Estonia is a country which has many forests and many swamps. Through all these pecularities of the situation, a condition arose which can only be designated as a Civil War. The larger part of the Estonian people was anti-Communist, only a small part was Communist.
THE PRESIDENT: Were these Destruction Battalions organized? You use the word "Battalions" which suggests organization. I merely went a confirmation of that?
THE WITNESS: Yes, the name was "Destruction Battalions". These were units of the Red Army which were not committed in combat, but which were committed behind the German lines.
THE PRESIDENT: But they formed part of the Red Army?
THE FITNESS: They were no regular part of the Red Army, but they were in some form subordinate to the commanding general or the divisional commander.
THE PRESIDENT: Very well.
THE FITNESS: In order to understand the intervention of the Estonian Home Guard in these fights on the German side, I must explain in a few words what this Estonian Home Guard was. A short time after the foundation of the Estonian Republic was formed, a Communist uprising took place in 1924. Since the Sovietization of Estonia would have meant less of sovereignty for Estonia, that is, absorption into the Soviet State, this was not only an ideological and political question, but the Nationalist Estonian circles considered this as a question of existence for the State Itself. Therefore, a militia was set up of volunteer citizens and farmers in the whole country, who had their arms with them constantly. Only part of the officer corps was concerned full-time with this militia, and this militia, the so-called Home Guard, was the armed organization of all ablebodied men of the country. This organization existed up to 1940, until the country was annexed by the Soviet Union. During the fights, before the German Army moved in, units of the Home Guards were reformed spontaneously and voluntarily by the men who had fled into the forests and swamps before, and these units now intervened partly independently, and partly on the German side of these fights.
The Estonian Home Guard, during the entire time of the German occupation, from 1941 to '44, continued to exist as an armed national militia, and it was the actual bearer of the security of the country from 1941 to '44. This was an advantage to the German Army leadership, because thus hardly any German troops had to be in Estonia, because all the functions which had to be assumed by the German troops could thus be handled by the Estonian Home Guard. This solution had the great advantage for the Estonians, that they did not have to surrender their arms, as it had to be enforced with strict directives in the rest of the Eastern area; but (every home guard member) that is, every farmer and citizen, was able to keep his arms, and that was so-to-speak a question of his national honor for him. BY DR VON STEIN: and the Estonian Communists?
THE PRESIDENT: Dr Von Stein, this might be an appropriate moment to have our recess, since you are going to open up another field of discussion. The Tribunal will be in recess for fifteen minutes.
THE MARSHAL: The Tribunal is in recess for fifteen minutes.
(recess)
THE MARSHAL: The Tribunal is again in session.
DR. ASCHENAUER (Counsel for Ohlendorf) Your Honor, I ask that the defendant Ohlendorf he excused from this afternoon's session, because the prosecution wants to interrogate Ohlendorf for Case 6 in my presence.
THE PRESIDENT: In accordance with the statement made by Dr. Aschenauer, attorney for the defendant Ohlendorf, the defendant Ohlendorf will he excused from attendance in Court this afternoon. Dr. Aschenauer, will it take all afternoon?
DR. ASCHENAUER: I don't know yet, your Honor,
THE PRESIDENT: Well, for as long as will be required for the interrogations the defendant Ohlendorf will be excused from attendance in Court. this afternoon. Dr. Aschenauer, will it take all afternoon?
DR. ASCHENAUER: I don't know yet, your Honor.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, for as long as will be required for the interrogations the defendant Ohlendorf will be excused from attendance in Court.
DR ASCHENAUER: Thank you, your Honor.
THE PRESIDENT: You are very welcome.
DR. KOESSLER (Counsel for Ott): Koessler for Ott and also as deputy for Dr. Stubinger for defendant Braune. In order to prepare the defense I ask that the defendants Ott and Braune be excused this afternoon from attending sessions.
THE PRESIDENT: The defendants Ott and Braune will be excused from attendance in Court afternoon.
DR. KOESSLER: Thank you.
THE PRESIDENT: You are welcome. You may proceed.
Q (By Dr. Von Stein) Witness, I repeat the question, what did you hear in Estonia about the activity of the Soviets. and the Estonian Communists? Estonian people had anti-Communist views and were not in agreement with the annexation of Estonia by the Soviet Union.
This annexation was rather considered as illegal and all measures which were taken in the time of the annexation of the Bolsheviste in 1940 to '41 and had occurred then were also considered as a violation of the Estonian law and as incorrect and inhumane towards the Estonian population. areas, had Communist views, but a great number, in fact the majority of the population, were national Estonians and anti-Communists. This was not equivalent to being pro-German tendency only resulted in the summer of 1941 insofar as the Estonians could not expect help against the Russians from England, but could only expect it from Germany at that time.
innumerable Estonians who reported to us what they and their relatives and their friends had suffered in the preceding months through the measures during the time under the Soviets. This was particularly characterized by the fact that the Estonians held the opinion that the great number of persons who had been deported most probably would sooner or later meet certain death. I cannot judge in how far this opinion was correct. I can only say that at the time it was the opinion of the Estonians that they would most probably never again see their relatives and friends who had been deported in the previous months and because of this circumstance in particular, the feelings and opinions of the Estonians were particularly articulate. In detail I believe that the things which happened in this time, 1940 - 1941, through the Soviets and through the Estonian Communists in Estonia, I think I can limit myself to merely indicating them, because the witness who has been heard here in part last Friday, Dr. Mae, has testified about the things in his official position since he is better informed because of his position than I am and since, I believe, that in as far as these things have not been cleared up sufficiently, he will be permitted to complete his statement.
Q What did you hear about the Jews in Estonia? of the Soviet annexation, had been very active for the Bolshevists.
Q I refer to Document L-180. This is an extensive report by Stahlecker. I shall come back to this document in detail, hut just now I would like to ask you to look at pages 122 to 124 of the photostatic copy, and for identification, to state your views on the most important points.
THE PRESIDENT: Which document is this, Dr. von Stein?
DR. VON STEIN: The document is in Volume II-A, Exhibit 34, probably also on page 1 of the German text - of the English text.
Your Honor, this document is only contained as an excerpt. The pages to which the witness will now refer are only in the photostatic copy. I don't know whether they are already contained in the English text.
A (Continuing) I believe the most important sentences in this report are the following: The report contains three typewritten pages concerning the Jews in Estonia. The most important sentences are the following: "Estonia, until the middle of the last century, belonged to a blocked-off zone of the Russian state where it was prohibited -"
THE INTERPRETER: I am having the sentence repeated.
A (Continuing) "Until the middle of the previous century Estonia belonged to a blocked zone of the Russian State where it was prohibited for Jews to move into this territory. For that reason there are very few Jews in Estonia. In the free state of Estonia, of a total population of 1.2 million inhabitants, about 4,500 Jews were counted". I pass over several sentences. Another sentence: "Of the minorities in Estonia, the Germans and the Jews were the only ones who had the right of cultural autonomy according to an Estonian law of the year 1942". I now leave out a few sentences again and continue: "The Jews in Estonia, contrary to the loyalty pretended to the Estonians, changed their attitude when the Bolshevists took over power and put themselves at their disposal. Some of the young Jews were under Communist influence and some of them were organized. The most important figure in the Bolshevist coup d'etat is the Jew Kutkin from Reval, the son of the representative of the Jews in the Estonian State Council. He was NKWD agent, and together with the Jew Freigin , who became prominent in the coup d'etat, he entered into the NKWD on a completely full time basis. Exactly as in the other Baltic States, Jewish private property was also nationalized. The Jews themselves, however, were left as directors of their former enterprises. A great number of Estonian business enterprises were given Jewish directors upon nationalization.
Immediately after the coup d'etat a great number of Jews were sent to Reval and the other Estonian cities as a result of the Bolshevization. These escaped from the German troops without exception. In Estonia the NKWD was the stronghold of the Jews, Haring the Bolshevist regime. From it they exercized their influence, not always visible, out decisively, in all spheres of life. A great number of indigenous Jews, particularly in Reval, joined the NKWD. She economic commissars in Estonia were all Jews. Here Jews were given specialized positions without training. For example, a, Jewish shoemaker became director of a. glove factory. Jews were given positions in the press of Estonia by the Bolshevists. The greatest number of-Cultural institutes passed into the hands of Jews who immediately introduced tne kind of cultural life which existed in the Soviet Union." End of quote. office by the Estonians at the time? reported to us at the time, but I am convinced that today hardly any Estonian will confess to having made such a report, commando?
A. According to the necessities as they arose, three, four or five subkommandos were established. According to military circumstance it had to be changed. One subkommando was in Derpat and had to deal with South Estonia from there. Another one was in Pernau. That is a harbor town in the southwest of Estonia. A third subkommando had remained with the Thirty-Eighth Army Corps of the Army and was with them in the east of the Peipus Lake, about a hundred kilometers to the south of the City of Narva, and there they had met with strong enemy resistance which could not be overcome for many weeks. Smaller subkommandos, when necessary, were formed. A larger subkommando, of which I was in charge, at the beginning of August was assigned to the fighting territory in the northeast of Estonia, All these subkommandos, but in particular the latter one under my charge, were active to assist the G-2 of the Army. Only to a very small extent did they carry out security Police measures. Almost through the entire time they were occupied by conforming with the wishes of the G-2 sections of the Army Corps of the divisions, and the I-A's of the advance kommandos. that this G-2 service in the German Army is about the same as, as far as I know, the Department G-2 in the American Army, only there is a great difference in the following: In the German Army these tasks of enemy reconnaisance were given less consideration than they were given in the American Army. If I am not very much mistaken in the American Army there often are G-2 officers - that is, the American Army has the G-2 service also in the regiments, while in the German Army this G-2 service is only extended to the divisions. The result of this is that in the German Army the regiment does not have a G-2 section and an advance kommando does not have a G-2 section either. The advance department, meant units COURT II CASE IX of the Army which had been taken out of a division, and the G-2 of the division remained with the division staff and did not move up with the advance unit.
The result was that, as I have often witnessed myself, an advance unit who got stuck somewhere in the forests of Estonia, not only did not have a G-2 officer, but did not have one single man who could speak Estonian, so that a commander of an advance unit once told me, he was stuck. Now since the forests in the territory were full of enemies and he did not have one man who could speak one word of Estonian or Russian in his advance unit. The result of these total conditions was that those parts of my kommando which, according to the orders of the Commander-in-Chief and of the Einsatzgruppe Chief were in the combat territory, were constantly asked by the Regiments to help with their tasks.
THE PRESIDENT: Witness, I, of course, do not know the make-up of the German Army organizations, but it is rather difficult to grasp that there would not be, below the division organization in the regiments and even in the battalions, something which corresponds to the G-2. Certainly in the German Army organization there must be something below the division to handle enemy intelligence. A regiment may be quite far removed from division headquarter and must be aware of enemy intelligence. Do I understand from you that there is nothing in the regiment which corresponds to G-2?
THE WITNESS: Yes, your Honor.
THE PRESIDENT: Very well,
THE WITNESS: The case which I just explained, that a commander of an advance unit which had the strength of a strong regiment, did not have an officer with them who was able to make enemy reconnaissance and did not have any men with him who spoke Estonian, this happened, as I can COURT II CASE IX say decisively in the time between the 10th and 15th of June in Meriamar.
That is a village about one hundred and fifty kilometers to the south of Reval, and the commander of this advanced unit was a Colonel of the Peoneers, with the name of Ullesberger. Owing to these conditions it came about that each G-2 of a division and each regiment commander employed those people of my subkommandos who appeared there immediately for their G-2 jobs. These members of my kommando who were qualified for such tasks were not very numerous, I myself only had four interpreters and only very few officials who were able to carry out such interrogations; but these few people, nearly all of them, had been assigned to help with these military G-2 duties and it corresponded completely with the orders which I had received from my Einsatzgruppen chief and from the high kommando of the Army: that all such wishes by the front troops were to be conformed with and any other task be put aside.
Q. During what period were you absent from the headquarters of your kommando in July and August?
A. In July and August there was no kommando leader in my Kommando. I was always traveling and had no staff, and wherever I was present at subkommandos I inquired about the news. I made decisions which had to be made concerning the general tasks, I called on the commanding generals and division commanders and the regimental commanders and took along any written reports which were there.
Q When did you set up a fixed commando leadership office?
A That happened after Reval had been captured. On the 28th of August, after that time, everything was centralized in Reval. in Estonia. You already testified that on entering Estonia, state of civil war existed. Please describe the situation in the territory On the German side, the forces of the Estonian homeguard, who fought together with the Germans, were four to five times as strong as the forces of the German army itself. Concerning the arms, the Russians were very much superior. The situation became more serious owing to the territory which contained forests and swamps, and owing to the fact that in the city of Dorpat itself, for several weeks fighting had been going on in the streets, and owing to the feet that the communists had formed terror groups who were in that part of Estonia which the Russians had already left, and they were to carry out terroristic actions and operations there. They had dynamite; they had poison in order to poison wells, and so forth. The situation became more serious because as I already said wherever the Russians had retreated the Russians had left behind them so-called destruction battalions who on their part had been given the order to destroy everything which might be of any military value to the German forces. Things were destroyed here which were not of immediate military value and amongst those there were many things which were important for the survival of the population and which were absolutely necessary for their survival. had any, they were not regular uniforms. They had been organized centrally by the "highest partisan movement" in Moscow. I cannot say whether the designation "highest partisan leadership" is the proper designation for this, but in general in military usage, it was called thus. The tasks for these destruction battalions were directed by this highest partisan movement.
As for the Russian partisan movement, they were given instructions from Moscow mostly by radio or from headquarters near Moscow. part of the Russians only existed in so far as they had to determine from what time onwards such a destruction unit was to be left behind and where they were to remain. All in all, owing to these circumstances, which I have tried to outline here and about which the witness, Dr. Mae, has already talked about, two things occurred. the swamps, in the forests and in the streets. And an extraordinary... BY THE PRESIDENT: Understandably. You say "for weeks," now when was this? ended about the 10th or the 15th of August. Where?
Q City of where?
A In the city of Dorpat: D-O-R-P-A-T, which is marked on the map here as Tartu. Tartu is the Estonian name; Dorpat is the German name. Apart from that, street fightings took place in the city of Pelsamau and in other small localities in central Estonia. In the city of Dorpat itself, the main direction of the fighting for about two to three weeks was a river which flows right through the city.
Q Was there any street fighting in Pleskau? there. I only was there one day later for a few hours. I did not hear anything about street fightings there, but I cannot say that with certainty
Q Was there any visible popular excitement when you arrived there?
A May I ask, in which city?
not arrive there with a subcommando but only with an interpreter and one man in my car, and not for the purpose of taking over an assignment there but only to ascertain whether the 18th Army was competent there or the fourth Armored Unit, who were on their right flank.
Q When did you arrive there? turbulence in. the city or not, couldn't you? did not notice any unrest there, which I would have noticed, but I only traveled through two streets and left the city of Pleskau a few hours later after having ascertained that the 18th Army was not competent there. of unrest, but you did not know of it because you only passed through two streets?
A It depends, Your Honor, on what you understand by the word "unrest": unrest, in the form of great numbers of people collecting in order to demonstrate against something---many dozens or many hundreds of people who want to demonstrate. In these two streets, of course, I would have noticed it, and this was not the case. I don't know whether you mean that by the word "unrest."
Q Well, did you learn of demonstrations elsewhere in the city? city at the time and did not have that intention because it wasn't my task.
Q Well, you had all of Estonia, didn't you? May I point it out on the map to show where the city is?
(Witness points out the city of Pleskau on the map)
Q About how far from the lake?
A From the lake? kilometers.
PRESIDENT: I see.
Q How long did you remain in this city?
Q Did your commando remain any longer than that?
A On that day, a commando did not move in there. As I said, I only arrived with my driver and with my interpreter and with another man.
Q And you say your commando didn't remain there at all---didn't even come into the town? move on immediately along the eastern bank of the Peipus lake towards Narva. which is in Document Book II-A? It begins on the English page 110. It's the Situation Report, No. 165. Now that report very clearly states that on July 10, 1941, the Sonderkommando 1 a established an office in Pleskau.
Q Dr. von Stein, will you please help him to locate that.
DR. von STEIN: Your Honor, may I ask again what number was the document?
THE PRESIDENT: The Document No. is NO-3401.
DR. von STEIN: That is, in the German text, on Page 121.
THE WITNESS: Yes, I have the situation report here: Situation Report No. 165.
DR. von STEIN: Situation Report No. 165, yes.
BY THE PRESIDENT:
Q. Now under Paragraph 2, which begins, "Reports of Einsatzgruppe and Einsatz commandos, Page 6 of original."
A. Yes.
Q. Now, do you see that first paragraph: "Reports on the situation in Pleskau?"
A. This paragraph, Your Honor, is not contained in the excerpt which is here, - but I have had the opportunity to read it in the photostatic copy and I know that there a long situation report by Department III dealt with Pleskau, and that it says there at the beginning that, "In Pleskau, since 10th July, an office of the Commando had existed." This sentence is incorrect---just as incorrect as many other sentences in these documents which can be misunderstood. When this report was made in February or January 1942, no official was there at all who had ever been there in July. Therefore, he could not know this from his own knowledge. Perhaps he heard about it some time or other that on 12th July a commando passed through towards Narva or that I personally was there on the 10th July, and he came to a wrong conclusion from this.
Q. Well, don't you assume that these reports are made up from records? A man wouldn't guess and give a date like July 10th specifically, would he?
A. Your Honor, these situation reports about January of 1942 certainly were never based on records from July or August. As to the fact about my presence there for a few hours, and so forth, no record or anything like that was made. The expert who wrote this can only know this from hearsay. May I point out in two other documents where it shows--
Q. Just a moment, just a moment, now. You kept the headquarters informed as to where you were, did you not?
A. Yes.
Q. Well, and they would keep some record of what you were doing, Wouldn't they?
A. It is probable that the reports which I made were kept there for some time.
Q. Yes, well then why do you assume that someone would have to guess to determine where you were on July 10th?
A. Your Honor, I presume that this situation report---Pleskau, which contains about three pages, and which I have read carefully, was made by a minor official of this detail in Pleskau, who at the time in July, had not been there at all. This report---Pleaskau, certainly was not made by the Einsatzgruppe in this form. This sentence was not entered in the Einsatzgruppe report but in the sub-commando report and it is an error. May I say that in the Situation Report, No. 24, the Einsatzgruppe---in particular, Einsatzgruppe A, made a report which is contained here that the city of Pskow---that is the Russian for Pleskau---belonged to the territory of Einsatzgruppe 1 B. If you will permit it, Your Honor, I will read the sentence out of the copy.
Q. Just a moment. I want to find out whether this report which says that on July 10th, sonderkommando 1 a established an office in Pleskau is correct or not.
A. This sentence in this report is not correct.
Q. Yes now, do you offer as an explanation for that incorrect statement that the compiler of this report merely guesses at it?
A. I cannot state, which reasons caused him......
Q. Yes. Do you exclude the possibility that he made it up from some kind of a record which he found in the Einsatzgruppen-headquarters or elsewhere? Do you exclude that possibility?
A. Yes, Your Honor, That possibility I must exclude definitely because this report was compiled---I can see from the contents--by an expert of Department III in Pleskau and not by a person who was in the headquarters of the Einsatzgruppe,
Q. Well, if it was made by someone in Pleskau, that is all the more reason why it might be accurate, isn't it?
A. No, Your Honor. The fact that I was in Pleskau on 10th July and loft again, and that only many weeks later, namely about the middle of September or the end of September, a detail of my commando was set up in Pleskau, about this intermediate time no documents existed at all, other than this report-----
Q. Do you exclude the possibility that someone noted that you had arrived in Pleskau, that someone wrote it down? Do you exclude that possibility?
A. Yes, I can exclude that possibility.
Q. You exclude the possibility that you, coming through the town, with your obvious authority, made no impression on anyone; that you came in and just drifted away like the mist of the morning without anyone seeing you or paying any attention to you?
A. Yes, Your Honor, First of all, at the time I held the rank of a major. According to conditions at the time, I was not an important personality.
Q. Well, I think every major in the army would disagree with you that a major is not an important officer.
A. Your Honor, in this case it's a relative question. In Pleskau there were so many generals at the time that a major was not considered to be anything, and there were innumerable majors and colonels and lieutenants colonels, who were all more representative than I was because I arrived in an open car and had been travelling on the open highway at night and was so dirty and unshaven that I made a completely unrepresentative impression.
Q. Well, just how long did you remain in this town now?
A. Four to five hours.
Q. Four to five hours. And where did you go in that time?
A. First of all, I called on the local commander.
Q. Yes. Now, all right, you visited the local commander. Now don't you suppose that he made some record of the fact that you were there?
A. Certainly not. He had only just arrived and nothing was written down in that office. It was not written that I visited him. But it is impossible, Your Honor, that in February some expert could go to the local commander to find out whether I was there.
Q. Don't let us talk about February. I am talking about the day you were there. You went to the local commander and you reported there. Then where did you go?
A. Yes. Then I visited the staff of the armored unit 4, which was about 25 kilometers to the south of Pleskau, and the local commander had told me about this, in order to find out whether Pleskau actually belonged to the territory of the armored group 4 and not to the territory of the 18th Army.
Q. And then where did you go from there?
A. From there, I went down to the river in order to clean myself and to have a bath and to shave. There I stayed about minutes.
Q. And then where did you go?
A. From there, I went to the NKWD prison. A local inhabitant had pointed this out to mo. I ascertained there that in the NKWD prison about 25 or 30 prisoners were in the cells of this prison.
Q. And then where did you go?
A. From there, I went to the local commander again in order to tell him that I was leaving the city again because I was not competent for Pleskau.-----
Q. All right. And then where did you go?
A. From there, I crossed the river again---the Velifaya--which flows to the east of Pleskau and there I looked for the subcommando which I had assigned to the 38th corps from Riga in order to find out what the sub-commando had been doing and what his further intentions were.
Q. And then from there where did you go?
A. From there I returned to the advance unit of General von Zelle, south of Velim, which I had left two days previously----
Q. Now you want us to believe that during all these official visits that you travelled like a phantom: no one saw you, no one made any reference to it, no one made any record of it? That is your explanation of this incorrect report?
A. Your Honor, nobody there could have recognized me because there was nobody in Pleskau who knew me. But perhaps I can explain this report by the fact that I presume that it was set up in the following manner: this expert who wrote it, either during my stay in Pleskau or while this expert was in Reval, I once told him briefly that I had been in Pleskau for a few hours on 10 July, and what I had found in the NKWD prison there. May I add that two or three other documents show that in the time from the middle of July, for at least six weeks, in Pleskau or in Russian Pskow, asit is written in the document, Einsatzcommando Ib was there, and that Einsatzcommando Ib was competent there for six weeks. After Einsatzcommando Ib had left Pleskau Stahlecker gave me the order in September to set up a command in Pleskau. This detail existed after about the 15th or 20th of September. The one document which reveals this is this Situation Report, No 24, where Stahlecker reports to Berlin that as the most important aims, this was given:
"Report of 16th July. Einsatzcommando Ib--I beg your parodn--Einsatzcommando Ia, Estonia, with the cities Pernau, Reval Dorpat, Narva, the commandos will remain in this territory there until they receive further orders. Secondly, Einsatzcommando Ib, the territory to the South of Petersburg, the cities Pskow--that is Pleskau--Ostrow, Opotschka."
tion Report No. 34 of 26 July 19141, Document No. 2954, Document Volume III-B, that Pleskau was the main headquarters of Sondercommando I B; therefore the headquarters of the commando leader personally. It is quite impossible that such a long time, apart from Sondercommando Ib, that any one of the Sondercommando Ia could have been there.
THE PRESIDENT: The Tribunal will be in recess until one-fortyfive.
( The Tribunal recessed until 1345 hours.)