COLONEL STOREY: Mr. President, if the Tribunal please, sir, supplementing what Mr. Alderman has said, we have had to adjust our presentation to some extent. Tomorrow morning, the witness will be offered for interrogation. Then Mr. Alderman on Monday and Sir Hartley Shallcross will make the opening statement for the British Empire on Tuesday morning.
The film this afternoon, at the request of the defendants' counsel, made in writing to the Court, has been exhibited to defendants' counsel day before yesterday evening in this court room. I personally requested Dr. Dix to convey the invitation to defense counsel to witness the film. Eight of them came. Dr. Dix advised me kindly that he would not come unless he was forced to come.
I now present Mr. Dodd, who will have charge of the presentation.
MR. DODD: If it please the Tribunal, the prosecution for the United States will at this time present to the Tribunal, with its permission, a documentary film on concentration camps. This is, by no means, the entire proof which the prosecution will offer with respect to the subject of concentration camps, but this film which we offer represents in a brief and unforgettable form an explanation of what the words "concentration camp" imply. up to the actual outbreak of aggressive war, which, as Mr. Alderman's presentation shows, was planned and prepared by the Nazi conspirators. We propose to show that concentration camps were not an end in themselves but, rather, they were an integral part of the Nazi system of government. As we shall show, the black-shirted guards of the SS and the Gestapo stood ranged behind the official pages of the Reichsgestzblatt. the existence of these concentration camps; that fear and terror and nameless horror of the concentration camps were instruments by which the defendants retained power and suppressed the opposition to any of their policies, including, of course, their plans for aggressive war. By this means they enforced the controls imposed upon the German people, as required to execute these plans and obliterated freedom in Germany and in the countries invaded and occupied by the armies of the Third Reich.
fact that the proof to be offered at a later stage of this trial will show that on some of the organizations charged in this indictment lies the responsibility for the origination, the control and the maintenance of the whole concentration camp system. Upon the SS, the SD--a part of the SS which tracked down the victims--upon the Gestapo, which committed the victims to the camps, and upon other branches of the SS which were in charge of the atrocities committed therein. explaining its source and its authenticity. Commander James Donovan.
COMMANDER DONOVAN: May it please the Tribunal, I refer to Document Number 2430 PS, concerning the motion picture entitled "Nazi Concentration Camps" and to the affidavits of Commander James B. Donovan, Lt. Colonel George C. Stevens, Lieutenant E. R. Kellogg and Colonel Erik Tiebold contained therein. The affidavits of Colonel Stevens and of Lieutenant Kellogg are also contained in the motion picture, and thus will be in the record of the Tribunal. With the permission of the Tribunal, I shall now, however, read into the record those affidavits not appearing in the film.
THE PRESIDENT: In the absence of any objection by the defense counsel, we don't think it is necessary to read these formal affidavits.
COMMANDER DONOVAN: Yes, sir. The United States now offers in evidence an official film, a documentary motion picture report on Nazi Concentration Camps. This report has been compiled from motion pictures taken by Allied military photographers as the Allied armies in the West liberated the areas in which these camps were located. The accompanying narration is taken directly from the reports of the military photographers who filmed the camps.
and death in nazi concentration camps, proper authentication of the films is contained in the affidavits of the United States Army and Navy officers to which I have referred. all defense counsel and they possess copies in their information room of the supporting affidavits duly translated.
(Whereupon, projection of the film was commenced. The affidavits as part of the aforesaid film.)
"I, George C. Stevens, Lieutenant Colonel, Army of the United States, hereby certify:
"1. From 1 March 1945 to 8 May 1945 I was on active duty with the United States Army Signal Corps attached to the Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Forces, and among my official duties was direction of the photographing of the Nazi concentration camps and prison camps as liberated by Allied forces.
"2. The motion pictures which will be shown following this affidavit were taken by official Allied photographic teams in the course of their official duties, each team being composed of military personnel under the direction of a commissioned officer.
"3. To the best of my knowledge and belief, these motion pictures constitute a true representation of the individuals and scenes photographed. They have not been altered in any respect since the exposures were made. The accompanying narration is a true statement of the facts and circumstances under which these pictures were made.
"(Signed) George C. Stevens. Lieutenant-Colonel. AUS "Sworn to before me this 2nd day of October, 1945.
(Signed) James P. Donovan, Commander, United States Naval Reserve."
"I, E. R. Kellogg, Lieutenant, United States Navy, hereby certify that:
"1. From 1929 to 1941 I was employed at the Twentieth Century Fox Studies in Hollywood, California, as a director of film effects, and am familiar with all photographic techniques.
Since 6 September 1941 to the present date of 27 August, 1945, I have been on active duty with the United States Navy.
"2. I have carefully examined the motion picture film to be shown following this affidavit and I certify that the images of these excerpts from the original negative have not been retouched, distorted or otherwise altered in any respect and are true copies of the originals held in the vaults of the United States Army Signal Corps. These excerpts comprise 6,000 feet of film selected from 80,000 feet, all of which I have reviewed and all of which is similar in character to these excerpts.
"(Signed) E. R. Kellogg, Lieutenant, United States Navy.
"Sworn to before me this 27 day of August, 1945. (Signed) John Ford, Captain, United States Navy."
(Following the showing the aforementioned motion picture film, the following proceedings were had.)
COLONEL STOREY: That concludes the presentation.
(Whereupon, at 1630 hours the hearing of the Tribunal adjourned to reconvene on 30 November 1945 at 1000 hours.)
Military Tribunal, in the matter of:
THE PRESIDENT: I call on the Prosecutor for the United States.
JUSTICE JACKSON: Colonel Amen will represent the United States this morning.
COLONEL JOHN H. AMEN: May it please the Tribunal, I propose to call as the first witness for the Prosecution, Major General Erwin Lahousen.
THE PRESIDENT: The Tribunal wish me to state that the evidence of the witness, whom you propose to call, must be strictly confined to the Count with which the United States is dealing, Count One.
COLONEL AMEN: May I have a moment to discuss that with the Chief Counsel of the United States?
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, certainly.
DR. OTTO NELTE: Mr. President: so far as I know -
THE PRESIDENT: Could you state for whom you appear? Do you appear for the Defendant, Keitel?
DR. NELTE: Yes. between the Prosecution and the Defense, namely, an agreement that it should be said ahead of time, if possible, what was to be discussed on the following day. The obvious purpose of this reasonable understanding was, it appears to me, to give the Defense Counsel the possibility to discuss the questions with their clients, a nd thus expedite their progress of the trial.
I did not hear that today the witness, Lahousen, was to be summoned by the Prosecution.
Also, I did not hear what questions he was to be heard discussing. I believe, we were not to discuss questions, and the witness, Lahousen, was not to be heard regarding questions that have any connection with the address that the Prosecution delivered in the last few days.
THE PRESIDENT: That is the contrary of what I said. What I said was that the witness was to be confined to evidence relating to Count One, which has been solely discussed up to the present date.
DR. NELTE: Does Mr. President wide to say that the Defense, in order that it might have the possibility to subject the witness to cross examination, that the defense shall have the possibility, after interrogation by the Prosecution, shall have a moment to speak with the defendant, so that he shall know what questions are to be put to him? The witness, Lahousen, so far as I recall, has not been mentioned so far in the address by the Prosecution.
THE PRESIDENT: Is that all you have to say?
DR. NELTE: Yes.
THE PRESIDENT: I think the Tribunal would like to hear Counsel for the United States upon the agreement which Counsel for the Defendant, Keitel, alleges, namely, an agreement to the effect that what was to be discussed on the following day should be communicated to the Defendants' Counsel beforehand.
JUSTICE JACKSON: I know of no agreement to inform Defendants' Counsel of any witness, nor of his testimony; nor would I want to make such. There are security reasons involved in disclosing to Defendants' Counsel the names of witnesses, upon which I don't need to enlarge.
be given information as to the documentary matters, and I think that has been kept.
As to witnesses, however, a matter of policy arises. These witnesses are not always prisoners. They have to be treated in a somewhat different fashion than prisoners; and the protection of their security is a very important consideration, where we are trying this case in the very hotbed of the nazi organization with which some of Defense Counsel were identified.
THE PRESIDENT: I think, Mr. Justice Jackson, that that is sufficient. If you tell the Tribunal that there was no such agreement, the Tribunal, of course, will accept that.
JUSTICE JACKSON: I know of nothing of that character, relating to witnesses, that does apply to that. which the Court has just announced. Count One of the Indictment is a conspiracy count, covering the entire substantive part of the Indictment. There are problems, of course, of overlapping, which I had supposed have been worked out between the Prosecutors until this morning. It is impossible, trying a conspiracy case, to keep from mentioning the fact that the act, which was the object of the conspiracy, was performed. In fact, that is a part of the evidence of the conspiracy.
I know I don't need to enlarge upon the wide scope of evidence in a conspiracy case. I think, perhaps, the best way to do, is to swear the witness, and that the other Prosecutors, if they feel their field is being trespassed upon, or the judges, if they feel that we are exceeding, raise the objection specifically; because I don't know how we can separate, particularly on a moment's notice, Count One from the other counts. as between ourselves and the other Prosecutors, but we find it impossible always to please everybody. to suggest that we proceed. I don't know just what the bounds of the ruling might be, but I think the only way we can find out is to proceed, and have specific objections to the specific things, which anyone feels has transgressed; and in doing that, I want to say that we do it with the greatest respect to the ruling, but that we may find ourselves in conflict with it, because of the difficulty of any boundary on the subject.
THE PRESIDENT: Doctor Stahmer?
DOCTOR STAHMER (Counsel for Defendant Doenitz): Mr. President, I must return to the question raised by Doctor Nelte, namely his assertion that before the beginning of the trial the defense and the Prosecution reached an agreement that the next day's program should be stated to the defense on the day before. Such an agreement was actually reached, and I do not understand, I cannot understand, how this agreement has not reached the attention of the Prosecution. Such an agreement was actually reached, and I cannot understand that the Prosecution should not have been informed of it. by Doctor Kempner, our liaison man, it should be reached. I should therefore like to point out the following: Counsel could not be informed of the next day's proceedings, but we were already informed yesterday, -- informed about witnesses who were to be summoned today, that is to say, we were not informed, although this morning I was informed by representatives of the press of the fact that this witness would appear, and saw the statement in the newspaper. Subsequently the objection that such communication could not be made for security reasons does not hold water, and arouses perhaps unjustified distrust of the silence of the Prosecution. Nor is it true that we are receiving documents in time; we still receive those documents too late. Just this morning we received a document which is to be discussed today, and it was also given to us in a language which many of the defendants do not understand, namely, English. like the Tribunal to decide this matter as soon as it may.
THE PRESIDENT: Have you finished?
DOCTOR STAHMER: Yes.
JUSTICE JACKSON: It is quite correct that the name of the witness who is to be used today was given to the press. The question of our policy as to giving witnesses names was submitted to me last night after court recessed, because we had not been using witnesses heretofore; and I then stated to Colonel Storey that witnesses' names must not be given to the Defense Counsel for security reasons.
He communicated that, I believe, to Doctor Dix. I found that later it had been given to the press. They of course have had adequate information therefore as to this witness. However, I am speaking about the policy. We cannot be under obligation to inform these counsel of the names of witnesses who will be called who are here in Nurnberg, but not in prison; the situation does not permit of that. Neither can we furnish transcripts of testimony or that sort of thing of witnesses in advance. the fair conduct of the trial they ought to have. They are now receiving much more than any citizen of the United States gets on trial in the courts of the United States, in some respects, as to advance information and copies and help and service, and I do think that to ask us to disclose to them in advance either the names or substance of testimony -oftentimes the substance would disclose the witness -- would be proper. It was stated yesterday that we would take up a witness today.
THE PRESIDENT: We have already heard two counsel on behalf of the Defense. Have you anything to add which is different to what they have said?
DOCTOR DIX (Counsel for Defendant Schacht): Yes. I believe that I can elucidate a misunderstanding and contribute to the simplification of the whole problem. May I address the Court?
I believe that there is a misunderstanding here. As to what was discussed before I do not know, but the situation so far is the following: between the prosecution and the Defense Counsel, as your Lordship knows. There is, as regarding documents, only an agreement regarding documents, which I do not have to repeat because the Court knows of it. So far as witnesses are concerned I believe that I may presuppose that we are all agreed that the wish of the defense to know ahead of time what witnesses will appear is justified.
is in itself justified, cannot be granted for security reasons. That is a matter which lies outside the determination of the Defense. But I believe that I understood Mr. Justice Jackson correctly in believing that if the press is informed what witnesses will appear the next day, then as a matter of course the same communication should be made to Defense Counsel. But that was only a happy concatenation of circumstances, an accident that can always happen, and which with mutual understanding and goodwill can be obviated in the future. As I said, I do not know what was agreed on before my presence here.
Consequently I cannot contradict my colleague, Doctor Stahmer, in this matter, but it is possible that the misunderstanding arose because the gentleman who agreed the documents should be submitted beforehand and be communicated to us forty-eight hours ahead of time. and that the film was to be shown gives my colleague the impression which I believe is justified that all such documents were to be submitted to them. wish that we be informed what witness is to be called as soon as possible; and I express the further wish that security considerations should be guided by the fact that the Defense Counsel are reliable people taking part in a disciplined trial and are determined to assist the progress of the trial, and that subsequently the cases in which the security officer believes that he should not communicate the name of the witness beforehand, that such cases should be reduced to an absolute minimum.
THE PRESIDENT: The Tribunal will consider the submissions which have been made to them on behalf of Defense Counsel with reference to what should or what should not be communicated to them. With reference to the witness whom the United States desire to call, they will now be permitted to call him; and with reference to what I said about confining his evidence to the first count the Tribunal thinks that the best course would be for the other Prosecutors to have the opportunity now to ask any questions which they think right, and that they may have the opportunity, if they wish, of calling the witness later upon their own counts.
As to cross-examination by the Defendants' Counsel, that will be allowed to them in the most convenient way possible, so that if they wish to have an opportunity of communicating with their clients before they cross-examine them they may have the opportunity of doing so. Now we will continue.
COLONEL AMEN: May we have General Lahousen brought before the Tribunal?
THE PRESIDENT: Will you stand in front of the microphone there so that you can be heard?
BY THE PRESIDENT: Q What is your name? A Erwin Lahousen. Q Will you please spell it? A L-a-h-o-u-s-e-n. Q Will you say this oath after me? I swear by God-A I swear by God-Q --the Almighty and Omniscient,-A --the Almighty and Omniscient,-Q --that I will speak the pure truth-A --that I will speak the pure truth-Q --and will withhold and add nothing. A --and will withhold and add nothing.
THE PRESIDENT: Don't you think the witness had better sit down?
COLONEL AMEN: I think he should be allowed to sit down, particularly as he has a heart condition which may be aggravated.
THE PRESIDENT: Very well; you can sit down. BY COLONEL AMEN: Q Where were you born? A I was born in Vienna. Q On what date? A The 25th of October 1897. Q What has been your occupation? A I was a professional soldier. Q Where were you trained? A I was trained in Austria, in the Military Academy in Vienna Neustadt. Q Are you regularly commissioned as an officer? A In the year 1915 I was commissioned as lieutenant in the infantry. Q Did you serve in the first World War? A Yes, as first and second lieutenant in the infantry. Q Were you promoted from time to time thereafter? A Yes, and finally I was promoted according to the normal regulations in Austria at that time.
Q By 1930 what rank had you attained? A In the year 1930 I was major--I beg your pardon, I was captain. Q And commencing in 1930 did you take any additional training? A In 1930 I entered the Austrian War School, which corresponds to the Military Academy in the German Army. I entered it for instructions to enter the General Staff. Q How long did this training last? A This training lasted three years. Q In 1933 to what regular army unit were you assigned? A In 1933 I was serving in the Second Austrian Division, the so-called Vienna Division. Q What type of work did you do there? A I was intelligence officer; that service for which I was trained Q. Did you then receive a further promotion?
during my training with the General Staff. A. I was promoted in accordance with the regular regulations in Austria, and roughly at the end of 1933 I was a Major. About 1935 or the beginning of 1936 I was taken into the General Staff--and, at any rate, in the summer of 1936 became Lieutenant Colonel in the Austrian General Staff. Q. And were you assigned to the intelligence division at or about that time? A. I entered the Austrian Intelligence Service; that corresponds to the-- to what is called in the German Army "Abwehr." I must add that a Nachrichten Abteilung was only added to the Austrian Army in about the time 1936; theretofore there was no such department. And for this reason within the limits of the Austrian Federal Army, that is to say, after the collapse of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire, it was thus the intention to reestablish this department after that, and for that reason I was trained for this department in the recently established Nachrichten Abteilung to organize this service. Q. After being assigned to the Intelligence Division how were your activities principally directed? A. My responsible chief, that is to say, the responsible chief was at that time Colonel of the General Staff Boehme; the division chief to whom I was subordinate, the chief of the Intelligence Service, that is to say, the man responsible to me or rather the one to whom I was responsible, from whom I received my orders.
THE PRESIDENT: Can't you shorten this, Colonel Amen? We really needn't have all this detail.
COLONEL AMEN: Very good, Sir. It is, however, I think important for the Tribunal to understand more of this information than you ordinarily would by virtue of the fact that he was taken over subsequently to a corresponding position in the German Army, which I did want the Tribunal to appreciate. BY COLONEL AMEN: Q. Now, will you state to the Tribunal what your principal activities were after being assigned to the Intelligence Division?
What information were you interested in and seeking to obtain?
A. If I understand you correctly, I was a member of the Austrian Service and not in the German so-called "Abwehr."
Q After the Anschluss, what position did you assume? the High Command of the German armed forces, and did the same job there. My chief there was Admiral Canaris.
Q And what was the position of Admiral Canaris? of Foreign Abwehr--that is to say, Intelligence. of the principal departments of the Abwehr under Admiral Canaris?
A When, in 1938, I entered the Ausland's Abwehr, there were three Abwehr divisions. The division called, at that time, "Ausland"--at least, I was acquainted with this organization, as I shall state. How it was before that I cannot say.
Q And what were your duties? Abwehr Division I. That is the section that was concerned with collecting information on secret communications. I worked under the Chief, at that time, Chief of Section Colonel-General Pieckenbrock, as well as Canaris, whom I know from my Austrian past.
Q Admiral Canaris was your immediate superior? representative? representative--that is, Colonel Pieckenbrock-- was not present, or on those occasions when Canaris, for one reason or another, considered it necessary or advisable to have me appear as his representative.
Field Marshal Keitel?
Q. Did you also have contact with Jodl?
A. To a much less extensive degree, but occasionally..
Q. And did you occasionally attend conferences at which Hitler was also present ?
A. Yes, I took part in a few of the sessions or meetings at which Hitler was present and which he conducted.
Q. Will you tell the Tribunal whether the leaders of the Abwehr were in sympathy with Hitler's war program?
A. I must state in this regard that we chiefs, at that time, in the Intelligence Department were deeply influenced by the personality of Canaris , his inner orientation, which was perfectly clear to a small group of us.
against the Nazis?
A Within the Ausland's Abwehr office there were two groups which, so far as their intentions and actions were concerned, intermingled to a great extent, but which must, nevertheless, be discriminated between.
Q And what were those two groups? the personality of Canaris, who was the central point and focus of this group.
A Canaris was a personality of pure intellect. We relied on his inner, very unique and complicated nature, for this reason. He hated and abominated the war; he hated, also, Hitler, his system, and particularly his methods. Canaris was, in whatever way you may look upon him, a human being. tell me about each of those two groups and their respective memberships?
A One might characterize one of the groups as Canaris' circle. It included, in the Ausland's Abwehr, and particularly among the leaders of it, above all, Canaris himself, the spiritual leader of it; the General, at that time, Oster, Chief of the Central Division, the fuehrer of foreign Abwehr; my predecessor, Lieutenant-Colonel Grosskurt, who, along with Canaris in the year 1938, was still in Vienna. Further, the Chief of Abwehr Section I, Colonel Pieckenbrock, who was a close friend of Canaris; Pieckenbrock's successor, Colonel Hansen, who was executed on June 28; my successor, Colonel Freytag-Lorrindhofen, who was executed, or rather, who committed suicide on July 26, before his arrest; then Chief of Abwehr Section III, Colonel Bentivegny. Then there were, in all sections, various people who, for the most part--in connection with the events of July 20--were executed or imprisoned. but I knew of actions which were the prevention of or the failure to follow orders, the contents of which were murder or other atrocities. Chief Buerckner was aware of these things.