Chapter XXVII: Part II: , Section 2-A, III, f, Pages 15 to 24. I wish to quote from Page (1)

3 of the English text, starting with Paragraph III—in the German text it appears in Section 2-A, III, f, at Page 19 of the publication—as follows:

“III. Combatting violations against discipline. (1) In keeping
with the equal status of laborers from the original Soviet
Russian territory with prisoners of war, a strict discipline
must be maintained in quarters and in workshops. Violations
against discipline, including refusal to work and loafing at
work, will be dealt with exclusively by the secret state police.
The less serious cases will be settled by the leader of the
guard according to instructions from the state police
headquarters with measures as provided for in the appendix. To
break acute resistance, the guards shall be permitted to use
also physical compulsion against the laborers. But this may be
done only for a cogent reason. The laborers should always be
informed that they will be treated decently when conducting
themselves with discipline and accomplishing good work. In
serious cases, that is, in such cases where the measures at the
disposal of the leader of the guard do not suffice, the state
police is to step in. In such instances, as a rule, severe
measures will be taken, that is, transfer to a concentration
camp or special treatment. The transfer to a concentration camp
is made in the usual manner. In especially serious cases special
treatment is to be recommended at the Reich Security Main
Office; personal data and the exact facts must be given. Special
treatment is hanging. It should not take place in the immediate
vicinity of the camp. A certain number of laborers from the
original Soviet Russian territory should attend the special
treatment; at that time they are to be advised of the
circumstances which lead to this special treatment. Should
special treatment be required within the camp for exceptional
reasons of camp discipline, this must be applied for.”

And I turn now to Page 4 of the text, Paragraph VI; in the German text it appears at Section 2-A, III, f, on Page 20:

“VI. Sexual intercourse. Sexual intercourse is forbidden to
laborers of the original Soviet Russian territory. Owing to
their closely confined quarters they have no opportunity for it
. . . For every case of sexual intercourse with German men or
women application for special treatment is to be made for male
labor from the original Soviet Russian territory, transfer to a
concentration camp for female labor.”

And finally from Page 5 of the same document, Paragraph VIII; and in the German text it appears at Section 2-A, III, f, at Page 21:

“VIII. Search. Fugitive workers from the original Soviet Russian
territory are to be announced on principle in the German search
book. Furthermore, search measures are to be decreed locally.
When caught the fugitive must in principle be proposed for
special treatment.”

We have said to this Tribunal more than once that the primary purpose of the entire slave labor program was, of course, to compel the people of the occupied countries to work for the German war economy. The decree by which Defendant Sauckel was appointed Plenipotentiary General for the Allocation of Labor reveals that the purpose of the appointment was to facilitate acquisition of the manpower required for German war industries, and in particular the armaments industry, by centralizing under Sauckel responsibility for the recruitment and allocation of foreign labor and prisoners of war in these industries. I refer to the document bearing our Number 1666-PS—Exhibit USA-208. This document is a decree signed by Hitler, Lammers, and the Defendant Keitel—and it is dated 21 March 1942—appointing the Defendant Sauckel the Plenipotentiary General for the Allocation of Labor. I ask that the Court take judicial notice of the original decree, which is published at Page 179, Part I, of the 1942 _Reichsgesetzblatt_; referring to the English text starting at Paragraph 1, as follows, and quoting directly:

“In order to secure the manpower requisite for war industries as
a whole and particularly for armaments, it is necessary that the
utilization of all available manpower, including that of workers
recruited abroad and of prisoners of war, should be subject to a
uniform control directed in a manner appropriate to the
requirements of war industry, and further that all still
incompletely utilized manpower in the Greater German Reich,
including the Protectorate as well as in the Government General
and in the Occupied Territories, should be mobilized.
Reichsstatthalter and Gauleiter Fritz Sauckel will carry out
this task within the framework of the Four Year Plan, as
Plenipotentiary General for the Allocation of Labor. In that
capacity he will be directly responsible to the Delegate for the
Four Year Plan. Section III (Wages) and Section V (Utilization
of Labor) of the Reich Labor Ministry together with their
subordinate authorities, will be placed at the disposal of the
Plenipotentiary General for the accomplishment of his task.”

Sauckel’s success can be measured from a letter which he himself wrote to Hitler on 15 April 1943 and which contained his report on 1 year of his activities. We refer to the Document as Number 407(VI)-PS, which bears Exhibit Number USA-209. I wish to quote from Paragraphs 6 and 9 on Page 1 of the English text; in the German text it appears at Page 2, Paragraphs 1 and 2:

“After 1 year’s activity as Plenipotentiary for the Allocation
of Labor, I can report that 3,638,056 new foreign workers were
given to the German war economy from 1 April of last year to 31
March of this year . . . .

“The 3,638,056 are distributed amongst the following branches of
the German war economy: Armament, 1,568,801 . . . .”

Still further evidence of this steady use of enslaved foreign labor is found again in a report of the Central Planning Board, to which we have referred so many times this morning and yesterday. Another meeting of this Central Planning Board was held on the 16th day of February 1944; and I refer to our Document Number R-124, which contains the minutes of this meeting of the Central Planning Board and which has been offered in evidence already as Exhibit Number USA-179. And I want, to refer particularly to Page 26, Paragraph 1 of the English text of Document Number R-124. It is at Page 16, in Paragraph 2, of the German text:

“The armament industry employs foreign workmen to a large
extent; according to the latest figures—40 percent.”

Moreover, our Document Number 2520-PS, which is in evidence as Exhibit Number USA-197, records that, according to Speer Ministry tabulations, as of 31 December 1944, approximately 2 million civilian foreign workers were employed directly in the manufacture of armaments and munitions (finished products or parts). That, the bulk of these workers had been forced to come to Germany against their will is made clear by Sauckel’s statement, which I previously quoted from Paragraph 3 of Page 11 of Document Number R-124. We quoted it this morning, the statement being that of 5 million foreign workers only 200,000, or less than 200,000, came voluntarily.

The Defendants Sauckel, Speer, and Keitel succeeded in forcing foreign labor to construct military fortifications. Thus, citizens of France, Holland, and Belgium were compelled against their will to engage in the construction of the “Atlantic Wall”; and we refer to our Document Number 556(2)-PS, which is Exhibit Number USA-194. This is a Hitler order dated the 8th of September 1942, and it is initialled by the Defendant Keitel. Quoting the order directly:

“The extensive coastal fortifications which I have ordered to be
erected in the area of Army Group West make it necessary that in
the occupied territory all available workers be assigned and
give the fullest extent of their productive capacities to this
task. The previous allotment of workers originating from these
countries is insufficient. In order to increase it I order the
introduction of compulsory labor and the prohibition of changing
the place of employment without permission of the authorities in
the occupied territories. Furthermore, the distribution of food
and clothing ration cards to those subject to labor draft should
in the future depend on the possession of a certificate of
employment. Refusal to accept an assigned job, as well as
leaving the place of work without the consent of the authorities
in charge, will result in the withdrawal of the food and
clothing ration cards. The GBA”—Deputy General for
Arbeitseinsatz—“in agreement with the military commander, as
well as the Reich Commissioner, will issue the appropriate
decrees.”

Indeed, the Defendant Sauckel boasted to Hitler concerning the contribution of the forced labor program to the construction of the Atlantic Wall by the Defendant Speer’s Organization Todt. And we refer to Document 407(VIII)-PS, which is Exhibit Number USA-210. This document is a letter from the Defendant Sauckel to Hitler, dated the 17th day of May 1943. And I refer to the second and last paragraph:

“In addition to the labor allotted to the total German economy
by the Arbeitseinsatz since I took office, the Organization Todt
was supplied with new labor continually . . . . Thus the
Arbeitseinsatz has done everything to help make possible the
completion of the Atlantic Wall.”

Similarly, Russian civilians were forced into labor battalions and compelled to build fortifications to be used against their own countrymen. In Document 031-PS, in evidence as Exhibit Number USA-171, which is a memorandum of the Rosenberg Ministry, it is stated in Paragraph 1 at Page 1 of that document:

“The men and women in the theaters of operations have been and
will be conscripted into labor battalions to be used in the
construction of fortifications.”

In addition, the conspirators compelled prisoners of war to engage in operations of war against their own country and its allies. At a meeting of the Central Planning Board, again held on February 19, 1943, attended by the Defendant Speer and the Defendant Sauckel and Field Marshal Milch, the following conversation occurred and is recorded in our Document R-124, at Page 32, Paragraph 5, of the English text. It is Page 20, the last paragraph, of the German text. And I quote it, the Defendant Sauckel speaking:

“Sauckel: ‘If any prisoners are taken, they will be needed
there.’

“Milch: ‘We have made a request for an order that a certain
percentage of men in the antiaircraft artillery must be
Russians. Fifty thousand will be taken altogether, thirty
thousand are already employed as gunners. It is an amusing thing
that Russians must work the guns.’”

We refer now to Documents Numbers 3027-PS and 3028-PS. They are, respectively, Exhibit USA-211 for 3027 and USA-212 for 3028. They will be found at the very back, I believe, of the document book, in a separate manila folder. They are official German Army photographs; and, if Your Honors will examine Document 3027-PS, the caption states that Russian prisoners of war are acting as ammunition bearers during the attack upon Tschedowo. Document 3028-PS consists of a series of official German Army photographs taken in July and August 1941 showing Russian prisoners of war in Latvia and the Ukraine being compelled to load and unload ammunition trains and trucks and being required to stack ammunition, all, we say, in flagrant disregard of the rules of international law, particularly Article 6 of the regulations annexed to the Hague Convention Number IV of 1907, which provides that the tasks of prisoners of war shall have no connection with the operations of war. The use of prisoners of war in the German armament industry was as widespread and as extensive almost as the use of the forced foreign civilian labor. We refer to Document Number 3005-PS, which is Exhibit USA-213. This document is a secret letter from the Reich Minister of Labor to the presidents of the regional labor exchange offices, which refers to an order of the Defendant Göring to the effect that—I quote now from Paragraph 1 of that document—I am quoting it directly:

“Upon personal order of the Reich Marshal, 100,000 men are to be
taken from among the French prisoners of war not yet employed in
armament industry and are to be assigned to the armament
industry (airplane industry). Gaps in manpower supply resulting
therefrom will be filled by Soviet prisoners of war. The
transfer of the above-named French prisoners of war is to be
accomplished by 1 October.”

The Reich Marshal referred to in that quotation is of course the Defendant Göring.

A similar policy was followed with respect to Russian prisoners of war. The Defendant Keitel directed the execution of Hitler’s order to use prisoners of war in the German war economy. And I now make reference to our Document EC-194, which has Exhibit Number USA-214. This document is also a secret memorandum, according to its label, issued from Hitler’s headquarters on the 31st of October 1941; and I read from Page 1, Paragraphs 1 and 2, quoting it directly as follows:

“The lack of workers is becoming an increasingly dangerous
hindrance for the future German war and armament industry. The
expected relief through releases from the Armed Forces is
uncertain as to the extent and date; its probable extent will by
no means correspond to expectations and requirements in view of
the great demand.

“The Führer has now ordered that even the manpower of the
Russian prisoners of war should be utilized to a large extent by
large-scale assignments for the requirements of the war
industry. The prerequisite for production is adequate
nourishment. Also very small wages to provide a few every-day
necessities must be offered with additional premiums for special
effort, as the case may be.”

And quoting now from the same document, Paragraph 2, II and III—I am quoting directly:

“II. Construction and armament industry.

“(a) Work units for construction of all kinds, particularly for
the fortification of coastal defenses (concrete workers,
unloading units for essential war plants).

“(b) Suitable armament factories which are to be selected in
such a way that their personnel will consist in the majority of
prisoners of war under guidance and supervision (upon withdrawal
and other employment of the German workers).

“III. Other war industries.

“(a) Mining as under II (b).

“(b) Railroad construction units for building tracks, _et
cetera_.

“(c) Agriculture and forestry in closed units. The utilization
of Russian prisoners of war is to be regulated on the basis of
the above examples:

“To I. The Armed Forces.

“To II. The Reich Minister for Armament and Munitions and the
Inspector General for the German Road System in agreement with
the Reich Minister for Labor and Supreme Commander of the Armed
Forces (Economic Armament Office). Deputies of the Reich
Minister for Armament and Munitions are to be admitted to the
prisoner-of-war camps to assist in the selection of skilled
workers.”

The Defendant Göring, at a conference at the Air Ministry on the 7th day of November 1941, also discussed the use of prisoners of war in the armament industry. And we refer now to our Document Number 1206-PS, which bears Exhibit Number USA-215. This document consists of top-secret notes on Göring’s instructions as to the employment and treatment of prisoners of war in many phases of the German war industry. And I wish to quote from Paragraph 1 of Page 1 and Paragraph 4 of Page 2 of the English text and from Paragraph 1, Page 1, and Paragraph 1, Page 3 of the German text, as follows:

“The Führer’s point of view as to employment of prisoners of war
in war industries has changed basically. So far a total of 5
million prisoners of war—employed so far 2 million.”

And on Page 2:

“In the interior and the Protectorate it would be ideal if
entire factories could be manned by Russian prisoners of war
except the employees necessary for directing. For employment in
the interior and the Protectorate the following are to have
priority:

“(a) At the top, the coal mining industry. Order by the Führer
to investigate all mines as to suitability for employment of
Russians, in some instances manning the entire plant with
Russian laborers.

“(b) Transportation (construction of locomotives and cars,
repair shops, _et cetera_). Railroad-repair and factory workers
are to be sought out from the prisoners of war. Rail is the most
important means of transportation in the East.

“(c) Armament industries. Preferably factories of armor and
guns. Possibly also construction of parts for aircraft engines.
Suitable complete sections of factories to be manned exclusively
by Russians if possible. For the remainder, employment in
groups. Use in factories of tool machinery, production of farm
tractors, generators, _et cetera_. In emergency, erect in some
places barracks for casual workers who are used in unloading
units and for similar purposes. (Reich Minister of the Interior
through communal authorities.)

“OKW/AWA is competent for procuring Russian prisoners of war.
Employment through Planning Board for employment of all
prisoners of war. If necessary, offices of Reich commissariats.

“No employment where danger to men or supply exists, that is,
factories exposed to explosives, waterworks, powerworks, _et
cetera_. No contact with German population, especially no
‘solidarity.’ German worker as a rule is foreman of Russians.

“Food is a matter of the Four Year Plan. Procurement of special
food (cats, horses, _et cetera_).

“Clothes, billeting, messing somewhat better than at home where
part of the people live in caves.

“Supply of shoes for Russians; as a rule wooden shoes, if
necessary install Russian shoe repair shops.

“Examination of physical fitness in order to avoid importation
of diseases.

“Clearing of mines as a rule by Russians; if possible by
selected Russian engineer troops.”

The Defendant Göring was not the only one of these defendants who sponsored and applied the policy of using prisoners of war in the armament industry. The Defendant Speer also sponsored and applied this same policy of using prisoners of war in the armament industry. And we refer to the document bearing our Number 1435-PS, which also carries Exhibit Number USA-216. This document is a speech to the Nazi Gauleiter delivered by the Defendant Speer on the 24th day of February of 1942, and I wish to read from Paragraph 2 of that document, and I quote as follows:

“I therefore proposed to the Führer at the end of December that
all my labor force, including specialists, be released for mass
employment in the East. Subsequently the remaining prisoners of
war, about 10,000, were put at the disposal of the armament
industry by me.”

He also reported at the 36th meeting of the Central Planning Board, held on the 22d day of April 1943, that only 30 percent of the Russian prisoners of war were engaged in the armament industry. This the Defendant Speer found unsatisfactory. And referring again to Document R-124, the minutes of the Central Planning Board, and particularly to Page 17 of that document, Paragraph 10 of the English text, and Page 14, Paragraph 7 of the German text, we find this statement by the Defendant Speer, quoting directly:

“There is a detailed statement showing in what sectors the
Russian prisoners of war have been distributed. This statement
is quite interesting. It shows that the armaments industry
received only 30 percent. I constantly complained about this.”

And at Page 20 of the same document, R-124—Paragraph 1 on Page 20 of the English text and Page 14, the last paragraph of the German text—the Defendant Speer stated, and I quote from the paragraph directly:

“The 90,000 Russian prisoners of war employed in the whole of
the armament industry are for the greatest part skilled men.”

The Defendant Sauckel, who was appointed Plenipotentiary General for the utilization of labor for the express purpose, among others, of integrating prisoners of war into the German war industry, made it plain that prisoners of war were to be compelled to serve the German armament industry. His labor mobilization program, which is Document 016-PS, already marked Exhibit USA-168, contains this statement on Page 6, Paragraph 10 of the English text and Page 9, Paragraph 1, of the German text:

“All prisoners of war now in Germany, from the territories of
the West as well as of the East, must be completely incorporated
into the German armament and food industries. Their production
must be brought to the highest possible level.”

I wish to turn now from the exploitation of foreign labor in general to a rather special point of the Nazi program which appears to us to have combined the brutality and the purposes of the slave labor program with those of the concentration camp. The Nazis placed all Allied nationals in concentration camps and forced them, along with the other inmates of the concentration camps, to work under conditions which were set actually to exterminate them. This was what we call the Nazi program of extermination through work.

In the spring of 1942 these conspirators turned to the concentration camps as a further source of slave labor for the armament industry. I refer to a new Document Number R-129, bearing Exhibit Number USA-217. This document is a letter to Himmler, the Reichsführer SS—and it is dated the 30th day of April 1942—from one of his subordinates, an individual named Pohl, SS Obergruppenführer and General of the Waffen-SS; and I wish to quote from the first page of that document. Quoting directly:

“Today I report about the present situation of the concentration
camps and about measures I have taken to carry out your order of
the 3rd of March 1942.”

Then moving on from paragraphs numbered 1, 2, and 3 on Page 2 of the English text and at Page 1 of the German text, I quote as follows:

“1. The war has brought about a marked change in the structure
of the concentration camps and has changed their duties
fundamentally with regard to the employment of the prisoners.
The custody of prisoners for the sole reasons of security,
education, or as a preventive measure is no longer the main
consideration. The importance now lies in the economic side. The
mobilization of all prisoner labor for purposes of the war
(increase of armament) now, and for purposes of construction in
the forthcoming peace, is coming more and more to the
foreground.

“2. From this knowledge necessary measures result which require
a gradual transformation of the concentration camps from their
former one-sided political character into an organization
adapted to economic tasks.

“3. For this reason I called together all the leaders of the
former inspectorate of concentration camps, all camp commanders,
and all managers and supervisors of work, on the 23rd and 24th
of April 1942 and explained personally to them this new
development. I have compiled, in the order attached, the
essential points which have to be brought into effect with the
utmost urgency if the commencement of work for the purposes of
the armament industry is not to be delayed.”

Now the order referred to in that third paragraph set the framework for a program of relentless exploitation, providing in part as follows—and I now refer to the enclosure appended to the quoted letter which is also a part of Document R-129, found at Page 3, Paragraphs numbered 4, 5, and 6 of the English text, and Page 3 of the German text:

“4. The camp commander alone is responsible for the utilization
of the manpower available. This utilization must be, in the true
meaning of the word, complete, in order to obtain the greatest
measure of performance. Work is allotted only centrally and by
the Chief of the Department D. The camp commanders themselves
may not accept on their own initiative work offered by third
parties and may not negotiate about it.

“5. There is no limit to working hours. Their duration depends
on the kind of working establishments in the camps and the kind
of work to be done. They are fixed by the camp commanders alone.

“6. Any circumstances which may result in a shortening of
working hours (for example, meals, roll-calls, _et cetera_),
have therefore to be restricted to an irreducible minimum.
Time-wasting walks and noon intervals, only for the purpose of
taking meals, are forbidden.”

The armament production program we have just described was not merely a scheme for mobilizing the manpower potential of the camps. It actually was integrated directly into the larger Nazi program of extermination; and I wish to refer, at this point, to our document bearing Number 654-PS and Exhibit Number USA-218.

THE PRESIDENT: Do you think it will be convenient to break off now for a few minutes?

MR. DODD: Very well.

[_A recess was taken._]

MR. DODD: At the recess time I had made reference to Document Number 654-PS, which has the Exhibit Number USA-218. This document is a memorandum of an agreement between Himmler, Reichsführer SS, and the Minister of Justice, Thierack. It is dated the 18th of September 1942. The concept of extermination to which I referred shortly before the recess was embodied in this document and I wish to quote from Page 1, Paragraph 2:

“2. Transfer of asocial elements from prison to the Reichsführer
SS for extermination through work. To be transferred without
exception are persons under protective arrest, Jews, Gypsies,
Russians and Ukrainians, Poles with more than 3-year sentences,
Czechs, and Germans with more than 8-year sentences, according
to the decision of the Reich Minister for Justice. First of all
the worst asocial elements amongst those just mentioned are to
be handed over. I shall inform the Führer of this through
Reichsleiter Bormann.”

Now this agreement further provided, in Paragraph 12 on Page 2 of the English text and Page 3, Paragraph 14, of the German text, as follows:

“14. It is agreed that, in consideration of the intended aims of
the Government for the clearing up of the Eastern problems, in
the future, Jews, Poles, Gypsies, Russians, and Ukrainians are
no longer to be tried by the ordinary courts, so far as
punishable offenses are concerned; but are to be dealt with by
the Reichsführer SS. This does not apply to civil lawsuits, nor
to Poles whose names are reported or entered in the German
racial lists.”

Now, in September of 1942, the Defendant Speer made arrangements to bring this new source of labor within his jurisdiction. Speer convinced Hitler that significant production could be obtained only if the concentration camp prisoners were employed in factories under the technical control of the Speer Ministry instead of the control in the camps. In fact, without Defendant Speer’s cooperation, we say it would have been most difficult to utilize the prisoners on any large scale for war production, since he would not allocate to Himmler the machine tools and other necessary equipment. Accordingly, it was agreed that the prisoners were to be exploited in factories under the Defendant Speer’s control. To compensate Himmler for surrendering this jurisdiction to Speer, the Defendant Speer proposed and Hitler agreed, that Himmler would receive a share of the armaments output, fixed in relation to the man-hours contributed by his prisoners. In the minutes of the Defendant Speer’s conference with Hitler on the 20th, 21st, and the 22d September 1942—Document Number R-124, which is Exhibit Number USA-179—I wish to refer particularly to Page 34 of the English text. These are the Defendant Speer’s minutes on this conference. I am quoting from Page 34, Paragraph 36, beginning at the middle of the page; and it is at the top of Page 26 in the German text:

“I pointed out to the Führer that, apart from an insignificant
amount of work, no possibility exists of organizing armament
production in the concentration camps, because: (1) the machine
tools required are missing; (2) there are no suitable premises.
Both these assets would be available in the armament industry,
if use could be made of them by a second shift.

“The Führer agrees to my proposal that the numerous factories
set up outside towns for reasons of air raid protection should
release their workers to supplement the second shift in town
factories and should in return be supplied with labor from the
concentration camps—also two shifts.

“I pointed out to the Führer the difficulties which I expect to
encounter if Reichsführer SS Himmler should be able, as he
requests, to exercise authoritative influence over these
factories. The Führer, too, does not consider such an influence
necessary.

“The Führer, however, agrees that Reichsführer SS Himmler should
derive advantage from making his prisoners available; he should
get equipment for his division.

“I suggest giving him a share in kind (war equipment) in ratio
to the man-hours contributed by his prisoners. A 3 to 5 percent
share is being discussed, the equipment also being calculated
according to man-hours. The Führer would agree to such a
solution.

“The Führer is prepared to order the additional allocation of
this equipment and weapons to the SS, upon submission of a
list.”

After a demand for concentration-camp labor had been created and after a mechanism had been set up by the Defendant Speer for exploiting this labor in armament factories, measures were evolved for increasing the supply of victims for extermination through work. A steady flow was assured by an agreement between Himmler and the Minister of Justice mentioned above, which was implemented by such programs as the following—and I refer to Document L-61, Exhibit Number USA-177; and I wish to quote from Paragraph 3. That document, the Tribunal will recall, is the Defendant Sauckel’s letter, dated the 26th of November 1942, to the presidents of the Länder employment offices; and I wish to quote from Paragraph 3 of that letter:

“The Poles who are to be evacuated as a result of this measure
will be put into concentration camps and put to work insofar as
they are criminal or asocial elements.”

General measures were supplemented by special drives for persons who would not otherwise have been sent to concentration camps.

THE PRESIDENT: Didn’t you read that this morning?

MR. DODD: Yes, I did, Your Honor. I was reading it again with particular reference to this feature of the proof.

For example, for “reasons of war necessity” Himmler ordered that at least 35,000 prisoners qualified for work should be transferred to concentration camps. I now offer in evidence Document Number 1063(d)-PS, which is Exhibit Number USA-219. This document is a Himmler order dated the 17th of December 1942. The order provides, and I quote in part, beginning with the first paragraph of that document:

“For reasons of war necessity not to be discussed further here,
the Reichsführer SS and Chief of the German Police, on the 14th
of December 1942, has ordered that by the end of January 1943 at
least 35,000 prisoners fit for work are to be sent to the
concentration camps. In order to reach this number, the
following measures are required:

“(1) As of now, to begin with, until 1 February 1943, all
Eastern Workers or foreign workers who have been fugitives or
who have broken contracts and who do not belong to allied,
friendly, or neutral states . . . are to be brought by the
quickest means to the nearest concentration camps . . . .

“(2) The commanders and the commandants of the Security Police
and the Security Service, and the chiefs of the state police
headquarters will check immediately on the basis of a close and
strict rule: (a) the prisons, and (b) the labor reformatory
camps.

“All prisoners fit for work, if it is practically and humanly
possible, will be committed at once to the nearest concentration
camp, according to the following instructions, even for example,
those who are about to be brought to trial. Only such prisoners
can be left there who, in the interest of further
investigations, are to remain absolutely in solitary
confinement.

“Every single laborer counts!”

Measures were also adopted to insure that this extermination through work was practiced with maximum efficiency. Subsidiary concentration camps were established near important war plants. The Defendant Speer has admitted that he personally toured Upper Austria and selected sites for concentration camps near various munitions factories in the area. I am about to refer to the transcript of an interrogation under oath of the Defendant Albert Speer.

THE PRESIDENT: Mr. Dodd, do you understand the last document you read, 1063-PS, to refer to prisoners of war, or prisoners in ordinary prisons, or what?

MR. DODD: We understood it to refer to prisoners in ordinary prisons.

In view of the Tribunal’s ruling this morning, I think I should state that, with respect to this interrogation of Defendant Speer, we had provided the defendants’ counsel with the entire text in German. It happens to be a brief interrogation, and so we were able to complete that translation, and it has been placed in their Information Center.

DR. HANS FLÄCHSNER (Counsel for Defendant Speer): In reference to the transcript of the interrogation, the reading of which the prosecutor has just announced, I should like to say the following:

It is true that we have received the German transcript of the English protocol, if one may call it a protocol. A comparison of the English text with the German transcript shows that there are, both in the English text and in the German transcript, mistakes which change the meaning and which I believe are to be attributed to misunderstandings on the part of the certifying interpreter. I believe, therefore, that the so-called protocol and the English text do not actually give the contents of what Defendant Speer tried to express during the interrogation. It would, therefore, not further the establishment of the truth should this protocol ever be used.

THE PRESIDENT: Mr. Dodd, when was the German translation given to counsel for the defendant?

MR. DODD: About 4 days ago, Your Honor.

THE PRESIDENT: Mr. Dodd, is there any certification by the interrogator as to the English translation?

MR. DODD: There is, Your Honor. There is a certification at the end of the interrogation by the interrogator and by the interpreter and by the reporter as well. There are three certifications.

THE PRESIDENT: I think the best course will be, in these circumstances, to receive the interrogation now. You will have an opportunity, by calling the defendant, to show in what way he alleges, or you allege, that the interrogation is inaccurately translated.

DR. FLÄCHSNER: Thank you, Sir.

MR. DODD: May I respectfully refer, Your Honor, to the last document in the document book, 4 pages from the end?

THE PRESIDENT: Which page do you refer to?

MR. DODD: I refer to the page bearing the Number 16 of the English text of the transcript of the interrogation and Page 21 of the German text. The answer quoted is:

“The fact was that we were anxious to use workers from
concentration camps in factories and to establish small
concentration camps near factories, in order to use the manpower
that was then available there. But it did not come up only in
connection with this trip . . . .”

That is, Speer’s trip to Austria. (Exhibit USA-220)

THE PRESIDENT: I think I ought to say to defendant’s counsel that if he had waited until he heard that piece of evidence read, he would have seen that it was quite unnecessary to make any objection.

MR. DODD: Defendant Göring endorsed this use of concentration camp labor and asked for more. We refer to our Document 1584-PS, Part 1, which is Exhibit Number USA-221. This document is a teletype message from Göring to Himmler, dated 14th of February 1944. I quote from the document beginning with the second sentence:

“At the same time, I ask you to put at my disposal as great a
number of KZ”—concentration-camp—“convicts as possible for air
armament, as this kind of manpower proved to be very useful
according to previous experience. The situation of the air war
makes subterranean transfer of industry necessary. For work of
this kind KZ convicts can be especially well concentrated at
work and in the camp.”

Defendant Speer subsequently assumed responsibility for this program; and Hitler promised Speer that if the necessary labor for the program could not be obtained, a hundred thousand Hungarian Jews would be brought in by the SS.

Speer recorded his conferences with Hitler on April 6 and April 7, 1944 in Document R-124, which is Exhibit Number USA-179, already in evidence. I quote from Page 36 of the English text, Page 29 of the German text as follows:

“Suggested to the Führer that, due to lack of builders and
equipment, the second big building project should not be set up
in German territory but in close vicinity to the border on a
suitable site (preferably on gravel base and with transport
facilities) in French, Belgian, or Dutch territory. The Führer
agrees to this suggestion if the works could be set up behind a
fortified zone. The strongest argument for setting up this plant
in French territory is the fact that it would be much easier to
procure the necessary workers. Nevertheless, the Führer asks
that an attempt be made to set up the second factory in a safer
area, namely the Protectorate. If it should prove impossible
there, too, to get hold of the necessary workers, the Führer
himself will contact the Reichsführer SS and will give an order
that the required 100,000 men are to be made available by
bringing in Jews from Hungary. Stressing the fact that in the
case of the Industriegemeinschaft Schlesien the building
organization was a failure, the Führer demands that these works
must be built by the OT exclusively, and that the workers should
be made available by the Reichsführer SS. He wants to hold a
meeting shortly in order to discuss details with all the men
concerned.”

The unspeakably brutal, inhumane, and degrading treatment inflicted on Allied nationals and other victims of concentration camps, while they were indeed being literally worked to death, is described in Document L-159, which is not in the document book. It is an official report prepared by a U.S. Congressional committee, U.S. Senate Document Number 47. This Congressional committee had inspected the liberated camps at the request of General Eisenhower. It bears Exhibit Number USA-222. I would like to quote from the document briefly, first from Page 14, the last paragraph, and from Page 15, the first two paragraphs, of the English text:

“The treatment accorded to these prisoners in the concentration
camps was generally as follows: They were herded together in
some wooden barracks not large enough for one-tenth of their
number. They were forced to sleep on wooden frames covered with
wooden boards in tiers of two, three, and even four, sometimes
with no covering, sometimes with a bundle of dirty rags serving
both as pallet and coverlet.

“Their food consisted generally of about one-half of a pound of
black bread per day and a bowl of watery soup for noon and
night, and not always that. Owing to the great numbers crowded
into a small space and to the lack of adequate sustenance, lice
and vermin multiplied, disease became rampant, and those who did
not soon die of disease or torture began the long, slow process
of starvation. Notwithstanding the deliberate starvation program
inflicted upon these prisoners by lack of adequate food, we
found no evidence that the people of Germany, as a whole, were
suffering from any lack of sufficient food or clothing. The
contrast was so striking that the only conclusion which we could
reach was that the starvation of the inmates of these camps was
deliberate.

“Upon entrance into these camps, newcomers were forced to work
either at an adjoining war factory or were placed ‘in commando’
on various jobs in the vicinity, being returned each night to
their stall in the barracks. Generally a German criminal was
placed in charge of each ‘block’ or shed in which the prisoners
slept. Periodically he would choose the one prisoner of his
block who seemed the most alert or intelligent or showed most
leadership qualities. These would report to the guards’ room and
would never be heard from again. The generally accepted belief
of the prisoners was that these were shot or gassed or hanged
and then cremated. A refusal to work or an infraction of the
rules usually meant flogging and other types of torture, such as
having the fingernails pulled out, and in each case usually
ended in death after extensive suffering. The policies herein
described constituted a calculated and diabolical program of
planned torture and extermination on the part of those who were
in control of the German Government . . . .”

I quote next from Page 11 of the English text beginning with the second sentence of Paragraph 2, a description of Camp Dora at Nordhausen, Page 12, Paragraph 1 of the German text, quoting as follows:

“On the whole, we found this camp to have been operated and
administered much in the same manner as Buchenwald had been
operated and managed. When the efficiency of the workers
decreased as a result of the conditions under which they were
required to live, their rations were decreased as punishment.
This brought about a vicious circle in which the weak became
weaker and were ultimately exterminated.”

Such was the cycle of work, torture, starvation, and death for concentration-camp labor—labor which the Defendant Göring, while requesting that more of it be placed at his disposal, said had proved very useful; labor which the Defendant Speer was “anxious” to use in the factories under his control.

The policy underlying this program, the manner in which it was executed, and the responsibility of the conspirators in connection with it has been dwelt upon at length. Therefore, we should like, at this point, to discuss the special responsibility of the Defendant Sauckel.

The Defendant Sauckel’s appointment as Plenipotentiary General for manpower is explained probably first of all by his having been an old and trusted Nazi. He certified in Document 2974-PS, dated 17 November 1945, which is already in evidence before this Tribunal as Exhibit Number USA-15, that he held the following positions:

Starting with his membership in the NSDAP, he was thereafter a member of the Reichstag; he was Gauleiter of Thuringia; he was a member of the Thuringian legislature; he was Minister of Interior and head of the Thuringian State Ministry; he was Reichsstatthalter for Thuringia; he was an SA Obergruppenführer; he was SS Obergruppenführer; he was administrator for the Berlin-Suhler Waffen and Fahrzeugwerke in 1935; he was head of the Gustloff Werke Nationalsozialistische Industrie-Stiftung, 1936, and the honorary head of the Foundation. And from the 21st of March 1942 until 1945, he was the Plenipotentiary General for Labor Allocation.

Sauckel’s official responsibilities are borne out by evidence. His appointment as Plenipotentiary General for manpower was effected by a decree of the 21st of March 1942, which we have read and which was signed by Hitler, Lammers, and the Defendant Keitel. And by that decree Sauckel was given authority, as well as responsibility, subordinate only to that of Hitler and Göring, who was the head of the Four Year Plan—subordinate only to those two for all matters relating to recruitment, allocation, and handling of foreign and domestic manpower.

The Defendant Göring, to whom Sauckel was directly responsible, abolished the recruitment and allocation agencies of his Four Year Plan and delegated their powers to the Defendant Sauckel and placed his far-reaching authority as deputy for the Four Year Plan at Sauckel’s disposal.

In Document 1666-PS, a second 1666-PS but of another date, the 27th of March 1942—I ask the Tribunal to take judicial notice of this original decree, which is published in the 1942 _Reichsgesetzblatt_, Part I, at Page 180:

“In pursuance of the Führer’s decree of 21st of March 1942, I
decree as follows:

“1. My manpower sections are hereby abolished (circular letter
of 22d of October 1936). Their duties (recruitment and
allocation of manpower, regulation of labor conditions) are
taken over by the Plenipotentiary General for Allocation of
Labor, who is directly under me.

“2. The Plenipotentiary General for Allocation of Labor will be
responsible for regulating the conditions of labor (wage policy)
employed in the Reich territory, having regard to the
requirements of labor allocation.

“3. The Plenipotentiary General for Allocation of Labor is part
of the Four Year Plan. In cases where new legislation is
required or existing laws need to be modified; he will submit
appropriate proposals to me.

“4. The Plenipotentiary General for Allocation of Labor will
have at his disposal for the performance of his task the right
delegated to me by the Führer for issuing instructions to the
highest Reich authorities and their subordinate offices, as well
as the Party offices and their sections and their affiliated
organizations, also to the Reich Protector, the Governor
General, the military commanders, and heads of the civil
administrations. In the case of ordinances and instructions of
fundamental importance, a report is to be submitted to me in
advance.”

Document Number 1903-PS is a Hitler decree of the 30th of September 1942 giving the Defendant Sauckel extraordinary powers over the civil and military authority of the territories occupied by Germany. We ask that judicial notice be taken by this Tribunal of the original decree, which is published in Volume II, Page 510, of the _Verfügungen, Anordnungen, und Bekanntgaben_, published by the Party Chancellery. This decree states as follows:

“I herewith authorize the Plenipotentiary General for Allocation
of Labor, Reich Governor and Gauleiter Fritz Sauckel to take all
necessary measures for the enforcement of my decree of 21 March
1942, concerning a Plenipotentiary General for Allocation of
Labor (_Reichsgesetzblatt_ I, Page 179), according to his own
judgment, in the Greater German Reich, in the Protectorate, and
in the Government General, as well as in the Occupied
Territories—measures which will safeguard under all
circumstances the regulated deployment of labor for the German
war economy. For this purpose he may appoint commissioners to
the bureaus of the military and civilian administration. These
are responsible directly to the Plenipotentiary General for
Allocation of Labor. In order to carry out their tasks, they are
entitled to issue directives to the competent military and
civilian authorities in charge of labor allocation and of wage
policy.

“More detailed directives will be issued by the Plenipotentiary
General for Allocation of Labor.

“Führer headquarters, 30 September 1942. The
Führer,”—signed—“Adolf Hitler.”

Within 1 month after his appointment, the Defendant Sauckel sent Defendant Rosenberg his “Labor Mobilization Program”. This program, Document Number 016-PS, already in evidence as Exhibit USA-168, envisaged a recruitment by force and the maximum exploitation of the entire labor resources of the conquered areas and of prisoners of war in the interests of the Nazi war machine at the lowest conceivable degree of expenditure to the German State.

The Defendant Sauckel states—and I refer now to the bottom of Page 6 of the English text of that document. It is Page 9, Paragraph 2, of the German text, and I quote as follows:

“It must be emphasized, however, that an additional tremendous
number of foreign laborers has to be found for the Reich. The
greatest pool for that purpose is the occupied territories of
the East. Consequently, it is an imperative necessity to use the
human reserves of the conquered Soviet territory to the fullest
extent. Should we not succeed in obtaining the necessary amount
of labor on a voluntary basis, we must immediately institute
conscription of forced labor.

“Apart from the prisoners of war still in the occupied
territories, we must, therefore, requisition skilled or
unskilled male and female labor from the Soviet territory from
the age of 15 up, for the German allocation of labor.”

Passing to Page 11 of the English text, first paragraph and Page 17, Paragraph 4, of the German text, I quote, as follows directly:

“The complete employment of all prisoners of war as well as the
use of a gigantic number of new foreign civilian workers, men
and women, has become an indisputable necessity for the solution
of the problem of the allocation of labor in this war.”

The Defendant Sauckel proceeded to implement this plan, which he submitted, with certain basic directives. He provided that if voluntary recruitment of foreign workers was unsuccessful compulsory service should be instituted.

Document Number 3044-PS is the Defendant Sauckel’s Regulation Number 4, dated the 7th of May 1942. And we ask that the Tribunal take judicial notice of the original regulation published in Volume II, Pages 516 to 527 of the _Verfügungen, Anordnungen, und Bekanntgaben_, to which I have previously referred. Reading from Page 1, Paragraph 3, of the English text:

“The recruitment of foreign labor will be done on principle on a
volunteer basis. Where, however, in the occupied territories the
appeal for volunteers does not suffice, obligatory service and
drafting must, under all circumstances, be resorted to. This is
an indisputable requirement of our labor situation.”

Sauckel provided also for the allocation of foreign labor in the order of its importance to the Nazi war machine. We refer to Document Number 3044(a)-PS, which is the Defendant Sauckel’s Regulation Number 10, and ask that the Court take judicial notice of the original regulation, published in Volume II, _Verfügungen, Anordnungen, und Bekanntgaben_, at Pages 531 to 533. Paragraph 3 of this regulation I quote as follows:

“The resources of manpower that are available in the occupied
territories are to be employed primarily to satisfy the
requirements of importance for the war in Germany itself. In
allocating the said labor resources in the Occupied Territories,
the following order of priority will be observed:

“(a) Labor required for the troops, the occupation authorities,
and the civil authorities;

“(b) Labor required for German armament;

“(c) Labor required for food and agriculture;

“(d) Labor required for industrial work in the interests of
Germany, other than armaments;

“(e) Labor required for industrial work in the interests of the
population of the territory in question.”

The Defendant Sauckel, and agencies subordinate to him, exercised exclusive authority over the recruitment of workers from every area in Europe occupied by, controlled by, or friendly to, the German nation. He affirmed, himself—the Defendant Sauckel did—this authority in a decree, Document Number 3044-PS, already in evidence as Exhibit Number USA-206. I refer to Paragraph 5 on Page 1 of the English text of that document, and I am quoting it directly:

“The recruitment of labor in the areas occupied by Germany will
be carried out exclusively by the labor allocation offices of
the German military or civil administration in these areas.”

THE PRESIDENT: Haven’t you read that already?

MR. DODD: No, I have not, if Your Honor pleases. We have referred to that decree before, but we have not referred to this portion of it.

I am passing to Paragraph II, 1-a on Page 2, and quoting again directly:

“For the carrying out of recruitment in allied, friendly, or
neutral foreign countries, my commissioners are solely
responsible.”

In addition, the following defendants, who were informed by Sauckel of the quotas of foreign laborers which he required, collaborated with Sauckel and his agents in filling these quotas: The Defendant Keitel, Chief of the OKW—which was the Supreme Command—who collaborated with Sauckel.

We refer to Document Number 3012(1)-PS, which is Exhibit Number USA-190. This document is the record of a telephone conversation of the Chief of the Economic Staff East of the German Army, and it is dated March 11, 1943. I wish to quote from the first two paragraphs of the document as follows:

“The Plenipotentiary General for Allocation of Labor, Gauleiter
Sauckel, points out to me in an urgent teletype that the
allocation of labor in German agriculture, as well as all the
most urgent armament programs ordered by the Führer, make the
most rapid procurement of approximately 1 million women and men
from the newly occupied Eastern Territories within the next 4
months an imperative necessity. For this purpose, Gauleiter
Sauckel demands the shipment of 5,000 workers daily beginning 15
March; 10,000 workers, male and female, beginning 1 April, from
the newly occupied Eastern Territories.”

I am passing down to the next paragraph:

“In consideration of the extraordinary losses of workers which
occurred in German war industry because of the developments of
the past months, it is now necessary that the recruiting of
workers be taken up again everywhere with all vigor. The
tendency momentarily noticeable in that territory, to limit
and/or entirely stop the Reich recruiting program, is absolutely
not bearable in view of this state of affairs. Gauleiter
Sauckel, who is informed about these events, because of this
applied directly to General Field Marshal Keitel on 10 March
1943, in a teletype, and emphasized on this occasion that, as in
all other occupied territories, where all other methods fail, a
certain pressure must be used, by order of the Führer.”

At this point we were prepared to offer a transcript of an interrogation under oath of the Defendant Sauckel. Only the English of the transcript of the interrogation has been seen by the Counsel for the Defendant Sauckel. He has had it, however, for some time; and the excerpts on which we intended to rely were furnished to him as well in German.

If I understood the ruling of the Tribunal correctly, it would be necessary for us to have furnished the entire record in German.

THE PRESIDENT: I think you might use this interrogation, as the excerpts have been submitted in German.

MR. DODD: Yes, they have, Your Honor, and the entire English text as, well.

THE PRESIDENT: Very well.

MR. DODD: I refer to a transcript of an interrogation under oath of the Defendant Sauckel, held on the morning of the 5th of October 1945 (Exhibit USA-224). That is the very last document in the document book. I wish to quote from the bottom of Page 1 of the English text and Page 1, Paragraph 11, of the German text, as follows: