Chapter LVI: Section 4: defines the quality of a Jew

Property situated abroad is to be embodied in
the declaration of registration. Failure
wilfully of declaration is punished by
imprisonment not exceeding 5 years and by a
fine not exceeding 100,000 gulders or either
of these penalties, while the same due to
negligence entails an imprisonment not
exceeding one year or a fine not exceeding
10,000 florins; in addition confiscation of
the property concerned may be ordered.

_3334-PS_, Prohibition to employ German citizens or _Verordnungsblatt_, No. persons of cognate blood in Jewish households 42, p. 701, 27 Dec 1940. under a penalty not exceeding one year imprisonment and a fine of 10,000 guilders or either of these penalties.

_3323-PS_, Registration of all persons of part or full _Verordnungsblatt_, No. Jewish blood. 6, p. 19, 13 Jan 1941.

Sec. 2 defines as a Jew any person one of
whose grandparents was a full-blooded Jew.
Any grandparent who belonged or belongs to
the Jewish religious community is considered
as such. Failure to register entails an
imprisonment not exceeding 5 years and the
confiscation of property (Sec. 10).

_3325-PS_, Limitation of registration of Jewish students _Verordnungsblatt_, No. in Dutch universities and colleges. 6, p. 99, 14 Feb 1941.

_2112-PS_, Obligation to register real estate, mortgages
_Verordnungsblatt_, No. and real property belonging to Jews, other
34, p. 655, 16 Aug 1941. than farming estates and lands regulated by a
previous ordinance. Power granted to the
Dutch administration of real property to take
over directly or through persons appointed
for the purpose, the management of Jewish
real property, with the right to alienate it
in part or in whole.

_3326-PS_, Freezing of property belonging to Jews who _Verordnungsblatt_, No. have emigrated from Holland which is located 39, p. 785, 20 Sept 1941. in Holland.

_3334-PS_, Prohibitions to employ a non-Jew in
_Verordnungsblatt_, No. households headed by a Jew or where a Jew is
44, p. 846, 23 Oct 1941. a member of the family, whether permanently
or temporarily but for an unbroken term of
more than four weeks. Any contract contrary
to this provision is inoperative. Penalties
for the employer: imprisonment up to one year
and a fine up to 10,000 florins.

_3328-PS_, No Jew can exercise any profession and trade
_Verordnungsblatt_, No. without authorization from the administrative
44, p. 841, 23 Oct 1941. authorities which may refuse it or set up
special conditions for its exercise.
Administrative authorities may order the
determination or the liquidation of any
employment contract concerning a Jew. Any
employer may terminate a contract with a Jew
by giving notice on the first day of any
calendar month if the general legal
provisions of the contract provide for a
longer term of notice, or if the contract is
to expire normally at a date after 31 Jan
1942. An indemnity ranging from one to six
times the monthly salary of the dismissed Jew
may be, under certain circumstances,
allocated as a settlement of all claims
against the employer.

_3329-PS_, Exclusion of Jews from Dutch Chamber of Arts
_Verordnungsblatt_, No. in which membership is compulsory for all
47, p. 901, 25 Nov 1941. those active in the field of sculpture,
architecture, artisan arts, music,
literature, theater, film industry and the
press. Prohibition for a Jew or a person
related to a Jew to be a member of an
association affiliated with the Chamber of
Arts, to found or to take part in the
foundation of such an association or to
establish a foundation or to take part in its
establishment or to benefit directly or
indirectly from its property where such
associations or foundations are affiliated
with the Chamber of Arts. Penalty: not
exceeding 5,000 florins.

_3325-PS_, Exclusion of Jews from the Dutch _Verordnungsblatt_, No. _Arbeitsfront_ (N.A.F.). 11, p. 211, 1 May 1942.

_3336-PS_, Compulsory written declaration by Jews of
_Verordnungsblatt_, No. claims of any kind of which they are
13, p. 289, 23 May 1942. beneficiaries to be made at banking firm
Lippman, Rosenthal & Co., Amsterdam. Titles
and other documents proving the claims are to
be delivered to the bank at the time of the
declaration, all rights to such claims being
vested in the above mentioned bank. The
debtor can liberate himself only in the hands
of the bank and by so doing is released. The
declaration embodies also rights on property
or chattels real, participations as in
corporations and partnerships; reversions,
expectancies.

Collections of all kinds of art objects, art
articles, articles of gold, platinum, silver,
as well as polished or rough diamonds,
semi-precious stones and pearls, belonging in
part or in whole, legally or “economically”
to a Jew, must be delivered to said bank,
with exception of wedding rings and those of
a deceased husband, silver watches, used
table silver, provided that each person
belonging to the family of the owner may keep
only a cover consisting of 4 pieces, a knife,
a fork, a spoon and a dessert spoon;
teeth-fillings of precious metals.

A full recapitulation of the crimes perpetrated against the Jews by the German civil occupation authorities through the instrumentality of orders, decrees, and laws is contained in the statement of the Netherlands Government Commissioner for Repatriation. (_1726-PS_)

The above statement is also evidence of the fact that in February 1941 the first mass deportation of Jews from the Netherlands took place. On that occasion 1000 Jews were arrested and within a few months sent to Buchenwald and/or Mauthausen. Subsequently their ashes were returned to their relatives in Holland, against a payment of 75 florins for each. Deportation continued until September 1943, when the last of the Jews composed of the Jewish Council were sent to Westerbork (Holland). Of 140,000 registered “full” Jewish Netherlanders, 117,000 were deported to the East. (_1726-PS_)

* * * * *

LEGAL REFERENCES AND LIST OF DOCUMENTS RELATING TO ARTUR SEYSS-INQUART

│ │ │
Document │ Description │ Vol. │ Page
│ │ │
│Charter of the International Military │ │
│ Tribunal, Article 6. │ I │ 5
│International Military Tribunal, │ │
│ Indictment Number 1, Section IV (H);│ │
│ Appendix A. │ I │ 29, 65
│ ———— │ │
│Note: A single asterisk (*) before a │ │
│document indicates that the document │ │
│was received in evidence at the │ │
│Nurnberg trial. A double asterisk (**)│ │
│before a document number indicates │ │
│that the document was referred to │ │
│during the trial but was not formally │ │
│received in evidence, for the reason │ │
│given in parentheses following the │ │
│description of the document. The USA │ │
│series number, given in parentheses │ │
│following the description of the │ │
│document, is the official exhibit │ │
│number assigned by the court. │ │
│ ———— │ │
091-PS │Letter from Rosenberg to │ │
│Seyss-Inquart, 11 September 1944, │ │
│concerning seizure of a library in │ │
│Amsterdam. │ III │ 152
│ │ │
*176-PS │Report on Einsatzstab Rosenberg, │ │
│Working Group Netherlands, signed │ │
│Schimmer. (USA 707) │ III │ 203
│ │ │
*437-PS │Extract from report, 19 June 1943, by │ │
│Frank to Hitler, concerning situation │ │
│in Poland. (USA 610) │ III │ 396
│ │ │
*812-PS │Letter from Rainer to Seyss-Inquart, │ │
│22 August 1939 and report from │ │
│Gauleiter Rainer to Reichskommissar │ │
│Gauleiter Buerckel, 6 July 1939 on │ │
│events in the NSDAP of Austria from │ │
│1933 to 11 March 1938. (USA 61) │ III │ 586
│ │ │
997-PS │Top secret report by Seyss-Inquart │ │
│concerning the situation in the │ │
│Netherlands—Exploitation and │ │
│Nazification in period 29 May to 19 │ │
│July 1940. │ III │ 641
│ │ │
1162-PS │Four Proclamations calling up Dutch │ │
│civilians for Temporary Forced Labor. │ III │ 817
│ │ │
1163-PS │Posters warning Dutch population of │ │
│reprisals and announcing the shootings│ │
│of hostages. │ III │ 819
│ │ │
1376-PS │Decree of the Fuehrer concerning the │ │
│exercise of Governmental authority in │ │
│the Lowlands, 20 May 1940. 1940 │ │
│Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 778. │ III │ 929
│ │ │
1621-PS │Secret letter from Reichsfuehrer SS to│ │
│General Rauter, 12 November 1942, │ │
│concerning procurement of │ │
│medico-physiological appliances. │ IV │ 136
│ │ │
1660-PS │Decree for registration for active │ │
│service in Austria in the year 1938 of│ │
│16 June 1938. 1938 Reichsgesetzblatt, │ │
│Part I, p. 631. │ IV │ 171
│ │ │
*1726-PS │Statement of Netherlands Government in│ │
│view of Prosecution and punishment of │ │
│the German Nazi War Criminals. (USA │ │
│195) │ IV │ 227
│ │ │
*1780-PS │Excerpts from diary kept by General │ │
│Jodl, January 1937 to August 1939. │ │
│(USA 72) │ IV │ 360
│ │ │
*1816-PS │Stenographic report of the meeting on │ │
│The Jewish Question, under the │ │
│Chairmanship of Fieldmarshal Goering, │ │
│12 November 1938. (USA 261) │ IV │ 425
│ │ │
1949-PS │Report of Bureau of Statistics for │ │
│Provinces of the Ostmark, 15 December │ │
│1939, concerning Jews. │ IV │ 586
│ │ │
2111-PS │Order of Reich Commissioner for │ │
│Occupied Netherlands Territories │ │
│concerning establishment of │ │
│administrative Courts Martial. 1941 │ │
│Verordnungsblatt, p. 190. │ IV │ 735
│ │ │
2112-PS │Order of the Reich Commissioner for │ │
│Occupied Netherlands Territories │ │
│concerning Jewish Real Estate, 11 │ │
│August 1941. 1941 Verordnungsblatt, p.│ │
│655. │ IV │ 738
│ │ │
*2176-PS │Report on Mauthausen concentration │ │
│camp, by investigating officer, Office│ │
│of Judge Advocate, Third U. S. Army, │ │
│17 June 1945. (USA 249) │ IV │ 836
│ │ │
*2219-PS │Excerpt from letter from Seyss-Inquart│ │
│to Goering, 14 July 1939. (USA 62) │ IV │ 854
│ │ │
2233-B-PS │Frank Diary. Tagebuch. 1940. Part I. │ │
│January-March. (USA 174) │ IV │ 885
│ │ │
*2233-N-PS │Frank Diary. Tagebuch. 1940. Part II. │ │
│April to June. (USA 614) │ IV │ 907
│ │ │
2233-CC-PS │Frank Diary. 1939. Entry of 14 │ │
│December at p. 99. │ IV │ 918
│ │ │
2237-PS │Letter from Reich Commissar for │ │
│Reunion of Austria with the German │ │
│Reich to Goering, 18 November 1938, │ │
│concerning actions against the Jews in│ │
│November 1938. │ IV │ 918
│ │ │
*2246-PS │Report of von Papen to Hitler, 1 │ │
│September 1936, concerning Danube │ │
│situation. (USA 67) │ IV │ 930
│ │ │
*2278-PS │Report of Reichsminister Seyss-Inquart│ │
│to the General Government of Poland, │ │
│concerning official tour from 17 to 22│ │
│November 1939. (USA 706) │ IV │ 953
│ │ │
*2307-PS │Law concerning reunion of Austria with│ │
│German Reich, 13 March 1938. 1938 │ │
│Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 237. (GB│ │
│133) │ IV │ 997
│ │ │
**2311-PS │Decree of Fuehrer and Reich Chancellor│ │
│concerning Administration of the Oath │ │
│to Officials of Province of Austria, │ │
│15 March 1938. 1938 Reichsgesetzblatt,│ │
│Part I, p. 245. (Referred to but not │ │
│offered in evidence.) │ IV │ 1005
│ │ │
*2463-PS │Telegram from Seyss-Inquart to Hitler,│ │
│11 March 1938, published in Documents │ │
│of German Politics,1939, Vol. VI, Part│ │
│1. (USA 703) │ V │ 207
│ │ │
**2464-PS │Official Austrian communique of the │ │
│reorganization of the Austrian Cabinet│ │
│and general political amnesty, 16 │ │
│February 1938, published in Documents │ │
│of German Politics, 1939, Vol. VI, │ │
│Part 1. (Referred to but not offered │ │
│in evidence.) │ V │ 208
│ │ │
2465-PS │Announcement of appointment of │ │
│Seyss-Inquart as Federal Chancellor, │ │
│11 March 1938, published in Documents │ │
│of German Politics, 1938, Vol. VI, │ │
│Part 1. (Referred to but not offered │ │
│in evidence.) │ V │ 209
│ │ │
**2466-PS │Official communique of resignation of │ │
│Austrian President Miklas, 13 March │ │
│1938, published in Documents of German│ │
│Politics, 1939, Vol. VI, Part 1. │ │
│(Referred to but not offered in │ │
│evidence.) │ V │ 209
│ │ │
**2469-PS │Official German and Austrian │ │
│communique concerning equal rights of │ │
│Austrian National Socialists in │ │
│Austria, 18 February 1938, published │ │
│in Documents of German Politics, 1939,│ │
│Vol. VI, Part 1. (Referred to but not │ │
│offered in evidence.) │ V │ 210
│ │ │
**2484-PS │Official German communique of visit of│ │
│Austrian Minister Seyss-Inquart to │ │
│Hitler, Berlin, 17 February 1938, │ │
│published in Documents of German │ │
│Politics, 1939, Vol. VI, Part 1. │ │
│(Referred to but not offered in │ │
│evidence.) │ V │ 234
│ │ │
**2485-PS │Address by Federal Chancellor │ │
│Seyss-Inquart from Balcony of City │ │
│Hall at Linz, 12 March 1938, published│ │
│in Documents of German Politics, Vol. │ │
│VI, Part 1, p. 144-145. (Referred to │ │
│but not introduced in evidence.) │ V │ 234
│ │ │
2613-PS │Extracts from “The Black Book of │ │
│Poland”. │ V │ 332
│ │ │
2705-PS │Decree of Reich Commissioner for │ │
│Occupied Netherlands Territories for │ │
│avoidance of cruelty to animals in │ │
│slaughtering, from Official Gazette │ │
│for Occupied Netherlands Territories, │ │
│3 August 1940. │ V │ 374
│ │ │
2909-PS │Affidavit of August Eigruber, 9 │ │
│November 1945. │ V │ 578
│ │ │
*2910-PS │Certificate of defendant │ │
│Seyss-Inquart, 10 November 1945. (USA │ │
│17) │ V │ 579
│ │ │
**2936-PS │Instruction of the Fuehrer and Reich │ │
│Chancellor concerning the Austrian │ │
│Federal Army, 13 March 1938, published│ │
│in Documents of German Politics, 1938,│ │
│Vol. VI, Part 1, p. 150. (Referred to │ │
│but not offered in evidence.) │ V │ 604
│ │ │
*2949-PS │Transcripts of telephone calls from │ │
│Air Ministry, 11-14 March 1938. (USA │ │
│76) │ V │ 628
│ │ │
**2994-PS │Affidavit of Kurt von Schuschnigg, │ │
│former Chancellor of Austria, │ │
│concerning Austrian-German Treaty of │ │
│11 July 1936. (USA 66) (Objection to │ │
│admission in evidence upheld.) │ V │ 703
│ │ │
2995-PS │Affidavit of Kurt von Schuschnigg, │ │
│former Chancellor of Austria, │ │
│concerning his visit to Berchtesgaden │ │
│on 12 February 1938. │ V │ 709
│ │ │
3147-PS │The Administration of the Occupied │ │
│Polish Territory, published in The │ │
│Archives, No. 67. │ V │ 910
│ │ │
*3254-PS │The Austrian Question, 1934-1938, by │ │
│Seyss-Inquart, 9 September 1945. (USA │ │
│704) │ V │ 961
│ │ │
3270-PS │Goering’s speech on 27 March in │ │
│Vienna, published in Documents of │ │
│German Politics, Vol. VI, Part 1, p. │ │
│183. (USA 703) │ V │ 1047
│ │ │
*3271-PS │Letter from Seyss-Inquart to Himmler, │ │
│19 August 1939. (USA 700) │ V │ 1047
│ │ │
3323-PS │Decree concerning obligation to │ │
│register persons who are entirely or │ │
│partly of Jewish race, from Official │ │
│Gazette for Occupied Dutch │ │
│Territories, 1941. │ VI │ 39
│ │ │
3325-PS │Decree referring to Jewish students, │ │
│published in Official Gazette for │ │
│Occupied Dutch Territories, 1941. │ VI │ 43
│ │ │
3326-PS │Decree concerning blocking of property│ │
│belonging to Jews who emigrated to │ │
│Netherlands, from Official Gazette for│ │
│Occupied Dutch Territories. │ VI │ 44
│ │ │
3328-PS │Decree concerning regulation of │ │
│professional activities of Jews, from │ │
│Official Gazette for Occupied Dutch │ │
│Territories, year 1941. │ VI │ 45
│ │ │
3329-PS │Decree concerning Netherlands Chamber │ │
│of Culture, from Official Gazette for │ │
│Occupied Dutch Territories, year 1941.│ VI │ 48
│ │ │
3333-PS │Decree concerning registration of │ │
│business enterprises, from Official │ │
│Gazette for Occupied Dutch │ │
│Territories, year 1940. │ VI │ 58
│ │ │
3334-PS │Decree concerning employment of │ │
│Germans in Jewish households, from │ │
│Official Gazette for Occupied Dutch │ │
│Territories, year 1940. │ VI │ 62
│ │ │
3336-PS │Order concerning treatment of Jewish │ │
│property, from Official Gazette for │ │
│Occupied Dutch Territories, year 1942.│ VI │ 64
│ │ │
3339-PS │Order concerning marriages of male │ │
│persons of German Nationality in │ │
│Occupied Netherlands Territories, from│ │
│Official Gazette for Occupied Dutch │ │
│Territories, year 1941. │ VI │ 71
│ │ │
3340-PS │First Order concerning extraordinary │ │
│measures of a Constitutional and │ │
│Administrative nature, 1 March 1941, │ │
│from Official Gazette for Occupied │ │
│Dutch Territories, year 1941. │ VI │ 72
│ │ │
3341-PS │Third Order concerning certain │ │
│provision in connection with │ │
│Netherlands Nationality, 8 August │ │
│1941, from Official Gazette for │ │
│Occupied Dutch Territories, year 1941.│ VI │ 73
│ │ │
3342-PS │Eighth Order concerning Special │ │
│Measures affecting Administrative │ │
│Organization, 11 August 1941, from │ │
│Official Gazette of Occupied Dutch │ │
│Territories, year 1941. │ VI │ 74
│ │ │
3391-PS │Letter from Seyss-Inquart to Hitler, │ │
│30 September 1938. │ VI │ 108
│ │ │
3392-PS │Letter from Seyss-Inquart to Keppler, │ │
│3 September 1937. │ VI │ 109
│ │ │
*3397-PS │Letter from Keppler to Seyss-Inquart, │ │
│8 January 1938. (USA 702) │ VI │ 115
│ │ │
*3398-PS │Letter from Seyss-Inquart to Himmler, │ │
│4 November 1939. (USA 885) │ VI │ 116
│ │ │
3400-PS │Minutes of meeting of German │ │
│Association, 28 December 1918, and │ │
│Constitution and By-Laws thereof found│ │
│in personal files of Seyss-Inquart for│ │
│period of 1918 to 1943. │ VI │ 118
│ │ │
3425-PS │Voluntary statement made by │ │
│Seyss-Inquart with advice of counsel, │ │
│10 December 1945. (USA 701) │ VI │ 124
│ │ │
*3430-PS │Extract from Four Years in Holland, │ │
│1944. (USA 708) │ VI │ 135
│ │ │
3446-PS │Memorandum relating to report and │ │
│letter of Reich Fuehrer SS and Chief │ │
│of the German Police, 13 October 1938.│ VI │ 153
│ │ │
*3447-PS │Letter from Dr. Lammers to │ │
│Seyss-Inquart. (USA 887) │ VI │ 156
│ │ │
*3448-PS │Letter from Seyss-Inquart to Dr. │ │
│Lammers, 23 October 1938. (USA 886) │ VI │ 156
│ │ │
3449-PS │Letter to Reichsfuehrer SS and Chief │ │
│of German Police, January 1939. │ VI │ 157
│ │ │
*3450-PS │Decree of 18 November 1938 concerning │ │
│sequestration and confiscation of │ │
│property of enemies of the State of │ │
│Austria. (USA 888) │ VI │ 157
│ │ │
3457-PS │Extract concerning Seyss-Inquart from │ │
│The Archive, 1943-44, p. 720. │ VI │ 158
│ │ │
*3460-PS │Speech by Goering, from Hermann │ │
│Goering Speeches and Papers. (USA 437)│ VI │ 160
│ │ │
*3465-PS │Speech by Hans Frank, from Frank │ │
│Diary, 1940, Vol. II, pp. 510-511. │ │
│(USA 614) │ VI │ 166
│ │ │
3467-PS │Law on Limitation of travel to │ │
│Republic Austria, 29 May 1933. 1933 │ │
│Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, No. 57, p. │ │
│311. │ VI │ 169
│ │ │
*3468-PS │Decree concerning establishment of │ │
│administration of occupied Polish │ │
│territories, from Documents of German │ │
│Politics, 1939, Part 2, pp. 674-682. │ │
│(USA 705) │ VI │ 169
│ │ │
3473-PS │Letter from Keppler to Goering, 6 │ │
│January 1938, giving details of Nazi │ │
│intrigue in Austria. (USA 581) │ VI │ 197
│ │ │
3522-PS │Letter from Konrad Henlein to │ │
│Seyss-Inquart, 17 March 1938. │ VI │ 212
│ │ │
3523-PS │Letter from Seyss-Inquart to Henlein, │ │
│29 December 1937. │ VI │ 213
│ │ │
3588-PS │Order concerning exercise of │ │
│Governmental authority in Netherlands,│ │
│29 May 1940, from Official Gazette for│ │
│Occupied Dutch Territories, 1940. │ VI │ 282
│ │ │
*3722-PS │Testimony of Fritz Sauckel, 5 October │ │
│1945. (USA 224) │ VI │ 459
│ │ │
3732-PS │Testimony of Seyss-Inquart, 9 October │ │
│1945. │ VI │ 539
│ │ │
*C-102 │Document signed by Hitler relating to │ │
│operation “Otto”, 11 March 1938. (USA │ │
│74) │ VI │ 911
│ │ │
*C-182 │Directive No. 2 from Supreme Commander│ │
│Armed Forces, initialled Jodl, 11 │ │
│March 1938. (USA 77) │ VI │ 1017
│ │ │
*D-571 │Official report of British Minister in│ │
│Prague to Viscount Halifax, 21 March │ │
│1939. (USA 112) │ VII │ 88
│ │ │
EC-86 │Report on financial contributions of │ │
│the Occupied Areas. │ VII │ 264
│ │ │
ECR-174 │Report of the Commissar of the │ │
│Netherlands Bank for the month May │ │
│1941, dated 12 June 1941. │ VII │ 726
│ │ │
ECR-195 │Letter from RKK Amsterdam to Central │ │
│Administration of RKK Berlin, 21 April│ │
│1942, concerning Dutch East Help. │ VII │ 747
│ │ │
L-26 │United Nations Information │ │
│Organization Report No. 8, 14 June │ │
│1944 “Conditions in Occupied │ │
│Territories.” │ VII │ 771
│ │ │
L-151 │Report from Ambassador Bullitt to │ │
│State Department, 23 November 1937, │ │
│regarding his visit to Warsaw. (USA │ │
│70) │ VII │ 894
│ │ │
L-231 │Telegram from American Legation in │ │
│Vienna to U. S. Secretary of State, 13│ │
│March 1938. │ VII │ 1093
│ │ │
*Chart No. 1 │National Socialist German Workers’ │ │
│Party. (2903-PS; USA 2) │ VIII │ 770

20. CONSTANTIN VON NEURATH

A. _POSITIONS AND HONORS HELD BY VON NEURATH._

He was a member of the Nazi Party from 30 January 1937 until 1945, and was awarded the Golden Party Badge on 30 January 1937.

He was General in the SS. He was personally appointed _Gruppenfuehrer_ by Hitler in September 1937, and was promoted to _Obergruppenfuehrer_ on 21 June 1943.

He was Reich Minister of Foreign Affairs under the Chancellorship of von Papen from 2 June 1932, and under the Chancellorship of Hitler from 30 January 1933 until he was replaced by von Ribbentrop on 4 February 1938.

He was Reich Minister from 4 February 1938 until May 1945.

He was President of the Secret Cabinet Council, to which he was appointed on 4 February 1938.

He was a member of the Reich Defense Council.

He was Reichs Protector for Bohemia and Moravia from 18 March 1939 until he was replaced by Frick on 25 August 1943.

He was awarded the _Adlerorden_ by Hitler at the time of his appointment as Reich Protector. Ribbentrop was the only other German to receive this decoration.

These facts are collected in a document signed by von Neurath and his counsel (_2972-PS_). Von Neurath comments on certain of these matters. He says that the award of the Golden Party Badge was made on 30 January 1937 against his will and without his being asked. Yet he not only refrained from repudiating the allegedly unwanted honor, but after receiving it attended meetings at which wars of aggression were planned, actively participated in the forcible annexation of Austria, and tyrannized over Bohemia and Moravia.

He also contends that his appointment as SS _Gruppenfuehrer_ was also against his will and without his being asked. But in this connection, his wearing of the SS uniform, his receipt of the further promotion to _Obergruppenfuehrer_, and the actions against Bohemia and Moravia must be considered. In addition, von Neurath says that his appointment as Foreign Minister was by Reichspresident von Hindenburg. Yet President von Hindenburg died in 1934, and von Neurath continued as Foreign Minister until 1938, under the chancellorship first of von Papen and then of Hitler. He further claims that he was an inactive Minister from 4 February 1938 until May 1945. His activities in this connection will be mentioned below, particularly with regard to Bohemia and Moravia.

Von Neurath next alleges that the Secret Cabinet Council never sat or conferred. This Council, of which von Neurath was president, has been authoritatively described as a select committee of the Cabinet for the deliberation of foreign affairs, directly subordinated to the Fuehrer for counsel and assistance (_1774-PS_):

“A Privy Cabinet Council, to advise the Fuehrer in the basic
problems of foreign policy, has been created by the decree of 4
February 1938 * * * This Privy Cabinet Council is under the
direction of Reich-Minister v. Neurath, and includes the Foreign
Minister, the Air Minister, the Deputy Commander for the
Fuehrer, the Propaganda Minister, the Chief of the
Reich-Chancellery, the Commanders-in-Chief of the Army and Navy
and the Chief of the Supreme Command of the Armed Forces. The
Privy Cabinet Council constitutes a select staff of
collaborators of the Fuehrer which consists exclusively of
members of the Government of the Reich; thus, it represents a
select committee of the Reich Government for the deliberation on
foreign affairs.” (_1774-PS_)

The formal composition of this body is shown in 2031-PS. Von Neurath held himself out as a member of this body by communicating with the British Ambassador on Secret Cabinet Council stationery. (_3287-PS_)

Von Neurath, finally, objects that he was not a member of the Reich Defense Council. This Council was set up soon after Hitler’s accession to power, on 4 April 1933 (_2261-PS_). In an affidavit by Frick (_2986-PS_), this Council is described as follows:

“* * * We were also members of the Reich Defense Council, which
was supposed to plan preparations in case of war which later on
were published by the Ministerial Council for the Defense of the
Reich.” (_2986-PS_)

The membership of this Council included the Minister for Foreign Affairs, who was then von Neurath. This is shown by a document giving the composition of the Reich Defense Council, and including among permanent members the Minister for Foreign Affairs (_EC-177_). That document is dated “Berlin, 22 May 1933,” which was during von Neurath’s tenure of that office.

The functioning of the Reich Defense Council, with a representative of von Neurath’s ministry, von Buelow, present, is shown by the minutes of the 12th meeting on 14 May 1936 (_EC-407_). Under the secret law of 4 September 1938 von Neurath was a member of the Reich Defense Council by virtue of his presidency of the Secret Cabinet Council. This fact is shown by the enclosure of a copy of that law in a letter addressed to von Neurath as Reich Protector for Bohemia and Moravia on 6 September 1939 (_2194-PS_). It is curious that the Reich Protector for Bohemia and Moravia denies his membership in the Council when the letter enclosing the law is one addressed to him. This law describes the tasks of the Council as follows:

“The task of the Reich Defense Council consists, in peace-time,
of the decision on all measures for the preparation of Reich
defense, and the gathering together of all forces and means of
the nation according to the directions of the Leaders and Reich
Chancellor. The tasks of the Council in wartime will be
especially determined by the Leader and Reich Chancellor.”
(_2194-PS_)

The law also lists the permanent members of the Council, and the seventh one is the President of the Secret Cabinet Council, who was von Neurath.

B. _VON NEURATH’S PART, AS FOREIGN MINISTER, IN THE CONSPIRACY FOR THE
BREACH OF TREATY OBLIGATIONS._

In assuming the position of Minister of Foreign Affairs in Hitler’s Cabinet, von Neurath assumed charge of a foreign policy committed to breach of treaties.

The Nazi Party had repeatedly and for many years made known its intention to overthrow Germany’s international commitments, even at the risk of war. Sections 1 and 2 of the Party Program (_1708-PS_), which was published year after year, declared:

“1. We demand the unification of all Germans in the Greater
Germany on the basis of the right of self-determination of
peoples.

“2. We demand equality of rights for the German people in
respect to the other nations; abrogation of the peace treaties
of Versailles and St. Germain.” (_1708-PS_)

An even clearer statement of these goals is contained in Hitler’s speech at Munich on 15 March 1939, in which he said:

“My foreign policy had identical aims. My program was to abolish
the Treaty of Versailles. It is futile nonsense for the rest of
the world to pretend today that I did not reveal this program
until 1933 or 1935 or 1937. Instead of listening to this foolish
chatter of emigres, these gentlemen would have been wiser to
read what I have written thousands of times.” (_2771-PS_)

If it is “futile nonsense” for foreigners to raise that point, it would be still more futile for Hitler’s Foreign Minister to suggest that he was ignorant of the aggressive designs of Nazi policy. The acceptance of force as a means of solving international problems and achieving the objectives of Hitler’s foreign policy must have been known to anyone as closely in touch with Hitler as was von Neurath. This doctrine, for example, is constantly reiterated in _Mein Kampf_ (_D-660_). (See