"Socialism against Bolshevism for a free Europe."
A religious doctrine. This is a Norwegian poster which makes fun of the Germano-Russian alliance. It is entitled "A Blessed Meeting." An anglican bishop provided with a phosphorous bomb, presents a cross, symbolizing Finland. This bomb is offered to the Pope Stalin, who receives it, eyes lifted to Heaven but with a machine gun in his arms.
A poster indicates "Christianity was introduced into the country of the Soviets," and the motto says "My dear brother, with these beautiful crosses we wish to strengthen your faith."
Next. Anti-Christ. "A communist is a scourge of civilization, Bolshevism against Europe. International Exposition, July 12 to 15 August, 1941." Nazis pretend to be defenders of Christianity. of Oradour Sur Glane. submit to the Tribunal a few pictures to contrast the spiritual domain which is less perceptible, however, and whose importance is greater, to treat a subject which is effective and frontal, to show pictures of supervised expression. That is why we supplemented the words, impossible to say by a few pictures, which show in one look which speech could only have shwon slowly. We did try and we hope we have contribunted to the manifestation of truth.
THE PRESIDENT: The Tribunal will adjourn until ten minutes past two.
(Whereupon, at 1255 hours the hearing of the Tribunal adjourned to reconvene at 1410 hours of the same day.)
Military Tribunal in the matter of: The
THE MARSHAL OF THE COURT: May it please the Court, I desire to announce that the Defendant Kaltenbrunns will be absent until further notice, on account of illness.
M. EDGAR FAURE: Mr. President, I shall now take up the last chapter of my Brief, which is devoted to the organization of criminal activities. I shall begin by quoting a few words spoken by Monseigneur Piguet, Bishop of ClermontFerrand, in the course of a pontificial address on Pentecost Sunday, May 20, 1945. Monseigneur Piguet had been liberated from the concentration camp where he had been sent by the Nazis.
"The criminal institutions of which we have been witness and victim bear within themselves all the scourges of ancient barbarism and servitude, to which they add a systematic character and a new method capable of increasing human misery by the whole scope of modern scientific possibilities." prises, that I intend to present proof to the Tribunal with regard to the occupied countries of the West. of the imposition of German nationality or of German law, but in the general imposition of the norm established by the Nazi regime, and in a general way, of its conception of the world. means and as an end. As a means, because the criminal means is the most often very effective -- and we know that Nazism professes indifference in regard to the immorality of the means. As an end, on the other hand, since the final organization of Nazi society postulates the elimination of elements hostile to it or which it regards as undesirable. Under those conditions the criminal activities therefore do not appear as hazards and regrettable consequences of war and of occupation.
They must not be imputed to initiatives, disorganized and secondary, due to the excess of zeal or the lack of discipline of subordinates. The elimination of adversaries being recommended by the doctrine, it will be carried out in fact by the normal and regular functioning of the administrative apparatus. If Nazism has a philosophy of criminal action, it also has, properly speaking, a bureaucracy of criminal activity. the chief and secondary centres of the state organism. Each of the misdeeds or each of the series of misdeeds of which we have spoken to you and about which we shall speak to you, assume a whole series of transmissions. or reports which go from inferiors to superiors, and finally the relations which are assured between corresponding echelons of different services -- this administrative organization of criminal activity appears to us a very important datum as to the determination of responsibilities and as to the proof of the imputations which are formulated in the indictment against the higher leaders and against the group organizations. determined criminal activity, in effect, in no way requires that an exhibit or a document signed by this person himself be produced or that it should involve him by name. The fact that such a document exists or does not exist depends on chance. The responsibility of the higher leader is directly established by the fact that a criminal activity has been carried out in an administrative fashion by a service at the head of which we find this leader. This is all the more true in the case of a criminal activity pursued over a long period of time, affecting a considerable number of persons and whose development has given rise to a series of complications, of consultations and of solutions. There exist in every hierarchized state service a continuous circuit of authority which is at the same time a continuous circuit of responsibility. criminal organizations, their criminality results from the very fact that their activity produces criminal results without the normal rules of competence and of functioning of these different organisms being in this regard insufficiently known or modified.
The collaboration which develops with a view to such a result between a series of agents of the organization as well as along the vertical of hierarchy and the lateral plan among the various specialities, implies no less necessarily the existence of a collective criminal disposition. Jews, by the Nazi regulation. The Tribunal already knows by ample demonstrations the Nazi doctrine on the subject of Jews. The historians of the future may perhaps determine what in this doctrine has been the element of sincere fanaticism and what has been the part of a premeditated will to deceive and to mislead public opinion. were to lead them to undertake the extermination of the Jews. for turning aside criticism and anger on the part of the public. On the other hand, it was a procedure of psychological seduction that was very skillful in regard to some minds. It made it possible to give a kind of satisfaction to the most deprived and underprivileged person, by convincing him that he was nevertheless of a superior quality and that he could despise a whole category of his fellow-men. whipping up the fanaticism of their members by awakening in them and encouraging in them the criminal instincts which always exist to a certain extent and in a potentiontial state in the sould of men. that disposition to crime does not necessarily proceed from a long preparation. The criminal instinct is available and may spring forth in a spontaneous, instantaneous fashion. The Nazis offered to their chief servants the possibility of giving free rein to the disposition they might possess for murder, looting -the most atrocious actions and the most hideous spectacles. Thereby they fully assured themselves of their obedience and of their zeal. great sufferings which the persons qualified as Jews underwent in France and in the other countries of Western Europe.
I should like simply to indicate here that it also was a great suffering for all the other inhabitants of these countries to witness the abominable treatment which was inflicted upon the Jews. All the French felt a deep affliction on seeing other Frenchmen like themselves being persecuted, many of whom had deserved the gratitude of the Fatherland. There is no one in Paris who did not feel a great shame in learning that the dying Bergson had had to be carried to the police commissariat to satisfy the resentment -
THE PRESIDENT: You will forgive my interrupting you, but the Tribunal feels that what you are now presenting to us, however interesting -and it is interesting -- is really an argument and is not presenting evidence to us. And as we have already heard an opening on behalf of the United States, an opening on behalf of Great Britain and an opening on behalf of France, we think that you really ought to address yourself, if possible, to the evidence which you are presenting, rather than to an argument. Tribunal in expressing your presentation, you will perhaps be able to do that.
M. FAURE: I understand perfectly the feeling of the Tribunal. I had simply intended to say a few words referring to the French feeling produced by these persecutions. But those words have now been spoken, and I cone precisely to the object of the demonstration which I am to present to the Tribunal with the documents. different from the necessity which the Tribunal considers, I would like to indicate that I present in this Brief no document which is an individual story or even a collective story, and no document which comes from victims themselves, or even from impartial persons. I have tried to choose solely a certain number of German documents in order to furnish the evidence of the carrying out of a criminal enterprise which consisted in the extermination of Jews in France and in the countries of the West.
the Jews included two series of actions. This is important from the point of view of the direct responsibility of the defendants. or regulationary texts, and the second category is that which resulted from the administrative assaults. these texts which were issued by the German authorities -- which were either military authorities or commissars of the Reich -- were particularly flagrant violations of the sovereignty of the occupied countries. fashion this regulation and this legislative enactment, for their effect is universally known. before the Tribunal in the document bock, although they are not documents properly speaking. These documents are to be found in an appendix. I should like to indicate that the first of these tables which are in this file indicates in chronological order in the left columns the legislative edicts and in the other the names of the different countries. The Tribunal can thus find the chronological story of the measures taken against the Jews in the different countries. The second table is a classification by subjects -- the conception of Jews, economic measures, yellow stars, and in the tables one finds the analysis of the material according to the subject. were issued in France concerning Jews and as these decrees are public acts I shall simply ask the Tribunal to take judicial notice of them.
Now, I think I must say this: There do not exist any ordinances -
THE PRESIDENT: Are you depositing these under the No. 1200?
M. FAURE: Yes, Mr. President. I present them as No. 1200, the series of ordinances.
I now must make this observation: These texts, taken as a whole, create for the Jews a very reduced condition. Yet there do not exist any legal German texts which order the general deportation or the murder of Jews.
On the other hand, it is to be remarked that the development of this legislation is progressive until 1942, and at that time there is a pause. It is at the time of this pause that we shall see beginning the properly administrative measures which preceded the exploitation of Jews and which consequently were to bring about their extermination. two separate actions of which one would be the legislative action, that could be imputed to the military powers, and the second would be the execution of these orders which could be imputed to the police. This point of view, according to which the criminal responsibility would be less on the part of the military power, as having only issued decrees, would be an inaccurate way of looking at this. In reality we observed the development of a continuous activity successively utilizing different means. preparatory measures for the execution of the other means, which are the directly criminal means. It was indispensable, in order that the Nazis might begin to employ their plan of extermination, that they have first of all brought about a certain determination and a certain separation of the Jewish population, among the whole population of the country. It was necessary for them to be able to find the Jews easily, and finding them, diminish their ability to defend themselves the material resources, the physical resources and the intellectual resources which would have enabled them to avoid easily the prosecution and persecution of the police. It was finally necessary that it be possible for this whole condemned element of the national community to be cut off from the whole community with one single blow, and for this it was necessary to put an end first of all to the constant inter-weaving of interests and activities which exist among all the categories of the population. possible and they thought they would succeed in this by habituating people to considering that Jews are not men like other men and similarly by getting the public used to no longer seeing them, since it was practically forbidden the Jews to go outside.
general extermination, deliberately undertaken by the Nazis. 1201, 1202, 1203, 1204, 1205 and 1206. I present these documents with reference to a special question, the emigration of the Jews who were attempting to leave the occupied territories. themselves of the Jews, it might be logically thought that they would look favorably upon this solution which existed, that of emigration. On the contrary, as we shall measure.
This then is proof of their determination to exterminate Here, first of all is document 1201.
These documents are of the members of the Tribunal.
Document 1201 is a letter of 22 instructions from Paris.
I wish to read the beginning of this "It has just been observed that 50 (written document says 150) Jews are still in the territory of the Kreiskommandantur St. Jean de Luz.
At the time of the conversation that we had with the Kreis arrondissement as quickly as possible.
At the same time, he stressed concentration camps."
Here now is the answer to this telegram. It is document 1202, dated 26 July 1941.
The second sentence:
"We do not approve the point of view of Major Henkel and this territories of France shall be prevented."
"The Reichsfuehrer SS and Chief of the German Police, at the R.M.D.J., has given orders with a view to forbidding in a general countries."
I now submit document 1205. This document relates to the same authority.
This is a note of the German Consulate General of Casablanca.
I read the first sentence.
"The number of European emigrees leaving for the American increased in the last month."
under date of 8 June 1942. I read the last paragraph of this "As concerns the emigrants leaving Casablanca, these are for as French Jewish families.
There is no occasion to suspect that intention of entering the military service on the enemy side.
We suggest the military authorities be advised."
informed. Now here is the sequel of these two communications. The read constitute appendices.
This document 1206 emanates from Berlin, "In order that you may be apprised of them it would be well for I may therefore note three conclusions.
First, as I have indicated, pretended that they are undesirable.
Second, this decision was made on a superior echelon and in a general fashion.
Third, all the intervened to assure the carrying out of these barbarous orders."
I now present to the Tribunal document 1207. This document is a German report, a voluminous report.
It is in fact 70 pages long.
It was found in the German archives in Paris. In this document of census cards.
It is mimeographed. Our copies have not the signature of the author, but simply the indication "SS Obersturmfuehrer."
THE PRESIDENT: That fact which you have just stated to us, has captured document in Paris?
M. FAURE: We seized these documents at the archives of the Surete Nationale.
We found them among the documents in the German offices at the time of the liberation.
Besides, I point out to the signatures of the German officials.
This report is the only document which does not have a signature.
The fact that it was written by best way of doing it.
I shall not read to the Tribunal the 70 pages I think may interest the Tribunal.
Here is the first page. First of all the title is, "The Jewish Question in France and the Manner of Dealing with it."
"1 July 1941." First page: "Definitive solution of the Jewish question.
Average reason and general aim of the activity SD.
It is already now evident that practical results can not he achieved without the study of the political situation in general as well as of the situation of the Jews.
"The pages that follow are meant to give a view of the whole of our plan and to comment on the results achieved up to now as well as the immediate aims. All the principles which follow are to be considered from the following point of view. After the chief of the SIPO received from the Fuehrer the mission of preparing the solution of the Jewish question Europe, its offices in France have to carry out the preliminary work in order to be able, when the time comes, to function in an absolutely certain manner as outer services of the European Commissary of Jewish questions." in order to follow the development of the idea and of the activity of this German office.
THE PRESIDENT: I was considering, M. Faure, why this document hasn't got any identifying mark upon it. I mean, of course, we don't doubt for an instance what you say to us is true, but at the same time it isn't the correct way to do it; for us have to reply on counsel's statement as to the nature of the evidence. And there is nothing on the document itself to show that it was captured in Paris or to show what it is except what it states.
M. FAURE: Mr. President, the joining of this document to the file of the French prosecution was done by a French report made in Paris, which I shall present before the Tribunal, because as this report concerns a certain number of documents, it was not especially joined to the file of this particular document. On the other hand, when I received these documents from the police I did not wish that we should write anything on the document or that we should place it under a seal, for I wished to avoid modifying the normal aspect of the document in any manner whatsoever. I must indicate that if the Tribunal prefere not to receive this document inasmuch as I do recognize that it does not bear a signature, I shall not submit this document for I have a second report of Dannecker which is signed by him and which constitutes approximately the summar of this one. I had submitted bot to enable the Court to see the continuity of the activity.
THE PRESIDENT: M. Faure, in the case of the documents presented by the United States, the captured documents by the United States, as Sir David Maxwell-Fyfe reminded us the other day, there is an affidavit, I think, of Major Coogan, which on it states that all those documents of a certain series-PS, L, R, and various other series-- were all captured in Germany by the United States forces. If there were such an affidavit with reference to documents captured in Paris which might be identified by some letter such as PS or some similar letter to that, the matter would seem to us to be in order. But when a document is presented to us which has no identifying mark upon it at all we are then in the position of which we are in now of simply hearing the statement of counsel, which of course isn't evidence, that the document was found in Paris or found somewhere else; and therefore the way it occurs to me is one way that it might be dealt with would be an affidavit by somebody who knows the facts that this document and any other documents of a similar sort were captured in the archives of the German forces in Paris or elsewhere.
M. FAURE: I could very easile produce before the Tribunal the affidavit which it requests, I indicate that if we do not have it in this form it is because our habitual procedure is not exactly the same as that followed perhaps in the United States. So in fact, the Charter of the Tribunal indicating that the prosecution was charged with gathering the evidence, we ourselves have authorized magistrates in our offices and services to seek documents in the Archives of the police; and if the Tribunal wishes I shall ask in a supplementary fashion, the police for the attestation of the seizure of these documents in the German archives. I shall then ask the Tribunal to be allowed to produce this affidavit within a few days.
THE PRESIDENT: M. Faure, the Tribunal thinks that we might admit the document subject to your undertaking that you would do that in the course of a day or two.
M. FAURE: I can not guarantee that I will have this document in a day or two.
THE PRESIDENT: I wasn't stressing the number of days. If you will undertake to do it that is sufficient.
M. FAURE: Certainly, Mr. President. I continue then with the analysis of the Dannecker report. The first chapter is entitled "History of the Jews in France." I shall not read it. It includes a series of ideas on a wholly elementary intellectual level. The following chapter is entitled, "Organization of the Jews in France." It includes a first part under the heading, "Before 14 June 1940",-this part does not seem to me interesting. The second part of this chapter is entitled, "Activities of the SIPO and the SD, (SS, Einsatzkommando Paris)" against these organizations and against the leading Jewish persons (the report comes from the SS Hauptsturm Hafen). I think I might read the beginning. Czechoslovakia, and Poland made it possible to conclude that the center of Judism for Europe and the chief communications with the countries beyond the outer sea must be sought in France." It is on the basis of this observation that the great Jewish organizations that are already known, such as "World Jewish Congress"-then follows an enumeration -- have been searched and sealed. existence of a bond between Judism and Catholicism. It presents the results of searches that were made in the homes of various persons: The Rothschild family, the former minister Mandel, the press attache at the British Embassy, and other persons, including the lawyers Moro Giafferi and Torres. The end of this chapter is as indicated, page sixteen. In summary we can say that on the basis of the documentation that has been gathered that Judism in France, in connection with Catholicism as well as with certain important politicians, constituted the last rampart on the European continent.
The following division has the title, "Life of the Jews After the Arrival of the Germans." The text describes the manner in which the Germans organized and imposed a central and single organization of the Jews. This had to do with the beginning of the plan which I pointed out a while ago to the Tribunal, which consisted in creating a mass of Jewish population entirely separated from the rest of the population. I should like to read the first paragraph, for the analysis of it is very important. Of course, if appeared after the Armistice and return to normal life that almost all the Jewish associations had ceased to exist (absence of responsible officials and of donators who had fled into the non-occupied zone) while the needs of aid and help were constantly growing.
The German legislature brought about a constant aggravation of the Jewish social problems. It seems that this state of things should create a favorable ground in France for a general organization of Jews.
In this text there is a very subtle idea. It is noted that German legislature, that is say, the legislature of the military commands, brought about a great aggravation of the social problems, and there is concluded from this that the general organization of the Jews is thereby facilitated.
This reasoning confirms, I think, what I said to the Tribunal a while ago, namely, that we were faced with a whole system of measures, the first of which were intended to facilitate the separation of the Jewish community which was to be exterminated.
Dannecker thereupon explains how a coordination committee was created.
"It has been agreed with the services of the commandant of Greater Paris that in the future the Jewish organizations address themselves to the German services only through the intermediary of the Committee of Jewish Coordination. It is thus that all the small Jewish organizations will be forced to become integrated. Moreover, it has been agreed with the Parisian office of National Relief that, after a delay of a period of four weeks, me Jew can any longer be fed and sheltered by National Relief. The SNL delegate appointed a special representative to control the coordination committee in this matter. Moreover, the blocking of Jewish holdings in the very near future will force Judism to ask for the coordination of the committee in receiving gifts which are intended for it coming from these blocked holdings, and the acceptance of this request will signify the practical existence of an enforced Jewish union. It is thus seen that this question is likewise resolved in the sense it is desired, even if it is in a cold manner'."
The following chapter bears the title, "Political Activities of the Charge d Affaires of the SIPO and of the SD." I should like to read some passages from this. After the promulgation by the French Government of the Jewish statute of the 3rd of October 1940, a certain slowing-up occurred in the solution of the Jewish question in France. This is by the Charge d' affaires of Jewish Questions. He elaborated the plan of a Jewish Central Bureau. Discussions in regard to the plan took place with the military administration on 31 January 1941. The latter showed no interest, and considering that the question was of a purely political nature had it sent to the SD in agreement with the German Embassy; had it referred to the SD.
Commissioner Vala, with Ambassador Abetz, with De Brinon, and indicates the different exigencies presented by the Germans to the French authorities.
I pass now to page twenty-four, the last paragraph. the SS Brig. Fuehrer Dr. Best by SS Obersturmbannfuhrer Dr. Knochen. This proposal means that the liaison service is to be created, which should include the representatives of the four offices above cited. The Direction of these matters was to be in the hands of the charge d' affaires of Jewish questions of the SD in conformity with the rules of competency of the OKW, the OKH, and the Militaerbefehlshaber in France. After this discussion on the 10th of June 1941 there was held a conference. Doctor Stortz, the ministerial consular, was represented there and the Verwaltungstab--then German titles follow which haven't been translated into French, which are a little hard for me to read. Doctor Blancke, Economic Service, Embassy Counsellor Zeitschel, of the German Embassy, and Obersturmbannfuehrer Dannecker, the representative of the Military Administration, expressed clearly that the competence of the SD resulted from the decrees of the OKW and of the OKH as well is from the last confidential decrees of the Militaerbefehlshaber of France of the 21st of March 1941. Doctor Stortz expressed that for various reasons it would be preferable to abstain from creating a liaison bureau, properly speaking, created by the SD. SS Obersturmbannfeuhrer Dannecker explains for his part that the only thing that was import ant was the definitive settling of the question, and that subsequently the SD should be in a position to carry Out the orders coming from the RSHA.
THE PRESIDENT: M. Faure, can't you summarize this? It is a very long document, and we have so many documents and so much evidence in connection with the Jews already.
M. FAURE: I shall simply read one sentence on the same page:
"After the conference it was decided to meet the same place, at the Charge diaffaires of Jewish Questions, every week." iences and the difficulties that they encountered.
I think it is interesting to note these regular conferences which were held every week were between the military services, the Embassy, and the Police Service.
The following passages of the report can be passed over. They are appraisals of valor, indications relative to the file concerning the Jews, and the analysis of German ordinances. This is important to show that these ordinances enter into the overall plan. that this institute was financed by the Embassy of Germany. The report continues by statistical indications, and it concludes with a statement of which I shall read only one paragraph:
"I hope I have succeeded in giving an idea of the present situation, and in giving a view of the whole of the difficulties of all kinds that we have had to surmount in this round of ideas. I cannot speak of this subject without remembering the really friendly support which has been given to our work by Amgassador Abetz and by his representative, the Attache Schleier, as well as that of the SS Sturmbannfuehrer, Embassy Councillor, Dr. Zeitschel." all the documents which are included in my document file. I shall therefore pass now to Document Number 1210, which I submit under this number. This Document Number 1210 is a new report of Dannecker. It is dated 22 February 1942, I submit it to show the regularity and the development of the activity of the German offices. This is Document 1210. I have not submitted Documents 1208, and 1209. This is a letter of the 22nd of February 1942. I shall simply read the headings, and I shall make two quotations.
The first healing is entitled "Task of the SIPO and of the SD in France." The second is "Jewish Cartotheque;" the third, "French Commissariat of Jewish Questions"; the fourth, "The French Anti-Jewish Police." The fifth is entitled "Activity." I shallquote the paragraph:
"Up to now three operations of great scope have been carried out against the Jews of Paris. Each time our services have been responsible for the choice of the Jews who are to be arrested, and, also for all the preparatory work as well as for the technical organization of the activities The Jewish Cartotheque, which we have described here above, has considerably facilitated the organization of all these activities."