Читать книгу The Nuremberg Trials: Complete Tribunal Proceedings (V. 8) - International Military Tribunal - Страница 10

“ ‘For German officers and men three or four first-class restaurants—excellent, but not for the French.’ ”

I quote the next excerpt:

“ ‘Furthermore, you should be like bloodhounds on the track of anything the German people can use; that stuff should be brought here out of the warehouses like lightning. Whenever I issued a decree, I stated repeatedly that soldiers are entitled to buy as much as they want and whatever they want, as much as they can carry. . . .

“ ‘Now you will say—Laval’s foreign policy. Herr Laval calms down Herr Abetz and as far as I am concerned, may go to Maxim’s, although it is out of bounds. But the French will soon have to learn. You have no idea of the impudence they have. When our friends hear that a German is interested they charge fantastic prices. They charge three times the normal price and if they hear that the Reich Marshal is in the market, they charge five times the normal price. I wanted to buy a tapestry. Two million francs was asked. The woman was told that the buyer wanted to see the tapestry. She said she did not wish to let it out of her sight. Well, then she would have to go with it. She was told that she was going to see the Reich Marshal. When she arrived the tapestry was priced at 3 million francs. I reported it. Do you think anything was done? I submitted the case to the French court and they taught milady that it is inadvisable to profiteer when dealing with me.

“ ‘All that interests me is what we can squeeze out of the territory now under our control with the utmost application and by straining every nerve; and how much of that can be diverted to Germany. I don’t give a damn about import and export statistics of former years.

“ ‘Now, regarding shipments to the Reich. Last year France shipped 550,000 tons of grain, and now I demand 1.2 million tons. Two weeks from now a plan will be submitted for handling it. There will be no more discussion about it. What happens to the Frenchmen is of no importance. One million two hundred thousand tons will be delivered. Fodder—last year 550,000 tons, now 1 million; meat—last year 135,000 tons, now 350,000; fats—last year 23,000, this year 60,000.’ ”

And so on.

The next excerpt from this address concerns the quotas to be fixed for deliveries from countries such as the Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, and the Government General. In reply to Göring’s questions and instructions definite figures were quoted by those attending the meeting. I omit one page and continue:

“Reich Marshal Göring: ‘So much for the West. A special order will be issued concerning purchasers who buy up all the clothes, shoes, et cetera, that are to be had.

“ ‘Now comes the East. I have settled this point with the Wehrmacht. The Wehrmacht waives the demands it made on the home country. How much hay was required?’

“Backe: ‘1.5 million tons. Over 1 million tons straw and 1½ million tons oats. We can’t manage that.(?)’

“Reich Marshal Göring: ‘Now, gentlemen, there is only one thing more regarding Wehrmacht supplies. I want to hear nothing more about you until further notice. No more requests. The country—with its sour cream, apples, and white bread—will feed us abundantly. The Don valley will take care of the rest.’ ”

Passing to the next quotation—Göring is speaking:

“ ‘The Wehrmacht in France will, of course, be supplied with food by France. That is a matter of course, and I did not even mention it before.

“ ‘Now about Russia: There is no doubt of her fertility. The position there is almost incredibly good. . . .’ ”

The next quotation—Göring is still speaking:

“ ‘I was glad to hear that the Reich Commissioner in Ostland is doing just as well, and the people are just as fat and chubby and puff a little when they work. Nevertheless, I shall see to it, no matter how carefully certain groups are treated, that some contribution is made from the inexhaustible fertility of this area.’ ”

After this Lohse, Reich Commissioner for Bielorussia, addressed the meeting:

“ ‘May I state my opinion in a few words? I should like to give you more but certain conditions have to be observed. The harvest is certainly excellent but in more than half of the area of Bielorussia which is well cultivated, it is scarcely possible to get in the crops, unless we can put a stop to the disturbances caused by guerrillas and partisans. I have already been crying out for help for 4 months.’ ”

Lohse goes on to describe the activities of the partisans in Bielorussia. In this connection Göring interrupts him and says:

“ ‘My dear Lohse, we have known each other for a long time. I know well enough that you are a great poet.’ ”

And Lohse answered:

“ ‘I won’t stand for that; I have never written poetry.’ ”

In conclusion I quote the last three quotations from Göring’s speech. He said:

“ ‘We must have buyers from the Ministry of Economics, Funk, in the Ukraine and elsewhere. We must send them to Venice to buy odds and ends, those frightful alabaster things and cheap jewelry, et cetera. I don’t think there is any other place except Italy where one gets quite such junk.

“ ‘Now let us see what Russia can deliver. I think, Riecke, we should be able to get 2 million tons of cereals and fodder out of the whole of Russia.’

“Riecke: ‘That can be done.’

“Reich Marshal Göring: ‘That means that we must get 3 million, apart from Wehrmacht supplies.’

“Riecke: ‘No, all that is in the front areas goes for the Wehrmacht only.’

“Reich Marshal Göring: ‘Then we bring 2 million.’

“Riecke: ‘No.’

“Reich Marshal Göring: ‘A million and a half then.’

“Riecke: ‘Yes.’

“Reich Marshal Göring: ‘All right.’ ”

The discussion went on in the same way. Göring’s speech ends with the following sentence:

“ ‘Gentlemen, I would just like to say one thing more. I have a very great deal to do and a very great deal of responsibility. I have no time to read letters and memoranda informing me that you cannot supply my requirements. I have only time to ascertain from time to time through short reports from Backe whether the commitments are being fulfilled. If not, then we shall have to meet on a different level.’ ”

As Your Honors have heard, besides Göring this conference was attended by the Defendants Rosenberg, Sauckel, Seyss-Inquart, Frank, Funk, and others. As you have heard, Göring finished his speech with a direct threat against the participants in this conference, by saying that “we shall have to meet on a different level.” This threat came true. The matter has, in every sense of the term, been met on a different level—from the level of the dock.

Thus the whole volume of evidence submitted establishes beyond all doubt:

1. That simultaneously with their well-laid preparations for the military invasion of Czechoslovakia, Poland, Yugoslavia, Greece, and the U.S.S.R., the criminal Hitlerite Government and the Supreme Command of the German Armed Forces worked out a plan for the mass plunder and spoliation of private, public, and state-owned property in the territories belonging to these countries.

2. That having worked out this criminal plan, the conspirators carried out all the preliminary measures necessary for its execution by training special bodies of officers and officials for the despoliation of the territories they meant to seize by preparing and issuing special instructions, reference books, and orders for this purpose, and by creating a special and very complicated organization of all sorts of “economic inspectorates,” “detachments,” “groups,” “joint stock companies,” “plenipotentiaries,” et cetera, and by calling in a large number of specialists in different branches, military experts on agriculture, agricultural leaders, economic spies, et cetera.

3. That in accordance with this long-prepared plan, they subsequently plundered and despoiled private, public, and State property in the occupied territories and also robbed the peaceful population of these territories, having recourse to atrocities, violence, and arbitrary practices of the most appalling nature.

4. That in order to make the soldiers and the officers of the German Army “economically interested” in the war, the conspirators not only failed to prosecute cases of marauding and robbery committed, by German soldiers and officers, but even encouraged these crimes and incited their men to commit wholesale looting.

5. That by the commission of all these crimes the conspirators caused enormous economic damage to the people of the occupied territories, exposing them to starvation and suffering, and that they profited by their criminal activities for the personal gain and enrichment of themselves and their adherents.

6. That having thus planned, prepared, and initiated wars of aggression against the freedom-loving nations, the conspirators aimed at the predatory despoliation of these nations and thereafter achieved these criminal ends by means of equally criminal and predatory methods.

On the strength of the above, the defendants have consciously and deliberately violated Article 50 of the Hague Convention of 1907, the laws and customs of war, the general principles of criminal law accepted by the penal codes of all civilized nations, as well as the national law of those countries in which these crimes were committed.

For these criminal acts, Your Honors, each and all of which are covered by Article 6(b) of the Charter of the International Military Tribunal, all the defendants must be found guilty; all of them without exception must be held responsible both individually and as members of the conspiracy.

May it please Your Honors, the documents which I have presented to the Tribunal and which I have read into the record are silent witnesses to the crimes organized and committed by the defendants.

But the conscience of the Judges will hear the testimony of these silent witnesses, who relate truthfully the story of the arbitrary practices and crimes of the Hitlerite brigands and the boundless sufferings of their innumerable victims.

THE PRESIDENT: The Tribunal will adjourn.

[The Tribunal adjourned until 21 February 1946 at 1000 hours.]