130 of the German, we find Document NO-3241, which has been previously introduced as Prosecution Exhibit No. 53. This is Operational Situation Report No, 178, dated 9 March 1942. On page 121 of the English, page 133 of the German, we see in the second paragraph, the fillowing report:
"During an action against the Jews, executed on the 2nd and 3rd of March; 3,412 Jews were executed in Minsk, 302 in Wileijka, and 2,007 in Barenowitschi. Thus altogether 5, 721 Jews were executed." page 17 of the German, we find Document NO-3872 which I offer as prosecution Exhibit 110. This is an affidavit of the defendant Sandberger, executed on the 19th of November 1945. Here we see in paragraph that Sandberger names the defendant Strauch as one of those responsible for persecution of the Jaws in Minsk. The extent to which the defendant Strauch may be held responsible and the zeal with which He participated in the murder of the Jews may be seen by referring to Document Book III-A, page 32 of the English, page in the German Document Book, which I offer as Prosecution Exhibit 111, Document 3028-PS. This is a letter addressed -to the Reich Commissar for White Ruthenia, Gauleiter Lohse, from the Commissar General for White Ruthenia, signed Kube. Here it is stated:
"In every encounter with partisans in White Ruthenia it has been established that in the former Sovies part of the District General, as well as in the former Polish part, the Jews together with the Polish resistance movement in the East and the Red army men of Moscow, are the mainstay of the partisan movement. As a result of this, and in view of the danger to the whole economy, the treatment of the Jews in White Ruthenia is a predominantly political matter which, therefore, should not be solved according to economic, but political angles.
During detailed consultations with the SCBrigadefuehrer Zenner and the extremely capable Chief of the SD, SS-Obersturmbannfuehrer Dr. Strauch, we found that we had liquidated approximately 55,000 Jews in White Ruthenia during the last 10 weeks. In the Minsk-Land area, the Jewry was completely exterminated without endangering the allocation of labor in any way. In the prevailing Polish Lida area, 16,000 Jews, in Solnim 8,000 Jews, etc., were liquidated. The preparations for the liquidation of the Jews in the Glebokie area were completely disrupted by an arbitrary action by the Rear Army Area, which has already been reported to your office. In the Roar Army Area - I was not contacted - 10,000 Jews were liquidated, who were schedule for extermination by us anyway. In the city of Minsk, about 10,000 Jews were liquidated on 23 and 29 July, 6,500 of whom were Russian Jews - mainly old people, women and children the remainder consisted of Jews unfit for work, most of whom had been sent to Minsk from Vienna, Bruenn, Bremen and Berlin in November of the previous year, at the Fuehrer's orders.
"The Sluzk area was also ridded of several thousand Jews, The same applies to Nowogrodek and Wilejka. Radical measures still remain to be -taken for Baranowitschi and Hanzewitschi. In Baranowitschi about 10,000 Jews are still living in the town alone, 9,000 of whom will be liquidated next month. In the town of Minsk, 2,600 Jews from Germany have been left over. Besides, all the 6,000 Jews and Jewesses are still alive, who have been working, during the action, with the units who had employed then previously. Even in the future, the largest Jewish labor force will be in Minsk, since the centralization of armament industries and the burden on the railways lakes this necessary for the time being. In all other areas the number of Jews utilized for labor by the BD and myself will be fixed at 800 at the outside, but at 500 if possible, so that after the completion of the action 8,600 Jews rail remain in Minsk, and approximately 7,600 in the ten remaining territories, including the territory Minsk-Land which is already free from Jews.
The danger that the partisans will, in future, derive any important support from the Jews will then have ceased to exist. I myself and the SD would certainly much prefer that the Jewish population in the District General of White Ruthenia should be eliminated once and for all when the economic requirements of the Wehrmacht have fallen off. For the time being, the necessary requirements of the Wehrmacht, which is main employer of the Jewish population, are still being considered. The clear anti-Jewish attitude of the SD and the difficult task of the units in White Ruthenia to deliver again and again new Jewish transports from the Reich to their destination, both put an undue strain on the physical and spiritual strength of men of the SD and diverts them from their real purpose, which lies in the White Ruthenian region itself.
"I should therefore, be grateful if the Reichs commissar could sec his way to stop further Jewish transports until the partisan threat has finally been overcome. I must make 100% use of the SD against partisans and against the Polish resistance movement, both of which demand the use of the full strength of the SD-units, which are none too strong as it is.
"After the collusion of the anti-Jewish action in Minsk, Dr. Strauch, SS-Sturmbannfuehrer, reported to me tonight, with justifiable wrath, that without any order from the Reichsfuehrer-SS and without notification of the Commissioner, a transport of 1,000 Jews has suddenly arrived from Warsaw for use in this air fleet area, I should like to ask the Reich Commissar, who has already been advised by teletype, in his capacity as the. highest authority. in the Ostland, to stop such transports. The Polish Jew is, exactly like the Russian Jew, ail enemy of all that is German, He represents a politically dangerous factor, the political danger of which exceeds by far his value as a specialized worker. Under no conditions must Wehrmacht agencies of the Army or the Luftwqffe be allowed to import, without the approval of the Reichcommissar, into an area under civil administration, Jews from the Government General who might endanger the entire political work and security of the district General.
I an in full agreement with the Commander of the SD in White Ruthenia, that we ere to liquidate every Jewish transport which has not been ordered or announced by our superior offices, so as to avoid further unrest in White Ruthenia."
SD's plan for genocide, The prosecution has charged in count 3 ox the 1-D of Article 2 of Control Counsel Law No. 10.
Exhibit 106. This is Document NO-2966, the personnel record of the defendant Strauch.
In the second paragraph, we see that the defendant 623392.
He has been a member of the SS since 1 December 1931 with see that Strauch has been a full-time member of the SD since August, 1934.
That is in the fifth paragraph.
"Since August 1934, Strauch has been engaged, on a full-time basis, in a leading position at the SD/Reichsfuhrer SS."
This concludes the prosecution's case, in chief, against the
MR. FERENCZ: May it please your Honors, we will now proceed to in Einsatzgruppe B. Einsatzgruppe B began its operations in June of 1941 and followed the German army with the other Einsatzgruppen.
I cution Exhibit 78.
This is on page 52 of the German document book.
gruppe C was renamed and redesignated as Einsatzgruppe B. It is this Einsatzgruppe B with which we shall be concerned.
Exhibit 61 in Document Book II-B on page 22, page 23 of the German, document NO-2844 discloses that in addition to the group staff, Einsatzgruppe B consisted of Sonderkommandos 7-A and 7-B. They are loosely termed Vor-kommandos 7-A and 7-B and Einsatzkommandos 8 and 9, as well as the Vorkommando or Advance kommando Moscow. This is shown also on the chart now before the Court. That there was in addition a special kommando for Smolensk will be shown shortly in the affidavit of the defendant Naumann. Gomel, Riansk, Wjasma and neighboring places, as a brief study of the reports will disclose. Only the leaders of the gruppe staff under Kommando 7-A and 7-B and a Vorkommando Moscow are available to us as defendants, and we will therefore concentrate our examination on activities which concerned these men.
Responsibility of the defendant Naumann: The defendant Naumann, your Honors, is the third man in the first row from my left-hand. He is 42 years old, is a Brigadier General in the SS, and is charged with numerous crimes while he was in command of Einsatzgruppe B. His own affidavit, Document NO-4150, is offered in evidence against him, of prosecution Exhibit No. 112. This is found in Document Book III-B on page 1 of the English and German.
THE PRESIDENT: Mr. Ferencz, as I indicated yesterday, it would help us considerably if you started with the larger unit first. That is, the book, then the page, then the exhibit number, then the paragraph.
MR. FERENCZ: Yes, sir.
THE PRESIDENT: Now which book was that?
MR. FERENCZ: This is Document Book III-B, page 1, Exhibit No. 4, now offered as Exhibit 112. The affidavit explains that as early as 1929, Neumann became a member of the Nazi party.
In 1935, he became a full-time SS leader and a member of the SD as charged in count 3 of the indictment. Naumann also explains that from the end of this year, he, an SS general, was working as a farm hand moving from farm to farm under the assumed name of Rudolf Biegen. Einsatzgruppe B from the end of November, 1941, until February, March, 1943. This, we shall show, is not quite accurate. prosecution Exhibit 113, which is Document 10-2970, This is Naumann's SS personnel record and confirms his membership in the SS and SD. The defendant was awarded the Iron Cross First Class as well as numerous other decorations. It also tells us on page 11 that he became chief of Einsatzgruppe in Poland in 1939 and that He became chief of Einsatzgruppe B in Russia on 1 November 1941 and not at the end of November. in January 1942 and we must therefore accept that as the more accurate date. This is further confirmed by Document in Document Book II-C, page 20, page 23 of the German. That was prosecution Exhibit 72 and is Document NO-2830. Naumann is listed on that report as chief of Einsatzgruppe B and it is dated 12 November 1941. of the German. This is hiw own affidavit, Document NO-4150, and I will reed from paragraph 4:
4.) I know that, while I was its chief, Einsatzgruppe B or, other units under its control, carried out executions.
I am un able to state the total number of executions.
There was no longer Police and the SD and by my predecessor.
I did not revoke the
5.) Einsatzgruppe B received from the Reich Security wards passed on to the Einsatzgruppe in the South.
As far as
6.) In my period of service, ghettos no longer exist
7.) I am aware that the administration chiefs collected execution.
The money and valuables were remitted to the Mini stry of Finance."
Naumann's connection with executions is further shown by an affidavit of the defendant Ott. This is in Document Book II-B, page 64, page 57 of the German copy. This is the affidavit of the defendant Ott. Ott swears, and I quote from paragraph 4 -- this is on page 57 of the German copy:
para. 4." During the time I was Kommando head of the Kommando 7b, about 80 to 100 executions were carried out by this Kommando. I remember one execution which took place in the vicinity of BRYANSK. The people to be executed were handed over to my unit by the local commandant. The corpses were temporarily buried in the snow end later buried by the army. The valuables which were collected from these people were sent to Einsatzgruppe B. This was ordered by command of NAUMANN, the head of Einsatzgruppe B, and the same was true for other executions." to show the crimes committed by Einsatzgruppe B during the period from November 1941 to March 1943 when Naumann admits he was in command. I refer to a document in Document Book II-B on page 12, page 10 of the German copy.
This is prosecution Exhibit 59, Document NO-2825. This is a report made two weeks after Naumann took command of Einsatzgruppe B. It describes the murders of thousands of persons of both sexes and of all ages as well as the liquidation of 83 persons for being, and I quote from page 14 of the English, page 13 of the German, "racially inferior elements with an Asiatic strain."
Naumann assumed command but inasmuch as it reported the liquidation by Einsatzgruppe B of more than 45,000 persons, the defendant Naumann must have known the nature and functions of the organization whose command he accepted and held. 31 of the German, This is prosecution Exhibit 62, Document NO-2324, and is the report of 19 December 1941. It describes on pa 30 36 through 39, 36 through 38 of the German copy, fifteen separate special actions in sixteen different localities by Einsatzgruppe B which re sulted in the shooting of a total of 17,202 Jews, both male and female, and including the deliberate killing of 16 Jewish and Russian children in a children's home. Document Book III-3 on page 15 of the English, page 17 of the German, and it is now offered as prosecution Exhibit 114. I quote from page 19 of the English, page 22, last half of the page of the Germany copy. "During a screening of the prisoner of war camp in Witebsk, 207 Jews were arrested. They were shot.
"Further special operations had to be carried out in Sloboda, Polozk, Biskatowo and Bytschicha, because the Jews sabotaged the orders of the German occupation authorities. All together, 266 Jews were shot.
"In Gorodok the Ghetto had to be evacuated because of the danger of an epidemic. 394 Jews were shot.
"During a screening of the prisoner-of-war camp in Wjasma a total of 117 Jews were seized. They were shot." German, we have prosecution Exhibit 66, Document NO-3276. This document reports executions by each of the kommandos of Einsatzgruppe B for the period between 6 and 30 March, 1942, giving a total of thousands of persons killed. In many instances, a reason is given for the killing such as "because of theft or attempted murder or sabotage or spying," but those are very few and the vast majority are listed as killed with a simple explanation "Jews" or "Gypsies" or "Membership in the communist part."
That is found on page 56 of the German, page 62 of the English.
Naumann's personnel record in the operational reports cannot be denied. The thousands of murders we hive described were committed by Einsatzgruppe B while the defendant was its commanding officer. defendant Blume. The defendant Blume is seated in the first row, fourth seat from the right-hand side. He is 41 years old and was an attorney. His affidavit has already been received in evidence in Document Book I as Exhibit 10. It is on page 37 of the English, page 43 of the German in the first document book. There he explains his rise and activities in the SS. In 1933, He jointed the nazi party. In 1934 or 1935, he became a member of the SS where he achieved the rank of colonel. In 1945, he was working for Office 4 of the Reich Security Main Office. the defendant with membership therein in count 3 of the indictment. termination of hostilities concealed his activities with the Security Police and went to work as the servant to a farmer. This summer he was apprehended. been unable to deny. He tells us in the first paragraph that in June of 1941 he was assigned to Dueben where the Einsatzgruppen were organized and until approximately the middle of August he was chief of Sonderkommando 7-A in Einsatzgruppe B. In paragraph 3, he swears that during May or June he heard lectures by Heydrich and Streckenback on the duties of the Einsatzgruppen and Einsatzkommandos. He says in paragraph 3, and I quote:
"At this time, we were already being instructed about the tasks of exterminating the Jews."
And further on he says: "I heard another speech by Heydrich in the Prinz-Albrecht-Palais in Berlin, in the course of which He again emphasized these points." his assignment. We turn again to has affidavitNO-4145 to learn of his activities during the months of terror while he was in command, I read from paragraph 4 of his affidavit, found on page 38 of the first document book, page 45 of the German copy:
"4. As Chief of the Sonderkommando 7 a I carried out one execution in the course of my duty. I remember one occasion on which between 70 and 80 people were executed in Witebsk and another occasion on which A similar number were executed in Minsk. On the latter occasion I only received a directed order from NEBE, Chief of the Einsatzgruppe B, to fine out whether this execution had taken place. I was not present during the whole execution, but convinced myself that it was carried out. In both cases a kind of trench was dug; the persons destined to die were placed front of it and shot with carbines. About 10 people were shot simultaneously by an exectuion force of 30 to 40 men. There was no doctor present at the execution, but the leader of the execution force who was responsible made sure that the people were dead. Coups de grace were not necessary. Neither was there in my unit any specialist in the art of shooting in the neck. I did not take part in any further mass execution.
5. I received all orders regarding executions, direction and duties of Sonderkommando 7 a, which was subordinate, to me in Dueben or in the Prinz-Albrecht-Palais in Berlin. During the campaign I never received any further orders." 7-A in the field was controlled solely by its commanding officer, the defendant.
Tribunal and the defendant some executions he neglected to mention, I offer his personnel record found in Document Book III-B, page 21, page 25 of the German. This is Document NO-3245 and simply corroborates his position in the SS and SD after 1939 as charged in count 3 of the indictment.
Mr. FERENCZ: Your Honor please, the defense counsel is asking to see the document. The document was introduced yesterday as an exhibit, and it is now in the court archives where it may be examined, and the defense counsel may raise objection to this at any time if he so sees fit.
DR. LUMMERT: (for defendant Blume) I would like to reserve the right to raise an objection against this, because it is not clear from where these personnel records originate, or from which agency they come. Furthermore, I believe I remember that the document has not been submitted yet. I am surprised by this.
THE PRESIDENT: Mr. Ferencz, was that the document submitted into evidence?
MR. FERENCZ: I beg your pardon, Your Honor, the document was not submitted. This is in Document Book III-B, and the document is now here, and it has been just now handed to me.
THE PRESIDENT: Will you now introduce it?
MR. FERENCZ: Yes, Your Honor. I was about to introduce it as Prosecution's Exhibit No. 115.
THE PRESIDENT: Vary well.
MR. FERENCZ: It is in Document Book III-B, on page 21, and it is simply a corroboration of the defendant's position in the SS and the SD after 1939 as charged in Count III, of the Indictment. page 20 of the German Prosecution's Exhibit No. 116. This is Document NO-4537, and is an operational situation report. It shows that Einsatzkommando 7-A killed an unspecified number of Jewish and Russian Communist Party functionaries on 3 July in Wilna, The numbers are not given, and even if the Einsatzkommando killed only one it was murder.
The report further states that Einsatzkommando 7-A is trying to push forward to Minsk as fast as possible. English, and page one of the German. Prosecution's Exhibit No. 57, Document NO-2937. This is another report where under the Einsatzgruppe B heading the report shows that in Minsk the Einsatzgruppe was screening all male inhabitants, and had executed 1050 Jews, with others being executed daily, including officials, and Asiatics. They further state that in-Wilna, and we saw in the last document that Kommando 7-A was in Wilna on 3 July. Up to 8 July Einsatzkommando had liquidated 321 Jews.
DR. LUMMERT: Dr. Lummert for the defendant Blume. So far as the document last mentioned is concerned, I would like to point out an obvious mistake. In the place just quoted, the German document book III-B, page 37, English Document Book - - - one moment, please, page 31, on top, and I quote: In Wilna the local Einsatzkommando liquidated 321 Jews up to 3 July." Sofar as this local kommando is concerned, they did not mean the Sonderkommando 7-A, which was commanded by the defendant Blume, but they mean Einsatzkommando. 9. This mistake is very evident when you look at the previous document --- may I draw the attention of the Court to document No. 4537, in the German document book, page 33, in the English document book, page 28, in the middle of the page there it says: "Einsatzkommando 9, location Wilna", this location Wilna is mentioned as the local Einsatzkommando in the other document book. The defendant Blume, therefore, has nothing to do with the paragraph in the Document Book NO-2937, and this is very obvious.
MR. FERENCZ: May it please Your Honors, I think the point of defense counsel is a reasonable one to make. However, the last of his statement, "This is very obvious" is not exactly accurate, because on the same page where he pointed it out that Einsatzkommando 9 was in Wilna on 3 July, the very same page 28 in the document book III-B, it also says Einsatzkommando 7-A was in Wilna on the same day. When I referred to the other document, five days later describing the execution in Wilna, it gave the total killed by the Einsatzkommando, without stating which Einsatzkommando it was. I concede it could have been one or the other, but it certainly has probative value to show what the Einsatzkommandos were doing, and that the Einsatzkommando 7-A was in that place five days previously.
DR. LUMMERT: If I may add another thing to this. I don't want to discuss this matter as such. I merely raise this objection, because so far as I think there is an obvious error here, for the local Einsatzkommando could never be a Sonderkommando, because the Sonerkommando had the mission, as is well known, to follow the troops and never had any headquarters.
THE PRESIDENT: Dr. Lummert, your objection and observation are now on record, and they will be available to you when you present your client's case.
DR. LUMMERT: Yes.
MR. FERENCZ: We have been showing, Your Honor, that Einsatzkommando 7-A was in Wilna on 3 July, and was trying to push forward to Minsk as fast as possible. We had referred to Prosecution's Exhibit No. 57, showing that in Minsk, report dated 13 July, thousands of people were executed for being officials, Jews and Asiatics, and, we have just shown that "A" kommando in Wilna had executed hundreds of people five days before the report shows that Sonerkommando Seven was there.
of the German, and offer Document NO 2954-E as Prosecution's Exhibit No. 117. Here under the heading "Einsatzkommando 7-A in reports from Witebsk", the report states and I refer to: "By appointed Jewish Council so far about 3000 Jews registered. Badges for Jews introduced. At present they are being employed with clearing rubble. For determent, 27 Jews, who had not come to work, were publicly shot in the streets. The Ruthenian part of the population has approved of this. Large scale execution of Jews will follow immediately." referred to executions, which he witnesses in Witebsk. I refer now to Document Book III-B, page 37, page 60 of the German, and I offer document NO 2949 as Prosecution Exhibit No. 118. Here under the heading Einsatzgruppe-B the report dated 5 August 1941, describes how various groups were rendered harmless in thirty different named localities, and that Einsatzgruppe executions by 31 July had reached 11,084. of the German. This was Prosecution Exhibit No. 58, Document No-2837. This is a report dated 29 August 1941, describing the numerous killings by Einsatzgruppe-B including on page 10 of the English, page 7 of the German, "In Witebsk also actions against the Jewish intelligentsia were continued," and, "In Minsk 615 more persons were liquidated in the course of the combing-out-action in the civilian prisoner camp there What could the defendant have been doing while all of his comrades were so busy.
the German. This is Document NO-3842, the affidavit of the successor of the defendant Blume. This is the affidavit of the defendant Steimle, and offered as Prosecution's Exhibit 119. Steimle states in the middle of paragraph 2, and I quote: "From talk by members of the Kommandos, I know that SS-Standartenfuehrer Dr. Blume, my predecessor in this Kommando in White Ruthenia, carried out shootings of Jews besides fighting against partisans." And further, Steimle states in the middle of paragraph 3, page 67, of the German copy, page 41 of the English: "SS Standartenfuehrer Dr. Blume: From Office I, Reich Main Security Office, later Commando-in-chief of the Security Police in Greece. Finally with the Waffen-SS, Led the EK 8a from the beginning until September 1941. Carried out shootings of Jews and partisans and partisan warfare on the march through white Ruthenia. Character, weak and bureaucratic."
COURT IIA CASE IX we Lave Document NO. 2844, Prosecutions Exhibit No. 61. This gives us some further indication of what Blume was doing. It reports on page 27, page 29 of the German, that by the 20 August 1941, Sonderkommando 7-A, very loosely termed, Vor-Kommando 7-a, liquidated a total of 996 persons. The defendant did not deny carrying out at least one execution, but he might have us believe that the more than nine-hundred executions, which he forgot to mention in his affidavit, occurred in a few days after he relinquished command of Sonderkommando 7-A in the middle of August, we rely on the judgment of the Tribunal. Steimle. The defendant Steimle is the last man in the second row of the dock on the righthand side. III-B, on page 44, German Book page 71, as Prosecution's Exhibit No. 120. It is Document NO-4459, and is the second affidavit of the defendant Eugen Steimle to be introduced. We see from the affidavit of Steimle, that Eugen Steimle, is thirty-eight years old, and in 1932 he joined the Nazi Party, and four years later he joined the SS where he achieved the rank of Colonel. In September 1936, he was appointed leader of the SD in Stuttgart. Like so many of his friends Steimle hid under an assumed name after the end of the war until he was arrested in October 1945. The defendant's membership in criminal organizations, as charged in Count III of the Indictment, is further confirmed by his SS personnel record. This is in Document Book III-B, on page 46, page 74 of the German, Document NO-3247, offered as Prosecution's Exhibit No. 121. His personnel record also contains a letter of recommendation from the COURT IIA CASE IX Reich Main Security Office, Berlin, and I quote from page 51 of the English, and page 80 of the German in the middle of the page, I quote:
"SS-Obersturmbannfuehrer Steimle has proved his ideological and political dependability already during the time when National Socialism fought for its existence. He is a man of absolute integrity and an SS-leader conscious of his responsibility. His mental capacities are above average, and he has a talent to negotiate skillfully and is showing great assurance. Endowed with a good political instinct and corresponding psychological abilities, he made himself in relatively short time throroughly acquainted with the secret message communication service, and started first of all to solve with great success the problem of the gathering of intelligence information. He is pursuing with greatest tenacity and energy his aim to establish a well functioning secret communication service in Western Europe. During his assignment in the East as leader of a Sonderkommando he has shown excellent qualities in leading and treating the men entrusted to him. Especially during the winter combat 1942/43 the Kommando participated frequently and sucessfully in combat-actions. With the exception of his age, Steimle is meeting the conditions of the SS-order of 15 November 1942. Because of his whole personality, his performance and his official positions, we are asking for his extraordinary promotion to SS-Standartenfuehrer, inspite of the fact that he has not yet reached the minimun age of 36, which is required by the Reichsfuehrer SS for such a promotion." End of quote. of Sonderkommando 7-A from the beginning of September 1941, until the middle of December 1941. Paragraph 3 on page 44, page 72 of the German, goes on to say that the defendant COURT IIA CASE IX Steimle received instructions for executions early in October at a conference with Nebe who was then Chief of Einsatzgruppe B. Nebe told him that Sonderkommando 7-A, when fighting Jews, so far had not been shooting women and children, Nebe insisted, however, that henceforth Sonderkommando 7-A would shoot women and children as well.