Chapter XXXI: Section L: 5th to 9th cy (10)

Commissioners are provided for the provinces, which have extensive autonomy. We hesitated to create this office, as it was necessary first to investigate conditions. Now it is seen that for this office politically experienced men were needed rather than administration officials. Therefore, through Reich Office Director Schmidt we requested from Reichsleiter Bormann (Hess staff) some men who, almost entirely members of the party, are on their way here and can be put into office in the provinces in a few days.

It was clear that with the occupation of the Netherlands a large number of economic but also police measures had to be taken, the first ones of which had the purpose of reducing the consumption of the population in order to get supplies for the Reich, on the one hand, and to secure a just distribution of the remaining supplies, on the other hand. In consideration of the assigned task, we had to endeavor to see to it that all these measures carried the signature of Dutchmen. The Reich Commissioner therefore authorized the Secretaries-General to take all the necessary measures by means of ordinances.

As a matter of fact, up to today almost all orders concerning the seizure of supplies and their distribution to the population and decrees about restrictions in the formation of public opinion have been issued but also agreements concerning the transport of extraordinarily large supplies to the Reich have [page 10] been made, all of which bear the signatures of the Dutch Secretaries General or the competent economic leaders, so that all of these measures have the character of being voluntary. It should be mentioned in this connection that the Secretaries General were told in the first conversation that loyal cooperation was expected of them, but it would be their privilege to resign if something should be ordered which they felt they could not endorse. Up to date none of the Secretaries General has made use of this privilege, so that one may reasonably conclude that they have complied with all requests of their own free will.

Almost the entire seizure and distribution of food supplies and textiles have been executed, at least all the respective orders have been issued and are being executed.

A series of instructions concerning the reorientation of agriculture have been issued and are being executed; essentially it is a question of seeing to it that the available fodder is used in such a way that as large a stock as possible of horned cattle is carried over into the next farming period, about 80% at the expense of the over-dimensional stock of chickens and hogs. Rules and restrictions have been introduced in the organization of traffic and the principles for the regulation of gasoline as in the Reich were carried out here.

Restricting the right to quit jobs as well as to cancel leases have been issued in order to check the liberal-capitalistic customs of the Dutch employers [page 11] and to avoid unrest. In the same way, the period for repayment of debts have been extended under certain conditions.

Ordinances concerning news service, radio, etc., prohibit listening to foreign radio stations and introduce all other restrictions necessary in this field for defense reasons. The ordinance about registration and control of enemy property as well as about confiscation of the property of persons who act hostile to the Reich and to Germans were in this case issued in the name of the Reich commissioner. On the basis of this ordinance an administrator for the property of the royal family has already been appointed.

The supplies of raw materials have been seized and, with the consent of the General Field Marshal, distributed according to this system: the Dutch keep enough raw materials to maintain their economy for half a year, whereby they receive the same distribution quotas as in the Reich. The same principle of equal treatment is being used in the supply of food, etc. This enabled us to secure considerable supplies of raw materials for the Reich, as for instance 70,000 tons of industrial fats, which is about half of the amount which the Reich lacks.

The bank moratorium could be canceled, bank deposits are increasing, the stock exchange has been reopened to a limited extent. Bills concerning the control of foreign currencies have been introduced according to the standards in the Reich.

Finally it was achieved that the Dutch state makes available in sufficient quantities all means needed by the Reich, including the German administration so that these expenses do not burden the Reich budget in any way.

[Page 12]

A sum of guilders has been liquidated to redeem the fiduciary monetary tender to the amount of about 36 million, further 100 million for the purposes of the occupation army, especially the extension of the airports; further 50 million for raising the raw materials to be shipped to the Reich, insofar as they are not booty; further for unrestricted transfer to guarantee the remittance of the savings of the Dutch workers brought into the Reich to their families, etc. Finally the rate of exchange of the fiduciary monetary tender, set at first by the army high command in the proportion of 1 guilder to 1.50 Reichsmark, has been reduced to the correct proportion of 1 guilder to 1.33 RM.

Above all, however, it was possible to get the consent of the president of the bank of the Netherlands, Trip, to a measure suggested by Commissioner General Fischboeck and approved by the General Field Marshal, namely the unrestricted mutual obligation of accepting each other's currencies, that means that the Bank of the Netherlands is bound to take over any amount of Marks offered to it by the Reich Bank and in return to make available Dutch guilders at the rate of 1.33, that is, 1 RM is 75 cents. Only the Reich bank has control over this, not the Bank of the Netherlands, which will be notified only about the individual transactions. This ruling goes far beyond all pertinent rulings made hitherto with the political economies of neighboring countries, including the Protectorate, and actually represents the first step toward a currency union.

In consideration of this significance of the agreements, which already touches the independence of the Dutch State, it is of special weight that the [page 13] president of the Bank, Trip, who is unusually well-known in western banking and financial circles, signed this agreement of his own free will in the above sense.

Furthermore, military jurisdiction was introduced, and at present German criminal jurisdiction is being set up; for special cases not only the Special Court but also SS and Police jurisdiction have been provided for as substitutes for court-martial jurisdiction, which was not introduced. Subject to German criminal jurisdiction are: all citizens of the Reich or the Protectorate without restriction and all Dutch citizens and aliens in cases of crimes against the honor and security of the Reich, the Armed Forces, etc.

The experiences with the Dutch officials show that these people, like all Dutchmen, are basically difficult. One has to negotiate with them very much; if they say no, it does not mean definitely no, if they say yes they still think the matter over for a long time, but in the end they will do as one wants them to. Besides, they want someone else to carry the responsibility; since the Dutch still do not really believe that England, which for centuries was the overwhelming power in Europe, is finally eliminated from the continent, in many cases they want a direct order which they then obey, so that one day they will be able to refer to this pressure. In general, however, one cannot complain about the behavior of the officials in the execution of the administration. One cannot say that the officials are delaying any vital work. For instance, in restoring traffic routes, especially in clearing canals, the respective ministry worked extremely to the purpose and fast. In the fields, however, entirely liberal methods and principles prevail.

The Police itself is much split and is subordinated in the most important parts to the ministry of justice and not to the ministry of the Interior. The special troops, the motorized and mounted units, are relatively good, the Marechaussee, a sort of troop gendarmerie, is very good. Among the latter we have already won some agents in the higher ranks which makes probable a further extension in a sense favorable to us.

The Marechaussee will therefore be brought to a correspondingly high standard by selected non-commissioned officers of the army and will be the backbone of the executive.

The dismissal of two mayors (in the Hague and in the provincial capital of Zwolle) had an extraordinary effect. The moment will come when it will be possible to exchange some of the Secretaries General and possibly also other officials, but in any case mayors.

Concerning the right of assembly and association, we introduced the obligation of giving notice. The interdiction comes from the public prosecutors of the court of appeals (Subordination of the Police to the Justice) who are working almost without complaint under the Higher SS and Police Fuehrer. The states-general were eliminated from public representative bodies; the provincial states and the town councils were kept for the time being, but they are under the supervision of the provincial commissioner. Politics in these is not tolerated for the present. The reconstruction of the country--except in Rotterdam, Middelburg, and Rehnen the devastation is not very extensive--was placed in the foreground of a visit to Middelburg the importance of the preservation of historic monuments as an expression of the will for formation of a people has been emphasized, and the social side of such action stressed by raising a fund for reconstruction. In the handling of this reconstruction fund the reactionary spirit of the Dutch administration is especially evident.

It is necessary to give special attention to the reconstruction of Rotterdam. Rotterdam, thanks to its position at the mouth of the Rhine, the possibility for sea-going vessels to sail far inland, and the harbor conditions, which are in every respect favorable, is doubtless a place which disposes of the best natural port facilities in Central Europe, which can even be increased by the completion of the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal, as its sphere of action will reach from Rotterdam to Constanta. With regard to developments in the more distant future one must consider whether one should not exercise influence on the reconstruction of Rotterdam in such a way that the city with this unique opportunity for construction should receive the imprint of a big sea-port of the Germanic area. The demobilization of the Dutch Army, which has now finally been accomplished, was carried out without complaints. The officers and men not taken over into other occupations were transferred, with the exception of the higher ranks, to construction service. This is to be the basis for a future Labor Service. It is led by the Dutch Major Breunesse, who has long been in contact with the men of the Reich Labor Service in the Reich (Mueller-Brandenburg) and has always taken the part of the Reich. The impression this man makes is an excellent one, at present decidedly non-political, as is usual among officers, [page 16] ideologically all right. It is assumed that within three to six months the present construction service can be liquidated, that is, the men will be inducted into economic operations and there will be a basis for a real Labor Service. The organization is already being built up with the co-operation of the head of the Reich Labor Service, Hierl.

The extremely ramified and numerous Dutch press has not been submitted to a preliminary censorship, as that would have destroyed all press life immediately. By holding press conferences under the supervision of Schmidt the big press is managed well and successfully. The danger of some slips, becoming more and more rare, was accepted in view of the necessity of keeping the press alive. Circulation is falling off, however--a not unusual phenomenon, which has the advantage, though, that the newspapers get into difficulties and can therefore be folded up or taken out of the hands of the present owners. The NSB press is already completely available, there is a personal influence at the Telegraph and within the next few days the entire S.D.P. Press is going to be taken over in connection with a corresponding political action which is already underway. The German newspaper has reached a circulation of 30,000. About half of the subscribers are Dutch. A quite extensive press front is therefore available.

From the point of view of the occupation power the present development can be considered satisfactory. The supplies for the occupation army are being delivered, the work, etc., is being done in order, and there are almost no cases of sabotage. There is [page 17] no need at all to fear active resistance by the population. There are, however, signs of rather extensive espionage, at any rate there is contact with England, probably by short-wave radio. In this respect there is close cooperation between the Counter-Intelligence posts of the Armed Forces and the Security Police posts, since it seems necessary to ascertain such cases as soon as possible and to punish them exemplarily (death sentences).

Concerning the political developments in regard to the assigned task, I have the following to say: The Dutch have stepped out of their political reserve. Disregarding the continued or rather increased animosity among the circles which heretofore formed political interest for the Reich is increasing. It is noteworthy in this connection that the former opponents, insofar as they are beginning to change their opinion, want to establish contact not with the N.S.B. but rather directly with the N.S.D.A.P. and the Reich. A conversation with Colijn, who thereupon wrote a pamphlet, did much to help overcome the reserve. The main points of this pamphlet are summarized in the statement that in Continental Europe, England has doubtless been eliminated by the Reich and that the Reich will lead this continental Europe. The Netherlands must adjust itself to that fact if they hope, in closest economic cooperation with the Reich, to retain their independence in clinging to the House of Orange. This attitude of Colijn has had a very great effect, as it was the cue for Protestant and especially Calvinist circles to discuss the new situation, whereby Colijn's statement on the importance of the Reich was considered as an authoritative declaration, but his [page 18] conclusions were subjected to lively criticism. Colijn later in his newspaper (Standard) questioned the correctness of a document of the last White Book. The Standard was thereupon banned for 8 weeks and Colijn got a warning. At the moment he is designated not only by the N.S.B. but also by the group of Arnold Meijers as a worn-out politician who himself has to take the blame for developments, and he is holding back. His importance is not actual but potential.

At the moment many efforts toward concentration are to be noted, which make it their task to appear as partners in a contract with the Reich. The attempt of the system parties to regain influence through Colijn has been, at least for the moment, rejected by the public. His place was taken by a group of the commissioners of the province of Groningen Lindhorst-Homann and of the Catholic politician De Quai. They presented a proclamation to Reichsamtsleiter Schmidt. He refused to authorize it and pointed out that a profession of loyalty to the House of Orange could not be tolerated by the occupation power. This group was confused thereby and lost much of its prestige among the people, which had not been too great, anyway.

Right now a political action against the K.P. (Communist party) and the S.D.P. (Social Democrat Party) is in progress. The K.P. does not exercise any activity, the S.D.P. has its main support in the free trade unions. The heads of these free unions have now been dismissed and the above-mentioned Woudenberg has been appointed provisional head. This reorganization took place--as far as we can see--[page 19] without complaint and the former functionaries offered their cooperation willingly. In direct connection with this action the political organizations of the Communist and Social Democrat parties are being subordinated to Rost Van Tonningen as liquidation commissioner, who has orders to liquidate the K.P. entirely and to transfer its funds to the assets of the S.D.P., which are administered by him. By taking over the leadership of the free unions and the SDP organizations, especially its press, we gained a broad basis political influence on the Dutch people, for this party represented 20 to 22% of the Dutch population.

Arrangements have been made with the N.S.B., according to which the organizations corresponding to the SA and the SS, as well as the youth organization will be built up. It will be of special importance that through the disciplined marching of these organizations an appropriate impression is made, especially on the working classes but also on the rest of the Dutch population.

Aside from these arrangements in the political field we have now begun gathering together pro-German and obliging circles in the field of economy especially agriculture, culture, art, and science, first in a loose social form in order to create a circle of friends of the new Germany or the new Europe, who will gradually become the carriers of opinion and will in the corresponding fields. The first step has been taken successfully in the field of the press. Under the leadership of Prof. De Gudewagen a sort of press committee has been formed, to which the right-thinking press people belong. After initial reluctance, today all the journalists of the Netherlands are aspiring to this association, in which the press people hostile in the past [page 20] toward the Reich are not accepted even if they are considered especially leading.

The attempt is made to establish contact with the Dutch Indies. There are daily radio broadcasts on the regular wave length, bringing reports from the homeland, even news about individual persons and families, so that we can assume that in time the Dutch people in the Dutch Indies will tune their radios to this wave length.

It can already be said today with some confidence that it is only a question of time until the Dutch people can be won also in their political formation of will for a program of a close connection of the independent Netherlands and the Dutch Indies with the Reich (union of currency and economy). The decision boils down to the question of the monarchy. In that question it has gone so far that some leading people already realize that Queen Wilhelmina is opposed to this development and that Crown Princess Juliana is also rather out of the question on account of her marriage with Biesterfeld. The royalists therefore now speak only of holding to the house of Orange, and individual voices are already heard advocating the appointment of a regent to take care of affairs until the question of the monarchy is ripe for a final decision.

Any manifestations for the Queen or for the House of Orange, which is represented only by Crown Princess Juliana, who is married to Biesterfeld, will no longer be tolerated, with the explanation that the Queen persistently remains in the ranks of the enemy and does not oppose the British air-raids on the Netherlands. From the view point of the occupation power a manifestation for the Queen must be considered in the same light as a manifestation for Churchill, for example. [Page 21] This point of view will be enforced with increasing severity. Since the Queen apparently hopes to be supported by Dutch Indies circles, there is danger that this legitimistic attitude could lead to a break between the Netherlands and the Dutch Indies. The Dutch people show increasing understanding for these arguments, and there is really no longer any doubt that the Dutch, at least in Europe, are ready to renounce the Queen and probably also the crown princess, if the Reich could offer them a guarantee that the Dutch Indies will be kept by the Dutch even against possible endeavors of the United States or Japan.

In this connection the possibility should be discussed of transferring the province of Zeeland to a new territorial formation around Antwerp and the province of Limburg to a new Gau-division. In this regard it must be mentioned that such a transfer at this moment would probably destroy all prospects of a political solution. That is certainly true of Zeeland. The people living here are really of Frisian origin and have nothing in common with the population around Antwerp. In the post-war period of 1918-20 they were strongly opposed to an incorporation into Belgium. It could even be used as a pressure on the Netherlands to reach a currency and economy union if we demand the cession of Zeeland as the economic passage area for the port of Antwerp. The Dutch people will certainly be ready to agree to a far-reaching economic union if in return they can retain politically the province of Zeeland.

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_Statements._

In conclusion it is stated that--

1. Order and security are perfectly secured.

2. The administration is at present sufficiently and for the future increasingly under the direction and control of the German authorities.

3. Economy and traffic have been set going and converted to war conditions, plans for a large-scale transformation to continental economy have been started, the preparation for it is almost universal, the supplies of the country have been conducted into the war economy of the Reich, the financial sources for it have been widely opened up and joined with the management of the Reich, all on the basis of extensive cooperation of the Dutch.

4. The necessity of deviating from the democratic party system is becoming more and more the general opinion. The endeavor to get into a close friendly relationship with the Reich is increasing. That the question of the House of Orange arises in this connection is becoming more and more evident. The fate of the Dutch Indies is more significant, however.

If we succeed in retaining the people belonging to the free trade unions and to the SDP organizations, and if the NSB makes a further progress, one-fourth to one-third of the Dutch people will in well-organized form be going the same road as the Reich, whereas the other groups will be split and undecided. Moreover, the workers and farmers--the latter, if the worst comes to the worst [Page 23] by the suggestion of the idea of agrarian reform, for almost half of the farmland is divided into small tenant farms--will only gain from a union with the Reich. The labor service is being used for ideological training, and the intellectual circles are being used in social form as needed. The question, in what way the political opinion which is being formed can be used, remains open. The answer depends partly on the conditions of the moment.

Signed: SEYSS-INQUART

PARTIAL TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT 998-PS

GERMAN CRIMES AGAINST CZECHOSLOVAKIA

Czechoslovak Official Report for the Prosecution and Trial of the German Major War Criminals by the International Military Tribunal, established according to the Agreement of the Four Great Powers of August 8th, 1945. London, September, 1945. Excerpts from pages 9 to 18.

* * * * *

The Criminal Plan

(4) _The Chief Instrument: The Sudeten-German Henlein Movement_

(a) _Deutsche Nationalsozialistische Arbeiter Partei_ (DNSAP).

Fundamental parts of the national socialist ideology derived from the Czechoslovak Germans Knirsch, Krebs and Jung who, in Bohemia in May 1918, had reconstituted the German National Socialist Workers' Party (Deutsche Nationalsozialistische Arbeiter Partei--DNSAP). Hitler's party to come was the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiter-Partei NSDAP.

In permanent contact with the National Socialists of the Reich, the German National Socialists in Czechoslovakia founded an organization called "Volksport" (People's Sport) for youth over 21, modeled exactly on the Storm Troops (S.A.) of the Reich.

Headstrong youths of the "Volksport" sailed nearest the wind. In 1932, its student ringleaders were charged with planning armed rebellion on behalf of a foreign power and sentenced for conspiring against the Republic, for having openly endorsed the 21 points of Hitler's programme, the first of which demanded the union of all Germans in a Great German State.

This incident was greatly exploited against the so-called Activists (German parties cooperating with the Czechs), who were accused of complacence to the Czechs and failure to vindicate German rights. It coincided with Hitler's accession to power.

Late in 1933, the National Socialist Party in Czechoslovakia forestalled its dissolution by voluntary liquidation, and several of its chiefs escaped across the frontier. This caused in German press and radio an outburst of violent threats against Czechoslovakia.

For a year the Nazi activity in Czechoslovakia was continued but underground.

(b) _Deutsche Heimatfront._

On October 1st, 1934, Konrad Henlein, the "unpolitical" gymnastic instructor of the German Gymnastic Federation [Turnverband] of the Republic, established the "German Home Front" [Deutsche Heimatfront]. He denied any relation to the late German National Socialist Party in Czechoslovakia and any connection of the "German Home Front" with the Nazi Party in Germany as well. He even refused to organize the German Home Front on party lines, although he built it up on the basis of the Nazi "Fuehrerprinzip" (principle of leadership), and himself became the "Fuehrer" of the "Heimatfront." But he attempted a camouflage: he rejected pan-Germanism, he insisted that Fascism and Nazism alike lost their natural "raison d'etre" at the Czechoslovak frontiers; he declared himself against the revision of the Versailles Treaty, he professed the unconditional respect for individual rights and liberties, he argued with great fervour that loyalty of the "Sudeten Germans" to the German nation and at the same time to the Czechoslovak State were not mutually exclusive.

(c) _The "Sudetendeutsche Partei"_ (SDP).

The Czechoslovak election system is based on Party representation. Henlein, therefore, changed the German Home Front into the "Sudetendeutsche Partei" (Sudeten Germans' Party), for the purpose of participation in the General Elections of May 1935 for the National Assembly.

Economic distress owing to the trade crisis increased the susceptibility of the German population in Czechoslovakia for the new German Messiah and Henlein won a resounding victory over all other German parties.

When the election results were made known--the Henleinists won 44 seats in the Chamber of Deputies to the National Assembly--Henlein sent a loyalty telegram to President Masaryk.

(5) _The Policy and Tactics of the "Sudetendeutsche Partei."_

(a) _1935-1936: Still "for Democracy."_

Henlein continued to present himself as a friend of democracy especially in London where he lectured in 1935 at Chatham House in the Royal Institute of International Affairs. He stated there that he refused the totalitarian principle and that he was in favor of "an honest democracy." "We want a democracy such as is recommended by Masaryk," he emphasized. He denied "Nazism" or "Hitlerism" to be a doctrine "suitable for exportation," he rejected anti-Semitism.

(b) _1937: For complete Autonomy of Sudeten Germans but still within the framework of the Czechoslovak Republic._

In 1937 Henlein struck a somewhat shriller note than before demanding, without defining "complete Sudeten autonomy." The "Sudetendeutsche Partei" laid draft proposals before Parliament amounting to little short of creating a state within a state. The whole document, though moderately worded, was already based on totalitarian principles.

(c) _1938: For Nazism and for Incorporation of the Sudeten Areas into the German Reich._

After the occupation of Austria (March 1938) the Henleinists openly jubilated. Nearly all German "Activist parties" were now stampeded into the Henlein camp leaving the fight against the "Sudentendeutsche Partei" only to the German Social Democrats and Communists. The terrorism of the Henleinists increased. They intensified their campaign against "Bolshevism." Open anti-Semitic propaganda started in the Henlein press.

On April 24th, 1938, Henlein came into the open with his "Karlsbad Programme," set forth in his speech made to the Party Congress in Karlovy Vary. In every line of it could be heard not so much Herr Henlein himself as his master's voice. In the Karlsbad Programme among others the right of the Sudeten Germans to profess "German political philosophy" in other words, National Socialism, was claimed.

In May 1938, Henlein visited Hitler in Berlin and after obtaining his master's instructions was back in London at his old game of intriguing against the Czechoslovak Republic.

The Local Government elections in May 1938--well prepared by the Henleinists by vast propaganda, opened terrorism, unscrupulous using of money, bribery of electors, etc.,--showed 80-90% of votes for Henlein. So almost the whole German population stood behind Henlein.

The Czech Government continued to negotiate with Henlein, but on September 14th,--two days before Hitler fulminated in his Nurnberg speech against "this Benes" and accused him of "torturing" and planning the "extermination" of the Sudeten Germans--he threw off his mask, fled to the Reich declaring on the wireless: "We want to go home to the Reich," and denouncing "the Hussite Bolshevik criminals of Prague."

K.H. Frank, interrogated by Colonel Dr. B. Ecer on May 30th, 1945, at Wiesbaden, stated that the slogan "Heim ins Reich" (Homewards to the Reich) was backed by 90% of the Sudeten Germans.

Few people knew before that Henlein went on Hitler's pay roll already in 1933.

(d) _"Sudetendeutsche Partei" changed into a Nazi Party._

After Munich the "Sudetendeutsche Partei," in the areas ceded to Germany, entered as a whole into the Reich's Nazi Party. In the not yet occupied parts of the Republic, the "Sudetendeutsche Partei" constituted itself as "Nationalsozialistische deutsche Arbeiter-Partei in der Tschechoslovakei" (German Nazi Party in Czechoslovakia).

After the total occupation (March 15th, 1939) of Bohemia and Moravia this party too became part of the Reich Nazi Party. (About their activity after Munich see Section 7.)

(e) _Henlein's Admission._

In a speech made on March 4th, 1941, in Vienna, published in official Nazi papers, Henlein stated: "In order to protect ourselves against Czech interference, we were compelled to lie and to deny our allegiance to the National Socialist cause. We should have preferred advocating National Socialism openly. However, it is doubtful whether in doing so, we would have been able to perform the task of destroying Czechoslovakia."

(6) _System and Methods of Nazi Pre-War Infiltration._

(a) _Seeds of Discord._

The Nazi Party's study and research groups had long been instructed not only to establish close cooperation with the German minority in the Czechoslovak Republic, but also to win over adherents from the Slovak autonomist opposition. Long before the Austrian Anschluss in March 1938, Nazi circles were not only in close contact with Slovak traitors living in exile (most of whom were directly employed by the Hungarian irredentists), but also tried to establish contacts in the organizational machinery of Hlinka's Slovak Peoples' Party (the Slovak Catholic Peoples' Party of the late Monsignor Andrew Hlinka). When the traitor Bela Tuka (later to become Prime Minister of "independent" Slovakia) was tried for espionage and treason in 1929, the evidence established the Nazi connections with him.

The Nazi Party had paid agents among the higher staff of the Hlinka Party. Their task was to render impossible any understanding between the Slovak autonomists and the slovak parties in the Government of Prague.

K.H. Frank, interrogated by Col. Dr. B. Ecer on May 30th, 1945, at Wiesbaden, confirmed the close cooperation between the "Sudetendeutsche Partei" (Sudeten German Party, headed by Konrad Henlein; details see Sections 4 and 5) with the Slovakian Peoples' Party.

(b) _Espionage._

Military espionage was conducted by members of the German minority on behalf of Germany. The Republic had to amend in 1936 the "Act for Protection of the Republic" of 1923 to cope with the widespread treason activity of the Henleinists and of the Reich Germans from beyond the frontier.

Plans of Henleinists discovered by the police showed that the Henlein Nazis had, in every district, compiled lists of all German democrats, socialists and communists as well as of Czechs of all parties, and were planning to round up and arrest them on the anticipated arrival of the Reichswehr.

(c) _Murder, terrorism, anti-Semitism._

The Nazis from the Reich sent directly to Czechoslovakia their terrorists and murderers; thus the anti-Nazis, Professor Theodor Lessing and Ing. Formis who escaped after 1933 from Germany and were given refuge in Czechoslovakia, were murdered in Czechoslovakia by Nazi agents, Lessing in 1933 and Formis in 1935. The Nazis from the Reich sent their Gestapo into the border districts to drag Czechoslovak citizens across the border to Germany. They also sent money and arms to the Henleinists who time and again provoked incidents in order just to keep permanent unrest. They attacked gendarmes, customs officers and other State officials who time and again suffered casualties. The Henleinists terrorized the non-Henlein population and in several cases murdered political foes.

Anti-semitic propaganda was carried through in the Henlein press and boycott set in against Jewish lawyers, doctors, tradesmen, shops, etc.

(d) _Propaganda._

Disruptive propaganda came from Germany especially through the German broadcasts. Dr. Goebbels launched "The-Nest-of-Bolshevism" campaign against Czechoslovakia and the lie of "Russian-troops-and-airplanes-in-Prague," etc. The Nazis from the Reich directed the whispering propaganda of the Henleinists, thus maintaining a permanent state of high tension in the war of nerves.

The Henleinists spread more or less openly the Nazi ideology among the German population through their press and publications and smuggled illegal Nazi literature into the border regions from Germany.

(e) _Headquarters in Germany._

The Nazis entertained in Stuttgart the "Ausland-Organisation der NSDAP" for German propaganda in other countries in cooperation with the German population of those countries. This organization was headed by Gauleiter Bohle, who had the task of administering the "Gau Ausland" (district: foreign countries). A comprehensive system with scientific methods of penetration was worked out. In Czechoslovakia the tool of German infiltration through Fifth Columns was the "Sudetendeutsche Partei" (see Sections 4 and 5).

(f) _Nazification of German Institutions in the Czechoslovak Republic._

The Henleinists penetrated systematically step by step into the whole life of the German population of Czechoslovakia.

All institutions underwent gradually "Gleichschaltung," i.e., the prevailing domination of all Associations, social and cultural centres, etc., by the Henleinists. Sport societies, football, light athletics, rowing clubs, etc., were "conquered," just as associations of ex-service men, choral societies or associations for diet reform.

Nearly all theatres in German parts of Czechoslovakia were "conquered" by the Nazis, and all German orchestras as well.

It goes without saying that the Henleinists were greatly interested in penetrating into as many economic institutions as possible and to bring over to their side the directors of banks, the owners or directors of factories, commercial firms, etc. In cases of Jewish owners or directors they tried to secure the cooperation of possibly the whole clerical and technical staff of the respective institutions.

(g) _Orders from Berlin._

The Henleinists entertained permanent contact with their German masters.

Attendance of Sudeten Germans at Reich German celebrations, Saengerfeste (Choral Festivals), Gymnastic Shows and Assemblies, the Leipzig Fair, etc., were often the pretext for organized meetings to instruct the native Fifth Columnists and to inspire their activity.

Whenever Hitler, in his War of Nerves against Czechoslovakia, needed incidents, the Henleinists supplied them promptly.

As one instance of many we quote Sir Nevile Henderson who reports in his book "Failure of a Mission," London, April 1940, the meeting of Chamberlain and Hitler in Berchtesgaden on September 15th, 1938:

* * * there was a constant influx of German Press telegrams about incidents in the Sudeten lands. One, I remember, reported that forty Germans had been killed in a clash somewhere with Czech gendarmes. A British observer, of whom there were already a number in Czechoslovakia, and who was immediately sent to verify the facts of the case, subsequently ascertained that there had, in fact, been one death.

Henderson adds that it was a typical example of the method of exaggeration and actual falsification of news.

(7) _Intensified Activity of the Henlein Nazis after Munich._

After Munich Henlein's deputy Kundt became the leader of the German minority still left inside the mutilated Republic and created unscrupulously as many artificial "focal points of German culture" as possible. Germans from the districts handed over to Germany were ordered from Berlin to continue their studies at the German University in Prague, and to make it a centre of aggressive Nazism. The post-Munich government had to allow the German minority in Prague and other Czech parts of the country "to develop freely in conformity with the Nazi theories and not to prohibit its political activity."

It goes without saying that that "political activity" pursued only the aim to undermine and to weaken the Czechs' resistance against the commands from Germany.

The Henleinists cooperated with the Gestapo from the Reich infiltrating into the Republic.

The press was, via facti, subjected to censorship exercised by Germans.

German civil servants who, before Munich, had become members of the SDP, attained dominating influence in their positions and assisted the Nazi infiltration into Czechoslovak public and private institutions.

(8) _Conclusion._

The separation of "Sudetengebiet" was the death blow for the economic independence of Czechoslovakia. The frontiers imposed on her by the Agreement of Munich and Vienna cut her railway lines at many places, thus making impossible any strategic defence of the mutilated country, which soon fell a victim to the German aggression.

Henlein's Fifth Columns in Czechoslovakia as described above, had their big part in assisting Hitler to achieve his aim.

As Henlein put it (see Section 5, (e)): "We should have preferred advocating National Socialism openly. However, it is doubtful whether in doing so we would have been able to perform the task of destroying Czechoslovakia."

* * * * *

II. DESTRUCTION OF CZECH CULTURAL LIFE

Par. 5. Religious Persecution.

(c) _Protestant Churches._

[Page 62]

Reference to Hus, Zizka, and the Hussites and their achievements as well as to Masaryk and his Legions were strictly prohibited, even the religious text books were changed. Church leaders were especially persecuted, scores of ministers were imprisoned in concentration camps, among them the General Secretary of the Students' Christian Movement in Czechoslovakia. One of the vice-Presidents was executed.

Protestant Institutions such as the Y.M.C.A. and Y.W.C.A. were suppressed throughout the country.

Among the murdered Czech ministers was a pastor of the Czech Brethren Evangelical Church, who was killed with his wife among the hostages executed for the assassination of Heydrich.

The leading Theological School for all Evangelical denominations, Hus Faculty in Prague and all other Protestant training schools for the ministry were closed down in November 1939, with the other Czech universities and colleges.

(d) _Czech Orthodox Church._

The hardest blow was directed against the Czech Orthodox Church. The Orthodox churches in Czechoslovakia were ordered by the Berlin Ministry of Church Affairs to leave the Pontificat of Belgrade and Constantinople respectively and to become subordinate to the Berlin Bishop. The Czech Bishop Gorazd was executed together with two other priests of the Orthodox Church. By a special order of the Protector Daluege, issued in September 1942, the Orthodox Church of Serbian Constantinople jurisdiction was completely dissolved in the Czech lands, its religious activity forbidden and its property confiscated.

All Evangelical education was handed over to the civil authorities and many Evangelical teachers lost their employment; moreover the State grant to salaries of many Evangelical priests was taken away.

(e) _Jews._

The racial persecution of the Jews is dealt with separately (Section IV).

In connection with religious persecutions, we may mention the statement of K.H. Frank, made on June 11, 1945 when interrogated by Col. Dr. Ecer at Wiesbaden. Frank stated that in November 1938 the Jewish places of worship in the "Sudeten" province were torn down by express order of the Party, i.e. the Party Chancellery of Munich at the head of which at that time was Rudolf Hess, and in the autumn of 1941 it was Heydrich who ordered all synagogues to be closed, because "they had served as meeting places for aggressive Jewish elements." Many synagogues were demolished, others transformed into marketing halls or into auction halls for the sale of confiscated Jewish furniture and household goods.

TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT 1012-PS

Copy

SSD--TELEGRAM

Anna 4873 3 February 42 1650

SECRET

To the Military Commander of France
Attention of Infantry General Von Stuelpnagel, Paris.
Reference: Telegram of 1 Jan. 1942.

General Field Marshal _Keitel_, after a conference with the Fuehrer, refuses to consider the plan of sole judging and arbitrary final decision for measures in cases of assault and acts of violence with explosives which was proposed from there as long as the measures which are proposed from there do not take into consideration in their type and magnitude the fundamental attitude of the Fuehrer for assaults and violent acts with explosives which have been reported since Jan. 15, and which have not yet been clarified but are on the increase. Sharp and deterring punishment must be instituted by shooting a large number of arrested Communists and/or Jews and persons who have previously committed assault and by arresting at least one thousand Communists, and/or Jews for shipment. Field Marshal Keitel awaits corresponding instructions for submission to the Fuehrer.

OKW Gen QU (V) Nr. II 1887/42 SECRET
1830 1 B 0 M HRRXMV

France

TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT 1014-PS

SECOND SPEECH BY THE FUEHRER ON 22 AUG 1939

It may also turn out differently regarding England and France. One cannot predict it with certainty. I figure on a trade-barrier not on blockade, and with severance of relations. Most iron determination on our side. Retreat before nothing. Everybody shall have to make a point of it that we were determined from the beginning to fight the Western powers. Struggle for life or death. Germany has won every war as long as she was united. Iron, unflinching attitude of all superiors, greatest confidence, faith in victory, overcoming of the past by getting used to heaviest strain. A long period of peace would not do us any good. Therefore it is necessary to expect everything. Manly bearing.. It is not machines that fight each other. We have the better quality of men. Mental factors are decisive. The opposite camp has weaker people. In 1918, the Nation fell down because the mental prerequisites were not sufficient. Frederic the Great secured final success only through his mental power.

Destruction of Poland in the foreground. The aim is elimination of living forces, not the arrival at a certain line: Even if war should break out in the West, the destruction of Poland shall be the primary objective. Quick decision because of the season.

I shall give a propagandistic cause for starting the war--never mind whether it be plausible or not. The victor shall not be asked, later on, whether we told the truth or not. In starting and making a war, not the Right is what matters but Victory.

Have no pity. Brutal attitude. 80 million people shall get what is their right. Their existence has to be secured. The strongest has the Right. Greatest severity.

Quick decision necessary. Unshakable faith in the German soldier. A crisis may happen only if the nerves of the leaders give way.

First aim; advance to the Vistula and Narew. Our technical superiority will break the nerves of the Poles. Every newly created Polish force shall again be broken at once. Constant war of attrition.

New German frontier according to healthy principles. Possibly a protectorate as a buffer. Military operations shall not be influenced by these reflections. Complete destruction of Poland is the military aim. To be fast is the main thing. Pursuit until complete elimination.

Conviction that the German Wehrmacht is up to the requirements. The start shall be ordered, probably by Saturday morning.

TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT 1015-B-PS

SPECIAL STAFF FOR PICTORIAL ART

Report of work during the period from October 1940 to July 1944

On the basis of the decree of the Fuehrer of 17 September 1940 relative to the seizure of ownerless works of art formerly possessed by Jews in the occupied Western territories, the special staff for pictorial art commenced at the beginning of October 1940 in Paris with the seizure of the works of art abandoned by the internationally known Jewish Rothschild family, which was also famous as the possessor of great art collections. It was not possible for the various members of the Jewish Rothschild family, nor for many other rich French Jews, to take any considerable part of their part possessions to England and America in their precipitous flight before the German occupation. The staff has not only seized very great parts of the art treasures abandoned in the Paris City Palaces of the Rothschilds, but it also systematically searched the country-seats of the individual members of the Rothschild family, such as the famous Loire castle, for art treasures and thereby safeguarded for the Reich very important parts of the world famous Rothschild art collection. The art possessions of the Rothschild's were traced not only to cleverly hidden places in the individual castles but also to depots and warehouses, as for example in Bordeaux and other coastal cities, where these art treasures had already been packed for transport to America. In this same manner the art possessions of other French Jews famous as art collectors such as Kann, David-Wlil, Levy de Benzion and Seligmann were traced by the staff and seized in their entirety.

After the seizure of the most famous Jewish art collections in Paris, all abandoned dwellings of the wealthy Parisian Jews, as well as the warehouses of all shipping firms and many other art depots of emigrated Jews, which were very often camouflaged by French gentiles, were systematically searched by the special staff for pictorial art and very considerable art treasures found in this manner. These seizures were carried out on the basis of preliminary exhaustive investigations into the address lists of the French police authorities, on the basis of Jewish handbooks, warehouse inventories and order books for French shipping firms as well as on the basis of French art and collection catalogs. The clearly established Jewish origin of the individual owners was proved in each case in cooperation with the French police authorities and the Sicherheitsdienst (Security Service), as well as on the basis of the political secure material of the staff itself.

According to the same system, the seizure of ownerless Jewish works of art was gradually extended over the whole French territory. The investigations of the special staff for pictorial art were often made extraordinarily difficult by proven sabotage by French authorities, as well as by camouflaging of Jewish possessions by trusteeship of French gentiles covering up for the Jews. In spite of this, Jewish art possessions in the occupied French territories was seized to such an extent as to justify the assumption that, in spite of all opposition and camouflaging, the most important part of the art possessions which had been in the hands of Jews in France, insofar as these had not already been removed before the occupation, was safeguarded by the staff. _The wholesale removal of irreplaceable European art values was thereby prevented and the highest artistic products of all European nations assured for Europe._

In the course of this art seizure by the staff in the occupied Western territories, the following were seized from 203 locations (collections).

21903 art objects of all types, as counted and inventoried up to now.

A seizure record was made for each location, recording the origin of the objects with exact individual data. All seized art treasures were first taken to a collection warehouse at the former Jeau de Paume Museum and then to rooms of the Louvre which had been placed at their disposal. They were scientifically inventoried and photographed by scientific art workers of the special staff for pictorial art and carefully packed there by experts for transport to the Reich. These jobs were especially difficult, since the majority of the collections and individual art objects were taken over without any inventories or indications of origin, and the scientific cataloguing had to be carried out by the scientific art workers of the staff.

Since the beginning of 1943, art seizures of the staff have been extended to include also furniture seizures of the East Ministry, whereby a great number of individual valuable art works could be seized from individual dwellings and warehouses.

During the period from March 1941 to July 1944, the special staff for pictorial art brought into the Reich: _29 large shipments_ including _137 freight cars with 4174 cases of art works_.

These shipments were taken to 6 shelters in the Reich, unpacked and stored with observation of all conservation, air raid and fire protection precautions. At the shelters the inventories, which had served in Paris only for indentification were supplemented according to scientific view-points, and the results of the scientific cataloguing were recorded on inventory lists and thoroughly indexed. With this scientific inventory of a material unique in its scope and importance and of a value hitherto unknown to art research, the special staff for pictorial art has conducted a work important to the entire field of art. _This inventory work will form the basis of an all-inclusive scientific catalog, in which should be recorded history, scope and scientific and political significance of this historically unique art seizure._

A restoration work shop equipped with all technical aids was established by the special staff at one of the shelters, and has been occupied with the care and restoration of seized articles of artistic value as well as with their permanent observation at the shelters. Several hundreds of the works of art that had been neglected by their Jewish owners or had earlier been inexpertly restored were restored in this workshop and their preservation assured.

In addition, all seized articles of artistic value were photographed by the photography workshop of the special staff and included in a film library. Thereby not only the identity of each individual art work was recorded, but also material of permanent value for study and publication in the field of art was created.

Up to 15 July 1944 the following had been scientifically inventoried:

_21,903 art works_

_5,281 paintings, pastels, water-colors, drawings._

_684 miniatures, glass and enamel paintings, books and manuscripts._

_583 plastics, terra-cottas, medallions and plaques._

_2,477 articles of furniture of value to art history._

_583 textiles_ (Gobelins, rugs, embroideries, Coptic materials).

_5,825 hand-made art works_ (porcelains, bronze, faiences,
majolica, ceramics, jewelry, coins, art objects
made with precious stones).

_1,286 East Asiatic art works_ (bronzes, plastics, porcelains,
paintings, folding screens, weapons).

_259 art works of antiquity_ (sculptures, bronzes, vases,
jewelry, bowls, cut stones, terra-cottas).

These figures will be increased, since seizures in the West are not yet completed, and it has not been possible to make a scientific inventory of part of the seized objects because of the lack of experts.

The extraordinary artistic and material value of the seized art works cannot be expressed in figures. The paintings, period furniture of the 17th and 18th centuries, the Gobelins, the antiques and renaissance jewelry of the Rothschilds are objects of such a unique character that their evaluation is impossible, since no comparable values have so far appeared on the art market.

A short report, moreover, can only hint at the artistic worth of the collection. Among the seized paintings, pastels and drawings there are several hundred works of the first quality, masterpieces of European art, which could take first place in any museum. Included therein are absolutely authenticated signed works of Rembrandt van Rijn, Rubens, Frans Hals, Vermeer van Delft, Velasquez, Murilio, Goya, Sebastiano del Piombo, Palma Vecchio, etc.

Of first importance among the seized paintings are the works of the famous French painters of the 18th century, with masterpieces of Boucher, Watteau, Algaud, Largielliere, Kattier, Fragonard, Pater, D Nloux and de Trcy.

This collection can compare with those of the best European museums. It includes many works of the foremost French masters, who up to now have been only inadequately represented in the best German museums. Very important also is the representation of masterpieces of the Dutch painters of the 17th and 18th centuries. First of all should be mentioned the works of van Dyck, Salomon and Jacob Ruisdar Wouvermann, Terborch, jan Weenix, Gabriel Metsu, Adrian van Ostade, David Teniers, Pieter de Hooch, Willem van der Velde, etc.

Of foremost importance also are the represented works of English paintings of the 18th and 19th centuries, with masterpieces of Reynolds, Romney and Gainsborough. Cranach and Amberger, among the German masters, should be mentioned.

The collection of French furniture of the 17th and 18th centuries is perhaps even more highly to be evaluated. This contains hundreds of the best preserved and, for the most part, signed works of the best known cabinet-makers from the period between Louis XIV to Louis XVI. Since German cabinet-makers played an important part in this golden age of French cabinetry, now recognized for the first time in the field of art, this collection is of paramount importance.

The collection of Gobelins and Persian tapestries contains numerous world famous objects. The collection of handicraft works and the Rothschild collection of renaissance jewelry is valuable beyond comparison.

Very many works of art were seized by the staff from the luggage of Jewish emigrants in Holland as well as in the occupied territories of France and Belgium.

_Work in the Eastern territories._

The activity of the special staff for pictorial art was limited in the occupied Eastern territories to a scientific and photographic recording of public collection and their safeguarding and care in cooperation with the military and civil services. In the course of the evacuation of the territory several hundred most valuable Russian Ikons, several hundred Russian paintings of the 18th and 19th centuries, individual articles of furniture and furniture from castles were saved in cooperation with the individual army groups, and brought to a shelter in the Reich.