DEFENDANT KEITEL: I acknowledge my responsibility on the witness stand within the frame work of my position. The substance and, significance of this position was presented in the presentation of evidence and in the final plea of my defense Counsel.
It is not my intention to minimize my part in what took place. In the interest of historical truth, however, it seems advisable to correct a few errors in the final speeches of the Prosecution.
The American Chief Prosecutor said In his final speech, and I quote: "Keitel, a week, submissive tool, turned the Wehrmacht, the instrument of aggression, over to the Party." A "turning over" of the Wehrmacht to the Party by me cannot be reconciled with my functions, either up to 4 February 1938 or after that time, a period when Hitler made himself the immediate supreme commander of the Wehrmacht, and thus ruled the Party and the Wehrmacht absolutely. I do not recall that in the course of this trial a single piece of evidence as presented which could justify this grave contention of the Prosecution. contention "that Keitel led the Wehrmacht in the execution of its criminal intentions" is wrong. This contention is also in contradiction to the English-American trial brief, which says expressly that I had no authority to issue orders. Speaks of me as -- and I quote -- "a field marshal who issued orders to the Wehrmacht". And when he accuses me of having sold that I "had no idea what practical results were intended", -- that is the quotation -- I believe that this is something; quite different from what I said on the witness stand, which was, and I quote the words I spoke on the witness stand: "But whoa an order was given, I acted according to my duty as I saw it, without permitting myself to be confused by the possible but not always foreseeable consequences".
Also, the contention that -- and I quote: "Keitel and Jodl cannot deny the responsibility for the operations of the Einsatzkommandos, with which their own commanders cooperated closely and cordially" that contention, cannot be reconciled with the result of the taking of evidence. The OKW was eliminated from the Soviet-Russian theater of war. There were no troop commanders under its orders.
The French Chief Prosecutor said in his final speech: "Is it necessary to recall the terrible Words of the defendant Keitel that 'human life was worth less than nothing in the occupied territories". These terrible words are not my words. I did not think them up and did not make them the contents of any order. The consciousness that my name is connected with the transmission of this Fuehrer order weights heavily enough upon me.
At another point M. Champetier de Ribes says, and I quote: "This order was executed -- it concerned anti-Partisan activities -- on the basis of instructions from the commander of the army group, who, in his turn, acted on mere general instructions of the defendant Keitel".
Here again "instructions of Keitel" are mentioned, although the French indictment itself states that I, as chief of the OKW could not give any direct orders to the branches of the Wehrmacht. quote: "Beginning with the documents on the executions of political persons, Keitel, this 'soldier', as he likes to call himself, lied shamelessly to the American Prosecution in the preliminary examination -disregarding his oath -- by saying that this decree was in the nature of a reprisal and that political persons had been kept separate from the other prisoners of war at the request of the latter. He was exposed before the The accusation that I lied is unfounded.
The Soviet-Russian Prosecution overlooked the fact that the transcript of my preliminary examination on This question was not the subject of the presentation of evidence before this tribunal. Therefore, its us in the final speech of the prosecution should not have been allowed. I did not see the transcript of the preliminary interrogation and do not know the wording. If it is complete, it Will clarify the error which arose because the document in question was not shown to me. In the examination by my defense counsel I presented the state of affairs correctly.
to incriminate me severely by conceiting name with an order for the preparation of bacteriological warfare. A witness, the former Generalarzt Dr. Schreiber, had said in his report; "The chief of the OKW, Field Marshal Keitel, had issued the order to prepare bacteriological, warfare against the Soviet "Union". On the witness stand here this witness for "Fuehrer order". But this is not true either. approved by the Tribunal in all are amount with the Prosecution, indicates that in the fall of 1943 I, in Buerker's own words, sharply and categorically rejected the suggestion of the Army Medical Inspectorate and the Army weapons Office to activate the bacteria experiments, saying that that was out of the question, that it was forbidden, and that is true. Colonel General Jodl as well can confirm that no order of the type alleged by the witness was over issued, and, moreover, that Hitler prohibited bacteriological warfare, which was suggested by some authorities. Thus the assertion to the contrary of the witness Dr. Schreiber is proved to be untrue I claim to have told the truth in all things, even if they incriminated me; at least to have endeavored, in spite of the great extort of my field of activity, to contribute to the best, of my knowledge to the clarification of the true state of affairs. that I have today and my acknowledgement: basic questions. The first was put me months ago. It was: "In case of a victory would you have refused a share in the success?"
I answered: "No, I should me doubt have been proud of it," The second question was:
How would you act if you were in the same position again once more?"
My answer: Then I would choose so death rather than, to let myself be drawn into the meshes of such mutinous methods." I believed, I erred, and I was no in a position to prevent in the should have been prevented. That is my guilt.
obedience and loyalty, was exploited for intentions which could not berecognized, and that I did not see the limit which is set even for a soldier's performance of his duty. That is my fate. the terrible consequences of this occurence of war, may there arise for the German. People hope for a new future the community of nation.
THE PRESIDENT: I call upon the defendant Ernst Kaltenbrunnrer.
DEFENDANT KALTENBRUNNER: The prosecution hold me responsible for the concentration comes, for the destruction of Jewish life, for Einsatzgruppen and, other things similar. All of these are neither in accord, with the presentation of evidence nor with the truth. The accusers as well as the accused are exposed to the dangers of a summary proceeding and they must realize it. there is no guilt. Such offices exist in governments of other nations. But the task with which I was charged an teh activity with which I was charged in the year 1943 was almost exclusively in the reorganization of the German political and military intelligence service, not as the successor of Heydrich butrather, almost a year after his death, when the suspicion of collaboration with the enemy of Admiral Canaries ever long years existed, I, according to orders and as an officer, had to accept this post. Very shortly, to the most terrific extent, I ascertained the treason of Canaries and his helpers. The Offices IV and V of the RSHA were subordinate to me only formally, but never in fact. it is wrong and misleading. Himmler, who was a master of raising the SS into the smallest fragmentary groups to bring them under his immediate influence as far as it served his purpose, together with Chief of police Mueller, committed crimes which we know today. Contrary to public opinion, I emphatically and state that the activities of Himmler and his consultants and the officers which were under him I learned of only to the smallest extent and as for as it concerned my own sphere. functionaries. Never did I approve or tolerate the biological extermination of Jewry, Anti-Semitism as found, in Party and State laws was to be considered an emergency measure in time of war. The anti-Semitism of Hitler as we know it today was barbarism. I did not participate in either of these forms and I assert, as I shall show, that the prevention of the persecution of the Jews is to be traced to me because of my influence on Hitler.
my knowledge of crimes in concentration camps such as in Mauthausen. Never did I set foot in Camp Mauthausen, but only that part of the labor camps where the quarry was, where hardened or criminals were employed according to the law, not political prisoners. The pictures show an administration building and nothing else, Affidavit USA 909, Pages 894 to 897 F is therefore quite factually impossible and is wrong. The Picture with Hitler shows a building at a construction area of Linz, 35 kilometers away from Mauthausen.
The statement given by Dr. Morgan, the witness, seems essentially true but it needs to be supplemented as far as my person and my reactions to this are concerned. The witness in his statement was too much concerned with himself and does hot say that because of my influence his office of the juridical system was transferred to Office V of the RSHA so that, as a special office, he could investigate the concentration camps to supplement the research which had been carried on. Perhaps he cannot testify as to additional happenings and incidents, contrary to Mueller, who raged as a madman as the chief of the Criminal Police Nebo did. On the same day an exact written report was sent to Hitler. On the same day I was asked to appear, and I went there. After much discussion, Hitler said that there had been an investigation against Himmler and Pohl. A special court Was to be instituted, and arrest was to be the lot of those involved. Pohl was to be dismissed from his office. In front of me Hitler gave orders that Pohl should be called to him, and he gave me his plan to the effect that even today he Would take all steps against any further misdeeds. saying that I was essential, and the I could not be scared from the intelligence service. Eichmann was arrested and I was told of the decree by Himmler in October of 1944, which confirms and puts in final form that which I have just testified in its wording is the last devilish work of Hitler. the RSHA discovered the crimes of office IV, and in that fact I see the proof of the fact that I never know the true happenings, and at the moment when I realized what was taking Place, protested in my in office.
that barbarism? That alone is to be decided as my guilt. seems to be so highly incriminating here, written to the Mayor of Vienna, which I do not remember to have signed -- that matter has been clarified and explained for me today. thousands of German men and women were used to fortify the region east of Vienna, together with an additional 2,000 persons in Gunskirchen in Upper Austria, were taken care of by the International Red Cross because of my intervention and were brought to freedom. During the excitement of the cross examination I could not recall that in this period of time in which the men of Office V were active in the camps, that I Could not any longer believe in a threat to Jewish life. My credibility has been doubted ever since then. My credibility would have been restored if an inquiry had been sent to the International Red Cross at Geneva. what was taking place and that your superiors were committing crimes -- to that I can answer only that I could not set myself up to be their judge, that not even this Tribunal here will be in position to ask for expiation of these crimes. the murder of a French General. I heard of the murder of the German General Brodewski and the order given by Hitler to investigate the question of reprisal. I only heard of the murder here for the first time a few days ago. Panzinger was the chief of the Reichs Criminal office and was subordinate to no one except Himmler, who was the Chief of the Prisoner of war System and of the Replacement Army. He was not, as the Prosecutions asserts, an official of the Secret State police. cerned, with the signature in my name, in which the carrying out if the plan is directed to and made known to Himmler at his headquarters, I should like to say that from the 23d of December until the 3d of January I was in Austria with my family.
This teletype message was not seen by me, and I could not have seen it, nor could I have signed it. the Reichs Press Chief in the murder of the French General. The results were sort to the headquarters. assumed office in 1943, was not in better relationship to the churches, which are a factor in an order and which cannot he done away with. I tried to do everything possible. The presentation of evidence has seen this, and the Prosecution did not draw any consequences. as a German soldier. I could only put myself at the service of the defense of these factors which had brought Germany to the abyss, and after the collapse of the Reich I still did it. cardinal orders were given out before my time of office, then I am in a fate which is stronger than myself, but which is carrying me along with it. I am accused here because Himmler and order elements which were completely contrary to the needed deputies. Whether my story will be accepted or not, I should like to ask you that the fate and the honor of hundreds of thousands of them. living and dead of the General SS, of the Waffen SS, and of the officialdom who, up until the very last, fought bravely, fought for their rights -- that you do not connect them in any way with your just curse towards Himmler. Just as I, they believed that they were acting under the law.
THE PRESIDENT: I call on the Defendant Alfred Rosenberg.
DEFENDANT ALFRED ROSENBERG: The Prosecutors, going beyond repetition of the old accusations, have raised now ones in the strongest manner. They now claim that we all attended secret conferences in order to plan for an aggressive war. Further, we are supposed to have ordered the alleged murder of 12,000,000 people. All these accusations have been collectively described as Genocide -- the Murder of peoples. I want to declare the following in that connection. assistance in the murder of peoples, instead of working for the destruction of the culture and national sentiments of the people of Europe, I represented the furthering of their physical and moral living conditions; and instead of destroying their personal safety and human dignity, I have proven that with all my might I stand up against every policy of forcible measures and that I demanded with severity a just behavior on the part of the German officials and a humane treatment of Eastern workers. Instead of carrying on a policy of "child slavery", I saw to it that juveniles coming from territories endangered by com at were protected and took special care of them. Instead of exterminating religion, I reinstated the liberty of the churches in the Eastern territories by a decree of tolerance. freedom of conscience, granted it to every enemy, and never ordered a prosecution of religion. to say, the actual murder of peoples, has never entered my mind and I must certainly net advocate it in any way. It was my opinion that the existing Jewish question had to be solved by the creation of a minority right, emigration, or by settling the Jews in a national territory by a process lasting a decade. The white paper of the British Government of 24 July 1946 shows how a historical development can cause measures which were never previously planned.
The practice of the Germany. State Leadership in the war as proven here during the trial, completely differed with my conviction. Adolf Hitler, in an increasing measure, drew person to himself who were not my comrades, but my opponents.
I must say, with reference to their harmful activities, this is not the execution of National. Socialism for which millions of believing men and women have fought. It was its shameful misuse, it was the degeneration which I also deeply condemned. International agreement and will be the subject of severe penalties is something which I sincerely welcome, though under the natural prerequisites, Genocide neither at present nor in the future may be permitted against the German people in any way. " so-called ideological activity" had been a "preparation for crime". In that connection I wish to say that National. Socialism represented the thought of an overcoming of the class struggle which was disintegrating the people, and the unity of all classes in a large community of peoples. Through the Labor Service, for instance, it reinstates the honor of manual labor on the mother earth, and directs the eyes of all Germans to the necessity of a strong peasantry. By the Winter Aid Work it created a comradeship of the entire nation working for all the comrades in need, irrespective of their former Party membership. It built homes for mothers; youth hostels, and community clubs in the factories; and it acquainted millions with the yet unknown treasures of art. towards honorable Europe, As early as 1932 I applied to Rome for its maintenance and peaceful development, and I fought as long as I could for the ideas of the inner winnings of the peoples of Eastern Europe when becoming Easter Minister in 1941. Therefore, in this hour of need, I cannot deviate from the Idea of my life, from the ideal of a socially peaceful Germany and a Europe conscious of its value, and I will remain faithful to them. comings was not a conspiracy; my actions were never a crime. I understood my struggle to be, as it was understood by many thousands of comrades, the struggle for the most noble idea for which it was fought for every 100 years and for which the flag was raised.
trial; then, in my conviction, a first step would be taken for a now mutual, understanding of the peoples, Without prejudice, without hostile sentiments, and without hatred.
THE PRESIDENT: I call upon the Defendant Hans Frank.
DEFENDANT HANS FRANK: May it please the Tribunals: German people in the world, his final statement. He in the deepest distress of his nation, did not find a comforting word. He became rigid, and he lid not take care of his position as a Fuehrer, but he disappeared into the dark through his suicide. Maybe it was stubbornness; mauve it was despair; or stubbornness against God and men. Perhaps he thought that he himself must perish, then the German people too may fall to the abyss. Who all ever know? We -- and if I now speak in the term of we, thin I mean myself and those National Socialists who will agree with me in this conviction, and not those fellow-defendants on whose behalf I am not entitled to speak -- we must surrender the German nation to its state without a word and in the same way, We merely want to say now, you will have to see to how you can deal with this collapse with which we leave you, Even now, even today, and perhaps like never before, we have tremendous spiritual responsibility.
away from God would have such disastrous deathly consequences and that, as a matter of course, we might one day be involved deeply in this guilt. At that time we could not have known that so much faith and so much will to sacrifice on the part of the German people could have been so badly administered by us. It was not because of technical deficiencies and unfortunate circumstances that we have lost this war, nor was it misfortune and treason, God, most of all, has passed sentence on Hitler and carried it out against him and the system which we served, far away from God as we were, Thus may our people be called back from the Road on which we and Hitler have led them. that they may not proceed in that direction, not with one single step; because Hitler's road was the way without God, the way of refusing to believe in Christ, and, in its final point, the way of political foolishness, the way of disaster, and the way of death. He is walk, more and more, became the walk of a frightful adventurer without conscience, without honesty, as I know it today at the end of this trial. this road which, according to God's justice bad to lead us into disaster and which will lead into disaster everyone who would try to walk on it, or continue on it everywhere in this Whole world. this state trial occurred, lasting for many months, as the central, legal sequence Their spirits and ghosts drifted across this room accusingly. possibility of justification against the accusations raised against me. Did not millions have to perish without over being asked and ever being heard? I Have surrendered the war diary dealing with my statements and activities, and that at an hour when I lost my liberty. If I really once have been hard, then it was at that moment of the unveiling of my actions in the war and everything that I have done.
which I must be responsible. I also recognized that degree of guilt which it must be ,y part to assume as a fighter for Adolf Hitler, his movement, and his Reich I have nothing to add to the words on my defense counsel. to erase the guilt brought upon out people because of the actions of Adolf Hitler Not only the activities of our opponents--carefully kept away from these procee ings--with reference to our people and our soldiers, but also tremendous masses of the most awful crimes, I have only now heard, have been committed, mostly in East Prussia; Silesia, Pomerania and the Sudetenland by Russians, Poles, and Czechs against Germans, and are still being committed. They have, even today. completely balanced any possible guilt on the part of our people.
Who is to judge these crimes committed against the German people, one day? the developments even threatening today perhaps a lasting peace may yet a rise in which even our nation may have its beneficial participation, I come to the end of my final statement.
God's eternal justice will be the force under which our people will flourish and to which alone I submit.
THE PRESIDENT: I call upon the defendant Wilhelm Frick.
DEFENDANT WILHELM FRICK: I have a clesr conscience with reference to the accusations. My entire life was spent in the service of my people and my fatherland. To them I have sacreificed my entire strength in faithful fulfillment of my duty. country would act differently were his country in the same position, because any other action would have been a breach of my oath of allegiance, and high treason serve no more penalty than the tens of thousands of faithful German civil servant and employees of official state agencies who here today, as years and years ago, are detained in camps merely because they fulfilled their duties. To them I owe memory and faith which I, as a former, long-standing Minister of the Reich, con sider it a particular honor to state.
31 Aug M LJG 8-1a Daniels
THE PRESIDENT: I call upon the defendant Julius Streicher.
DEFENDANT JULIUS STREICHER: Gentlemen of the Tribunal. At the beginning of this trial I was asked by the President whether I pleaded guilty in the sense of the Indictment. I answered that question in the negative. confirmed the correctiness of my statement given at that time.
It has been established:
1. Mass killings exclusively and without influence were carried through by order of the head of the State, Adolf Hitler.
2. The execution of the mass killings was carried through without the knowledge of the German people and under complete secrecy by the Reichsfuehrer SS, Heinrich Himmler. have been possible without Streicher and his Stuermer. The Prosecution neither offered nor submitted proof for this assertion. Boycott Day in the year 1933, which I was given the order to lead, and on the occasion of the demonstration of 1938 ordered by Reichsminister Dr. Goebbels, I, in my capacity as Gauleiter, neither ordered, demanded, nor participated in any violations against Jews. ical, the Stuermer, I represented the Zionist demand for the creation of a Jewish state as the natural solution of the Jewish problem. the Jewish problem in a forcible manner. the Stuermer, mentioned a destruction or extermination of Jewry, then these words were sharp utterances in reply to provoking statements of Jewish authors in which the extermination of the German people was demanded. The mass killings ordered by the leader of the State, Adolf Hitler, according to his last testament, 31 Aug A LJG 9-1 Saslaw were to be a revenge, a reprisal which was only Carried through because of the then recognizable unfavorable course of the war.
can he explained by his attitude upon the Jewish question, Which thoroughly differs from mine. Hitler wanted to punish Jewry because he held then responsible for the unleashing of the war and for the bombs dropped on the German civilian population. be traced back to a personal decision of the leader of the State, Adolf Hitler, have led to a treatment of the German people which also must be considered as being inhumane The executed mass killings I reject in the same way as they are being rejected by every decent German. have I committed a crime, and I therefore look towards your judgment with good conscience.
I have no request to make for myself. I only have a request for the people from whom I originate. Gentlemen of the Tribunal, fate has given you power to pronounce every judgment. Do not pronounce a judgment which would imprint the stamp of dishonesty upon the forehead of an entire nation.
THE PRESIDENT: I call upon the defendant Walter Funk.
DEFENDANT WALTER FUNK: In the days of the greatest need of my people I joined a political movement, the same of which was the struggle for freedom, for the honor of our country, and for a true social community. local channels. I served this State because of my obligation as an official and in the execution of German laws. I felt myself bound to carry out this duty and especially during the periods of danger of war and during the war itself at a time when the existence of my country was threatened in the extreme. an faith of its officials. direction were partly involved.
But these are things which I learned here, before this Tribunal. I. did not know these crimes and I could not have known them. I have examined my conscience and memory with the utmost care and I have told the Court everything that I knew, openly and freely, and I have concealed nothing. As far as the deposits of the SS at the Reichsbank are concerned, I only did my duty as President of the Reichsbank. According to law, the acceptance of gold and foreign currency was one of the business tasks of the Reichsbank. The fact that the confiscation of these asset was taking place through the organs of the SS subordinateto Himmler, could not make me suspicious. The entire Police system, the border protection units, and especially the search for foreign currency in the Reich and in] old occupied areas, was under the jurisdiction of Himmler, and I was deceived and imposed upon by Himmler. that among the assets brought into the Reichsbank there were mammoth piles of pearls, precious stones, jewelry and gold objects of all kinds, and horrible as it may seem to say, gold teeth: That is something I was never told. That is something I never observed. I have never seen these things.
Never did even a single person tell me in a single word of incidents like that. unknown. I did not even know a single one of their names. Never have I entered a concentration camp, either. deposited in the Reichsbank, came from concentration camp, and I stated this fact from the beginning in all of my interrogations openly. But, according to German law, everyone had to turn these assets over to the Reichsbank. the SS were not made known to me. How was I to even suspect that the SS had acquired these assets, through descrating corpses? accepted these assets for storage and exploitation. I would have refused even in the face of the danger that it would have cost me my head. If I had known of these crimes I would not be sitting in the defendant's dock today. Of that, you must be convinced. There the grave would be easier for me than this tormented and shameful life which I have to endure now, this life full of accusations, suspicions, and slander raised against me. by me. I have always tried to help people in need, and as far as it lay within my power, to bring happiness and joy into their lives; and for that, many will be grateful to me and remain grateful. many things and I freely admit, I freely admit I have been deceived too easily and in many ways have been too unconcerned and too gullible and therein I see my guilt. But I consider myself free of any penal guilt which I am alleged to have committed through discharging my official duties. In that respect, today my conscience is as clear as on the day, ten months ago, when I entered this courtroom for the first time.
THE PRESIDENT: I call upon the defendant Hjalmar Schacht.
DEFENDANT HJALMAR SCHACHT: My feeling of justice was deeply wounded because of the fact that the final speeches of the prosecution completely by-passed the evidence resulting from this trial. The only accusation raised against me under the Charter is the allegation that I wanted war. The overwhelming amount of proof in my case has shown, however, that I was a fanatical opponent of war, and actively and passively, through protests, sabotage, cunning and force, have tried to prevent this war.
How, then, can the prosecution assert that I was in favor of war? How, then, can the Russian Prosecutor assert that I turned from Hitler only in 1943, after my first attempt at a coup d'etat had already been undertaken in the fall of 1938? accusation against me which has not been mentioned in the trial at all up to the present moment. I was to have planned a release of Jews from Germany against a ransom in foreign currency. That, too, is untrue, disgusted with the Jewish pogrom of November 1938, I managed to obtain Hitler's approval to a plan which was to facilitate emigration of the Jews. I intended to transfer 1,500 million Reichsmarks from confiscated Jewish property, to the administration of an international committee, and Germany was to undertake the obligation to repay this amount to the committee in twenty yearly instalments, and that in foreign currency; which is the exact Opposite of what Justice Jackson assorted here. of Samuel and Samuel, with Lord Winterton, and with the American representative, Mr. Rublee. They were all sympathetically disposed towards this plan. Having been removed from the Reichsbank shortly thereafter, however, this matter was dropped. Had it been carried through, no single German Jew would have lost his life.
My opposition to Hitler's policiess was known at home and abroad, and that so clearly that even in the year 1940 the Attache of the United States, Mr. Kirk, before leaving his Berlin post, sent me his regards, adding that after the war I would be considered as an unburdened man, a matter which is reported on in detail by witness Huelse in his affidavit, which is 37-B of my document book. me in the world press as a robber, murderer, and betrayer. And it is this accusation that I have to thank for standing alone at the eve of my life without means of subsistence and without a home. But the prosecution is mistaken if they believe, as was mentioned in one of their first speeches, that they can count me amongst the pitiful and broken personalities policy of creation of work by the assistance of credit has wonderfully proven itself, although I have never claimed to be a politician. The figure of unemployment dropped from 7,000,000 to zero. In the year 1938 the income of the State had risen to such an extent that the repayment of the Reichsbank credits was fully safeguarded. The fact that Hitler refused this repayment, so ceremoniously documented by him, was a tremendous betrayal which I could not foresee. My political mistake was not realizing the extent of Hitler's criminal nature at an early enough time. But not with one single illegal or immoral act did I stain my hands. The terror of the Gestapo did not frighten me; for every terror must fail when conscience is at stake. Here lies this great source of power which religion gives us. of opportunism and cowardice. And this, after the end of the war, found me in the Extermination Camp at Flossenberg, where I had been imprisoned for ten months, and where only by merciful fate I escaped Hitler's order of murder. At the exist of this trial I stand with my soul deeply shaken about unspeakable suffering which I tried to prevent with all my personal, effort and with all attainable means, a suffering which I could not prevent. But that is not through my guilt.