cavalry, signal corps, engineer corps, and medical corps. There were also, as Bayer points out in his pamphlet, three officer training schools. Similarly, SA members were distinctive uniforms adapted to military functions, bore arms, and engaged in training, forced marches, and other military exercises. which closely resembled service regulations of an armed force. They are contained in Document 2620-PS, USA Exhibit 427, which I offer in evidence. If your Honor please, they are found at Page 3 of the translation of 2820. I will simply refer to a few of them. These regulations provide for punishment, designating them as penal regulations, for disobedience of orders and infractions of regulations. The punishments which are provided demonstrate the militaristic character of the SA and include the following:
Reprimand in private; reprimand in presence of superiors and announcement thereof at formations; prohibition of right to wear the service uniform; house arrest; arrest and confinement in jail; demotion in rank; prohibition of right to carry weapon. in Germany as early as 1933, but the scope of this program was not made public because of the fact that it actually constituted a violation of the Treaty of Versailles. The strict secrecy with which the program was surrounded is shown in Document D-44, which is US Exhibit 428. I offer it in evidence. Command of the SA, Chief of Staff, and it has to do with publications on the SA:
"Further to my instruction Z II 1351/33 dated 11 July 33, I find cause to ask all SA authorities to exorcise the greatest caution with regard to any publicity given to the SA service not only in the press but also in the information and news sheets of the individual SA units.
"Only during the last few days, the Reich Ministry of the Interior, at the request of the Foreign Office, has given strict instructions to all Reich authorities according to which the most severe control is to be exercised on all publications which might give other countries an opening to construe German infringements of the terms of the Versailles Treaty.
"As is known from the Geneva negotiations, our opponents have piled up material collected in Germany and submitted to them, which they use against us on every occasion during the conferences.
"From this point of view, the information sheets circulating among the subordinate SA units cause the liveliest concern. I hold all higher SA leaders responsible that any such internal information sheets appearing in the district of their command are submitted to the most stringent control before they go into print, and I feel compelled to draw attention to the threat of a prosecution for treason pronounced by official instructions issued in the last few days in cases where such reports, printed no doubt in good faith, are publicized and therefore exposed to the danger of falling into the wrong hands.
"On principle, pictures of the technical specialized units of the SA and SS, in particular of the signals motorized and possibly also of the air wings which now exist outside these formations, are forbidden, such pictures enabling other countries to prove the alleged formation of technical troop units." Wehrmacht officer to the SA in January, 1934 to assist in the SA training program. This document, 2823-PS, US Exhibit 429, which is a copy of a memorandum of SA Headquarters dated 20 January 1934, designates an officer of the Wehrmacht to assist in the military training of SA members, and it goes on to provide, and I quote from paragraph 7 of the English translation of 2823:
"For the purpose of camouflage, Lt. Col. Auleb will wear SA uniform with insignia of rank according to more detailed regulations of the Supreme SA leaders."
conducted under the guise of the sports program. This plan was created by Hitler as early as 1920 by founding of what he called the Sports Program. The fact that the sc-called Sports Program was in reality closely associated with, and in fact a means of providing, military training for the German youth is shown by the following characterization of the program by Lutze, the Chief of Staff of SA, in an article written in 1939. I now refer to document 3215, US Exhibit 426, and I quote excerpts of the English translation on Page 2:
"This goal setting also served for the decrees of the Fuehrer to the SA of 1935 regarding the renewing of, in 1936 regarding the evaluation of, in 1937 regarding the yearly repetitive exorcises of the SA sport badge. Parallel to this decree of the Fuehrer for the physical betterment and military training the organizational and development missions within the SA were met. Out of the conception that the preservation and intensification of the military power of our people must especially be requested by military and physical exercises, the training was especially carried out systematically in these fields. In 25 schools of the troop and in three Reichsfuehrer schools of the SA yearly 22,000 to 25,000 officers and non-coms were trained since 1934 in special educational courses until they possessed the education and examination certificates. In clearly outlined training directives the training goals which had to be achieved yearly were given and at the same time the yearly Reich competitive contents were established. Hand in hand the training of the Fuehrer Corps corresponding organizational measures and the training at the front proceeded on the broadest basis." refer to Document 2354, US Exhibit it 430, which demonstrates the tests and standards required for obtaining the sports award, Document 2354, Page 2 of the English translation.
I am not going to read all of it, if your Honor please, but just refer to a few of them.
"Group II: Military sports; 25-kilometer march with pack; firing of small-caliber arms; aimed throwing of hand grenades, 200 meter cross-country race with gas masks over four obstacles; swimming or bicycle riding; basic knowledge of first aid in case of accidents." by Hitler as a military training program, and the SA was openly declared to be an agency for pre and post military training, that is, for military training prior to or following service in the Wehrmacht. I have Document 2383-PS.
THE PRESIDENT: Colonel Storey, you have just drawn our attention to a document, 3251-PS, which shows that from 1934 onwards, 25,000 officers and non-commissioned officers were trained by the SA.
COLONEL STOREY: Yes, sir.
THE PRESIDENT: Isn't that sufficient to show the military nature of the organization?
COLONEL STOREY: I think so. This was just the decree of Hitler. May I just refer to it by reference for the record? I will not read the decree.
THE PRESIDENT: Go on; what are you referring to?
COLONEL STOREY: Document 2383, Page 1 of the English translation contains a copy of the decree legalizing the training program for pre and post military training. program for its members, but the SA program was not confined to its members. The entire youth of Germany was enlisted into a feverish program of military training. book, which is at Page 2 of the English translation, in which the Chief of Staff Lutze said, and I quote Briefly:
"In order to give conscious expression to the fostering of a valiant spirit in all parts of the German people, I further decide that this SA Sport Insignia can also be earned and worn by persons who are not members of the movement, inasfar as they comply racially and ideologically with the National Socialist requirements."
wide program was lodged in the operational main office of the SA. Page 8 of the English translation says, and I quote:
"Prepare the fighting training of the bodies of all Germans capable of bearing arms and as a preparation therefor must organize the execution of corporal exercises and sports achievements, so that the widest stratum of the population is laid hold upon and will be kept in condition to bear arms both physically and spiritually, as well as ideologically in character up to greatest old age."
Document 3251, which is an excerpt from "Das, Archiv", and I refer to Page 2 to 3 of the English translation beginning at the bottom of Page 2, and I quote:
"Next to the companies of the SA were the sport badge associations in which all the militaristic nationals entered who were prepared to voluntarily answer the call of the SA for the preservation of military proficiency. Up until now around 800,000 nationals outside of the SA could successfully undergo the physical betterment as well as the political military training of the SA on the basis of the SA sport badge.
"As pronounced proof therefor it may be shown"--well, I will not read that portion. It embraced every phase of the technique of modern warfare. This is particularly demonstrated by consideration of the articles on military training which appeared publicly throughout the issues of the "SA-Mann." I should like to refer to only a few of the titles, and they are set out on Pages 8 and 10 of Document 3050. It is a great long list, and I will only refer to five or six.
There is one of them, 17 February 1934, Page 7, "Pistol Shooting." 21 April 1934, Page 13, "What every SA man must know about aviation." 19 May, 1934, Page 13, "Chemical Warfare." 2 June 1934, Page 14, "Modern Battle Methods in the View of the SA Man."
4 August 1934, Page 13, "The significance of tanks and motors in modern war."
Similarly, the issues of the "SA-Mann" contain many photographs and articles demonstrating and portraying SA participation in military exercise, including forced marching, battle maneuvers, obstacle runs, small caliber firing, and so on. I simply refer these to your Honors, and they are shown on Pages 11 to 13 of 3050. Just one or two titles:
24 August 1935, Page 2, "The SA is and remains the Shock Troop of the Third Reich." Here is one showing the connection with the Wehrmacht; 2 September, 1938, Page 1, "SA and the Wehrmacht", with pictures of SA men on field maneuvers throwing hand grenades. conspiracy is found in the fact that care was taken at all times to coordinate the military training program of the SA with the requirements of the Wehrmacht. This is shown by Document 2821-PS, US exhibit 431, Page 1 of the English translation, quoting:
"Permanent liaison between the Reich Defense Ministry and theSupreme Commander of the SA have been assured."
Another document, 3215, which is an excerpt from "Das Archiv", sets. forth the cooperation and collaboration with the Wehrmacht, and specialized military training, and it was stated in a speech of the Chief of Staff of the SA, Document 3215, Page 2 of the English translation, US Exhibit 426.
"In the course of this development also special missions for military betterment were placed on the SA. The Fuehrer gave the SA the cavalry and motor training and called SA Obergruppenfuehrer Litzmann as Reich Inspector with the mission to secure the cavalry recruits and requirements for the German Wehrmacht through the SA. In close cooperation with parts of the Wehrmach special certificates were created for the communication, engineer and medical units which, like the cavalry certificate of the SA, are valued as statement of preference for employment in said units." with the Wehrmacht, but I believe they would be cumulative, and I will omi them. the same thing. I will pass it. I will refer only to Document 2383-PS, Exhibit 429. I will read a portion of the decree:
"In amplification of my decree of 15 February, 1935, and of the 18th of March, 1937, regarding the acquisition of the SA sports insignia and the yearly repetitive exercises, I lift the SA sports insignia to SA military insignia and make it a basis for preimposed military training. I designate the SA as the standard bearer of this training." requirements of the technical branches of the Wehrmacht, is described in Document 2168 by SA Sturmfuehrer Bayer, US Exhibit 411, and it is Page 13 of the English translation:
"On one side the young SA man who enters the armed forces (Wehrmacht) facilitate and speed up training in technical respects; while on the other side those very soldiers, having served, who return out of the armed force:
"Thus they contribute a considerable portion to the enhancement of armed strength and armed spirit of the German people."
And then, skipping down: "The SA each year is able to furnish many thousands of young trained cavalrymen to our Wehrmacht."
I will omit the I simply call attention now to on issue of the "SA-Mann", dated Lutze addressing a group of his men.
This photograph bears the caption, "We will be the bridge between the Party and the Wehrmacht."
Now, I pass to Document 3214-PS, which is US Exhibit 432. There is only one page of it.
Quoting:
"It was announced that conscripted SA men and Hitler Youths can fulfil their military conscription in the SA Regiment "Feldherrnhalle', Commander, SA Gruppenfuehrer Reimann."
THE PRESIDENT: Up to now you have brought evidence to our notice showing that the SA was voluntary.
This shows it was conscription. When did it become conscription?
COLONEL STOREY: As I understand, your Honor, if you joined the SA as desired.
In other words, the SA was a voluntary organization.
THE PRESIDENT: That is the evidence you have given up to date.
COLONEL STOREY. Yes, sir.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, when did it become liable to conscription or a substitute for conscription?
COLONEL STOREY: May I ask Mr. Burdell to answer that question, who is been working on that?
MR. BURDELL: If your Honor please, there never was conscription in the SA.
As this document shows, Document 3214, service in the Feldherrn halle Regiment of the SA took the place of conscription.
This first sentence in Document 3214, which reads, "It was announced that conscripted
SA Regiment 'Feldherrnhalle'", means, as I understand it, that SA men who or serves the function of conscription in the Wehrmacht.
I hope that answers your Honor's question.
COLONEL STOREY: In view of the above we would expect the SA to have been used as a striking force in the first steps of the aggressive warfare launched by Germany and as a basis for so-called Commando Groups, and such was the case. SA units were among the first of the Nazi military machine to invade Austria in the Spring of 1938, as was proudly announced in an article appearing in the "SA-Mann", of 19 March, 1938, page 10, the article entitled "We were there first." shown by Document 3036, USA Exhibit 102, and that is an affidavit by Gottleb Berger, a former office holder in the SS, who was assigned to the Sudeten-German Free Corps. I quote paragraphs 1 and 2 of the affidavit.
"1. In the Fall of 1938 I held the rank and title of Oberfuehrer in the SS. In mid-September I was assigned as SS Liaison Officer with Konrad Henlein's Sudeten German Free Corps at their headquarters in the castle at Dondort outside Bayreuth. In this position I was responsible for all liaison between the Reichsfuehrer SS Himmler and Henlein" your Honors will recall Henlein was the leader in the Sudetenland "and in particular, I was delegated to select from the Sudeten Germans those who appeared to be eligible for membership in the SS or VT (Verfueguns Truppe). In addition to myself, Liaison Officers stationed with Henlein included an Obergruppenfuehrer from the NSKK whose name I have forgotten, the Obergruppenfuehrer Max Juettner, from the SA. In addition, Admiral Canaris, who was head of the OKW Abwehr, appeared at Dondorf nearly every two days and conferred with Henlein". organization.
"2. In the course of my official duties at Henlein's Headquarters I became familiar with the composition and activities of the Free Corps. Three groups were being formed under Henlein's direction: One in the Eisonstein area, Bavaria, one in the Bayreuth area; one in the Dresden area, and possibly a fourth group in Silesia. These groups were supposedly composed of refugees from the Sudetenland who had crossed the border into Germany, but they, actually contained Germans with previous service in the SA and NSKK (Nazi Motor Corps) as well.
These Germans formed, the skeleton of the Free Corps. On paper the Free Corps had a strength of 40,000 men. Part of the equipment furnished to Henlein, mostly haversacks, cooking utensils and blankets, were supplied by the SA." is demonstrated by its activities subsequent to the outbreak of the war. During the war the SA continued to carry out its military training program, but it also engaged in other functions. Its wartime activities are set out in Documents 3219, which is US Exhibit 403, and Document 3216, US Exhibit 434, which are excerpts from "Das Archiv." of the heading:
"The General of the SA, Wilhelm Schepmann, gave further orders to increase the employment of the SA in the homeland war territories, because of the requirements of total war employment. This was done in numerous business conferences with Fuehrers of the SA divisions.
"As a result of these conferences, as well as of measures already carried out earlier for the totalization of the war employment, the SA now has placed 86 percent of its main professional Fuehrer Corps at disposal at the Front even though the war missions of the SA have increased in the fields of pre-military training, the SA penetration into new territorial parts of the Reich, the air war employment, the State and national guard, etc, during, wartime.
"The SA as a whole has given at present an even 70 percent of its nearly million members to the Wehrmacht." ship of August 26, 1944. I quote briefly from 3216, the English translation, just one sentence:
"By command of the General of the SA, the 'SA Unit General Government' was established, the command of which was taken over by Govenor General SA Ober ruppenfuehrer, Lt. Gen. Dr. Frank."
US Exhibit 435, by "Walter Schellenberg:
"From the beginning of 1944 on the SA also participated in many of the functions which had previously been entrusted only to the SS, SIPO and Army, for instance, the guarding of concentration camps, the guarding of prisoner of war camps, the supervision over forced laborers in Germany and occupied areas. This cooperation of the SA was planned and arranged for by high officials in Berlin as early as the middle of 1943."
concerning the participation of theSA in the conspiracy, but before I conclude, I should like to present to the Tribunal a few points which establish the participation in the conspiracy by the defendant Goering in his capacity as an SA member or leader.
In 1923, Goering became commander of the entire SA. This is shown in the pamphlet, "The SA", which is already in evidence and the notation concerning Goering's command appears at page 2 of the translation, which I do not intend to quote but simply refer to.
Goering's intention to employ the SA as a terroristic force to destroy political opponents, is shown by a speech made by him on 3 March, 1933, at a Nazi demonstration in Frankfurt. It is document 1856-PS, U.S. Exhibit 437. It is an excerpt from a book entitled, "Hermann Goering, Speeches and Essays". Document 1856. I quote: Goering said:
"Certainly I shall use the power of the State and the police to the utmost, my dear Communists; So you won't with those down there.
Those are the Brown Shirts." Nazi movement is shown by Document No. 3259-PS, U.S. Exhibit No. 424, and it is an English translation from the same book. 3259-PS. This is a letter written to Goering by Hitler and I quote the letter:
"My dear Goering, with which I could bear that struggle.
Highest necessity had that success.
After receiving a grave wound, you again entered comrade in the battle for power.
You contributed essentially to creating the basis for the 30th January.
Therefore, at the end Adolf Hitler."
maintained close affiliation with the organization. This is shown by the photographs of Goering participating in the activities which I have already introduced in evidence. Similarly, in 1937, Goering became the Commander of the Felderrnhalle Regiment of the SA. The Tribunal will recall, also, my reference to the participation of that regiment in the occupation of the Sudetenland. this brief, demonstrates the participation of the SA as an organization in the conspiracy alleged in Count One. Thus, the SA was first employed by the conspirators to destory, by force and brutality, all opponents of National Socialism and to gain possession of the streets. Thereafter, upon the seizure of control by the NSDAP, the SA was used to consolidate and strengthen Nazi power and to cruelly persecute and destroy all socalled "enemies" of the state, including the Jewry and the Church. During the period from 1934 to 1939, the SA was employed for the actual preparation and training of the German people for war, and for participation in aggressive warfare. and disseminate the ideology of the Nazi Movement throughout Germany, and particularly, to perform the function of disseminating anti-Jewish propaganda and creating and fostering a militaristic and warlike spirit among the people of Germany. of the SA corresponded to, and were designated to promote the progression of the conspiracy through its various phases; and the conclusion, we think, is irresistible, that the SA was an organization devoted exclusively to the task of assisting the defendants and their co-conspirators in carrying out the objectives of the conspiracy.
conspirators and participants in a conspiracy which contemplated and involved plans against the peace and crimes against humanity and war crimes. is SS, by Major Farr.)
Do your Honors want to go ahead with that now?
THE PRESIDENT: perhaps we had better adjourn then, until 2:00 o'clock.
(Whereupon, at 1238 hours, the hearing of the Tribunal adjourned to reconvene at 1400 hours).
Military Tribunal, in the matter of: The presiding:
MAJOR FARR: May it please the Tribunal, the next organization to be dealt with is the SS. The document books in this case are lettered "Z". For convenience in handling the book because of the bulk of documents, we have divided them into two volumes. I shall in referring to a document number, refer to the volume in which that document appears. lated in Nurnberg an account of a visit by that paper's correspondent to a camp in which SS prisoners of war were confined. The thing which particularly struck the correspondent was the one question asked by the SS prisoners. Why are we charged as war criminals? What have we done except our normal duty? answer that question. It will show that just as the Nazi Party was the very heart - the core - of the conspiracy, so the SS was the very essence of Naziism. For the SS was the elite group of the Party, composed of the most thorough-going adherents of the Nazi cause, pledged to blind devotion to Nazi principles, and prepared to carry them out without any question - and at any cost - a group in which every ordinary value has been so subverted that its members can ask - What is there unlawful about the things we have done? conspirators' criminal program for aggressive war, for concentration camps, for the extermination of the Jews, for enslavement of foreign labor and illegal use of prisoners of war, for deportation and Germanization of inhabitants of conquered territories. Through all this evidence the name of the SS ran like a thread. Again and again that organization and its components were referred to. It is my purpose to show why it performed a responsible role in every one of these criminal activities, why it was - and, indeed, had to be - a criminal organization.
essential for the execution of the conspirators' plans. Their sweeping program and the measures they were prepared to use, and did use, could be fully accomplished neither through the machinery of the government nor of the Party. Things had to be done for which no agency of government and no political party - even the Nazi Party - would openly take full responsibility. A specialized type of apparatus was needed - an apparatus which was to some extent connected with the government and given official support - but which, at the same time, could maintain a quasi-independent status, so that all its acts could be attributed neither to the government nor to the Party as a whole. The SS was that apparatus. the Nazi party, referred to in the Decree on the Enforcement of the Law for Securing the Unit of Party and State of 29 March 1935, published in the Reichsgesetzblatt for that year, Part I, page 503. That decree will be found in our Document 1725-PS. I shall not read it. I assume that the Court will take judicial notice of it. The status of the SS, however, was above that of the other formations. As the plans of the conspirators progressed, it acquired new functions, new responsibilities, and an increasingly more important place in the regime. It developed during the course of the conspiracy into a highly complex machine, the most powerful in the Nazi State, spreading its tentacles into every field of Nazi activity. towards showing very briefly the origin and early development of the SS; second, how it was organized - that is, its structure and its component parts; third, the basic principles governing the selection of its members and the obligations they undertook; and finally, its aims and the means used to accomplish them - the manner in which it carried out the purposes of the conspirators, and thus is a responsible participant in the crimes alleged in the Indictment.
the SS are not controversial matters. They are not matters to be learned only from secret files and captured documents. They were recounted in many publications, circulated widely throughout Germany and the world - official books of the Nazi Party itself, and books, pamphletsand speeches by SS and State officials published with SS and Party approval. Throughout the presentation of the case I shall frequently refer to five or six such publications, translations of which - in whole - or in part - appear in the document books. Although I shall quote portions of them, I shall not attempt to read them all in full, since I assume that the contents of such authoritative publications may be judicially noticed by the Tribunal.
Now to take up the origin of the SS. The first aim of the conspirators as the evidence already presented to the court has shown - was to gain a foothold in politically hostile territory, to acquire mastery of the streets and to combat any and all opponents with force. For that purpose they needed their own private, personal police organization. Evidence has just been introduced in the case against the SA - showing how that organization was created to fill such a role. But the SA was outlawed in 1923. When Nazi Party activity was again resumed in 1925, the SA remained outlawed. To fill its place and to play the part of Hitler's own personal police, small mobile groups known as protective squadrons - Schutzstaffel - were created. This was the origin of the SS in 1925. With the reinstatement of the SA in 1926, the SS for the next few years ceased to play a major role. But it continued to exist as an organization within the SA - under its own leader, however the Reichsfuehrer SS. This early history of the SS is related in two of the authoritative publications to which I have referred: The first is a book by SS Standartenfuehrer Gunter d'Alquen, entitled "The SS". This book a pamphlet of some 30 pages - is an authoritative account of the history, mission and organization of the SS, published in 1939. As indicated on its frontispiece, it was written at the direction of the Reichsfuehrer SS, Heinrich Himmler. Its author, SS Standartenfuehrer Gunter d'Alquen, was the editor of the official SS publication "Das Schwarzs Korps". This book is cur Document No. 2284-PS. I offer it in evidence as U.S. Exhibit No. 438. The passage to which I refer will be found on pages 6 and 7 of the original, and on page 1 of the translation.
The second publication is an article by Himmler, entitled "Organization and Obligations of the SS and the Police." It was published in 1937 in a booklet containing a series of speeches or essays by important officials of the Party and the State - known as "National Political Course for the Armed Forces from 15 to 23 January 1937." The article by Himmler, to which I refer, appears on pages 137-161 of that pamphlet. Large extracts from it make up our Document No. 1992-A-PS. I offer the essay by Himmler as U.S. Exhibit No. 439. The passage to which I have referred appears on page 137 of the original and page 1 of the translation, our Document 1992a-PS. I shal have occasion to quote from both these publications, but with respect to this matter of history, I assume that these references to the pertinent passages in them are enough.
an organization in which the main principles of the Nazi system, specifically the racial principles, would not only be jealously guarded but would be carried to such extremes as to inspire or intimidate the rest of the population - an organization in which, also, there would be assured complete freedom on the part of the leaders and blind obedience on the part of the members. The SS was built up to meet this need. I quote from d'Alquen's book, Die SS, at page 7 - this passage appears in our Document No. 2284-PS at page 4 of the translation, paragraph 4:
"On the 16th of January, 1929, Adolf Hitler appointed his Reichsfuehrer SS.
Heinrich Himmler assumed charge therewith troop dependable in every circumstance.
With this day the National Socialist movement.
For the SS and its Reichsfuehrer, in the course of these battle-filled years."
Carrying out Hitler's directive, Himmler proceeded to build up out of this small force of men an elite organization - to use d'Alquen's words: "composed of the best physically, the most dependable, and the most faithful men in the Nazi movement." I read another passage from d'Alquen at page 12 of the original, page 6 of the translation, paragraph 5:
"When the day of seizure of power had finally come, there were everywhere, in their stations and positions, in profession and in science, and in science, and in all their essential tasks."