Chapter XXII: Part 22

But I wish to indicate that the consideration of personal risk, even that of being killed at the frontier or condemned to death, was not sufficient to make the people of Alsace and Lorraine acknowledge the obligation for military service. Thus the Nazis decided to have recourse to the only threat which could be effective, the threat of reprisals against families. After 4 September 1942, there appeared in the _Dernières Nouvelles de Strasbourg_ a notice entitled “Severe Sanctions Against Those Who Fail to Appear Before the Revision Council.” An extract from this notice constitutes Document Number RF-743. I shall read from it:

“In the case mentioned above it has been shown that parents have
not given proof of authority in this regard. They have thus
proved that they do not yet understand the requirements of the
present time, which can tolerate in Alsace only reliable
persons. The parents of the above-named young men will therefore
shortly be deported to the Aleichem in order to re-acquire, in a
National Socialist atmosphere, an attitude in conformity with
the German spirit.”

Thus the deportation of families was decreed, not to punish a definite insubordination, but to punish failure to appear before the recruiting board.

In order to avoid repeated readings, I shall now present to the Tribunal, under the heading of Document Number RF-744, the ordinance of 1 October 1943, to check failure to perform military service (_Official Bulletin_ of the Reich for 1943, Page 152). I shall read the first two articles:

“Article 1: The chief of the civil administration in Alsace may
deny residence in Alsace to deserters and to persons who fail to
fulfill their military obligations or those of the compulsory
labor service, as well as to members of their families. This
prohibition entails, for persons of German origin whom it may
affect, transplantation to Reich territory by the
Plenipotentiary for the Reich, Reich Commissioner for the
Preservation of German Nationality. Measures to be taken in
regard to property, seizure, indemnity, _et cetera_, are
prescribed in the ordinance of 2 February 1943, concerning
property measures to be applied in the case of persons of German
origin transferred from Alsace to Reich territory.

“Paragraph 2: Independently of the preceding measures, criminal
proceedings may be instituted under the penal code for violation
of the provisions of the penal laws.”

THE PRESIDENT: Exactly what did “souche allemande” mean? How far did it go?

M. FAURE: The term “souche allemande” applies, as indicated in connection with the preceding text, to the following categories of persons: In the first place, persons who were in Alsace and Lorraine before the Treaty of Versailles and who became French by the treaty; persons whose nationality before 1919 was German are considered as of German origin, as well as their children, their grandchildren, and their spouses. This affects the great majority of the population of the three departments.

I continue reading Paragraph 2 of the first article of Document Number RF-744.

“Independently of the foregoing measures, penal prosecutions may
be brought for violation of the provisions of the penal laws.”

According to Article 52, Paragraph 2, of the Reich Penal Code, members of the family who bring proof of their genuine efforts to prevent or dissuade the fugitive from committing his act or avoiding the necessity of flight shall not be punishable.

These abominable measures, the obligation of denunciation, punishment inflicted upon families, permitted the German authorities to carry out the enlistment of Alsatians and Lorrainers, which for many of them had fatal consequences and which was for all of them a particularly tragic ordeal.

I must finally indicate, to conclude this part, that the Germans proceeded to the mobilization of women for war work. I produce a Document Number RF-745, the ordinance of 26 January 1942, completing the war organization of labor service for the young women of Lorraine.

Then we find an ordinance of 2 February 1943, Document Number RF-746, concerning the declaration of men and women for the accomplishment of tasks pertaining to national defense. (_Official Bulletin_ of the Reich, 1943, Page 26.) This ordinance concerns Alsace.

The following Document, Number RF-747, deals with Lorraine. This is an ordinance of 8 February 1943 concerning the enrollment of men and women for tasks relating to the organization of labor. The Tribunal will note that the ordinance concerning Alsace used the expression “tasks of interest to national defense,” whereas the ordinance relative to Lorraine specifies simply “tasks concerning the organization of labor”; but in principle these are the same. Article 1 of this second ordinance, Document Number RF-747, refers to the ordinance of the General Delegate for the Organization of Labor, relative to the declaration of men and women for tasks of interest to national defense, et cetera. This is a question of making not only men, but also women, work for the German war effort. I shall read for the Tribunal an extract from a newspaper article which comments on this legislation and likewise on the measures which Gauleiter Wagner proposed to undertake in this connection. This constitutes Document Number RF-748, taken from the newspaper _Dernières Nouvelles de Strasbourg_, dated 23 February 1943.

“In his speech at Karlsruhe Gauleiter Robert Wagner stressed
that measures of total mobilization would be applied to Alsace
and that the authorities would abstain from any bureaucratic
working method. The Alsatian labor offices have already invited
the first category of young women liable for mobilization to
fill out the enlistment form.

“In principle, all women who until the present have worked only
at home, who have had to care only for their husbands, and who
have no other relatives, shall work a full day. Many married men
who until now had never offered to help their wives with the
household work will be obliged to put their shoulder to the
wheel. They will work in the household and do errands. With a
little goodwill, everything will work out. Women who have
received a professional education shall be put, if possible, to
tasks that relate to their professions, on condition that they
have an important bearing on the war effort. This prescription
applies only to all feminine professions which imply care given
to other persons.”

Here again a rather comical or clumsily worded presentation should not prevent one from perceiving the odious character of these measures, which obliged French women to work for the German war effort.

THE PRESIDENT: We will adjourn now for ten minutes.

[_A recess was taken._]

M. FAURE: Mr. Dodd would like to speak to the Tribunal concerning a question he wishes to put to the Tribunal.

MR. DODD: Mr. President, I ask to be heard briefly to inform the Tribunal that the affiant Andreas Pfaffenberger, whom the Tribunal directed the Prosecution for the United States to locate, if possible, was located yesterday and he is here in Nuremberg today. He is available for the cross-examination which, if I remember correctly, was requested by Counsel for the Defendant Kaltenbrunner.

THE PRESIDENT: Was his affidavit read?

MR. DODD: Yes, Your Honor, it was.

THE PRESIDENT: It was read, and on the condition that he should be brought here for cross-examination?

MR. DODD: Yes, Sir. He asked for him to be brought, if I recall it.

THE PRESIDENT: Does counsel for Kaltenbrunner wish to cross-examine him now—I mean, not this moment—does he still wish to cross-examine him?

DR. KAUFFMANN: I believe that the Defendant Kaltenbrunner does not need the testimony of this witness. However, I would have to take this question up with him once more, for up till today it was not certain that Pfaffenberger would be in court, and if he is to be cross-examined and to testify, I believe Kaltenbrunner would have to be present at the hearing.

THE PRESIDENT: It seems somewhat unfortunate that the witness should be brought here for cross-examination and that then you should be saying that you don’t want to cross-examine him after reading the affidavit. It seems to me that the reasonable thing to do would be to make up your mind whether you do, or do not, want to cross-examine him; and I should have thought that would have been done and he would have been brought here, if you want to cross-examine, and not brought here if you did not want to cross-examine. Anyway, as he has been brought here now, it seems to me that if you want to cross-examine him you must do so. Mr. Dodd, can he be kept here for some time?

MR. DODD: He can, Your Honor, except that he was in a concentration camp for 6 years; and we have to keep him here under certain security, and it is somewhat of a hardship on him to be kept too long. We would like not to keep him any longer than necessary. We located him with some difficulty with the help of the United States Forces.

DR. KAUFFMANN: In perhaps 2 or 3 days we might wish to cross-examine; perhaps two or three days.

THE PRESIDENT: I imagine that if after the affidavit had been read that you demanded to cross-examine him and that he has therefore been produced—well, in those circumstances it seems to me unreasonable that you should ask that he should now be kept for 2 or 3 days when he is produced. Mr. Dodd, would it be possible to keep him here until Monday?

MR. DODD: Yes, he can be kept here until Monday.

THE PRESIDENT: We will keep him here until Monday, and you can cross-examine as you wish, Dr. Kauffmann. You understand what I mean; when an affidavit has been put in and one of the Defense Counsel said that he wants to cross-examine, he ought to inform the Prosecution if, after reading and considering the affidavit, he finds that he does not want to cross-examine him; they ought to inform the Prosecution so as to avoid all the cost and trouble of bringing a witness from some distance off. Do you follow?

DR. KAUFFMANN: I will proceed with the cross-examination on Monday.

THE PRESIDENT: Yes.

M. FAURE: Mr. President, I would ask the Tribunal whether they would agree to hear the witness Emil Reuter at this point?

THE PRESIDENT: Very well.

[_The witness, Emil Reuter, took the stand._]

What is your name?

EMIL REUTER (Witness): Reuter, Emil.

THE PRESIDENT: Emil Reuter, do you swear to speak without hate or fear, to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?

[_The witness repeated the oath in French._]

THE PRESIDENT: Raise the right hand and say, “I swear.”

REUTER: I swear.

THE PRESIDENT: You may sit down.

M. FAURE: M. Reuter, you are a lawyer of the Luxembourg Bar?

REUTER: Yes.

M. FAURE: You are President of the Chamber of Deputies of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg?

REUTER: Yes.

M. FAURE: You had been exercising these functions at the time of the invasion of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg by the German troops?

REUTER: Yes.

M. FAURE: Can you give us any indication on the fact that the Government of the Reich had, a few days before the invasion of Luxembourg, given to the Government of the Grand Duchy assurances of their peaceful intentions?

REUTER: In August 1939 the German Minister for Luxembourg gave to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the country a statement according to which the German Reich, in the event of a European war, would respect the independence and neutrality of the country, provided that Luxembourg would not violate its own neutrality. A few days before the invasion, in May 1940, the Germans constructed pontoon bridges over half of the Moselle River which separates the two countries. An explanation from the German Minister in Luxembourg represented such construction of pontoon bridges as landing stages in the interest of navigation. In the general public opinion of the country, these installations were really of a military character.

M. FAURE: Can you tell us about the situation of public authorities in Luxembourg following the departure of Her Royal Highness, the Grand Duchess, and of her government?

REUTER: The continuity of administration in the country was assured by a government commission which possessed the necessary powers bestowed upon it by the competent constitutional authorities. There was, therefore, no lack of authority in the administration.

M. FAURE: Is it not true, however, that the Germans claimed, upon their arrival in that country, that the government had failed to carry out its functions; and, following the departure of the government, that there was no regular authority in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg?

REUTER: Yes, such declaration was made by the Ministers of the Reich in Luxembourg before a Parliamentary Commission.

M. FAURE: Do I understand correctly that these statements on the part of the German authorities did not in fact correspond to the truth inasmuch as you have told us that there did exist a higher organism for the administration of the country?

REUTER: This statement did not correspond to the reality. It was obviously aimed at usurping authority.

M. FAURE: M. Reuter, the Germans never proclaimed by law the annexation of Luxembourg. Do you consider that the measures adopted by the Germans in that country were equivalent to annexation?

REUTER: The measures that were taken by the Germans in the Grand Duchy were obviously equivalent to a _de facto_ annexation of that country. Shortly after the invasion the leaders of the Reich in Luxembourg stated in public and official speeches that the annexation by law would occur at a time which would be freely selected by the Führer. The proof of this _de facto_ annexation is shown in a clear manner by the whole series of ordinances which the Germans published in the Grand Duchy.

M. FAURE: The Germans organized an operation which was called a census in Luxembourg. In the form that was given the inhabitants of Luxembourg to effect the census, there was one question concerning the native or usual language and another question as to the racial background of the individual. Are you prepared to assert that in view of these two questions this census was considered as having the character of a plebiscite, a political character?

REUTER: From the menacing instructions published by the German authorities in connection with this census, the political purpose was obvious; therefore public opinion never envisaged this census except as a sort of attempt to achieve a plebiscite camouflaged as a census, a political operation destined to give a certain justification to the annexation which was to follow.

M. FAURE: The report of the Luxembourg Government does not give any indication of the statistical results of this census, specifically with regard to the political question of which I spoke a moment ago. Would you be kind enough to tell us why these statistical data are not to be found in any document?

REUTER: The complete statistical data have never been collected because after a partial examination of the first results the German authorities noted that only an infinitesimal fraction of the population had answered the two tricky questions in the German sense. The German authorities then preferred to stop the operation, and the forms distributed in the country for obtaining the answers were never collected.

M. FAURE: Do you remember the date of the census?

REUTER: This census must have taken place in 1942.

M. FAURE: After the census the Germans realized that there was no majority, and not even any considerable part of the population which was desirous of being incorporated into the German Reich. However, did they continue to apply their measures of annexation?

REUTER: Measures tending to Germanization and later to the annexation of the country were continued, and later on they were even reinforced by further new measures.

M. FAURE: Am I to understand, therefore, that during the application of these measures the Germans could not be ignorant of the fact that the Luxembourg population was opposed to them?

REUTER: There can be no doubt at all on this question.

M. FAURE: Can you tell us whether it is correct that the German authorities obliged members of the constabulary force and the police to take an oath of allegiance to the Chancellor of the Reich?

REUTER: Yes. This was forced upon the constabulary corps and the police with very serious threats and punishments. Recalcitrants were usually deported, if I remember rightly, to Sachsenhausen; and on the approach of the Russian Army all or a part of the recalcitrants who were in the camp were shot. There were about 150 of them.

M. FAURE: Can you tell us anything concerning the transfer—I believe the Germans call it “Umsiedlung”—of a certain number of inhabitants and families living in your country?

REUTER: The transplanting was ordered by the German authority of Luxembourg for elements which appeared to be unfit for assimilation or unworthy of, or undesirable for, residence on the frontiers of the Reich.

M. FAURE: Can you indicate the approximate number of people who were victims of this transplanting?

REUTER: There must have been about 7,000 people who were transplanted in this manner, because we found in Luxembourg a list mentioning between 2,800 and 2,900 homes or families.

M. FAURE: These indications are based on knowledge you received as President of the Chamber of Deputies?

REUTER: Not exactly, the list was found in Luxembourg; it is still deposited there and the Office of War Criminals took cognizance of it, like all the judicial authorities in Luxembourg.

M. FAURE: Can you state, M. Reuter, how the people who were transplanted were informed of this measure concerning them, and how much time they had to be ready?

REUTER: In general, the families to be transplanted were not given notice in advance, officially, at least. About 6 o’clock in the morning the Gestapo rang at the door, and they notified those who were selected to be ready for departure within 1 or 2 hours with a minimum of luggage. Then they were taken to the station and put on a train for the camp to which they were at first to be sent.

M. FAURE: Can you tell us whether these measures were applied to people whom you know personally?

REUTER: I know personally a very large number of people who were transplanted, among them members of my own family, a great number of colleagues of the Chamber of Deputies, many members of the Bar, many magistrates, and so forth.

M. FAURE: In addition to these transplantations, were there also deportations to concentration camps? This is another question.

REUTER: Yes, there were deportations to concentration camps which everyone knew about. The number of such deportations in the Grand Duchy may be approximately four thousand.

M. FAURE: M. Reuter, it has been established, through their ordinances, that the German authorities prescribed compulsory military service. I will not ask you, therefore, any question on this particular point. However, I would like to ask you whether you are able to state, approximately, the number of Luxembourg citizens who were enrolled in the German Army.

REUTER: The young people who were incorporated into the German Army by force belonged to 5 classes, beginning with the class of 1920. The number is about eleven thousand to twelve thousand, at least. A certain number of them, I think about one-third, succeeded in avoiding conscription and became refractory. Others later deserted the German Army and fled to other countries.

M. FAURE: Can you indicate the approximate number of Luxembourgers who died as a result of their forced enlistment?

REUTER: At the end of September 1944 we had 2,500 dead. Searches have continued and at present I think we have established the names of at least 3,000.

M. FAURE: The sanctions that had been provided to force the enlistment of the Luxembourgers, were they very severe?

REUTER: These sanctions were extremely severe. First of all, the young people who were refractory were pursued and hunted by the police and by the Gestapo. Then they were brought before various types of Tribunals, in Luxembourg, France, Belgium, or Germany. Their families were deported; the family fortune was generally confiscated. The penalties pronounced by the Tribunals against these young people were very severe. The death penalty was general, or else imprisonment, forced labor, or deportation to concentration camps. Some of them were released later on, but there were some who were shot as hostages after having been released.

M. FAURE: I would like to ask one last question. Do you think it is possible that the measures which constituted a _de facto_ annexation of Luxembourg could have been unknown to the persons who belonged to the Reich Government, or to the German High Command?

REUTER: I believe that it is hardly possible that such a situation could have been unknown to the members of the Reich and the supreme military authority. My opinion is based on the following facts: First of all, our young people, when mobilized by force, frequently protested at the time of their arrival in Germany by invoking the fact that they were all of Luxembourg nationality, and that they were the victims of force, so that the military authorities must have been informed of the situation in the Grand Duchy.

In the second place, several Ministers of the Reich—among them, Thierack, Rust, and Ley—visited the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, and could see for themselves the situation of the country and the reaction of the population; other high political personalities of the Reich, such as Bormann and Sauckel, also paid visits.

Finally there were German decrees and ordinances concerning the denationalization of certain categories of Luxembourg citizens. These ordinances bore the signature of the Minister of the Reich. The executive measures implementing these ordinances were published in the _Official Gazette of the Reich Ministry of the Interior_ under the signature of the Minister of Interior Frick with the indication that these instructions were to be communicated to all the superior Reich authorities.

M. FAURE: I thank you. Those are all the questions I have to put to you.

[_The American, British and Russian prosecutors had no questions._]

THE PRESIDENT: Is there any member of the defendants’ counsel who wishes to ask the witness any questions? [_No response._] Then M. Faure the witness can retire.

M. FAURE: Mr. President, am I to understand that the witness will not have to remain any longer at the disposal of the Tribunal and he may return to his home?

THE PRESIDENT: Certainly.

[_The witness left the stand._]

M. FAURE: I had stopped my presentation at the end of the second part. That is to say, I have examined so far, in the first place, the elimination of the French regime and secondly, the imposition of German rules.

I now come to the third part, which gives measures for transplantation in Alsace-Lorraine. The German authorities applied in these annexed departments characteristic methods for the transport of populations. It so happens that, as the witness from Luxembourg was heard sooner than I had anticipated, the Tribunal is already informed of the aspect which these measures of transplantation assumed in the annexed territories.

The situation which I am about to describe with respect to Alsace and Lorraine is, indeed, analogous to the situation which existed with regard to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. The principal purpose of the application of such methods by the Germans was to enable them to colonize by bringing German subjects into the country, who then seized the lands and property of the inhabitants who had been expelled.

A second advantage was the elimination of groups considered especially difficult to assimilate. I should like to quote in this connection—this will be Document Number RF-749—what Gauleiter Wagner stated in a speech given at Saverne, according to the _Dernières Nouvelles de Strasbourg_, of 15 December 1941.

“Today we must make up our mind. In the moment of our nation’s
supreme struggle—a struggle in which you, too, must
participate—I can only say to anyone who says ‘I am a
Frenchman!’ ‘Get the hell out of here! In Germany there is room
only for Germans.’”

From the beginning the Germans proceeded, firstly, to the expulsion of individuals or small groups, especially Jews and members of the teaching profession. Moreover, as is shown by a document which I have already cited this morning under Number RF-701 and which was the first general protest made by the French Delegation, under date of 3 September 1940, the Germans authorized the people of Alsace-Lorraine to return to their homes only if they acknowledged themselves to be of German origin. Now the Tribunal will understand that these restrictions upon the return of refugees were in themselves equivalent to expulsion. Mass expulsions began in September 1940. I now submit in this connection Document Number RF-750; it is again a note from the French Armistice Delegation taken from the files of the High Court of Justice. I shall now read this document, Paragraph 2:

“Since then it has been brought to the knowledge of the French
Government that the German authorities are proceeding to mass
expulsions of families in the three eastern departments. Every
day French citizens, forced to abandon all their belongings on
the spot, are driven into the unoccupied part of France in
groups of 800 to 1,000 persons.”

It was only the 19th of September. On the 3rd of November the Germans undertook the systematic expulsion of the populations of the Moselle region. This operation was accomplished with extreme perfidy. The Germans, as a matter of fact, gave the Lorrainers of certain localities the choice of either going to eastern Germany or going to France. They gave them only a few hours to make up their minds. Moreover, they sought to promote the belief that such a choice was imposed upon the Lorrainers as a result of an agreement reached with the French authorities.

From the physical point of view, the transport of these people was effected under very difficult conditions. The Lorrainers were allowed to take away only a very small part of their personal belongings and a sum of 2,000 francs, plus 1,000 francs for the children. On 18 November, four trains filled with Lorrainers who had been torn away from their homes were headed for Lyons. The arrival in unoccupied France of these people who had been so sorely tried was for them, nevertheless, an opportunity for nobly manifesting their patriotic sentiments. With regard to the facts which I have presented I place before the Tribunal Document Number RF-751, which is a note of protest on the part of the French Delegation signed by General Doyen, dated 18 November 1940. I shall read excerpts of this Document Number RF-751, beginning with Paragraph 3 of Page 1:

“France is faced with an act of force which is in formal
contradiction to the armistice convention as well as the
assurance, recently given, of a desire for collaboration between
the two countries. On the contrary, in Article 16, which the
German commission had frequently invoked with specific regard to
the departments of the East, the armistice convention stipulates
the reinstallation of refugees in the regions in which they were
domiciled. The creation of new refugees constitutes, therefore,
a violation of the armistice convention. France is faced with an
unjust act affecting peaceful populations against whom the Reich
has nothing to reproach and who, settled for centuries on these
territories, have made of them a particularly prosperous region.

“The unexpected decision of the German authorities is likewise
an inhuman act. In the very middle of winter, without warning,
families have to leave their homes, taking with them only a
strict minimum of personal property and a sum of money
absolutely insufficient to enable them to live even for a few
weeks. Thousands of Frenchmen were thus suddenly hurled into
misery without their country—already too heavily tried and
surprised by the suddenness and amplitude of the measures
adopted without its knowledge—being in a position to assure
them, from one day to the next, a normal livelihood. This exodus
and the conditions under which it is taking place cause most
painful and sorrowful impressions throughout the French nation.
The French people are particularly disturbed by the explanations
given to the Lorrainers, according to which the French
Government was reputed to be the source of their misfortune.

“It is that impression, in fact, which the poster in certain
villages, where the population had to choose between leaving for
eastern Germany or for Unoccupied France, was intended to
convey.

“The poster is appended hereto, but we are not in possession of
the text of this poster. That also encouraged the belief that
these populations had themselves requested permission to leave
following the appeals broadcast by the Bordeaux radio. Even if
we admit that such appeals had been made by radio, it should be
noted that the Bordeaux radio station is under German control.
The good faith of the Lorrainers has been deceived as was shown
by their reaction on arrival in the free zone.”

In spite of these protests, the expulsions continued. They reached a total of about 70,000 people, augmented by the deportation of Alsatians and Lorrainers to Eastern Germany and to Poland. These deportations were meant to create terror, and they particularly affected the families of men who had rightfully decided to refuse the German demand for forced labor and military service. (I am at present regarding the whole question of a French protest dated 3 September 1942; it is Document Number RF-752).

Since I do not wish to read to the Tribunal texts dealing with an identical subject I submit this document solely to show that this protest was made, and I believe that I can refrain from reading its content.

I shall refer, desiring to give only a short citation, to a document belonging to the American Prosecution. This document bears the Number R-114. It is a memorandum of the minutes of a meeting which took place between several officials of the SS concerning general directions in regard to the treatment of deported Alsatians.

It will be observed that this document has already been submitted by my American colleagues under Document Number R-114, Exhibit Number USA-314, the French Number RF-753. I merely wish to read one paragraph of that document, which may be interpreted as a supplement to this problem of deportation. I must say that these sentences have not been formally read in Court. The passage that I cite is on Page 2 of the document. At the end of that there is a paragraph which begins with the letter “d”:

“For further resettlement are destined:

“Members of the patois group. The Gauleiter would like to keep
only those persons in the patois area who by their customs,
language, and general attitude testify their adherence to
Germany.

“Regarding the cases mentioned under a-d, it is to be noted that
the racial problem is to be given foremost consideration, that
is, in a way by which racially valuable persons shall be
resettled in Germany proper, and the racially inferior in
France.”

Finally, I should like to read to the Tribunal a few sentences from a newspaper article, which appeared in _Dernières Nouvelles de Strasbourg_, August 31, 1942—we are here dealing with a citation and not a document:

“On the 28th of August the families designated hereafter, of the
Arrondissements of Mulhouse and Guebwiller, were deported to the
Reich in order that they might recover a trustworthy German
outlook in National Socialist surroundings. In several cases the
persons involved did not conceal their hostility in that they
stirred up sentiments of opposition, spoke French in public in a
provocative manner, did not obey the ordinances concerning the
education of youth, or in other ways showed a lack of loyalty.”

I would now like to indicate to the Tribunal that deportation or transportation entailed also the spoliation of property. This is not merely a fact; for the Germans it is a law. Indeed, there is an ordinance of 28 January 1943, which appeared in the _Official Bulletin_ for 1943, Page 40, bearing the title, “Ordinance Concerning the Safeguarding of Property in Lorraine as a Result of Transplantation Measures.” I have placed this ordinance before you as Document Number RF-754. I would like to read Article One and the first paragraph of Article Two. I believe that the title itself is a sufficient indication of the contents:

“Article One. The safeguarding of property of people
transplanted from Lorraine to the Greater German Reich or to
territory placed under the sovereign power of Germany has been
entrusted to the transfer services for Lorraine under the Chief
of the Administration.

“Article Two. These services are authorized to put in effective
safekeeping the property of the Lothringians who have been
transplanted in order that such property may be administered,
and—insofar as orders may have been given for this—exploited.”

This ordinance, therefore, still manifests some scruples of form. The intention is to “safeguard,” but we now know what the word “safeguard” means in Nazi terminology. We have already seen what safeguarding meant in the case of works of art and Jewish property. Even here, we have been specifically warned that the term “safeguard” carries with it the right of disposal or exploitation.

Other texts are even more specific or clear.

Here is Document Number RF-755. This is the ordinance of 6 November 1940 pertaining to the declaration of property in Lorraine belonging to the enemies of the people and of the Reich. And on the same subject I shall also submit to you Document Number RF-756, which is the regulation of 13 July 1940 applying to property in Alsace belonging to the enemies of the people and of the Reich. These two texts, one of which applies to Alsace and the other to Lorraine, permit the seizure and confiscation of properties designated as “enemy property.” Now, to realize the extent of the property covered by this term, I will read Document 756:

“Any objects and rights of any nature whatsoever, without regard
to conditions of title, which are utilized for, or intended for
use in, activities hostile to the people of Germany or the Reich
will be considered as property belonging to the people and to
the Reich.

“Such stipulation shall apply to the entire patrimony:

“(a) of all political parties, as well as of secondary or
complementary organizations depending thereon;

“(b) of lodges and similar associations;

“(c) of Jews;

“(d) of Frenchmen who have acquired property in Alsace since 11
November 1918;

“(e) The Chief of the Administration Department and the Police
will decide what patrimony in addition to the property mentioned
above is likewise to be considered as property belonging to the
enemies of the people and of the Reich. He will likewise decide
on doubtful cases.”

We see, therefore, that in spite of the title, we are not dealing here with the measures of sequestration of enemy property taken in all countries within the scope of the laws of war. First of all, these are measures of definite confiscation; and in addition, they are applied to the property of numerous individuals who are in no wise subjects of enemy countries. We also see at this point the absolutely arbitrary power placed in the hands of the administration.

These texts are accompanied by many regulations; although the spoliations are particularly important in Alsace and in Lorraine, I shall not speak of them here in more detail, as the Prosecution has already dealt with the subject. I shall merely limit myself to the mentioning of two institutions special to Alsace and to Lorraine, that is, agricultural colonization, and industrial colonization.

In the first place, agricultural colonization is not a term that has been invented by the Prosecution; it is an expression which the Germans used. I submit in this connection, Document Number RF-757, which is the ordinance of 7 December 1940, “Pertaining to the New Regime of Settlement or Colonization in Lorraine.” I shall read the beginning of this Document Number RF-757:

“Real estate which has been vacated in Lorraine as a result of
deportations will serve principally for the reconstitution of a
German peasant class and for the requirements of internal
colonization. In this connection and specifically in order to
set us the required programs, I order, by virtue of the powers
which have been conferred upon me by the Führer, the following:

“Article One. Real estate property of individuals deported from
Lorraine shall be seized and confiscated for the benefit of the
Chief of the Civil Administration.”

I will not cite the second paragraph of Article One, but I will cite Article Two:

“Agricultural properties or forest properties which are seized
in consequence of the ordinance concerning enemy property of the
people and the Reich in Lorraine are confiscated. Insofar as
they are needed, they are included in the methodical
organization of the region.”

Article Three:

“In addition to the cases provided for in Articles One and Two
and according to the needs, other real estate property may be
included in the programs for methodical reorganization if
appropriate compensation is provided for.

“The Chief of the Civilian Administration and the services
designated by him will decide upon the amount and nature of the
compensation. Any recourse to the law on the part of the person
involved is forbidden.”

Thus the Tribunal can see in a striking manner the processes and the methods pursued by the German authorities.

The first ordinance, cited earlier, spoke only of safeguarding the property of people who had been deported or displaced. A second ordinance now speaks of confiscations. It still refers only to the notion of enemies of the people and of the Reich.

The third ordinance is more complete, since it comprises confiscation prescriptions which are quite formal in their character, and which are no longer qualified as “safeguarding” property which has become vacant as the result of deportations.

This agricultural colonization of which I have spoken assumed a special importance in Lorraine. On the other hand, it is in Alsace that we find the greatest number of measures involving a veritable industrial colonization. These measures consisted in stripping the French industrial enterprises for the benefit of German firms. On this subject there are protests of the French Delegation to the Armistice Commission.

I submit as documents three of these protests, Documents Numbers RF-758, 759 and 760, which are notes under date of—respectively—27 April 1941, 9 May 1941, and 8 April 1943. I believe that it is preferable for me not to read these documents to the Tribunal and that I merely ask the Tribunal to take judicial notice of them, as proof of the existence of these protests, because I fear that such a reading would be a mere repetition to the Tribunal, to whom the matter of economic spoliation has already been explained in sufficient detail.

I shall say, finally, that the Germans carried their audacity to the point of demanding the seizure in Unoccupied France and the transportation to Alsace of assets belonging to French companies which were by this means stripped of their property and actually “colonized.” I am speaking of assets belonging to companies in the other zone of France, under the control of the regular shareholders of such companies.

I think it is worth while considering just one example of such procedure, contained in a very short document, which I submit to you under Document Number RF-761. This document appears in the Archives of the French Agencies of the Armistice Commission, to which it had been sent by the director of the company mentioned in the document. It is a paper which is partly written in German and partly translated into French—in the same document—and it is signed by the German Commissioner for a French enterprise called the Société Alsacienne et Lorraine d’Electricité. In Alsace this enterprise had been placed illegally under the administration of this commissioner, and the commissioner—as the document will show—had come to Paris to seize the remainder of the company’s assets. He drafted this document, which he signed and which he also made the president of the French company sign. This document is of interest as revealing the insolence of German procedure and also the Germans’ odd conception of law. I quote now:

“Today the undersigned has instructed me that in future I am
strictly forbidden to take legal action with regard to the
property of the former Société Alsacienne et Lorraine
d’Electricité. If I should transgress this order in any way, I
know that I shall be punished.

“Paris, 10 March 1941.

“Signed: Kucka.

“F. B. Kommissar.

“Signed: Garnier.”

Now this German economic colonization in the areas annexed was to serve as an experiment for the application of similar methods on a broader scale.

There will be submitted to the Tribunal, in this connection, a document concerning a colonization attempt in the French Department Ardennes. On this procedure of annexation by the Germans of Alsace and of Lorraine, many other items could be cited; and I could submit many more documents—even if I were to deal only with the circumstances and the documents which are useful from the point of view of our own Prosecution.

I want to limit myself in order to save the time of the Tribunal and to comply with the necessities of this Trial where so many items have to be discussed. Therefore I have limited myself to the submission of documents or to examples which are particularly characteristic. I believe that this documentation will enable the Tribunal to appraise the criminality of the German undertakings which I have brought to its attention—criminality which is particularly characteristic of military conscription, which is a criminal offence since it entails deaths. At the same time I believe the Tribunal can evaluate the grave sufferings that were imposed for five years on the populace of these French provinces, already so sorely tried, in the course of history.

I have submitted a few details which may have seemed ridiculous or facetious; but I did so because I thought it desirable that one should visualize the oppression exercised by the German Administration in all circumstances of life—even in private life—that general oppression characterized by the attempt to destroy and annihilate, and extended in a most complete manner over the departments and regions which were annexed.

I believe that the Tribunal will possibly prefer me to leave until tomorrow my comments with respect to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.

I would like, moreover, to have the Tribunal’s assent concerning a question of testimony. I should like to put a witness on the stand, but it is only a little while ago that I gave the Tribunal a letter concerning this request. May I ask to be excused for not having done so earlier because there has been some uncertainty on this point.

If the Tribunal finds it convenient, I should like to have this witness here at tomorrow, Saturday morning’s session. I state that this witness would be Mr. Koos Vorrink, who is of Dutch nationality. I also wish to say, for the benefit of Defense, that the question I would like to submit to the witness will deal with certain items concerning Germanization in the Netherlands.

THE PRESIDENT: Do you wish to call him tomorrow?

M. FAURE: If that is convenient to the Tribunal.

THE PRESIDENT: Yes, certainly, call him tomorrow.

M. FAURE: If it please the Tribunal, his testimony could be taken after the recess tomorrow morning.

DR. GUSTAV STEINBAUER (Counsel for Defendant Seyss-Inquart): Mr. President, I do not wish to prolong the proceedings; but I believe it will be in the interest of justice if I ask that the Dutch witness be heard, not tomorrow but Monday, on the assumption that Seyss-Inquart who is now ill may be expected back on that date.

THE PRESIDENT: M. Faure, would it be equally convenient to you to call him on Monday?

M. FAURE: Mr. President, I do not desire to vex the Defense; but the witness might like to leave Nuremberg fairly promptly. Perhaps I might suggest that he be heard tomorrow and that after he has been heard, if Counsel for Defendant Seyss-Inquart expresses his desire to cross-examine him, the witness could remain until Monday’s session.

If, on the other hand, after having heard the questions involved, the Counsel considers that there is no need for any cross-examination, then Seyss-Inquart’s absence would not matter. But I will naturally accept the decision of the Tribunal.

THE PRESIDENT: That seems a very reasonable suggestion.

DR. STEINBAUER: I am agreeable to the suggestion of the French Prosecutor.

THE PRESIDENT: We will adjourn now.

[_The Tribunal adjourned until 2 February 1946 at 1000 hours._]

FORTY-NINTH DAY
Saturday, 2 February 1946

_Morning Session_

MARSHAL: May it please the Court, I desire to announce that the Defendants Kaltenbrunner, Seyss-Inquart, and Streicher will be absent from this morning’s session due to illness.

M. FAURE: Gentlemen, I shall ask the Tribunal to be kind enough now to take the file which is entitled “Luxembourg.”

The Tribunal has already been informed of the essential elements of the situation concerning Luxembourg by the testimony of President Reuter, who was heard during yesterday’s session. I shall, therefore, be able to shorten my explanations about this file; but it is nevertheless indispensable that I submit some documents to the Tribunal.

The annexation of Luxembourg has quite a special character, in that it carried with it the total abolition of the sovereignty of this occupied country. It therefore concerns a case which corresponds to the hypothesis which we call “_debellatio_” in classic law, that is to say, the cessation of hostilities by the disappearance of the body of public law of one of the belligerents.

This total annexation of Luxembourg completes the proof that there was criminal premeditation on the part of the Reich against this State to which it was bound by diplomatic treaties, notably the Treaty of London of 11 May 1867, and the Treaty of Arbitration and Conciliation of 2 September 1929. And the Tribunal knows by the testimony of Mr. Reuter that these pledges were confirmed, first by a spontaneous diplomatic step taken on 26 August 1939 by M. Von Radowitz, the Minister Plenipotentiary for Germany, and afterwards by a re-assuring declaration a few days before the invasion, in circumstances which have already been explained to the Tribunal.

In view of the fact that Luxembourg—unlike Alsace and Lorraine, which were French departments—I say, in view of the fact that Luxembourg was a state, the Germans, in order to carry out this _de facto_ annexation, had to issue special regulations concerning the suppression of public institutions; and this they did. Two ordinances of 23 August and 22 October 1940 announced, on the one hand, the ban on Luxembourg’s political parties; and, on the other, the dissolution of the Chamber of Deputies and the State Council. These two decrees are submitted as Documents RF-801 and RF-802. I request the Tribunal only to take judicial notice of these documents which are public texts.

Moreover, from 26 August 1940 on, a German decree had abolished the constitutional executive formula, according to which justice is rendered in the name of the sovereign. A formula, according to which justice is rendered in the name of the people, was substituted at that time for this executive formula. On 15 October 1941, the formula was again modified in a more obvious way and became “In the name of the German people.”

I shall now follow in my supplementary explanation the order of ideas which I adopted for Alsace and Lorraine; and naturally I shall dwell only on those circumstances peculiar to Luxembourg.

As in the case of Alsace and Lorraine, the Germans attempted to extirpate the national sentiment of Luxembourg and to render impossible all manifestations of the traditional culture of this country. Thus, the ordinances of 28 August 1940 and 23 October 1940 banned all associations of a cultural or educational nature.

As in Alsace and Lorraine, the Germans imposed Germanization of family and Christian names. This was the object of a decree of 31 January 1941, Document Number RF-803. I point out, in passing, that the wearing of a beret was also forbidden in Luxembourg, by a decree of 14 February 1941. At the same time they did away with national institutions, the Germans set up, according to their custom, their own administration and appointed a Gauleiter in the person of Gustav Simon, the former Gauleiter of Koblenz-Trier.

From the administrative point of view, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg was administered as a Bezirk (district) of the Chief of the Civilian Administrative Service but by the German administrative services. As far as the Party was concerned—the National Socialist Party—it was officially joined to the Reich, as a dependency of the Mosel Gau.

I shall not dwell on the introduction of German civilian and penal legislation, which was introduced in the same way as in Alsace and Lorraine. Sufficient proof of this must be considered to have been given by the submission of the official report of the government of the Grand Duchy.

As regards nationality and conscription, we also notice a parallelism between the provisions which concern Luxembourg and those which concern other annexed countries.

On 30 August 1942, two ordinances were promulgated. It must be pointed out that these two ordinances, the one concerning nationality and the other military service, bear the same date. The ordinance concerning military service is submitted as Document Number RF-804 and the one concerning nationality is submitted as Document Number RF-805. The legislation concerning nationality includes, moreover, a provision which is peculiar to Luxembourg, although it is in conformity with the general spirit of German legislation concerning nationality in annexed countries.

The Germans had created in Luxembourg various organizations of the Nazi type, of which the main one was the Volksdeutsche Bewegung (German nationalist movement); and here is the special circumstance which I wish to point out. The ordinance of 30 August 1942 concerning nationality grants German nationality to persons who gave their adherence to this association, the Volksdeutsche Bewegung. But this nationality could be revoked. This is shown in the last paragraph of title 1 of this ordinance, Document Number RF-805. In fact, this conferring of nationality in this special case was valid provisionally for 2 years only.

At the same time that the Nazis were establishing conscription, they made it obligatory for all young Luxembourgers to serve in the premilitary formations of the Hitler Youth. This is laid down in an ordinance of 25 August 1942 concerning the Hitler Youth camps, which is Document Number RF-806.

Just as in Alsace and Lorraine, compulsory labor was imposed in Luxembourg, not only for men but also for women and for work of military concern. These provisions are found chiefly in three ordinances: the ordinance of 23 May 1941, the ordinance of 10 February 1943, and the ordinance of 12 February 1943. These last two ordinances are introduced as Documents RF-807 and RF-808.

I should now like to cite another circumstance, which is peculiar to Luxembourg and of which proof is found in the official report of the Luxembourg Government already submitted to the Tribunal. According to this report, Page 4, Paragraphs 7 to 8, it is stipulated—the quotation is very short and I did put the whole of the Luxembourg report in my document book; I shall cite only one sentence which bears the reference I have given:

“By ordinance, which appeared in the Official Gazette for
Luxembourg, 1942, Page 232, part of the Luxembourg population
was forced to join the formations of a corps called
Sicherheits- und Hilfsdienst (Security and Emergency Service), a
premilitary formation which had to do military drills. Part of
it was sent forcibly to Germany to carry out very dangerous
tasks at the time of the air attacks of the Allied forces.”

The Nazis made a special effort to bring about the nazification of Luxembourg; and for this country they thought out a special method, the basic point of which was the language element. They developed the official thesis that the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg belonged to the German language group. By means of propaganda they spread the idea that the dialect spoken in Luxembourg was a Franconian dialect of the Moselle and constituted a variant of the High German. Having developed this theory, they took a census of the population, as mentioned yesterday by the witness who gave evidence before the Tribunal. I especially mention that this census took place on 10 October 1941. I wished to have the witness speak on this point because no information on the result of the census was furnished in the government report; and the Tribunal knows now the reason why the German authorities immediately stopped the census as soon as they discovered that the number of persons answering in the way they desired was ridiculously small.

After this failure the Germans considered that the Luxembourg dialect was no longer their political friend and in a circular dated 13 January 1942, which I submit as Document Number RF-809, they forbade the civil servants to use this dialect in conversations with the public or on the telephone. This was very inconvenient to a great many people.

The nazification campaign was carried out also by the creation of groups with the same end in view. I have already said that the most important of these groups was the Volksdeutsche Bewegung and I shall merely supplement this by citing a sentence from the Luxembourg report, namely:

“Membership in the Volksdeutsche Bewegung was the condition
_sine qua non_ on which civil servants were allowed to keep
their positions, private employees their positions, professional
people—such as lawyers, doctors, _et cetera_—to exercise their
profession, industrialists to run their factories, and everybody
to earn his livelihood. Failure to comply meant dismissal,
expulsion from the country, and the deportation of whole
families.”