As far as I know, proposals for execution of such PW's were received from various PW camps. Koenigshaus had to prepare the orders for execution, and submitted them to the chief of Section IV, Mueller, for signature (Mueller being the head of the Gestapo). These orders were made out so that one order was to be sent to the agency making the request, and a second one to the concentration camp designated to carry out the execution. The PW's in question were at first formally released from PW status, then transferred to a concentration camp for execution.
"The department chief, Koenigshaus, was under me in disciplinary questions from the middle of 1942 until about the beginning of 1943, and worked, in matters of his department, directly with the chief of Group IV A, Regierungsrat panzinger. Early in 1943, the department was dissolved, and absorbed into the departments in subsection IV B. The work concerning Russian PW's must then have been done by IV b 2a. Head of Department IV b 2a was Regierungsrat and Sturmbannfuehrer Hans Helmut Wolf.
"There existed in the PW camps on the Eastern front small screening teams (Einsatzkommandos), headed by lower ranking member of the Secret Police or Gestapo. These teams were assigned, to the camp commanders and had the job to segregate the PW's who were candidates for execution, according to the orders that had been given, and to report them to the Office of the Secret Police."
Passing from that phase of the case, the next subject is: The Gestapo and SS sent recaptured prisoners of war to concentration camps, where they were executed, that is, prisoners of war who had escaped and were recaptured. The Tribunal will recall that in a document heretofore introduced, 1650-PS, was an order which the Chief of the Security Police and SS instructed regional Gestapo Offices to make certain classes of recaptured officers from camps and to transport them to Mauthausen Concentration Camp, under the operation known as "Kugel". That, if your Honor recalls, means "Bullet". That is the famous "Bullet" Decree that has been previously introduced. On the journey, the prisoners of war were to be placed in irons.
The Gestapo officers were to make semi-annual reports, giving numbers only, of the sending of these prisoners of war to Mauthausen. On the 27th of July, 1944, an order was issued from the VI Corps Area Command on the treatment of prisoners of war. That is Document 1514-PS in the second volume, which I offer as U S. Exhibit 491. This document provided that prisoners of war were to be discharged from prisoner of war status and transferred to the Gestapo under certain circumstances, and I quote from the first page, beginning with the word "Subject", quoting: "Subject: Delivery of prisoners of war to the secret state police.
Enclosed is the decree 1) referred to.
delivery to the secret state police: "1.) a)According to the decrees 2) and 3), the commander of the camp has suffice to prescribe punishment for violations committed.
Report " b)Recaptured Soviet prisoners of war have to be delivered first to offenses have been committed during the escape.
The dismissal from (Section A 6 of the decree referred to in No. 4) regarding the " c)Recaptured Soviet officers who are prisoners of war, have to be de (Section C 1 of the decree referred to under 4) and under 5). " d)Soviet officer prisoners of war, who refuse to work and those who police office and to be dismissed from imprisonment of war.
(Section C 1 of the decree referred to under 4) and 5). " e) Soviet enlisted prisoners of war refusing to work who are ring (Section C 2 of the decree, referred to in 4). " f) Soviet prisoners of war (enlisted men and officers), who with special purpose command (Einsatzkommando) of the security police from imprisonment of war (Decree referred to in 6). " g) Polish prisoners of war have to be delivered if acts of sabotage are imprisonment of war.
The decision rests with the camp commander.
Report of the deed is not necessary (Decree referred to under 27). "2) A report on the delivery and dismissal from imprisonment of war in the cases mentioned under #1) of this decree, to the Mil.
District "3) Prisoners of war from all nations have to be delivered to the secret special order of the OKW or of the Mil.
District Command VI, dept. "4) Prisoners of War under suspicion of participating in illegal organ the Gestapo for the purpose of interrogation.
They remain prisoners of war and have to be treated as such.
The delivery to the Gestapo by order of the OKW or of the Mil.
District Command VI, dept of military personnel, approval of Mil.
District command VI, dept of before delivery to the Gestapo for the purposes of interrogation."
This decree was known as the "Bullet Decree." Prisoners of war, sent to Mauthausen Concentration camp under the decree, were executed.
I now offer in support of that statement Document 2285-PS, U.S. Exhibit 490. It is in the second volume. Document 2285-PS is an affidavit of Lt. Col. Guivante de Saint Gast, and Lt. Jean Veith, both of the French Army, which was taken on the 13th of May 1945, in the course of an official military investigation by the United States Army. The affidavit discloses that Lt. Col. Gast was confined at Mauthausen from 18 March 1944 to 22 April 1945, and that Lt. Veith was confined from 22 April 1943 until 22 April 1945. I quote from the affidavit, beginning with the third paragraph of page 1, quoting:
"In Mauthausen existed several treatments of prisoners, amongst them the "action K or Kugel" (Bullet action). Upon the arrival of transports, prisoners with the mention "K" were not registered, get no numbers and their names remained unknown except for the officials of the Politische Abteilung. (Lt. Veith had the opportunity of hearing upon the arrival of a transport the following conversation between the Untersturmfuehrer Streitwieser and chief of the convoy: 'How many prisoners? '15 but two K'. 'Well, that makes 13').
"The prisoners were taken directly to the prison where they were unclothed and "taken to the "Bathrooms". This bathroom in the cellars of the prison building near the crematory was specially designed for execution (shooting and gassing).
"The shooting took place by means of a measuring apparatus. The prisoners being backed towards a metrical measure with an automatic contraption releasing a bullet in his neck as soon as the moving plank determining his height touched the top of his head.
"If a transport consisted of too many "K" prisoners, instead of losing time for the measurement they were exterminated by gas, sent into the bathrooms instead of water."
I now pass to another subject, namely: "The Gestapo was responsible for establishing and classifying concentration camps for committing racial and political undesirables to concentration and annihilation camps for slave labor and mass murder." responsibility of the Gestapo for the administration of concentration camps, and the authority of the Gestapo for taking persons into protective custody to be carried out in the state concentration camps. The Gestapo also issued orders establishing concentration camps, transforming prisoner of war camps in the concentration camps as internment camps, changing labor camps into concentration camps, setting up special sections for female prisoners, and so forth. of concentration camps according to the seriousness of the accusation and the chances for reforming the prisoners, from the Nazi viewpoint. I now refer to Documents 1063A and B in the second volume, U.S. Exhibit 492. The concentration camps were classified as Class I, II or III. Class I was for the least serious prisoners, and Class III was for the most serious. Now, this Document 1063A is signed by Heydrich, and it is dated the 2nd of January 1941. I quote from the beginning, beginning with the word "Subject", quoting:
"Subject: Classification of the Concentration Camps.
"The Reichsfuehrer SS and Chief of the German Police has given his approval to classify the concentration camps into various categories, which take into account the personality of the prisoner as well as the degree of his danger to the State. Accordingly, the concentration camps will be classified into the following categories: definitely qualified for correction; also for special cases and solitary confinement - Camps Dachau, Sachsenhausen and Auschwitz I. The latter also applies in part to Category II.
"Category Ia - for all old prisoners unconditionally qualified for work, who could still be used in the medicinal herb gardens - the Camp Dachau.
"Category II - for prisoners with heavy accusations but still qualified, for redemption, re-education and reduction - the Camps Buchenwald, Flossenburg, Auschwitz II.
"Category III - for the heavily accused prisoners, at the same time, also for those who have been previously convicted for criminal offenses; for asocial prisoners, that is to say, those who can hardly be corrected the Camp Mauthausen."
I call your Honor's attention to the fact that we have been talking about Mauthausen, where the "K" action took place. length of the period of custody. During the war, it was the policy not to permit the prisoners to know the period of custody and merely to announce the term as "Until further notice." That was established by Document 1531-PS, which has previously been introduced as U.S. Exhibit 248, and the only reason for referring to it is to show that they had the right to fix the length of period ofcustody. register called the Haftbuch, and as I understand, "Haftbuch" simply means a block or police register. In this register, the names of all persons arrested were listed, together with personal data, grounds of arrest and disposition. When orders were received from the Gestapo Headquarters in Berlin to commit persons who had been arrested to concentration camps, an entry was made in the Haftbuch to that effect. L-358, U.S. Exhibit 495. This book was collected by the 3rd Army when it ovverran an area, and it was captured by the T Force on April 22, 1945, near Bad Sulze, Germany. This book is the original register used by the Gestapo at Tomassow, Poland, to record the names of the persons arrested, the grounds for arrest and disposition made of cases during the period from 1 June 1943 to 20 December 1944.
In the register are approximately 3,500 names of persons. Approximately 2,200 were arrested for membership in the resistance movements and partisan units. This is a very large book, and I am going to ask the clerk to pass it to your Honors so that you might get a look at it. It is too big to photograph. And if your Honors will just turn to one of the pages, I will read what the different columns provide--just any one of the pages. There is a double column. It starts on the left and goes over to the other side. In the first column, that heading is simply a number of the man when he comes in. The next column is his name. The third column is the family-a brief family history and his religion. The fourth is the domicile. The next shows the date he was arrested, and by whom,--that is the fifth column. The next column, the place of arrest. And then the next column the reason for arrest. And then the next is another number which is apparently a serial number for delivery. And next to the last column is the disposition. And the final column, remarks. will notice a number of red marks. Those apparently meant the ones that were shot. Of these, 325 were shot. Only thirty-five of that 325 had first been tried. 950 out of this list were sent to concentration camps and 155 sent to the Reich for forced labor. According to this register, similar treatment was accorded persons who were arrested on other grounds, for instance, Communists, Jews, hostages, and persons taken in reprisal. A large number are shown to have been arrested during, raids; no further grounds being stated. the numbers in the first column of the register were the crime charged to the person arrested was "als Judens to other words, he was a Jew. And by that you will find a red cross means, and the punishment given was death. L-215, which was heretofore introduced as U.S Exhibit 243. I don't intend to read from it, unless your Honors want to turn to L-215. This is a file of original dossiers on twenty-five Luxemboargers taken into protective custody for commitment to concentration camps. I will just refer to a sentence of the language in that document. Quoting:
"According to the finding of the State Police he endangers by his attitude the existence and security of the people and the state. being the reason for the execution of these twenty-five Luxembourgers. Document L-215. And in connection-
THE PRESIDENT: Colonel Storey, you said execution, did you not?
COLONEL STOREY: I beg your pardon--to concentration camps.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes. There is no evidence they were executed?
COLONEL STOREY: No, sir; they were committed to concentration camps. And also in connection with that same document there is a form provided by which the Gestapo headquarters in Berlin were notified when the persons were received by the concentration camps.
Another document which has heretofore been received as U.S. Exhibit 279, Document 1472-PS, in the second volume,--I am simply going to refer to it as a predicate for another. That was a telegram of 16 December 1942 in which Mueller reported that the Gestapo could round up some 45,000 Jews in connection with the program of obtaining additional labor in concentration camps. And with reference to the same subject, Document 1063-D-PS, which has heretofore been offered as Exhibit 219, Mueller sent a directive to the commanders and inspectors of the Security Police and SD and to the directors of the Gestapo regional offices in which he stated that Himmler had ordered on 14 December 1942 that at least 35,000 persons, who were fit for work, had to be put into concentration camps not later than the end of January. U.S. Exhibit 496. This document contains a further directive from Mueller dated the 23rd of March 1943, and supplements the directive of 17 December 1942, to which I refer and in which he states that the measures are to be carried out until 30 April 1943. And I would like to quote from the second paragraph on page three of the exhibit; page three of the English translation of L-41, quoting:
"Care must, however, be taken that only prisoners who are fit for work are transferred to concentration camps, and adolescents only in accordance with the given directives; otherwise, the concentration camps would become overcrowded, and this would defeat the intended aim."
In that same connection I offer Document 701-PS, U.S, Exhibit 497. This is a letter dated 1 April 1943 from the Minister of Justice to the Public Prosecutors, and also addressed to the Commissioner of the Reich Minister of Justice for the penal camps in Emsland. Quoting:
"Regarding Poles and Jews who are released from the penal institutions of the Department of Justice. Instructions for the independent penal institutions.
"1. With reference to the new guiding principles for the application of Article 1, Section 2, of the decree of 11 June 1940 Reich Legal Gazette I S. 877 - Attachment I of the decree (RV) of 27 January 1943 - 9133/2 enclosure I-III a 2 2629 - the Reich Chief Security Office has directed by the decree of 11 March 1943 - II A 2 number 100/43 - 176:
"(a) Jews, who In accordance with number VI of the guiding principles are released from penal institution, are to be taken by the State Police (Chief) Office competent for the district in which the penal institution is located for the rest of their lives to the concentration camps Auschwitz or Lublin in accordance with the regulations for protective custody that have been issued.
"The same applies of Jews who in the future are released from a penal institution after serving sentence of confinement.
"(b) Poles, who in accordance with number VI of the guiding principles are released from a penal institution, are to be taken by the State Police (Chief) Office competent for the district in which the penal institution is located for the duration of the war to a concentration camp in accordance with the regulations on protective custody that have been issued.
"The same applies in the future to Poles who, after serving a term of imprisonment of more than six months, are to be discharged by a penal institution.
"Conforming to the request of the Chief Office for Reich Security, I ask that in the future:
"(a) All Jews to be discharged;
"(b) All Poles to be discharged;
further confinement to the State Police (Chief) Office competent for end of sentence for conveyance."
ordered return of all Polish prisoners undergoing imprisonment in the Old Reich condemned in the annexed Eastern territory.
The next subject: The Gestapo and the SD Participated in Deportation of Citizens of Occupied Countries for Forced Labor and Handled the Disciplining of Forced Labor. labor, I do not intend to repeat. However, there were several references to important positions played by the Gestapo and the SD in rounding up persons to be brought into the Reich for forced labor, and references in two or three documents that were introduced. I simply want to cite those documents as showing the part that the Gestapo and SD played. Document L-61, U.S. Exhibit 177. It is set out in this document book--I am simply citing it--it is a letter of the 26th of November 1942 from Fritz Sauckel in which he stated that he had been advised by the Chief of the Security Police and SD under date of 26 October 1942 that during the month of November the evacuation of Poles in the Lublin district would begin in order to make room for the settlement of persons of the German race. The Poles who were evacuated as a result of this measure were to be put into concentration camps for Labor so far as they were criminal or anti-social. The Tribunal will also recall the Christiansen letter, which is our Document 3012-PS, U.S. Exhibit 190. In that letter it is stated that during the year 1943 the program of mass murder carried out by the Einsatz groups in the East should be modified in order to round up hundreds of thousands of persons for Labor in the armament industry. That was in 3012-PS, which has heretofore been introduced as U.S. Exhibit 190. And that force was to be used when necessary. Prisoners were to be released so that they could be used for forced Labor. When villages were burned down the whole population was to be.
placed at the disposal of the labor commissioners. disciplining forced workers is shown in our next exhibit, 1573-PS, U.S. Exhibit 498. This is a secret order signed by Mueller himself to the regional Gestapo offices on the 18th of June 1941, and I quote from the document from the beginning. It is addressed:
"To all State Police administrative Offices, attention SS Sturmbannfuehrer Nosske or representative at Aachen.
"Subject: Measures to be taken against emigrants and civilian workers who came from the great Russian areas and against foreign workers.
"Reference: None.
"To prevent the unauthorized and arbitrary return of Russian, Ukrainian, White Ruthenians, Cossack, and Caucasian emigrants and civilian workers from the territory of the Reich to the East, and to prevent attempts at disorder by foreign workers in the German production, I decide as follows:
"(1) The managers of the branch offices of the Russian, Ukrainian, White Ruthenian, and Caucasians trustee office as well as the relief committee and the bading members of the Russian, Ukrainian, White Ruthenian, Cossack, and Caucasian emigration organizations are to be notified immediately that they are not allowed to leave their domicile without permission of the Security Police until further notice. Also they are to be told to apply the same measures to the members who are under their care. Their attention is to be called to the fact that they will be arrested because of unauthorized leaving of the place of work and domicile. I request you have a check up of the attendance of branch office leaders if possible by daily requests in these concerns.
"(2) Emigrants and foreign workers are to be arrested if it seems necessary in the situation if there is no doubt of their guilt and if they are under the suspicion of having been active for the U.S.S.R. in transmitting news. The measure is to be in readiness. However, it should not be executed before the pass word "Fremdvoelker" has been transmitted by means of "urgent" telegram.
THE PRESIDENT: Do you think you should read the rest of that?
COLONEL STOREY: Sir?
THE PRESIDENT: Is it necessary to read the rest of that?
COLONEL STOREY: I don't think so, your Honor.
THE PRESIDENT: We will adjourn now for ten minutes.
(A recess was taken from 1120-1130.)
COLONEL STOREY: If the Tribunal please, I next offer in evidence Document 3360-PS, U.S. Exhibit 499, the second volume. Before I hand this document to the translator I should like to exhibit it to your Honors. It is an Original telegram that was sent to the Gestapo office at Nurnberg. It was discovered by the C.I.C., by a Lieutenant Stevens, near Herzburg, Germany, and your Honors will notice that parts of it have been burned. It was in connection with some documents that had been buried and then they were partially burned when they were buried. This is one of the telegrams. It is from the Secret State Police, the State Police Station at Nurnberg and Furth, and it is dated the 12th of February, 1944. I quote from the telegram:
"RSHA Roman 4 F 1 45/44 Treatment, of recaptured escaped eastern laborers (Ostarbeiter). By to section Roman 4 D.- (Foreign laborers) on 10 March 1944 as to how concentration camp, between today and 10 March 1944."
By these methods the Gestapo and. SD maintained control over forced labor brought into the Reich. captured commandos and paratroopers and protected civilians who lynched Allied flyers. Gestapo and SD were responsible for taking counter measures against single parachutists or small groups of them with special missions. In substantiation I offer now Document No. 553-PS as exhibit next in order, U.S.A. Exhibit No. 500. I read from the first page of the translation, the first part of paragraph 3:
"So far as single parachutists are captured by members of the armed forces they are to be delivered to the nearest agency of the Chief of the Security Police and SD, without delay."
Now, if the Tribunal please, to divert from the text: Colonel Taylor will present the Nazi Command and a few of these orders. This is one and there is the next one, with which he is going to deal extensively. My purpose in introducing these orders now is to show the part that the Gestapo and SD played in connection with those orders. volume, USA .Exhibit 501. That is the celebrated commando order signed by the Fuehrer himself on the 18th October 1942. There were only twelve copies of this made and it boars the personal Original signature of Adolf Hitler. One copy was sent to the Reichsfuehrer SS and Chief of Security Police. That order, without reading it and getting down to the part from which I want to quote, simply provides that all commandoes, whether or not in uniform or unarmed, are to be slaughtered to the last man. I want to read down at the bottom, the beginning of paragraph 4, to show the part of the SD;
"If individual members of such commandos, such as agents, saboteurs, etc. fall into the hands of the military forces by some other means, through the police in occupied territories for instance, they are to be handed over immediately to the SD."
Another one of these orders is No. 526-PS, USA Exhibit 502, to which I would like to refer. That document has to do with some alleged saboteurs landing in Norway. It is dated the 10th May 1943 and is Top Secret. I quote the first paragraph as identifying a crew:
"On the 30.3.1943 on Toftefjord (70 degrees Lat.) an enemy cutter was Sighted, Cutter as blown up by the enemy. Crew: 2 dead men, 10 prisoners."
That is the crew. Near the bottom of that order, the third sentence from the bottom, is this statement:
"Fuehrer, order execused by S.D. (Security Service)."
We have heretofore. Produced Document R-100, USA Exhibit 333, and that was the Himmler order of 10 August 1943 which was sent to Security Police. That order provided that it was not the task of the Police to interfere in clashes between Germans, English, and American terror fliers who had bailed out. That was personally by Himmler and bearshis signature. That has been introduced in evidence, but I wanted to call the attention of the Court to it again. of occupied countries to Germany for secret trial and punishment. That is the so-called "Night and Fog Decree," issued on 7th December, 1944, by Hitler. That Decree has not been introduced in evidence. Under that decree persons who committed offenses against the Reich or occupation forces in occupied territory; except where death sentence was certain, were to be taken secretly to Germany and surrendered to the Security Police and SD for trial or punishment in Germany itself. This is the original from which we quote, beginning on the first page of the translation. It is on the stationery of the Peichsfuehrer SS and Chief of German Police, Munich 4 February 1942. Subject: Prosecution of offenses against the Reich or the occupation forces.
"I The following regulations published, by the chief of the being made known herewith:
1) The chief of the armed-Forces-High Command.
is regarded as a sign of weakness. The only way to the fate of the offender.
The deportation to Germany is for just this purpose"."The directives for the prosectuion of offenses as outlined below correspond with the Fuehrer's conception.
They have been examined and approved by him. Signed Keitel, and then follow some of the directives and descriptions. 4 of the English translation, near the bottom:
"Insofar as the SS and the Police are the competent authorities for dealing with offences committed under I, they should proceed accordingly." translation, which is the secret letter addressed to the Abwehr, I quote from page 2, It is the letter dated 2 February 1942. Passing down to the words "Enclosed please find:
1. Decree of the Fuehrer and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces 2. Executive order of the same date.
3. Communication of the Chief of the Supreme Command of the Armed The decree introduces a fundamental innovation.
The Fuehrer and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces orders that offenses committed by civilians within the occupied territories and of the kind mentioned above, are to be dealt with by the competent Military Courts in the occupied territories only, if (a) the death penalty is pronounced, and (b) sentence is pronounced within 8 days of the prisoner's arrest.
Supreme Commander does not anticipate that criminal proceedings within the occupied territories will have the necessary deterrent effect. to Germany secretly, and further dealings with the offenses will take place there; these measures will have a deterrent effect because (a) the prisoners will vanish without leaving a trace, (b) no information may be given as to their whereabouts or their fate.
Now, skipping the next paragraph to the paragraph below:
"In case the competent Military Court, res. the Military Commander are of the opinion that an immediate decision on the spot is impossible, and the prisoners are therefore to be transported to Germany, the Counter Intelligence Offices have to report this fact directly to the RSHA in Berlin, SWll, prinz Albrecht Street 7, c/o Dr. Fischer, Director of Criminal Police, stating the exact number of prisoners and of the groups which belong together as the case may be. Isolated cases where the Superior Commander has an urgent interest in the case being dealt with by a military court, are to be reported to the RSHA. Copy of the entire report has to be sent to Office Foreign Countries Intelligence Department, Abwehr III. which office of the State Police has to accept the prisoners. The latter office will communicate with the competent Counter Intelligence Office and determine with it the particulars of the removal, particularly whether this will be carried out by the Secret Field Police, the Field Gendarmerie, or the GESTAPO itself, as well as on place and the manner of the actual handing over." of their cases was permitted to reach the country from which they came, or their relatives.
I now offer Document 668-PS, US Exhibit 504. This is a letter of the Chief of the Security Police and the SD, dated the 24th of June 1942, and I quote from the first pare of the English translation, the big paragraph which is about fourth or fifth:
"It is the intent of the directive of the Fuehrer and Commander-inChief of the Wehrmacht concerning prosecution of criminal acts against the Reich or the occupation forces in occupied territories, dated 7 December 1941" -- That is the order that I first referred to -- "to create, for deterrent purposes, uncertainty over the fate of prisoners among their relatives and acquaintances, through the deportation into Reich territory of persons arrested in occupied areas on account of activity inimical to Germany. This goal would be forfeited if the relatives were to be notified in cases of death. Release of the body for burial at home is inadvisable for the same reason, and beyond that also because the place of burial could be misused for demonstrations.
"I therefore propose that the following rules be observed in the handling of cases of death:
"a. Notification of relatives is not to take place.
"b. The body will be buried at the place of decease, in the Reich.
"c. The place of burial will, for the time being, not be made known." was that they arrested, tried and punished citizens of occupied countries under special criminal procedure and by summary methods. And I next offer in evidence Document 674-PS, US Exhibit 505. civilians of occupied territories under certain circumstances. Even where there were courts capable of handling emergency cases the Gestapo conducted its own proceedings without regard to normal judicial processes. Kattowitz, dated the 3rd of December 1941, and it is addressed to the Reich Minister of Justice, Attention: Chief Councillor to the Government Stadermann or Representative in office, Berlin. The subject is "Executions by the Police and Expediting of Penal Procedure, without order;
Inclosure: 1 copy of report." I quote from the beginning:
"About three weeks ago, six chief agents (partially German) were hanged by the Police in connection with the destruction of a treasonable organization of 350 members in Tarn witz without notification of the Ministry of Justice. Such execution of criminal agents in the Bielitz district have already been made before also without knowledge of the proper authority for criminal prosecution. On 2 December 1941 the head of the state police at Kattowitz, chief councillor to the government Mildner, reported orally to the undersigned that he had ordered, with authority from the Reich-lender of the SS as necessary immediate action, these executions by public hanging at the place of the crime; and that deterring measures would also have to be continued in the future until the criminal and actively anti-German powers in the occupied Eastern territories have been destroyed, or until ether immediate actions, perhaps also by the courts, would guarantee equal frightening effect. Accordingly, six leaders of another Polish organization guilty of high treason in the district in and around Sosnowitz were to be hanged publicly today as an example.
"About this procedure the undersigned expressed considerable doubts.
"Besides the fact that such measures have been withdrawn from the jurisdiction of the ordinary courts and are contradictory to the laws not put out of effect, a justified emergency for the exceptional proceedings by the police alone cannot, in our opinion, be lawfully recognized.
"The penal justice in our district within the limits of our jurisdiction is quite capable of fulfilling its duty of immediate penal retribution by means of a special form of special judicial activity (establishment of a so-called Rapid Special Court). Indictment and preceeding could be speeded up in such a way that between turning the case over to the public prosecutor and execution no more than three days would elapse if the practice of pardoning is simplified and if the decision, if necessary, can be obtained by long distance call. This was expressed yesterday to the head of the state police at Kattowitz by the undersigned.
"We cannot believe that execution by the police of criminals, especially German criminals, can be considered more effective through shattering the sense of justice of many German countrymen. In the long run they might, in spite of public terrorizing, lead even more to further brutality of minds, which is contrary to the intended purpose of pacifying. These deliberations, however, do not apply to future lawful competence of a drumhead court-martial for Poles and Jews." viously been introduced in evidence, but it bears on this subject, and I will simply summarize in a word what it provided. Minister of Justice; and Himmler came to an understanding by which antisocial elements were to be turned over to Himmler to be worked to death. That is in Document 654-PS, and a special criminal procedure was to be applied by the police to the Jews, Poles, Gypsies, Russians, and Ukrainians who were not to be tried in ordinary criminal courts. is the order of November 5, 1942, issued by the RSHA, and that is document L-316, US Exhibit 346. I don't think it is necessary to quote from that except to state that that letter provides that the administration -- in fact, the last statement in it just before the signature provides:
"The administration of penal law for persons of alien race must be transferred from the hands of the administrators of justice into the hands of the police." That is the part that connects the Police with it, and I will not quote from the document otherwise. or confined persons in concentration camps for crimes allegedly committed by their relatives, and in that connection, I offer Document L-37 in the first volume, U.S. Exhibit 506.
That is a letter dated the 19th of July 1944. I call your Honor's attention to the fact that it is dated in 1944, sent by the Commander of the SIPO and SD for the District of Radom to the Foreign Service Office in Tomaschow. a number of cases in connection with the District of Radom, and your Honors will remember that it is a list of the people in the District of Tomaschow.
The subject of this letter is "Collective responsibility of members of families of assassins and saboteurs," I will read after the word "precedents."
"The Higher SS and Police Leader East has issued on 28 June 1944 the following order:
" 'The security situation in the General Government has in the last nine months grown worse to such an extent, that from now on the most radical means and the harshest measures must prevail against the alien assassins and saboteurs. The Reichsfuehrer SS, in agreement with the General Government, has ordered that, in all cases in which attacks and attempts of assassinations against Germans have resulted, or saboteurs destroyed installations essential to life, not only the seized perpetrators be shot but that because of it all the men of the kin also be executed and their female relatives who are over 16 years be put into concentration camps. Strict presumption is hereby taken for granted that if the perpetrator or the perpetrators are not seized their names and addresses be readily ascertained. As male members of the kin can be considered for example: the father, sons (insofar as they are over 16 years of age), brothers, brothers-in-law, cousins and uncles of the perpetrator. Against the women, proceedings must take place in the same manner.