the wounded with his life, was to be brought before a military court."
Figure four also refers to the ethnic fighting.
"I can give another example from my own experience of the manner in which the Ustascha used to treat its own countrymen. While my division and other parts of the Corps were stationed in Kasindol near Sarajevo from about the 2 January until the 4 March 1945, 2 Cetniks came into the area of the Corps staff. They had been in action in the mountains. One had a pistol bullet in the side of his neck. He had been shot at by a partisan. Since the bullet could only be removed by an operation, I had to send the Cetnik into the hospital in Sarajevo, for, as troop physician, I did not have the necessary means for this at my disposal. But he resisted being sent there with his last strength, giving as a reason that the Ustasha were in Sarajevo, and if he was sent there, he would soon be dead. He only consented to go after some higher officers of the Corps staff, who also had to go to Sarajevo, declared themselves willing to take him along in their car and bring him into the German hospital. Thus he got specialist treatment."
General, this brings us to the end of the prosecution material. I have shown you all the documents which the prosecution submitted against you and you have been able to give your comments on the individual documents, but in order to hear your complete opinion, I would like to ask you a few concluding questions with regard to the whole matter.
Count one of the indictment charges you with having had hostage shootings and reprisal measures carried out as collective punishments with the aim of terrorizing the population and of decimating later generations. This count of the indictment further charges you with the fact that such collective measures can in no way be justified with military necessity and that they were flagrant violations of customs of war and laws of war. Since we have discussed the individual documents, General, I would like to ask you to give your entire opinion about this count of the indictment.
A The discussion of the Prosecution material showed, in my opinion, that under my leadership in the 15th and 21st Mountain Armed reprisal measures were only carried out if the security of the troops made them absolutely necessary and the German leadership and I do not want to make one German soldier guilty in any way for this.
With the 15th Army Corps, according to the Prosecution documents, only in one case of hostages was someone shot and in this case one certainly can't talk about a terrorization of the population neither of an extermination. And with the 21st Army Corps, amongst those parts of the troops for which I was responsible, not one single reprisal measure was carried out.
Q Count 2 of the indictment charges you with having carried out senseless destructions which were not absolutely military necessary and the count further charges you with having plundered the civilian population. What have you to say with regard to this count of the indictment?
AA discussion of the material submitted here has drastically shown that the greater part of the destruction took place during fighting and as an immediate and unavoidable result of the fighting -
MR. FULKERSEN: If your Honor please, I don't like to stand on technical objections, but what is done here is that the witness is being asked to make an argument about all the evidence that he's already discussed piece by piece and what he is now saying properly finds itself in an argument, not in testimony.
THE PRESIDENT: The defendant is on trial here on a very serious charge, the final results of which could be very serious to him. I feel, and I am sure it is the attitude of the Tribunal, that he should have every opportunity to express himself on the specific charges made against him. The objection will be overruled.
BY DR. TIPP:
Q Please continue, General.
A Therefore, reprisal measures destroying buildings which were carried out in my sector were absolutely necessary and were only carried out against band quarters or band hiding places, but these measures were also absolutely militarily necessary and if here I am charged with the fact that through my troops the civilian population had been plundered, then I can say to this that the Prosecution has not submitted one single document which shows that this is correct.
Merely war material, and arms and other stocks of the bands, were confiscated. No material has been submitted at all here about the plundering of the civilian population.
Q In Count 3 of the indictment you are charged with having issued illegal orders, passed them on to your subordinate troops and having them carried out. We have discussed a few orders about this. What can you say to this in conclusion, General?
A I think that I have proved here in my testimony that I issued no illegal orders, that I did not pass on any illegal orders and that my soldiers did not carry out any illegal orders.
Q Count 4 of the indictment charges you with having used indigenous personnel for forced labor and with also having ordered their deportation for forced labor in the Reich. You are further charged with having illegally and without military necessity, thrown indigenous personnel into concentration camps. Might I ask you to give a concluding comment on this?
A With regard to the employment of civilian population the 15th Mountain Corps, as a tactical operational staff, had nothing at all to do with this. This was in the sphere of other authorities who were not subordinate to me, but as far as indigenous personnel in Croatia were used for labor, they were set to this work by their own agencies. The work was to fortify their own fatherland against the common enemy and with the alleged forced deportation of workers into the Reich, my staff was also not commissioned. No single document shows that in Croatia or Albania I ordered anybody to be sent to a concentration camp.
Concentration camps did not exist at all in my area. No prisoner's camps were under my command and I think I have proven that.
Q And now the last question, General: If you survey your service career as commanding general of the 15th and 21st Army Corps and also regard the Prosecution documents which are submitted against you from this period, what have you to say about your command?
A Of course, I have often thought about this a lot. Even if I had known that I would once have to give account before an Allied Tribunal because of the so-called Control Council Law No. 10, then according to the conditions which existed at that time, I could not have acted any differently. In my conviction I have done my duty according to my best of knowledge and belief for my soldiers, for my people and for my fatherland.
DR. TIPP: I have no further questions to this witness, your Honor.
And to conclude my presentation of evidence I would like to make one technical comment. All the documents which I have offered, all those documents, which I wanted to submit for General von Leyser on direct examination will be withdrawn by me. I want to name not them here so that the Tribunal has the opportunity to change the documents books accordingly.
The first document which I don't want to present and which I withdraw is Leyser Document No. 14. This is in Document Book No. 1 page 39.
THE PRESIDENT: Dr. Tipp, you have not offered these particular documents that you are apparently starting out to mention. So I see no necessity of your withdrawing them. The tribunal will not give consideration to any documents which are not offered or received in evidence. So there is no necessity for you to withdraw these documents that you are starting out to mention.
DR. TIPP: There are only four, your Honor, but if the Tribunal will not take notice of them in any case, I will not bother to enumerate them.