The Nuremberg Trials (Vol.6). International Military Tribunal
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Название: The Nuremberg Trials (Vol.6)

Автор: International Military Tribunal

Издательство: Bookwire

Жанр: Языкознание

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isbn: 4064066381219

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СКАЧАТЬ She isolated herself in a closed economic system, utilizing all her resources for the preparation of a war which would permit her, or at least that is what she hoped, to take through force the property of her western neighbors and then to turn against the Soviet Union in the hope of exploiting, for her profit, the immense wealth of that great country. It is the application of the theories formulated in Mein Kampf, which had as a corollary the enslavement and then the extermination of the populations of conquered countries.

      In the course of the occupation the invaded nations were systematically pillaged and brutally enslaved; and this would have permitted Germany to obtain her war aims, that is to say, to take the patrimony of the invaded countries and to exterminate their populations gradually, if the valor of the United Nations had not delivered them. Instead of becoming enriched from the looted property, Germany had to sink it into a war which she had provoked, right up to the very moment of her collapse.

      Such actions, knowingly perpetrated and executed by the German leaders contrary to international law and particularly contrary to the Hague Convention, as well as the general principles of penal law in force in all civilized nations, constitute War Crimes for which they must answer before your high jurisdiction.

      Mr. President, I should like to add that the French Prosecution had intended to present a statement on the pillage of works of art in the occupied countries of western Europe. But this question has already been discussed in two briefs of our American colleagues, briefs which seem to us to establish beyond any question the responsibility of the defendants. In order not to prolong the hearing, the French Prosecution feels that it is its duty to refrain from presenting this question again; but we remain respectfully at the disposal of the Tribunal in case, in the course of the trial, they feel they need further information on this question.

      The presentation of the French Prosecution is concluded. I shall give the floor to Captain Sprecher of the American Delegation, who will make a statement on the responsibility of the Defendant Fritzsche.

      CAPTAIN DREXEL A. SPRECHER (Assistant Trial Counsel for the United States): May it please the Tribunal, I notice that Dr. Fritz, the defendant’s attorney, is not here; and in view of the late hour, it would be agreeable if we hold it over until tomorrow.

      THE PRESIDENT: It is 5 o’clock now, so we shall adjourn in any event now.

[The Tribunal adjourned until 23 January 1946 at 1000 hours.]

      FORTY-FIRST DAY

       Wednesday, 23 January 1946

       Table of Contents

       Table of Contents

      CAPT. SPRECHER: May it please the Tribunal, it is my responsibility and my privilege to present today the case on the individual responsibility of the Defendant Hans Fritzsche for Crimes against Peace, War Crimes, and Crimes against Humanity as they relate directly to the Common Plan or Conspiracy.

      With the permission of the Tribunal, it is planned to make this presentation in three principal divisions:

      First, a short listing of the various positions held by the Defendant Fritzsche in the Nazi State.

      Second, a discussion of Fritzsche’s conspiratorial activities within the Propaganda Ministry from 1933 through the attack on the Soviet Union.

      Third, a discussion of Fritzsche’s connection, as a Nazi propagandist, to the atrocities and the ruthless occupation policy which formed a part of the Common Plan or Conspiracy.

      In listing Fritzsche’s positions, it is not intended at first to describe the functions of these positions. Later on, in describing some of Fritzsche’s conspiratorial acts, I shall take up a discussion of some of these positions which he held.

      Fritzsche’s Party membership and his various positions in the propaganda apparatus of the Nazi State are shown by two affidavits by Fritzsche himself: Document Number 2976-PS, which is already in evidence as Exhibit USA-20; and Document Number 3469-PS, which I offer in evidence as Exhibit USA-721. Both of these affidavits have been put into the four working languages of this Tribunal.

      Fritzsche became a member of the Nazi Party on the 1st of May 1933, and he continued to be a member until the collapse in 1945. Fritzsche began his services with the staff of the Reich Ministry for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda, hereinafter referred to as the Propaganda Ministry, on the 1st of May 1933; and he remained within the Propaganda Ministry until the Nazi downfall.

      Before the Nazis seized political power in Germany and beginning in September 1932, Fritzsche was head of the Wireless News Service (Drahtloser Dienst), an agency of the Reich Government at that time under the Defendant Von Papen. After the Wireless News Service was incorporated into the Propaganda Ministry of Dr. Goebbels in May 1933, Fritzsche continued as its head until the year 1938. Upon entering the Propaganda Ministry in May 1933, Fritzsche also became head of the news section of the Press Division of the Propaganda Ministry. He continued in this position until 1937. In the summer of 1938, Fritzsche was appointed deputy to one Alfred Ingemar Berndt, who was then head of the German Press Division.

      The German Press Division, in the Indictment, is called the Home Press Division. Since “German Press Division” seems to be a more literal translation, we have called it the German Press Division throughout this presentation. It is sometimes otherwise known as the Domestic Press Division. We shall show later that this division was the major section of the Press Division of the Reich Cabinet.

      Now in December 1938 Fritzsche succeeded Berndt as the head of the German Press Division. Between 1938 and November 1942 Fritzsche was promoted three times. He advanced in title from Superior Government Counsel to Ministerial Counsel, then to Ministerialdirigent, and finally to Ministerialdirektor.

      In November 1942 Fritzsche was relieved of his position as head of the German Press Division by Dr. Goebbels and accepted from Dr. Goebbels a newly created position in the Propaganda Ministry, that of Plenipotentiary for the Political Organization of the Greater German Radio. At the same time he also became head of the Radio Division of the Propaganda Ministry. He held both these positions in radio until the Nazi downfall.

      There are two allegations of the Indictment concerning Fritzsche’s positions for which we are unable to offer proof. These allegations appear at Page 34 of the English translation.

      The first unsupported allegation states that Fritzsche was “Editor-in-Chief of the official German News Agency (Deutsches Nachrichtenbüro).” The second unsupported allegation states that Fritzsche was “head of the Radio Division of the Propaganda Department of the Nazi Party.” Fritzsche denies having held either of these positions, in his affidavit, and therefore these two allegations must fall for want of proof.

      Before discussing the documentation of the case I wish, in passing, to state my appreciation for the assistance of Mr. Norbert Halpern, Mr. Alfred Booth, and Lieutenant Niebergall, who sits at my right, for their assistance in research, analysis, and translation.

      The Tribunal will note the relative shortness of this document book. It has been marked as Document Book MM. It contains only 32 pages, which have been numbered consecutively in red pencil for your convenience. The shortness of the documentation on this particular case is possible only because of a long affidavit made by the Defendant Fritzsche, which was signed СКАЧАТЬ