The Prosecution must cover the whole field; the Defense selects the issues on which it will make its fight. is altered by the fact that we are here deatling with a conspriacy charge. Whether the charge is conspriacy or not, there are certain facts which are not in dispute. There are certain facts which will be, as is indicated by Dr. Stahmer's memorandum, the subject of legal argument or discussion as to the true inference to be drawn from them, and the fact that a case is based on conspiracy does not alter the fact that certain matters are either going to be contradicted by evidence or left uncontradicted. establishment of military forces in Germany, the occupation of the Rhineland, the Anschluss in Austria, the existence and circumstances of concentration camps, many of the actions of certain SS divisions and bodies under Himmler, are going to be disputed at all, because the defendants' counsel have had the opportunity of cross examining witnesses on many of these matters, and there has been no challenge by cross examination. the Tribunal this morning, which, of course, I accept with the utmost loyalty, but I hope the Tribunal will not think it wrong for me to mention in explanation that the Prosecution were anxious for the Defense to eliminate the matters in issue and would have been prepared, so far as it lies with them, to agree to a certain time being given for that purpose. But yet, the defendants have said -- and again I make no complaint -- that they are not prepared to do it. Therefore, that reason for adjournment disappears. unreasonable. We know, because we have seen the other side of the shield, that there are certain mechanical matters and matters of conclusion of preparation which have to be done before a case is put forward. We quite appreciate that the defenders of Goering, of Hess, and of Ribbentrop may require a day or two to put their tackle in order, but I want to make clear that that, in our view, is quite different from a three weeks' adjournment.
the maintenance of the dignity of the trial, but it is not essential, in my respectful submission, for the maintenance of the dignity of the trial that the trial should take place in slow time. That would not only be wrong, but it would be directly contrary to the portion of the Charter to which General Nikitchenko referred at Berlin. difficult matters, in that to begin with the defendants asked for many witnesses who were very largely repetitive, and they have, as I judge the applications, begun recently to get clear whoare the essential witnesses, and the Tribunal will rule on that finally as it has indicated.
I only take one other example. Professor Kraus mentioned the question of certain documents for which Dr. Kranzbuehler was asking, which were, as I understand it, U-boat diaries. I have arranged that Dr. Kranzbuehler's assistant will be enabled to go to London and examine these documents at his leisure in the Admiralty. That is on paper in our reply. I respectfully submit that that sort of attitude is the best and most helpful attitude for letting the defense get what they wish.
Mr. President, I have nearly exhausted my time, and I only say this in conclusion: The Prosecution has had to collate and coordinate actions taking place over a long period, certainly 12 years, in some cases 20 years. We have collated and coordinated the evidence of these actions. We have presented a case which is grounded mainly on the written statements or written records of statements made by the defendants themselves. The task before the defense is to give the explanation, what they way is the true color of words that have been proved and not disputed to have some out of their own mouths. but that being the state of this case, it is the attitude of the Prosecution, with, as I say, every desire to help in any way that is possible in the actual work, whether it be mechanical or preparing documents or otherwise, that the defense cannot rightfully ask for further time for general reflection and consideration on a case which has that basis.
We therefore respectfully but firmly object to any adjournment other than a matter of individual days, not more than a week, certainly -- we should say less than that -- for the purpose of completing preparations and putting mechanical tackle in order.
That, Mr. President, is the attitude of all my colleagues.
TEE PRESIDENT: The Tribunal will consider its decision on this matter and it will adjourn this afternoon at 4:00 o'clock in order to consider the other matters which are raised in Dr. Stahmer's memorandum.
SIR DAVID MAXWELL-FYFE: Very good.
Before I sit down, I am asked by my colleagues to make this clear. I, myself, did not tie myself in my argument to any number of days because a weekend may intervene and different considerations may arise, but my colleagues wish it to be before the Tribunal that their view is that taking into account the time which will elapse before the Soviet case is concluded, and the argument on the organizations for which time has to be allowed, two days is the figure they have in mind, although, as I say, a weekend may intervene which may add to that. I want to make it quite clear that we are quite definite.
THE PRESIDENT: Colonel Smirnov, will you continue your address.
COLONEL SMIRNOV: I continue presentation of evidence in regard to Yugoslavia. Yugoslavia. The Government of Yugoslavia presented a whole series of originals and certified photostatic copies of different documents. I shall not present my own comments of these documents which were incorporated into the report of the Yugoslav Government, but I shall limit myself to presentation of the documents themselves, since they are definite and do no need any more comment.
I present as No. USSR-256 an original announcement of August 12, 1941, in which announcement there was mentioned the shooting of ten hostages. The printed poster was signed by the German Police Commissioner in Lasko, Hrabetzky. announcement of the shooting of 57 persons. This poster was printed on November 13, 1941, and was signed by Kutschera. January 21, 1942, relating the shooting of 15 hostages. The poster was signed by Roesner. announcing the shooting of 51 hostages, and the date is 1942. It is signed by Roesner. Roesner, which announced that on March 31, 1941, 29 hostages were shot. ment printed as a poster, signed by Roesner, which announced that on July 1, 1942, 29 hostages were shot. was fully exploited in Yugoslavia. as USSR-304, Report No.6 of the Yugoslav Extraordinary State Commission Investigating War Crimes. I quote one paragraph of this document:
"The group of hostages at Celje were publicly hanged on the hocks which butchers use for hanging meat, onto which the necks of the unfortunate men were garroted. In Mariber, the victims in groups of five had to lead the bodies of those already executed hostages into coffins and then onto trucks. After that, they themselves had to face the executioners' rifles, while the next group of five had to remove their bodies in turn. The Sodna Street in Mariber was all soaked in blood which was streaming out of the trucks."
the terroristic regime, that resume would not be complete if nothing were said about such countries as Greece, a country which also was the victim of a terroristic regime established there by German Fascists. Therefore, I present to the International Military Tribunal a report of the Government of the Greek Republic, and this report is certified with t he signature and seal of the Greek Ambassador in Great Britain, and also by the signature of the member of the British Foreign Office. concerns the setting up of the regime of Fascist terror in Greece, and which also deals with the same criminal system of hostages. the 31st of May, the German Commanding General in Athens published a frankly terroristic order which was directed against the peaceful population of Greece. The direct pretext for publishing this was the fact that on the 31st of May the Greek patriots tore down the German emblems. Forces in Greece, from the report of the Greek Government, on page 33 of the Russian translation. The order threatens severe punishment for the following reasons:
"a. Because in the night of 30-31 May, the German war flag was torn away by unknown persons. Those guilty of this act as well as their accomplices will be punished by death.
"b. Because press and public opinion of all classes still express themselves with evident sympathy in favor of the English, now expelled from Continental Europe." punishment.
"c. Because of events in Crete." the resistance of the inhabitants of the island of Crete to the German aggressors. They were not only condemned, but in one circle it was even commented on with satisfaction.
"d. Because specifically forbidden repeated gestures of sympathy towards British prisoners were allowed, such as offers of gifts, flowers, free cigarettes, and these demonstrations were tolerated by the Greek police who did not intervene with the means at their disposal.
"e. Because the behavior of large numbers of people of Athens towards the German armed forces has again become less friendly." Greece that characterized the actions of the Hitlerite criminals in all territories occupied by them. In confirmation of that, I cite the report of the Greek Government on page 34 of the Russian translation. I quote, beginning with line 4 from the top of the page:
"In violation of Article 50 of the Hague Convention, they systematically punished the innocent, enforcing the expressly condemned principle of joint responsibility of the community for acts of individuals. They used starvation as an instrument of pressure, and for weakening the spirit of resistance of the Greek population.
"Very few people were tried in courts martial, and when held, such trials were something of an issue of mockery. They instituted a policy of reprisals constituting taking hostages and killing hostages, mass murders, and destruction and devastation of villages for acts committed in their vicinity by unknown individuals. The great majority of those executed were picked at random from prisons and camps, without any possible relation to the act in reprisal for which they were executed. The life of every citizen depended on the arbitrary decision of the local commander." of the extremes of this terroristic regime which was established by them in Greece was the murder of thousands of people by starvation. On page 6 of the Russian text, in regard to this, they said the following:
"It is an incontestable fact that the great majority of the Greek population lived on the verge of starvation for nearly three years. Many thousands experienced real starvation for several months before relief shipments could reach them. As a result, the death rate increased by 500 or 600 per cent in the metropolitan centers and 700 per cent in the Greek islands from the period of September 1941 to April 1942. The infant mortality was 25 per cent, and the health of the survivors was greatly undermined." neutral missions. I quote one of those excerpts which is on page 38 of the Russian text of the Greek Government's report. I begin the quotation:
"During the winter of 1941-1942, when famine reigned in the capital, conditions in the provinces were still tolerable. During the following winter, however, when the relief for the larger towns had been exhausted by the free market, the situation was very different. During our first tours of inspection, in trying to investigate the situation in general, in March 1943 we made the acquaintance of a population literally screaming for bread. Many villages had only a substitute baked of flour, ersatz, wild grass and acorns, ordinarily food suitable only for pigs. In many districts, the population had received no other bread since December.
"We were taken inside the houses and were shown empty shelves and larders, and saw people cooking weeds with oil and salt in order to fill their stomachs.
"The inhabitants of the poorer villages were all extremely thin and the children, in particular, were often in a pitiful condition, with skinny extremities and swollen stomachs, without any natural vitality or cheerfulness. It was quite usual for half the children to be unable to go to school. (Report of the Swedish Delegates to the Peloponnesian Islands, January 1944.)" Hitler criminals in Greece, I also quote excerpts from the Greek Government report. From the text of this report it is quite evident that shootings of hostages during the first weeks of the German occupation of Greece were set on a great scale. I quote, for this reason, an excerpt from the report on page 41. I begin at the third line from the top of the Russian text:
"Hostages were taken indiscriminately and from every class of the population, politicians, professors, scientists, lawyers, doctors, officers, civil officials, clergy, workers, women, all those labeled as 'suspect' or Communist', and were thrown into local prisons or concentration camps.
"Prisoners under interrogation were subjected to various ingenious forms of torture. Hostages were concentrated in places of confinement where the arrested persons were subjected to the most unbearable regime." states with regard to this matter:
"The inmates were starved, beaten, then tortured. They were made to live under perfectly inhuman conditions without medical help or sanitation.
There they were subjected to the refined sadism of the SS guards. Many were shot or hanged. Others died from cruel treatment or starvation, and only a few were released and survived until the date of the liberation of the country.
"Hostages were also deported to concentration camps in Germany, Buchenwald, Belsen, Dachau, etc.
"The number of hostages shot amounts to some 91,000 hostages." criminals committed their crimes in connection with the physical extermination of the Russian people in the territory of the USSR, I ask the Tribunal to refer to page 299 in the document book.
THE PRESIDENT: You are now passing away from Greece, are you, Colonel Smirnov?
COLONEL SMIRNOV: Yes, sir.
THE PRESIDENT: We will take a recess then.
(A recess was taken.)
COLONEL SMIRNOV: I beg the allowance of the Tribunal to skip a number of items of my statement. These items, which I exclude from the text, are numbered, and I beg the allowance of the Tribunal to tell the interpreters how many pages I skip. I draw the attention of the Tribunal to a document which testifies to the great scale of the extermination of Soviet people during the temporary occupation of districts of the USSR. As a confirmation of this I refer to a document which the Tribunal will find on page 291 of the document file, at the end of the last paragraph of the first column and on the second column of the text. This has to do with the report of the Extraordinary State Commission concerning the destruction, plunderings and atrocities of the German fascist usurpers in the town of Rowno and the Rowno district. I submit this document as USSR Exhibit 45. I quote the results of the examination by legal-medical experts concerning the bodies which were exhumed:
"In all burial places in the town of Rowno and its surroundings, more than 102,000 corpses of people, shot or murdered by other methods -peaceful Soviet citizens -- have been discovered, as well as prisoners of war. Out of this figure, in the town of Rowno, near the firewood depot on Beleya Street, 49,000 corpses have been discovered.
"In the town of Rowno, on Beleya Street in the vegetable gardens, 32,500.
"In the village of Sossenki, 17,500.
"In the stone quarries near the village of Vydumka, 3,000.
"In the lots belonging to the Rowno prison, 500." I draw the attention of the Tribunal to the following text, where we read indications as to the distribution of certain methods of murder which were adopted by the criminals: 1943. part of the document which is on page 240, second column of the text. These methods of extermination are typical for the regime of terror established by the Hitlerites in the temporarily occupied territories of the U.S.S.R.I begin my quotation on page 240 of the document file:
"On the 8th of March, 1943, the 'Volyn' paper of the German occupation troops, published the following announcement:
"'On the 8th of March 1943, inmates of the Rowno prison attempted to escape, whereby they killed one German official and one guard. The escape was thwarted by the energetic action of the prison guards. By order of the commandant of the German SP (Schutzpolizei) and SD (Sicherheitspolizei), all prison inmates were shot that day.'
"In November 1943 the German district judge was murdered by an unknown person. As a measure of retaliation, the Hitlerites again shot more than 350 inmates of the Rowno prison." as in those documents which will be submitted to the Tribunal, the Tribunal will find a series of similar crimes committed by the Hitlerite usurpers on the territories of the USSR. destruction of the village population. which will remain for a long time, and perhaps forever, in the memory of mankind, even though mankind will have learned about some crimes which are more important even than these. One of the crimes that will be so remembered is the destruction of a small Czechoslovak village called "Lidice", and the merciless annihilation of the population of that village. suffered on the territory of the Soviet Union, of Yugoslavia, and Poland, but mankind will remember Lidice and will never forget it, for this little village became a symbol of Nazi criminality. execution of the Protector of Csekia, Heydrich, by the Czechoslovak patriots, report of the Germans concerning this act of terror, which was published in the paper "Der Neue Tag" on the 2nd of June, 1942.
I will quote an extract from the report of the Czechoslovak Government, which the Tribunal will find on page 172 of the document file:
"On the 9th of June, 1942, the village of Lidice was surrounded on the orders of the Gestapo by soldiers who arrived from the hamlet of Slany in ten large trucks. They allowed everyone to enter the village, but no one was allowed to leave it. A 12-year old boy tried to flee; a soldier shot him on the spot. A woman tried to escape; a bullet in the back frustrated her flight, and her corpse was found in the fields after the harvest.
"The Gestapo dragged the women and children to the school.
"The 10th of June was the last day of Lidice and of its inhabitants. The men were shut up in the cellars, in the barns and stable of the Horak family. They foresaw their fate and awaited it calmly. The 73-year old priest Sternbeck strengthened them with prayers."
I skip the following two paragraphs and pursue my quotation:
"The men were led out of the farm of Horak into the garden behind the barn by groups of ten. The massacre lasted from morning until 4 o'clock in the afternoon. Afterwards the executioners had themselves photographed with the corpses at their feet." population of Lidice:
"The fate of the men of Lidice has been described. 172 grown-up men and youths from 16 years upwards were shot on the 10th of June, 1942.
Another 19 who worked, in the coal mines of Kladno were later arrested in the collieries or in the nearby woods, taken to Prague, and shot. Seven women from Lidice were shot in Prague as well. The others, the remaining 195, were deported to the Ravensbruck concentration camp. Forty-two died from ill treatment; 7 were gassed; and 3 are missing. Four of these women were taken from Lidice to a maternity hospital in Prague, their newly born children murdered, and the mothers were then sent to Ravensbruck.
"The children of Lidice were taken from their mothers a few days after the destruction of the village. Ninety children were sent to Lodz in Poland, and from there to the Gneisenau concentration camp in the so-called "Wartheland". So far no trace of these children has been found. Seven of the youngest, less than a year old, were taken to a German hospital in Prague. They were to be brought up as Germans and were given German names. Every trace of them has been lost.
"Two of three children were born in Ravensbruck concentration camp. They were killed immediately after their birth."
The fate of Lidice was repeated in many Soviet villages. Many peaceful citizens of these villages perished in tortures even greater than, being burned alive or became the victims of more torturous types of death. the next page of the text and draw the attention of the Tribunal to the text which is on page 295, second culumn of the text. This document was already submitted to the Tribunal by my colleague, Colonel Povrosky. It is a report of the Extraordinary State Commission on the Crimes of the Hitlerite Usurpers in the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic. I quote only one paragraph:
"On the 3rd of June, 1944, in the village of Perchupe, the Trakai district, the Hitlerites surrounded the village and plundered it completely, after which, having driven all the men into one house and women and children into three other houses, they set fire to the structures. Those who attempted to flee were caught by the Fascist fiends and were again thrown into the burning houses. In this manner the entire population of the village, in all 192 souls, 21 men, 29 women (and I stress), 69 children, were burned to death."
which I submit as USSR Exhibit 279. It is the report of the Extraordinary State Commission on the Crimes of the German Fascist Invaders in the cities of Viazma, Gjatsk, and Sychev of the Smolensk region, and also in the city of Rjev in the Kalinin district. order to shorten my statement.
I quote:
"In the village of Sajtschiki, the Gestapo hangmen shut up the following persons in a house: Bergorawa, 70 years old, Dadonev, 5 years old, and many others, in all twenty-three people. They were burned alive in the house." in March, 1943, the assistant leader of the German Police, shut two hundred inhabitants in a house. Then follow the names of these people. The house was set on fire and in all two hundred persons were burned alive. I will not enumerate the names of the people. I only wish to draw the attention of the Tribunal to the fact that three of these people were 63 years old and over and, as well, three year old, four year old and five year old children.
"In the villages of Kulieve and Kilesniki in the District of Geschazk, the fascists burned all the inhabitants in a farmhouse. in evidence as USSR Exhibit 119. It is certified photostat of an operation report and other documents of the 15th Police Regiment. Among them we find one which is entitled "Summary of the Retaliatory Expedition to the Village of Borysowka, 22nd and 26th of September, 1942." The Tribunal will find this document on page 309 of the document book.
guise of the struggle against guerrillas the Hitlerite criminals annihilated the population of the Soviet villages.
I quote, following the heading:
"1. Mission: The 9th Company must destroy the village of Borysowka, Which is overrun with partisans.
"2. Forces: Two platoons of the 9th Company, the 15th Police Regiment, one platoon of gendarmes and one tank platoon."
I stress that there was a tank platoon amongst these forces. Against whom were these tanks supposed to operate? We find an answer to this question in the following item of this report:
"Court of action: The company assembled in the evening on the 22 of September, 1942 in Dwyin. During the night from the 22 to the 23 of September, 1942, the march from Dwyin in the direction of Borysowka took place, The village was cut off by two platoons at 4 a.m. At daybreak the entire population of the village was brought together by the village Buergermeister, After investigation, out of the population with the aid of the security police of Dwyin, five families were resettled in Dwyin.
The remainder were shot by an especially detailed squad and buried five hundred meters to the northeast of Borysowka, Altogether, 169 persons were shot, among them 49 men, 97 women and 23 children." the reading of this document and I can now pass on to the next part of my statement. tains the report of the Extraordinary State Commission on, the Destruction of the German Fascist Invaders in the Stalinsk Region. the criminal extermination of the Soviet population by burning alive and in this report we find a confirmation of the fact that people were burned alive both in villages and in the towns. This document has been submitted to the Tribunal as USSR Exhibit No. 2. I quote from page 116 of the document book and I quote:
"In the City of Stalino the German intruders drove all the inhabitants of one house into a shed, closed the entrance, blocked it, poured oil on the shed and put it on fire. All those in the shed, with the exception of two little girls, who by sheer chance remained alive, lost their lives." was located and while investigating, the Commission discovered thirty-one human corpses. terror with regard to the civilian population assumed monstrous proportions. This was noted in the reports by several German officers, who participated in the First World War and who stressed the fact that even in the First World War they had never witnessed anything similar, Exhibit 293 an authentic photostat of a report of the former Commander of the 528th Regiment, Major Roseler, and a report by Schirwindt, who was Chief of 9th Military District.
This document is very interesting and I will quote the document in full. The Tribunal will find the extract on page 319 of the document book.
"Kassel, 3 January, 1942.
"Major Roesler.
"Report.
"The matter brought to my attention by the 528th Infantry Regiment concerning the attitude toward the civilian population in the East prompts me to report the following:
"At the end of July, 1941, the 528th Infantry Regiment under my command was on the way from the west to Zitomir, where it was to be billeted for a rest. After I had-moved with my staff into the Staff Quarters, on the afternoon of the day of our arrival, we heard rifle volleys at a short distance from us at regular intervals. I decided to find out what was happening and started to go with my adjutant and the courier (1st Lieutenant von Bassevitz and Lieutenant Mueller-Brodmann) in the direction of the rifle shots.
"We soon had the impression that a cruel spectacle must be going on because after some time we saw numerous soldiers streaming toward the railroad embankment. At first we could not for a long time reach the other side of the embankment, However, we heard, after a certain definite interval, the sound of a whistle followed by a volley ox about ten rifles, which in turn, was followed after some time by pistol shots.
"When we finally climbed over the embankment a picture of horror was revealed to us. A trench about seven to eight motors long and perhaps four meters wide had been dug into the ground. The dug up earth was piled up on one side of the ditch. The pile and the adjoining wall of the tranch was completely soiled with streams of blood. The pit itself was filled with numerous corpses of all ages and sexes. There were so many corpses that one could not even define the depth of the trench.
"Behind the pile of earth stood a squad of police men under the command of an officer. The uniforms of the police were blood spattered. Many soldiers belonging to the troops which had just been billeted in the area stood nearby.
Some of them were in bathing trunks, standing around as spectators. There were also a number of civilians, women and children.
"This sight was so terrible that I cannot forget it even now. I remember particularly clearly the following scene. In this grave, lay, among others, an old man with a white beard, who had a little walking stick in his left hand. As this man, as could be judged from his sporadic breathing, still showed signs of life, I requested one of the policemen to kill him off, whereupon he laughingly replied: I have already shot seven times at his stomach. Now it is up to him to die.
"Those who were lying in the grave were not in rows but were piled in disorder as they fell from top top of the trench into the trench. All these people were killed by shots in the nape of the neck from rifle shots and then were given the coup-de-grace in the trench.
"I have never seen anything similar, neither in the First World War, in the Russian nor in the French campaigns of this war. I have witnessed very disagreeable scenes being in the volunteer detachments in 1919 but I have never been a witness to a similar scene."
I skip one paragraph and continue:
"I wish to add that according to the testimony of soldiers who have often watched these executions, apparently by these methods several hundred persons were shot every day.
"(Signed) Roesler."
And now, quoting the second document:
"Kassel, 17 January, 1942.
"From Deputy Commander of the IX Army Corps and Commanding Officer of the 9th Military District.
"To the Chief of the Army Armament and Equipment Department Berlin.
"The atrocities with regard to the civilian populationin the East.
"With regard, to the news of the mass executions in Russia, which we are receiving, I was at first convinced that they were exaggerated. However, I am forwarding herewith report of Major Roesler which fully confirms these rumors."
"If these things will be done openly they will become known at hone and will cause criticism.
"(Signed) Schirwindt."
THE PRESIDENT: Colonel Smirnov, do you know who was the Deputy Commander of the IX Army Corp and Commander of the 9th Military District and do you know who was the Chief of the Armament and Equipment Department in Berlin? Do you know whether any reply was made to this report?
COLONEL SMIRNOV: Mr President, I can only give an answer to these questions a short time later. I will do so and I will submit to the Tribunal an answer to these questions. Tribunal a photostatic copy of a doc lent, I present two albums which have been certified to by the Extraordinary State Commission, and will be submitted to each member of the Tribunal. certain photographic documents. I must admit these documents have been selected not according to the principle of atrocities which they show, as the Tribunal will find even more atrocious episodes in the document book, but rather, all these photographs have been selected because of their typical character. of the Tribunal to submit another German document as USSR Exhibit 297. It is a certified photostatic copy of one of the reports of the Chief of the Security Police, prohibiting the photographing of mass executions. It is very typical that in many of these cases the photographs were taken by the Germans themselves. This attracted the attention of the Police Chief and there followed a prohibition against photographing I quote only a short except from this report:
(page 321 of the document book) "The Reichsfuehrer SS has forbidden the photographing of executions by an order of 12 November, 1941, Journal Number 1 1461/41 Ads.
, and has ordered that insofar as such pictures are needed for official purposes that the entire exposed material be collected in archives."
I skip the following paragraph and quote the following paragraph:
"The leader of the task force or special commandos and/or the company commander of the Waffen SS and the section leader of the war correspondent section, are held responsible for the fact that plates, film and prints of these photographs do not remain in the hands of individual members of these task force units." quotations that have been presented are sufficient to prove that the police authorities were preoccupied by the fact that private photographs of mass executions give confirmation of these executions. photographs. Would you permit me to do so?
THE PRESIDENT: What are you waiting for Colonel Smirnov?
COLONEL SMIRNOV: Mr. President, I thought that the light would be put out directly but apparently there is a technical hitch but I do not know what this hitch consists of and that is why I cannot continue.
THE PRESIDENT: Do you think you can go on with your statement and do the photographs after the adjournment? How long do you think the photographs will take?
COLONEL SMIRNOV: I agree with you fully, Mr. President. I beg to be allowed to present evidence concerning the second part of the statement which concerns the mass annihilation by the German fascists of the citizens of the USSR, Poland, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia, and Greece. The mss extermination of peaceful populations of the Soviet Union and of the countries of Eastern Europe was carried out by the German fascist criminals everywhere, as we can see from both the official orders and the directives, with the following objectives in mind:
1. To do away physically with those groups of the population which were considered capable of resistance.
2. For racial reasons, i.e. to do away with those groups which the Germans disliked racially.
3. For purposes of retaliation.
4. Supposedly to put down, to crush the guerilla movement which the Germans could not crush or stop and for which they vent their wrath upon the peaceful population. atrocity. By executing children, the killing of children was one of the worse and more despicable characteristics of the Hitlerite regime during the occupation of temporarily seized territories.