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

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СКАЧАТЬ PRESIDENT: Will you come to the desk please, if you wish to speak. Will you state your name and for whom you appear here?

      DR. THOMA: Dr. Thoma, defense counsel for the Defendant Rosenberg.

      THE PRESIDENT: Yes.

      DR. THOMA: I should like to ask whether the Defense will immediately get copies of the interrogation of witnesses.

      THE PRESIDENT: Copies of the Indictment? Those have been served upon each defendant. Do I understand that you want further copies for the use of defendants’ counsel?

      DR. THOMA: May I put my question more precisely? I presume that all the statements of the defendants are to be taken down in shorthand, and I would like to ask whether these will then be translated into German and given to the Defense Counsel as soon as possible.

      THE PRESIDENT: If you mean a transcript of the evidence which is given before the Tribunal, that will be taken down, and if it is given in a language other than German it will be translated into German and copies furnished to defendants’ counsel. If it is in German it will be furnished to them in German.

      DR. THOMA: Will we get copies of the interrogation of all witnesses?

      THE PRESIDENT: Yes; that is what I meant by a transcript of the evidence given before the Tribunal. That will be a copy, in German, of the evidence of each witness.

      DR. THOMA: Thank you.

      DR. RUDOLPH DIX (Counsel for Defendant Schacht): Your Lordship, gentlemen of the Tribunal, my colleagues of the Defense have entrusted me with the honorable task of expressing our thanks for the words you have addressed to the Defense Counsel. We members of the Defense consider ourselves the associates of the Tribunal in reaching a just verdict and we have full confidence in Your Lordship’s wise and experienced conduct of the Trial proceedings.

      Your Lordship may be convinced that in this spirit we shall participate in the difficult task of reaching a just decision, in the case before the Tribunal.

      THE PRESIDENT: I assume that there are no further questions at the present stage which Counsel for the Defense wish to ask. They will understand that if at any stage in the future they have inquiries which they wish to make, they should address them to the General Secretary and they will then be considered by the Tribunal.

      The Tribunal will now adjourn until 2 o’clock, when the application on behalf of the Defendant Streicher will be heard.

      [The Tribunal adjourned until 1400 hours.]

      THE PRESIDENT: I understand that there are some counsel for the defendants present here today, who were not here yesterday and who may not understand the use of these earphones and dials. Therefore, I explain to them that Number 1 on the dial will enable them to hear the evidence in the language in which it is given, Number 2 will be in English, Number 3 in Russian, Number 4 in French, and Number 5 in German.

      I will now read the judgment of the Tribunal in the matter of the application of counsel for Gustav Krupp von Bohlen for postponement of the proceedings against the defendant.

      Counsel for Gustav Krupp von Bohlen has applied to the Tribunal for postponement of the proceedings against this defendant on the ground that his physical and mental condition are such that he is incapable of understanding the proceedings against him and of presenting any defense that he may have.

      On November 5 the Tribunal appointed a medical commission composed of the following physicians:

      R. E. Tunbridge, Brigadier, O.B.E., M.D., M.Sc., F.R.C.P., Consulting Physician, British Army of the Rhine.

      René Piedelièvre, M.D., Professor on the Faculty of Medicine of Paris; Expert for the Tribunal.

      Nicholas Kurshakov, M.D., Professor of Medicine, Medical Institute of Moscow; Chief Internist, Commissariat of Public Health, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

      Eugene Sepp, M.D., Emeritus Professor of Neurology, Medical Institute of Moscow; Member, Academy of Medical Science, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

      Eugene Krasnushkin, M.D., Professor of Psychiatry, Medical Institute of Moscow.

      Bertram Schaffner, Major, Medical Corps, Neuropsychiatrist, Army of the United States.

      The commission has reported to the Tribunal that it is unanimously of the opinion that Gustav Krupp von Bohlen suffers from senile softening of the brain; that his mental condition is such that he is incapable of understanding court procedure and of understanding or cooperating in interrogations; that his physical state is such that he cannot be moved without endangering his life; and that his condition is unlikely to improve but rather will deteriorate further.

      The Tribunal accepts the findings of the medical commission, to which exception is taken neither by the Prosecution nor by the Defense.

      Article 12 of the Charter authorizes the trial of a defendant in absentia if found by the Tribunal to be “necessary in the interests of justice.” It is contended on behalf of the Chief Prosecutors that in the interest of justice, Gustav Krupp von Bohlen should be tried in absentia, despite his physical and mental condition.

      It is the decision of the Tribunal that upon the facts presented the interests of justice do not require that Gustav Krupp von Bohlen be tried in absentia. The Charter of the Tribunal envisages a fair trial, in which the Chief Prosecutors may present the evidence in support of an indictment and the defendants may present such defense as they may believe themselves to have. Where nature rather than flight or contumacy has rendered such a trial impossible, it is not in accordance with justice that the case should proceed in the absence of a defendant.

      For the foregoing reasons, the Tribunal orders that:

      1. The application for postponement of the proceedings against Gustav Krupp von Bohlen is granted.

      2. The charges in the Indictment against Gustav Krupp von Bohlen shall be retained upon the docket of the Tribunal for trial hereafter, if the physical and mental condition of the defendant should permit.

      Further questions raised by the Chief Prosecutors, including the question of adding another name to the Indictment, will be considered later.

      The Tribunal will now hear the application on behalf of the Defendant Streicher.

      Will the Counsel state his name?

      DR. HANS MARX (Counsel for Defendant Streicher): Your Honors, as Counsel for the Defendant Julius Streicher, I took the liberty some time ago of requesting a postponement in the opening date of the Trial, because the time at my disposal for making preparations appeared to me insufficient, in view of the importance of the case.

      This morning, however, the President of the Court outlined the course of the proceedings of the Trial and his explanations have made it quite clear that the Defense will have adequate time at its disposal to continue preparations for the case of each client even after the opening of the Trial. Any objections on my part are thereby removed, and accordingly I withdraw my application as unsubstantiated.

      Your Honors, may I use this opportunity to make a suggestion with regard to the case of the Defendant Streicher.

      In view of the exceptional nature of the case and of the difficulties facing the Defense in handling it, may I suggest that the Tribunal consider whether a psychiatric СКАЧАТЬ