I believe it is entirely due to a misunderstanding on the part of the Military unferior as to what the sergeant's orders really were.
PRESIDING JUDGE BURKE: Very well, Mr. Fenstermacher. Are you prepared at this time to deliver to Dr. Sauter the document that he referred to?
MR. FENSTERMACHER: Yes, I am, your Honor, and I am sorry that the incident took place.
PRESIDING JUDGE BURKE: As a matter of information, it seems to me that would be desirable in the event that a guard or other person charged with military responsibility who desires to do anything of that kind should confer first with the counsel for the prosecution.
MR. FENSTERMACHER: I shall inform them, your Honor. I think that is a very good suggestion.
PRESIDING JUDGE BURKE: Very well. You may proceed, Dr. Sauter.
DR. SAUTER: May I make a remark about this? The statement that the exchange of literature is allowed only in the prison is not quite correct. We have, of course, the right even here in this Courtroom to exchange documents and things like that. Also, if the Tribunal please, lest there be a suspicion that any particularly dangerous book is involved here, I would like to tell the Court, what sort of book it is. It is a book by Govanni Papini, it is the life of Christ. General Lanz has been reading this book lately. He marked a few passages for me, and this is the book I was not allowed to have.
PRESIDING JUDGE BURKE: Dr. Sauter, the incident in its entirety is regrettable and I trust that the solution will prove satisfactory to you and the defendant.
DR. SAUTER Thank you very much, Your Honor.
DIRECT EXAMINATION (Continued) Defendant:
General Lanz BY DR. SAUTER:
Q If the Tribunal please, defendant General Lanz at the end of the session yesterday told us about his experiences which he had in his operational area with the fighting methods of the partisans. About that problem, you will find in Document Books Lanz No. 2 and 4, a number of affidavits which I should now like to offer in evidence. These affidavits I shall only read in extracts in order to avoid repetitions, but I would be grateful if the tribunal took judicial notice in their entirety. The first of these exhibits is contained in Document Book Lanz NO II on page 23. It is Document No. 37. It will receive Exhibit No. 23, Lanz Exhibit No. 23. This is an affidavit given by Gebhard von Lenthe who has furnished me with affidavits concerning other problems which I have read into the record. The affiant was the Ic with General Lanz between September 1943 and the end of the war. He said so in the introductory paragraph of this affidavit.
This affidavit deals with the question of the illegality of the partisans in Greece. Then it describes collaboration between General Lanz and Greek authorities and the Greek civilian population. It also shows what welfare measures General Lanz took on behalf of prisoners. The affidavit is typical for the judgment of General Lanz's character. I should be grateful if its contents were taken notice of. I shall not read it in detail lest I be repetitious.
The next document which I submit to the Tribunal is document No. 38. It is the next document in Document Book II. It is contained on page 27 of that volume. It is Document No. 38 and it is offered as Exhibit 24. This is an affidavit by Karl Wilhelm Thilo who says at the beginning that his position with General Lanz was that of a first general staff officer of the 1st fountain Division between 22 January 1943 and 25 July 1944. This Document No. 38 speaks about the question of uniforms and the methods observed by the partisans in their fighting in Greece. From this document, I would like to read paragraph "c" on page 27 and paragraph "e" on page 28.
Under paragraph "c" the affiant says:
"c.) The guerilla bands did not carry their arms openly, On the contrary, their fighting methods were treacherous, The murder of Regimental Commander Lt. Col Salminger, as well as of the commander of the bakery company of the 1st Mountain Division are examples of this. Treacherous attacks were frequent, Often the guerillas disbanded during a battle and camouflaged themselves as harmless civilians. This happened especially in or near villages. Then the resistance flared up again in the rear of the German troops. As I recall, in Oct. 1943 the main dressing station of the 1st fountain Division, which was filled with casualties, was attacked by guerillas and destroyed. The dressing station was marked with a Red Cross sign."
And it has been duly sworn to and properly certified as the previous one.
In the same document book, there is another affidavit. This is Document No. 39 in Document Book Lanz No. II on page 29. This is offered as Exhibit 25; Lanz No. 25. This document also deals with the question of uniforms and the treacherous and cruel methods used by the partisans against German troops. It described the surprise actions of sabotage committed by the partisans and the violations of international law. Then it describes the conduct shown by the German occupation towards the civilian population and the way the German authorities supported it in the Epirus.
I should like to read a few paragraphs from this exhibit. Affiant Wecker, as he says in his affidavit, was the commander of the Light Infantry Regiment 734, of the 114th Light Infantry Division. This regiment of his was subordinate to General Lanz from 1 January 1944 with a few interruptions until the end of the war. This Regimental Commander on the basis of the experiences which he has gathered in Epirus stated in paragraph 1 on page 29:
"The conduct of the struggle in the Balkans became, by necessity, always fiercer, for the actions of all the fighting units of the resistance groups of all the Balkan countries became steadily more cruel. I can prove this assertion by the following facts, which I experienced myself:
1. ) The armistice concluded between the German troops and the units of General Zervas in August 1944 in the area of Prevesa was without notice broken, through the attack at night upon a great number of German supporting-points, whereby great losses were sustained by the German troops.
2. ) All roads in the area of Agrinion - Prevesa - Jannina could only be used under military escort. During the period of January until September 1944 over 40 attacks occurred on German vehicles, which regularly caused bloody losses.
At one attack on the road Arta-Amphilochia near the hamlet of Menidi towards the end of July 1944 the crew of a German truck was found mutilated, with gouged eyes and ears and tongues out off.
Insurgents who early in August 1944 carried out an attack on the village Nea-Kerasus (15 kilometers west of Arta) partly were german uniforms.
3. ) Motor-Food transports sent by the International Red Cross into the area of Epirus - Akarmia were regularly assaulted and plundered, so that at the end they could only operate with the aid of German escorts.
4. ) The insurgents forced the generally peaceful civil population into obedience by threats, reprisals and violent measures. Particularly did they draw their food requirements regularly from the villages. Especially feared were the forced recruitments, which often drove the ablebodied men to flee into the areas made secure by the German troops.
5. ) In the first days of September 1944 on the road - Preseva - Jannina, closely below the pass west of Jannina an ambulance corps of about 30 cars was attacked and all inside slaughtered to the last man. After about one week German troops regained that territory and the bodies were found in a cruelly mutilated condition.
6. ) The various tribes in the Balkans also among themselves committed atrocities of all kinds. I especially recall the action of insurgents against the inmates of a monastery about 10 km East of Trafnik, who according to creditable statements by indigenous people were shot by the insurgents for not having resisted strongly enough the occupation of the monastery by German forces. Although the disregard of International Law, the cruelty and deceitfulness of their way of fighting often embittered the German troops greatly, the German leadership never took reprisals against the defenseless civilian population, but always tried to help where their own situation and the available means permitted and to mitigate the distress of the population. I prose this assertion by the following facts:"
The following description, your Honors, I do not propose to read in detail. He describes efforts made by the German occupying power to improve the measures taken on behalf of the population by special orders of the commanding general who was the defendant General Lanz. He points out that the insurgents when wounded were also medically treated in the same way as the German wounded, that officers were instructed to that effect, and that General Lanz cooperated closely with the Red Cross.
He made efforts to obtain more current and electric power and finally under Roman III, he says -- this is on page 32 of Document Book II:
"The number of the examples that I have given here is evidence of my assertions, they would increase considerably if I could consult my written notes that have been taken away from me while I was a prisoner. Thus I could list only facts of which my memory has still kept place and time."
I have read this last paragraph, if your Honors please, to give the Court yet another example as to how difficult it is to defend these defendants because they were all deprived of their notes and diaries while they were prisoners. This affidavit by Col. Wecker is also duly signed by him, sworn to, and properly certified. From the next document, I shall only read extracts; it is contained in Document Book Lanz No. II as Document 40; it is on page 34 and it is offered as Exhibit No. 26, Lanz No. 26. This is an affidavit by Matthias Starl who says that in the Second World War he was a captain and first ADC with the XXII Mountain Division, that is to say with General Lanz, between 3 September 1943 and 14 November 1943, after which he went as Ia to the combat group Steyler from 14 November 1943 until 8 August 1944.
I would appreciate it if the Court would take judicial notice of the entire document. I shall merely read a few paragraphs now.
Under Paragraph A), on page 34, it says:
"A). About the fighting manner of the Edesbands, Gen. Zervas I know the following:
"1.) The uniforms, which I personally saw on members of the Edesbands were not all alike and partly mixed up with civilian clothes. One could not make out, especially at a great distance, whether civilians or members of bands were in front of us. The uniforms of the Edes-bands became much better, I believe only after the middle of 1944, when the supply of the bands by air through Allied planes made itself felt. I did not know of any marks recognizable from the distance."
I shall skip paragraphs 2) and 3), on pages 34 and 35, and I shall then read paragraph 4) on page 35, and this is what the affiant says:
"4). An exchange of prisoners between the Edesbands and the German occupation force took place in summer of 1944 at the road crossing at Minina-Tsuka where the road branches off to Paramithia. The exchange of prisoners took place on the occasion of a fight between the German forces of the Light Infantry Regiment 724 and Edesbands, which by mistake occurred on the basis of false information and was broken up immediately, as soon as the German side realized that these were Edesbands and not parts of Communistic bands as had been assumed."
Then under Paragraph B) he speaks about the negotiations between General Lanz and Zervas. I shall not read this part of the affidavit, because we have other attestations to that affect which will be more precise and detailed.
I also recommend to the Court's notice the next document in Lanz Document Book II. This is Document 41 on page 37, which is offered as Exhibit 27. This is an affidavit by one Franz Bessell. This again has been duly sworn to and properly certified by a Notary, I will not read it in detail, but recommend it to the notice of the Court. It also describes the way the Edes bands fought in 1943 and 1944.
The next document in the same document book is Lanz Document 42, on page 38, which is offered as Exhibit 28. This is an affidavit by Hans Munckel, who says that he held the position of an ADC with the Armed Forces Transport Control Southeast in Vienna from January to October 1941, and then he was Battery Officer, Orderly Officer, Battery Commander and finally Commander of a Unit in the 4th Garrison 79 from November 1941 to February 1945, and then he was the Deputy Division Adjutant of the First Mounta in Division during the period from November December 1944, and from March to May 1945. The affidavit by this gentleman, who of course on the basis of his position had acquired a particularly wide knowledge, refers to relations between General Lanz and his troops. It describes his basic attitude as an old soldier and troop commander, and then later on describes a number of acts violating International Law committed by the Partisans. He describes the atrocities and cruelties committed by the Partisans on the German soldiers. This affidavit again is in many ways a very interesting document, and I recommend it to the judicial notice of the Court.
THE PRESIDENT: Dr. Sauter, please, I am taking the liberty of interrupting, because of the fact that Judge Burke's document book does not show this document, and it should be corrected, Mr. Secretary General. Document 42, Exhibit 28 is not in Judge Burke's book, and there seems to be a jump in the pagination from page 37 to page 48, and the page 48 that is in Judge Burke's book indicates it is from Document Book I of the defendant Kuntze.
While I am on the microphone, Dr. Sauter, I think your attention should be called to the fact that in a few exceptions the page noted in the index is not correct. Perhaps you will want to check that for your own benefit. I am correcting it as we go along, but I am calling that to your attention. I do not know whether Judge Burke's book is correct on the next document. What will be the next document you will have?
DR. SAUTER: The next document, Your Honor, will be an affidavit by Piloty.
THE PRESIDENT: What page?
DR. SAUTER: In my book it is on page 44. it should be on page 44 of the English book too. It is Document 43. Document 43 contained on page 44, an affidavit by one Otto Piloty.
THE PRESIDENT: Judge Burke advises me that it is his document book, so you may proceed with that.
If the other may be corrected, Mr. Secretary General, please?
DR. SAUTER: Thank you very much, Your Honor.
I shall now come to the next document in Document Book II. This is Document 43 on page 44 of the Document Book Lanz II, which is offered as Exhibit 29. It is an affidavit by a commanding officer called Otto Piloty, who is 49 years of age and a resident of Munich. He states that he served under Lanz as a commanding officer of the 4th Garrison Heavy Mountain Artillery Regiment 79, between April 1943 and May 1944. I have announced before that 1 shall not read the details of this affidavit. It describes surprise attacks made by the Partisans against German troops, and the methods with which they did their fighting. This document is again based entirely on the observations made by the affiant Piloty himself.
The next document which I recommend to the attention of the Court is contained in Document Book Lanz II on page 47. This is Document 44, and it will be given Exhibit number Lanz No. 30. This affidavit as all the others, has been properly signed, duly sworn to and correctly certified, and has been given by Kurt Hepp, who says his position was that of a platoon leader, later that of adjutant and finally company commander within the First Mountain Division, which of course was subordinate to General Lanz. He held this position between February 1943 and October 1944. In his affidavit the affiant Hepp also describes the treacherous and cruel methods in which the Partisans fought, and he produces a number of detailed cruelties committed against German soldiers, and which are quite obviously not in accordance with International law and its provisions.
I shall not read the details of this affidavit, but I should be grateful if the Court took judicial notice of it.
This brings me to the next affidavit in the same document book on page 51. This is Document 45, and I shall give it Exhibit No. Lanz 31. This document has been signed, sworn to and certified. It was given by Captain Matthias Starl, from whom I have submitted another affidavit concerning another problem this morning. This also describes the treacherous surprise attacks committed by the Balkan Partisans on German troops. They are violations of International Law in their attacks on medical personnel, hospital trucks and hospital convoys of the International Red Cross, and it describes an attack on a German main dressing station. I should like to read a few excerpts from this affidavit. On page 52 at the top where it says "around the 1st of June; 1944." This is on page 52, if your Honor, please:
Around 1 June 1944 a ration-convoy consisting of 3 trucks was attacked by partisans from ambush in the vicinity of Ktismata (West of Elea, Greece), plundered, and some of the soldiers killed and some carried off (some were found several hundred meters away from the place of attack with their brains knocked out).
During the night of July 6/7 1944 a German supply convoy consisting of 7 - 8 trucks, among them 2 ambulances marked with the Red Cross and 1 truck of the International Red Cross with food for the civilian population of Igumeniza, was attacked by partisans on the road from Joannina to Igumeniza in the vicinity of Vlahori.
Some of the soldiers on the trucks were carried off during this attack. As reported by some survivors able to escape their abduction by flight, the partisans conducted a regular firing exercise on the wounded lying around on the place of attack after the attack had taken place. The entire Medical Personnel among them 1 German Captain and 1 First Lieutenant of the Medical Corps were murdered on this occasion.
And the affiant added "International Law" and an exclamation mark.
The Truck of the International Red Cross loaded with food was plundered on this occasion just as the German trucks. All vehicles were set afire after the attack had taken place.
In June 1944 the exact date is unknown to me now, a food-convoy of the International Red Cross consisting of 3 trucks was attacked by Partisans in the vicinity of Parapotamos (Past of Egumeniza) and entirely sacked. The food was intended for the suffering population of Igumoniza and the Isle of Corfu. During this attack a large part of the civilians who wanted to use the convoy as a means of transport were kidnapped by the partisans and a large ransom demanded for their release. The last mentioned was reported to the German authorities by the relatives of the kidnapped persons. A medical clearing station located in the vicinity of the Metzovonpass in charge of a First Lieutenant of the Medical Corps, was attacked by Communist partisans in 1944 (the exact date, I no longer remember).
The medical personnel as well as the entire equipment and supplies of the clearing station was carried off by the partisans.
Three children from Paramythia and one child from Joannina were kidnapped by Communist partisans in June 1944. A high ransom was demanded from the parents as a condition for their release. These amounts were probably intended for the supply and the further organization of the partisan-units.
During our withdrawal engagements along the entire Drina in November 1944, Moslems and members of the Ustascha, fighting as German allies for their freedom, when captured by Tito partisans were maltreated in the most abominable manner, massacred and killed.
The affiant has signed his affidavit. It has been certified and sworn to. This brings me to the next affidavit in this volume. It is on page 54 of Document Book Lanz II. It is Document 46, and it is offered as Exhibit 32. This affidavit has been given by one Julian von Reichmann who is a resident of Munich, and he says that his position was that of the Chief of the 12th Company of the Light Infantry Regiment 734, which as is well-known was under General Lanz, and he served there from the 17th of April 1944 until January 1, 1945. In this document, which is Exhibit 32, the witness describes his own experiences, which concern the uniforms and methods of fighting of the Partisans. He describes their treacherous surprise attacks which were contrary to International Law. I shall read only a few paragraphs. I shall read the first paragraph on page 54, where he swears to the following facts:
Most of the attacks made by the insurgents were made from ambush. At the end of May 1944 the train of the 3rd Battalion of the 734 Light Infantry Regiment was on its way from Filippias to Wonitsa via Amphilochia. Approximately 3 kilometers West of Amphilochia the train was attacked by armed partisan-units. My Company lost 2 dead and several wounded. All the insurgents wore civilian clothing according to a report by members of my Company. Special markings denoting the insurgents as members of an army were not noticed. They differed from the common civilians only by the weapon they carried and the supply bag carried on their back according to the custom of the country.
I shall skip the next two paragraphs 2) and 3), and would like to read the short paragraph 4 on page 55, and the affiant says:
A large ambulance convoy was attacked on the road from Prewesa to Jannina at the beginning of September 1944. The units marching at the head of the column during our retreat from Greece buried the dead. I have seen the graves of those who died which seemed to have been dug in a hurry.
The balance of this affidavit I recommend to the attention of the Court, and I shall come to the next document now, which is on page 57 in the same volume. It is Document 47, which will become Exhibit Lanz 33. This is an affidavit by Dr. Hans Stoeckinger, who says that his position was that of administrative officer of the 22nd Mountain Army Group from 1 September 1943 until the end of the war. The affidavit is very brief. It describes again the treacherous surprise attacks committed by the partisans on German soldiers and German medical convoys. He says, to read quickly from Page 57:
The supply line for food, clothing, arms, ammunition and equipment for the 22nd Mountain Army Corps serving in Epinus led over the Florina-Jannina - Agrinion - or Corfu road, which was about 300 kilometers long and very mountainous. Since I had to drive over this road very often, I was frequently a witness of attacks by the partisans on German supply columns, transports of wounded, and bases. These attacks were almost always made from ambush. I shall pick out three raids as examples:
Under A, B and C the affiant describes these three cases, which are more or loss the same as numerous other incidents which we have heard about here, and which were described by other affiants, attacks on medical convoys, ignoring the Red Cross trucks which had been procuring bodies, maltreatment of prisoners and things like that. I recommend this to the attention of the Tribunal, the affidavit has been duly signed, sworn to and certified.
This brings me to the next document in the same Document Book, Lanz II, which is Document 48 on page 59 - Document 48 on page 59, and it is offered as Lanz Exhibit 34. I shall not read this affidavit. It was given by one Wilhelm Baefends, who as he says was a passenger during the middle of August attending a training course in Berlin, and later on he became a leader of a Supply Detachment of the 1st Mountain Division in October 1944. The same experiences which this affiant gathered I shall recommend to the attention of the Tribunal. He describes particularly attacks on railroads and motorized convoys which amounted to a violation of International Law committed by the Partisans.
The next document which I beg to submit I need not read in its entirety. This is Document 49 in Document Book II. On page 61 of that volume, and it is offered as Exhibit Lanz 35. In this affidavit an eye-witness describes occurrences when treacherous attacks from ambush were made and cruelties committed on German soldiers by the partisans, and he describes the attitude which General Lanz took towards this method of fighting. I would like to read the beginning of this affidavit, where the affiant, who is called Georg Wilhelm Rodewald, says that during the war he was ADC and Lieutenant of the Reserve in the 1st Mountain Division, which of course was subordinate to General Lanz between May 1943 and March 1944. He also saw service as a platoon leader, company leader and Battalion Adjutant.
I shall merely read the first four paragraphs where the affiant says under (a) on page 61:
a. ) Attach on a German outpost in the Kilasin area in Montenegro. Middle of May 1943. 8 to 10 wounded men who had been left behind alive by their comrades were found the next morning mutilated with stabs and thrusts, as well as shots fired at close range.
b.) Attack on a weak German bridge security detachment of the Joannina-Trikkala road through the Pindos mountains. October-November 1943. Massacre of the wounded who had been left lying (Unit - so far as I remember - Engineer Battalion 54 of the 1st Mountain Division.)
c. ) In October 1943 General Lanz said to me personally in Motsovon (Joannina area): "In spite of all the brutalities of the partisans you must take care that our men do not let themselves give way to acts of violence under any circumstances, but adhere exclusively to the orders which have been given them." Upon the reply of a sergeant (Master Sergeant Schaefer, Mountain Light Infantry Regiment 98, killed in July 1944 in Albania) that we could not, however, tolerate this sort of warfare indefinitely, General Lanz answered: 'Protect yourselves in advance against such atrocities by the proper security measures.' This conversation, the affiant continues, was held on the occasion of the event mentioned under b.
d.) In December 1943 " German truck convoy was attacked in the Sarajevo area (in the vicinity of the village of Rogatica). The road was mopped up by us shortly afterwards. We found about 30 Germans lying in the road, elderly soldiers (drivers and assistant drivers) most of whom, besides gunshot wounds, also had crushed skulls and other cuts and stabs."
The balance of the affidavit is concerned with similar matters and I shall not read these points.
This brings me to the next document, which is document No. 50 in Lanz document book No. 2 on page 63, which is offered as exhibit Lanz No. 36.
This is an affidavit by affiant Willy Wenzke, who says that he was the ADG and later adjutant of Truck Transport Section 602 during the period from February, 1944 until the day of the capitulation, the end of the war in other words. The affiant deals in this document, which of course has been properly signed, sworn to and certified, mainly with emergency measures and measures taken on behalf of the civilian population by General Lanz. He then describes his experiences as to the conduct shown by the communist bands against the Greek population and he reports about malicious and cruel surprise attacks committed by the partisans on German troops. I would like to read the first and second paragraphs at this time, where he says on page 63:
"In the anti-Nazi officer circles among my acquaintance at that time in the corps commanded by General Lanz it was openly said that General Lanz had made himself very unpopular with Hitler. When the corps doctor shot himself because of on anti-Nazi remark, after the attempt on Hitler's life on 20 July, it was known in our more private officers' circles that General Lanz considered this step completely wrong. He would have seen to it that the remark in question had been passed off as a joke."
Under paragraph 2 the affiant describes relations with the Red Cross, which show a shining piece of honor for General Lanz, and I shall not read verbatim what the affiant says on page 63 and 64, but I would like to read from paragraph 3 and 4, both of which are contained on page 65 of the document book. Under paragraph 3, he says:
"Furthermore, I know that communist insurgents threatened and ven shot farmers of Trikkala when the latter tried to bring in their crops. The prefect and the burgemaster also received threatening letters, as these gentlemen themselves often confirmed to me when no attention was paid to these threats, a bomb was exploded as a 'warning' - as was said in leaflets - on 3 September 1944 in a bar in Trikkala, on the road to Kalibans, by which two Greeks were killed and many others serious wounded."
Under paragraph 4 the witness describes a surprise attack by partisan units on truck columns along the so-called Jeannina Pass, where so many attacks took place, and he reports that 15 German soldiers were killed, that the bringing back of their wounded was not possible for the Germans because the partisans fired on them.
To read from the last six lines on page 65 where the witness says:
"Only by a reconnaissance in force could it be ascertained that about 15 naked corpses, most of them completely mutilated, were lying on and near the road beside their burned out Vehicles. In leaflets, which were sent to my house, the communist fighting units boasted loudly of their deeds and called on us to desert in order to avoid a similar death."
The witness has sworn to this affidavit, which throws such a distinct light on the methods used by the partisans, and his affidavit has been duly certified.
I shall not read the details of the next document, which is document No. 51 on page 66 of document book 2, which is offered as exhibit 37. This affidavit has also been duly sworn to and certified. It comes from one Hans Zooberlein, who says in the first paragraph of the affidavit what positions he held with the units under General Lanz from 1941 until March 1945. At the end, he was a captain and chief of the company when finally he was wounded. Zooberlein, who for four wears served under General Lanz in the war, describes in his affidavit, which is a very detailed one and for which reason I will not read it, the cruelties committed by the partisans on German soldiers, and the treacherous methods used by the partisan units, then the way they used women and children in their ranks and on the other hand in contrast the support granted to the civilian population by the German troops and their leader, General Lanz, as well as the way prisoners were treated even if they came from the ranks of the partisans by the Wehrmacht and their leader, General Lanz, who today is a defendant.
I would recommend these statements as well to the judicial notice of the court without my reading them in detail here. I would appreciate it if this conduct shown by General Lanz could be compared under International Law to the conduct then shown by the opponents.
Nor will I read the next document, which is document 52 in Lanz document book 2. This is on page 71 and it is offered as Lanz exhibit No. 38, Lanz exhibit 38. This document is an affidavit by affiant Carl Georg Rall, who is 34 years of age and a resident of Munich. He says that he was a captain and regimental adjutant of the 1st Mountain Division since November, 1938, and between April and October of 1943, that is to say he served under the defendant Lanz. Captain Rall describes his own observations and experiences and nothing else, as did all the other affiants said before, how treacherously the partisans fought. He also describes in contrast the assistance granted by the German troops to the civilian population. I recommend this document to the attention of the Tribunal. It has been duly sworn to and certified.
This brings me to the next document, which is document No, 53 contained in Lanz document book 2 on page 74. which is offered as Exhibit Lanz No. 39. This affidavit was given by Gabbard von Lenthe, who has furnished other affidavits concerning different problems and about whom we know that he for a number of years, I believe as 1-E, or rather to correct myself that is, as 1-C belonged to the staff of General Lanz. The affidavit is very brief and I shall therefore read it. It is a small contribution to arrive at a judgment of the partisans and it concerns a captured British officer. On page 74 the affiant Lenthe swears to the following statement:
"In the summer of 1944 a British officer, who had been working as a liaison officer at the Greek-Albanian border with a staff of the bands in our presence and at which he was questioned about his opinion concerning the partisans, he declared among other things that he could not consider those partisans as soldiers, they rather were a crowd of robbers. I do not remember the name of the British officer. As far as I remember, he escaped while being transported into the prisoner of war camp."
This affidavit by the affiant Lenthe has been duly sworn to and certified and he was present at that interrogation, because he was I-C on General Lanz' staff.
Then, the final affidavit in document book 2, which I shall read. It is Document No. 54 on page 75, which will be given Lanz exhibit No. 40. This document -- and I wish to say this right away -- has been duly sworn to and certified and has been given by Friedrich Erdmann, who is 35 years of age and lives in Duesseldorf. He has given me another affidavit, which I read yesterday. We knew, as he confirms that he was ADC with the 22nd Mountain Army Corps from 1st September 1943 until the end of the war. During that period of time, he was of course subordinate to General Lanz. In this document, No. 54, the affiant describes his experiences as an ADC and speaks about the uniforms worn and the method of fighting shown by the Edes partisans and their treacherous methods against German troops which he contrasts with the agreements and negotiations made by General Lanz with the negotiator General Zervas, leader of the Edes troops.
In view of the importance of this affidavit and in view of the fact that the affiant by virtue of his official position gained particularly close insight into these things, I beg to be allowed to read this in full. It was given on 15 September by Friedrich Erdmann, ADC in war time of General Lanz. I shall read from page 75, paragraph 1:
"1.) The Edes-bands (Zervas) from September 1943 on fought not only in uniform, but also in civilian clothes. This was the case particularly with the reserve units, as they were called, which were used only casually and fought mostly in civilian clothes. This has been proven through numerous prisoners that were brought in wearing partly civilian clothes, partly uniforms (for instance uniform trousers only)and who were indisputably identified as members of the Edes-bands, not only on account of their own statements, but also on the basis of identification papers, leave papers etc.
"2.) The Edes-bands did not wear uniform marks recognizable at a distance.
Partly they wore cockade, partly alleged armbands (so-called holy brigade), partly no distinction mark at all. For that reason an agreement originally was made with the negotiator Sarantis at the occasion of jointly conducted defense actions by units of the 22nd (Mountain Corps) and the Edes-bands against the attacks of communistic bands on the Arachtosfront, that the Edes should wear a colored band on their hats or lacking that on their arms. This would not have been necessary had they been recognizable by way of a common uniform and clearly visible uniform marks.
"3.) The Edes-bands - at least in areas that were adjoining territories occupied by German troops -- did mostly not wear their arms openly. They mostly consisted of herdsmen or inhabitants of surrounding villages (or they were camouflaged as such) and had their weapons hidden. Therefore we always found any munitions and weapons that had not been removed on time during raids on villages.
"4.) Open attacks in the usual military fashion occurred almost never. As far as I can recall only the attacks on Arta and a few villages on the road Arta-Prewesa in summer 1944 could perhaps be counted.
Otherwise the war took on the form of a ambush-like attacks on single or escorted vehicles or thinly guarded road points. The crew was mostly annihilated, the vehicles plundered and put on fire. As soon as relief arrived the Edes-bands mostly withdrew hurriedly into the Mountains. I especially would like to point to the attacks on escort trains between Joannina and Arta a few km north of the so-called supporting point "Felsennest" and between Joannina and Igumenetsa near Minina-Tuska. At the last attack upon a convoy at Minina Tuska around July 1944 among others also a staff physician and medical personnel of the hospital Joannina fell victim, although the ambulance cars were marked by a Red Cross visible at a long distance.