Chapter XVIII: Section 1: Conduct Detrimental to War

Article 1

(1) Whoever destroys, removes, or conceals raw materials or products belonging to the vital requirements of the population and thereby malevolently endangers the supply of such requirements will be punished with hard labor or imprisonment, and in particularly serious cases by death.

(2) Whoever conceals payment certificates without any justified reason, will be punished with imprisonment and, in particularly serious cases, with hard labor.

* * * * * * *

Berlin, 4 September 1939

The Chairman of the Ministerial Council
for Defense of the Reich
FIELD MARSHAL GOERING

The Deputy of the Fuehrer
R. HESS

The General Plenipotentiary for the
Administration of the Reich
FRICK

The General Plenipotentiary for the Economy
WALTHER FUNK

The Reich Minister and Chief of the Reich Chancellery
DR. LAMMERS

The Chief of the High Command of the Armed Forces
KEITEL

PARTIAL TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT NG-715
PROSECUTION EXHIBIT 112

DECREE, 5 SEPTEMBER 1939, AGAINST PUBLIC ENEMIES[99]

1939 REICHSGESETZBLATT, PART I, PAGE 1679

The Ministerial Council for the Defense of the Reich decrees with the force of Law:

Article 1

_Looting in Liberated Territory_

(1) Whoever is found looting in liberated territory or in buildings or rooms voluntarily vacated will be punished by death.

(2) This crime is subject to the jurisdiction of the Special Courts,[100] insofar as field military courts have no jurisdiction.

(3) The death penalty may be executed by hanging.

Article 2

_Crimes During Air Raids_

Whoever commits a crime or offense against the body, life, property, taking advantage of air raid protection measures, is punishable by hard labor of up to 15 years or for life, and in particularly severe cases by death.

Article 3

_Crimes of Public Danger_

Whoever commits arson or any other crime of public danger, thereby undermining German defensive strength, will be punished by death.

Article 4

_Exploitation of the State of War as a Reason for more severe
Punishment_

Whoever commits any other criminal act by exploiting the extraordinary conditions caused by war is punishable beyond the regular punishment limits with hard labor of up to 15 years or for life, or by death if the sound sentiment of the people requires it because of the particular wickedness of the act.

Article 5

_Speeding up of Special Court Proceedings_

In all trials by Special Courts the verdict must be pronounced at once without observation of time limits if the perpetrator is caught redhanded or if his guilt is otherwise obvious.

Article 6

_Sphere of Jurisdiction_

The provisions of this Law are also applicable in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, also for those persons who are not German nationals.

Article 7

_Final Regulations_

The Reich Minister of Justice will issue the legal and administrative regulations required to carry out and supplement this decree.

Berlin, 5 September 1939

The Chairman of the Ministerial Council
for the Defense of the Reich
FIELD MARSHAL GOERING

The Plenipotentiary for the Administration of the Reich
FRICK

The Reich Minister and Chief of the Reich Chancellery
DR. LAMMERS

TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT KLEMM 29
KLEMM DEFENSE EXHIBIT 29

DECREE OF 17 OCTOBER 1939, ESTABLISHING SPECIAL JURISDICTION AND PROVIDING FOR JUDGES APPOINTED BY HIMMLER, FOR CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS AGAINST MEMBERS OF THE SS AND POLICE FORMATIONS ON SPECIAL TASKS

1939 REICHSGESETZBLATT, PART I, PAGE 2107

Decree on special jurisdiction in criminal proceedings against members of the SS and members of police formations on special tasks, dated 17 October 1939.

The council of ministers for the defense of the Reich decrees that the following become law in the territory of the Greater German Reich:

Article 1[101]

Special jurisdiction is established for the prosecution of--

1. Professional members of the Reich leadership of the SS,

2. Professional members of the staffs of those Higher SS and Police Leaders who command organizations listed under numbers 3 to 6,

3. Members of the SS Special Duty Troops,

4. Members of the SS Death Head units[102] including their replacement units,

5. Members of the SS Junkers’ Schools,

6. Members of the police formations on special tasks.

Article 2

(1) The persons specified under article 1, numbers 1 to 5, come under special jurisdiction in all cases of unlawful actions for which army courts are competent. The persons specified under article 1, number 6, come under special jurisdiction only if these unlawful actions have been committed while on special duty.

(2) The competence of the army courts remains unchanged.

Article 3

(1) If not ordered otherwise, the regulations of the military penal code, the regulations of the criminal procedure of courts martial as well as their introductory laws will be applied correspondingly under this special jurisdiction. As far as nonmilitary offenses are concerned, general criminal law applicable to members of the armed forces will be applied.

(2) The place of the Reich Minister for War or of the Chief of the High Command of the Wehrmacht is taken by the Reich Leader of the SS and Chief of the German Police. He appoints the judges and specifies the regional sphere of their jurisdiction.

Article 4

(1) Courts martial will be replaced by SS courts and, wherever cases against members of police units are concerned, by SS and police courts. The army appeal courts will be replaced by an SS and police appeal court.

(2) A special decree will be issued as to which court will take over the tasks of the Supreme Army Court in Wehrmacht affairs.

Article 5

(1) Civilian army judges will be replaced by SS judicial officers [Justizfuehrer] who are qualified to be judges. They will be appointed by the Fuehrer and Reich Chancellor, and in disciplinary matters, are directly subordinate to the Reich Leader SS.

(2) If the proceedings involve a member of the SS, SS members will be appointed as associate judges, otherwise the associate judge will be appointed from the ranks of the police.

(3) The registrars of the office will be replaced by SS Beurkundungsfuehrer [SS officers having registrar’s functions].

(4) Further regulations as to the legal status of SS judicial officers and SS Beurkundungsbeamte [SS officials having registrar’s functions] remain reserved.

Article 6

The regulations of the military penal code concerning special honor penalties [Ehrenstrafen] against soldiers are not to be applied. They are superseded by regulations concerning the penalties of dishonorable discharge and dismissal from the SS.

Article 7

The Reich Minister for the Interior and the Reich Leader SS, in agreement with the Reich Ministers of Justice and of Finance, are authorized to decree in their own field of activities the regulations necessary for articles 4 and 5 as well as the regulations for the carrying out of this ordinance.

Article 8

This ordinance becomes effective on the day of its proclamation.

Berlin, 17 October 1939

The Chairman of the Council of Ministers
for the Defense of the Reich
FIELD MARSHAL GOERING

The Plenipotentiary General for the
Administration of the Reich
FRICK

The Reich Minister and Chief of the Reich Chancellery
DR. LAMMERS

PARTIAL TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT NG-715
PROSECUTION EXHIBIT 112

EXTRACTS FROM DECREE, 25 NOVEMBER 1939, SUPPLEMENTING
PENAL PROVISIONS FOR PROTECTION OF THE MILITARY
STRENGTH OF THE GERMAN PEOPLE[103]

1939 REICHSGESETZBLATT, PART I, PAGE 2319

The Ministerial Council for the Defense of the Reich decrees with the force of law:

Article 1

_Damage to Military Equipment_

(1) Whoever intentionally destroys, renders unserviceable, damages, abandons or removes military equipment of an installation intended for the German defense, and thereby intentionally, or through negligence, endangers the fighting power of the German armed forces, will be punished with imprisonment of not less than 6 months. In serious cases the death penalty, or hard labor for life, or a term of hard labor will be imposed.

(2) The same punishment will be inflicted upon a person who intentionally builds, manufactures or delivers in a defective manner military equipment or installations of the kind described above, and thereby intentionally or through negligence endangers the fighting power of the German armed forces.

(3) The attempt is also punishable.

(4) Whoever acts carelessly and thereby negligently endangers the fighting power of the German armed forces will be punished with imprisonment.

(5) This regulation replaces article 143 a of the penal code.

Article 2

_Disturbance of an Essential Enterprise_

(1) Whoever disturbs or endangers the orderly function of an enterprise essential to the defense of the Reich or to the supply of the population by making any object serving the enterprise completely or partially unusable or by putting it out of commission will be punished with hard labor or in especially serious cases with death.

(2) In less serious cases the penalty will be imprisonment.

* * * * * * *

Article 5

_Endangering of the Armed Forces of Friendly States_

(1) Whoever in Germany gathers or forwards information concerning military matters for a foreign military intelligence service to the prejudice of another state, or forms, maintains, or supports an information service concerning such matters will be punished with hard labor or in less serious cases with imprisonment.

(2) The act shall be prosecuted only upon order of the Reich Minister of Justice.

Article 6

In the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia the provisions of articles 1, 2, 4, and 5 of this decree apply also to persons who are not German nationals.

Berlin, 25 November 1939

The Chairman of the Ministerial Council
for the Defense of the Reich
FIELD MARSHAL GOERING

The Plenipotentiary for the Administration of the Reich
As Deputy, HIMMLER

The Chief of the Reich Chancellery
DR. LAMMERS

PARTIAL TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT NG-715
PROSECUTION EXHIBIT 112

DECREE OF 5 DECEMBER 1939 AGAINST VIOLENT CRIMINALS

1939 REICHSGESETZBLATT, PART I, PAGE 2378

The Ministerial Council for the Defense of the Reich decrees the following with the force of law for the area of the Greater German Reich:

Article 1

_Armed Violence_

(1) Whoever uses a firearm, a cutting or stabbing weapon, or any other equally dangerous object while committing rape, street robbery, bank robbery or any other serious act of violence, or whoever threatens another person’s body or life with such a weapon will be punished by death.

(2) The criminal who attacks his pursuers or defends himself against them with the use of arms will be subject to the same penalty.

Article 2

_Protection for People Assisting in the Pursuit of the Criminals_

Whoever takes part personally in the pursuit of a criminal for the purpose of his apprehension has the same privileges under criminal law as policemen and officers of the law.

Article 3

_Competence of the Special Court_

In cases of crimes which fall under the provisions of articles 1 or 2 of this decree, the indictment will be filed with the Special Court.

Article 4

_More Severe Punishment for Attempted Crimes and Aiding and
Abetting_

Where an attempted crime or offense or the aiding and abetting in such a crime or offense are punishable, the same punishment is generally admissible as is provided for the accomplished crime.

Article 5

_Retroactive Force_

This decree is also applicable to punishable acts committed before it came into force.

Article 6

_Final Regulations_

The Reich Minister of Justice will issue the legal and administrative provisions required to carry out and supplement this decree, and the special provisions concerning the application of this decree in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia.

Berlin, 5 December 1939

The Chairman of the Ministerial Council
for the Defense of the Reich
FIELD MARSHAL GOERING

The Plenipotentiary for the Administration of the Reich
FRICK

The Reich Minister and Chief of the Reich Chancellery
DR. LAMMERS

PARTIAL TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT NG-715
PROSECUTION EXHIBIT 112

DECREE OF 6 MAY 1940 ON THE EXTENSION OF THE
APPLICATION OF GERMAN CRIMINAL LAW

1940 REICHSGESETZBLATT, PART I, PAGE 754

The Ministerial Council for the Defense of the Reich decrees, for the territory of the greater German Reich, with the force of law: