Chapter XXIV: Part II: of this case (10)

“Decree: The combating of attacks on German construction work in
the Government General, issued 2 October 1943.

“On the basis of Paragraph 5, Section 1, of the Führer’s decree
of 12 October 1939 (_Reichsgesetzblatt_ I, Page 2077) I decree,
until further notice:

“Paragraph 1.

“(1) Non-Germans who violate laws, decrees, official
regulations, or orders with the intention of hampering or
interfering with German construction work in the Government
General will be punished by death.

“(2) Section 1 does not apply to nationals of countries allied
to the Greater German Reich or those who are not at war with the
Reich.

“Paragraph 2.

“The abettor and the accomplice will be considered as equally
guilty with the perpetrator; the same penalty will be exacted in
the case of attempted violations as in the case of those
actually committed.

“Paragraph 3.

“(1) The summary courts of the police will be competent to pass
judgment.

“(2) The summary court of the Security Police may pass the
matter to the German Public Prosecution if there are special
reasons for doing so.

“Paragraph 4.

“The summary courts of the Security Police will consist of an
SS-Führer belonging to the office of the Commander of the
Security Police and Security Service and two members of the
office.

“Paragraph 5.

“(1) The following shall be recorded in writing: 1. The names of
the judges; 2. the names of those on whom sentence is passed; 3.
the evidence on which judgment was based; 4. the offense; 5. the
date on which the sentence was imposed; 6. the date on which the
sentence was put into effect.

“(2) In matters not covered by the above, the summary court of
the Security Police will decide upon its procedure after proper
consideration.

“Paragraph 6.

“Sentences passed by the summary court of the Security Police
will be put into effect without delay.

“Paragraph 7.

“In cases where an offense against Paragraphs 1 and 2 of this
decree also constitutes a further offense which must be dealt
with by the summary court, only those paragraphs of this decree
are applicable which relate to procedure.

“Paragraph 8.

“This decree will come into force on 10 October 1943.

“Kraków, 2 October 1943; The Governor General, Frank.”

In this manner, Point 1 of the first paragraph established one single punishment, that is, death, for practically any action of a “non-German,” regardless of whether such action was classified by the German overlords as constituting a breach of law or a violation of an administrative order. The same punishment was to be administered for any attempt at similar actions in which the police officials could include practically any actions or expressions of a suspected person—Paragraph 2 of the above-quoted document.

The defendant was deprived of any procedural rights and guarantees. The document which, in accordance with Paragraph 5, was to take the place of the court verdict was, as is evident from the series of questions which had to be recorded in writing, actually for the purpose of registering individual cases of summary justice and not for the purpose of finding justifiable bases for the application of punishment. Every possibility of cassation or appeal to the higher authorities was excluded. The verdict was to be carried out immediately.

And finally, even the “court” procedure itself, founded on Frank’s directives, was actually merely a mockery of justice. The court—and it seems to me the word “court” should be in quotation marks—consisted of three officials of the same SD which kept arresting innocent people on the streets of Polish towns and organizing wanton mass shootings of hostages.

How justified are the conclusions which are made by me on the basis of the aforementioned document, you will see from the text of another document submitted to the Tribunal as Exhibit Number USSR-332 (Document Number USSR-332). In the document file which is being submitted to the Court, is contained the original copy of the minutes of interrogation of the attorney, Stefan Korbonski. It also contains a translation of the document into Russian, which was certified by the members of the Polish Delegation. Stefan Korbonski lives in Warsaw and, according to information received from the Polish Delegation, should the Tribunal consider it necessary to call Korbonski for cross-examination, he can be brought to the Tribunal session.

I shall take the liberty to express in my own words the introductory part of the document. After having been sworn in Warsaw on 31 October 1945, Stefan Korbonski, who is a lawyer, was interrogated and testified that he was one of the leaders of resistance among the Polish people against the German invaders. This place can be found in the first paragraph of the text of the minutes. In the second half of the minutes the Tribunal will find a place in the document book on Page 98—and it goes on to Page 102—where Stefan Korbonski speaks of exactly the same directives of Frank’s which were read into the record by me just now. In Paragraph 1 of the interrogation minutes he states that in the beginning of October 1943 the Germans posted on the walls of the houses in Warsaw and other cities of the Government General the text of that particular order which was read into the record by me.

I continue the quotation to the end, omitting the first part on Page 99 in the document book which is in the possession of the Tribunal, because it seems to me that this document is very characteristic. I begin the quotation:

“Soon after the publication of this decree and quite
independently from the increasing number of executions performed
by the Germans in secret in what used to be the Warsaw ghetto,
in the Warsaw jail, which was called Paviac, the Germans began
to introduce public executions, that is, shooting of whole
groups of Poles ranging from 20 to 200 persons in each.

“These public executions were performed in various districts of
the city, in streets opened to normal traffic, which were
surrounded by the Gestapo guards immediately before the actual
executions, so that the Polish population caught within the
surrounding district would have to watch the executions either
in the streets, or from the windows of the houses situated right
behind the backs of the Gestapo men.

“During these executions the Germans shot either people from the
Paviac jail where they were confined after their arrest during
raids in the streets, or people caught immediately before the
actual execution. The number of these public executions, as well
as the number of persons executed each time, kept increasing
until it reached 200 persons who had to be shot at every
execution. These executions continued until the very beginning
of the Warsaw insurrection.

“At first the Germans transported the Poles to the place of
execution in covered trucks. They were clad in civilian clothes,
and sometimes their hands were tied behind their backs. However,
as the victims thus brought to the place of execution usually
shouted, ‘Down with Hitler,’ ‘Long live Poland,’ ‘Down with the
Germans,’ and similar things, the Germans took steps to prevent
the possibility of any such disturbances and began to fill their
mouths with cement, or seal their lips with adhesive tape. The
victims were brought from the Paviac clad in shirts, or in
clothes made out of paper.

“I often received information from our underground organization
through our agents who were working in the Paviac jail, that
shortly before the execution the Germans usually performed
operations on the condemned. They bled them and injected various
chemical substances to cause physical weakness, thus preventing
any attempts at escape or at resistance.

“This was the reason why the condemned were brought to the place
of execution pale, weak, and apathetic, and barely able to stand
on their feet. But even so, they acted as heroes and never
begged for mercy.

“The bodies of those who were shot were loaded into trucks by
other prisoners and were taken to a former ghetto, where they
were usually burned. The prisoners whose duty it was to
transport and to burn the corpses were mostly those confined in
the Paviac prison. It was their steady assignment.

“The Polish population immediately covered with flowers the
blood spots which were left on the ground. Lighted candles were
placed where the corpses previously had lain, and crosses and
ikons were hung on the surrounding walls. During the night
members of the underground organizations would put an
inscription in lacquer on the walls, such as ‘Glory to Heroes,’
‘Glory to those who perished for the fatherland,’ and so forth.

“When the Germans noticed these inscriptions they arrested all
those who happened to be on the spot and led them to the Paviac
prison. Sometimes the Germans shot at groups of people kneeling
and praying at the execution spots. Such an incident took place
on Senator Street where several people were shot at and quite a
few were wounded.

“After each public execution the Germans would put on the walls
of houses lists of the names of those who were just executed;
the names of hostages who would be shot in case the German
regulations were not obeyed were given below.

“In Warsaw alone the Germans shot several thousand Poles by
means of these public executions. This does not include the
victims who were shot in other towns. In the Kraków district
several thousand men were similarly shot.”

Thus was put into action Hans Frank’s directive which was already submitted by me to the Tribunal. In the light of Korbonski’s testimony it becomes clear why, on 16 December 1943, there appears in Frank’s diary. . . .

THE PRESIDENT: Shouldn’t that be 1942?

MR. COUNSELLOR SMIRNOV: The 16th of December 1943, Mr. President. One minute—I shall check that.

THE PRESIDENT: It reads “1942” in our document.

MR. COUNSELLOR SMIRNOV: Your Honor, evidently the translator put the wrong date into the text before you. I repeat that, in accordance with the text in my possession, this statement was made by Frank on 16 December 1943 at a government meeting in Kraków. If you will permit me I shall again verify the text of the quotation.

THE PRESIDENT: Well, in our statement of the document itself it is translated as 16 December 1942. Evidently it is wrong in one place or the other.

MR. COUNSELLOR SMIRNOV: In the testimony itself, in Paragraph 1, Korbonski mentions that in the beginning of December 1943 the Germans posted these lists on the walls of the houses. If the Tribunal will refer to the original of the document it will find “at the beginning of December 1943.”

THE PRESIDENT: I see, it is 1943. It was wrongly translated in the first place.

MR. COUNSELLOR SMIRNOV: Yes, 1943. May I continue?

THE PRESIDENT: Yes.

MR. COUNSELLOR SMIRNOV: Thank you, Sir. I shall speak of the change in the procedure of the executions. It was on the Polish territory that the criminal code introducing special rights for the “master race” and Draconic laws for the other nations whom the fascist “masters” considered completely vanquished, was put into practice for the first time.

The report of the Polish Government which had already been submitted to the International Military Tribunal by my colleagues as irrefutable evidence in accordance with Article 21 of the Charter gives a brief description of the regime of lawlessness and despotism which reigned in occupied Poland under the guise of special legislation.

To characterize this legislation I shall take the liberty, if Your Honors please, to refer to two excerpts from the report of the Government of the Polish Republic, which has already been presented to the Tribunal by my colleagues as Exhibit Number USSR-93 (Document Number USSR-93). I shall first read into the record a paragraph which will be found on Page 110 in the document file in possession of the Tribunal, the section dealing with “Germanization of the Polish Law.” It is the fourth paragraph after the heading, and I shall quote only two paragraphs of this section:

“In the Government General the machinery of justice was changed
particularly by a decree of 26 October 1939. It bears the
signature of Frank. (Encl. 2)

“Polish courts became subjected to supervision of German courts
established in the Government General. Their jurisdiction,
heavily curtailed, was confined to those cases only for which
the German courts had no competence. New ideas of law were
introduced. Punishment could be inflicted by intuition; the
accused deprived of the right to choose a counsel and to appeal.

“German law was introduced, and Polish law germanized.”

I omit the entire section of the report which deals with this subject and continue the quotation on Page 51 of the Russian text. The Tribunal will find it on Page 129 in the document book in the third paragraph of the text under “Judicial Murders.” That is Page 129, the third paragraph of the text. I begin the quotation:

“a) On 4 December 1941, Göring, Frick, and Lammers signed a
decree referred to above which virtually outlawed all Poles and
Jews in the incorporated Polish territories. The decree made
Poles and Jews a different and second-rank group of citizens. It
meant that Poles and Jews were obliged to obey the Reich
unconditionally; but on the other hand, as second-class citizens
they were not entitled to the protection given by law to
others.”

I omit one paragraph and I continue the quotation of the part which deals with the application of death sentences. It begins this way:

“Death sentences could be passed in the following cases:

“1. For removing or publicly damaging posters set up by the
German authorities.

“2. For acts of violence against members of the German forces.

“3. For lowering the dignity of the Reich or harming its
interests.

“4. For damaging furniture to be used by the German authorities.

“5. For damaging things intended for the work or public order.

“6. For causing disobedience to regulations and orders issued by
German authorities—and several other cases which in fact
justified imprisonment for a short period at the most.”

I shall omit one passage and I shall limit my quotation to the following two paragraphs:

“b) No Pole”—stated the official Nazi instruction—“was allowed
to approach a German woman to stain the noble blood of the
Herrenvolk. Those who dared to do it or even those who did not
get beyond the stage of attempting to do so, were inevitably
facing death. But it was not only a court but the German court
which was called upon to pass sentence in these cases. It was
found superfluous to arrange trials—a simple order of the
police proved sufficient to deprive people of their life.”

I conclude this quotation and pass on to a subject which in my opinion is very correctly referred to as the “Judicial Terror of the German Fascists in Czechoslovakia” in the report of the Czechoslovak Government. In this country we can systematically follow the ever-increasing destruction by the Hitlerites of all the accepted moral and legal standards.

The report of the Czechoslovak Government, already submitted to the Tribunal by my colleagues as Exhibit Number USSR-60, describes this process in detail, beginning with the so-called “people’s courts,” up to the organization of the so-called “Standgerichte.” I do not know what would be a correct translation of this term, so I shall use the term “Standgerichte” throughout. They are already familiar to us as organs of the Nazi arbitrary rule in Poland.

This process of the deterioration or rather collapse of the entire judicial system under the fascist rule is described in the report in great detail; I shall quote only a few short excerpts. I shall begin my quotation on Page 162 of the document book in the possession of the Tribunal, the last paragraph. I begin:

“The power to proclaim a state of emergency was applied not
later than 28 September 1941. In accordance with a decree issued
on the same date and signed by Heydrich, a state of civil
emergency was proclaimed in the ‘Oberlandrat’ district in
Prague; and, a few days later, in the remaining parts of the
protectorate. ‘Standgerichte,’ which were set up immediately,
were active during the entire period and pronounced 778 death
sentences. All were executed and 1,000 people were turned over
to the Gestapo, that is, sent to concentration camps.”

I omit the end of the paragraph, and I quote the following paragraph:

“The only directive as to the administration, organization, and
rules of procedure at the ‘Standgerichte’ is contained in the
decree of 27 September 1941.”

I omit the rest of the paragraph and I continue the quotation on Page 163, fifth paragraph of the book of documents.

“The decree does not indicate as to who may fill the position of
judge in Standgerichte, whether the judges should be
professional people or laymen, and whether the sentences are to
be pronounced by a jury or by the judge alone. The decree merely
states Standgerichte may be set up by the Reich Protector; he is
competent to choose people who are to perform the duties of a
judge.”

I omit the rest and continue the quotation on Page 163 of the book of documents, the last paragraph:

“On the basis of the information that we have at hand at present
the judges at the Standgerichte were professional judges only in
exceptional cases.

“The most important attribute was political reliability. This is
the reason why the judges were, one could almost say without
exception, members and executives of the NSDAP or other National
Socialist organizations; that is, people who with rare
exceptions, possessed not the slightest knowledge of law and had
no experience in criminal trials.”

I omit the following excerpts and continue the quotation on Page 166 of the document book, at the beginning of the last paragraph; from there I go on to Page 167:

“Standgerichte were never held publicly. Inasmuch as the public
was excluded from the preliminary investigations of the
Standgerichte, the very existence of this tribunal increased the
feeling of insecurity under the prevalent law. There was no
appeal against sentences passed by Standgerichte. The records of
the investigations of the Standgerichte contain only lists of
names of the judges, defendants, and witnesses as well as
descriptions of the crimes and the dates of the sentences
(Section 4, Paragraph 2, of the decree). Directives permitting
and even encouraging such meager records can have only one
aim—to prevent any control and to keep secret everything that
took place during the investigation, thus covering up all the
traces of what had been done.

“According to Section 4, Paragraph 1, of the directive, the
Standgerichte could only pass death sentences or turn over the
defendants to the Gestapo.”

I omit the following paragraphs containing certain general comments on the same matter and continue my quotation on Page 168, the first paragraph:

“Sentences passed by the Standgerichte must be carried out
immediately. (Section 4, Paragraph 3, of the decree). Numerous
examples demonstrate that this brutal National Socialist
legislation was never toned down. At the end of the so-called
trial, it was left to the judges to decide whether the condemned
should be shot or hanged. (Section 4, Paragraph 3, of the
decree). The condemned person was not granted even a short
respite to prepare for death. There was not even a question in
the decree about a reprieve. In any case, the brutal haste with
which the sentence was carried out, made any reprieve
impossible.”

I conclude this excerpt, as well as the entire section devoted to the terrorist legislation of the Hitlerites in Czechoslovakia, with a quotation from Page 169, the fourth line from the top, and further. It is stated there:

“It is quite evident that the Standgerichte did not possess the
characteristics which, in accordance with the general opinion,
are those of a tribunal and that the trials of the Standgerichte
in reality violated all the principles which should be observed
in the legislations of all civilized people. Standgerichte
cannot be called tribunals and its court examination cannot be
called a trial and a decision. I think the proper term would be
‘verdict.’

“The executions resulting from the verdicts of the Standgerichte
differ in no way from executions performed without trial. They
should be classified as murders.

“It is impossible to find in the regulations which determined
the methods of procedure of the Standgerichte even a trace of
humanity. For instance, the rule which imposed immediate
execution and accorded practically no time to the condemned to
prepare for death, is a form of cruelty which, just as the
entire institution of the Standgerichte, had as its aim the
terrorization of the population.”

I shall conclude the quotation with this excerpt, and I shall take the liberty of remarking that the institution of the Standgerichte did not countermand or exclude simple police sentences passed by means of a procedure similar to the one which was established by Frank in Poland.

It seems to me that all the laws which were cited by me above testify to the fact that the Hitlerites tried to turn the legislation, intended to punish crimes, into one which commits crimes. This is the sole purpose why their “laws” were created.

If Your Honors please, I shall now turn to the terroristic laws and directives of Hitlerite criminals which were issued for the civilian population of the Soviet Union.

Having started the criminal war against the U.S.S.R., the German fascist gang of bandits considered even these laws and “legal” principles especially created for the justification of their crimes, insufficient.

Most of these documents had already been submitted to the Tribunal and I shall confine myself to some very brief quotations. With the Tribunal’s permission I shall read only three lines from a previously submitted document. I am referring to Document Number L-221 submitted to the Tribunal by the United States Prosecution. It contains a brusque reply made by Hitler to Göring at a meeting on 16 July 1941. The Tribunal will find the place on Page 189 in the document file in the first paragraph, first line.

THE PRESIDENT: That document has been read already.

MR. COUNSELLOR SMIRNOV: Yes, Your Honor. I shall take the liberty of quoting only three lines of this document.

THE PRESIDENT: Well, go on; but I think that the rest of the page which you are reading is all comments, and you could go straight on to the next document. Read these three lines and then I think you will find. . . .

MR. COUNSELLOR SMIRNOV: This is not quite correct, but I shall now quote those three lines. Hitler said, “The gigantic territory must be quieted as soon as possible.” I am quoting from the next sentence, where Hitler said, “The best way to attain this objective is to shoot everyone, even those who only cast an ugly look.” I am citing these lines because they are the “Leitmotiv” which passes in all the directives and orders of Hitlerites.

THE PRESIDENT: Now, what I am suggesting to you is that the rest of the page which you are now passing in our translation is quite unnecessary to read and you can go straight on, at any rate, to the directive of Keitel of the 16th of September 1941.

MR. COUNSELLOR SMIRNOV: All right, Mr. President. May I continue?

THE PRESIDENT: Yes.

MR. COUNSELLOR SMIRNOV: I quote a directive of Keitel. This directive was submitted to the Tribunal by the United States Prosecution under Document Number C-148 (Exhibit Number USA-555). I quote, on Page 190 of your document book, Paragraph 3, Line 4.

“One must bear in mind that human life in the countries
concerned is often of no value whatever, and that intimidating
reaction is only possible in the form of application of
extraordinary hardness.”

I am further presenting to the Tribunal a photostat of the document which was already submitted as Document Number 459-PS. I shall not quote a single excerpt from it; but I shall take the liberty to remind the Tribunal that point 6 of this document states that any sort of resistance will be broken, not by means of juridical punishment, but if the occupying authorities will succeed in instilling in the population a fear which is the only thing capable, as it is said in the directive, “of depriving the population of any will to resist.”

I take the liberty to confirm this by quoting very briefly just two lines from the directive of the Commander of the 6th Army, General Field Marshal Von Reichenau, which was already presented to the Tribunal by my colleague as Exhibit Number USSR-12 (Document Number USSR-12). The Tribunal will find it on Page 194 of the document book, Line 19 from the top. It is said there, “The fear of German countermeasures must be stronger than the threats from Bolshevist remnants still wandering around.”

I wanted to read into the record one document which bears the seal of the pseudo-legal argumentation of Hans Frank and which is so characteristic of his ordinances and directives. It has been pointed out that this document had already been presented to the Tribunal and I do not wish to retain the attention of the Tribunal on a document which had already been read during a Tribunal session. I am referring to the circular order of the Reich Security Main Office, Number 567-42-176, dated 5 November 1942. It develops that this document has already been presented by the American colleagues as Document Number L-316. I just wish to remind the Tribunal that this document states that even the principles used for determining the activities of non-Germans should be different and that any actions of a non-German should be examined not from the point of view of justice but exclusively from the point of view of prevention. I think that this document is well known to the Tribunal and I shall refrain from quoting it.

Thus in those territories of the occupied countries where the SS followed in the footsteps of the aggressors’ troops, the peaceful population was abandoned to the arbitrary will of the specially trained and fierce representatives of the police forces of German fascism.

I shall take the liberty, while presenting the photostat of the document previously submitted to the Tribunal as Document Number 447-PS, to quote only one line of this document, which the Tribunal will find on Page 197 of the document book, fifth paragraph, after the heading, “The Region of the Operations.” It deals with the special powers of the Reichsführer SS and indicates that “within the scope of these assignments the Reichsführer SS shall act independently and under his own responsibility.”

It is well known what the Reichsführer SS really was. Of the many statements of Himmler, I shall limit myself to only one quotation which is, however, rather characteristic as a leading directive to the responsible officials of the SS who were subordinated to Himmler. On 4 October 1943 at the conference of the SS Gruppenführer at Posen, Himmler said—this document was submitted to the Tribunal by the United States Prosecution as Document Number 1919-PS and was read into the record on 19 December 1945. I shall quote six lines from Page 23 of the photostat of this document. The Tribunal will find the document on Page 201 in the document book. There figures a short quotation.

THE PRESIDENT: The Tribunal feels that if a document has already been read, it should not be read again.

MR. COUNSELLOR SMIRNOV: It seems to me that this particular excerpt was not read into the record. The document was submitted on 19 December 1945 as Document Number 1919-PS. But this particular excerpt which I wish to quote now, was not read into the record of the Tribunal. It contains only six lines.

THE PRESIDENT: Well, of course, if you have verified that and can state that with certainty, then you can certainly read it.

MR. COUNSELLOR SMIRNOV: I perused the transcript and could not find this excerpt. Therefore it seems to me that it was not read into the record. I shall confine myself literally to six lines. The question at present is only a matter of six lines.

THE PRESIDENT: Well, you better go on and quote it then because these interruptions take up a very long time.

MR. COUNSELLOR SMIRNOV: I begin the quotation:

“Whether other nations live in prosperity or starve to death
interests me only insofar as we need them as slaves for our
culture. Otherwise I am not interested. I am not interested
whether 10,000 Russian females die of exhaustion while digging
an antitank ditch, as long as the antitank ditch for Germany is
finished.”

A document was already submitted to the Tribunal which establishes that the legalization of mass murders and extermination of the peaceful population of the Soviet Union carried out by the Army with a view to terrorizing the population was begun by Hitler and his clique as early as 13 May 1941, that is, over a month before the beginning of the war. In this case I refer to a directive already well known to the Tribunal. This directive emanates from Keitel and is entitled, “Application of Military Jurisdiction in the Barbarossa Region and Special Army Measures.” This document was already read into the record as Exhibit Number C-50 by the United States Prosecution on 7 January 1946. I shall not quote this document because I think that it is well known to the Tribunal. I merely wish to remind the Tribunal that this document categorically denies the necessity for establishing guilt; suspicion alone was sufficient for the application of a death sentence. An official system of group responsibility and mass repressions was set up. Furthermore, it was stated that the “suspect” should be exterminated in any case. This is plainly said in Paragraph 5 of the first section of the directive.

THE PRESIDENT: We better adjourn now.

[_The Tribunal recessed until 1400 hours._]

_Afternoon Session_

MR. COUNSELLOR SMIRNOV: In accordance with your instructions, Mr. President, I omit the following documents to which I wished to refer and which have already been submitted to the Tribunal—Document 654-PS, for instance.

I now proceed to the next document, which was submitted to the Tribunal yesterday by my colleague, Colonel Pokrovsky, as Exhibit Number USSR-3. It is the report of the Extraordinary State Commission of the Soviet Union, entitled, “Directives and Orders of the Hitlerite Government and the German Military Command Regarding the Extermination of the Soviet People.”

My colleague read into the record yesterday a short excerpt from the fourth part of this document concerning the carrying out of mass executions, the so-called executions in camps, where both peaceful citizens and prisoners of war were interned. As this section has already been read into the record, I omit it and proceed to other sections of this report, dealing with the organization by the German fascist criminals, from the very first days of the war with the Soviet Union, of the so-called Sonderkommandos (special task forces).

The document which I am quoting refers to the organization of Sonderkommandos in the camps where prisoners of war and peaceful citizens were interned. I quote this excerpt because the term “Sonderkommando” acquired in the early days of the war a terrible meaning among the civilian population of the temporarily occupied territories of the Soviet Union. It was one of the most cruel and most brutal organizations ever created by the German fascists for the wholesale slaughter of human beings.

I request the Tribunal to revert to Page 207 of the document book, Column 1 of the text. I begin the quotation:

“It is evident, from the documents discovered, that even before
the attack on the U.S.S.R. Hitler’s butchers had compiled lists
and index files and collected the necessary information about
such leading Soviet workers as their bloodthirsty plans had
doomed to extermination. In this manner they prepared the
following: ‘Special Index Files for the U.S.S.R.,’ ‘The German
Index File,’ ‘Lists for Establishing Domiciles,’ and other index
files and lists of the same kind which would facilitate the work
of the Hitlerite murderers in the extermination of progressive
circles within the population of the U.S.S.R.

“However, the document entitled, ‘Appendix Number 2 to
Operational Order Number 8 of the Chief of the Sipo and the SD,
Berlin,’ dated 17 July 1941 and signed by Heydrich, who was at
that time acting as Himmler’s deputy, emphasizes the lack of
such lists and index files and stresses the importance of not
hampering the initiative of those who perpetrated the murders.
The document states:

“‘There is no possibility of lending any assistance to the
Kommandos for the realization of your plans. The “German Index
File,” “Lists for Establishing Domiciles,” and “Special Index
Files for the U.S.S.R.” will only prove useful in a few cases.
The “Special Index Files for the U.S.S.R.” are therefore
insufficient, as only an insignificant number of Soviet Russian
nationals, considered as dangerous, have been entered in these
files.’”

I omit one paragraph and continue:

“For the realization of their criminal plans the German invaders
created Sonderkommandos, both in the transient and permanent
camps for prisoners of war, on German territory, in the
so-called Polish Government General, and in the temporarily
occupied territory of the Soviet Union.”

I further omit seven paragraphs and continue the quotation on Page 207 of the document book, Paragraph 6, Column 2 of the text:

“The procedure in the formation of the Sonderkommando is
described in Appendix Number 1 to Operational Order Number 14 of
the Chief of the Sipo and SD, marked state top secret, Copy
Number 15, dated Berlin, 29 October 1941.

“The formation of the Sonderkommandos of the Sipo and SD is
carried out in accordance with the agreement of 7 October 1941,
reached between the Chief of the Sipo and the SD on the one hand
and the OKW on the other hand.

“By virtue of special powers the Kommandos will act
independently in conformity with general directives, within the
scope of the camp regulations. The Kommandos, of course,
maintain close contact with the camp commandants and the
officers of the Intelligence Service.”

I omit the following text and continue the quotation from Page 208 of the document book, Paragraph 1. The Tribunal will observe how much the Reich leadership extended the installation of these highly dangerous police organizations. The Sonderkommandos were organized all the way from the town of Krasnogvardeisk—a suburb of Leningrad—to the town of Nikolaiev on the Black Sea. I now continue with my quotation:

“The order of the Chief of the Sipo and SD of 29 October 1941,
regarding the organization of the Sonderkommandos, was sent to
the operational groups in Krasnogvardeisk, Smolensk, Kiev, and
Nikolaiev, and for information to Riga, Moghilev, and Krivoy
Rog.”

I would also point out that during their attack on Moscow the Hitlerites organized in Smolensk a special Sonderkommando Moscow, entrusted with the task of mass-murdering the Moscow citizens.

Mention has previously been made of the wide range of authoritative power granted to the Sonderkommando. In the document which I am quoting it is said:

“The tasks of the Sonderkommandos are outlined in the
operational directives attached to Decree Number 8 of the Chief
of the Sipo and SD, dated Berlin, 17 July 1941, which, under the
pretext of a screening of civilians and suspected prisoners of
war captured in the Eastern campaign indicate that:

“The special nature of the Eastern campaign calls for special
measures, to be carried out on personal responsibility beyond
the range of any bureaucratic influences.”

I omit the next extract from this document, since it is merely a repetition of the basic rules which I have already read into the record.

Having launched their criminal war, the Hitlerites directed it towards a mass extermination of the peaceful citizens of the Soviet Union and the countries of Eastern Europe. I have already read into the record several documents depicting the character of the Hitlerite murderers and the nature of their crimes. The latter consisted in the formation of large criminal units, specially trained by the leaders of the Hitlerite gang. It will, however, be clear to any criminologist that it is not sufficient to create these foul and criminal gangs—it is essential that once the crime has been perpetrated the criminal should feel that he has acted with complete impunity. In order that the crimes envisaged by the major criminals be fulfilled in their monstrous entirety, it became necessary to create for the minor criminals an atmosphere of complete impunity. In accordance with your wishes, Mr. President, I shall not quote the document previously read into the record as Number C-50 by the United States Prosecution, entitled, “Instructions Governing the Application of Martial Law and Special Measures To Be Adopted by the Army in the Barbarossa Area.” But it appears to me that the contents of this document should be firmly borne in mind, for unless the meaning of this document is clearly understood it is quite impossible to envisage the series of wholesale crimes perpetrated by the Hitlerite criminals on the territory of the Soviet Union.

This order, signed by Keitel, though issued in Hitler’s name, was accepted by all the soldiers and all the officers of the fascist army as a personal order from Hitler. What conclusions the German soldiery drew from this order of Keitel’s is confirmed by a communication of the Extraordinary State Commission, to which I shall now refer. It deals with the atrocities committed in the city of Minsk by the German fascist invaders.

I submit this document to the Tribunal as Exhibit Number USSR-38 (Document Number USSR-38). It contains an excerpt from the testimony of the president of the military tribunal of the 267th German Rifle Division, Captain Julius Reichhof. I would ask the Tribunal to turn to Page 215 of the document book, to Column 1 of the text. I quote from the communication of the Extraordinary State Commission on the subject of Julius Reichhof’s testimony:

“According to an order issued by Hitler, German soldiers could
not be committed to trial by court-martial for acts committed
against Soviet citizens. The soldier could be punished only by
the commander of his own unit, should the latter deem the
punishment necessary. By the same order Hitler granted even more
extensive rights to all German Army officers. They could destroy
the Russian population according to their own discretion.

“The commander had full right to apply punitive measures to the
peaceful population: He was allowed to burn down, _in toto_,
villages and towns, rob the population of supplies and
livestock, and, on his own responsibility, deport Soviet
citizens to Germany for slave labor. Hitler’s order was brought
to the attention of every single soldier of the German Army on
the eve of the attack on the Soviet Union. In accordance with
Hitler’s order, the German soldiers, under the leadership of
their officers, committed all sorts of atrocities.”

But even this appeared insufficient to the Hitlerite leaders. In 1942 they considered it necessary to reconfirm, by a sharp directive brooking no exception, that any crime perpetrated by the German fascist soldiery against the peaceful citizens of the Soviet Union should go completely unpunished. The Reich and military leaders particularly emphasized the fact that atrocities committed should so remain unpunished, even if the victims of these atrocities happened to be women and children.

THE PRESIDENT: What was the reference to what you called “sharp directive”?

MR. COUNSELLOR SMIRNOV: I will at once submit to the Tribunal this directive as Exhibit Number USSR-16 (Document Number USSR-16). It is a photostatic copy of the document certified by the Extraordinary State Commission. The Tribunal will find the text of this directive on Page 219 of the document book. This directive is signed by Keitel and entitled “The Combating of Guerrillas.” The document is dated 16 December 1942. I will quote this document practically in full, starting with the title.

“Subject: The Combating of Guerillas; top secret.

“The Führer has been informed that certain members of the
Wehrmacht who took part in the struggle against the guerilla
bandits were later called to account for their behavior while
fighting.”

My colleague, Colonel Pokrovsky, Mr. President, explained to the Tribunal yesterday that any resistance movement on the part of the peaceful population was termed “banditry.” I will therefore not detain the Tribunal’s attention any longer in an attempt to decode this German fascist term.

“In this connection the Führer ordered. . . .”

I omit one paragraph and continue the quotation, Page 219 of the document book:

“If the repression of the guerillas in the East, as well as in
the Balkans, is not pursued with the most brutal means, it will
not be long before the forces at our disposal will prove
insufficient to exterminate this plague.

“The troops therefore have the right and the duty to use, in
this struggle, any and unlimited means, even against women and
children, if only conducive to success.”

I emphasize that the directive mentions all possible means of retribution against women and children. I continue to quote:

“Scruples of any sort whatsoever are a crime against the German
people and against the front-line soldier who bears the
consequences of attacks by guerillas and who has no
comprehension for any regard shown to the guerillas or their
associates.

“These principles must serve as a basis for using the ‘Directive
for Combating Guerillas in the East.’

“2. No German participating in combat action against guerillas
or their associates is to be held responsible for acts of
violence either from a disciplinary or a judicial point of view.

“Commanders of troops engaged in combat action against the bands
are obliged to see to it that all officers of units under their
command be immediately and thoroughly notified of this order,
that their legal advisers be immediately acquainted therewith,
and that no judgments be passed which are in contradiction to
this order.

“Signed, Keitel.”

I hereby conclude the presentation of the documents referring to the first two sections of the list read into the record at the opening of the report. The materials which I have hitherto submitted to the Tribunal were to prove three facts:

1. Direct instigation, by the major criminals, to the perpetration of appalling crimes against wide circles of the peaceful population, by the German Armed Forces.

2. Special education by the Hitler leadership of mass criminal units for the practical realization of its plans for the extermination of peoples.

3. General unleashing of the criminals’ basest instincts in an atmosphere of complete impunity for the perpetrators of the crimes.

These purposes were fully achieved by the major war criminals. The Hitlerites committed crimes against the peaceful populations in the occupied territories of the Soviet Union and in the Eastern occupied countries which, in their extent, in the cruelty of the methods applied, as well as in the cynicism and brutality of purpose of the organizers and perpetrators of the crimes, are without precedent in the history of the world.

I should like to submit evidence which characterizes the extent and the methods of these crimes of the German fascists. I should like to show exactly what Keitel’s order for the “pacification” of the occupied territories meant in the lives of the peaceful population.

The introduction of this regime of terror was the first sign of the arrival of the fascist authorities, whether military or civilian, in the territory of the U.S.S.R. or of other Eastern European countries. Moreover, this regime of terror was not exclusively confined to more savage forms of brutality. It also assumed the form of shameless outrages perpetrated against the honor and dignity of the victims of the German fascists. At the same time the terrorists primarily vented their misdeeds on the heads of such citizens whom they considered politically active and most capable of resisting them.

In confirmation of this fact I refer to a document which I have previously presented to the Tribunal as Exhibit Number USSR-6 (Document Number USSR-6), which is a report of the Extraordinary State Commission on “Crimes Committed by the Germans in the Territory of the Lvov Region.” The Tribunal will find the passage to which I am referring on Page 58 of the document book, in the first column of the text, in the last paragraph. I begin the quotation:

“Even before the seizure of Lvov the Gestapo detachments had at
their disposal, pursuant to an order by the German Government,
lists of the most prominent representatives of the
Intelligentsia doomed _a priori_ to annihilation. Mass arrests
and executions began immediately after the seizure of Lvov. The
Gestapo arrested a member of the Union of Soviet Authors, an
author of numerous literary works, Professor Thaddeus
Boi-Dhelensky, a professor of the Medical Institute; Roman
Renzky, the principal of the University; Vladimir Seradsky,
Professor of Forensic Medicine; Roman Longchamp de Berrier,
Doctor of Juridical Science, together with his three sons,
Professor Thaddeus Ostrovsky, Professor Jan Grek, and Professor
of Surgery Heinrich Gilyarovich. . . .”

There follows a long list containing 31 names of outstanding intellectuals of the city of Lvov. I omit the enumeration of their names and continue quoting from the next paragraph:

“Groer, a professor of the Medical Institute at Lvov, who
fortuitously escaped death, has told the Commission what
follows:

“‘When I was arrested at midnight of 3 July 1941 and placed in a
truck, I met Professors Grek, Boi-Dhelensky, and others. We were
taken to the hostel of the Abragamovitch Theological College.
While we were led along the corridor the members of the Gestapo
jeered at us, hitting us with rifle butts, pulling our hair, and
hitting us over the head. . . . Later on I saw, from the hostel
of the Abragamovitch Theological College, the Germans leading
five professors under escort, four of whom were carrying the
blood-bespattered body of the son of the famous surgeon Rouff,
murdered by the Germans during his interrogation. Young Rouff,
too, had been a specialist. The entire group of professors were
taken under escort to the Kadetsky Heights, and 15 to 20 minutes
later I heard rifle fire from the direction in which the
professors were taken.’”

In order to humiliate dignity, the Germans resorted to the most refined methods of torture and then shot their victims. Goldsman, an inhabitant of Lvov, has testified before the special commission that he personally saw how, in July 1941:

“Twenty people, including four professors, lawyers, and
physicians, were brought by the SS into the courtyard of House
Number 8, on Artishevsky Street. One of them I know by name,
Doctor of Juridical Science Krebs. Among them were five or six
women. The SS forced them to wash the stairs leading from the
seven entrances to the four-story house, with their tongues and
lips. After those stairways were washed, the same people were
forced to collect garbage in the courtyard with their lips. All
garbage had to be transferred to one place in the
courtyard. . . .”

I omit the end of this paragraph and continue from the next paragraph:

“The fascist invaders carefully concealed the extermination of
the intelligentsia. To repeated requests of relatives and
friends concerning the fate of these men of science, the Germans
replied, ‘Nothing is known.’

“In the autumn of 1943, on the order of Reich Minister Himmler,
the Gestapo men burned the bodies of the murdered professors.
Mandel and Korn, former internees of the Yanovsky Camp, who
dealt with the exhumation of the bodies, have told the
Commission the following:

“‘During the night of 5 October 1943, acting on orders from the
Gestapo, we opened a pit between Kadetskaya and Bouletskaya
streets by the light of searchlights and took from it 35 bodies.
We burned all these corpses.

“‘While lifting the corpses from the pit we found the documents
of Professor Ostrovsky, of Otoshek, Doctor of Natural Science,
and of Kasimir Bartel, Professor of the Polytechnical
Institute.’

“The investigation established that during the first few months
of the occupation the Germans arrested or killed more than 70 of
the most prominent scientists, technologists, and artists in the
city of Lvov.”

What I have just said does not in any way infer that the leaders of local organizations and representatives of the intelligentsia alone were victims of the fascist terror. I only wanted to make it clear that the fascist terror was directed in the first instance against these people.

But one of the characteristic features of Hitlerite terrorism was the fact that it was decreed by the German fascist leaders and materialized by the executioners as a general reign of terror.

To confirm this I refer to a document previously submitted to the Tribunal but not read into the record. It is Document Number USSR-63, which is a report of the Extraordinary State Commission for the investigation of German atrocities in the town of Kerch.

Kerch is a comparatively small town. It is separated from Lvov by many hundred of kilometers. Although the German invaders arrived in Lvov in the beginning of July 1941, they only reached Kerch in November. In January 1942 they had already been driven out by Red Army units.

Thus, the entire period of the first occupation of the city of Kerch—the city of Kerch has been occupied two times—by the Germans was short-lived and did not last more than 2 months. But here are the crimes perpetrated by the German fascists in this town. I begin the quotation. The Tribunal will find the passage in question on Page 227 of the document book, Column 2, Paragraph 5:

“After capturing the city in November 1941, the Hitlerites
immediately issued an order to the following effect:

“The inhabitants of Kerch are ordered to deliver all family food
stocks to the German Kommandos. Owners of undelivered and
detected supplies will be shot.

“By the next order, Number 2, the town council ordered the
inhabitants to register immediately all hens, roosters, ducks,
chickens, turkeys, geese, sheep, cows, calves, and cattle.
Poultry owners were strictly prohibited from using fowl and
cattle for their own needs without special permission of the
German commandant. After the publication of these orders a
wholesale search of all apartments and houses began.

“The members of the Gestapo behaved outrageously. For each
kilogram of beans or flour discovered in excess, the head of the
family was shot.

“The Germans initiated their monstrous atrocities by poisoning
245 children of school age.”

Later on you will see the small bodies of these children in our documentary film. The infants’ bodies were thrown into the city moat.

“According to instructions issued by the German commandant, all
the school children were ordered to appear at the school at a
given time. On arrival, the 245 children, school books in hand,
were sent to a factory school outside the town, allegedly for a
walk. There the cold and hungry infants were offered coffee and
poisoned pies. Since there was not enough coffee to go round,
those who did not get any were sent to the infirmary where a
German orderly smeared their lips with a quick-acting poison. In
a few minutes all the children were dead. School children of the
higher grades were carried off in trucks and shot down by
machine gun fire 8 kilometers outside of the town. The bodies of
the first batch of murdered children were brought to the same
spot—a very large, very long, antitank trench.”

I continue the quotation:

“On the evening of 28 November 1941 an order, Number 4, of the
Gestapo was posted in the town. In compliance with this order
the inhabitants who had been previously registered with the
Gestapo were to present themselves on 29 November between 0800
and 1200 hours at the Sennaya Square, with a 3 days’ supply of
food. All the men and women were to appear, regardless of their
age or state of health. Those who did not present themselves
were threatened with public execution. Those who arrived at the
square on 29 November were persuaded that they had been summoned
in order to be sent to work. At noon over 7,000 people assembled
in the square. There were young boys, young girls, children of
all ages, very old men, and pregnant women. All were transferred
to the city prison by the men of the Gestapo. This monstrous
extermination of the peaceful population in the prison was
carried out by the Germans according to a previously formulated
plan of the Gestapo. First of all, the prisoners were asked to
hand over the keys of their apartments and to give their exact
addresses to the prison commandant. Then all the valuables were
taken from the arrested people, including watches, rings, and
ornaments. In spite of the cold, boots, felt-boots, shoes,
costumes, and coats were removed from all the persons
incarcerated. Many women and girls in their teens were separated
from the rest of the internees by the fascist blackguards and
locked in separate cells, where the unfortunate creatures were
subjected to particularly outrageous forms of torture. They were
raped, their breasts cut off, their stomachs ripped open, their
feet and hands cut off, and their eyes gouged out.

“After the Germans had been thrown out of Kerch, on 30 December
1941, Red Army soldiers discovered, in the prison yard, a
formless mass of bodies of young girls, naked, mutilated, and
unrecognizable, who had been savagely and cynically tortured to
death by the fascists.

“As a site for the mass execution, the Hitlerites selected an
antitank ditch near the village of Baguerovsko where for 3 days
on end autobuses brought entire families which had been
condemned to death.