The Nuremberg Trials (Vol.2). International Military Tribunal

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СКАЧАТЬ of huge dimensions and the destruction of industrial, cultural, and other property was typified in Kiev. More than 4 million books, magazines, and manuscripts (many of which were very valuable and even unique) and a large number of artistic productions and divers valuables were stolen and carried away.

      Many valuable art productions were taken away from Riga.

      The extent of the plunder of cultural valuables is evidenced by the fact that 100,000 valuable volumes and 70 cases of ancient periodicals and precious monographs were carried away by Rosenberg’s staff alone.

      Among further examples of these crimes are:

      Wanton devastation of the city of Novgorod and of many historical and artistic monuments there; wanton devastation and plunder of the city of Rovno and of its province; the destruction of the industrial, cultural, and other property in Odessa; the destruction of cities and villages in Soviet Karelia; the destruction in Estonia of cultural, industrial, and other buildings; the destruction of medical and prophylactic institutes; the destruction of agriculture and industry in Lithuania; the destruction of cities in Latvia.

      The Germans approached monuments of culture, dear to the Soviet people, with special hatred. They broke up the estate of the poet Pushkin in Mikhailovskoye, desecrated his grave, and destroyed the neighboring villages and the Svyatogor monastery.

      They destroyed the estate and museum of Leo Tolstoy, “Yasnaya Polyana” and desecrated the grave of the great writer. They destroyed, in Klin, the museum of Tchaikovsky and, in Penaty, the museum of the painter Repin and many others.

      The Nazi conspirators destroyed 1,670 Greek Orthodox churches, 237 Roman Catholic churches, 67 chapels, 532 synagogues, et cetera.

      They also broke up, desecrated and senselessly destroyed the most valuable monuments of the Christian Church, such as the Kievo-Pecherskaya Lavra, Novy Jerusalem in the Istrin region, and the most ancient monasteries and churches.

      Destruction in Estonia of cultural, industrial, and other premises; burning down of many thousands of residential buildings; removal of 10,000 works of art; destruction of medical and prophylactic institutions; plunder and removal to Germany of immense quantities of agricultural stock including horses, cows, pigs, poultry, beehives, and agricultural machines of all kinds.

      Destruction of agriculture, enslavement of peasants, and looting of stock and produce in Lithuania.

      In the Latvian Republic destruction of the agriculture by the looting of all stock, machinery, and produce.

      Carrying away by Rosenberg’s headquarters of 100,000 valuable volumes and 70 cases of ancient periodicals and precious monographs; wanton destruction of libraries and other cultural buildings.

      The result of this policy of plunder and destruction was to lay waste the land and cause utter desolation.

      The over-all value of the material loss which the U.S.S.R. has borne, is computed to be 679 billion rubles, in State prices of 1941.

      Following the German occupation of Czechoslovakia on 15 March 1939 the defendants seized and stole large stocks of raw materials, copper, tin, iron, cotton, and food; caused to be taken to Germany large amounts of railway rolling stock, and many engines, carriages, steam vessels and trolley buses; robbed libraries, laboratories, and art museums of books, pictures, objects of art, scientific apparatus, and furniture; stole all gold reserves and foreign exchange of Czechoslovakia, including 23,000 kilograms of gold, of a nominal value of 5,265,000 Pounds; fraudulently acquired control and thereafter looted the Czech banks and many Czech industrial enterprises; and otherwise stole, looted, and misappropriated Czechoslovak public and private property. The total sum of defendants’ economic spoliation of Czechoslovakia from 1938 to 1945 is estimated at 200 billion Czechoslovak crowns.

      (G) Wanton destruction of cities, towns, and villages, and devastation not justified by military necessity.

      The defendants wantonly destroyed cities. . . .

      THE PRESIDENT: Will you go to Paragraph 2 of (G)? The French read the first paragraph. Do you want to go to Paragraph 2 of (G)?

      CAPT. KUCHIN: I have begun. . . .

      THE PRESIDENT: I thought we had read Paragraph 1. We might take up at Paragraph 2, beginning “In the Eastern Countries the defendants pursued. . . .”

      CAPT. KUCHIN: 2. Eastern Countries:

      In the Eastern Countries the defendants pursued a policy of wanton destruction and devastation; some particulars of this, without prejudice to the production of evidence of other cases, are set out above under the heading “Plunder of Public and Private Property”.

      In Greece in 1941 the villages of Amelofito, Kliston, Kizonia, Messovunos, Selli, Ano-Kerzilion, and Kato-Kerzilion were utterly destroyed.

      In Yugoslavia on 15 August 1941 the German military command officially announced that the village of Skela was burned to the ground and the inhabitants killed on the order of the command.

      On the order of the Field Commander Hoersterberg a punitive expedition from the SS troops and the field police destroyed the villages of Machkovats and Kriva Reka in Serbia and all the inhabitants were killed.

      General Fritz Neidhold (369 Infantry Division), on 11 September 1944, gave an order to destroy the villages of Zagniezde and Udora, hanging all the men and driving away all the women and children.

      In Czechoslovakia the Nazi conspirators also practiced the senseless destruction of populated places. Lezaky and Lidice were burnt to the ground and the inhabitants killed.

      (H) Conscription of civilian labor.

      Throughout the occupied territories the defendants conscripted and forced the inhabitants to labor and requisitioned their services. . . .

      THE PRESIDENT: I think Paragraph (H) has been read, the first paragraph of it. There only remains for you to read Paragraph 2 of (H).

      CAPT. KUCHIN: 2. Eastern Countries:

      Of the large number of citizens of the Soviet Union and of Czechoslovakia, referred to under Count Three VIII (B) 2 above, many were so conscripted for forced labor.

      IX. Individual, group and organization responsibility for the offense stated in Count Three.

      Reference is hereby made to Appendix A of this Indictment for a statement of the responsibility of the individual defendants for the offense set forth in this Count Three of the Indictment. Reference is hereby made to Appendix B of this Indictment for a statement of the responsibility of the groups and organizations named herein as criminal groups and organizations for the offense set forth in this Count Three of the Indictment.

      COUNT FOUR—CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY, Charter, Article 6, especially 6 (c).

      X. Statement of the offense.

      All the defendants committed Crimes against Humanity during a period of years preceding 8 May 1945, in Germany and in all those countries and territories occupied by the German Armed Forces since 1 September 1939, and in Austria and Czechoslovakia and in Italy and on the High Seas.

      All the defendants, acting in concert with others, formulated and executed a Common Plan or Conspiracy to commit Crimes against Humanity as defined in Article 6 (c) of the Charter. This СКАЧАТЬ