SIR DAVID MAXWELL-FYFE: I wonder if I might just add one or two words to clarify the position. particular attached very great importance. British Government sent a full report of this incident to the United Nations War Crimes Commission. That report included statements before a court of inquiry, statements of allied witnesses, statements taken from German witnesses, including General Westhoff, copy of the official lists of the dead and a report of the Protecting Power. All that was sent by the British Government to the United Nations War Crimes Commission last September, and the statement of General Westhoff, which I certified as being a report of the United Nations War Crimes Commission, was part of an appendix to that report which was then in the custody of the United Nations War Crimes Commission, and of which a copy was sent to me here. report made by General Westhoff at an interrogation which took place in London as a part of the matter of that report. of a subsequent interrogation of General Westhoff taken in Nurnberg. to the Tribunal - because, as I say, the incident is one of some importance and the British Government's report will be, I hope, tendered the Tribunal by my Soviet colleague, as the incident lies to the east of the line which we have drawn through the centre of Berlin and therefore falls within the Soviet case.
But I don't want the Tribunal to be under any misapprehension as to the nature of the earlier report that was made, the one which my learned friend referred to as being able to put in later should the Tribunal require it.
THE PRESIDENT: But you are agreed that the document which is now being offered to the Tribunal is not a Governmental document within Article 21 of the Charter?
SIR DAVID MAXWELL-FYFE. I quite respectfully agree that that is not really the document on which I intervened. I intervened on the second one.
THE PRESIDENT: At this stage we are not concerned with that, only with the document offered in evidence to which document nobody objected, and that document is not a Government document within Article 21.
SIR DAVID MAXWELL-FYFE: That I understand is so, but I was really intervening to explain that the second document comes-
THE PRESIDENT: I quite understand, yes.
The Tribunal allows the objection of Dr. Nelte. It considers that the document which has been submitted is not a Governmental document within Article 21 of the Charter and is therefore rejected. The Tribunal adheres to the decision which I announced just before we adjourned, namely, that if the Prosecution desired to do so, they can produce the interrogation of which the document submitted to them is a resume, and if they do so, then they must produce the witness, General Westhoff for cross-examination by Defendant's Counsel. And they must also give a copy of the interrogation to the Defendant's Counsel. In the alternative, they can produce and call General Westhoff himself and then, of course, he will be liable to cross-examination by the Defendant's Counsel.
M. QUATRE: I take cognizance of the statements of the Tribunal, and I should like to state that I am anxious to avoid the difficulties which have arisen during this session today.
We won't speak now of this document, but simply point out to the Tribunal that if the opportunity comes later at the time of the interrogation of the Defendant, at that time we may like to summon General Westhoff. May I continue, Mr. President?
THE PRESIDENT: You may.
M. QUATRE: I had reached, gentlemen, page 36 of my brief, concerning the treatment of Allied aviators who were prisoners.
THE PRESIDENT: Perhaps I ought to say that the Tribunal will be willing to sit this evening until half-past five, in order that the case against the Defendant Hess may be concluded, but it is very important that the case should be concluded tonight, against the Defendant Hess, because the Soviet Prosecution will require the whole day for their presentation tomorrow.
M. QUATRE: Mr. President, I shall be very brief. I shall go immediately to the conclusion. I shall say nothing concerning the treatment of Allied aviators. You know the circumstances, as well as the treatment of commando troops, and I once more beg the Tribunal's pardon for having been so lengthy. I shall conclude now. present in the planning and drawing up of orders and directives which have just been examined. Just as one could not deny the reality of the acts perpetrated as a result of these decisions, we must not overlook either, on underestimate, this moral element by which French penal law to use the formula of an eminent jurist, qualifies the acquaintance by the agent of an illicit character of the acts which he accomplishes. This knowledge of the illicit character of the orders which they knew would be followed scrupulously or carried out scrupulously, was one of which the two Defendants were fully cognizant. The systematic rejection by them of the laws and customs which were to attenuate the rigor of war, the establishment of the guiding principle of the most barbarous methods are with Keitel and Jodl the reflection of the precepts and the norms of National Socialism and its leader, for whom any international law, any convention, any ethical law, was an unbearable restraint, which would prevent them from carrying out the desired end and henceforth would put an obstacle to the superior interests of the German community. It is not a matter of indifference to know whether Keitel and Jodl were driven on by the desire to carry out their mission or whether, faithful to the traditional pan-Germanism of the General Staff, they yielded to the National Socialist myth, in the desire to see blossom one day the bold pretensions of Germany. made of their own volition and knowingly to the destructive undertaking carried out by the Third Reich.
For ten years Keitel was the "kingpin" of the German Army and from 1936 Jodl continued to be his collaborator. Before the war they worked for the war.
And during the war they deliberately flouted the rules of law and justice, the only safeguards for men who struggle. In the most scornful manner they ignored the dignity of mankind and thus failed to do their duty as soldiers. "Nacht und Nebel", the bullet action or "Kugel Action," the "Sonderbehandlung," the destruction of our cities -- all this will remain forever associated with the names of these men, particularly the name of Keitel who proclaimed that human life was less than nothing. toward the innumerable absent ones who for that sacrificed their life.
LT. COL. GRIFFITH JONES (For the British Prosecution): May it please the Tribunal, it is my duty to present the evidence upon Counts One and Two of the Indictment, against the defendant Hess. them, has been made out in the form of a fairly full note of the evidence to wh I intend to refer, and it may be of convenience to the Tribunal to have it before them during the court sitting. in Appendix A of the Indictment, and say a word about his early life.
This Defendant was born in 1894. He is now 52 years old. He served in the German Army during the last war and in 1919 he went to Munich University. There he became the leader of the Nazi organization in that university and in 1920 he became a member of the Nazi Party itself. He was among the first of the SA, and he became the leader of the students' corps of police. In 1923 he took part in the Munich putsch and as a result of that he was sentenced to 18 months in prison. Half of that period he served in jail with Hitler himself. I stress that, because it was during those seven and one-half months in prison with Hitler that Hitler dictated "Mein Kampf."
THE PRESIDENT; Have you got -
LT. COL. GRIFFITH JONES: I think I know what the difficulty is. This case was originally scheduled to be presented by the American Delegation and they did have a brief of their own. It may be that that is the brief which Justice Biddle has before him. I will hand you up a spare copy.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, you may go on.
LT. COL. GRIFFITH JONES: It was during that time that Hitler dictated "Main Kampf" to this Defendant.
Now, dealing with his actual appointments: From 1925 until 1932 he was private secretary and ADC to Hitler. In 1932 he became the chairman of the Central Political Committee of the Party, in succession to Gregor Strasser. In March, 1933, after the Nazi Party became a power, he became a member of the Reichstag, and in April of that year he was appointed Deputy to the Fuehrer a position which he held until he flew to England in May of 1941. called, "Dates of the History of the Nazi Party," by Volz, which is already in evidence as No. PS-3132 and was put in evidence as US-952. Deutsches Fuehrer Lexicon, PS-3191, US-593. Portfolio, another position which he held throughout the remainder of his time in Germany. That appears in the Reichsgesetzblatt. It is PS-3178and it goes in now as GB-2478. On the 4th of February, 1938, he became a member of the Secret Cabinet Council. My Lord, that is PS-1389, and becomes GB-2479.
for Defense of the Reich, Document PS 2018, which becomes GB 250. On the 1st of Spetember 1939 he was appointed successor designate to the Fuehrer, after Goering. Goering, it will be remembered was successor No. 1, and during that time he held the positions of Obergruppenhuehrer in the SS and in the SA. the indictment. I would say a word upon the authority he exercised under and holding these positions. The Tribunal will remember that in appointing Hess as his Deputy the Fuehrer decreed, in the decree by which he made the appointment, as follows: "I hereby appoint Hess as my Deputy and give him full power to make decisions in my name in all questions of party leadership." The extent of his office as Deputy Fuehrer can be seen from the party Year Book of 1941, to which I would briefly refer the Tribunal. It appears on page 104 of the Tribunal's Document Book. It is PS-3163 and has already been put in as U.S. 255. I quote from that Year Book:
"By decree of the Fuehrer of April 21, 1933, the Deputy of the Fuehrer received full power to decide in the name of the Fuehrer all matters concerning Party leadership. Thus, the Deputy of the Feuhrer is the representative of the Fuehrer, with full power over the entire leadership of the National Socialist German Workers Party. The office of the Deputy of the Fuehrer is therefore an office of the Fuehrer. In essence, it is the duty of the Deputy of the Fuehrer to direct the basic policies of party work, to give directives, and take care that all Party work be done according to National Socialist principles. All the threads of the Party work are gathered together by the Deputy of the Fuehrer. He gives the final party word on all intra-Party plans and all questions vital for the existence of the German people. The Deputy of the Fuehrer gives the directives required for all the Party work, in order to maintain the unity, determination, and striking power of the National Socialist German Workers Party as the bearer of the National Socialist philosophy. In addition to the duties of party leadership, the Deputy of the Fuehrer has far-reaching powers in the field of the State. These are participation in national and State legislation, including the pre paration of Fuehrer orders.
The Deputy of the Fuehrer in this way validates the conception of the party as the guarder of National Socialist philosophy.
"Two, approval of the Deputy of the Fuehrer of proposed appointments for official and labor service leaders.
"Three, securing the influence of the party over the self-government of the municipal units." chart that sets out the organization of the Deputy of the Fuehrer's office. It appears on page 119 of the Document Book. It is PS-3201, which becomes 251 OB. I would particularly refer the Tribunal to the square in the center, showing the liaison officer of the Wehrmacht, and showing his close association with the army; and in the right-hand column at the top "Chief of the Foreign Organization," of which I shall tell the Tribunal in a moment; "Commissioner for Foreign Policy", showing his concern with the foreign policy of the German State; "Commissioner for all technicological matters and organization;" "Commissioner for all University Matters"; "Commissioner of University Policy", showing his concern with the education of Germany; and further down "Office for Racial Policy", showing his concern with the antiJew policy of the Nazi Government that followed; and at the bottom again "Specialist on Education," every aspect and every branch of Nazi life and the organization and administration of the State. As Reichsminister without portfolio, in the law to secure the unity of Party and State of 1st of December 1933 it was states that his task was to guarantee the close working cooperation of the party and the SA with public authority. Put in as 1395, it becomes 252. extract which I have read from the Nazi Year Book of 1941. I would particularly draw the attention of the Tribunal to a decree of Hitler's dated 27 July. The extract which I wish to quote is set out in the trial brief. It has already been read and therefore I will do nothing now other than to draw the attention of the Tribunal to it. The document is D 138 and has been put in as U.S. 403.
By the law for the protection of people in November 1933, it will be remembered that Hitler and his cabinet obtained for themselves full powers of legislation, independently of the Reichstag, and this defendant, being a member of the cabinet, of course shared in these powers. 16th of January 1937, and a short extract is again set out in the trial brief that the Tribunal has before them.
"National Socialist has seen to it that vital necessities of our nation can today no longer be torn to peices by a Reichstag and made the object of the haggling of parties. You have seen that in the new government decisions of historic scope are made by the Fuehrer and his cabinet, decisions which in other countries must be preceded by parlimentary debates lasting weeks and weeks." That these powers and offices were no sinecure is clear from Hess's own order which he issued in October 1934. I will not read it now because it has already been road. It is D 139 and was put in as U.S. 404, and the Tribunal will remember that he is there issuing a decree showing he has been given the right to participate in legislation by the Fuehrer, and any office that is promoting legislation, in which he therefore ought to take part, must let him have the draft in time to take effective action on it if he disapproves of it. describes the powers that he had without my referring: to more than two other documents upon this matter. On page 5 of the trial brief it will be seen that he acquired powers and took part in the organization and production under the 4-Year Plan. I quote from a lecture given by the defendant Frick on the 7 March 1940, which is PS--2608 and which as already been put in as 714. But the short passage that I quote now was not actually read. In that lecture Frick said:
"In order to guarantee the coordination of the various economic agencies of the 4-Year Plan, those agencies were formed into a general council, under the chairmanship of Goering. Its members are the State Secretaries of the agencies working in the field of war economy, the Chief of Military Office of Economy, and a representative of the Deputy of the Fuehrer."
which is M 102 and becomes GB 254. My Lord, it appears on page 4 of the trial brief. I quote these passages, set out simply to save the Tribunal's time in referring to the Document Book. It does appear on page 12 of the Document Book if the Tribunal desires to refer to the full extract.
"A long while ago" -- it was still before the outbreak of the war -Rudolph Hess was once called the 'Conscience of the Party. If we ask why the Fuehrer's Deputy was given this undoubtedly honorable title, the reason for this is plain to see. There is no phenomenon of our public life which is not the concern of the Fuehrer's Deputy. So enormously many-sided and diverse is his work and sphere of duty that it cannot be outlined in a few words; and it lies in the nature of the obligation laid on the Fuehrer's Deputy that wide publicity hears little of the activity of Rudolph Hess. Few know that many government measures taken, especially in the sphere of war economy and the Party, which meet with such hearty approbation when they are notified publicly, can be traced back to the direct initiation of the Fuehrer's Deputy." secret cabinet council, that council was appointed by Hitler to advise him in the conduct of foreign policy. The Tribunal will find attached to that document book a few photos. They are of little importance. They were really to emphasize or remind the Tribunal of the film that was shown earlier in the course of these proceedings, when, it will be remembered, the defendant Hess appeared in practically every scene of that film "The Rise to Power of the Nazi Party." These photographs are not actually photographs from that film; they are other somewhat similar and I produce an affidavit with them to state they were taken by Hitler's own private photographer That affidavit becomes GB 255. perhaps I might be allowed to make one short submission upon that. I make it in respect of this defendant Hess, although it is perhaps a submission which can be made in respect of every one of these defendants.
defendants in the form of a collection of documents which directly refer and directly connect these defendants with specific instances of participation in the various crimes that were committed by the German people. My lord, it will be my submission that it is sufficient, to justify and bring home the conviction of this man and his colleagues, to produce simply evidence of their positions in the Nazi State and the control of that State, and also the general evidence of the crimes which were committed by the German people. It is only perhaps new, at this late stage in the trial, as day by day the extent and scope of those crimes is becoming clearer, that we realize that they cannot have happened by themselves. Crime on that scale must be organized, coordinated, and directed. If the government of Nazi German, or the government of any country, is not the organization that directs and coordinates, what is? If the members of that government and the people who control and give orders to the members of the German nation who are committing those crimes are not the people responsible for them, then, in my submission, one is entitled to ask, who is?
My Lord, there can be no question that these men had knowledge. Again, as the picture unfolds, it will be my submission that everybody in Germany must have had knowledge of what was going on, and if everybody had knowledge, then, my submission is, these men must certainly have had knowledge, and I would urge upon this Tribunal the fact that the conviction of these men does not rely upon the mere chance of how many documents happened to have been captured bearing their signatures. It might well have been that no documents at all had been captured. But, in the submission of the Prosecution, these men could equally well and equally justifiably have been proved guilty in the part they took, beyond any kind of doubt, upon the evidence of the positions they held and the evidence of the scope and extent of the crimes that were committed by the people they controlled. deal briefly, for the convenience of the Tribunal, with the many small matters that do directly connect him with, as I say, almost every aspect of the crimes and life of Nazi Germany.
I turn to page 6 of the trial brief:
DR. SEIDL: The Prosecuting Attorney just mentioned a sworn statement, neither in the Document Book nor in his presentation. I can, consequently, take no position in regard to this sworn statement. Nor can I investigate the questions that are brought up in it. According to the provisions of the Charter, I should like the Prosecuting Attorney to present me with this sworn statement ...
(The remainder of the interpretation of the statement of Dr. Seidl did not come through the headphone).
THE PRESIDENT: We couldn't hear the rest of the translation coming through.
DR. SEIDL: Mr. President, I am not sure how much of the translation you heard.
THE PRESIDENT: There is some Document that you are saying is net in the Document Book?
LT. COL. GRIFFITH-JONES: The photographs were in the book. The affidavit by the photographer was my mistake omitted from the book, the original is here. I will produce a copy for Dr. Seidl, and I regret it was not done before. It was net a very important document.
defendant Hess took a leading part in the acquisition of power by the Nazi Party and in their consolidation of control over the State. By the law of the 1st of August the office of Reichspresident -
THE PRESIDENT: 1934?
LT. COL. GRIFFITH-JONES: 1934, yes. (Continuing) and of Reichschancellor were joined together under Hitler. Hitler held both offices. That decree was signed by others and by Hess. Hess also signed a decree on the 20th of December, 1934, a decree entitled "Laws of Treacherous Acts Against the State and Party." By Article 1 of that decree penalties were imposed upon anybody making false statements injuring the prestige of the government, the Party, or its agencies; and by Article 2 penalties were imposed for statements proving a malicious attitude against the party or its leading personalities. The decree was signed by Hess and it was Hess who had to issue the necessary regulations for carrying the decree into effect. appointments. I quote again in all these matters only a few examples. If one wanted to quote every decree that the defendant signed and every act he took in participation of these matters, it would really entail writing a history of the Nazi Party from 1920 until 1941 and a history of Germany from 1933 until 1941. Set out in the trial brief at page 7, it will be seen that there are various decrees, all signed by Hess; of the 24th September 1935, a decree providing for his consultation in the appointment of Reich civil servants; 3rd April 1936, providing for his participation in the appointment of labor service officials; and I refer again to the 10th of July 1937, another decree under which he participated by having to be consulted upon the appointment or other minor civil servants. youth, again there are various decrees signed by this defendant. I set out in trial brief particularly a reference to the book which has already been put in, Volz's dates of the Nazi Party, where it appears that he appointed a University Commission of the Party, which was under his supervision. The Tribunal will remember that we have already seen from the chart of his staff that he had a department dealing with universities and with teachers.
I am quoting from the same document. On the 18th of July, 1934, the Nazi League of Young Students Was directly subordinated to the Deputy of the Fuehrer. himself in the SS and the SA. His responsibility for an association with those organizations can be seen from three documents. Amongst the papers found in the Krupp files was a circular sent by Hess, apparently to various industries, asking for funds or subscriptions for the Adolph Hitler Fund for German Industry, The document is D-151, which I put now as GB-256, and the relevant extract again is set out in the trial brief for convenience:
"The fund rests upon an agreement between the Reich management of the NSDAF and leading representatives of German industry:
Then its purpose is set out:
"To put at the disposal of the Reich leadership the funds required for the unified execution of the tasks which fall to the lot of the SA, SS, and other political organizations." that last document I mentioned can found at page 5 of the document book. Service of the Reichsfuehrer SS was established as the sale political news and defense twice of the Party, which Himmler had established, was taken off the establishment of the Party, and it was, under that decree, to be organized by the SS. Those were both Hess decrees, and they are both the same document, PS-3385. They have become GB-257, and they appear at page 172 of the Tribunal's document book, of the churches in order to eliminate any hostile parties there may have been to the Nazi Party. Hess again took his share in that legislation, and there are set out in the trial brief, on pages 8 and 9, a series of decrees which, have already been put before the Tribunal during the presenta tion of the case against Bormann.
until Hess flew to England, Hess' deputy. Therefore, it will be my submission that decrees issued by Bormann as deputy for the deputy of the Fuehrer are, of course, the responsibility of this defendant as well. decrees and will bear in mind the evidence that was offered against the defendant Bormann. Jews. Again it will be remembered that the chart of his organization showed an office of his which described itself as the Office for Racial Policy. His own views about this matter are found in a speech which he made on the 16th of January, 1937, and which is reported in a volume of his speeches which is PS -3124. It is already in as GB-253. The extract I desire to quote is set out in the trial brief. The document can be found on page 98 of the document book.
"The organization of the NSDAP will be used for the enlightenment of the people in questions concerning race and health of the nation, and to increase the population. Just as in the homeland, so in foreign lands Germans influenced in the National Socialist sense are being educated in such a way as to make them proudly conscious again of the fact that they are Germans, to make them hold together and esteem each other. Thus, they are being educated to put Germans above the subjects of a foreign nation, regardless of their position or their origin." one of the Nurnberg decrees of the 15th of September 1935. It is PS-3179. It is already in evidence as US-200. It will be remembered that under that decree and under the other Reich Citizenship Law of the same date, it was the Deputy of the Fuehrer who was to issue the necessary decrees and regulations for the carrying out and supplementing of those laws, the Nurnberg Decrees. under the Reich Citizenship Law which deprived the Jews of the right to vote or to hod public office. That is PS-1417, and becomes GB-258.
extended to Austria, that law of extension again beging signed by this defendant. PS-2124, GB-259. of this man in the acquisition of power and consolidation of power in the Nazi Party.
There are documents which I will hand up to the Tribunal that perhaps they might add to their document books, and there is a copy in German for the learned French Judge. There are examples in this and other exhibits which I have not mentioned now, but which are already before the Tribunal, put in when the case of Bormann was put before the Tribunal, for which, as I have already said, this Defendant must take responsibility. two German copies and the rest are in English--there are various documents set out under the headings, "Association with the SD and GESTAPO," "Subversion of the Churches," and again, "The Persecution of the Jews." and preparation for aggressive war. We find that as early as 1932 he was concerned with the rearmament and reorganization of the Air Force. The Tribunal will remember a document, PS-1143, US-40, dated the 20th of October, 1932, which showed that a report on the preparation of material and training of air personnel to provide for the armament of the Air Force was sent to Hess by Rosenberg's chief of staff. That document, for reference, appears on page 43 of the Tribunal's document book.
That was in 1932. Throughout the years we find him connected with the rearmament of the German armed forces. On the 16th of March, 1935, it was Hess who signed the decree for the introduction of compulsory military service. On the 12th of October, 1936, in a speech that he made, he took up Goering's cry of "Guns before Butter," when he said:
"We are prepared in the future, if need be, at times to eat a little less fat, a little less pork, a few eggs less, since we knew/ that this little sacrifice is a sacrifice on the altar of the freedom of our people. We know that the foreign exchange which we thereby save expedites the output of armaments."
That document is M-104. It becomes 260 and will be found on page 14 of the Tribunal's document book.
Then he said:
"The German soldier must understand that for the uniqueness and the untiring efforts for many years of Adolph Hitler."
on the 2nd of May, 1941. It is M-105 and becomes GB-261. It is on page 15 of the Tribunal's document book.
German fifth column. He was the responsible person, as Deputy of the the Foreign Organization of the Party.
A history of that state publication, PS-3258. It becomes 262-GB.
It is on page 147 I would only mention now two matters.
In October 1933 that organization was placed directly under Hess's control, and a year on page 69 of the Tribunal's document book, and I think it is unnecessary to refer now in detail.
It had the various offices, organization of Rosenberg, the APA.
Very briefly and in a word, heading, "Scope of the Organization's Work," two documents.
I
THE PRESIDENT: Which page in the trial brief?
LT. COL. GRIFFITH-JONES: Page 12, my Lord.
starts off by saying that, "National Socialism is an ideology which fast to the German nature and customs," and then goes on to say directly subordinated to the Deputy of the Fuehrer Hess.
I quote "The work of the Foreign Organization is literally extended justice, be displayed in its workroom in Hamburg, 'My field is the world.
' The Foreign Organization, under the leadership of Gauleiter places."
which is at page 150 of the document book. That is 262, already in evidence.
There is another extract from the British Basic Handbook on Germany, which is in the addendum to the document book.
It is not, I think, actually put into the Tribunal's brief.
It appears Abroad, the V.D.A., and the German Eastern League, the B.D.O.on page 38 of the document book.
It is PS-837, which becomes GB-265.
That is a letter which it will be seen on the next page is signed by Hess, dated 3 February, 1939.
It is a circular order-
"Not for publication. The subject is the National League of Germans Abroad and the German Eastern League.
I quote from the first "The Director of the Agency for Racial Germans, SS Gruppenfuehrer Lorenz--"by Himmler and the SS.
All these gentlemen appear to have had their own foreign organizations.
No doubt they were all engaged upon the same purpose.
Himmler's was called the Volksdeutsche Mittelstelle.
"The Director for that agency has instigated on my behalf the work in the border country.
The National League for Germans Abroad, V.D.A., is the association responsible for national work beyond the frontiers."
I go down to the last two lines of that paragraph:
"The V. D. A. is organized into state associations which correspond in area to the Gaus of the NSDAP."
And the first two lines of the next paragraph:
"The German League, the B. D. O., is the association responsible for work on the border country."
I turn to the next page, paragraph 4 of that letter, Number 4:
"The V. D. A. is solely responsible for racial work beyond the frontiers. I hereby forbjd the Party, its organizations and affiliated associations from all racial work abroad. The only competent body for this task is the Agency for Racial Germans, and V. D. A. as its camoflouged tool. Within the Reich, the V. D. A., generally speaking, is responsible only for providing the means for racial work beyond the frontiers. V. D. A. must be supported in every way by the Party Officers. Any outward appearance of connection with the Party is, however, to be avoided."
Then it goes on to set out the activity of the B. D. O., and in the last paragraph:
"The activity of the V. D. A. and the B. D. O., is to be supported in every way by the Party offices. The National Socialist leaders of both associations will assure energetic cooperation, on their part, in all tasks assigned to them by the NSDAP. Their nature is determined by considerations of foreign policy and the associations must bear this in mind when representing them in public." which as I say, was the basis of the fifth column movement when war eventually broke out. I pass, then, to consideration of Hess' part in the preliminary occupations of Austria and Czechoslovakia, which led up to the aggressive wars themselves. from the very beginning. In the autumn of 1934 it was he that appointed Reinthaler leader of the Austrian Peasants, the Nazi Party in Austria, after the failure of the July, 1934 rising. That has already been given in evidence: P. S. 812, U.S. 61, and the relevant passage was read into the transcript at Another document that has already been put in evidence, PS-3254, U.S.704, is Seyss-Inquart's statement of 10 December 1945, when he mentions that he held meetings with Goering and Hess in 1936.