Chapter VI: Front Matter (6)

“Typical for thousands of such cases is the destruction of
Belgrade and extermination of its citizens in October 1944.

“The fights for the liberation of Belgrade lasted from 15 to 20
October 1944. Even before the fighting started, the Germans
prepared a plan for the systematic destruction of the city. They
sent into the city a large number of specially trained units
whose duties consisted of mining houses and killing the
population. Though, because of the swift advance of the Red Army
and of the Yugoslav National Liberation Forces, they failed to
carry out their task as ordered by the German commanders, they
succeeded in destroying a large number of houses in the southern
part of the city and in killing a considerable number of its
inhabitants.

“To a still greater extent, this happened in the northern part
of the city, on the Rivers Sava and Danube. The Germans went
from house to house, herded the inhabitants, unclothed and
unshod, into the streets, sprayed inflammable chemical
explosives into every apartment, and set fire to all the
buildings. If a house happened to be made of a very solid
material, they mined it. They fired at the inhabitants, killing
defenseless people; in several large houses the inhabitants were
locked in, and were destroyed by fire and by mine explosions.
The entire damage thus caused in the city of Belgrade totals the
sum of 1,127,129,069 dinars at prewar value.”

Thus, the destruction of Belgrade was prescribed by Hitler’s order of 27 March 1941 and was carried out on direct orders of the Defendant Göring; in October 1944 it was carried out by the same methods as those employed by the Hitlerites in the occupied territories of the U.S.S.R.

I shall now present evidence of the intentional and unexampled destruction by the Hitlerites of the capital of the Polish nation, Warsaw.

I shall quote three documents which reveal the criminal intentions of the fascist conspirators to raze this city. As the first document, Exhibit Number USSR-128 (Document Number USSR-128), I present to the Tribunal a telegram Number 13265, addressed to the Defendant Frank, and signed by the Governor of the Warsaw District, Dr. Fischer. This document can be found on Page 148 of the document book. I read into the record the text of this telegram:

“To the Governor General and Reich Minister, Dr. Frank, at
Kraków.

“Warsaw, Number 13265; 11. X. 44; 10.40, HE.

“Subject: New Policy with Regard to Poland.

“As a result of the visit of SS Obergruppenführer Von dem Bach
to the Reichsführer SS, I wish to inform you of the following:

“. . . 2) Obergruppenführer Von dem Bach again received an order
to pacify Warsaw—that is, to raze Warsaw to the ground while
the war is still on, if there is nothing against this from the
military point of view (construction of fortresses). Prior to
destruction, all raw materials, textiles, and furniture should
be taken out of Warsaw. The main role in performing this task
should be assumed by the civilian administration.

“I am informing you of these facts because this new order of the
Führer regarding the destruction of Warsaw is of the greatest
importance for the future policy toward Poland.

“The Governor of the Warsaw District, temporarily at Sochaczew,
signed: Dr. Fischer.”

Von dem Bach, mentioned in the telegram just read into the record, is already known to you, Your Honors; he testified in the afternoon session of the Tribunal on 7 January.

How SS Obergruppenführer Von dem Bach carried out Hitler’s order regarding the destruction of Warsaw can be seen from the written evidence given by him on oath on 28 January 1946, during his interrogation by the Public Prosecutor of the Polish Republic, M. Savitzky.

I present to the Court the original record of the interrogation in German, duly signed by Von dem Bach. I shall read two extracts from this record. . .

[_Dr. Seidl approached the lectern._]

THE PRESIDENT: We will hear the objection.

DR. ALFRED SEIDL (Counsel for Defendant Frank): I object to the reading of the interrogation of the witness Von dem Bach-Zelewski. The witness was heard before the Court, and it would have been possible at that time to hear the witness about the matter of the interrogation right here before the Court.

Should the Soviet Prosecution not wish to forgo the presentation of this material, then I request that the witness, Von dem Bach-Zelewski, who is still here in Nuremberg, be summoned before the Tribunal again, so that the Defense may have an opportunity to cross-examine the witness.

THE PRESIDENT: General Raginsky, do you want to say anything?

MR. COUNSELLOR RAGINSKY: Mr. President, this record of the interrogation of Von dem Bach-Zelewski was given under oath, and it was presented to the Soviet Delegation by the representatives of the Polish Government. The record of the interrogation is formulated according to the laws of procedure and was given under oath. Therefore, we consider it imperative and possible to present it to the Tribunal without calling Von dem Bach-Zelewski for a second interrogation before the Tribunal. If the Tribunal decides that the testimony of Bach-Zelewski cannot be read into the record without his being called again before the Tribunal, then, in the interests of expediting the Trial, and in order not to protract the presentation of our evidence, we agree not to read this testimony into the record inasmuch as evidence regarding these facts is contained in other documents which I shall later present to the Tribunal.

THE PRESIDENT: May I ask you then, General: If the evidence given before the Polish Commission is the same as the evidence which Bach-Zelewski gave in court, it would be cumulative; if it is different, then surely the defendants’ counsel ought to have the opportunity of cross-examining him upon it.

MR. COUNSELLOR RAGINSKY: The testimony which was given by Bach-Zelewski to the prosecutor of the Polish Republic is supplementary. Bach-Zelewski was not examined before the Tribunal about the devastations.

THE PRESIDENT: General Raginsky, the Tribunal understood you to say that you would be prepared to withdraw this evidence in view of the fact that the witness had given evidence already and the Tribunal considers that that is the proper course to take. So then the evidence will be withdrawn and struck from the record so far as it has been put on the record.

I think this would be a good time to adjourn.

[_A recess was taken._]

MR. COUNSELLOR RAGINSKY: As a result of the decision of the Tribunal, I exclude Page 21 from my report and pass on to Page 22. I shall read into the record an extract from the diary of the Defendant Frank, which was presented to the Tribunal as Exhibit Number USSR-223 (Document Number USSR-223). This extract is on Page 45 of the document book. I have in mind the file which was begun on 1 August 1944 and brought to 14 December 1944, entitled “Diary,” where there is a note which mentions the contents of a telegram sent by Frank to Reich Minister Lammers. I read—on 5 August 1944:

“The Governor General sends the following telegram to Reich
Minister Dr. Lammers:

“‘. . . The city of Warsaw is, for the most part, engulfed in
flames. Burning of the houses is the surest way to rob the
insurgents of any shelter. . . .

“‘After this uprising and its suppression, Warsaw will justly be
committed to its deserved fate of being completely destroyed.’”

These documents prove, thus, that the fascist conspirators set for themselves the aim of razing to the ground the capital of the Polish State, Warsaw, and that the Defendant Frank played an active part in this crime.

In all the territories of the U.S.S.R., Yugoslavia, Poland, Greece, and Czechoslovakia which they occupied, the German fascist invaders systematically destroyed inhabited localities according to plan, under the pretense of fighting the partisans. Punitive expeditions, detachments, and commandos, specially detailed by the German military command, burned down and blew up tens of thousands of villages, hamlets, and other inhabited localities.

I skip a paragraph of my report.

From the numerous documents in the possession of the Soviet Prosecution I shall quote, as examples, a few which are typical and which characterize the whole system developed by the Hitlerites.

The report of Captain Kasper, a company commander, dated 27 September 1942 and entitled, “Conclusive Report on the Results of the Punitive Expedition Carried out in the Village of Borisovka from 22 to 26 September 1942,” starts as follows: “Tasks: Company 9 must destroy the band-infested village of Borisovka.” This document has been presented to the Tribunal as Exhibit Number USSR-119 (Document Number USSR-119).

I omit the beginning of Page 42 of my report.

In January 1942, in the Rezeknes district of the Latvian Socialist Soviet Republic, the Germans destroyed the village of Audrini with its entire population, ostensibly for having aided members of the Red Army. In the towns of Latvia a notice to this effect was posted by the chief of the German State Security Police in Latvia, SS Obersturmbannführer Strauch, in German, Latvian, and Russian.

I present to the Tribunal a certified photostatic copy of this notice as Exhibit Number USSR-262 (Document Number USSR-262), and I read into the record an excerpt from this document. This excerpt is on Page 158:

“The commander of the Security Police in Latvia hereby announces
the following:

“. . . 2) The inhabitants of the village of Audrini, in the
Rezeknes district, concealed members of the Red Army for over
one-quarter of a year, armed them, and assisted them in every
way in their anti-government activities. . . .

“As punishment I ordered the following:

“a) That the village of Audrini be wiped from the face of the
earth.”

The Hitlerites widely practiced punitive expeditions in the occupied districts of the Leningrad region. As can be seen from a verdict of the military tribunal of the Leningrad Military District, which is submitted to the Tribunal as Exhibit Number USSR-91 (Document Number USSR-91), the Hitlerites burned down, in February 1944, 10 inhabited localities in the Dedovitch, Pozherevitz, and Ostrov districts. The Hitlerite punitive expeditions also burned down the villages of Strashevo and Zapolye in the Plyuss district, and the villages of Bolshye, Lyady, Ludoni, and others.

Numerous punitive detachments, acting on the orders of the German Supreme Command, burned down many hundreds of inhabited localities in the Yugoslav territory.

I refer, as evidence, to the third section of the report of the Yugoslav State Commission for establishment of the crimes of the German invaders, which has been presented to the Tribunal as Document Number USSR-36, and also to the special memorandum of the Yugoslav State Commission, numbered 2697 (45) and signed by Professor Nedelkovitsch, which I present to the Tribunal as Document Number USSR-309. This document is on Pages 165 to 167 of the document book. In these documents we find a number of facts concerning the burning and destruction of villages and hamlets by the special punitive expeditions of the Hitlerites. As examples, the localities of Zagnezdye, Udora, Mechkovatz, Marsich, Grashniza, Rudnika, Krupnya, Rastovach, Orakh, Grabovica, Drachich, Lozinda, and many others can be named. Whole districts of Yugoslavia were completely devastated after the Germans had been there.

I also present to the Tribunal the original copy of a notice by the so-called Commander-in-Chief of Serbia, which I beg the Tribunal to accept as evidence as Exhibit Number USSR-200 (Document Number USSR-200). This notice was captured in Serbia by troops of the Yugoslav Army of Liberation, which fact is duly certified by the Yugoslav State Commission in Belgrade. I read into the record only one paragraph: “The Commander-in-Chief of Serbia announces: The village of Skela has been burned and razed to the ground.”

German punitive detachments also destroyed inhabited localities in Poland. As evidence I submit to the Tribunal Exhibit Number USSR-368 (Document Number USSR-368), which is an affidavit of the Plenipotentiary of the Polish Government, Dr. Stefan Kurovsky. This affidavit is an appendix to the report of the Polish Government and is on Page 169 of your document book.

This document ascertains that in the spring of 1943 in the territory of Zamoisk, Bilgoraisk, Khrubeshovsk, and Krasnitzk the Germans burned down a number of inhabited localities under the orders of the SS leader, Globocznik; and in February 1944 five villages were destroyed in the Krasnitzk district with the help of the air force.

The Germans burned and razed to the ground a considerable number of inhabited localities in Greece. As examples we shall name the settlements of Amelofito, Kliston, Kizonia, Ano-Kerzilion, and Kato-Kerzilion in the Salonika district, and the settlements of Mesovunos and Selli in the Korzani district, and others.

I present to the Tribunal, as Exhibit Number USSR-103 (Document Number USSR-103), certified photostatic copies of three telegraphic reports of the 164th German Infantry Division to the Chief of Staff of the 12th Army. These reports, Your Honors, are on Page 170 of your document book. Each of these reports consists of nine to ten lines. They are uniform in type and standardized. But these short official documents reveal in essence the monstrous system generally employed by the Hitlerites in the territories occupied by them.

I shall read into the record one of these reports. I read:

“18 October 1941; to the Chief of Staff of the 12th Army,
Athens.

“Daily report.

“1. The villages of Ano-Kerzilion and Kato-Kerzilion (75
kilometers east of Salonika on the mouth of the Struma) which
had been ascertained to be the base of a considerable guerrilla
band in this area, were razed to the ground by troops of the
division on 17 October. The male inhabitants between 16 and 60
years of age—(totalling 207 persons)—were shot, women and
children evacuated.

“2. No other special incidents.”

Surely, there is no need for a comment regarding this document.

I should also like to refer to the official report of the Greek Government, which is presented to the Tribunal as Exhibit Number USSR-379 (Document Number UK-82). On pages 29 and 30 of the report, which correspond to Page 207 of your document book, we find numerous facts concerning the burning and destruction of villages on the Island of Crete. Thus, the villages of Skiki, Prassi, and Kanados were completely burned down in retaliation for the murder of some German parachutists carried out by the employees of the local police at the time of the attack on the Island of Crete. Certain villages were demolished by the Germans for the sole reason that they were in the partisans’ zone of operations.

It is stated in the report that 1,600 out of 6,500 villages were completely or partially demolished. It should also be noted that the Germans intentionally bombed undefended towns and caused heavy damage to 23 Greek towns, among which the towns of Yanina, Arta, Preveza, Tukkala, Larissa, and Canea were almost completely destroyed. This is mentioned on Page 21 of the report of the Greek Government. It is on Page 190 of your document book.

Your Honors, the whole world knows about the Hitlerites’ crimes at Lidice. The 10th of June 1942 was the last day of Lidice and of its inhabitants. The fascist barbarians left irrefutable evidence of their monstrous crime. They made a film of the annihilation of Lidice, and we are able to show this evidence to the Tribunal. Upon orders from the Czechoslovak Government, a special investigation was carried out which established that the filming of the tragedy of Lidice was entrusted by the so-called Protector to an adviser on photography of the NSDAP, one Franz Treml, and was carried out by him in conjunction with Miroslav Wagner. Among the documents which we present to the Tribunal are photographs of the operators who filmed the phases of the destruction of Lidice.

I present these documents to the Tribunal as Exhibit Number USSR-370 (Document Number USSR-370). I should like to remark, Your Honors, that this film is a German documentary film. It was filmed a few years ago. The technical state of this reel is not very satisfactory, and therefore when we present it, there may be a few defects.

I beg the indulgence of the Tribunal beforehand and request permission to show this film.

[_Moving pictures were then shown._]

MR. COUNSELLOR RAGINSKY: What the Germans perpetrated in Lidice was repeated a short time later in another inhabited point of Czechoslovakia in the village of Lezhaky. I shall refer as evidence to the Czechoslovak Government’s report, Pages 126-127. This report is presented to the Court as Exhibit Number USSR-60 (Document Number USSR-60). This report states, “Lezhaky, like Lidice, was totally destroyed and the ground where it stood is now covered over with rubble.”

I pass on to the next section of my report, the destruction of villages and towns, industry, and transport in the territory of the U.S.S.R.

Your Honors, I have quoted above the general directives of the criminal Hitler Government and the German Supreme Command concerning the destruction of inhabited centers, industry, and means of communications in the U.S.S.R. Now I pass on to the presentation of evidence of those destructions which were carried out in execution of these directives by the Hitlerites everywhere on the territory of the Soviet Union which they temporarily occupied.

I omit the evidence regarding the destruction of single towns of the Soviet Union and pass on to the presentation of my report beginning on Page 42.

There are a large number of documents at the disposal of the Soviet Prosecution which incriminate the Hitlerite criminals in premeditated and systematic, calculated and cruel annihilation and destruction of cities and towns, plants and factories, railways and means of communication.

The presentation of all this documentation would seriously delay the Trial. Therefore, I consider it possible to pass on to the presentation of the general conclusive data established by the Extraordinary State Commission of the Soviet Union instead of presenting separate documents.

From Exhibit Number USSR-35 (Document Number USSR-35), I shall read into the record only those sections and data which have not been read into the record previously and only those which directly concern my subject. These extracts, Your Honors, are on Pages 223-224 of your document book. I quote:

“The German fascist invaders totally or partially destroyed and
burned 1,710 towns and more than 70,000 villages and hamlets.
They burned and destroyed more than 6 million buildings and
rendered some 25 million persons homeless. Among the destroyed
towns which suffered most are the greatest industrial and
cultural centers: Stalingrad, Sevastopol, Leningrad, Kiev,
Minsk, Odessa, Smolensk, Novgorod, Pskov, Orel, Kharkov,
Voronezh, Rostov-on-the-Don, and many others.

“The German fascist invaders destroyed 31,850 industrial works
which employed some 4 million workers.”

I omit the end of Page 43, Pages 44 and 45, and the beginning of Page 46 of my report.

“The Hitlerites destroyed . . . 36,000 postal and telegraphic
offices, telephone centers, and other communication
centers. . . . During their occupation of a part of the
territory of the Soviet Union, and especially during their
retreat, the German fascist invaders caused great damage to the
railway system, waterways, and river transport.

“They used special machines for the destruction of roads and
thus put out of action 26, and partially destroyed eight, main
railway lines. They destroyed 65,000 kilometers of rails and
500,000 kilometers of cables for the automatic railroad
controls, signals, and communication lines. They blew up 13,000
railway bridges, 4,100 railway stations, and 1,600 water
pressure stations. They destroyed 317 locomotive depots and 129
locomotive and wagon repair shops, as well as railway machine
works.

“They destroyed, damaged, or evacuated to Germany 15,800
locomotives, and Diesel locomotives, and 428,000 railway cars.

“The enemy caused great damage to the buildings, enterprises,
and institutions and ships of the shipping lines operating in
the Arctic Ocean, in the White Sea, the Baltic Sea, the Black,
and the Caspian Seas. They sank or partially damaged more than
1,400 passenger, cargo, and special ships.

“The sea ports of Sevastopol, Mariupol, Kerch, Novorossisk,
Odessa, Nikolaiev, Leningrad, Murmansk, Lepaya, Tallinn, and
other ports equipped with modern technical installations
suffered greatly.

“The invaders sank or captured 4,280 passenger and cargo ships
and steam tugs of the river shipping and auxiliary services, as
well as 4,029 barges. They destroyed 479 harbor and quay
installations, as well as 89 dockyards and machine factories.

“While retreating under the pressure of the Red Army, German
troops blew up and destroyed 91,000 kilometers of highways and
90,000 road bridges of a total length of 930 kilometers.”

With this I conclude my statement, Your Honors.

The documents which were read into the record and presented to the Tribunal clearly demonstrate how the Hitlerite conspirators, in all the territories seized by them in the U.S.S.R., Yugoslavia, Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Greece, violated the laws and customs of war, the fundamental principles of criminal law, and the direct provisions of Articles 46 and 50 of the Hague Convention of 1907.

The documents submitted also prove that the German invaders contemplated complete destruction of cities and villages from which the Hitlerites were compelled to retreat under the blows of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union.

Finally these documents show with what bestial cruelty and mercilessness the Hitlerites carried out their criminal plans in reducing to dust and ashes the largest cultural and industrial centers. Over a wide area from the White to the Black and the Aegean Seas, in the territory temporarily occupied by the German troops, the Hitlerites purposely and according to plan reduced to ruins densely populated and flourishing Russian, Bielorussian, Yugoslavian, Greek, and Czechoslovakian cities, towns, and villages. All this was the result of the criminal activity of the Hitlerite Government and of the German High Command, the representatives of which are now in the dock.

In conclusion I should like, Mr. President, to present as evidence and as Exhibit Number USSR-401 (Document Number USSR-401) a documentary film concerning the destruction perpetrated by the Germans on the territories of the Soviet Union. Documents certifying the authenticity of this film are now being submitted to the Tribunal.

[_Moving pictures were then shown._]

THE PRESIDENT: We will adjourn until 1410 hours.

[_The Tribunal recessed until 1410 hours._]

_Afternoon Session_

MR. COUNSELLOR RAGINSKY: Mr. President, in order to exhaust fully the presentation of evidence on the subject matter of my report I ask your permission to examine witness Joseph Abgarovitch Orbeli who has been brought to the courthouse. Orbeli will testify to the destruction of the monuments of culture and art in Leningrad.

[_Dr. Servatius approached the lectern._]

THE PRESIDENT: Do you have any objections to make?

DR. ROBERT SERVATIUS (Counsel for Defendant Sauckel and for the Leadership Corps of the Nazi Party): I would like to ask the Court to decide whether the witness can be heard on this subject, whether this single piece of evidence is relevant. Leningrad was never in German hands. Leningrad was only fired upon with the regular combat weapons of the troops and also attacked from the air, just as it is done regularly by all the armies of the world. It must be established what is to be proved by this witness.

THE PRESIDENT: The Tribunal considers that there is no substance in the objection that has just been made, and we will hear the witness.

[_The witness Orbeli took the stand._]

THE PRESIDENT: What is your name?

JOSEPH ABGAROVITCH ORBELI (Witness): Joseph Abgarovitch Orbeli.

THE PRESIDENT: Will you repeat the oath after me—state your name again: I—Orbeli, Joseph, a citizen of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics—summoned as a witness in this Trial—in the presence of the Court—promise and swear—to tell the Court nothing but the truth—about everything I know in regard to this case.

[_The witness repeated the oath in Russian._]

THE PRESIDENT: You may sit if you wish.

MR. COUNSELLOR RAGINSKY: Witness, will you tell us, please, what position do you occupy?

ORBELI: Director of the State Hermitage.

MR. COUNSELLOR RAGINSKY: What is your scientific title?

ORBELI: I am a member of the Academy of Science of the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics, an active member of the Academy of Architecture of the U.S.S.R., an active member and president of the Armenian Academy of Science, an honorable Member of the Iran Academy of Science, member of the Society of Antiquarians in London, and a consultant member of the American Institute of Art and Archeology.

MR. COUNSELLOR RAGINSKY: Were you in Leningrad at the time of the German blockade?

ORBELI: Yes, I was.

MR. COUNSELLOR RAGINSKY: Do you know about the destruction of monuments of culture and art in Leningrad?

ORBELI: Yes.

MR. COUNSELLOR RAGINSKY: Can you tell the Tribunal the facts that are known to you?

ORBELI: Besides general observations which I was able to make after the cessation of hostilities around Leningrad, I was also an eyewitness of the measures undertaken by the enemy for destruction of the Hermitage Museum, and the buildings of the Hermitage and the Winter Palace, where the exhibits from the Hermitage Museum were displayed. During many long months these buildings were under systematic air bombardment and artillery shelling. Two air bombs and about 30 artillery shells hit the Hermitage. Shells caused considerable damage to the building, and air bombs destroyed the drainage system and water conduit system of the Hermitage.

While observing the destruction done to the Hermitage I could also see, across the river, the buildings of the Academy of Science, namely: the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography, the Zoological Museum, and right next to it the Naval Museum, in the building of the former Stock Exchange. All these buildings were under especially heavy bombardment of incendiary bombs. I saw the effect of these hits from a window in the Winter Palace.

Artillery shells caused considerable damage to the Hermitage. I shall mention the most important. One shell broke the portico of the main building of the Hermitage, facing the Millionnaya Street and damaged the piece of sculpture “Atlanta.”

The other shell went through the ceiling of one of the most sumptuous halls in the Winter Palace and caused considerable damage there. The former stable of the Winter Palace was hit by two shells. Among court carriages of the 17th and 18th centuries that were there displayed, four from the 18th century of high artistic value, and one 19th century gilt carriage were shattered to pieces by one of these shells. Furthermore, one shell went through the ceiling of the Numismatic Hall and of the Hall of Columns in the main building of the Hermitage, and a balcony of this hall was destroyed by it.

At the same time, a branch building of the Hermitage Museum on Solyanoy Lane, namely the former Stieglitz Museum was hit by a bomb from the air which caused very great damage to the building. The building was absolutely unfit for use, and a large part of the exhibits in this building suffered damage.

MR. COUNSELLOR RAGINSKY: Please tell me, Witness, do I understand you correctly? You spoke about the destruction of the Hermitage and you mentioned the Winter Palace. Is that only one building? Where was the Hermitage located, the one you mentioned?

ORBELI: Before the October Revolution, the Hermitage occupied a special building of its own facing Millionnaya Street, and the other side facing the Palace Quay of the Neva. After the Revolution, the Little Hermitage, the building of the Hermitage Theater, the building which separated the Hermitage proper from the Winter Palace, and later even the entire Winter Palace were incorporated into the Hermitage.

Therefore, at the present moment the series of buildings comprising the Hermitage consist of the Winter Palace, the Little Hermitage, and Great Hermitage, which was occupied by the museum prior to the Revolution, and also the building of the Hermitage Theater, which was built during the reign of Catherine II by the architect Quarenghi and which was hit by the incendiary bomb which I mentioned.

MR. COUNSELLOR RAGINSKY: Besides the destruction of the Winter Palace and the Hermitage, do you know any other facts about the destruction of other cultural monuments?

ORBELI: I observed a series of monuments of Leningrad which suffered damage from artillery shelling and bombing from the air. Among them damage was caused to the Kazan Cathedral, which was built in 1814 by Architect Voronikhin, Isaak’s Cathedral, whose pillars still bear the traces of damage pitted in the granite.

Within the city limits considerable damage was done to the Rastrelli Wing near the Smolny Cathedral, which was built by Rastrelli. The middle part of the gallery was blown up. Furthermore, considerable damage by artillery fire was done to the surface of the walls of the Fortress of Peter and Paul, which cannot now be considered a military objective.

MR. COUNSELLOR RAGINSKY: Besides Leningrad proper do you know anything about the destruction and devastation of the suburbs of Leningrad?

ORBELI: I had the chance to acquaint myself in detail with the condition of the monuments of Peterhof, Tzarskoye Ssyelo, and Pavlovsk; in all those three towns I saw traces of the monstrous damage to those monuments. And all the damage which I saw, and which is very hard to describe in full because it is too great, all of it showed traces of premeditation.

To prove, for instance, that the shelling of the Winter Palace was premeditated, I could mention that the 30 shells did not hit the Hermitage all at once but during a longer period and that not more than one shell hit it during each shooting.

In Peterhof, besides the damage caused to the Great Palace by fire which completely destroyed this monument, I also saw gold sheetings torn from the roofs of the Great Palace, the dome of Peterhof Cathedral, and the building at the opposite end of this enormous palace. It was obvious that the gold sheetings could not fly off because of the fire alone, but were intentionally torn off.

In Monplaisir, the oldest building of Peterhof, built by Peter the Great, the damage showed also signs of long and gradual ravages, and was not a result of a catastrophe. The precious oak carvings covering the walls were torn off. The ancient Dutch tile stoves, of the time of Peter the Great, disappeared without trace, and temporary, roughly-built stoves were put in their place. The Great Palace, built by Rastrelli in Tsarskoye Ssyelo, shows indubitable traces of intentional destruction. For example, the parquet floors in numerous halls were cut out and carried away, while the building itself was destroyed by fire. In Catherine’s Palace, an auxiliary munition plant was installed, and the precious carved 18th century fireplace was used as a furnace and was rendered absolutely worthless.

Paul’s Palace, which was also destroyed by fire, showed many a sign that the valuable property that once could be found in its halls was carried out before the Palace had been set on fire.

MR. COUNSELLOR RAGINSKY: Tell me, please, you said the Winter Palace as well as the other cultural monuments that you mentioned were intentionally destroyed. Upon what facts do you base that statement?

ORBELI: The fact that the shelling of the Hermitage by artillery fire during the siege was premeditated was quite clear to me and to all my colleagues because damage was caused not casually by artillery shelling during one or two raids, but systematically, during the methodical shelling of the city, which we witnessed for months. The first shells did not hit the Hermitage or the Winter Palace—they passed near by; they were finding the range and after this they would fire in the same direction, with just a little deviation from the straight line. Not more than one or two shells during one particular shelling would actually hit the Palace. Of course, this could not be accidental in character.

MR. COUNSELLOR RAGINSKY: I have no more questions for the witness.

THE PRESIDENT: Do any of the other Prosecuting Counsel want to ask any questions? Do any of the Defense Counsel want to ask any questions?

DR. HANS LATERNSER (Counsel for the General Staff and High Command of the German Armed Forces): Witness, you have just said that through artillery shelling and also through aerial bombs, the Hermitage, the Winter Palace, and also the Peterhof Palace were destroyed. I would be very much interested to know where these buildings are located; that is, as seen from Leningrad.

ORBELI: The Winter Palace and the Hermitage, which stands right next to it, are in the center of Leningrad on the banks of the Neva on the Palace Quay, not far from the Palace Bridge, which during all the shelling, was hit only once. On the other side, facing the Neva, next to the Winter Palace and the Hermitage, there are the Palace Square and Halturin Street. Did I answer your question?

DR. LATERNSER: I meant the question a little differently. In what part of Leningrad were these buildings—in the south, the north, the southwest, or southeast section? Will you inform me on that?

ORBELI: The Winter Palace and the Hermitage are right in the center of Leningrad on the banks of the Neva, as I have already mentioned before.

DR. LATERNSER: And where is Peterhof?

ORBELI: Peterhof is on the shores of the Gulf of Finland, southwest of the Hermitage, if you consider the Hermitage as the starting point.

DR. LATERNSER: Can you tell me whether near the Hermitage Palace and Winter Palace there are any industries, particularly armament industries?

ORBELI: So far as I know, in the vicinity of the Hermitage, there are no military enterprises. If the question meant the building of the General Staff, that is located on the other side of the Palace Square, and it suffered much less from shelling than the Winter Palace. The General Staff building, which is on the other side of Palace Square was, so far as I know, hit only by two shells.

DR. LATERNSER: Do you know whether there were artillery batteries, perhaps, near the buildings which you mentioned?

ORBELI: On the whole square around the Winter Palace and the Hermitage there was not a single artillery battery, because from the very beginning steps were taken to prevent any unnecessary vibration near the buildings where such precious museum pieces were.

DR. LATERNSER: Did the factories, the armament factories, continue production during the siege?

ORBELI: I do not understand the question. What factories are you talking about—the factories of Leningrad in general?

DR. LATERNSER: The Leningrad armament factories. Did they continue production during the siege?

ORBELI: On the grounds of the Hermitage, the Winter Palace, and in the immediate neighborhood, no military enterprise worked. They were never there and during the blockade no factories were built there. But I know that in Leningrad munitions were being made, and were successfully used.

DR. LATERNSER: I have no further questions.

DR. SERVATIUS: Witness, the Winter Palace is on the Neva River. How far from the Winter Palace is the nearest bridge across the Neva River?

ORBELI: The nearest bridge, the Palace Bridge, is 50 meters from the Palace, at a distance of the breadth of the quay, but, as I have already said, only one shell hit the bridge during the shellings; that is why I am sure that the Winter Palace was deliberately shelled. I cannot admit that while shelling the bridge, only one shell hit the bridge and 30 hit the near-by building. The other bridge, the Stock Exchange Bridge, connecting Vasilievsky Island with the Petrograd side, is on the opposite bank of the Great Neva. Only a few incendiary bombs were dropped from planes on this bridge. The fires which broke out on the Stock Exchange Bridge were extinguished.

DR. SERVATIUS: Witness, those are conclusions that you are drawing. Have you any knowledge whatever of artillery from which you can judge whether the target was the palace or the bridge beside it?

ORBELI: I never was an artillery man, but I suppose that if German artillery was aiming only at the bridge then it could not possibly hit the bridge only once and hit the palace, which is across the way, with 30 shells. Within these limits—I am an artillery man.

DR. SERVATIUS: That is your conviction as a non-artillery man. I have another question. The Neva River was used by the fleet. How far from the Winter Palace were the ships of the Red Fleet?

ORBELI: In that part of the Neva River there were no battleships which were firing or were used for such kind of service. The Neva ships were anchored in another part of the river, far from the Winter Palace.

DR. SERVATIUS: One last question. Were you in Leningrad during the entire period of the siege?

ORBELI: I was in Leningrad from the first day of the war until 31 March 1942. Then I returned to Leningrad when the German troops were driven out of the suburbs of Leningrad and had a chance to inspect Peterhof, Tsarskoye Ssyelo, and Pavlovsk.

DR. SERVATIUS: Thank you. I have no more questions.

THE PRESIDENT: General, do you want to ask the witness any questions in re-examination?

MR. COUNSELLOR RAGINSKY: We have no further questions.

THE PRESIDENT: The witness can retire.

[_The witness left the stand._]

STATE COUNSELLOR OF JUSTICE OF THE 3RD CLASS MAJOR GENERAL N. D. ZORYA (Assistant Prosecutor for the U.S.S.R.): May it please Your Honors, I want to begin to submit documentary evidence on the part of the Soviet Prosecution with regard to the employment of compulsory slave labor practiced by the Hitlerite conspirators on an enormous scale.

Fascism, with its plans for world domination, with its denial of law, ethics, mercy, and humane considerations, foresaw the enslavement of the peaceful population of the temporarily occupied territories, the deportation of millions of people to fascist Germany, and the compulsory utilization of their labor power. Fascism and slavery—these two concepts are inseparable.

I shall begin, Your Honors, the presentation of documents relating to this count with the report of the Yugoslav Republic, which has already been submitted to the Tribunal as Exhibit Number USSR-36 (Document Number USSR-36). I shall ask you to look at Page 40 of the report, which is on Page 41 of the document book at the disposal of the Tribunal. I read into the record extracts from the report of the Yugoslav Republic, which is entitled, “Forced Labor of Civilians.” I quote:

“The Nazi policy of the wholesale exploitation of the occupied
territories has also been applied in Yugoslavia.

“Immediately after the occupation of Yugoslavia the Reich
Government and the OKW introduced obligatory labor service for
the population of the occupied territory. The exploitation of
manpower in Yugoslavia has been carried out within the framework
of the general German plan. The Defendant Göring, as the leader
of the German economic plan, issued directives to his
subordinates concerning the systematic exploitation of manpower
of the occupied territories.

“In a report from Berlin, written by one of the head
functionaries of the economic service of the German Kommandantur
in Belgrade, named Ranze, instructions by Göring are
communicated, according to which the economic measures in the
occupied territories do not aim at the protection of the local
population, but at the exploitation of manpower of the occupied
countries for the benefit of the German war economy.

“Immediately after the occupation of Yugoslavia, the Germans
established offices for enlisting workers for ‘voluntary’ labor
in Germany. They also used the organizations which already
existed in Yugoslavia for arranging employment of workers, and
began to carry out their plans through these organizations.
Thus, for example, in Serbia they used the central office for
arranging employment of workers as well as the labor exchange.
Through these organizations, until the end of February 1943, and
from Serbia alone the Germans sent 47,500 workers to Germany.
Later on this number considerably increased but the relative
data in this respect have not yet been fully established. These
workers were employed in agriculture and various industries in
Germany, mostly in the heaviest work.”

In the report of the Yugoslav Republic it is stated that the Gestapo and a special commission used pressure and force. This went so far that these “volunteer” workers were hunted in the streets, collected in units, and herded into Germany by force.

“Apart from these so-called ‘volunteer’ workers, the Germans
sent into forced labor in Germany a large number of prisoners
from various camps, as well as politically ‘suspicious’ persons,
who had to perform the heaviest kinds of work under disgusting
living and working conditions. As early as 1942 many innocent
victims of the Banyitza, Saimishte, and other camps, were sent
into Germany.

“The first transport of them left on 24 April 1942, and these
transports continued without interruption until 26 September
1944. Old and young, men and women, farmers, workers,
intellectuals, and others were taken not only to Germany, but to
other countries under German occupation as well.

“According to the registers of Banyitza Camp, which are far from
giving an exact picture, over 10,000 prisoners were sent for
forced labor from this camp alone.

“The German authorities in Serbia issued a series of orders,
aiming at maximum exploitation of manpower. Among the first
measures two decrees were passed: The Decree for General Labor
Service and Restriction of the Freedom of Labor, of 14 December
1941, and the Decree for the National Labor Service for the
Reconstruction of Serbia, of 5 November 1941. According to the
first decree all persons between 17 and 45 years of age could be
called up for compulsory labor in certain enterprises and
branches of economy. According to the second order, such persons
could be called up for civilian service in the National
Reconstruction, which in fact meant that they had to work for
the strengthening of the German economic and war effort.

“The persons eligible for labor in accordance with these two
laws, although remaining in the country, worked in fact for the
aims and benefit of the Germans’ economic exploitation. They
were primarily used for work in the mines (Bor, Kostolac, _et
cetera_), for road building and railway line repairs, in the
water transport, and so on.

“On 26 March 1943 the German Commander of Serbia, Befehlshaber
Serbien, in a special order introduced the so-called war economy
measures of the Reich in the occupied territory of Serbia, and
by this act imposed the general mobilization of manpower in
Serbia. . . .

“By this decree, therefore, the entire population of occupied
Serbia was mobilized for the German war economy. The Germans
exploited Serbian manpower, in fact, to the greatest possible
extent. . . .

“The situation was in no way different in the other occupied
areas of Yugoslavia. Without entering into numerous details of
this planned exploitation, we shall quote here only one example
from occupied Slovenia.

“According to an official announcement of the German Farmers’
Union in Carinthia (Landesbauernschaft Kärnten) of 10 August
1944, issued in Klagenfurt, every case of pregnancy of
non-German women was to be reported, and in all such cases these
women were to be obliged to have their child ‘removed by
operation in a hospital.’ The announcement itself explains that
in cases when non-German women give birth to their children this
‘creates difficulties for their use in work,’ and besides, it is
also ‘a danger for the population policy.’ Furthermore, this
announcement states that the Office of Labor Service should try
to influence these women to commit an abortion.

“As another proof of the exploitation of manpower, we quote the
circular instructions of the German Landrat for the Marburg
(Maribor) district, of 12 August 1944. This circular deals with
the question of enlisting everybody eligible according to that
decree into the armed forces and into the labor service, and it
calls upon all the inhabitants of Lower Styria, and not only
upon the indigenous population, but also upon the Dutchmen,
Danes, Swedes, Luxembourgers, Norwegians, and Belgians who may
find themselves living there.”

I shall pass on now to the Report of the Polish Government which was presented to the Tribunal by the Soviet Prosecution as Exhibit Number USSR-93 (Document Number USSR-93). First we should note the special role of the Defendant Frank in organizing deportations of the Polish population for compulsory labor to Germany. I shall read into the record several excerpts from a document known under the title “Frank’s Diary,” which is at the disposal of the Tribunal as Exhibit Number USSR-223 (Document Number USSR-223).

Frank described his attitude toward the Poles at the meeting of the section chiefs which took place in Kraków, 12 April 1940, as follows—I shall quote an excerpt on Page 62 of the document book, to be exact, on the reverse side of the page. I quote:

“Under pressure from the Reich, it had now been decreed that,
since sufficient labor did not present itself voluntarily for
service in the German Reich, compulsion could be used. This
compulsion meant the possibility of arresting male and female
Poles. A certain amount of unrest had been caused by this,
which, according to some reports, had spread very widely and
which could lead to difficulties in all spheres. Field Marshal
Göring had once pointed out, in his big speech, the necessity
for sending a million workers to the Reich. One hundred and
sixty thousand had been delivered to date. . . . To arrest young
Poles as they left church or the cinema would lead to
ever-increasing nervousness among the Poles. Fundamentally Frank
had no objections to removing people capable of work who were
lounging about in the streets. But the best way would be to
organize a round-up, and one was absolutely justified in
stopping a Pole in the street and asking him what work he did,
where he was employed, _et cetera_.”

During his conversation with Defendant Sauckel, 18 August 1942, the Defendant Frank stated—I quote the part which is on Page 67 of the document book:

“I am pleased to be able . . . to inform you officially that we
have now supplied more than 800,000 workers for the Reich. . . .

“You recently requested the supply of a further 140,000 workers.
I am pleased to be able to inform you that, in accordance with
our agreement of yesterday’s date, we shall deliver 60 percent
of these newly requested workers to the Reich by the end of
October and the remaining 40 percent by the end of the
year. . . .

“Over and above the present figure of 140,000, you can, however,
count on a further number of workers from the Government General
next year, as we are going to use the police to recruit them.”

Frank fulfilled his promise given to the Defendant Sauckel.

At the conference of the political leaders of the Labor Front in the Government General, 14 December 1942, Frank stated in his address—this is on the same page of the document book:

“You know that we have delivered more than 940,000 Polish
workers to the Reich. The Government General thereby stands
absolutely and relatively at the head of all European countries.
This achievement is enormous and has also been recognized as
such by Gauleiter Sauckel.”

Will you kindly permit me to quote that section of the report of the Government of the Polish Republic which is entitled, “Deportation of the Civilian Population for Forced Labor.” This document is on Page 72 and 73 of the document book:

“a) As early as on 2 October 1939 a decree was issued by Frank
concerning the introduction of forced labor for the Polish
civilian population within the Government General. By virtue of
the said decree Polish civilians were under the obligation to
work in agricultural establishments, on the maintenance of
public buildings, road construction, regulation of rivers,
highways, and railways.

“b) A further decree of 12 December 1939 extended the groups of
those liable to forced labor to children from the age of 14
years. And a decree of 13 May 1942 gave the authorities the
right to use forced labor even outside the Government General.

“c) The practice which developed on the basis of those decrees
turned into mass deportation of civilians from Poland to
Germany.

“Throughout the Government General, in towns and villages,
posters were continually inviting Poles to go ‘voluntarily’ to
work in Germany. At the same time however every town and village
was told how many workers it was to supply.

“The result of the ‘voluntary’ recruitment was usually very
disappointing. As a result of that the German authorities
invited the people to go or arranged round-ups in the streets,
restaurants, and other places, and those caught were sent
straight to Germany. There was a particular hunt for young
workers of both sexes. The families of those deported received
no news from them for months and only after some time postcards
arrived describing the poor conditions in which they were forced
to live. Often, after several months, the workers used to return
home in a state of spiritual depression and complete physical
exhaustion.

“There is substantial evidence that while on that forced labor
thousands of men were sterilized, while young girls were forced
into public houses.

“d) These laborers were either sent to live with German farmers
to work on their land, to work in factories, or to special work
in forced labor camps. The conditions in those camps were
terrible.

“e) According to provisional estimates, in 1940 alone 100,000
women and men were sent to Germany as laborers.

“f) To this great army of slave workers thousands of Poles
deported from the incorporated territories have to be added and
also 200,000 Polish prisoners of war who, by a decree issued by
Hitler in August 1940, were ‘released’ from camps, but only to
be sent to forced labor into various parts of Germany.

“g) These deportations continued throughout the years of war.
The total number of those workers reached at a certain point a
figure of 2 million.

“Exact figures are obviously not available. But if one considers
that in spite of the very high death rate among those people,
there are now about 835,000 Polish citizens registered in
western Germany, the estimate appears correct.

“The whole chapter concerning the deportations to forced labor
is presented here in a very condensed form. Behind these few
lines lies the history of hundreds of thousands of Polish
families destroyed, tragedy, death, and sorrow. The history of
each of these laborers was a continuous tragedy: fathers leaving
their families without means; husbands their wives with no
possibility of maintaining them, with no protection and little
hope of return. The quoted number of 2 million conceals an ocean
of broken lives, involving, at the least, 10 percent of the
total population of Poland.

“This was a terrible crime. Deportation and forced labor were a
flagrant violation of the laws and customs of war.”

The Greek Report on German atrocities, submitted to the Tribunal as Exhibit Number USSR-369 (Document Number USSR-369) states the following—I beg you to refer to Page 74 of the document book:

“As in all the other occupied territories, the Germans pursued
two main objectives in their occupational policy in Greece: the
maximum exploitation of the country’s resources in the interests
of the German military economy, and the enslavement of the
population by means of systematic terror and general repression.
The Germans pursued their two-sided policy of plunder and
revenge, violating commonly accepted laws.”

The section of the report of the Greek Government entitled “Recruitment of Manpower” contains two paragraphs which I intend to read into the record:

“One of the problems confronting the German administration was
that of recruiting labor. All males between 16 and 50 years of
age were liable to labor conscription. Strikes were declared
illegal, and severe penalties enforced for resort thereto.
Persons who organized and directed a strike were liable to the
death penalty. Strikers were tried by military courts.

“At first the Germans, by propaganda and various forms of
indirect pressure, tried to recruit Greek labor to work within
Germany. They promised high wages and better conditions of life.
As this kind of ‘voluntary’ recruitment failed to produce the
expected results they abandoned it and confronted the workers
with the dilemma either of being taken as hostages or else of
being sent to Germany to work.”

Similar measures of deportation of manpower to Germany were applied by the fascists also in Czechoslovakia.

But the deportation by the fascist criminals of the peaceful populations into slave labor reached its climax in the temporarily occupied territories of the Soviet Union. I would like now to dwell briefly on the preparatory measures taken by the Hitlerite criminals for the utilization of forced labor in the temporarily occupied territories of the Soviet Union.

Even before their attack on the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, in a document which is known to the Tribunal as the “Green File” of the Defendant Göring, Exhibit Number USSR-10 (Document Number EC-472), a whole chapter was dedicated to the problem of organizing compulsory labor in the Soviet territories which the war criminals intended to occupy; the chapter was called “Allocation of Labor and Recruitment of Indigenous Population.”

This chapter—Pages 17 and 18 of the Russian text of the Green File, which is on Page 83 of the document book—lays down the Principle of compulsory labor for the peaceful Soviet population.

Paragraphs 3 and 2 of Subsection A in the second part of that chapter entitled, “Recruitment of the Local Population,” point out that:

“The workers in public utilities—gas, water, electricity, oil
drilling, oil distilling, and oil storage, as well as emergency
work in important industries . . . will be ordered to continue
their work under threat of punishment, if necessary.”

And several lines above that:

“In case of necessity, the workers will be organized into labor
gangs.”