Chapter VII: ), was made possible by the following Cabinet laws: Law of 4 (4)

“Though in other times it may perhaps be considered an
infraction of necessary social standards and conventions, German
women and girls of good blood can fulfill a high obligation by
bearing children out of wedlock to soldiers going to the front,
whose eventual return or death for Germany lies entirely in the
hands of fate—not out of promiscuity but out of a deep sense of
ethics.”

* * * * * *

“Let us never forget that the victory of the sword and of the
spilled blood of our soldiers remains fruitless, if it is not
succeeded by the victory of the child and the colonizing of
conquered soil.” (_2825-PS_)

A final order designed to assure continuance of good SS blood was issued on 15 August 1942, entitled “SS Orders to the Last Sons”, also published in “The Soldier Friend”:

“You SS men have been withdrawn from the front lines by order of
the Fuehrer because you are the last sons. This measure has been
taken because the people and the State have an interest in
seeing that your families do not die out.

“It has never been the nature of SS men to submit to a fate
without attempting to effect a change. It is your duty to see to
it that you are no longer the last sons by producing as many
children of good blood as possible.” (_2825-PS_)

These orders were not the product of some benevolent theorist in eugenics who was interested in large and happy SS families for their own sake. They stemmed from a basic idea of the conspiracy, the plan to insure Germany’s continued capacity to wage war for generations. Himmler put this theory very bluntly in his speech to officers of the _SS Leibstandarte_ “Adolf Hitler” on the “Day of Metz”:

“* * * If we once had not enough sons, those who will come after
us will have to become cowards. A nation which has an average of
four sons per family can venture a war; if two of them die, two
transmit the name. The leadership of a nation having one son or
two sons per family will have to be faint-hearted at any
decision on account of their own experience, because they will
have to tell themselves: We cannot afford it. Look at France,
which is the best example. France had to accept from us a
dictate.” (_1918-PS_)

(_b_) _The SS as an exterminator of “inferior” races._

Domination of Europe through a Nazi Elite required more, however, than the positive side of racism—that is, the building up of a numerous “biologically superior” group. It necessarily meant also the destruction of other races. The SS had to be, and was, taught not merely to breed, but to exterminate. In a speech delivered at Kharkov in April 1943, Himmler declared:

“We have—I would say, as very consistent National
Socialists—taken the question of blood as our starting point.
We were the first really to solve the problem of blood by
action, and in this connection by problem of blood, we of course
do not mean anti-semitism. Antisemitism is exactly the same as
delousing. Getting rid of lice is not a question of ideology. It
is a matter of cleanliness. In just the same way, anti-semitism
for us, will soon have been dealt with. We shall soon be
deloused. We have only 20,000 lice left, and then the matter is
finished within the whole of Germany.” (_1919-PS_)

But it was not merely against Jews that SS efforts were directed. All non-Nordic races were similarly condemned. In his Posen speech, Himmler stated this basic principle of the SS:

“One basic principle must be the absolute rule for the SS men:
We must be honest, decent, loyal and comradely to members of our
own blood and to nobody else. What happens to a Russian, to a
Czech, does not interest me in the slightest. What other nations
can offer in the way of good blood of our type, we will take, if
necessary, by kidnapping their children and raising them here
with us. Whether nations live in prosperity or starve to death
interests me only so far as we need them as slaves for our
culture; otherwise, it is of no interest to me. Whether 10,000
Russian females fall down from exhaustion while digging an
antitank ditch interests me only insofar as the antitank ditch
for Germany is finished.”

* * * * * *

“That is what I want to instill into this SS and what I believe
I have instilled in them as one of the most sacred laws of the
future.” (_1919-PS_)

(_c_) _Indoctrination of members in SS racial theories._ These were the principles which were publicly reiterated, over and over again, so that the newest recruit was thoroughly steeped in them. In his Kharkov speech to the commanding officers of three Waffen SS divisions, Himmler strongly insisted on indoctrinating all SS members in his theories of the racial struggle.

“This is what is important for us as SS men, for our province of
duty and our mission (it is a task additional to those of the
whole German armed forces and the whole German people): That is
what I would like to impress upon you. This is what I beg you as
commanding officers, as chiefs and as leaders, to teach the
young men again and again in their ideological instruction. That
is what I demand and exact of you—that you really concern
yourself with the man, the young fellow of 17 or 18 who comes to
us, and with many who are in our ranks not as volunteers but as
conscripts. I ask you to look after them, and guide them, and
not let them go before they are really saturated with our spirit
and are fighting as the old guard fought before us—that is what
I request and demand of you.

“We have only one task—to stand firm and carry on the racial
struggle without mercy.” (_1919-PS_)

This function of the SS men in the racial struggle was publicly proclaimed in the Organizations Book of the NSDAP for 1943:

“He openly and relentlessly fights against the most dangerous
enemies of the State: Jews, Freemasons, Jesuits and political
clergymen.” (_2640-PS_)

(2) _The Obligation of Obedience._ Indoctrination of the organization in principles of racial hatred was not enough. The members had to be ready and willing tools, prepared to carry out tasks of any nature, however distasteful, illegal or inhuman. Absolute obedience was the necessary second foundation stone of the SS. The Organizations Book of the NSDAP for 1943 thus describes this fundamental requirement:

“Obedience must be unconditional. It corresponds to the
conviction that the National Socialist ideology must reign
supreme. He who is possessed by it and fights for it
passionately subjects himself voluntarily to the obligation to
obey. Every SS man is prepared, therefore, to carry out blindly
every order which is issued by the Fuehrer or which is given by
his superior, irrespective of the heaviest sacrifices involved.”
(_2640-PS_)

The same point was emphasized by Himmler in the Posen speech:

“I would like here to state something clearly and unequivocally.
It is a matter of course that the little man must obey. It is
even more a matter of course that all the senior leaders of the
SS, that is the whole corps of Gruppenfuehrers, are a model of
blind obedience.” (_1919-PS_)

(3) _The SS as a Terroristic Agency._ A necessary corollary of these two fundamental principles of race and of blind obedience was ruthlessness. Subsequent evidence of SS activities will prove how successfully the SS learned the lesson it was taught. The SS had to and did develop a reputation for terror which was carefully cultivated. Himmler himself attested to it as early as 1936 in a speech publicly delivered at the Peasant’s Day Rally and subsequently published and circulated in pamphlet form under the title “The SS as an Anti-bolshevist Fighting Organization”:

“I know that there are some people in Germany who become sick
when they see their black coats. We understand the reason for
this and do not expect that we shall be loved by too many.”
(_1851-PS_)

(4) _Continuance of the Elite and Voluntary Character of the SS._ The role which the SS was to play required that it remain constantly the essence of Naziism, and that its elite Nazi quality never be diluted. For this reason the SS was for a time temporarily closed to new members, and those who had proved unfit were weeded out. Himmler described this process in his article “Organization and Obligations of the SS and the Police” (_1992-A-PS_). Referring to the influx of new adherents to the Party and its organizations in 1933, he said:

“A very difficult question confronted us at that time. It was a
question of deciding whether to close the Party and its
organizations to further membership and thus remain pure in
quality but small in volume, or of opening them to further
membership to increase their volume.”

* * * * * *

“The SS too was endangered by this menace. Therefore I closed it
while some of the other organizations accepted as great a number
of people as possible. This way I had the SS again under my
control in April and said: We shall accept no more people. From
the end of 1933 to the end of 1935 we expelled all those of the
newly accepted members who proved unsuitable.” (_1992-A-PS_)

These standards were not abandoned later. Indeed, in 1943 the Organizations Book of the Nazi Party stated that:

“The demands with respect to racial purity of the SS are being
increased every year.”

And in the same year, 1943, Himmler emphasized this point in a letter written to Kaltenbrunner (_2768-PS_).

This letter from the Reichsfuehrer SS, which bears the date 24 April 1943, states in part as follows:

“Referring again to the matter which I discussed some time ago,
i.e., the admission of SIPO officials into the SS. I wish to
clarify again: I want an admission only if the following
conditions are fulfilled:

“1. If the man applies freely and voluntarily;

“2. If, by applying strict and peacetime standards, the
applicant fits racially and ideologically into the SS,
guarantees according to the number of his children a
really healthy SS stock, and is neither ill, degenerate
nor worthless.”

* * * * * *

“I beg you not only to act accordingly in the future, but
especially also that numerous admissions into ranks of the SS in
the past be reexamined and revised according to these
instructions.” (_2768-PS_)

(5) _Method of Acquiring Membership in the SS._ The normal method by which membership in the SS was attained was discussed by Himmler in his article, “Organization and Obligations of the SS and Police”:

“The age groups in the SS are as follows: With 18 years the
young man enters the SS. He is first an applicant, after three
months he takes the oath on the Fuehrer and thus becomes a
candidate (_Anwaerter_). As a candidate during the first year he
takes examinations for his SA sport insignia and his bronze
sport insignia. At the age of 19 or 19½, according to the time
of his acceptance, he is conscripted for the labor service and
subsequently for the _Wehrmacht_. After two more years he comes
back from the _Wehrmacht_ unless he remains there as a
prospective noncommissioned officer or reenlists. If he returns
to us, he is still candidate. In these weeks he is especially
thoroughly instructed in ideology. The first year is for him a
period of elementary ideological indoctrination. In these weeks
following his return from the _Wehrmacht_ he receives special
instruction about the marriage law and all other laws pertaining
to the family, and the honor laws. On the 9th of November,
following his return from the _Wehrmacht_, he becomes an SS man
in the true sense. The Reichsfuehrer of the SS is just as much
an SS man in the sense of the SS organization as the common man
at the front. On this 9th of November he is awarded the dagger,
and at this occasion he promises to abide by the marriage law
and the disciplinary laws of the SS, since the family is also
subject to these laws. From this day on he has the right and the
duty to defend his honor with a weapon as laid down by the honor
laws of the SS. The applicants and candidates do not yet have
this right. The SS man remains in the so-called active General
SS until his 35th year. From his 35th to his 45th year he is in
the SS reserve, and after his 45th year in the _Stammabteilung_
of the SS, identified by the grey color patch.” (_1992-A-PS_)

The oath to the Fuehrer, referred to by Himmler in the passage just quoted, appears in the SS recruiting pamphlet, “The SS Calls You”:

“The Oath of the SS Man:

“I swear to you, Adolf Hitler, as Fuehrer and Reichschancellor,
loyalty and bravery. I vow to you, and to those you have named
to command me, obedience unto death, so help me God.”
(_3429-PS_)

D. _Criminal Aims and Activities of the SS._

(1) _The Purge of 20[_sic_] June 1934._ Proof of the elite Nazi quality and thorough reliability of the SS, the test by which it won its spurs, occurred on 30 June 1934, when it participated in the purge of the SA and other opponents or potential opponents of the Nazi regime. That was the first real occasion for use of this specialized organization which could operate with the blessing of the Nazi State but outside the law. In an affidavit signed and sworn to in Nurnberg on 19 November 1945, Wilhelm Frick says, referring to the victims of that purge:

“They were just killed on the spot. Many people were killed—I
don’t know how many—who actually did not have anything to do
with the putsch. People who just weren’t liked very well, as for
instance, Schleicher, the former Reich Chancellor, were killed *
* * The SS was used by Himmler for the execution of these orders
to suppress the putsch.” (_2950-PS_)

Himmler referred to this same event in his Posen speech:

“Just as we did not hesitate on June 20,[_sic_] 1934, to do the
duty we were bidden, and stand comrades who had lapsed, up
against the wall and shoot them, so we have never spoken about
it and will never speak about it.” (_1919-PS_)

It was in recognition of its services in this respect that the SS was elevated to the status of a component of the Party equal in rank to the SA and other similar branches. The following announcement appeared on page 1 of the _Voelkischer Beobachter_ of 26 July 1934:

“The Reich press office announces the following order of the
Fuehrer.

“In consideration of the greatly meritorious service of the SS,
especially in connection with the events of 30 June 1934, I
elevate it to the standing of an independent organization within
the NSDAP.

“Munch 20 July 1934.” (_1857-PS_)

(2) _Functions as a Repressive Police Organization._

One of the first steps essential to the security of any regime is control of the police. The SS was the type of organization which the conspirators needed for this purpose. Their aim was to fuse the SS and police, and to merge them into a single, unified repressive force.

Shortly after the seizure of power the conspirators began to develop as part of the state machinery, secret political police forces. These originated in Prussia with the Gestapo, established by decree of Goering in April 1933, and were duplicated in the other German States. (This development is discussed in Section 6 on the Gestapo.) By 1934 Himmler, the Reichsfuehrer SS, had become the chief of these secret political police forces in each of the German states except Prussia, and deputy chief of the Prussian Gestapo. In that capacity he infiltrated these forces with members of the SS until a virtual identity of membership was assured.

On 17 June 1936, by Decree on the Establishment of a Chief of the German Police (_2073-PS_), the new post of Chief of the German Police was created in the Ministry of the Interior. Under the terms of the decree, Himmler was appointed to this post with the title of “Reichsfuehrer SS and Chief of the German Police in the Ministry of the Interior.” The combination of these two positions, that of leadership of the SS and head of all the police forces in the Reich, was no accident but was intended to establish a permanent relation between the two bodies and not a mere “transitory fusion of personnel.” The significance of the combination of these two positions was referred to by Hitler in the preamble to his secret order of 17 August 1938:

“By means of the nomination of the Reichsfuehrer SS and Chief of
the German Police in the Ministry of the Interior on June 17th,
1936 (_Reichsgesetzblatt_ I, page 487), I have created the basis
for the unification and reorganization of the German Police.

“With this step, the _Schutzstaffeln_ of the NSDAP, which were
under the Reichsfuehrer SS and Chief of the German Police even
up to now, have entered into close connection with the duties of
the German Police.” (_647-PS_)

Upon his appointment, Himmler immediately proceeded to reorganize the entire Reich Police Force, designating two separate branches: (1) the regular uniformed police force (_Ordnungspolizei_, or Orpo), and (2) the Security Police (_Sicherheitspolizei_, or Sipo). The Sipo was composed of all criminal police organizations in the Reich and all the secret political police forces, or Gestapo. This reorganization was achieved by the Decree Assigning Functions in the Office of the Chief of the German Police (_1551-PS_). To be head of the Sipo, that is the criminal police and Gestapo, Himmler appointed Reinhard Heydrich, who was at that time the Chief of the SD. Thus, through Himmler’s dual capacity as leader of the SS and as Chief of the Police, and through Heydrich’s dual capacity as head of the Sipo and as chief of the SD, a unified personal command of the SS and Security Police Forces was achieved. But further steps toward unification were later taken. In 1939, the Security Police and the SD were combined in a single department, the Reich Security Main Office, commonly referred to as the RSHA. (The details of the organization of the RSHA are discussed in Section 6 on the Gestapo.) The important point to be observed is this: The newly created Reich Security Main Office was not a mere department of the Government. It was a dual body: an agency of the government, organizationally placed in the Department of the Interior, and at the same time one of the principal departments of the SS, organizationally placed in the Supreme Command of the SS. (cf. the chart of the SS organization (_Chart Number 3_)). The following description of the RSHA appears in the Organizations Book of the NSDAP for 1943:

“The RSHA handles all the organizational, personnel, management
and technical affairs of the Security Police and the SD. In
addition, it is the central office of the State Police and
criminal police executive, as well as the central directorate of
the intelligence net of the SD.” (_2640-PS_)

The position of the RSHA in the Supreme Command of the SS is also similarly described in the SS manual, “The Soldier Friend”. (_2825-PS_)

But it was not merely the Gestapo and the Criminal Police which came under the sway of the SS. The regular uniformed police as well were affected. For, like the RSHA, the Department of the Regular Police (_Ordnungspolizei_, or Orpo), was not merely a department in the Ministry of the Interior, but also simultaneously in the Supreme Command of the SS. Its position in the SS is indicated by the seventh box on the chart of the SS organization (_Chart Number 3_). The following description of the Department of the Regular Police appears in the Organizations Book of the NSDAP for 1943:

“The sphere of duties of the Main Office of the
_Ordnungspolizei_ includes police administration as well as the
management and direction of the protective police
(_Schutzpolizei_) of the Reich, the Gendarmes, the protective
police of the community, the water protection police, the air
protection police, the fire protection police, the protective
groups in the occupied territories, the colonial police, the
volunteer fire department, the compulsatory and youth fire
departments, the technical aid and the technical SS and police
academy.” (_2640-PS_)

The position of this Department in the SS Supreme Command is also similarly described in the SS Manual, “The Soldier Friend”. (_2825-PS_)

This unity of the Command was not a mere matter of the highest headquarters. It extended down to the operating level. As the chart shows, the Higher SS and Police Leader in each region, who was directly subordinate to Himmler, had under his command both the Security Police and the regular, uniformed police (_Chart Number 3_). These forces were subject to his orders as well as to those of the RSHA and the Department of the Regular Police respectively. This position of the Higher SS and Police Leader is described in the Organizations Book of the NSDAP for 1943. (_2640-PS_)

SS control of the police was, however, not only a matter of organization and of unified command. Unity of personnel was also in large measure achieved. Vacancies occurring in the police forces were filled by SS members; police officials retained in the force were urged to join the SS; and schools operated by the SS were the required training centers for police as well as SS officials. These measures are described in Himmler’s article, “Organization and Obligations of the SS and the Police” (_1992-A-PS_). They are also described in an authoritative book on the police and on the SS, entitled “The German Police,” written by Dr. Werner Best, a Ministerial Director in the Ministry of the Interior and a department head in the Security Police and published in 1940. It bears on its flyleaf the imprimatur of the Nazi Party and is listed in the official list of National Socialist Party bibliography. Chapter 7 from that book is reproduced in document (_1852-PS_). Reference is also made to the order of the Reichsfuehrer SS and Chief of the German Police of 23 June 1938, entitled “Acceptance of Members of the Security Police into the SS” (_1637-PS_). In that order provision was made for admitting members of the Security Police into the SS upon certain conditions. The preamble of the order states that it was issued “with the aim of fusing members of the German Police with the ‘_Schutzstaffel_’ of the National Socialist German Workers Party into one uniformly turned out State Protective Corps of the National Socialist Reich” (_1637-PS_). Parenthetically, it should be observed that even this aim was not sufficient to cause a relaxation of SS admission standards since the order provided that, to be admitted as an SS member, personnel of the Security Police were obliged to fulfill the general requirements of the SS (its racial and ideological standards).

Through this unity of organization and personnel, the SS and the police became identified in structure and in activity. The resulting situation was described by Best as follows:

“Thus the SS and the Police form a unit, both in their structure
and in their activity, although their individual organizations
have not lost their true individuality and their position in the
larger units of the Party and State administration * * *”

* * * * * *

“In the relationship between the Police and the SS, the
principle of the ‘orderly’ penetration of an organization of the
National order has been realized for the first time to the final
outcome through the supporters of the National Socialist
movement”. (_1852-PS_)

As Himmler stated in his address to the officers of _SS-Leibstandarte_ “Adolph Hitler” on the “Day of Metz”:

“I want to tell you: In the entire Waffen-SS we must begin to
view the other great activity of the entire SS (_Gesamt-SS_) and
entire Police. We must see to it that you consider the activity
of the man in the green uniform as just as valuable as the
activity you yourself are engaged in. You have to consider the
work of the SD man or the man of the Security Police as a vital
part of our whole work just like the fact that you can carry
arms”. (_1918-PS_)

Through the police the SS was in a position to carry out a large part of the functions assigned to it. The working partnership between Gestapo, the criminal police, and the SD, under the direction of the Reichsfuehrer SS, resulted in the ultimate in repressive and unrestrained police activity. (cf. the discussion in Section 6 on the Gestapo.) It must be remembered that the Gestapo activities were but one aspect of SS functions—one part of the whole criminal SS scheme.

(3) _Functions and Activities with Respect to Concentration Camps._ Control over the police, however, was not enough. Potential sources of opposition could be tracked down by the SD. Suspects could be seized by the criminal police and Gestapo. But those means alone would not assure the complete suppression of all opponents and potential opponents of the regime. For this purpose concentration camps were invented, and the SS was given large responsibility in that system.

(_a_) _Criminal activities of SS guards and camp personnel._ The first requirement of the camps was for guard and administrative personnel. Part-time volunteer members of the _Allgemeine SS_ were originally utilized as guards. But part-time volunteers could not adequately serve the need of the extensive and long-range program that was planned. Hence, beginning in 1933 full-time professional guard units (the _SS Totenkopf Verbaende_) were organized. Their very name (“Death Head Units”) and their distinguishing insignia, the skull and cross bones, appropriately marked the type of activity in which they engaged.

During the war, members of the _Allgemeine SS_ resumed the function of guarding the camps which they had undertaken when the camps were created. This was provided for in the Hitler order of 17 August 1938 (_647-PS_) directing the substitution of _Allgemeine SS_ members for the Death Head Units in the event of mobilization. That substitution took place. In reviewing the events of the period between 1938 and 1940, significant for the SS, the National Socialist Yearbook of 1940 congratulated the _Allgemeine SS_ on the performance of its new mission:

“However, not only the garrisoned parts of the SS were employed.
Also the General SS were brought forth for special missions.
Thousands of younger and older SS comrades were employed for the
strengthening of the police and for the guarding of
concentration camps and have faithfully fulfilled their duty
throughout the weeks.” (_2164-PS_)

It is unnecessary to repeat the evidence of wholesale brutalities, tortures, and murders committed by SS guards. These were not sporadic crimes committed by irresponsible individuals. They were a part of a definite and calculated policy, which necessarily resulted from SS philosophy, and which was carried out from the initial creation of the camps.

Himmler bluntly explained to the _Wehrmacht_ in 1937 the prevailing view of the SS as to the inmates of concentration camps:

“It would be extremely instructive for everyone, some members of
the _Wehrmacht_ were already able to do so, to inspect such a
concentration camp. Once they have seen it, they are convinced
of the fact that no one had been sent there unjustly; that it is
the offal of criminals and freaks. No better demonstration of
the laws of inheritance and race, as set forth by Doctor Guett,
exists than such a concentration camp. There you can find people
with hydrocephalus, people who are cross-eyed, deformed,
half-Jewish, and a number of racially inferior products. All
that is assembled there. Of course, we distinguish between those
inmates who are only there for a few months for the purpose of
education, and those who are to stay for a very long time. On
the whole, education consists of discipline, never of any kind
of instruction on an ideological basis, for the prisoners have,
for the most part, slave-like souls; and only very few people of
real character can be found there.” (_1992-A-PS_)

Even these “slave-like souls,” however, might be redeemed by SS hygienic measures. For, as Himmler continued:

“The discipline thus means order. The order begins with these
people living in clean barracks. Such a thing can really only be
accomplished by us Germans, hardly another nation would be as
humane as we are. The laundry is frequently changed. The people
are taught to wash themselves twice daily, and the use of a
toothbrush with which most of them have been unfamiliar.”
(_1992-A-PS_)

Despite this callous jest to the _Wehrmacht_, all pretense was swept away in Himmler’s speech to his own Gruppenfuehrers at Posen:

“I don’t believe the Communists could attempt any action, for
their leading elements, like most criminals, are in our
concentration camps. And here I must say this—that we shall be
able to see after the war what a blessing it was for Germany
that, in spite of all the silly talk about humanitarianism, we
imprisoned all this criminal substratum of the German people in
concentration camps: I’ll answer for that.” (_1919-PS_).

Certainly there was no “silly humanitarianism” in the manner in which SS men performed their task. An illustration of their conduct, not in 1944 or 1945 but in 1933, is shown in four reports relating to the deaths of four different inmates of the Concentration Camp Dachau between May 16 and 27, 1933. Each report is signed by Winterberger, the Public Prosecutor of the District Court in Munich, and addressed to the Public Prosecutor of the Supreme Court of Munich. The first (_641-PS_) 1 June 1933, relates to the death of Dr. Alfred Strauss, a prisoner in protective custody in Dachau. That report states:

“On May 24, 1933 the 30 year old, single, attorney at law, Dr.
Alfred Strauss from Munich who was in the concentration camp
Dachau as a prisoner under protective custody was killed by 2
pistol shots from SS man Johann Kantschuster who escorted him on
a walk outside of the fenced part of the camp prescribed to him
by the camp doctor.

“Kantschuster gives the following report: He himself had to
urinate; Strauss proceeded on his way. Suddenly Strauss broke
away towards the shrub located at a distance of about 6 m from
the line. When he noticed it, he fired 2 shots at the fugitive
from a distance of about 8 m, whereupon Strauss collapsed dead.

“On the same day, May 24, 1933, a judicial inspection of the
locality took place. The corpse of Strauss was lying at the edge
of the wood. Leather slippers were on his feet. He wore a sock
on one foot, while the other foot was bare, obviously because of
an injury to this foot. Subsequently an autopsy was performed.
Two bullets had entered the back of his head. Besides, the body
showed several black and blue spots (_Blutunterlaufung_) and
also open wounds.”

* * * * * *

“I have charged Kantschuster today with murder and have made
application for opening and execution of the judicial
preliminary investigation as well as for a warrant of arrest
against him.” (_641-PS_)

The second (_642-PS_) also 1 June 1933, relates to the death of Leonhard Hausmann, another prisoner in Dachau. That letter states:

“On 17 May 1933, Leonhard Hausmann from Augsburg, 31 years old,
married, relief worker, who was kept in protective custody in
the Dachau concentration camp, was shot by SS Staff Sergeant
Karl Ehmann. According to the account of the latter, Hausmann
was to dig out young fir trees in the woods in the vicinity of
the camp and pile them up on a certain spot. He was supervised
by Ehmann. Suddenly the latter did not see him anymore.
Therefore Ehmann looked after the prisoners and saw him running
away in a stooped position, Ehmann ran after him, called ‘Halt’
several times, once also ‘Stop,’ but in vain. Whereupon Ehmann
raised his pistol at the prisoner and fired without aiming;
Hausmann dropped dead. Ehmann asserts that he fired from a
distance of 10 to 12 meters.

“The corpse was inspected already on 17 May 1933 with the
assistance of the State court physician. It was found that death
was due to a shot through the left side of the chest. According
to the autopsy protocol, the shot was fired from a distance less
than 1 meter. Meanwhile the legal-medical institute ascertained
that the distance was less than 30 cm.” (_642-PS_)

The third (_644-PS_) 22 May 1933, relates to the death of Louis Schloss, an inmate of Dachau. Attached to the letter is a copy of a report of the autopsy conducted in the Schloss case, signed by the examining physicians. The letter of 22 May 1933, begins:

“In the afternoon of 16 May 1933 the police station Dachau
informed the State Prosecution that an inmate of the
concentration camp Dachau, the merchant Louis Schloss, from
Nurnberg, widowed, born on 21 June 1889, has hanged himself in
solitary confinement. At the request of the state prosecution,
on the same day the legal inspection was performed with the
assistance of the state court physician with the State Court
Munich II. As it was proven that the corpse exhibited numerous
whip marks and as the cause of death appeared doubtful, an
autopsy was carried out on 17 May 1933. According to a
preliminary certificate of the participating physicians, the
autopsy did not prove death by hanging”. (_644-PS_)

The preliminary opinion of the examining physician states:

“Preliminary opinion:

“I. The death through hanging could not be proven by autopsy.

“II. Extensive blood suffusions and whipmarks were found,
particularly on the back, on the buttocks and on both arms, as
well as on both legs, abdomen and thorax to a minor extent. In
the region of the buttocks and shoulders extensive destruction
of adipose tissue was found together with the blood suffusions.
This is adequate to explain death through autointoxication and
fat embolism.” (_644-PS_)

The fourth (_645-PS_) 1 June 1933, relates to the death of Sebastian Nefzger, another Dachau prisoner. The letter reads:

“On May 27, 1933, the following report was received by the Lower
Court Dachau:

“Concentration Camp Dachau, Political Division, May 27, 1933, to
the Lower Court Dachau. An inquest on the dead body of the
prisoner Nefzger Sebastian merchant in Munich, Schommerstrasse
17/0, born: 1/10/1900 in Munich, religion: Catholic, marital
status: married—showed that death through the action of third
persons must be excluded. Death was indubitably caused by
excessive bleeding resulting from an opened artery of the left
hand. Signed Dr. Nuernbergk, Camp Physician.

“Neither the Lower Court Dachau nor the State Attorney Munich II
had up to that time been informed of Nefzger’s death reported in
the letter in spite of the fact that Nefzger had already died in
the night of the 25 to the 26th of May 1933. The Lower Court
Dachau informed the State Attorney, Munich II of this letter. A
coroner’s inquest was ordered, which took place as late as May
27, 1933. Since the physician appointed by the Superior Court,
doubted that death had occurred to excessive bleeding and in
identified marks of strings on the victim’s neck, a judicial
autopsy was arranged by the State Attorney on May 29, 1933. The
resulting opinion of the expert is so far: I) The autopsy
discloses that excessive bleeding due to a cut on the left arm
must be excluded as a cause of death: II) The cut on the left
wrist reveals three incisions of the bone. Trial cuts are
lacking. These findings are contrary to the assumption that the
wound has been self-inflicted: III) It must be assumed that the
cause of death was suffocation. As a cause for suffocation,
strangulation and throttling must be considered. The
characteristics of the marks left by the strings do not agree
with those otherwise observed in cases of death caused by
hanging.” (_645-PS_)

These four murders, committed within the short space of two weeks in the Spring of 1933, each by different SS guards, are but a few examples of SS activities in the camps even as early as 1933. Many similar examples from that period and later periods could be produced.

Indeed, that sort of thing was officially encouraged. Disciplinary Regulations for the Dachau Concentration Camp were issued on 1 October 1933 by SS Fuehrer Eicke, who later became commander of all the Death Head Units (_778-PS_). The fourth paragraph of the introduction of those rules provides:

“Tolerance means weakness. In the light of this conception,
punishment will be mercilessly handed out whenever the interests
of the Fatherland warrant it. The fellow countryman who is
decent but misled will never be affected by these regulations.
But let it be a warning to the agitating politicians and
intellectual provocators—regardless of which kind—; be on
guard not to be caught, for otherwise it will be your neck and
you will be shut up according to your own methods.” (_778-PS_)

So many inmates were killed “while trying to escape,” to use the pat official phrase, that by 1936 the Minister of Justice was moved to appeal to Himmler to regulate the use of firearms by the Death Head Units. A memorandum 9 March 1936, prepared by Minister of Justice Guertner, reads as follows:

“On the 2d of this month, using the Hoppe case as an
illustration, I discussed the question of use of arms by the
guard-personnel of the concentration camp with the Reichsfuehrer
SS. I suggested to Himmler that he issue an order on the use of
arms for the officials subordinated to him. I referred in this
respect to the example of the decree on the use of arms by the
armed forces of 17 January of this year. Himmler has promised me
that such a decree will be issued and will grant us
participation in the preliminary work.” (_781-PS_)

The memorandum bears the pencil notation, “Initiative with Himmler”. Subsequent events showed how Himmler carried out this initiative.

(_b_) _Administration of concentration camps through SS agencies._ Furnishing guard personnel was not the only function of the SS with relation to the camps. The entire internal management of the camps, including the use of prisoners, their housing, clothing, sanitary conditions, the determination of their right to live and the disposal of their remains, was controlled by the SS. Such management was first vested in the leader of the SS Death Head Units, who also had the title of Inspector of the Concentration Camps. This official was originally a part of the SS Main Office (_SS Hauptamt_), represented on the chart by the second box from the left (_Chart Number 3_).

During the course of the war, in March 1942, control of concentration camps was transferred to another of the departments of the SS Supreme Command, the SS Economic and Administration Main Office (commonly known as WVHA). That department is indicated on the chart by the third box from the left (_Chart Number 3_).

That change was announced in a letter to Himmler 30 April 1942 from SS Obergruppenfuehrer and General of the Waffen SS Pohl, the Chief of WVHA (_R-129_). In that letter Pohl reported on the measures he had taken to carry out Himmler’s order of 3 March 1942 to transform the camps into large scale economic enterprises, and inclosed an order to all concentration camp commanders which provided that no longer was there to be any limit on working hours in the camps. (_R-129_)

(_c_) _SS control of concentration camps and the slave labor program._ This shift of control to WVHA coincided with the change in the basic purposes of the concentration camps. Political and security reasons, which previously had been the grounds for confinement, were abandoned and the camps were made to serve the Nazi slave labor program.

To satisfy the increased demands for manpower it was not enough to work the inmates of the camp harder. More inmates had to be obtained. Through its police arm, the SS was prepared to satisfy this demand. On 17 December 1942 an order was issued to all commanders of the Security Police and SD directing that at least 35,000 prisoners qualified for work be sent immediately to the concentration camps (_1063-D-PS_). Thirty-five thousand prisoners was, of course, merely the beginning. The SS dragnet was capable of catching many more slaves. A directive to all the departments of the SS Supreme Command signed by Himmler at his field headquarters on 5 August 1943, ordered the collection of men, women, and children for work in coal mines (_744-PS_). This directive implements an order signed by Keitel directing the use of all males captured in guerilla fighting in the East for forced labor (_744-PS_). The Himmler directive, it will be noted, is addressed to every main office in the SS Supreme Command:

“_Subject_: Manpower for coal mining industry. _Reference_:
Letter of the command staff of the Reichsfuehrer SS—journal No.
Ia/1909/43 secret.

Secret

1. Chief of the personal staff of Reichsfuehrer SS.

2. SS Main Office.

3. Reich security main office (RSHA).

4. Race and resettlement main office—SS.

5. Main office, ordinary police.

6. SS economic administrative main office.

7. SS personal main office.

8. Main office SS court.

9. SS Supreme Command—Headquarters of the Waffen SS.

10. Staff Headquarters of the Reichscommissar for the
consolidation of Germanism.

11. Main office center for Racial Germans (_Volksdeutsche
Mittelstelle_).

12. Office of SS Obergruppenfuehrer Heissmeyer.

13. Chief of the guerilla-fighting units.

14. Higher SS and Police Leader Ostland.

15. Higher SS and Police Leader Russia-Center.

16. Higher SS and Police Leader Russia-South.

17. Higher SS and Police Leader Northeast.

18. Higher SS and Police Leader East.

19. Higher SS and Police Leader Alpine territory.

20. Higher SS and Police Leader Serbia.

21. Commissioner of the Reichsfuehrer SS for Croatia.

“To figure 4 of the above-mentioned order, I order, that all
young female prisoners, capable of work, are to be sent to
Germany for work, through the agency of Reich Commissioner
Sauckel.

“Children, old women, and men are to be collected and employed
in the women’s and children’s camps, established by me, on
estates as well as on the border of the evacuated area.”
(_744-PS_)

In April 1944 the SS was called on to produce even more laborers, this time 100,000 to be drawn from Hungarian Jews, as shown by the minutes of Speer’s discussion with Himmler on 6 and 7 April 1944. (_R-124_)

The last source of manpower had not been tapped. To Jews, deportees, women and children, there was added the productive power of prisoners of war. Naturally enough it was through the SS that the conspirators squeezed the last drop of labor from such prisoners. Speer’s minutes of his conference with the Fuehrer on 5 March 1944, state:

“Told the Fuehrer of the Reichs Marshal’s wish for further
utilization of the production power of prisoners of war by
giving the direction of the Stalag to the SS with the exception
of the English and Americans. The Fuehrer considers the proposal
good and has asked Colonel von Below to arrange matters
accordingly.” (_R-124_)

That matters were soon arranged is shown by Speer’s statement made at the 58th discussion of the Central Planning Board on 25 May 1944 (_R-124_):

“Speer: We have come to an arrangement with the Reichsfuehrer SS
as soon as possible so that PW’s he picks up are made available
for our purposes. The Reichsfuehrer SS gets from 30 to 40
thousand men per month.” (_R-124_)

Finally, in order to insure SS control over the labor of prisoners of war, the Reichsfuehrer SS was appointed by Hitler as head of all prisoner of war camps on 25 September 1944. A circular letter from the Director of the Party Chancellery, 30 September 1944 and signed by M. Bormann, states:

“1. The Fuehrer has ordered under the date 25 Sept 1944: The
custody of all prisoners of war and interned persons, as well as
prisoner of war camps, and institutions with guards are
transferred to the commander of the Reserve Army from October 1,
1944.

* * * * * *

“2. The Reichsfuehrer SS has commanded:

“_a._ In my capacity as Commander of the Reserve Army, I
transfer the affairs of prisoners of war to Gottleb Berger,
SS-Lieut. General (_SS-Obergruppenfuehrer und General der
Waffen-SS_) Chief of Staff of the _Volkstums_.”

* * * * * *

“_c._ The mobilization of labor of the prisoners of war will be
organized with the present labor mobilization office in joint
action between SS-Lieut. General Berger (SS-Obergruppenfuehrer)
and SS-Lieut. General Pohl.

“The strengthening of security in the field of prisoner of war
affairs is to be accomplished between SS-Lieut. General Berger
and the Chief of the Security Police, SS-Lieut. Gen. Dr.
Kaltenbrunner.” (_058-PS_)

So impressive were the results obtained from SS concentration camp labor that Goering on 14 February 1944 called on Himmler for more inmates for use in the aircraft industry (_1584-I-PS_). Himmler’s reply to that request reads, in part, as follows:

“Most Honored Reichsmarshal:

“Following my teletype letter of the 18 Feb. 44 I herewith
transmit a survey on the employment of prisoners in the aviation
industry.

“This survey indicates that at the present time about _36,000
prisoners_ are employed for the purposes of the air force. An
increase to a total of _90,000 prisoners is_ contemplated.

“The production is being discussed, established, and executed
between the Reich Ministry of aviation and the chief of my
economic-administrative main office, SS-Obergruppenfuehrer and
General of the Waffen-SS, Pohl respectively.

“We assist with all forces at our disposal.

“The task of my economic-administrative main office, however, is
not solely fulfilled with the delivery of the prisoners to the
aviation industry as SS-Obergruppenfuehrer Pohl and his
assistants take care of the required working speed thru constant
and supervision of the work-groups [Kommandos] and therefore
have some influence on the results of production. In this
respect I may suggest consideration of the fact that in
enlarging our responsibility thru a speeding up of the total
work, better results can definitely be expected.

“We also have for some time adjusted our own stone-quarries to
production for the airforce. For instance in Flossenbuerg near
Weiden the prisoners employed previously in the quarry are
working now in the fighter plane program for the Messerschmitt
corporation Regensburg, which saw in the availability of our
stone-mason shops and labor forces after the attack on
Regensburg at that time a favorable opportunity for the
immediate partial transfer of their production. Altogether 4,000
prisoners will work there after the expansion. We produce now
with 2,000 men 900 sets of engine cowlings and radiator covers
as well as 120,000 single parts of various kinds for the fighter
ME 109.

“In Oranienburg we are employing 6,000 prisoners at the Heinkel
works now for construction of the HE 177. With that we have
supplied 60% of the total crew of the plant.”

* * * * * *

“The movement of manufacturing plants of the aviation industry
to subterranean locations requires _further_ employment of about
100,000 prisoners. The plans for this employment on the basis of
your letter of 14 Feb. 1944 are already under way.

“I shall keep you, most honored Reichsmarshal, currently
informed on this subject.

“Heil Hitler
“[initialled] HH” (_1584-III-PS_)

Inclosed with that letter was a report in tabular form of the number of prisoners being used in each of the concentration camps, the total man-hours for the month of January 1944, and the type of production in which such prisoners were engaged. That report is signed by Pohl, the Chief of WVHA (_1584-III-PS_). The total appearing under the column “Number of prisoners planned” is 90,785; under the column “Number of prisoners used,” 35,839; and under the column “Man-hours—January,” 8,733,495. (_1584-III-PS_)

The extent to which the number of prisoners was increased through SS efforts is illustrated by a report from Office Group D of WVHA, 15 August 1944:

“_Subject_: Report of the number of prisoners and Survey of prisoners clothing type G and Z and the supply of G available. “Reference: Telephone call by SS-Sturmbannfuehrer Waschkau on 15.8.44.”

* * * * * *

“With reference to the above-mentioned telephone call, I am
sending herewith a report on the actual number of prisoners for
1.8.1944 and of the new arrivals already announced, as well as
the clothing report for 15.8.44.

“(1). The actual number on 1.8.44, consisted of:
_a._ Male prisoners 379,167
_b._ Female prisoners 145,119

“In addition, there are the following new arrivals:

1. From the Hungary program (anti-Jewish action) 90,000 2. From Litzmannstadt (Police prison and Ghetto) 60,000 3. Poles from the General Government 15,000 4. Convicts from the Eastern Territories 10,000 5. Former Polish officers 17,000 6. From Warsaw (Poles) 400,000 7. Continued arrivals from France approx. 15,000-20,000

“Most of the prisoners are already on the way and will be
received into the Concentration Camps within the next few days.”
(_1166-PS_)

(_d_) _SS control of concentration camps and the ill treatment and murder of inmates._ The intensive drive for manpower to some extent interfered with the program already undertaken by WVHA to exterminate certain classes of individuals in the camps. This is shown by a letter from WVHA, Department D Concentration Camps, 28 March 1942, addressed to a number of concentration camp commandants and signed Liebehenschel, SS Obersturmbannfuehrer:

“It became known through a report of a Camp Commandant that 42
prisoners out of 51 which were mustered out for the special
treatment 14 f 13 again became capable of work after a period of
time and therefore do not have to be directed to the special
treatment. From this it appears that the selection of the
prisoners is not being handled according to given directives.
Only those prisoners are allowed to be directed to the
examination commission who fulfill the given stipulations and
who above all are no longer capable of work.

“In order to be able to fulfill the designated missions of the
concentration camps, the working capabilities of every prisoner
must be retained for the camp. The camp commandants of the
concentration camps are requested to especially make this their
aim.” (_1151-P-PS_)

Another letter from WVHA, Department D Concentration Camps, 27 April 1943, addressed to a number of concentration camp commanders, signed by Gluecks, SS Brigade Fuehrer and Major General of the Waffen SS, deals with the same point:

“The Reich Fuehrer-SS and Chief of German Police has decided,
after consultation, that in the future only mentally sick
(_geisteskranke_) prisoners may be selected for action 14 F 13
by the medical commissions appointed for this purpose.

“All other prisoners incapable of working (tubercular cases,
bedridden cripples, etc.) are to be basically excepted from this
action. Bedridden prisoners are to be drafted for suitable work
which they can perform in bed.

“The order of the Reich Fuehrer SS is to be obeyed strictly in
the future.

“Requests for fuel for this purpose, therefore, do not take
place.” (_1933-PS_)

The SS, however, was to some degree enabled to achieve both goals—that of increased production and of elimination of undesirable individuals, as shown by the agreement between Minister of Justice Thierack and Himmler on 18 September 1942 (_654-PS_). That agreement provided for the delivery of antisocial elements after the execution of their sentences to the Reichsfuehrer SS “to be worked to death.”

The conditions under which such persons worked in the camps were well calculated to lead to their deaths. Those conditions were regulated by the WVHA. An illustration of WVHA management is to be found in an order directed to commandants of concentration camps, 11 August 1942, and issued by SS Brigade Fuehrer and General of the Waffen SS Gluecks, Chief of Office Group D of WVHA (_2189-PS_):

“The Reichsfuehrer SS and Chief of the German Police has
ordered, that punishment by beating will be executed in
concentration camps for women by _prisoners_—under the ordered
supervision.

“In order to coordinate this order the main office chief of the
main SS economic administration office, SS-Obergruppenfuehrer
and General of the Waffen-SS Pohl, has ordered, effective
immediately, that punishment by beating will also be executed by
prisoners in concentration camps for men.” (_2189-PS_)

Even after their deaths, the prisoners did not escape the management of WVHA. A directive to the commanders of concentration camps, 12 September 1942, signed by the Chief of the Central Office of Office Group D of WVHA, SS Obersturmbannfuehrer Liebehenschel, provided:

“According to a communication of the Chief of the Security
Police and the SD and conforming to a report of the Chief of
Security Police and SD in Prague, urns of deceased Czechs and
Jews were sent for burial to the home-cemeteries within the
Protectorate.

“Based on different events (Demonstrations, erecting of posters
inimical to the Reich on urns of deceased inmates in halls of
cemeteries in the home-communities, pilgrimages to the graves of
deceased inmates, etc.) within the Protectorate, the delivery of
urns with the ash remnants of deceased Nationals of the
Protectorate and of Jews is henceforth prohibited. The urns
shall be preserved within the Concentration Camps. In case of
doubt about the preservation of the urns oral instructions shall
be available at this agency.” (_2199-PS_)